"Come, My People"

Q: What does the Bible say about God's invitation to His people?

God's invitation to His people is a divine summons to come to Him for rest and redemption, as seen in Isaiah 26:20-21. In Isaiah 26:20-21, God calls out, 'Come, my people,' inviting them into chambers of safety and rest away from impending judgment. This is more than an invitation; it is a summons from the Lord, emphasizing that it is He who draws His people to Himself. The appointed time for gathering under His protection highlights His sovereign grace, which calls unworthy sinners into redemption, reflecting His mercy and love.

Q: How do we know God is just in punishing sin?

God's justice is affirmed in His character, requiring punishment for sin, as He cannot overlook iniquity. God's justice is an essential aspect of His holiness; it dictates that He must deal with sin accordingly. As Isaiah 26:21 indicates, the Lord will punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquities, demonstrating that every sin, whether hidden or overt, demands accountability. God's righteousness compels Him to enact justice. However, in His grace, He provides a means of salvation in Jesus Christ, who bore the penalty of our sins, satisfying divine justice for all believers.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to seek refuge in Christ?

Seeking refuge in Christ is crucial for Christians, as He offers safety, peace, and spiritual sustenance amid the world's troubles. Christ invites believers to find refuge in Him during times of trouble. The call to enter chambers signifies seeking solace in God's divine provision and protection. As the world encounters turmoil and impending judgment, believers are reassured that in Christ, they can find rest, strength, and fulfillment. This call to 'come' emphasizes reliance on His grace, where all needs are met, and believers can hide from the chaos, confident in the loving arms of their Savior.

Q: How does God's sovereign grace manifest in His calling of His people?

God's sovereign grace is evident in His calling, as He draws His chosen people to Himself, ensuring their salvation. The scripture demonstrates that God's grace operates through a sovereign summons, as seen in Isaiah 26:20-21. This divine calling is not based on our merit but on God's purposeful choice to save His people. The manifesto of grace emphasizes that without His initiating work, humans have zero capacity to come to Him. Thus, the summoned individuals, identified as 'my people,' reflect His mercy, resulting in a genuine transformation characterized by trust, hope, and reliance on God's promises.

Good evening, let's all stand together and sing hymn number 49. Hymn number 49. In the fifth verse, first line, we'll say, Jesus, I do now believe him. Jesus, what a friend for sinners, Jesus, lover of my soul. Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah, what a Savior! Hallelujah, what a friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end. Jesus, what a strength in weakness, let me hide myself in Him. Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, He my strength, my victory wins. Alleluia, what a Saviour! Alleluia, what a Prince! Saving, helping, keeping, loving He is with me to the end. Jesus, what a help in sorrow, While the billows o'er me roll. Even when my heart is breaking, He, my comfort, helps my soul.

What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a thrill! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me today. Jesus, what a guide and keeper, While the tempest still is high, Strolls about me night, or takes me day, My pilot hears my cry. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Hallelujah, what a Prince! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end. For Jesus I do now believe in, more than all in Him I find. He hath granted me forgiveness, I am His and He is mine. Hallelujah, what a Savior! Hallelujah, what a friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number 334. 334.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. not be all else to me save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word, I ever with Thee, and Thou with me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I Thy true Son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee wall'd. Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, Thou and always. Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, I, King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art. My King of Heaven, my victory won. May I reach heaven's joys, our bright heaven's sun. Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of all. Psalm 130. I remember Scott saying one time, we need to be like mules with blinders on, so we just see nothing but Christ. Psalm 130.

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. O Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord. My soul doeth wait. And in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. our great, glorious God of heaven and earth, the one true and living God.

Lord, you did mark all of our iniquities. You marked every one of them. But every one of them you marked, you laid them on your dear son, laid them on your son, took all of our iniquities, took all our sins, Put them on your side." He bore them all there in his body on that tree. Bore them all away, never to be remembered against us again. Oh, Lord, how we bless you and praise you for that wondrous, wondrous salvation. So, Lord, you did mark our iniquities, and now we stand.

We stand in the grace of God. We stand in Christ our Lord. We stand in the place Lord, that you put us complete in Christ, perfect in Christ. Christ becomes our all in all. And Lord, we bless you for that. Now, Lord, we've met here to worship this evening, met here to hear your word preached, to be with the saints of God, to hear good gospel hymns, truth in the gospel, truth in your word. And Lord Jesus, we ask for your presence and power. Lord, bless our dear brother when he comes to speak to us tonight.

