to web. Well chosen. Words. Thank you, Tom. I want us to
have a look. I trust it will be brief because
I'm not sure how long I can survive the heat up here. But anyway,
I want us to look at the scent salvation. A word of grace is
scent. It's scent. There is a lot of
sending in the Scriptures. God the Father sends His Son. The Father and the Son send the
Holy Spirit. And the Gospel comes. hear it. The book of Galatians
is such a glorious exposition of the sovereign grace of God
in the salvation of sinners. I love the description of the
Lord Jesus Christ in Galatians 4.4. But when the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth his Son, the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And I love this next phrase,
it inverts so much theology, isn't it? Modern theology says
you become a son by believing. You actually appropriate all
these things that God has done by believing. We have made faith
into a work and we have, they have, I trust we don't, they
have exalted the Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
says, and because you are sons, when did you become sons? When
did believers become sons? They were sons from eternity
because you are sons. Paul was a son. Did he know he
was a son? He had no idea he was a son of
the Lord Jesus Christ that he was persecuting. Because you
are sons, into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father. Wherefore thou art no more a
servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. God sends, he sends his son,
he sends his son. And in sending his son, He sets
forth and sends his prisoners out of the pit wherein there
is no water. So the first mention of that
word salvation in Genesis 49 is the word we looked at last
week, that phrase which describes the salvation, isn't it? The
salvation of God, and it says we wait. God's people wait. That's an act of faith, is to
wait. Kavar is the Hebrew word, and
then the next word for thy salvation is Yeshua. So every time in the
Old Testament they read the word Joshua, which is the name given
to the Lord Jesus Christ, they read it as God's salvation. It's sent. It's sent. It's sent and thy will hear. Thy will hear. It's sent. It's sent to sinners. Say that word. He sends it to those who haven't
earned anything. It's an unmerited sending, isn't
it? It's not deserved by anything
in man or anything that man wants. All saved sinners follow the
pattern of Saul of Tarsus, don't they? God says that he's a pattern. He sends his salvation. it to sinners, he sent it to
rebels. It's unasked for, it's unsought
for, for sinners who are demerited sinners, like the sinners of
Acts chapter 2, where they were made to see that they were responsible
for the very death of And I want to remind you that
the 3,000 souls that were saved in that Gospel were sent on that
remarkable day of Pentecost were amongst a crowd of one million
in Jerusalem that day. The sending of the Gospel is
always sent personally, it's sent particularly, and it's sent
purposefully of God to particular people at a particular time. He went into the temple and clinging
on to Peter and John, and he was leaping and singing and praising
God. The remarkable thing is that
he'd been there for 40 years. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
would walk in and out of that temple, past that man every day, for
all of those years. religion walked past him, they
could do nothing for him. When God's word of grace, when
God's salvation is sent, it's sent at a particular time. He
was there in all of those years. You can imagine him for all those
40 odd years. He would have been bemoaning his inability to feed
himself and care for himself, his inability to move. He would
have been, no doubt, promoting the fact that others went by
him day in, day out, every morning they went by him, every evening
they went by him as a sacrifice. And he was unwelcome in that
temple. And he was considered an unworthy,
unwelcome sinner. And the word of God comes to
him. It was sent to him. It was sent to the Ethiopian
eunuch at a particular time. It was sent to Cornelius. Wherever
we go through the book of Acts we actually keep reading again
and again that it's sent to a particular people at a particular time.
By the time we get to Acts chapter 6 verse is all of Northern Turkey, Asia
is all of Western Turkey and the Holy Spirit says you're not
going. You're not going there. The Holy Spirit wouldn't suffer
them to go there. I want us to to see the extraordinary privilege
of having the Gospel sent to us. As the Lord Jesus Christ
giving us ears to hear and eyes to see, for multitudes in this
world have never heard. Multitudes never have the extraordinary
privilege delight in Him and our love for
Him and our trust in Him and our looking to Him is in direct
proportion, in so many ways, to the sense of our need. So
many people are not needy. must have esteemed the salvation
of God after that episode on the Damascus Road. How those
Jewish believers in Jerusalem would have esteemed the salvation
of God that was sent to them. No wonder, no wonder they all
gathered commonly together. They couldn't stop meeting together.
