I want to do that, don't you? What a blessedness, what a peace
is mine. Oh, how sweet to walk in this
pilgrim way. What have I to dread? What have
I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms,
safe and secure from all alarms, whatever might alarm us. We're leaning on the everlasting
arm. Pray the Lord might help me to do that. Go with me, if you would, back
to Psalm 133. Psalm 133, our text tonight will
be the first verse. It says, behold, how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. I love that verse.
I love that verse. Ever since the Lord allowed me
to read it and allowed me to enter into it and understand
it, I've loved that verse of scripture. I read it this week
in my study. happened to be open to this page
and Psalm 133 caught my eye and I remembered how much I loved
that verse and I read it and when I did, it made me think
about the current condition of our congregation. I read how
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity. And I thought about the fact
that We're having to worship right now separated from each
other. And when I read this verse, I
thought about. You men and women that the Lord
has placed here, I I'd love to just start calling your names,
but I'm not going to do that. But I was thinking about you.
And. Thinking about the conversations
we've had and how the Lord has given you a heart for Christ.
I know you have a heart for Christ. And I was thinking about what a blessing
it is to have brethren that truly believe on Christ. I mean, really,
truly look to Christ. Not just in word, not just in
lip service. I mean truly have a heart for
Christ. Men and women who have truly cast all their hope on
Christ. Completely renounced all works
of the flesh, all decisions, everything they ever knew and
believed in their life and what religion had falsely told them
and the Lord called them to Himself. And when I read this verse of
scripture, and I thought about this current state that we're
in, this is the thought that went through my mind. I thought, that's who we are,
and that's what we're doing right now. That's who we are, and that's
what we're doing right now. We are brethren dwelling right
now in unity. Separated as we may be because
Christ dwells in us and because we dwell in him. We are brethren dwelling in unity. Now, I want us to dwell on this
word brethren tonight. I just was taken with the word
and the thought of brethren. I want us to see why we are called
brethren, who we are the brethren of. I
want us to see how we were made to be brethren, what it is exactly
that unites us as brethren. And then I want to end this message
with an exhortation to all of the brethren everywhere, all
brethren everywhere. All right, let's start right
here. Who are we the brethren of? We talk about being brethren. Who are we the brethren of? Look
with me, if you would, at Romans chapter eight. Romans 8 verse 17, it says, and
if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Verse 29 says, for whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Who are we the brethren of? We
are the brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
an amazing statement. That's an amazing statement.
How amazing it is that God the Father would adopt us to be joint heir brothers and
sisters with the Lord Jesus Christ. That is amazing. Look with me
at Matthew chapter 12. Matthew 12 verse 46, it says, While he yet talked to the people,
behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak
with him." That's Mary, the wife of Joseph and the other children
that she had who supposedly in earthly terms would have been
the siblings of the Lord Jesus. But verse 47, it says, then one
said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without
desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto
him that told him, who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand
toward his disciples. Can't you see him doing that?
He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said, behold,
my mother and my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of
my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister
and mother. What is the will of the Father
which is in heaven? What is the Father's will? concerning
us. Here it is. Believe on the Son. Honor the Son. Bow to the Son. Kiss the Son. The Father said,
hear Him. Follow Him. Be a disciple of
the Son of God. All who are made to be that,
all who are given the ability to do that. God must give the
ability to do that. A man, a sinner cannot believe,
a dead sinner cannot believe on Christ unless God the Father
sends God the Spirit with faith to believe on Christ. A sinner
cannot honor Christ and praise Christ unless God the Father
enables that sinner to do that. So all who are given that ability,
this is what Hebrews 2 verse 11 says about him. It says, he,
speaking of Christ, is not ashamed to call them brethren. That's glorious to me. He's not ashamed to call them
brethren. He says, behold, my brethren. We've been made to
be brethren of and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, brethren,
this subject of brethren, brothers and sisters, that is a very specific
thing. When you talk about brothers
and sisters, who are brothers and sisters, that's a very particular,
a very specific thing. That means you're a part of the
same family. One family, brethren, brothers
and sisters. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians
three, he said, for this cause, I bow my knees unto the father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named. The whole family. Don't you love
that? That's precious, isn't it? The
whole family. What's eternity with Christ going to be like?
Family, family reunion. After our Lord's resurrection,
he told Mary Magdalene, he said, I'm going back to my father and
your father, the same father. He said, when
you pray to him, you say our father, the same family. Everyone in this world, when
you think about all the people in this world, it's obvious that
everyone is not a part of the same family. All men and women
are not a part of the same family. That's a particular thing and
that's how it is with God. God's family is a particular
family. All of the brethren in Christ
are specific brethren, all of them. Now, how specifically were we
made to be brethren in Christ? If they are all a particular
people, how were we made to be those people? What exactly is
it that united us as brethren in Christ? Well, I have seven
things tonight. I found seven things in the scripture
that have specifically set God's people apart as brethren in Christ. We're going to see the word brethren.