And Lord, we ask again for those who are not with us through your providence because of the weakness of their bodies. Doc and Janie, Rick and Helen, oh God, please be with them, be merciful to them, be gracious to them. Restore them if it pleases you to do so. And our blessed Savior again, We pray for our families, our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren. Every one of us has family members, Lord, that don't know you, not interested in you. But, oh, God, we were the same way one day.

So please, in your sovereign mercy and power, send forth the Holy Spirit. Stir up their nest. Throw them out of the nest. Stir up their hearts and souls till they find no rest in this world, no hope in this world, no comfort in this world, till they find comfort and assurance in our Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. God meet with us tonight.

Bring glory to yourself for Christ's sake. Amen. Page 29 in our course books. 29 in the course books. On a hill far away died the Christ of the cross He yielded to suffering and shame And there in His grace He died in my place The purpose of God to fulfill So I'll cherish the Christ of the cross And before His throne I'll bow down.

I will cling to the Christ of the Cross, For He is the King I must crown. O the Christ of the Cross, so despised by the world as the wondrous attraction to me. He, the dear Lamb of God, left His glory above To bear all our sins on the tree So I'll cherish the Christ of the cross And before His throne I'll bow down I will cling to the Christ of the cross For He is the King I must crown In the Christ of the Cross, and His blood so divine, a marvelous beauty I see. For He opened my eyes, that long had been blind, to behold Him now on this throne. So I'll cherish Christ the Lord. And if your work is thrown out again I will cling to the Christ of the cross For He is the King I must have To the Christ of the Cross I must ever be true His shame and reproach gladly bear For in love He constrains Till all shall be gained And His glory forever I share So I'll cherish the Christ of the cross And before His throne I'll go down I will cling to the Christ of the cross For He is the King by my trial Amen.

Well, we got a blessed, blessed brother with us tonight. We met, oh my goodness, 1976, four or five, somewhere in that neck of the woods, and I was the best jumping Pentecostal, and he's a free will Baptist. God brought us a long way, ain't he? Brought us a long way. Out in Thomas Springs, they didn't have electricity out there. That's a long time ago. Long time ago. But I love him. And he's a special, special, special, dear, dear friend. I love him. God only knows how much I love him. Love to hear him preach. Brucie, you come preach for us. Preach it. Thank you, Brother Donnie.

I'm going to start by apologizing. Most of you have already told me, you weren't coming back, you said. I lied. I didn't do it willingly, but I lied. I was in a lot of pain when I last saw you folks. I wasn't coming back, but the Lord has strengthened me and helped me, and my back is much, much better. So I'm thankful for that, thankful for the Lord for that. It's good to see you. Good to see so many people here on the midweek service to worship our Lord. He's worthy of our worship, isn't he?

Look over it with me, if you would, tonight for the message in Isaiah chapter 26. Now keep your Bibles open there. I'll go back through this chapter just a little bit in just a few minutes, but I want you to notice my text tonight is found in verse 20 and verse 21. Isaiah chapter 26 and verse 20 and verse 21.

Come, my people. That's the title of what I want to speak to tonight. Come, my people. Enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment until the indignation be overpassed. For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Come, my people, and we'll see in just a few minutes, hopefully, how important this is. Some people have called this an invitation. I never like to call it that. Some people call it a command. I love to call it a summons. We've all had summons from the court, sometimes to deliver through the mail and sometimes in person by sheriff or a deputy, a summons to appear. And I love to call this a summons, come my people. And I want you to notice first of all what a summons this is. because it comes from the Lord himself. Come, my people, everywhere. See, in the scriptures, this word, it's always from him. Come unto me. He never tells us to come to a preacher. If he does, it's so the preacher can tell us who to come to. Never tells you to come up front in a worship service or to a mourners' bench or to a baptistry. The message is the same.

Come unto me. Come unto me, all you that labor, and I will give you rest. Even to the wicked, he says that, doesn't he? When he calls the unrighteous, what does he tell them to return to? Return unto the Lord. So how sweet this summons is because of who sends this summon out. He subpoenas his people.

But then I thought, what a refreshing and what a satisfying summons this is, because he says, he that is thirsty and he that hungers, let him come to me to be refreshed, to have his hunger satisfied. He said of old, everyone that thirsteth, come you to the waters, the waters of life. Come to me and I'll refresh you. He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again, he told the woman. But you drink of the water that I'll give you, you'll never thirst again. There'll be a well in you of living water springing up unto life everlasting.