What were they talking about? I deserve hell by my activities up their possessions, no wonder
they are joined together. The preciousness of His blood
is in direct correlation to the utter sinfulness of our sins
and what we deserve. The glory of His sacrifice compared
to the emptiness of our works of righteousness. Isaiah says
they are filthy rags and yet religion and remarkably so they
departed from this extraordinary gospel declaration, they departed
justifying themselves. We will esteem the hearing of
the gospel in light of what it is to not hear. It's really fascinating if you the one that sent me. If you
hear the people I send, you're hearing me, and if you're hearing
me, you're hearing the Father that sent me. And it's repeated
again and again and again throughout the Gospel accounts. Who receives Him, receives Him
that sent me. You can't have And the purpose is that all men
should honour the Son as they honour the Father, and honour
is not the Son, honour is not the Father which has sent him.
The difference between hearing and not hearing, according to
the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 10, I want us to think that this
Gospel comes purposefully and it comes graciously and it comes
efficaciously always. You might recall it's when the
labourers were sent out. They were sent out with a message
from God and a promise from God, isn't it? And then in verse 16, that to be in a place where the
Lord Jesus Christ is revealed and reveals himself to his chosen
people and to not believe is the most dangerous thing. comes down upon those people
and they are burned to ashes and there's nothing left of them
or their cities and all that they have. And then the Lord
Jesus, we go back to verse 13 of Luke chapter verse 12, but
I say unto you that it would be more tolerable in that day
for Solomon than for that city. There are special jewels in crowns. The
Lord Jesus Christ is our crown. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
reward. Everyone that gets into heaven gets into heaven exactly
the same way. And all are seated in exactly
the same places. Paul talks about the crown that
he and all those that long for his coming receive. He receives
what we receive. Peter receives what we receive. But then he says, their sider, for if the mighty
works that have been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been
done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in
sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. who wouldn't hear. He that heareth
you, these ones that are sent, heareth me. And he that despiseth
you, despiseth me. So the opposite of not hearing
is not ambivalence and neutrality. And he that despises me despises
him that sent me. What a glorious thing it is that
the hearing ear and the seeing eye are gifts from God. The Word of God is sent. more preposterous and you go
out to this dummy of dry brains and you preach. You preach to
them, can they live? You know Lord, you know. And
that mighty army, that mighty army came alive, that mighty
army stood together, that mighty army was all the house of Israel. God visits his people throughout at particular times. He sent
his word to us at a particular time, this particular time of
love for us. It says in Acts 11 verse 18 that
God also to the Gentiles has house to a particular man at
a particular time, a time, as the Scriptures describe it, as
a time of love. In Acts chapter 13, Paul has
spoken, and you know from what is said later on, that the Jews,
like the Jews that stood before him, as they did everywhere else,
all through, there is this division. When the Gospel comes, there's
a division in Acts chapter 13 that says, And Paul and Barnabas waxed bold. The rejection of the gospel just
emboldens the servants of God to preach more. And Paul and
Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary that the word
of God should first have been spoken to you. And there's human
responsibility. yourselves unworthy of everlasting
life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath God commanded us,
saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldst be for the salvation unto The saviour is a person. God, when he sends that gospel
in Acts chapter 14 verse 27, and when they had come together,
this is after Paul had come back from the missionary journey,
when they had come together they rehearsed than God had done with them. It's God's activity in sending
them to these particular people at that particular time, having
not heard the gospel ever of those people in Turkey. Where
were they when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified? Living
in complete ignorance about him and yet at that very
time he was saving their eternal souls. They rehearsed all that
God had done with him and how he had opened the door of faith
unto the Gentiles. He sends, he sends on purpose,
they will hear, they will hear, people will hear the He's put no difference. I love
verse 9. I love thinking about it. God put no difference. God
knows your hearts. He knows my heart. He knows the
hearts of every person. He sees beyond what is superficial. No wonder he says, give me your
heart. He knows the hearts, and he bears
them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto
us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their
hearts by faith. Purifying their hearts by faith. This is the apostolic declaration
of the gospel. Now therefore why tempt ye God
to put a yoke upon the neck Satan when he tempted the Lord
Jesus Christ in the wilderness. Who wants to go back under the
law and be cursed? And this is the Gospel declaration
of the Apostles. But we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. And then Simeon, Peter in verse
14 declared how that God did first visit the Gentiles. God visits, and when God visits,
he visits in all of his revealed character. He visits in his holiness,
he visits in his absolute sovereignty, he visits in sovereign grace,
he visits displaying his justice and his righteousness. He always,
when he visits, he displays his character. He's not hiding his
character from people. He's displaying his eternal everlasting
love for his elect people. He's displaying the glory. of the Lord, that's a description
of all of His character as it's revealed in the Scriptures. We
call on God in all of the glories of His character. We're not ashamed
of His electing grace and His redeeming grace. We're not ashamed
of His particular redeeming work on the cross, that for every
single person whom the Lord Jesus Christ died for, they must be
saved. And if they are not saved, it's
a denial of every revealed various possible ways. We must stand if the Lord would
allow us to stand. But listen to what Simeon says,
how that God at first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them
a people for his name. A people for his name. And down in verse 17, this re-establishment of the
Tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, this re-establishment
of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this world. It says
that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and that
all the Gentiles from the beginning of the world,
he sends to people who will hear. Paul is told in Acts chapter 18, when the Jews in verse 6 oppose
themselves, the word of God is to be a blasphemer
to oppose the gospel of sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ
is to despise him according to Luke chapter 10 is to blaspheme
him in Acts chapter 18 he shook his right hand and said unto
them your blood be on your own head I am clean henceforth I
will go unto the Gentiles and the Lord met him didn't he he
says in verse I have much people in this city.
