It's just a wonderful, wonderful
song. Oh my goodness. Ties right in with our message
today too. The name of the message is, Shalt
Thou Reign Over Us. Shalt Thou Reign Over Us. Something
I've noticed is that man in their natural
state will not have the Lord Jesus Christ rule over them. And we who are the redeemed of
the Lord, we know this to be true because we just have to
look back upon our lives before the Lord saved us. And truly, we can see ourselves,
when we look back, we can see ourselves and all of humanity
in this state. Crying by our actions, we will not have this man rule
over us. Sometimes we even used our words to say that too. We come out of the womb dead
in trespasses and sins, without God and without hope. This is
our natural state. or not have this man reign over
us. We do not desire Christ in that
state. We want nothing to do with Him.
But praise our great God. He does not leave His people
in that state. If He did, there'd be no hope
for anyone. Just as there's no hope for millions
who are perishing right now in this world, hating the Lord Jesus
Christ, and entering a Christless eternity at their death. Turn, if you would, to Luke chapter
19. Luke chapter 19. And then we'll
be going to Genesis 37. That's where our text will be
found today. But I want to read this little
portion here in Luke chapter 19 verse 11 to 14. The Lord here speaks a parable and
we're only going to read just a little bit of it for the setting
for Luke or for Genesis 37. Luke 19 verses 11 to 14. And as he heard these things,
he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem
and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately
appear. He said, therefore, a certain
noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom
and to return. And he called his 10 servants
and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy till
I come. But his citizens hated him. and sent a message after
him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. Recently, this statement was brought home
in my life as family members want nothing to do with Christ,
nothing to do with the Christ that I preach and the gospel
which I proclaim. But still I pray for them, just as you do for your family
members who are in the same state. And we who are the redeemed of
the Lord know that we were once in this same state. This is where
the Lord Jesus Christ found us. crying out by our sin or by our
actions, sometimes not even with words, but just by our own actions
in the sin in our lives, saying, we will not have this man reign
over us. Grace found us dead in trespasses
and sins with no hope. With no hope. saying in our hearts
and by our actions, we will not have this man reign over us. Now let's turn to Genesis chapter
37 with that in our minds. Now the man or woman who reads
the Bible and finds the key of knowledge, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that person is truly a blessed person, because the Lord must
reveal himself to us before we can ever know that he is the
key to the scriptures. The Old Testament writers wrote
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know that from our Lord's
own lips when he was on The road to Arimaeus with the two disciples.
He began at Moses and all the prophets. And he expounded unto
them, what? The things concerning himself.
The things concerning himself. And what scriptures did they
have then? They didn't have the New Testament, beloved. All they
had was the Old Testament. So from the law and the prophets,
he expounded the things concerning himself. Because he is the key
to these scriptures. He is the key. The Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you know that He's the
key, you're blessed. Because a lot of people don't
know that. They look for all kinds of other wild things in
the scriptures. He's the key, beloved. Christ
is the key. God spoke to those Old Testament
believers by the prophets, by pictures and types, and by dreams
and visions to reveal His redemptive purpose and grace through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Now in many ways Joseph typified
the Lord Jesus Christ, but a type can only go so far because there's
none who's perfect like our spotless Redeemer. And think upon the little lamb
that Abel offered, it pointed to Christ. It pointed right to
Christ. God's sacrificial lamb, the blood
of Abel's lamb typified the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that's
cleansed his people from all their sins. And we know that
God is never pleased with the blood of animals, which could
never take away sin, but it pleased God to use Abel's offering to
point us to the Lord Jesus Christ, to point us to Him, who is the
supreme sacrifice, who is God's Lamb, who has sanctified and
perfected His people forever. And remember again what our risen
Lord Told the two disciples again on the road to Aramais, he said,
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the scriptures, that's the Old Testament scriptures,
the things concerning himself. I read some foolish statement
on the internet this week. Somebody said that the God of
the Old Testament was a God of wrath and justice and the God
of the New Testament, always just full of grace and love. They obviously haven't read the
scripture that says that God is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. My God, and I know you as believers
can say this too, our God is a God of grace and mercy and
love all through the scriptures, all through the scriptures. And the Old Testament writers