But you say, Bruce, I have nothing to buy with. Well, here's the precious thing. He says, come and buy without money and without price. Isn't that wonderful? How do you buy without money and without price? The price has already been paid. Everything's ready. He's killed his sacrifice.

Sometimes when we invite people to dinner, you ever invited someone to dinner and they said, what can I bring? They always say that, don't they? What can I bring? And what do we tell them? Just an empty stomach. Just bring your thirst, bring your hunger, and bring it all to the Lord. Jesus Christ. And could we not say tonight, brothers and sisters, that everything that's necessary to salvation is found in the one that sends this summons? Everything that is necessary to make us happy in this life and safe in this life, we can have it upon coming to him. All God's blessings are in His dear and blessed Son.

So He can say, come with a hungry stomach and I'll fill you. Come naked and I'll clothe you. Come filthy and I'll wash you. Come dead and I'll give you life. Everything that we need is found in Him. So He looks to us and He says, come, my people. Just come. Come as you are.

But what a necessary summons this is. Isn't this a necessary summons? Because we won't come without it. Why is it necessary for the Lord Jesus to send this directly to our hearts and say, come, my people? Well, we don't know our need to come. But when this summons comes, it reveals our need to come. We don't know who to come to, do we? But the summons reveals who are we to come to. The one who sends the summons to begin with, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have no desire to come, do we? To our shame and confusion, we have no desire. We have no will to come. Nobody does.

Isn't it amazing, brothers and sisters, that still to this very day, us have been on the road now for so many decades? And if the Lord Jesus quits drawing us, we'll quit coming? We see that in ourselves. God has taught us that, hasn't He? Draw me! Draw me! And then we'll run after you. But if you cease to draw me, I'll quit coming.

Well, it's a shameful thing to have to admit, but it's so true, isn't it? How necessary it is that the Lord not only send a man this summons initially, but continually. For we must continually come to our Savior. And therefore, he must continue to draw us. No man can come to me. We can't come to him for salvation. We can't come to him to walk with him and love him. No man can come to me except my Father draw him. Oh, except my Father continue to send the summons. Did you ever get scared of yourself? Did you ever reach sometimes a point in your life where you say, I don't even have a desire to come. I don't have a will to come. And it scares you. It frightens you.

And that's why this summons is so necessary, not only for him to say initially come, but continually say, come, my people. And that leads us to this. Who's this summon sent to? My people. Come, my people. Jesus Christ has always had a people from the beginning of time, and he'll have a people when time ends. God the Father's given him a people, and he calls them his people. That's the way the covenant of grace runs, isn't it? I'll put my spirit in them, and I'll say to them, I'm your God. And I'll say to them, you're my people. I'm yours and you're mine. And isn't it amazing and very telling, no sooner had the angel announced in the New Testament that his name would be called Jesus, that the angel himself said, and he shall save his He has a people.

He has a people, doesn't he? He had people in the first century. He'll have people in the last century in the history of this world. Come, my people. What a lovely summons. My people. He said to Noah long, long ago, I will establish my covenant with you and you shall come. to the ark. And your sons are coming with you. And their wives are coming. And when the ark was finished, he that said, you shall come, then says, come. Come into the ark.

Oh, this is a necessary summons. And I'm just, I'm just certain that everyone that gets this summons will come. Oh, I'm never coming back. You will if the Lord sends you a summons. I've heard that before, haven't you? Oh, I've heard him say, I've heard her say, I'll never be back to hear that preacher.

Well, when the Lord sends you a summons, you'll not only come back, but you'll come back like an old dog. And you'll come back, Lord, am I yours? Am I your people? Aren't you thankful, brothers and sisters? You got this summons. Why have you been coming all this time? It's because you got this summons. In the Bible, the Lord describes his people before they get this summons, and he describes them after they get this summons. He even describes his people before.

He says, you were dead. You were my people, but you were dead in trespasses and sins. You walk just like everybody else according to the course of this world. Satan worked in your heart and you followed him. You were like a baby cast out into the open field. Nobody pitied you until I said it's the time of love. I'm going to wash you. You're mine. I've redeemed you. You're mine. I noticed this as I was reading this chapter a few weeks ago.

