Good morning. It is truly an honor to be asked to come here and preach. I want to say good morning to all of those who are joining us from Rescue this morning. Thank you for coming out and supporting our brother, Mike Gialotti, as he brought Bible study. Thank you for being here this morning. They're not used to seeing me on the big screen there. Our big screen is not really a big screen. It's just a little TV that we set up on the podium. But I want to thank all of those folks for coming out today.

Turn to Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. Spring is in the air, isn't it? For those of you who haven't noticed, Kathy finally convinced me that my hearing was causing troubles. She's been saying it to me for quite some time. And she would know because she would talk to me and say things and I would Come back later, like, I don't remember you ever saying that, because I thought she said something else. I was guessing at what she was saying. So she convinced me, and I noticed it, you know, through her coaching, that it was starting to happen more and more. So I went out and got these, hearing aids. Wow! I can hear things. I take them off to, because I don't sleep with them on at night.

So I take them off, and for those of you who know Rescue, it's right next to the creek. And there's frogs and crickets. And during the daytime, there's birds everywhere. We have a red hawk nest right above our bedroom there at the church. And I don't know if you've ever heard it. It's several commercials. They use that screeching hawk sound.

Oh, it's actually very beautiful coming live, not over TV. But I take these things off, and it's like shutting the world off. I couldn't believe it. My hearing had been that much of a loss. So I'm very thankful that I finally heeded to my wife's advice and we got some hearing aids. But it made me think of this again.

Let's begin by reading the first three verses there in Revelation 14. And I looked. This will set the table for us. And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him, 144,000, having his father's name written in their forehead. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the voice of harp, harpers and harping with their harps, and they sung, as it were, a new song. As I begin to hear things again, And I begin to hear the birds. Sometimes I hear things I still don't want to hear, like cars going by and those kind of things. But as I hear all these wonderful things that I could not hear before, this came to mind.

You know, we come to worship God so that we can be reminded. I know we come to the table of remembrance however often we come to the table. But every time we gather together in God's house, as we talked about in the Bible study, we come to worship Him to remember, in other words, to sing that new song again of who our God is.

Folks, Jesus Christ is God Almighty in the flesh. John 1, verse 1, in the beginning was the Word. This is the Word of God. Everything from cover to cover is about our Savior, the Lord Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It wasn't a God, as some religious people have changed it to say, He is God.

And it's a song that I've been singing for 26 years. It's a song that the Lord brought to my heart when I heard the gospel preached for the first time. when I heard about a Savior who deserves to be called God. I grew up with a God who was waiting for me to make a decision.

When I was eight or nine, I don't know, just a young kid, finally at one point, I couldn't resist anymore. All the other kids were running up to the front of the church to pray the prayer and volunteer to be baptized, so I ran up with them. I have no idea why. No idea. I didn't hear the truth. It wasn't until God caused me to come into His house and hear with the ears of the heart.

Folks, once you hear with new ears, once you've been given ears to hear the truth of God's love for His people, so much love. I know, you go out, you walk down, You're out somewhere in downtown San Diego, you're walking down the streets and there's some guy standing on the street, God loves you! Walk up and ask him how he knows. How do you know? John 3, 16, God's love the world.

Well, if God loved the world, why isn't every single person saved? How can God who loves a people allow those people to go to hell? He sent his only begotten son to the cross to die for his people, didn't he? Isn't that what scriptures tell us? And if God sent his only begotten son, do you think he's going to let any of those people go?

Don Fortner one time, he was talking about his daughter's faith and how they live on a little bit of a hill. And they live a little ways away from the road. But she would have the freedom to run out there and run around wherever she wanted. And he would see her running down the road, down the driveway towards the street. He said, do you think I just sat there and watched and let her go? There's a pretty good-sized boulevard down at the end of their driveway to the church. Cars going by all day long.

Do you think I'm going to let that little six-year-old girl, that beautiful little blonde girl, go? Do you think Christ, you think God Almighty would let one of his children go? One who would send his own son to die for those people, that's how much love? Disgusts me that people stand out on street corners and tell everybody, God loves you. How do you know?

It puts a new song in their heart. What did we just read a moment ago? And they sung, as it were, a new song. The old song that we used to sing was the song of me, I. The religious folks today, they say, if you'll just make a decision for God, if you will do this, do you realize that's the law?

That's the conviction of death. If you will just do this, nobody can do it. The Lord said in his words, he says, search the scriptures, You'll read of me, but you will not come unto me that you might have life. Those of us who God has given ears of the heart, and that's what must be done. You must have ears of the heart. You must be given a new heart, one that lives for Christ, because we all come into this world with a dead one, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sin. and we love the sin that we were in. What is this new song?

