The Sure Promise of God

Q: What does the Bible say about God's promises?

The Bible affirms that God is faithful to keep His promises, as seen in Exodus 6:1-8. The Scriptures reveal that God is unfailingly faithful to His promises. In Exodus 6:1-8, God reassures Moses that despite the hardships faced by the Israelites, He will deliver them from bondage and bring them into the Promised Land. This promise highlights God's covenant faithfulness, which extends through generations. The certainty of God's promises is underlined by His omnipotence; nothing can thwart His plans. As believers today, we can trust that just as God fulfilled His promises to Israel, He will also fulfill His promises to us regarding eternal life and spiritual redemption.

Q: How do we know God's promises are true?

We know God's promises are true because He is the Lord, who cannot lie. The certainty of God's promises rests on His character as revealed in Scripture. In Exodus 6:2-5, God assures Moses of His identity as 'I am the Lord' and emphasizes that He has remembered His covenant. When God promises, He does so with the authority of His true nature, as being omnipotent and unchanging. This means His word is dependable and true. Throughout biblical history, God has proven faithful to His people, making it clear that His covenant and promises can be trusted. For Christians, this assurance is particularly significant regarding the salvation promised through Christ.

Q: Why is the concept of redemption important for Christians?

Redemption is central to Christianity because it signifies liberation from sin and death through Christ. The concept of redemption is crucial to the Christian faith as it emphasizes the sacrificial work of Christ on behalf of sinners. In Exodus 6:6, God promises to 'redeem you with a stretched-out arm,' foreshadowing the redemptive work of Jesus who paid the price for our sins. Through His death and resurrection, believers are set free from the bondage of sin, just as the Israelites were liberated from Egyptian oppression. This redemption not only secures our eternal destiny but also transforms our present lives, empowering us to live in accordance with God's will, united with Him as His people.

Q: What does it mean that God is our friend?

God being our friend signifies a deep, personal relationship through Christ's sacrifice. The notion of God as our friend reveals the intimate relationship believers have with Him through faith in Christ. Jesus stated in John 15:15 that He calls His followers friends because they know His commands and abide in His love. This friendship is rooted in the covenant of grace, where God, who is holy and just, has made a way for sinners to be reconciled to Him through Christ's sacrifice. As a friend, God is compassionate, understanding our struggles and weaknesses, and invites us to commune with Him openly and honestly. This relational aspect underscores the grace and mercy extended to us, reinforcing the assurance of our place in His kingdom.

Q: Why do Christians experience trials?

Christians experience trials as a means of strengthening faith and reliance on God. Trials are an integral part of the Christian journey, serving multiple purposes in God's sovereign plan. As seen in the experience of the Israelites, hardships can lead to an increased dependence on God and a deeper realization of His faithfulness. In Romans 5:3-4, Paul explains that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope. Trials refine believers, teaching them to trust in God's promises amidst life's difficulties, ultimately preparing them for future glory. This process aligns with God's purpose of weaning His people from worldly attachments and cultivating a longing for the eternal joys that await in His presence.

Well, we're in Exodus again, and it is turning into a series. I didn't know whether it would at the start, but it is. And I want to focus on chapter six of Exodus, the first eight verses this morning, and I've entitled it, The Sure Promise of God. Now, I'm going to jump back to last week very quickly, because in Exodus five, verses one to three, we saw that Moses and Aaron had told Pharaoh, on the instruction of God, they told Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews requires his people's liberty.

Let them go. Let them go to make a feast with me in the wilderness, And it was on the basis of verse 3, on the basis of a sacrifice. A feast on the basis of a sacrifice. God, our God, today, now, requires Satan. to free his people, God's people, for God has a people, for a heavenly feast, a heavenly feast that is secured by a perfect sacrifice. You know that heavenly feast. We're so bound up, aren't we, with the things of this world, as Stephen just prayed in his prayer, the things of flesh in this world, but yet You know, this is the journey that we're on. This is where we're going. Revelation 21 and verse 1.

John, the apostle, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I saw, I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Now listen, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

I could go on. That's the feast. That is the feast. This pictures Israel coming out of Egypt, Pharaoh being required to let them go, pictures God requiring Satan to free his people whom he chose before the beginning of time for a heavenly feast, a marriage supper of the Lamb that is never ending, that we read of in the scriptures, and it's all secured by a perfect sacrifice.

