I'm gonna be in Deuteronomy chapter
33. And I'm just gonna read the first
three verses. Verse one, and this is the blessing,
wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel
before his death. And he said, the Lord came from
Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them. And he shined forth from
Mount Paran. And he came with 10,000 of saints. And from his right hand went
a fiery law for them. Now here's a moment of scripture. Yea, he loved the people. All his saints are at his hands. and they sat down at thy feet,
everyone shall receive of thy words. Now, this chapter starts with
these words, and this is the blessing. I'm gonna tell you
something, this blessing was spoken by Moses, but listen,
Very carefully here, this makes very clear, this blessing was
spoken by Moses, then it has this phrase, the man of God. Tell you what, that makes this
blessing important. That makes this blessing real.
This was not just spoken by Moses, the brother of Aaron. This was
spoken by Moses, the man of God. Oh, I like that. And Moses, the
man of God, blessed the children of Israel. Because these words
are spoken by the man to whom God had spoken. So what do you mean? I mean pay
attention. Pay attention to what Moses says
here, you know? You know, because here's the
thing. If you know God, you should pay attention to the words of
the man of God. God gave him a message. God gave
him a message, and he wrote it down here for us to still have
this message, however many thousands of years ago it was. We've got
it now. We've got it now. And you know
what, folks? Here's the beauty of it. This
message is still true. It's all true. Oh, I like that. You should hear of the blessing
of the man of God. And this is that blessing. Yea,
he loved the people. That's where I'm gonna start.
So, my title, Paul, is where are the people of God? I preached on this about a year
and a half ago or so, but I did it in a different way, and I
listened to a little piece of a tape from Earl, actually, where
he started talking about something, and it hit me. I had already
done this sermon, but I understand what I'm doing now. See, I preached
on this like a year ago, a year and three or four months, anyway,
whatever it was, November. That message, I was preaching
about the condition of the people of God. Well, today, I want to
preach on the position of the people of God. Now, what's the
difference? Well, one's the position, the
other's the condition. Our condition, in God's sight,
is perfect. Imperfect. In our sight, far
from it. Far from it. That's the way it
is. But let me tell you something,
folks. As far as our position goes, only God's sight matters. And this is what we are, where
we are in the sight of God. And that's what I wanna try and
relate today. So where are the people of God?
Number one, yea, he loved the people. What's that mean? Where are the people of God?
They're in his love. In his love. Oh, I like that.
Oh, and the word properly, this is the Hebrew word, and I like
this. The word love means to hide in
the bosom. To keep close to your heart.
And this ain't talking about you, this is talking about him.
God has his people in his heart. In the seat of love, as we view
it, idiomatically, God loves his people. God loves the people. As a matter of fact, it talks
about to cherish with affection, but you know, he hides us in
his bosom. You understand? That is such
a place of protection that there's not a thing in this world that
can affect that. You understand? You can't affect
the love of God. I can't affect the love of God.
And the love of God never changes. I am the Lord, I change not. What's that mean? If he loved
you then, he loves you now. And if he loves you now, he's
gonna love you forever. Why? Because he's got your head.
Oh, I like that, I do. Oh, but let me just throw this
in here because it says the Lord loved the people. But let's be
specific. And then Moses specifies. What'd he say? All his saints. All his saints. That's who the
people are. Just so you think, you know,
some people say, oh, the Lord loved the people. Well, that's
all the people of the world. No, it says all his saints. Because
you understand, the Lord's love is perfect. But now here's the thing some
people don't quite get and really don't want. The Lord's love is
perfectly specific. Specific. The Lord loved the
people, all his saints. Now, like I said, the Lord's
love is perfect, and the Lord's love is not limited, but it is
particular. What am I meaning by this? Well,
let's be real clear. I mean, the Lord doesn't love
everyone. The Lord loves the people. That's what he said,
folks. That's what he meant. That's
what he said, and that's what he meant. Oh my. I am saying that the Lord
does not love everyone. Just to make it clear. Because
I'm going to tell you something about who the Lord loves. This
is from Psalms 146 verse 8. The Lord openeth the eyes of
the blind. The Lord raises them that are
bowed down. Ain't that good? The Lord loveth
the righteous. Who's the Lord love? The people. The righteous. All his saints. Oh, I like that. I like that.
Because here's the thing, all right? And this is the blessing
from the man of God. Moses, the man of God, the blessing. Where does it start? It starts
where everything starts, having to deal with men by God, it starts
in love. In love. So I'm gonna tell you
something, without the love of God, we've got nothing. We have
absolutely nothing. Everything flows from his love
for who? The people. Now, I'll jump ahead
of myself just to tell you this, that love is in Christ, his son. Walter preached on it last week,
admirably, wonderfully. You know, Paul did too. You understand? By one offering, we were sanctified
and perfected. That offering was the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he has perfected forever
those that he sanctified. Guess who those people are? Well,
I said it. The people. The Lord loved the
people. But that love is in his son.
