Again, I thank you. Thank the
Lord for you and for your fellowship. Let's look back at Psalm 110.
I'd like to actually read and consider, let me say this, the
first three verses of this passage. Hundreds of years. before the
Spirit of God moved upon a man to actually pen these verses. Hundreds of years before the
Lord actually physically came into this world, made flesh,
made of a woman, that He might redeem His people who were under
the law. That they might actually receive
physically, spiritually, the promise of being adopted, openly
adopted. hundreds of years before all
of that actually, in time, took place. Almighty God moved upon David
to write a sovereign promise. And this promise that was made,
before I actually look at it, I want you to just hold your
place there, but turn to Isaiah 42. This passage of Scripture
gives a lot of, sheds a lot of light on this blessed promise. Isaiah 42, verses 1 to 4, listen to this conversation that
actually took place between Almighty God and here the Lord Himself
speaking to the church concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen
to what the Father says, Behold My servant, whom I uphold, Mine
elect, and whom My soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him,
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street."
He's not going to be self-speaking, that's what he was saying. He
won't be boisterous or contentious. He won't lift up his voice in
anger, that's what he's saying. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and a smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. He's going to bring forth judgment,
meaning he's going to bring forth power that's going to accompany
his word. When he speaks, it's going to
happen. That's what he's saying. He shall bring forth judgment
Unto truth he shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have
set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his
law. Now there's Jehovah speaking
to the church. Now listen to Jehovah speaking
to the Lord Himself. In the next few verses, Isaiah
42, 5-9, Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens and
stretched them out, He that spread forth the earth and that which
cometh out of it, He that giveth bread unto the people upon it,
and spirit to them that walk therein. Now here's Jehovah speaking
to His Son. I, the Lord, Jehovah, have called
thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep
thee, and give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of
the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners
from the prison, them that sit in darkness out of the prison
house. I am the Lord. That's my name. And my glory
will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold,
the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare. Before they spring forth, I tell
you of them." I read that passage of Scripture and I think, what
submissiveness of the Lord, who humbled Himself, made Himself
of no reputation, And Jehovah would speak to him and tell him
who was God. God Almighty. And Jehovah says, I chose you. I ordained you. I'm going to hold your hand.
I'm going to lift you up. I'm going to keep you. And I'm
going to do all these things that I'm telling you about right
now, I think. That's just too high for me.
I just, what humility. What, what abasement. What, what laying himself as
a servant and coming doing that which his fathers commanded him
to do, I think. Well, back in Psalm 110, here's
now a psalmist writing under the inspiration of the Spirit
of God. We read that which Jehovah said
to the church and what Jehovah said to the Lord Jesus, his servant. And then the scripture says in
Psalm 110, verse one, the Lord. The Lord of all capitals, Jehovah,
said unto my Lord, the Son, the Messiah, the glorious head and
surety of his people, Sit thou at my right hand until I make
thine enemies thy footstool. Now I want you to just stop for
just a second. Just think of what we just read. Those words that we just read
are pertaining to the finished and rewarded work of Christ. Hundreds of years that it was
penned, eternally finished in the heart, mind, will, purpose
of Almighty God before His incarnation. This is Old Testament now. The
Lord said unto my Lord, You sit at My right hand. All the prophecies
that had been given concerning His obedience and His sacrifice
and through all those prophecies, that which was set forth as being
past tense, this was done. That scripture we just spoke
of, the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. God's people secure. Almighty God saw it. He who is eternal beheld it. I've said before, I don't even
know how to speak eternal. Everything I say concerning eternity
comes out as time in the beginning. I don't even know how to say eternal. It never
began. It never started. That which
has come to pass and shall come to pass is finished. It's done. Listen to the Lord
speaking in Psalm 22.18. Psalm, Old Testament, before
he ever came. They part my garments among them
and cast lots upon my vesture. And in time they did it. But
concerning the Lord, it's done, it's over. Isaiah 53, four to
six, surely he hath borne our griefs. and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and wounded. Not that he's going to be. No,
he's born. He carried. We did esteem him
wounded. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him. You say, well, He's not going
to come yet. No, the Lord said it's done. But it's going to happen in time.