Do you know that's the only way to commune with God? I hear more and more people in these days, in the midst of all of the rejection of God, I hear people who are clever people, clever people. I was listening to a couple the other day and I greatly respect them for their brains and their intellect and their ability to detect and warn against the lies that were being told by politicians and others in authority. And do you know, in the process of their thinking, they've come to the conclusion that they're Christians, and that there is a God, and that they believe in this God, and this God ought to be jolly pleased with them that they've decided that he's a good God, et cetera, et cetera. But you know, it's only on their terms. Do you know, James says, the Apostle James says, even the devils believe and tremble and tremble. You see, they come on their terms and not God's terms. What are God's terms? A perfect sacrifice. A feast on the basis of a perfect... You can't have the feast without the sacrifice. It's impossible. So, God's terms are that.

In Exodus 3, 19, you see, they come and they tell Pharaoh to let the people go. But do you know, God had already told them in chapter three and verse 19. He said, God said, go and tell Pharaoh to let the people go. But he said, I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not by a mighty hand. God had already told them, Pharaoh will not let you go. God had set the expectation, truly. Go and tell him to let the people go, but I know he won't let them go.

They either hadn't heard, maybe Moses and Aaron hadn't told the elders of Israel for fear of rejection. Anyway, they went ahead and demanded Pharaoh that he let the people go. And you can read for yourself in Exodus 5 verses 4 to 19, the conditions worsened. They were given unreasonable demands. You know, there were slaves building, I believe, pyramids and other things in Egypt for the Pharaohs. But they had unreasonable demands on them.

They used to make brick and they would make it out of clay But to give it strength, they would put straw in the brick, otherwise it would be brittle and just break. And the Egyptians gave them the straw to make the brick, and then they would bake the bricks, and that would be the basis on which the buildings were made. But then they said, because you've asked to go, you're not going to go. You go and get the straw yourself, and you'll still make the same number of bricks. The tail of the bricks won't be diminished in any way whatsoever.

Unreasonable demands and increased cruelty. God had said, go and tell Pharaoh to let the people go. So Moses and Aaron went and said, let the people go. And Pharaoh said, how dare you come and tell me to let the people go? I'm gonna make their conditions far worse.

There was cruelty, there were beatings, there was misery, there was despair. They started to wonder why they had listened to Moses and Aaron and believed that God had given them a message. There was anger and there was unbelief. If Moses and Aaron had indeed brought the message from God, it had made their case far worse, not better. He hadn't let them go.

Do you know this tells us something? And it's indicative of the life of the believer in this world. The path from this world From the sin of this world to the paradise of God, as Bunyan described it in Pilgrim's Progress, is a narrow path. It's the narrow way. It's uphill. It's hill difficulty. It's beset with trials. It's subject to every weakness of the flesh. It's subject to temptations.

It's often discouraging. Contrary to what some popular so-called Christian religions try to teach, it's not health, wealth, and happiness. It's easy to abandon it, but for one thing. You know, in John chapter 6, many of the followers of Jesus were abandoning him and going away. This is a hard saying. Who can tolerate it? Will you also go away? He said to the twelve. And Peter, as their spokesman, replies in John 6, 68, To whom shall we go? There is nowhere else. To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. It's easy to abandon, but for the people of God, you cannot abandon it, because you know it's the words of eternal life.

Anyway, these people, these Israelites, were put in a much worse condition than they had been in before God had told Moses and Aaron to go and tell Pharaoh to let them go. He'd made matters worse! So the people prayed. Who to? Look in chapter 5 and verse 15. Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Why have you dealt thus with your servants? It's unfair. They didn't pray to their God. They did what flesh always tends to do in our difficulties. They leaned on the arm of unreasonable flesh. They leaned on the arm of cruel flesh, incapable flesh, bitter flesh.

They complained bitterly to Moses and Aaron. And Moses even dared, in Exodus 5 verse 22, Moses, they came and they said, you've made matters so worse. We're aboard in the eyes of Pharaoh. in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And verse 22, Moses returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, why have you so evil entreated this people? Why is it that you have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he's done evil to this people.

Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. Moses dared. to accuse God of deceiving them. You said, go and let my people go and he'll let your people go. No, he hadn't. He'd said they won't let them go first time. He'd said that quite clearly. Moses said, you said you'd deliver them and you haven't.

You know, if God were not compassionate and merciful, and gracious and touched with human infirmities. He's touched with the feeling. Why is he touched with the feeling of our infirmities? Because God became flesh and he knew what it was to be tired and weary and hungry and all of those things. He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. It says in Psalm 103 that our God knows our frame and remembers that we are dust.

Yes, he's a consuming fire. Yes, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but our God is a God who in our Lord Jesus Christ says, I call you no longer servants, but I call you my friends. He's the friend of his people. He's his people's friend. He's the friend of... Our God who dwells in unapproachable light is the friend of sinners.

So God gives an answer to Moses. Moses comes with his daring complaint, for which you would think God would be just in striking him dead there and then and removing him from his position. But he's touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He's compassionate and merciful. And in chapter six, verse one, God gives his answer to Moses.

Then the Lord said unto Moses, now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand he shall let them go. and with a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land. God says this, in effect. He says to Moses, when I, the Lord, have dealt with Pharaoh, have dealt with Egypt as I intend to, and if I intend to, I will certainly do it, you will know for sure that I never fail to keep my promises.

Does the hope of heaven to us who believe here and now in these bodies, in these situations, does the hope of heaven at times seem too distant? Does the way to heaven seem impeded by obstacles, by distractions, by diversions of this world all around us, of sin to which we're so prone, of the flesh which is so weak? Do we doubt God's promises and God's ability to take us there? Is it real? Is it real? Have I been deluded all this time? Have I been indoctrinated and deluded with some falsehood? Is it? What are you going to do? Will you give up? Will you give up?

Will you be an Esau and sell your birthright? What did Esau sell his birthright for? A piece of meat, it says in Hebrews, a mess of pottage, just some food, just something of worldly comfort because he was hungry. Esau gave that up. He tried to get it back, but he couldn't get it back.

Or will you be a Joshua or a Caleb? It says of Caleb that he was wholly committed to the Lord's service and the Lord's promise. Let's see what are the grounds for trusting God. Look in verses two to five of chapter six. Verses two to five. God spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name of Jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant."

Trust and confidence in anything rests on the knowledge of the ability of the one who's making the promise. Someone makes a promise to you, do you believe them? Your trust and your willingness and your confidence to believe rests on knowledge of the ability of the promiser to keep his promise.

The promise of attainment of Canaan to these Israelites, the promised land, is made by Almighty God. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. That's who's making the promise. And likewise, the promise regarding heaven. I am the Lord. I will take you to be there. Our God cannot lie. Our God, it says in Isaiah 42, he shall not fail. He shall accomplish it. Verse two, who has spoken to you, Moses? I am the Lord. God spoke to Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord. You can be confident because if God has said it, God rules over all. God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is omnipresent. There is nothing that can stop God fulfilling his eternal purposes. But what's this in verse 3?

I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. In scripture, God is mainly known by two names. There are others, Adonai, Lord, but primarily it's Elohim, E-L-O-H-I-M, Elohim, which speaks of him as the creator and the governor of creation and his creatures. Elohim is a name of God. You'll see it a lot in Genesis 1 and 2. That is the name in the original language by which God speaks. And then Jehovah, Jehovah. the God of his people by covenant relationship.

So what does verse 3 mean? You see, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob knew the name of Jehovah. It says there, by my name of Jehovah was I not known to them. What does it mean? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew the name of Jehovah. It was the name Yahweh. It was unpronounceable in the original Hebrew.

It's represented in our English language with the letters Y-W-H-W. And it's transformed into Jehovah in our language. It's translated in the King James Version of the Bible, nearly every case, as Lord, but in small capitals. You'll notice sometimes God the Lord is L, small letters, O-R-D, and in other cases like here, the Lord, it's small capitals.

It's Yahweh, it's Jehovah, it's this covenant relationship. So why does it say that they didn't know him by that? They knew the name But I think, and this is what a lot of people think, and I think it's right. They knew the name, but not the experiential acquaintance of the covenant of grace in their souls.