He's going to keep saying brethren. In all seven of these things,
God is the doer of them. How did we become brethren? How
were we made to be brethren in all of these things that we're
going to mention tonight? God did every single one of them.
God is the author. God is the finisher. God gets
all the glory for it. So here's the first one. Turn
with me over to first Thessalonians chapter one. 1 Thessalonians 1. Verse 4, it says, knowing brethren,
beloved, your election of God. Number one, God's people were
made to be brethren in and by way of God's election. God's people were chosen to be
brethren, all of God's people. God elected, God hand selected
who his family would be. He selected his family. The choice
was his. It was all in his hands, totally
in his hands. A lot of people believe that
when it comes to election, God voted for you and the devil voted
against you, and ultimately the choice is yours. That's not how
it works. That's not how it works at all.
Look with me at 2 Thessalonians 2, just a few pages over. In
2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, it says, But we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
God said in John 15, He said, you have not chosen me but I
have chosen you. So God's people were all made
to be brethren in his election, his glorious election. And all
of God's people are so glad for it. They're so glad for it. It's such a wonderful word. Every
time they hear it, they light up. They love the word election. They all say, thank God, all
of them. Thank God for his election. They also say, why me? All of them. Why would he choose
me? All of God's people wonder that.
Why would he choose me? Here's the answer. If you want
to know the answer to that question, here it is. It's because you
and I both were rotten sinners. Worst of the worst sinners. That's who he chose in his election. The reason he chose us instead
of somebody else, you know, you think, well, he, why would he
choose me over someone else? If he chose me and if he chose
you over someone else, the reason is because we were the worst. He chooses the worst. He chooses
the chief sinners. And that's what I am. And that's
what the apostle Paul said he was. And that's what you are to the
worst. We're the worst. All right, here's
the second thing that unites us, it says it right here in
second Thessalonians, but go back to first Thessalonians where
we were first Thessalonians one. Verse four. It says, knowing
brethren, beloved. Beloved, brethren, beloved. God's people are brethren in
his love for God so loved. God's love was not extended to
everybody. God's love was extended to his
brethren, his people. We've been united by his love. He said to his brethren, he said,
I've loved you with an everlasting love. So much so, the scripture
says, God commended his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Greater love had no man than
this. He laid down his life for his
friends, his brethren. That's the amazing thing about
this brotherhood. It's who God chose, who he elected,
who he loved. It was sinners. It was sinners.
It was the people that you wouldn't choose. And I wouldn't choose.
That's who he chose. You look at somebody and say,
well, I sure wouldn't choose him. That's who he chose. We're brethren because of his
election. We're brethren because of his amazing love. Here's the
next thing. Go with me over to Romans chapter
seven. Romans 7 verse 4. It says, Wherefore, my brethren,
you also are become dead to the law. By the body of Christ, what
a what an amazing thing that is dead to the law. I pray God
will reveal to us what that means. This law condemns us. This law
says if you don't do this, you'll die in your sins. This law judges
us, this law damns us, because we can't fulfill it. And verse
4 says, Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the
law. How? By the body of Christ. Brethren, he said. God's people
were made to be brethren by the body of Christ. Our Lord said
to His Father, He said, a body hast thou prepared me. You prepared
a body for me. Why was that body prepared? Why
did the father prepare that body for Christ? It was so he could break it.
That's the reason. He was so he could break it.
He said, take, eat. This is my body broken for you,
specifically for you. Not just in general, for you. His body endured the suffering
of his people. His body was marred more than
any man because of his people. The judgment of God dealt with
the brethren of Christ in the body of Christ. That's where
God dealt with the brethren. in the body of Christ. Peter
said, he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. That's
what unites us. That's what unites all of God's
people. What do we have in common? He bore all of our sin in his
body on the tree. That's what we have in common. We were made to be brethren in
his election, made to be brethren in his love, We were made to
be brethren in the suffering of His precious body that He
broke for us. Now hold your place right here
in Romans 7 and go with me to Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10 verse 19, it says, having therefore brethren boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ."