wrote of Christ, wrote of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ was preached
by Paul and Peter and the disciples. They preached Christ from the
Old Testament. And God's preachers are on safe
ground if Jesus Christ is our message every time we preach,
no matter what passage of the Holy Scriptures we use for our
text. And if the Lord Jesus Christ
is not our message every time we preach, we're wasting the
time of our hearers, and we're wasting our own time. Because
Paul proclaimed this, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing
to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto
me if I preach not the gospel. We must preach the gospel. Every
time someone steps in this pulpit or preaches at Sunday school
or teaches at Sunday school, we must teach Christ. We must proclaim Christ. We must. And in the life of Joseph,
we see that God is absolutely sovereign. We see that in his
life. Nothing happened to Joseph by
accident. God ruled and overruled all that
happened, just as he does for every one of his blood-bought,
born-again people in our lives. Truly, he is the one absolute
sovereign over all things, and his will will be done, will be
accomplished. And none, none, no one in heaven,
And no one on this earth can stay His hand. That's my Redeemer. Is He yours? That's my King. Is He yours? That's the One who keeps my soul. Does He keep yours? Oh, flee
to Him. He's the only hope for sinners. The only hope. The only hope. May God make you willing, may
God make you willing to flee to him. Joseph, Joseph, life proves to
we who are the redeemed that all things work together for
good, for God's elect, because we see the providence of God
is evident through Joseph's life. And God reveals great truths
to His people, we who are sinners. We have been shown that we are
sold by God the Holy Spirit. He reveals to His people, to
God's people, that we're sinners. Now, think of this. We were once
shaking our fists saying, we're not having this man rule over
us and reign over us, and now we bow our knee to him. Oh, what
a... What wonder, graces, what wonder
the mercy and grace of God is in Christ. We who are called
the foolish by the world are saved, and yet those who think
themselves great, the worldly wise, the mighty of this world
are left to perish in their sins. And we who know we are sinners
are saved by the grace of God in Christ. And they perish in their sins,
proclaiming, we will not have this man reign over us. And God's people bow our knees
to the Lord Jesus Christ, all by the grace and mercy of God.
And we proclaim, oh, our Lord is King. Praise God for reigning
grace. Praise God for reigning mercy.
that comes to us in and through Christ Jesus our Lord. We get wrapped up in the circumstances
of our own life sometimes and forget God's goodness and mercy
towards us. And you know that for the believer
that mercy and grace is continuous for us. It's continuous despite
what happens in our lives because we all do. We get wrapped up
in the things in our lives. But God's grace and mercy to
the believer is continuous because it's in Christ. It's in Christ. It's in Christ. Judge not the
Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind the
frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. God's not angry
with his people anymore. Oh my. He loves us. You know, our sins separated
us from God. We know that, don't we? But we who are His people have
been reconciled to God by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Better is the end of a thing
than the beginning thereof. Ecclesiastes 7, 8. Let us remember
that everything that took place in the life of Joseph was ordained
by God from his birth until his death. And all things occurred
according to God's sovereign plan and for God's glory. Turn,
if you would, to Genesis 15. I know I had you go to 37, but
you can keep your finger in there. We'll be going there shortly.
Genesis 15, look at verses 13 to 14. Our Lord Jesus said unto Abraham,
Genesis 15, 13 to 14, Know of a surety that thy seed
shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall
serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And
also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge. And afterward
they shall come out with great substance. God said unto Abraham, know of
a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that
is not theirs and shall serve them. And they shall afflict
them for them 400 years. And also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge. God did that, didn't he, to Egypt.
This is speaking of Egypt, that nation. They're speaking of Egypt,
beloved. And afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Remember, they spoiled the Egyptians. Oh my, what God says will come
to pass. It'll come to pass. In his commentary
from these two verses, John Gill said, these 400 years as before
observed are to be reckoned from the birth of Isaac to the Israelites
going out of Egypt. Isaac was 60 years of age when
Jacob was born. And Jacob, when he went down
into Egypt was 130, which totals 190. And the Israelites were
in Egypt 210 years, which completes the sum of 400. Now Joseph's wicked brothers
sold him to a band of Ishmaelites who were on their way to Egypt.
And one might look upon that situation and say, how can that
work out for the good for Joseph? How can that work out for the
good? Well, Joseph, by God's providence, eventually sat on
the throne of power as prime minister over all of Egypt. And
his evil brother stood before him, and Joseph made himself
known to them. And what happened? Great fear gripped upon them.