Look at Hebrews chapter 11 in the gallery of faith. Hebrews 11, and a couple of verses there. Verse 13. Speaking of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these all died in faith. They all died believing, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Do you see what I mean?

Yes, they knew the name, but the experience of knowing like we do, looking back to the finished work of Christ, they saw those promises afar off, were persuaded of them, they believed them, they embraced them, they were the basis of their lives, they confessed. that they were strangers and pilgrims in this earth because they knew that their home was truly in the glory of God. They sought a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

And then in verse 39 at the end of that chapter 11, all these, all in that faith gallery, having obtained a good report through faith, That's the only way they obtained a good report, through faith. Because, as it says in verse six of Hebrews 11, without faith, it is impossible to please God. All these, having obtained a good report through faith, they're heading for glory, but they receive not the promise in their experience, in the way that we do now, looking back to the finished work of Christ. I'm pretty sure that that's what that means. They believed God, but the full assurance of faith, based on looking back to accomplished redemption, was a far-off promise.

But they with all God's elect, were eternal beneficiaries of God's covenant of grace. Look in verse four, it's pictured there. In verse four, the promise is underlined. I have established my covenant with them. What's the covenant? To give them the land of Canaan, the promised land, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers, but it's going to be theirs. The certainty that God says they would definitely inherit Canaan is underlined there. That's the fact that they were eternal beneficiaries of God's covenant of grace that will take them home to heaven, as we'll see later. Moses and the people at this time, having asked Pharaoh to let them go as God had said, they felt deluded by a failed promise as they saw it. But God had not promised to bring them out at the first asking.

So why does God, let's apply it to today, why does he not just take all his, he's redeemed all his people. When Christ died on the cross and rose again, divine justice was satisfied for all eternity, for all the people God loved in Christ before the foundation of the world. Why does he not then just take all his redeemed straight to paradise now? Why does he not just take us now? Because, Jesus had prayed, I pray not, Father, that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil of the world until the time is right, when the fullness of the time is come.

There are things to be done. What things to be done? Do you know that there is a great spiritual warfare? that must run its course. There is a great spiritual warfare between God and Satan, between the forces of God and the forces of evil that oppose God. There's a great spiritual warfare that must run its course, and it's running its course, and I believe we can see it progressing, because I believe that for a thousand years, symbolically, Satan was bound in a pit from deluding the nations and the gospel spread, but In these recent years, I believe we're in his little season where Satan is released for a season to delude the nations again. And look at the deception that we see all around us. I don't think it's ever been so great. The deception concerning the truth of God is vast. It's immense all around us.

That spiritual warfare must run its course. Why? For the glory of God. God will be glorified in that. There are experiences that we must go through. Why? To wean us off the love of this world. That's why we're here, to wean us off the love of this world. To sharpen our longing for the end, to be taken to that paradise of God. But look at this, verse five.

I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. God knows our situation. He knew their situation. He knew the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and he's remembered his covenant.

God knows the situation that we're in. Each one of us, wherever you are, whatever you're doing right now, whatever your trials and difficulties, child of God, Hear this, God knows. God in heaven knows, and he's near to each one of us. He knows our situation, each one.

The accomplishment of the eternal covenant of grace to take all the people that he loved in Christ from the foundation of the world to glory is in no doubt whatsoever. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, certain things have happened.

If you're a true believer, You have sensed God. When everybody around has no sense of God, there's come a point where you have sensed that there is a God. whom you must meet. You have sensed that there is a God from whom you derive your life. You have felt something of your sin. You remember that hymn, a sinner is a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so. You have sensed something of your sin, that there is a God, that you need a relationship with God, but your sin bars you from that relationship. You've perhaps by, well, definitely, if you're a child of God, God has caused your path to cross the path of a preacher. whether it's in the written word or whether it's in the spoken word, whatever.