I know that. Don't you love just not being able to figure out
the mysteriousness of God? I just, who is man? All we like sheep have gone astray, turned everyone to his own way,
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And at
the cross, we beheld it. He actually was made sin. in time that which the Lord said
He would do for His people. We came forth in time doing that
which Almighty God eternally knew would happen. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand. The only priest that has ever
sat in Jehovah's presence Why? Because He finished the work. Finish the work before the foundation
of God's mind, God's eyes. He who is eternal. You sit down. I'm satisfied. And in time He came and glorified
the Father on earth. in His loving, perfect obedience. And finished the work that the
Father had given Him to do concerning the redemption and salvation
of His people. Defeated all the enemies of God's
people. Sin, and Satan, and death, and
hell, and the grave. When He said it was finished,
that's when we knew it. When did God know it? He's always
known. How sure is the salvation of
God's people? You sit down. Sit thou at my
right hand till I make thine enemies openly, openly your footstool. You sit down as the representative
of the bride. You sit down. As He who is conquered,
you finish the work. Not only has He finished the
work, in time, yes, eternally, always. But I want you to listen
to these two great promises that Almighty God has given concerning
the glory. of the precious Redeemer, Savior
of His people. Verse 2, the Lord, again that's
Jehovah, shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Now here's what Jehovah has said. Jehovah has said, And He's going
to send the glorious proclamation and preaching of the Gospel. And it's going to come out of
His church. It's going to come out of the
Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. That message which is the power
of God unto salvation. This world believes that you
can go anywhere. And just, you know, there's churches
all over Kingsport. I mean you can go anywhere and
hear the truth, not according to the Scriptures you can't.
The Scripture says the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength
out of Zion. Out of that blessed group of
people, that remnant according to the election of grace, that
Gospel that is preached According to 1 Peter 1.12, with the Holy
Ghost sent down from heaven, the Lord, Jehovah, is going to
send this rod, this rod of power and direction and strength, the
message of Christ. And God Almighty, Jehovah, is
involved in this. The L-O-R-D, all caps, shall
send the rod. That means concerning the Father. Romans 1.1 declares this to be
the Gospel of the Father. Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle separated unto the Gospel of God. The Lord,
in His high priestly prayer, hold your place right there and
turn to John 17. The Lord qualified this statement. You know, He
doesn't have to, but I'm so thankful He did. John 17. John 17 verses 1 and 2 declares
this. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up His eyes to heaven and said, The hours come. Glorify thy son,
that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him
power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. And then look in verse eight.
I, for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. And they have received them,
and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send me. You know what he just said? Father, I'm telling them just
exactly what you told me. Who sends this rod? The Father
sends it. But then the scripture declares
also that this is the gospel of Christ. Of which the Apostle
Paul said, he wasn't ashamed. Romans 1.16, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first,
also to the Greek. I thought the Father sent it.
He did. Well that says the Son sent it. He did. Listen to this, 2 Corinthians,
turn to hold your place in Psalm 110, 2 Corinthians 3, 2 Corinthians
3, verse 7 and 8. But if the ministration, the
ministry of death written and engraven in stones was glorious,
that if the law itself was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory
of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall
not the ministry of the Spirit, the ministration, the ministry,
the gospel, of the Spirit be rather glorious. This is the gospel of the Spirit
of God. Back in Psalm 110, the Lord,
Jehovah, shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Jehovah Himself shall send the
gospel He shall rule, the scripture declares, in the midst of thine
enemies. We're in a world that hates the
God that we love. That's what the scripture says.
You'll be hated of all men for my sake, for my namesake. Do you know why this world, This
world of false religion. Do you know why you're hated
of all men? Because of He who dwells in you. They hate Him. That's what they
hate. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. You think, why? You tell someone
that they don't have the power and the strength or the will,
free will, to be able to accept. You tell them that they're dead
and they can do nothing. What you're doing is you're taking
away their God, which is themselves. That's who they're serving, themselves.
And you're hated for that. But it's Christ in you that they
hate. That's who they hate. That's
that enmity, that's that animosity. They will say in their hearts,
I'm not going to have that God to rule over me. I am my own
God. But the Scripture declares, here's
a promise. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. He rules unhindered in the midst
of all His enemies, conquering by power and grace. He conquers all of His people.
You know when Scripture declares that Satan shall be bound for
a thousand years? Actually, the word is thousands. Satan shall be bound for a thousand
years. It's a definite. It's a definite
time with a non-revealed number. Who knows how long Satan is bound? The Lord knows. I mean, somebody
said, well, he's going to be 1,000 years. Well, does that
mean, you know, 365 days times 1,000? What does that mean? What period are you going to
put that in? A thousand years. Are we in it
now? Do you know how long Satan is
bound? From the creation of man until
the second coming of Christ. What's he bound from? He's bound
from being able to stop God from calling out his people. That's
what he's bound from. What does this scripture say?
