He wrote that song. I've never
even heard his name before, never thought about it. The writer
of the chorus, William Bradbury, I know him well. I have volumes
of his sermons. Good preacher. Edward Mote. I believe that man knew Christ,
don't you? Knew the gospel. We love that
hymn. And it's fitting that we do not
know who the man is that wrote it. That's not important. All
right, go back to Colossians 1. Colossians 1. This letter, though written by
the Apostle Paul, who was in prison for preaching
the Yet, this is God's Word. This
is God's Word. This was written by Paul to a
church at Colossae. And yet, this is God's Word to
this church, every church, church everywhere, wherever God's people
meet. And the first eight verses are
what we're going to look at. And this is just his greeting.
The first eight verses are his salutations, his greeting, the
way you open a letter up, you know, you write to someone, say,
hello, how are you? I've been thinking about you,
and so forth. That's his greeting. And there's
six words, just two sentences in these first eight verses,
two sentences. And there's six words used throughout
these verses that declare the gospel. Six words that sum up
the gospel. Sound words as Paul later said
that cannot be condemned. Words that most of you in here
are very well acquainted with. You heard them over and over
and over again. But words that you want to hear
over and over again. Same old story. Story of God's
saving grace. And these words are words of
great comfort and joy to God's people. to those who know them
and as I said these words sum up the word. Of truth all these
words go together to make up the word of truth the gospel
of your salvation if you're one of God's elect what a greeting
this is I wish I could write letters and mean it and I could. So what I do is just include
this at the bottom of the Paul, verse one, Paul didn't take flattering
titles to himself, did he? He didn't call himself Reverend
Paul. That title belongs to the Lord
Jesus Christ only. He didn't call himself Dr. Paul,
Master of the Bent and Numb. Paul. Paul, an apostle. Apostle means messenger. You
see how it's a small a there? Small a. Paul wrote later, he said, now
we need, you and I need to consider the apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ, the messenger. And he said, I'm just the messenger
of Jesus Christ. He's the one that picked me,
chose me. Christ chose his messenger. By
the will of God, that's what he said. I'm a messenger by the
will of God, by the predetermined will of God. God chose his prophets,
didn't he? He said to Jeremiah, I have chosen
thee and ordained thee a prophet. That's what he said. And the
apostles were chosen by the Lord too, messengers. They were chosen,
called, and equipped by God, and sent by God to particular
places to preach to His particular people. That's the God of the
Bible. He does all things on purpose.
Everything is by His will, according to His will. Paul said, I'm a
preacher, an apostle, by the will of God. And I hope to close this by telling
you his testimony. He wasn't always a preacher of
Christ. He hated Christ. He didn't always believe these
words. He hated them. But he doesn't hate them now.
All right. And all God's true preachers
are, by the will of God, chosen. Now, he goes on to say, and Timothy,
our brother. See, at the mouth of two or three
witnesses of things established that God's word is true to itself. And Paul and Timothy together
were writing this letter. They were always together. together,
Paul and Timothy. He said, I have no man so like
minded mind. Who will naturally care for your
estate. And verse two, he says, this
is to the Saints. He's writing to the Saints and
faithful brethren in Christ, a great error, terrible error. That goes on throughout religion
throughout the world today is how that men take God's Word
that is written to God's people and apply it to everyone without
exception. And that's not only lying on
God, but it's lying to people, lying to men, telling them things
from God that God didn't tell them. You know that. And you know how
to look at passage like this who is who is he writing to.
You write a letter to someone you address their name up there
don't it's not for everyone for them. Neither is this for everyone
not for all people anyway. No no no no he's writing to the
Saints and the faithful brethren in Christ. I know you've heard
before but. This is to the fact that you're
saying he's writing to you this is to you what is a site who
is a site has one become a site was wrong like somebody is like
the pope. He had or whoever you make somebody
a site. He even a site. Somebody can and I don't like
Canada I don't get that from God's word. God makes sites. Saint means
sanctified one. Who does the sanctifying? That
means set apart. That means set apart. Chosen
and set apart. Choose this one, set it apart.
That's what it means. Saint. Sanctified one. Let me read it to you. You know
it by heart. But 2 Thessalonians, he said,
just a couple pages over if you want to read it. Second Thessalonians
2 verse 13, he says, We're bound to give thanks always to God
for you. We thank God for you. We don't
thank you for doing something for God. You're not saving God. You're not choosing God. God's
not lost. God's not running for election.
God's not up for acceptance or rejection. We are. So we're bound
to give thanks to God for you. Brethren, beloved, that is for
love of God, because God has from the beginning chosen you. You don't thank men for choosing
God. That's blasphemy. That's not what this thing's
about. We thank God. We're gathered
together here to thank God for choosing us, if we're one of
His elect. Choosing us because God from
the beginning, that is, for the world again, had chosen you to
salvation to save you. How did he do it? How does he
say through if you're reading it through sanctification of
the Spirit? Set apart by the Spirit. Set
apart. Now, we preach the gospel to
all the world. Scripture says that. Christ tells us that. The
Great Commission. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel. So we do it. That's why we do it. People everywhere
argue with us, say, if I believe like you believe, why preach
the gospel? Because Christ said preach the
gospel. That's why we're preaching. But if you believe only elect
are going to be saved, why preach the gospel to everybody? Because
Christ said so. He said, go into all the world.