You have heard the gospel, which is the good news. It's the answer to Job's question. How should a man who is a sinner be right with a God who is holy and must condemn sin? How should a man be just with God? You've heard the gospel, good news, that there is good news, that there is forgiveness for sins, for one has paid the price. And hearing that, and seeing that, and looking, you have called, you have called upon the name of the Lord, and whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And in calling, you have found peace in your soul, to see that the blood of Christ has cleansed you from all sin. You stand before God, robed in the righteousness of Christ, and you have a confident hope that you are qualified as a citizen for his eternal kingdom, and he will come and he will take you to be with him. But on the way, like all flesh, you've stumbled. You've stumbled. Oh, bed of roses. Oh, easy path. No, you've stumbled. You've wandered off. Something's distracted you. You've doubted, you've seriously doubted whether it was true.

But if you're a true child of God, you've always, always, always returned to Christ and Him alone. The prodigal son went away from his father. He was a son of the father, he went away, and he found himself in poverty. eating pig's will, because that's all he could get. And he said, even the servants in my father's house have food and enough to eat. I will return to my father and I will say to him, I've been a terrible son.

Please forgive me. Make me as one of your servants and return home. Return home. And you've continued to hope. You've continued not just to hope that perhaps, but you've continued to confidently expect that when we leave this life we go straight. As Jesus said to the penitent thief on the cross, this day you will be with me in paradise. You will consciously leave this life and you will be with me in paradise.

Well, God has something to say to you and to me, child of God, believer, and it's God that's speaking. It's I am that I am. I am the Lord. You know when God spoke, Christ spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, out of the bush that was not consumed, I am that I am. What is your name? I am that I am, the source of all things. It's him that is speaking.

This is God's word to his children. Look in verses six to eight, wherefore, Say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land concerning the which I did swear, to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And I will give it to you for an heritage. I am the Lord. This is the Lord speaking to his people.

Child of God, this is the Lord God speaking to you. God's word to his children. How do we know, Israelites, that we're going to leave Egypt and go to the promised land? How do you know, child of God, living in this fallen, evil world, that you will escape the clutches of sin and Satan and mortality and be taken to the glory of God? Well, let's hear what God says.

But I want you to imagine like this. You remember, and it was more than just at the Last Supper, it was more than there, but at the Last Supper, the Apostle John says, he leaned on Jesus' breast. Can you imagine that, in that upper room? That there's a man of flesh and blood, just like we are, but in that man dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. that in that man the disciples could testify, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Imagine when he says these things, that you are with the Apostle John, leaning on Jesus, his people's friend, God incarnate, God who is near. We read it in, sorry, Jeremiah 23, we didn't read it in Jeremiah 23, but look at this, Jeremiah 23, And verse 23, am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? God is a God who is near. God is near his people all the time. He is near us now.

And he says to them, I have determined to bring you out of Egypt into the promised land. And he says to us, I have determined to take you to eternal glory. Who can stop it? He gives us seven promises in these two verses. One, two, three, three verses. He gives us seven promises. One, I will bring you out from under the burdens. There you are, verse six. I am the Lord, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. He says that to us. He says that to us. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 11, verse 28.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden under a burden. What burden? The burden of sin that will keep you out of heaven and eternity. The burden of sin that will condemn you. Heavy laden with that burden, and I will give you rest from that burden. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. that I am meek and lowly in heart. God over all is meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

He says to his people, I will take you out from under those burdens. Secondly, He says, I will rid you out of bondage. I will rid you out of bondage. There in verse six, I will rid you out of their bondage, the bondage of the Egyptians. I will rid you out of it.

The bondage of the sin curse, the bondage that would keep you from heaven. The bondage, as it appears in Romans chapter 7, where Paul says there, the experience of the one who is conscious of God. I try to do good, but constantly I fail to do good. And the things that I don't want to do, those are the things I keep doing. And he ends up that chapter, as you know, in verse 24, woe is me, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And the answer comes straight away.

I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, for by his doing, and dying and rising again. He has delivered us out of our bondage. He's delivered his people out of our bondage. He's rid us out of their bondage. In Colossians chapter 1, Look, this is how the scripture comments on itself. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son or of the son of his love. There it is, underlined. He's rid us of our bondage.

He's brought us out of that bondage. And if you were to look to chapter two of Colossians, and you see there how he's rid his people out of the bondage of false religion and all of those burdens. Don't believe them. Don't be swayed by them. Don't be bound up in those things. God has spoken in your heart. God has spoken in your heart. You will be with him in paradise.