Who are the 144,000 of the earth? Well, the first point I want to bring out is the redeemed of the earth. If we look at that, at 144,000, and now, I know people want to get focused in on that number, 144,000. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that there truly is going to be only 144,000. I asked one one time, I said, well, what about you? I don't want to be one of the 144,000. I want to live in his kingdom here on earth that he's going to establish here on earth. Are you serious?

Where do you get that in scriptures? But they do. They take that 144,000 as a literal number, but it says right here, the redeemed of the earth. That puts a limit on it, doesn't it? That means Christ didn't go to the cross and die for everybody. But there is a people, and I want to know about that people. I want to know if I'm one of those. Don't you? Folks, we're talking about eternity. I want that to sink into you. We're not talking about some of us might live to be 80. Some people might live to be 95. I heard William Shatner, Captain Kirk, he's like 98 years old. Looks good for his age. I was surprised. This all must come to an end. Too many of us know it, don't we? that everything comes to death. There's an eternity after death. The question is, where will my eternity be? I want to know.

144 is nothing more than a figure. For those of you who are aware of the numbers in the Bible, I'm not very good at that, so I'm not going to try to explain it to you. But it's a figurative number. If I remember correctly, the number seven is supposed to be whole. God created the world in seven days and rested, or six days and rested on the seventh day. That was complete. That was the completion of creation. So they used that number seven, and somehow or another, that's related to the 144,000. It's supposed to mean the completeness of it. Listen to these numbers. Listen to this.

John 6.37, all that the Father giveth shall come to me. Doesn't that put a limit on it? That means that those that the Father didn't give to Him won't come to Him. That means that if we were in that boat, we wouldn't come to Him either. The only reason God's people come to Him at all is because of what the Lord Jesus did on the cross a little over 2,000 years ago.

Our Lord calls us His sheep. He says, My sheep. He tells us that His sheep hear His voice and they know Him, and they will hear no other, and they follow Him, He said. I think of that all the time when I think of you dear folks here at Humboldt. I mentioned this in the Bible study. You've got no other place to go, do you? If the Lord opened the door somewhere else here and close enough by, maybe you could go there and worship there.

Just don't know of any. I don't know of any outside of rescue. The closest one I know of is over in Marysville. Her brother Rick Warda. Anything other than that, you got to go all the way to the Dalles, Oregon, or Jessica Stan used to be a preacher of the gospel. I'm not sure what happened over there, but I haven't heard anything out of there in quite a while. There's very few churches.

Israel is another picture, another type. of this 144,000 of these who were redeemed and they are called God's elect. Listen to Jeremiah 33, 22, and the host of heaven cannot be numbered. See that? Catch that? That's why that number 144,000 is a figurative type number. It's a figure of God's people.

It says very clearly in Jeremiah, the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand or the sea measured. Sand of the sea measured. Listen to Hosea 1 verse 10. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea. So those who belong to God are more than any man can number, but it's also just a remnant of those who will walk this earth.

These 144 described in verses 4 and 5. Flip over there if you would with me. Revelation 14 beginning at verse 4. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth. These are they that were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits of God, and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God." Just that last verse, how can one be without fault before the throne of God?

You realize that all of the religions that we know of in the world have one purpose. They're all trying to appease the god of their imagination of one kind or another. That's what it's all about. I've done something wrong. I've got to go to church. My kids aren't being raised properly. I've got to go to church. I've got to go to this religion, go to that religion, whatever religion fits their imagination. How can you be without fault before the throne of God? Look over at Revelation 5. Turn over to Revelation 5, if you would. And if you have a piece of paper, mark that, because we're going to come back to that at the end of the message. Revelation chapter 5. One verse I want to read for you over there. How? How can you be without fault before God?

God has accepted the sacrifice of his son for his people. He was known as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. God looked down through time. He made a pact with his son and the spirit. I will give you a people. You will save the people, and the Spirit will call them out of the darkness that they all once walked in.

He was seen, the Son of God was seen as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Look here at verse nine. Revelation five, verse nine, and they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast won. What's that next word? Redeemed.

We've talked a little bit about who the redeemed are, and now we're seeing how those redeemed can stand before God faultless. Isn't that what we read about in Ephesians chapter one? To stand faultless before the throne of God? Redeemed us to God by what?

By thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Now, I want to stop there with that because I want to express to those who have not understood John 3, 16, for God so loved the world. He did. But it's not talking about all of mankind. It's talking about all of his people throughout all time. Read what it says there. Out of every kindred, out of every tongue, out of every people and nation. throughout all the time.