That love is in his son. But folks, rejoice! That's our position. In Christ
Jesus, we are in the love of God. And that is exactly where
you want to be. Oh my, because those whom the
Lord loves, he opens their eyes. Those whom the Lord loves, he
raises them up. And here's the other thing, those
whom the Lord loves, he makes righteous in his Son. He's given him to us. Of God
are ye in Christ Jesus. And he, Christ Jesus, is made
unto us, unto us, wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. And the Lord loves the righteous.
Why? Because there ain't any son.
There ain't any son, oh my. Those whom the Lord loves, he
saves. By grace, through faith, and
that not of themselves. It's the gift of God. And I'll
add two words onto that if you want. In love. By grace, through
faith, in love. In love. Oh my, I like that. It's the gift of God. The Lord
loves the people. All his saints. His chosen ones. His children. We're called the
sons of God right now. We are the sons and daughters
of God. How? Only in Christ Jesus. And perfectly in Christ Jesus. That's our position. Our position
in love is in Christ. Oh, I like that, I do. Oh. You know one of the other things
it tells you? about those that the father loves. For whom the
Lord loveth, he chasteneth. Uh-oh, that sounds bad, doesn't
it? Listen to the other part. And
scourgeth every son that he has. People get hung up on that chastening.
Oh, I've been chastened. It would be good if it was true.
Sometimes I think you're just miserable because he got caught
out somewhere. Because here's the thing, if
God's chasing me, I'm not gonna brag about it. I don't want anybody
to know about it. I don't wanna know about it.
But it works. See, that's the whole thing about
the word chasing. Scourges is another thing, but
I'm not going into that. Chasing implies means correction. Because what's it say? Afterwards,
chastening is grievous. Chastening bothers you, but afterwards
it yields what? The peaceable fruit of righteousness. What? And the Lord loveth the
righteous. Oh my, I like that, I do. Chastening's not so good, but
the righteousness is great. Mmm. Oh my The Lord loves his Saints and
in his love he will correct us He will but afterwards Afterwards
it always yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness and that
righteousness is any son and We have been given his righteousness
Is the righteousness? imputed, and the righteousness
imparted. And the Lord loveth the righteous."
Oh, I like that, I do. Oh. The next statement is this. Second place, where are the people
of God? All his saints are in God's hand. What'd he say? All his saints are in thy hand. And that's who he's talking about,
the people. All his saints are in thy hand. What's it mean to
be in the hands of the Lord? Well, there's several things.
One of them is this, Isaiah 64 and verse eight. But now, O Lord,
thou art our father. We are the clay. What? And thou, our potter. Oh, I like that. And we are all
the work of thy hand. Oh my, where's them saints come
from? You wanna know the secret? The
deep, dark secret of Romans nine? God makes his saints. Jacob, you're created, but Israel,
you're formed. Oh my, thou art our father, we
are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are all the work of thy
hand. Believers are the people, his
people, his saints, his children. And the potter has power over
the clay to make one vessel into honor and one vessel into dishonor. It's in the potter's hands. Oh
my, what about me? I chose it, didn't I? Christ settled that. He said,
you have not chosen me. I mean, flat statement. You have
not chosen me, but I've chosen you. Oh my, I like that. Fellow wrote this. The world
knows us not, but in this we rejoice. To God we're no strangers,
but objects of choice. His love from eternity gave us
a home where now we are in safety to come. Oh, I like that, I do. We're in his hand. And there
is security in that, there is surety in that. And we're in his hand in our
own creation. Know ye that the Lord he is God,
this is Psalms 100 verse three. Know ye that the Lord he is God,
it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. We are his people, the sheep
of his pasture. Psalms 119 and 73 says this,
thy hands have made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding that
I may learn thy commandments. The Lord makes his people, what? In his hands. In his hands. And all his saints are where? They're in his hands. They're
in his hands. They're not going anywhere. They
may think they're going somewhere, and they're wrong. Because I'm
gonna tell you something, wherever you are, whatever you're doing,
you are in God's hands. If you're one of his, if you're
one of the people, if you're one of his saints, you're in
his hands. Because believers are his workmanship,
his work made with his own hands in dear Christ Jesus, his son,
our Lord. Oh my. But not only in creation
are we in his hands, he keeps us in his hands. John 10 verse
27, my sheep hear my voice. And I know them and they follow
me. And I give unto them what? Eternal life. Well, how do I get eternal life?