And then what he says, thirdly, thirdly, he says in verse six, I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. I will redeem you, I will pay the price of your release. I will pay the price, he does it, and it's done with blood, the blood of the Passover. I will pay the price of your release, and that's underlined, as you know so well, in Galatians chapter three and verses 13 and 14.

You know, who shall deliver us, you know, We're under the curse. Who shall deliver us? Christ has redeemed us. God says, to those Israelites, I will redeem you from them, from the slavery. And here we read, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree, that why? That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. The promise made to Abraham of the blessing of God might be ours that we share with him, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. I have redeemed you.

Fourthly, he says in verse seven, I will take you to me for a people. Take you for my people. He says, you know, he tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and 19 and 20, we won't turn to it, but he says, you're not your own. Child of God, if you believe God and you say, you know, I'm going to decide what I do. You're not your own. You're bought with a price. You're a bond servant of Jesus Christ. You're separate from this world. Look what he says in Numbers. Chapter 23.

And he says this by the words of a very unworthy messenger, which was Balaam, the false prophet. But nevertheless, when the spirit of God came upon him, even that false prophet, employed by Moab to curse Israel, could do nothing other than bless Israel. In Numbers 23, verse nine, well, verse eight, he says, how shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied?

For from the top of the rocks I see him, I see Israel, I see the people of God. He sees the people of God in all ages. And from the hills I behold him. Look, lo, the people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations. The people of God are separate from the things of this world. We live separately. He's going to take them out of Egypt. He takes his people out of this world, out of its passions, out of its interests, out of its morality, out of everything to do with this world. He takes his people out of it. We are a people separated from this world.

And then he says in verse seven, I will be to you a God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God. I will be to you a God. You know, most people live their lives with no thought or concept of God. But the child of God lives constantly in the knowledge that I'm in the hands of the living God.

He made me. He redeemed me from my sin when Christ died on that cross. It was my sin that was there that nailed him there. He's the one who keeps us from evil in this life as we proceed from birth to death. He keeps us and he will eternally commune with you.

I will be to you a God. How many times in scripture, I don't know, does God say, I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. That's a precious thing, the relationship of God with his people. And that's going to culminate in heaven. in heavenly bliss, in that marriage supper of the Lamb.

And then he says, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and, verse eight, I will bring you in unto the land concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will bring you in to the promised land. In Matthew chapter eight, And verse 11, Jesus is saying to the disciples, he says, I say unto you, and he's right in the middle of Jerusalem with Judaism so proud of itself, he says, I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west.

What, you mean Gentiles? Yes, Gentiles. Those who are not Jews, yes, those who are not Jews. Jesus said to them, many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. They're there. They're there in the kingdom of heaven. And so all the Israel of God, Galatians 6, 16. The Israel of God is all the people of God. It's not a patch of land in the Middle East in these days. All shall be brought home. to their kingdom, which is made theirs by the grace of God.

And he says, I will give it to you for an heritage. This is the seventh one. I will give it to you for an heritage, for an heritage. For his people are, in union with Christ, his people are children, then heirs, Romans 8, 17. If children, then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. In Matthew 25, 34, Jesus is speaking of that final judgment, when he, the judge, sits on the throne, dividing the sheep from the goats. And he says to many, depart from me, I never knew you. But he says to his people, to these people he's redeemed, come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. There's a heritage. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Who says it? Who are we listening to? Whose breasts are we leaning on as we listen to it? Verse eight. I am the Lord. He underlines it at the end, I am the Lord. How could we put it? Well, people have used this expression, Jehovah Jesus, and I think that's the best way. God almighty of covenant grace, known to us in Jesus Christ, I, the Lord, have said it. I am the Lord, you can believe it. Will you believe it? Or will you be like verse nine? The people, Moses spoke to them, but they hearken not unto Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage. Oh, that we be not like them, but that we believe God and trust him and rest in him. Amen.

The Sure Promise of God

What does the Bible say about God's promises?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is the concept of redemption important for Christians?

What does it mean that God is our friend?

Why do Christians experience trials?

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The Sure Promise of God

What does the Bible say about God's promises?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is the concept of redemption important for Christians?

What does it mean that God is our friend?

Why do Christians experience trials?

Sermon Transcript

About Allan Jellett

Comments

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