When God's last child is called out of darkness, there's no reason for the world to continue. God is going to return. The Son of God is going to come on clouds of glory. The trumps will sound, and time will be no more. The day of judgment will come on all men. The question is, will you be on the right with the sheep, or are you one of the goats that will be on the left?

God Almighty, was manifest in the flesh. It says he shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people in Matthew. The people of God are so many that they cannot be counted as the sand of the sea cannot be counted. The 144 spoken of in chapter 14 stand before the throne of God as virgins.

Those who have no guile in their mouths, those who have no fault because the lamb spoken of in the psalm. Because of that Lamb who laid down His life, who knew no sin, who was made sin for us, we are made the righteousness of God. Did you notice that that's the way Scripture says that? It doesn't say that you were made righteous, Brian. It says you were made righteous, the righteousness of God. That's perfect. Only the Lamb of God could do that. So how do we stand faultless before the throne of God? in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. For by one offering, it says in Hebrews chapter 10, the one offering of our Savior, he hath perfected.

I know, folks. I know. You get up every morning. I do, too. I was sharing with a brother that pastors struggle with the depression some people just don't see. They don't understand it. The weight of standing before people and telling them about the one who loves us is heavy. The unrighteous man who stands before you has the burden of telling you about the righteous one. It's something I never understood how big of a burden, how heavy of a weight that is until the Lord put me here to do so. And every single minister of God, minister of the truth, will tell you the same thing. It's a great burden.

Because I get up every morning just like you do. And I look in that mirror of this flesh and I see what I am before God. You were mentioning, God brings us to our weakness. Through our weakness, He is made strong. As we see how weak we truly are, Paul went crying, we'll remove this thorn from me three times. And the Lord finally said, my grace is sufficient. Despite what we look at in the mirror when we get up in the morning, God's grace is sufficient for His people. We look to Him more and more and more and more.

We're weaned. from this world, as the elders will tell you. Pastor Gene, sitting in his room at the convalescent hospital today, will be the first to tell you I'm the weakest thing that ever walked this earth. But I have my Savior, the strongest, who ever walked this earth for me. For by one offering, he hath forever perfected them that are sanctified, the lamb slain, The lamb slain redeemed the people of God by his own blood. Worthy is that lamb.

That's the new song. It used to be, I, I, I, I, I, I made a decision. I chose to do this. I went this direction. It's all about me. Today, God's people cry the new song, the lamb slain, my savior. That's the new song. That's the new song that's in our hearts.

I was talking to Mike about how I would go out and deliver to different warehouses, and somebody would say something about the Lord, and I would get all excited. Ooh, ooh, baby, I found a guy who's believing in the Lord that I do. Yeah, I'd be usually disappointed, but we get excited about it. It's a song of the heart. It's like the birds that sing in the morning. It's cheerful. It's the spring. It's a new song every time we sing it. Why is it a new song every time we sing? Because every day I get up and see the same old simple felt.

What I'm doing right now is I'm telling you who are sinners, you who know what you are before a thrice holy God, there's only one place to look. The brazen serpent, the pole that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, look unto it and be saved. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He must be raised up just like that serpent, that brazen serpent. There's no poison in it. He's taken all the poison from you. He's taken it into the grave. He's died for his people. Where we should have been dead, where we should have died the death, he died for us. Look unto the brazen serpent.

This is the new song. Turn over to Psalm number 40. Psalm number 40. This is the psalm, the new song that we read about in verse three of Revelation 14. We were told no man can learn this song but the 144,000 which were redeemed. Well, if no man can learn it, then who can sing it? Who can sing this song of Jesus Christ the Savior?

To be born again, it's as impossible that a camel can go through the eye of a needle. Isn't that what the Lord told Nicodemus there that day when he said, what must I do to be saved? He said, you must be born again. What? Might you crawl back into my mother's womb?

No. It's as impossible as a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But then we read these words in another section of scripture. With men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. We must be taught of God by God himself. One can only come to God when one has been given life to come.

Listen to Ephesians 2 verse 1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. In Ephesians 2 verse 4 and 5 you read, but God, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened. That word quickened is just an old time fancy word that means made alive. Even you who were dead in sins have been made alive together with Christ by grace you're saved.

Look with me if you would It's Psalm number 40. I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. I can imagine Jacob sitting there alone as we read in the Scripture reading. I waited patiently. for the Lord, and he inclined on me and heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay. You know what that is? That's a clay. You ever walk in a mud where it grabs ahold of your feet so strongly it'll take your shoes right off? That's what that miry clay is. And set my feet upon a rock.

Solid. Folks, Jesus Christ is the solid rock. He's God. With a rock that solid, can anything, can anything come against God's people? He set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. He had put, what, a new song in my heart. Through the preaching of the gospel, to hearing the Word of God, from hearing Christ and Him crucified in every single message, I am put on that rock, my Savior. That's the song that's in my heart today. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise.