Look at Genesis chapter 50, verses 18 to 20. Great fear gripped
their wicked hearts, knowing they deserved to be put to death
for what they had done. Look what Joseph says to them. Joseph sees the whole providence
of God at work in his life. Genesis chapter 50 verses 18
to 20. Fear not. What comforting words those are
to sinners, eh? What did David say to Mephibosheth?
Fear not. Fear not. Genesis. Chapter 50 verses 18 to 20. Fear
not, for I am in the place of God, but as for you, He thought
evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass,
as it is this day, to save much people alive. You thought evil against me,
but God meant it unto good. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2 in this and notice
it says to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people
alive that's what it says in Genesis chapter 50 verses 18
to 20 now in this Joseph typified the Lord Jesus Christ turn to
Acts chapter 2 verses 22 to 24 you man of Israel hear these words
Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you,
as ye yourselves also know Him, that's Christ, being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Ye have taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it." They meant it for evil, and God used it
for good. And much people were saved. A number that no man can number. A people given by God the Father
to the Lord Jesus Christ in eternity. The life and death of the Lord
Jesus Christ was ordained by God, and He willingly came to
this earth, and He willingly died in the room and place of
His people, all according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God. Oh, how humbling that is for
His people. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this sin-cursed world, the believer can say, to save me from my sins
according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Beloved of God, let that burn
in your hearts. Let that burn in your heart.
Don't let that become commonplace. Let that burn into your heart. Wonder of wonders. Grace upon grace. mercy upon
mercy. Christ Jesus our Lord came to
this world to save me, the believer says, from my sins according
to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. The birth
of Christ, His immaculate conception, His virgin birth, His perfect
obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, was all ordained
by God before time began. before time began. His perfect
life, in which He honored the whole law of God and established
a perfect righteousness for all those who were given to Him by
the Father in eternity, in the eternal covenant of grace, was
all ordained by God, according to His determinate counsel and
force. And when our suffering Savior
laid down His life for His sheep, when He perfectly satisfied the
holy justice of God for all His people, so much that not one
thing can be laid to our charge. He perfectly satisfied the holy
justice of God and the law of God so much that not one thing
can be laid to the charge of God's elect. This was all ordained
by God. All ordained by God. The death
of the Lord Jesus Christ reconciled His people to God. Our dear Savior,
our Redeemer, was delivered for our offenses and was raised again
for our justification, and it was all ordained by God. He laid
down His life for His sheep. He attained eternal redemption. All ordained by God for His chosen
people. Our Lord came to do the will
of the Father. He became flesh. He dwelt among
us. The second person of the Blessed
Trinity came to this earth to do the will of God, the Father,
who sent Him. And it all happened. And it all
came to pass. according to the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Spurgeon said this. Now
think upon this. Spurgeon said this. I believe
that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not
move an atom more or less than God wishes. Think of that. We've
all seen that, haven't we? We've all seen a sunbeam and
we've seen the dust in that sunbeam. We've all seen that in our lives.
Spurgeon said, I believe that every particle of dust that dances
in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God
wishes. And every particle of spray that
dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the
sun in the heavens. That the chaff from the hand
of the winner is steered as surely as the stars in the courses.
That the creeping of an insect over a rosebud, you've all seen
that, haven't we? is as much fixed as a march of
a devastating pestilence. And the fall of leaves from the
popular, we see that every year, is as fully ordained as a tumbling
avalanche. He who believes in God must believe
this truth. There's no standing point between
this and atheism. There's no halfway between an
almighty God who works all things according to his good pleasure,
the good pleasure of his will, and no God at all. There's no
halfway point. And think of this next time you
see dust in the sun. Think of that. Think of that. Or you see an insect upon a leaf.
