Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. There are many would-be teachers
and dispensers of prophecy who tell us that the kingdom of Christ
in the earth is yet to be unfolded at a future time. It seems clear
enough to us that the Lord has already instituted His kingdom
here and now. Only those with eyes to see it
can rejoice in its establishment or take delight in the law of
it. The Pharisees demanded that the Lord should show them the
time when the kingdom of God would come in the earth. He said,
the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall
they say, lo here or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God
is within you. He pointed out that there was
no future time when this kingdom would come, but rather it was
already in their very midst. They were standing in the midst
of it, but could not see it. Those who would be detractors
of the general teachings of Christianity sometimes characterize its teachings
as being about a pie in the sky by and by. If one listens to
the rank and file of those who claim to be teaching the tenets
of Christianity in our day, you could probably reach that conclusion
honestly. The basic message that one hears
today which purports to be the gospel is that of a formula derived
by God which man is supposed to fulfill and thereby gain a
place in heaven based on the actions of his free will to choose
salvation. In this scheme of things, once
a man supplies the necessary will and belief, then he has
gained an entrance into heaven and immortal glory. It is rather
optional as to whether or not he allows the Lord to bless him
in this life by adding a certain level, which he chooses, of faithfulness
and obedience to his precepts. Needless to say, such teaching
is a farce and has no foundation at all in the scriptures, nor
can such a message as this be of any comfort or help to the
man who has been convinced by the Holy Ghost of his lost condition
and worthiness of destruction. Such a man as this is stripped
of all confidence in his flesh and knows that he cannot supply
anything that would affect his rescue from this awful condition.
He can only repeat the words of the publican, God be merciful
to me a sinner, and that of the father of the demon possessed
child, Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief. The glorious truth
of the gospel and the unfolding of the kingdom of God, which
Isaiah wrote about, is that God supplies everything that is necessary
for the salvation of his people. This is a feast of fat things
with well-refined wine, and is a meal to which the elect are
called to partake in the present hour. Though they shall indeed
drink more deeply of that wine and suck the marrow from the
bones in the ages to come, yet even now that salvation which
has been prepared for them is theirs to enjoy, as the Spirit
of God comforts them and leads them into all truth. They are
not waiting for his kingdom to be established, but are basking
in the glory of it even now. This is a feast with four courses,
which is totally supplied by the Lord of the Feasts. The first
course is the fact that before the foundation of the world,
God chose the people in Jesus Christ and declared His love
upon them. This choice was made without
regard to any good or evil done in them and preceded their creation. They were ordained to be the
objects of His mercy, and He created the world in which to
display the glory of His grace in their redemption. The second
course is that Jesus Christ, the eternal and only begotten
Son of God, did come into this world born of a woman and made
in the likeness of sinful flesh. In that body He bore the sins
of His people. He was taken and by cruel hands
was slain according to the eternal purpose given to Him in that
eternal covenant of redemption. On the third day he arose from
the dead and became the first fruits of them that sleep in
him. He ascended back to the Father where he ever lives to
make intercession for them as they come to God by him. In all
of this he has forever justified his children and delivered them
from all condemnation. The third course is that he has
sent his Holy Spirit to quicken his children and give them faith
to believe the gospel. He then abides with and in his
children to lead them into all truth and to minister comfort
and peace to them in a fashion that the world cannot comprehend.
He works in them both the will and to do of his good pleasure.
And even though he is pleased to bring them into great trials
from time to time, he is constantly working all things together for
their good. They have their greatest delight
in him. The fourth and final course is
the dessert, the icing on the cake, when Jesus Christ, the
Redeemer, takes possession of that church which he purchased
with his own blood. Through the ages to come, he
shall rejoice in his bride, and she shall glorify his name and
enjoy him forever. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Do
you look for him? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.