He describes his people now. He calls them his people in our text. But just glance at a few places here, what he says about his people. They trust in him. In verse two, open you the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. That's his people.

If I ask you to now, is your trust in yourself? Is your trust in anything you've ever done? Where is your trust? What would you tell me? My trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Wholly and fully, I trust Him. And in verse 3, and in verse 4, trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting And he says in verse 7, look at this. The way of the just is uprightness. The way of the just. His people are just. They're justified. They're justified by faith in Him. They're justified by His blood, justified by His grace. And then he says they are uprightness. They're upright.

I said the other day, we've got one or two in our congregation that sometimes they grieve me to death because I know how they live outside the congregation. And I made this statement. Do you come here and bless God and go home and curse your family? You're not a believer. Do you come here and put money in the offering box and go steal from your neighbor? The Lord's people are a just people. They're upright people. They're honest people. They're sincere people. They won't hurt you. Look what else he says about them. In verse 8.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name. and to the remembrance of Thee. We've waited for Thee, Lord, and we've not departed from Your ways. Things have gotten tough. Seems like our world's turned upside down. We've faced some hard decisions in our lifetime, but we've not departed from Your ways. We put our nose to the grindstone and we waited upon the Lord. That's the way he describes his people. And then verse 9, look at this. The Lord does not work with his people.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night. Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. Isn't that amazing? Paul and Silas sought the Lord. at midnight. Poor old Jacob, he prayed all night, didn't he? Wrestled with the Lord. I bet some of you know something about night work. The Lord sometimes comes to his people in the stillness of night, and they're so burdened, or they're so happy, they just seek him. With their spirit within them, the low bottom of their heart, they seek him.

And look here at their confession, verse 12. And this is this is why they do all of these things. Why do they trust in him? Why do they hold on to his ways and so forth? Here's the confession in verse 12. Lord thou will ordain peace for us for thou also has wrought all our works in us. Where did these desire come from? From him. Where did this trust come from? From Him. Why did you put your nose to the grindstone and not depart from His ways? He worked in you to do it. You've not done a thing, have you? Except He first worked it in you. All our works He has wrought in us. And look in verse 18. Boy, this is certainly not a bragging people, the Lord's people. In verse 18, We have been with child. We have been in pain. We have, as it were, brought forth wind.

We have not wrought any deliverances in the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen." Don't we come to the Lord and often say, Lord, I've not affected anything. I'm such an unprofitable servant. Well, we have You all haven't turned this county upside down, have you? We haven't even turned the little neighborhood upside down where I pastor. Lord, we've just not done anything. Most of what we do, I'm thankful to God he keeps it secretly. He don't even let us see it. The judgment will tell what the Lord's done through his people. And look here in verse 18, just describing his people. Verse 19, look what a hope they have.

Thy dead men shall live together with thy dead body, shall they arise. The Lord Jesus rose, we rose with him and in him. Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead. These people have a good hope, don't they?

When Christ arose and entered heaven, He didn't enter there for himself. He entered there for his people. And when he entered there and sat down at the Father's right hand, that was assurance enough that they'll meet him there someday when he comes again. And this is the people he says to, come. Come, my people. Enter into thy chambers.

I looked every place in the scripture this word chambers is used It's sometimes called an inner room, it's sometimes called a secret place, it's sometimes called a place of rest, a place of refuge, it was called a place where treasures were stored, even food and supplies, all of those pertain to the chambers.

But Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 4 says this, By knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches." By knowledge, these chambers are filled with pleasant things, riches. If I was going to interpret this, I'd use two scriptures to interpret Proverbs 24 and 4. It would be this, grow in grace and in the knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. By the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, these chambers are filled with treasures. And the second scripture is where the Lord said, take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

Learning of him fills these chambers with treasures. Precious thing. But notice this. I want you to notice this before we consider these chambers. The Lord gives a reason for them entering to their chambers. Come, my people. Why? Why should we come, Lord, into these chambers? Because there's trouble on the horizon.

There's indignation coming. Look what he said again in verse 21. For this reason, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place. He's going to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquities. Come, my people. Enter your chambers. Trouble is coming.

Oh, the dead judgment of reality in our minds, is it not? It's a day when every sin will be exposed and punished. Those secret things that men thought they'd hidden. or forgot will be exposed, will be brought to mind. The secret thoughts of the heart will be exposed and divine justice will require satisfaction for those sins.