We all love gardening. Think of that when you see an
insect on that. That's all ordained by God. Oh my. Or if you visit the ocean. I like going to the ocean and
watching the waves break over the rocks. All ordained by God and all for
his glory. When you look at things that
way, it changes your whole perspective of God and who he is. Nothing
becomes commonplace. Nothing at all. Let's go to Genesis 37 now. Joseph
was one of the 12 sons of Jacob and God changed Jacob's name
to Israel. And his 12 sons were later referred to as the 12 tribes
of Israel. And Jacob was 91 years old when
Joseph was born, and Joseph was Rachel's firstborn. And Jacob
had several wives, but he loved Rachel more than the rest. And she died giving birth to
her second son, Benjamin. So let's read that. With that
in mind, let's read the first 11 verses of Genesis 37. And
we'll just slowly go through this. And take note of Jacob's
love for Joseph. It was stronger than the love
he had for his other sons. And they knew it. And therefore
they resented Joseph with malice and hatred in their hearts against
him. Look at Genesis chapter 37 verses 1 and 2. And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger in the land of Canaan. These are
the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was
feeding the flock with his brethren. And the lad was with the sons
of Eli and with the sons of Zilphah. And his father's wives and Joseph
brought unto his father their evil report. Now, Joseph is 17
years old here, and he's with his brothers feeding the flock.
We don't know what they did, but Joseph has a right spirit
within him. Which is quite obvious if you read the life of Joseph.
He had a right spirit within him, and he was grieved by the
deeds of his brothers, and therefore he brings it before their father. And now we know this wouldn't
have went over very well with his brothers. The fact that he
did that, but we see that he did that. He brings us an evil
report of his brothers before their father. And remember, this
was all fallen out according to God's will. Nothing happens
by chance, does it? Joseph loved righteousness and
hated evil, and in that respect, he typified the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 1.9, it says, Thou hast loved righteousness and
hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Let's look at verses 3 to 4 now. Now, Israel loved Joseph more
than all his children, because he was the son of his old age,
and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren
saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they
hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob's
beloved wife, Rachel. And Israel loved Joseph more
than all his children, because he was the son of his old age.
But there was more to it than that, as Joseph manifested, as
Gil and other commentators say, a right spirit before his father
Jacob. And John Gil believed that this was one of the reasons
why Jacob loved Joseph more than the others. In his commentary,
he says this, while Joseph was a child in years, he was old
in wisdom and knowledge. Now in those days there was a
custom with old men to take one of their little children to be
with them continually and attend upon them and minister to them
and lean upon their arm and such as one called the son of their
old age because he ministered to them in their old age. And so Jacob made him a coat
of many colors, and John Gill again comments this way, this
might be an emblem of the various virtues which earlier appeared
in Joseph, or rather of the several graces the Spirit implanted in
him, and of the remnant of needlework, the righteousness of Christ with
which he was clothed, and of the various providences which
Joseph under spirit of prophecy foresaw he, Joseph, would be
attended with. Now note the reaction of Joseph's
brethren in verse four here. And when his brethren saw that
their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated
him and could not speak peaceably unto him. Joseph's brothers could
tell that Israel, Jacob favored Joseph the way he talked to him,
and especially by the gift of the coat of many colors. And
it was evident that their father had more love for Joseph than
for his other children. And note, their wicked hearts
are exposed. Their wicked hearts are exposed
in their hatred for Joseph and by their attitude toward him
and the way they spoke to him. Now think of how this is typical
of natural unregenerate men. Unbelieving Jews could not hide
their hatred for the Lord Jesus Christ. They hated him. They hated him without a cause. They hated him by their words,
it was proven, and by their actions. And they were saying in their
hearts and minds, we will not have this man rule over us. The miracles our Lord performed
proved that God was with him. And that our heavenly father
had set his love upon his only begotten son and yet the unbelieving
Jews hated him and we know again that they hated him without a
cause. So much so that they desired a murderer to be granted unto
them and killed the prince of life. Now the same hateful heart is
in all of Adam's posterity. All of us who come into this
world We who are the redeemed of the Lord, we were in that
camp, weren't we? We were there. We manifested our hatred for
God's beloved son by our rejection of him and by the way we sinned
against him, the way we talked about him. The way we embrace
God, the gods of our own imagination, and the way we talked about his
people, the way we talked about his gospel, and the way we talked
about his word. And sometimes we manifested that
hatred without even speaking a word. By our actions, and by
the intents of our heart, as we said, we'll not have this
man reign over us. That was our natural state. But
now we who are His people are born again. We're His blood-bought
people and we love God and we know that we love God only because
He first loved us. We've experienced the miracle
of the new birth. God has given us a new heart
and His love is what? Shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. We love. We who are his blood-bought people,