He said, my sheep will hear my voice. And this is how they're
hearing it. You don't know who they are. Thank God. I don't
know who they are. Thank God he knows who they are
and was he did he takes the gospel the Holy Spirit takes that gospel
and separates them sanctifies them through this word of the
gospel of your salvation which you heard. You heard it one day
the gospel the truth. I got to go on. I got six going back. So he says he said
through sanctification of spirit and belief of the truth the truth
we're unto That is he's the salvation he called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory that's in the Lord Jesus. The world doesn't understand
I can't rationalize I can't reason why how we believe that God is
sovereign over all things and man is responsible how we believe
that God's elect will be saved and yet men must believe they
can't rationalize it. Number one, God said, this is
this is what you're doing. God says, I have a people and
God says, this is what you're doing. You declare who I am.
You declare who Christ is. Don't beg anybody. Don't plead
anybody. Don't bribe anybody. Don't offer
money or anything like that. Don't do that. This is my power.
This is how I bring people. I don't bring people by your
persuasive methods. I don't bring people by your
business tactics. I don't bring people by you begging
and pleading. God's not a beggar. God's not
a pleader. God is a declarer. And this is
His Word. He says, Declare it and watch
them come. That's what God said. Just declare
who I am. Declare the truth and watch them.
Stand back. Get out of the way. Don't do
anything. Watch dead bones live. People
can't understand that, can they, Brother Henry? He said, I don't
believe that. If you believe that, you'd do
just what we've done. If you believe that, the power of God
would come on you just like it did us. We didn't believe it,
but God one day just said who He was. And it's like coming
from the dead, from darkness unto light. You had a God, you
had a religion, you had all this belief, you had all that. God
then reveals unto us who he is. He says, I never knew you before.
He didn't know there was such a God as this. And every word of his, every
word of truth that comes to him, he comes in power. I elected
you. Before he said, I don't believe
that election stuff. And he says, I elected you, sir. Oh, thank
you. Huh? I predestine all things. I do not get predestination.
I predestine all things. Oh, I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful
that things aren't just running wild in chaos. Thank You, Lord,
for revealing to me that You reign. This is far from just doctrines.
This is who God is, who Christ is. This is what His Word says.
This, Teresa, is the Word of His power. And you felt it one
day, didn't you? You didn't believe it. You didn't
have any use for it. God one day, said Teresa Patterson, you
are one of mine and you are going to hear this, you are going to
love it, you are going to renounce your past, I chose you, not this
one, not that one, you and you will thank God for the rest of
your life for choosing you. Well, the whole world goes to
hell hating God's sovereign electing grace. Right? Right? That the redeemed
of the Lord say, Amen. That's right. But I don't understand. Of course you don't. God didn't
reveal it to you. I don't like that. Of course
you don't. God didn't give you a heart to like it. But God's
people receive a love of the truth. They love God being God. Who needs notes? Oh, the first line of God's Word,
huh? The saints, the sanctified ones,
the separated ones, the chosen ones. That's what that means.
God said to those bunch of worthless Israelites, I didn't choose you
because you were more in number, because you were better than
anybody else. You're a stiff-necked people from the day I knew you.
But I chose you for my name's sake. And you're going to bring
me glory. Me, this worthless sinner? That's
right. I'm going to show forth my glory
in you. You don't deserve it. You didn't
do anything to earn it. I didn't choose you because you
were worthy. I chose you to make you worthy. I chose you and my
son. The only one that is worthy.
To the saints. Who makes a saint, Dan? Now,
just who makes somebody a saint? holy unblameable unapproved in
God's sight a separate one. Got there. Now the thanks to
God for you brethren beloved love because God have on the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit. Saint Henry. saying there is
a name written in the land book of life and faithful brother
this might be a two part message. To the site and faithful brethren
in Christ. Are just we are just. Faithful brethren in Christ faithful
that means full of faith in Christ. Actually, the word means trustworthy.
That's what the word really means, trustworthy. God's people have
been entrusted with God's word, God's gospel. He said, I've chosen
you that you might know me and show forth my glory and God.
God saves people for his glory and that's what they're interested
in from that day forward when he reveals his glory in them
and to them from that day forward. That's what they're interested
in. God getting all the glory. They don't just say it. They
believe it. Preachers don't just say it. They believe it. And
so, every time they stand up, who you're going to hear and
who you're going to see honored and glorified is God, is Christ. Not man, not men, not people,
not things, not the church, but Jesus Christ, the head of the
church. They don't honor the body, they
honor the head of the church. Don't hold up the body, they
hold up the body. Okay. which is an air-tight, ultra-thoroughfuseless,
ultra-thoroughfuseless, self-reinforcing system.