The Lord is coming out of his place. There's two characteristics of God this world cannot bear to hear about. That's his holiness. and his justice. And both of these are revealed in this passage. He's of two pure eyes than to behold iniquity. He cannot look upon sin. He cannot justify sin. He cannot sweep it under the rug. He's too holy.

And his justice requires that every sin be punished. Every sin must be punished, either in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ upon Calvary's tree or in our own person. If it's punished in Him, we're free from it. Justice is satisfied. But if we stand before God and He marks our iniquities outside Jesus Christ, then, then that sin will be punished in us. But God requires punishment. There's three things I thought about as I read this text in verse 21. God's knowledge of a person's sin. I will punish their iniquities.

Can you imagine how many people have lived in this world from the beginning of the time from Adam to now? Well, there's science. There's no way the smartest mathematician could calculate how many people have lived in the history of this world. And yet God knows every secret thing that they've done of every person, every sin. We sin and forget it. We hide it. We calculate that it wasn't that bad to begin with. That's the world's opinion of their sins.

God knows them all. He knows every sin. Those who stood before him and bragged about their works and how they had preached in his name and cast out devils. He says you have sins you don't even realize you had. The sins you call righteousness are sins.

He will punish the world. That's the sentence against sin and sinners for it. Depart from me. There it is. He will punish the world. Depart from me, you cursed. But Lord, you're the source of all that's good. Where will they go into all this evil? Lord, you're the source of life. Where are they going into death? Lord, you're the source of all light. Where are they going into outer darkness?

He's coming out of his place to punish iniquity and people because of it. And here's the punishment itself. The Holy Spirit puts this word in verse 20. Come enter your chambers until the indignation be overpassed. But the Lord will punish the world for its iniquity. And what is the punishment that he will inflict? His indignation. How many places do we find this word indignation in the scriptures?

Psalm 69 and 24, pour out your indignation upon them, Lord. Let thy wrathful anger I don't know how you describe that, do you? Let your wrathful anger take hold of them. Cast upon them the fierceness of your anger and your wrath and your indignation and trouble. He goes on in several scriptures to describe the punishment and the punishment is the wrath of God itself. The indignation. His wrath burns like fire.

I told a lady the other day, and she was shocked when I told her this, but I said, I don't believe the lake of fire is literal fire. I think it's worse. Outer darkness. What does that mean? That means God's wrath is about in there. God's wrath is poured out. Outer darkness means God is not there. It's worse than literal. The Lord is coming out of his place to pour out his wrath.

And when he does, the smoke of their torment, Revelation said, shall ascend up forever and ever. And it's in this context that the Lord says, come, my people, enter into your chambers and hide yourself. Sometimes the Lord's own people are so earthbound and forgetful They have to be prodded. They have to be awakened and reminded of the seriousness of their situation and the times in which they live. Brothers and sisters, we're close to the end of time. The Lord is ready to come out of his place in his wrath and indignation to punish the world for its iniquity.

It's time to come into our chambers, isn't it? Just before the Lord told Noah that he and his family would come into the ark, he told him why. Behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, for in it is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything upon this earth shall die. Come thou, come thou. into the ark. When we see this come, my people, in this context, it makes it so urgent, doesn't it, for us to come?

What are these divine chambers? These are divine chambers. What are they? I want to give you six things to think about, and I'll just take a minute. these chambers that we're told to come into. The first one I would like to think about was His divine power. Come into your chambers of divine power and shut the doors behind you and rest. Rest in His divine power.

You and I are utterly weak, aren't we? We are utterly helpless in defenses. But the Bible says we are kept by the power of God. We're upheld, we're sustained, we're preserved by the power of God. We're no match for the smallest of our troubles, brothers and sisters. The smallest of troubles in the right time, in the right place, will utterly get us down. But our greatest troubles that we face is no match for our Lord's divine power.

Come, my people, enter unto your chambers. There was a reason why the Apostle Paul said, I've come to glory in my weakness and in my infirmities. And it was for this cause that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We have that power in creation. We see it even to this day. We see His power in providence. We see His power in saving us upon the cross. He's there in heaven with all this majestic power and we see it in us because He's working in us. He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to His power that worketh in What are you afraid of? What power are you afraid of? What are you afraid that's finally going to overcome you or bring you to nothing?