The electing sovereignty of our God is the motivation in the
scriptures for the preaching of the gospel. I have much people
in this city. All is sent to the Gentiles. That's what the Lord said to
him in Acts chapter 22, verse 21. me. Depart, for I will send thee
hence unto the Gentiles. It's sent by grace. It's sent
from a gracious Saviour and it's sent to particular people. So Paul, I love the fact that
we have three accounts of his commissioning by our God and
our Saviour. I'm delighted in the descriptions
of salvation that is given. I'm delighted that the commission
that Paul had is the commission that we have, the Church has
throughout its time. He says, 26. But rise and stand upon thy feet,
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose. I have been
sent, and I have come, and I have spoken, to this purpose, to make
thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou
hast seen. What are the things he has seen? He has seen the Lord Jesus Christ
in his glory. He has seen him and saw him as
a baby and said, I can go. I am finished. I have seen thy
salvation. Paul had seen thy salvation. Paul had seen thy salvation.
Simeon was rejoicing in seeing it. May the Lord open our eyes
to see him and cause us to be rejoicing. You are a witness
to the things which thou hast seen and those things in which
I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from
the Gentiles unto them. We have a glorious gospel that
reveals a glorious God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and it
must be successful because it's not us who send it. We are just
servants. Paul sends his Gospel and sends
his servants and gathers his church to send the Gospel. The
proclamation of the Gospel is a church activity. You might
recall in Acts, every time Paul went out on a missionary journey,
other than the last one, he went back to the church in Antioch.
That set him apart for that work. God will have his church honoured
in the proclamation of the Gospel. It is something that we do together.
It's something we do together with our brothers and sisters
around the world. He, like the rest of us, is continually
learning. He's continually getting rid
of old stuff. But the eyes, I'll just go back
to chapter 26, verse 18. The eyes, to open their eyes
and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power
of Satan unto God, that they may receive Their eyes will be opened by
me, by the Holy Spirit. They'll be turned from darkness
to light. They'll be transferred, as Paul says to the Colossians,
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Transferred
by God himself. Translated from the power of Satan unto
God that they may me. When God reveals his gospel,
he reveals his saviour, and he reveals the glory of a finished
work. You're saved by grace, you're
saved through grace, through faith, and it's not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God. sent, a word sent, a word of
grace, a word that will be heard, that will be heard. The word
of God comes from heaven, sent down, and it returns, it returns
to our God, having achieved his work. And I want to finish by
reading Chapter 51. Hearken unto me, ye that follow
after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord. Look unto the
rock from whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from
whence you were digged. Look unto Abraham your father,
and to Sarah the bee, for I have called him alone, He will comfort all her waste
places, he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like
the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found
therein, thanksgiving in the voice of melody. How do you know
the word has come, sent from God, and heard? There's thanksgiving
and melody in the hearts of God's people. Hearken unto me, my people,
and give ear unto me, O my nation. For a law shall proceed for me,
and I will make judgment to rest for a light of the people. My
righteousness is near. My salvation is gone forth. Mine are, and on mine are, shall
they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look upon the earth beneath. For the heavens shall vanish
away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment.
And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation,
my salvation, shall be forever. and my righteousness shall not
be abolished. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we pray that you'd cause us to see, to hear, to see your salvation, Heaven's glory, see Him coming
in the wonder of God dwelling with us, Emmanuel. The wonder
of He who lived before you in perfect holiness, Heavenly Father,
being crucified, bearing the sins of all the people. You having made Him sin and you
having crushed Him, our Father. that in his shed blood you see
the salvation of your people and you've promised our Father
that when you see the blood you will pass over your people. death because of our sins and
he was raised because of our justification. Give us ears to
hear and if other eyes to see and give us hearts to rejoice
and be thankful to our God and Saviour for we pray in his name
and for his glory.