By the blood. Hebrews 9 verse 12, it says,
I mean yeah, Hebrews 9 verse 12, it says, neither by the blood
of goats and calves But by His own blood He entered in once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." For us. Christ specifically obtained
eternal redemption for His brethren through His blood, by way of
His own blood. He shed His own blood. He gave
the payment, the offering of His own blood. That's how we
were made to be members of this family. We were purchased into
it. Purchased by the payment of His
own blood. Acts chapter 20 says, Take heed
therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church
of God which He hath purchased with His own blood. What a responsibility. You feed, you take the word and
you feed it. He said to my brethren, my people,
my church, that I purchased with my own blood. God's people are
brethren in the blood, truly. You know, we talk about blood
brothers, truly, truly. That's what unites us, the blood. Go back now to Romans 7. Romans 7 verse 4 again, it says, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you
should be married to another, even to him who is raised from
the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God, raised
from the dead. First Corinthians 15 says, Christ
is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of them
that slept. It goes on to say every soul
in Christ is going to be made alive. Every soul. Colossians 3 says, Oh, if you'd
be risen with Christ. If you be risen with Christ,
risen from the dead with Christ, all who have been raised with
Him have been raised to be brethren. Brethren with Him. We're brethren
in His election. We're brethren in His love. We're
brethren in the death of His body. We're brethren in the payment
of His blood. We're brethren in the life of
His resurrection. And look with me at 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26, it says,
For you see your calling, brethren. You see your calling. We are
brethren in his calling. Second Timothy one says, speaking
of Christ, it says, who had saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace. which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began, not according to our works at
all, but according to His purpose, according to His grace, He called
us. He called us. All of the brethren
are and will be called. They'll be called through the
preaching of the gospel. This word will go out and the
Spirit of God will call another one. I hope He calls one right
now. What are we called to? When He
calls us, what are we called to? We're called to this right
here. This is number 7. This is the
last one. Go with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 4, it says,
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light
and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of
darkness. We have been called to His light. We've been given eyes to see.
We've been made to be brethren in the light of the gospel. He's
called us to see his word. He's called us to see himself.
He's called us to see ourselves. He's called us to see the truth
of salvation. He's called us to see what the
gospel truly is. The light of the glory of God
in the face, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are
united. In the revelation of the person
of Christ, that's what unites us. His election, His love, His
body, His blood, His resurrection, His calling, and His light, the
light He gives. Now, if we have been made to
be brethren in Christ, if we have been, then here's a closing exhortation
to all of us. Go with me to 1 John 3. 1 John 3, verse 16, it says, Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life
for us. And we ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren. He laid down His life for us.
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John
4, the next chapter over, verse 11, it says, Beloved, if God
so loved us, we ought also to love one another. We're brethren. We're brethren. Here's our closing
exhortation. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity at all cost. Unity, if God, Father, Son, and
Spirit has done all of this to make us to be brethren, then
let's love each other. Let's love each other. If God
has loved us, If God has forgiven us, then for Christ's sake, let's
forgive each other. Let's love each other. Let's
think about each other. Let's think about each other.
We're all forced to be home at the moment. We're all in this
interesting situation. I have a few brethren right here. But the majority of this congregation
is home. We can't see each other right
now like we want to, like we wish we could. Last Sunday would
have been a fellowship dinner. I would love to have had that
fellowship dinner, but we can't do that right now. We can't come
together, we can't worship like we want to. We just can't do it right now.
Call each other. This is a real exhortation. Call
each other. While you're home, think about
each other. Get the church directory out.
Make sure you don't miss anybody. Call each other. I know you think
of each other. And you know how it is. I do
too. We think, I really need to call that person. I really
need to. Well, we have time now. We're all home. call each other,
communicate with each other. Sometimes I get a text or a call
from somebody. It means everything to me. It means somebody loves me. It
means somebody's thinking of me. It means somebody's praying
for me. It means somebody appreciates me. It means I have a brother. Somebody's in this life with
me. means everything to me. Do that for each other. I'm going
to try to do it for you. I'm going to try to be better
at it. Prove the sincerity of your love
to each other. I know you love each other. Prove
it to each other. Encourage each other. Be an encouragement. Be an encouragement to each other.
When you do communicate with each other, don't talk about
all the bad stuff going on out there. It's nothing but bad.
Everything that they're saying, well, that's good. No, that's
actually bad, too, because everything has a consequence. Don't dwell
on that. Encourage each other. Point each
other to Christ. When you do communicate with
each other, talk about our elder brother. Talk about our brother,
point each other to Christ, speak of him, speak of his love to
us. Speak of our safety in him, remind
of each other just how safe we are in him, safe in the palm
of his hand. Point each other to Christ and
pray for each other. pray for each other. That's something
that we don't do a lot of anyway. But we need to. This is an exhortation
to brethren, brethren, pray for each other. Pray for your brethren. They need it so badly. I need
it so badly. God's apostle, the man who had
the Holy Spirit and spoke the actual words of God said, brethren,
pray for us. Pray for me. Pray for me as I
do this, as I preach to this camera. Pray for us. This is the most
good and pleasant thing that we could possibly be doing right
now. In this condition that we're
in, this situation that we're in, even in this, behold how good and how pleasant
it is, even in this state, even in the condition we're currently
in. If the Lord will allow us to, we can get a good glimpse
of it. We can truly behold how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to right where we are, dwell
together in unity, absolute unity in the heart, the mind, the will,
the purpose of Christ, one body, one head, one God, one father,
one Lord, one faith, one spirit, one baptism. unity. I pray the Lord will make it
so. I pray the Lord will make it grow. I pray he will. All right, let's close this service
with a hymn. It's going to be hymn number
188. And that's the song, I love thy
kingdom, Lord.