Well, he's gotta give it to you. He's gotta give it to you. I
give unto them eternal life. and they shall never perish,
what's he saying next? Neither shall any man pluck them
out of what? My hand. Why? Because all his saints are in
his hand. And he goes on though. My father which gave them me. Okay now, you wanna take that
that the father gave us or The Father gave us Christ. The answer
is yes, is both. The Father which gave them me
is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. All his saints are in his hand. Forever, forever. Again, I'm the Lord, I change
not. Oh my. No man is able to pluck
them out of my father's hand. I'm gonna tell you something.
That is the surety of God. Christ is our surety and he's
got us in his hands. Oh, I like that. And I like how it says this.
It says, yea, he loved the people. They put that in the past tense,
okay? But look at this. All his saints, they put in the
word are. in his hand. When's that? That's now. And you know what
happens when it comes to tomorrow? All the saints are in his hand.
Where were they yesterday? All the saints are in his hand.
That's always true. Oh, I like that, I do. No man is able to pluck them
out of my father's hands. Oh my. The next one says this, sitting
at his feet. It says, yea, ye loved the people,
all the saints are in thy hand, and they sat down at thy feet. Where are the people of God?
They're sitting at his feet. Oh, I'm gonna tell you something.
Let me tell you one thing about sitting at his feet. Here's the
thing. Sitting at his feet is the place
to be. Where the people of God, that's
the place to be. Oh, because at the feet of the
Lord is a place of love. Child and parent. At the feet
of the Lord is a place of learning. At the feet of the Lord is the
place of worship. Fall at his feet. Oh my. At the feet of the Lord, here's
this folks, is the place of his saints, his saints. Luke 8.35
says this, then they went out to see what was done, this is
speaking of the Gadarene, demoniac, whom the Lord freed, freed is
the word. Then they went out to see what
was done and came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the
devils had departed, where? Sitting. What? At the feet of
Jesus. And here's a wonderful thing.
Clothed and in his right mind. Mm, mm, mm. And they were afraid. People are afraid. If they actually
ever come face to face with something God's done, they're afraid of
it. But here's the thing. If you are in your right mind,
you will sit at the feet of Jesus Christ. And here's the key point. Willingly,
willingly, lovingly, and worshipfully, Here's this man been running
around the tombs, breaking chains, breaking fetters, no man could
control him. And the Lord cast the devils
out of him, and there he is in his right mind for the first
time in, what, years, however long. And where's that man when
people came back? He is sitting at the feet of
Jesus Christ. Why? Because that's the place
to be, folks. That's the place to be. And that's
where God says we are. And that's where I wanna be,
is sitting at the feet of Jesus. You understand? Believers are
not forced to sit at the feet of Jesus. That's where they wanna
be. And about that, at the right
mind, one of the things I remember about that, we preached on this
not that long ago, about the prodigal son. You understand,
the prodigal son did not go back to the father until what? What's it say? He came to himself. What's that mean? He's in his
right mind. Then he'd go to the father. That
whole time, he knew his father. He left from there. But he didn't
come back until he came to himself. What? He came to his right mind. That's what it means, folks.
And you know what you say when you come to the right mind? Same
thing the prodigal son said. I'm an idiot. Why am I out here? And this is what happens to unbelievers
when God makes them into believers. Because that's what we all were.
When he gives life and he gives faith, we want to sit at the
feet of Jesus and learn of him and learn from him. That's where
believers want to be. Oh, I like that. But only those
in their right mind will sit at his feet. And they'll be happy
to be there, blessed. All right, the fourth thing.
What's it say? Everyone Now, how many is that? Every one of the people, every
one of the saints, what? Shall receive of thy words. Oh, I like that. That's a good
place. That's a good place. Now, I'm
gonna tell you something, folks. You can't get there unless you're
in your right mind. You won't go there unless you're in your
right mind. Where are the people of God?
Well, they're in his love, in his hand, and at his feet. And
this is a here, this is a wonderful thing, this is a wonderful thought.
He makes us not to be idle. He makes us, and not we ourselves,
but he makes us not to be idle. In his love, in his hand, and
at his feet, we have something to do. Receive his word. Receive his words. What? Receive his words. Oh my. Listen. And we want to listen. We want
to listen. Here's the thing. Wherever a
child of God is, that child of God, that believer receives God's
words. It don't matter if you're off
in Colorado all by yourself, where there's nowhere else to
go. You'll receive God's word. He's given it to us in this book
to read. And nowadays, we got the internet. And I'm sure the people who started
the internet didn't think we'd be using it to preach sermons.