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. What's the Lord gonna
do? He's gonna call out His own.
Who's gonna stop Him? Nobody. He doeth as He will in
the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
This is no contest. Well, you've got Satan on one
side and the Lord on the other, and there's a battle. No, you
have the Lord. And the Scripture says, Rule. Rule in the very midst of thine
enemies. And here's the second promise.
That's the first one right there. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. The Gospel is going to be preached.
And Almighty God is going to rule. And here's the second sovereign
promise. Oh, I love this passage of Scripture.
Thy people. Aren't you glad God's got a people?
Thy people, chosen before the foundation of the world, given
by the Father unto the Son. gave them for safekeeping, eternal
safety. They're found in the surety.
They're in the city of refuge Himself. The haven of rest. They're in the rock. Thy people. God's elect, that small remnant
according to the election of grace. I know this world hates
the word election, but it's a scriptural word. Aren't you glad God chose
a people? Aren't you glad He's got children
that He's going to train up? Thy people, willing. Willing I know shall be is in
italics. I know it's you know, it's put
there so they'll understand But here's what it says thy people
Willing in the day of thy power You know, it's that that word
willing right there volunteers Volunteers Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I've said this before. Probably
said it here. I just love it so much. I. In Mexico. I whenever they pray
the word Lord, when you hear if they're praying, I don't understand
Spanish, but I do understand when they said when they said
Lord. They always say senior senior,
sir. Yes, sir. I've told people this,
I mean it. Man, I grew up in Louisiana. My dad was from Mississippi,
was sort of from the south. And if my dad asked me something,
I bet you you can ask Gabe if this don't apply to him too.
When my dad asked me something, my mama asked me something, whatever
the answer was, better have the word sir or ma'am with it. I've told people this before,
my dad would ask me something and I said, what? Huh? I'm telling you, I'm telling
you, it would not gone well. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. They volunteered, yes, sir. Yes,
sir. Come unto me. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. willing to believe,
willing to come, willing to seek, willing to love, willing to obey
and follow. My sheep, they hear. Why? Because I give them ears
to hear. I give them eyes to see. When the Lord is pleased
to reveal Christ to me. You know the most amazing thing
that I ever saw in these scriptures? That this truth of God's sovereign
grace is everywhere. I never saw it before. I could
read those scriptures and I just thought, I didn't see that. Man's
got a free will. I didn't see that. Boy, when
he opened my eyes, I was willing. Why? Because he'd led and taught
and trained up in the day of his power. That word didn't come
in word only, gospelling it, but it came in power and in the
Holy Spirit. Thy people, willing in the day
of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, in the splendor
and honor of Almighty God in Christ, in His holiness, in the
day of God's power. Isaiah 33, 17, Thine eyes shall
see the King in His beauty. Behold my servant, that's what
we read. Him, they look upon Him and see
Him. When the gospel is preached and
is blessed by the Spirit of God, who do you see? Him. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power in the beauty of holiness from the womb
of the morning. When you get up early in the
morning, you go out and there's the dew. It's formed. There's the dew out there on
the grass. It's produced. It was conceived in the womb
of the morning. Where did it come from? I don't
know. Don't try to tell me how humidity
and barometric pressure and all that. You know what? Almighty
God just put it there. It was conceived from the womb
of the morning, marvelously displayed by the breaking rays of the sun. But is that not how Almighty
God saves His people? There they were, just formed
from the womb of the morning. Almighty God did something that
we just cannot explain. That dew is the product of God's
hands and so are those that are born of God, not by the will
of the flesh. From the womb of the morning,
thou hast the dew of thy youth. Continuing with that context,
the willingness of His people, they see the beauty of the Lord's
holiness, and here the Holy Spirit reveals the surety of Christ
having His people. Thou hast the due of thy youth. You have your people. You have them. Micah 5, 7 says,
In the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people
as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth
not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. How did they
get there? The Lord just called them out
and revealed them. They are as the due from the
Lord. Thou hast the due of thy youth,
you who are eternally young, the everlasting God, the Lord. He has them and He'll forever
have them. He is the eternal Son in the day of your youth, in eternity. And he who has them is going
to keep them. They'll never perish. Secure
in Him who is God Almighty. I pray God bless the word to
our hearts today that we might be refreshed truly in hearing
of Him and tasting of Him and knowing that He is good.