we who are born again, love his glorious gospel. I ask you this. How did you feel about the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Lord saved you? Did you even
care? I confess I knew absolutely nothing
about the Bible. And I'm just scratching the surface
now. I had no care for Christ. No
care for his gospel. No care for his people. But now,
this gospel's glorious. This gospel's glorious, and we
love his chosen blood-bought people. And the only one who
has made us to differ The only one who's made us to
differ from our family members, from our friends, the only one
who's made us to differ is God. And God alone. And think of this, because we
all have family members who are still left in that state. And the only one who made us
to differ is God. And this becomes evident when
you get together with family members that you haven't seen
in a long time or friends. It becomes very, very evident. God's grace is what has made
us to differ, period. Not our works. Not our will. Our will is bound to our nature
before we're saved. Not anything. We contributed
absolutely nothing to our relationship with the true and living God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He made us to differ. Praise his holy name. God's grace has made us to differ. Look at verses 5 and 6. Actually, let's read all
the way to 11. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and
he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
And he said unto them, Here, I pray you, this dream which
I have dreamed. For behold, we were binding sheaves
in the field, and lo, my sheave arose and also stood upright. And behold, your sheaves stood
round about and made absence to my sheave. And his brethren
said unto them, Look at this. Shall thou indeed reign over
us? My, oh my. Or shall thou indeed
have dominion over us? Do you know I looked up reign over
us? And that phrase is only used in that portion we looked at
in Luke. That statement like that is only
used over there in Luke 19, 14, and here in Genesis 37. Now the
word reign is, and those words are used in other portions of
the Bible, but this statement is used in those two places.
Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed have
dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more
for his dreams and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream
and told it to his brethren. And said, behold, I've dreamed
a dream more, and behold, the sun and the moon and the 11 stars
made absence to me. And he told it to his father
and to his brethren, and his father rebuked him and said unto
him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and
thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to
thee, to the earth? And his brethren envied him,
but his father observed thus the same. Joseph tells his brethren
about a dream that he had. And it's obvious that Joseph's
brothers understood the meaning of the dream, or part of it,
in their reaction to him in verse 8. Shalt thou indeed reign over
us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion
over us? And they hated him yet the more
for his dreams and for his words. What a fitting dream for Joseph's
brothers to hear the sheaves of corn bowed down to Joseph's
sheaves. And this was fulfilled when they
went down into Egypt to buy corn. And let us remember that all
of this was purposed by God. And all this was in the future.
And Joseph's brothers could not even imagine, to them it was
a ludicrous thought. They thought he had gone crazy.
Them bowing down to Joseph. Can you imagine the look on their
faces? Can you imagine the look on their
faces when he told them this? He's their little brother. It'd be one of unbelief, wouldn't
it? And I can imagine hearing the
scornful sound of their voices. I imagine they said it with such
hate. Shall thou indeed reign over us? Or shall thou indeed
have dominion over us? They'd be despising him just
with his words. We see that in the text, don't
we? And what did God do? He bought it to pass exactly
as He had purposed it. Joseph did reign over them. And
He did indeed have dominion over them, didn't He? Joseph's second
dream was accomplished and God bought it to pass in His own
appointed time. Joseph became Prime Minister
over all of Egypt and Joseph ruled and reigned over the whole
family of Jacob. And when the divine province
of God moved them to dwell in the land of Egypt. All this points to the Lord Jesus
Christ, beloved. All this points to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the God man. The unbelieving Jews, along with
the whole human race, will not bow down to the Lord Jesus Christ. In our unregenerate state, in
our natural state, we cry out, we're not have this man reign
over us. Turn if you would to Isaiah chapter
45 verse 23 and then turn to Philippians chapter 2. Now the
majority of professing Christians have never bowed down to the
absolute reign of the exalted Christ of God. But one day they
will. One day every believer will bow
down and even those who profess to know Christ but don't know
Him, they're gonna bow their knee too along with everyone
who's ever lived in this world. They'll bow their knees. They'll
bow their knees. Oh, look at this. Isaiah 45,
23. I have sworn by myself the word
is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return. That unto
me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Note there,
every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear. Then turn
to Philippians chapter two. And let's read these holy inspired
words about the Lord Jesus Christ, the God man. Philippians chapter two, verses
eight to 11. in being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. Now
we saw in Sunday school that he's now seated at the right
hand of the Father. And he has all power and all
dominion. And look at this, that at the name of Jesus, every knee. Now every there means every knee. Even you who are crying out right
now, I'll not have this man reign over. If you perish in your sins,
you will bow your knee. Just like I'm gonna bow my knee.