You know, one of the things that I've, as I've gotten older, I've got somewhat afraid of is poverty. Isn't that something for somebody that's been on the road this long to get scared of? I'm afraid the Lord's going to take everything I've got and I'll have to go in a nursing home. I'll have nothing. Somebody else will have to change my diaper and everything. You reckon that'll come to that?

It may. But is his power not sufficient to keep me then? Others have been there. Other dear saints have been there. He can either keep you from poverty or he'll keep you during your poverty. He can bring you out on the other side of poverty like He did Job and restore you sevenfold, because He owns cattle on a thousand hills anyway. And my God shall supply all your need. Are you afraid of poverty? He's rich. He's rich. You afraid of sickness? If you get sick, He'll make your bed in your sickness. He can heal you in your sickness. He has power to keep you through your sickness. Come into this chamber of divine power. What about death? You afraid of death? Sometimes we are. But why do we fear death? Is it not a lack of knowledge? Your chambers shall be filled through knowledge. Don't we realize that Christ has died in our stead?

That death has stung him to death. But in his death, he swallowed up death. He's dispelled it from his kingdom. He don't even use the word anymore. He says it's rest. They sleep in Jesus. Death don't have power over him. And it won't have power over you.

Enter unto that chamber. What about this, brothers and sisters? Enter the chamber of his divine wisdom. How many of us have been in trouble and we tried to figure out a way to get out of it and made it worse? Huh? We've done that, haven't we? But little did we know that God put us in that trouble to show us his wisdom in getting us out or getting us through it.

Asap was in deep trouble, boy. He said, almost my feet were gone. My steps are well and I slept. He got envious of the wicked. Boy, he got in a terrible shape. He says, as far as I'm concerned, I'm gone. He did not know that the Lord had put him there and let him go there to show him that it's not your wisdom that's leading you. Your foolishness got you here. My wisdom's going to bring you out. The Lord sent him into the sanctuary and he heard a message preached. And he saw the end of the wicked. And he said, Oh, what a fool I've been. I've been like a beast. And then he made this wonderful statement.

By your counsel, by your wisdom, you're going to guide me all the way through this world and you're going to receive me into glory. Brothers and sisters, the greatest wisdom you and I can have is to confess that we're fooled. and lean heavy upon our shepherd who is so wise to lead us. You say, Bruce, I can't see how to get out of this. You think he's as blind as you are? We don't have eyes to see, but he's full of eyes. And those eyes are wise. Oh, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments. Oh, come in to this chamber, to this divine wisdom, and shut the doors behind thee. What about this one, divine love? Enter this chamber.

The love of Christ passeth all our ability to comprehend it. Can you comprehend the duration of the love of Christ for your soul? He says it's from everlasting. to everlasting. It's him himself. In its measure, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends, and he laid down his life when we were ungodly, and his enemies, and in utter weakness. Oh, enter this chamber of love, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will never change. He loved you before the world, He loved you before He saved you, and He loved you after He saved you. And He'll never cease to love you, having loved His own which were in the world. How long did He love? To the end. To the end.

What shall separate us from the Lord Jesus Christ? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What a chamber to get into. Come, my people. What about this one? I love this one. Boy, this is going to help me to get into this chamber. God's divine purpose. Oh, get this knowledge of this in your heart.

God's divine purpose. The Lord don't have to undo something that he's purposed to do. He has no plan B's. Everything he's purposed, he fulfills. I have purposed it, I will also do it. One day I was so down and suddenly Romans chapter 8 in verse 28 through 30, this came tumbling into my mind. All things work together for good to them who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. He does everything by purpose.

Did He save you by accident? Would you be so bold and ignorant as to declare that? Nobody here would. And He's not going to lose you by accident. If He saved you by chance, there may be a chance He'll lose you. But He saved you on purpose. And Romans chapter 8 verse 29 and 30 tells us what that purpose is. And it's history, isn't it? Oh, get into this purpose that God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose. He's a God of purpose. He doesn't do things haphazardly. He saved you on purpose. He's purposed every step that you will take. Get into this chamber, brothers and sisters. God's purpose. and shut the doors behind you. And I love this one, let me give you two more. What about divine faithfulness? I tell you, if God is not faithful, forget about everything. If he's not faithful, he's not God, is he?

I heard a man not long ago, a preacher preaching on, I think it's in Genesis chapter eight, after Noid left the ark, the rainbow, God gave the rainbow, said, as long as this earth stands, there's going to be seed time and harvest. There's going to be summer and winter. There's going to be cold and heat, as long as it stands. Look at the 1,000 years that's passed, and what do we still have? Winter and summer, cold and heat, harvest and planting. And this man made the point.