and not preach sermons about Christ. What's the matter with
you people? We're scientists. It's all right. God gives us a way to get his
gospel out. We're gonna do it however we
can. And this little place here is
on the internet at sgchapel.com. We're on YouTube at sgchapel. We're on television. Twice on
Sunday. That is just the strangest thing
in the world that this little place can do that. And we're
a little place and we're a little people, but we have a mighty
God. And he has enabled us to do this
and brought the prices down. But here it is, the people of
God, the Lord has given to the people, all his saints, his words,
his words. In the person of Christ, the
word of God. The Lord has given to us his word preserved in this
Bible. And the Lord has given to us
his word preached by preachers whom he sends. And the Lord's people, his saints,
his children, all his saints, what? Shall receive his word. Let me say that again. Shall
receive his words. Oh my. That's just more than
listening now. That's more than listening. But
yes, we are to listen. But literally, this word which
says receive his words, it means here this, to lift. What? To hold up. We are to hold up
his words. We only receive them unto ourselves,
but we're to hold them up. Oh, I like that. More to accept,
carry, contain, and desire, because believers desire the words of
the Lord. And the children of God do hear. You know how? He's given them
ears that hear. All his saints desire, love,
to hold up his word. 1 John 4 and 6 says this, we
are of God. He that knoweth God, what? Doesn't
say knoweth us. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. Heareth us. And what? He that is not of God,
oh my, heareth not us. Hereby know we, Not them, we
know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. I've said
it before, I'll say it again. The believer, all these saints,
the people, they're the only ones who know the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error. The world only knows the spirit
of error. They cannot understand the things
of the spirit of God. They're spiritually discerned.
You understand, those that know of God hear his word, and they
hear those who speak his word. This is a blessing, right here,
of the Lord. And this is a blessing. Our gospel, it says, if our gospel
be hid, it's hid to those that are lost. God of this world has blinded
their minds. Their eyes, their ears. The words are here written in
black and white for all men to read, but blind eyes can't read. Blind minds can't understand. And the unbeliever's mind is
blind to them blind to their meaning and blind to their truth. We've had people leave this place
because of the gospel we preach. Because of the Christ we preach.
A sovereign Christ who has all power. And we have no power. Why? Because he's got all power.
If he's got it all, we can't have any. Mmm, then they get mad with now,
I'm gonna go into that Excuse me His people receive why because
God says they shall They shall receive of his words,
oh, I like that So, where are the people of God? They're with
the Lord. Simple answer. What? Always. Always, always. They're with the Lord, of the
Lord, and in the Lord, by the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Lord,
our Redeemer. shed his precious blood, who? For his sheep, for the brethren,
his brethren, for the people, and for all his saints. And that's
all the same people, folks. Oh, my. Look at verse 12 here, Deuteronomy
33. I'm gonna close with this. And
of Benjamin, he said, the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety
by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he
shall dwell between his shoulders. Folks, that's where we are. That's
where we are. The beloved of the Lord. That might sound boasting, but
I'm not boasting to him. Oh, oh, I like that, I do, I
just, he loved the people, all his saints, they're in his hand. They're sitting at his feet and
they shall receive his words. You understand, we are safe and
we are secure in the love of Christ, in the love of God. We
are safe and secure in his hands. We are safe and secure at his
feet. and we are safe and secure receiving
his words. Why? Because that's where we
are. That's our position. That's our
position. And it's also our condition.
I like that. Alive in him. Willingly, lovingly,
securely in Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh. I'll give you another one of
my scriptures. I love this scripture. For I know the thoughts that
I think towards you. Is he talking about that? He's
talking about the people. In this case, the children of Israel,
but he's talking about the people, all his saints. I know the thoughts
that I think towards you, saith the Lord. And here it is, thoughts
of peace. You understand? What do you have
when you're, in God's love, when you're in his hand, when you're
sitting at his feet and you're receiving his words. I'm gonna
tell you something, folks. Our Lord Jesus Christ made peace. And he gives it to us. And his
thoughts are of peace and not of evil to give you an expected
end. Oh, and I want his expected end. That's what I want. You know
where I'm gonna end up? You know where you're gonna end
up? You're gonna end up in his love, in his hands, at his feet,
and receiving the words of God. It don't get any better than
that, folks. But it will. It will. Truth, wisdom, justice,
power, and love in all their glory shone when Jesus left the
courts above and died to save his own. Truth, wisdom, justice,
power, and love are equally displayed. Now Jesus reigns enthroned above
our advocate and head. John Newton wrote that. That's
some good words, too. Our Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for this day.
Thank you, Lord, for what you've given to us every day. Thank you for letting us know
that whether we feel like it or not, we're in your love, in
your hands, at your feet, and receiving your words. We don't feel like it sometimes,
but Lord, we are, by your grace, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Thank you. In whose name we pray,
amen.