Just like everyone's gonna bow their knee. That means everyone.
Without exception. Every God-hater who's died in
their sins. And every beloved believer. Look
at this. that the name of Jesus every
knee should bow. Of things in heaven and things
in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Beloved of God, our great God
has glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, And again,
as we looked at Sunday, in Sunday school, he now has all power
in heaven and earth. Everything's subject to him.
Everything. Everything. There's not one thing
that's out of his dominion. There's not one thing that he's
not sovereign over. As Spurgeon bothered, even the
dust. Even the insect that we see crawling
around. Jesus Christ is the true and
living God. He's the object of all worship
and praise and glory, and of the blood washed born again saints
here on earth. And we who are redeemed by his
blood, we bow down to his absolute sovereignty, don't we? We bow
down to it. There was a time when we said, we're not have
this man reign over us. But God made us will in the day
of his power. We fled the Christ, right? We're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And now we bow our knee
to him. And we cry out, he's my God. And he's my Lord. And
he's my Savior. And he's my Redeemer. He's everything. He's everything. Is he everything
to you? Oh my. He's the object of all
worship and praise and glory, and He's the object again of
the worship of the blood-bought people here upon this earth.
And we bow down to His sovereign control over all things. And
we confess Him not only as our Lord, whom we've obtained eternal
redemption through, but also as our sovereign Lord who rules
and reigns over this whole universe and everything in it. Everything
visible and invisible. And God's people proclaim that
Christ is my God, Christ is my Lord, Christ is my master, Christ
is my savior, Christ is my life, Christ is my hope, Christ is
my salvation. And the only message that God's
preachers proclaim is Christ is our message. We preach Christ
and him crucified. And we tell others of the great
things the Lord has done for us. And all those who refuse
to bow down to the Lord Jesus Christ in this life will bow
down to him on Judgment Day, but it'll be too late. They will hear these words from
the lips of our exalted King, depart from me, ye cursed, ye
workers of iniquity, for I never knew you. And then they'll be thrown into
the lake of fire into eternal torment, From whence there is
absolutely no escape. And let me warn you, who do not
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that hell is a real place. A place of real torment. A place of real separation from
God. And God's elect, his chosen,
blood-bought, born-again children will stand before the Lord Jesus
Christ. the righteous judge dressed in
his perfect spotless righteousness and we're here these wonderful
words from the lips of our master come blessed of my father inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
And we will hear those wondrous words based upon absolutely no
merit in us and all because of the wondrous work of the Lord
Jesus Christ in redeeming our eternal souls on Calvary's cross
and perfectly, perfectly, perfectly satisfying the justice and law
of God in our place. And we will sing for eternity. Praises to our great God and
King for what he has done for us. So beloved of God, let us
rejoice because God has given us a new heart to bow down to
the sovereign Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what do
we now desire? We desire this man to rule over
us, don't we? And he does. And we love his
reign in our lives. We love his reign in our And the more we learn about him,
the more we love him. And we acknowledge his sovereign
rule as Lord. And we proclaim what a miracle
grace has wrought. Because we once said we're not
have this man rule over us. And now we bow to his absolute
Lordship. Praise His mighty name. Gracious
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee again for Thy goodness, Thy mercy
and Thy grace. We who are Thy blood-bought people,
we know that this mercy and grace that we've received, we could
never have earned it. We never merit it. It's God's
favor towards us. Unmerited favor. Oh, how wondrous
the grace of God is in and through Christ alone. And we pray, Lord,
that if it's your will to draw on one of your lost sheep, oh,
that you would take the message and use it for your glory and
honor and praise. And we who are your redeemed
people, again, we know that we only love thee because you first
loved us, and oh, what a great love that is. You love us so
much that you left the glories of heaven You lived the perfect life, despised
and rejected of men, a man of souls and acquainted with grief. And in you, who are the just
one, the sinless one, died for we who are sinners, the unjust,
upon Calvary's cross. This leaves we who are your people
overwhelmed. at the mercy and grace which
we have received in and through thee. And all we can do is praise
your name. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.