He said society would cease. if it wasn't for the faithfulness of God. The farmers wouldn't know when to plant. They could plant in April and June, it would get to zero and freeze everything out. Society would collapse if it wasn't for the faithfulness of God.

Oh, here's a chamber to get into. God is faithful. Listen to this. There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you're able to bear. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. He's called you, he is calling you, and he will yet call you, because he's faithful. The Lord is faithful who will establish you and keep you from evil.

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithfully. He cannot deny himself. In all things, it behooved the Lord Jesus to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. And boy, this one's important. If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just. He's faithful to forgive us our sins. Commit your souls unto Him as unto a faithful creator. Oh, thank God that He's a faithful creator.

Thank God that our Savior's a faithful high priest. And think about this one quickly. Divine promises. Oh, that's a good jammer, isn't it? All the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea and amen. Take your promise, brethren and sisters. Make sure it's to you. Then hang on to it with all your heart. Sarah counted God faithful who had promised. Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what he had promised, and he's promised some amazing things, He calls it exceeding great and precious promises.

These are chambers to get into, aren't they? And he says, when you come into your chambers, what were they to do then? Shut the door. Shut the door. It's not too difficult sometimes to get in there. The difficult part is shutting out the noise. That's the hard thing to do. There's noise of this world all around us today, isn't there?

The noise of politics that just sucks me in and the doors fly open. Shut the door. The doors of the cares of this world. You've got to shut those doors. The cares of this life. That's an awful sound, and it troubles us. Shut the doors, brothers and sisters. It's difficult. You'll find it difficult to keep these doors closed. But if you don't shut them, you can't rest.

And I found that if you're going to shut the doors, boy, it's going to take some power. It's going to take some love. It's going to take the Lord working in you to make you sober, to make you diligent, to make you more careful than you've ever been, to keep these doors shut. But I tell you what, if the Lord gives you grace to shut those doors, I tell you what, you'll find a refuge like you cannot believe.

You've found it, ain't you, Donnie Bell? You find it just for a while, then the doors come open. You have to go in again. But it's worth it, just to be in there for a while. Oh, this is that private place. This is a place you get to in the low bottom of your heart. And you know why you get there? And you know why you keep wanting to come there? And keep striving to get there? You know why?

Because you've received this summons. Come, my people. When you hear those voices, dear brother, when you hear those voices, dear sister, when you hear him say, come my people, rush in there. Don't wait. Come in right then. And say, Lord, give me grace to shut those doors. Lord, we thank you.

What a great God you are. What a great savior you are. We can't begin to describe to you, to tell out to you, how great you are. Only you know. But you're a great God. You're a great Savior. You're a faithful God. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand in these chambers, there's pleasures forevermore.

Oh, our gracious Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus, give us grace. All of us gathered here tonight, let us experience what it is. Come into your chambers and give us grace to shut everything out and be in there with you. Because you're coming out of your place, we don't want nothing to do with you and your anger. Your indignation, Lord, we're fearful to even think of it. It's just why we asked you to be merciful to our children, our grandbabies, those of our loved ones and neighbors who are lost. We don't want them to face that. It's a fearful thing to fall into your hands. Lord, give us grace to hide.

Thank you for this dear church, these dear friends, Thank you for this dear pastor and his wife. Bless them. Uphold them. Bless this church and bless this community through them. We pray these things in the name of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. You'll probably never see my face again. Thank you, Donnie Bell. Thank you. Thank the Lord for you. Thank the Lord for you. Amen. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for taking me home. Thank you, Lord, for giving to me thy great salvation, so rich and free. Thank you, Bruce.

Boy, I'm going to get in them chambers. I'm going to get wealth, all that wealth that's in there, all them riches you talk about. Whoo! We got to quit. I know that preacher just does something for us and nothing else does. Well, good night and God bless you. And we'll see you Sunday morning, Lord willing.

"Come, My People"

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's invitation to His people?

How do we know God is just in punishing sin?

Why is it important for Christians to seek refuge in Christ?

How does God's sovereign grace manifest in His calling of His people?

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"Come, My People"

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's invitation to His people?

How do we know God is just in punishing sin?

Why is it important for Christians to seek refuge in Christ?

How does God's sovereign grace manifest in His calling of His people?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

Comments

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