Praise unto our God. Many shall see it in fear and trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust. and respect is not the proud, nor such as turn aside. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are too usward. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Look over verse 13 now. Psalm 40, verse 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. This is our new psalm. This is the very new song that he was just talking about there in verse 3. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me, O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul. This is talking about the very flesh that we walk in, seeking to devour our soul. We get up every morning, we see the sin in it. We seek that new song every day. Let them be driven backwards and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for the reward of shame. Say unto me, aha, that all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified.

What a picture of those who sing this new song. What is the new song they sing? We've already been singing it, haven't we? This new song that declares the sovereign rule of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, that's the very rock that Christ will be building his church upon.

And as we read in our Bible study, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Why? Because the gates of hell belong to God. Folks, the devil is God's devil. He holds onto the chain. Isn't that what we read in the book of Job? Did not the devil has to ask permission for everything he did against Job?

The song we sing is that Jesus Christ is the land slain. The song we sing is Jesus Christ, the redeemer of his people. But the greatest part of that song for me is this, Jesus Christ, my God. Many a times in the Old Testament, our Lord says, they shall be my people, and I shall be their God. Listen to Matthew 10 verse 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. This is the new song for me. For once when I was in the deep pit of the Myra Clay and I loved it there, it was dark and no one could see my wickedness. The new song is one of my condition.

Depraved, broken, weak. The Lord told Paul when he cried upon the Lord to relieve him of that thorn that was in his side. He said, my grace is sufficient. But then he said this. Through weakness, I am made strong. If you're strong, you don't need the Lord, do you? I thank God that he has shown me how weak I am. Because if I didn't know how weak I was, I wouldn't be looking to the strong one, my Savior, the Lord Jesus. The new song I sing is limited atonement.

When Christ died and shed his blood, it was effectual. Which means it can't be for the whole world, can it? It can't be for all men who walk this earth. It could have to be for a certain people. But it was effectual. God, the Father, accepted his blood as our substitute. I don't have to give my blood. My sins have been paid for. I know it's hard to understand walking in this flesh, but this is what God is telling us. The question is, do you believe God? Do I believe God? Not in my weakness, I don't. Thankfully, I have a faithful one who became a servant for my sake. Isn't that what we read in Philippians chapter 2? He humbled himself. and became a servant for the people of God.

Let me bring this to a close. In Ezekiel 36, 26, our Lord says this. He says, a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit. That's the new song. Everything I have needed. Then the Lord says this after he says, I will put my spirit within you. He says, I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. It's all of him. Glory is His. We sing the new song of Him. Look at the 98th Psalm, if you would. Turn from Psalms 41 over to 98. Just a short one there. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things.

His right hand and His holy arm. Do you remember what we read in the beginning there, back in 1 Samuel? Who was it the Lord with God was going to send His right hand? For He hath done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory. The Lord hath made known His salvation. His righteousness hath He openly showed into the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered His mercy and His truth, for in the house of Israel all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Listen to Romans 15, 6. That ye may with one mind and with one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Look back again now if you would at Revelation 5. Revelation 5, I was supposed to mark that, I asked you to and I didn't.

Beginning at verse 11, and I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times, 10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." I wonder what those folks who believe the Lord's going to come back to this earth and reign for 1,000 years say to that verse, Mike. That's pretty clear he's sitting on his throne right now, isn't it? He's sitting on his throne in heaven, ruling everything out, making intercession, and I'm so thankful.

He's saying this to the accuser, that devil, when that devil points it, like he did Job. Wait a minute, you're just hedging him about. Wait a minute, you're just hedging John about. Yeah, I know, that's why. That's what the Lord's saying about us. That one's mine. I died for him. He's clear. There is therefore now no condemnation. You can't be condemned again. You've already been condemned in Christ.

Isn't that wonderful? What is your song? Is it still about you? Or has the Lord given you a new song? There is a day coming. when the people of God, you and I who belong to Him, will sing that song perfectly as we stand in heaven with our Savior. Amen. Thank you for joining us. Brother Mike, please. Thank you, brother. What a Lord we have and what a gospel we have.

I was reminded as you mentioned the serpent being lifted up on the pole. Our Lord had to be lifted up, that all who look upon him should not perish. He was made sin, yet he had no sin. Just like that serpent. The serpent represented the fiery serpents that were stinging, biting the Israelites, and they were dying because of it. But the brass serpent on the pole had no ability to bite. It was a representation of it, even as our Lord was made sin. who lived upon him, look and live.