In the book of Obadiah. The title
of the lesson this morning is Promises of Grace in Obadiah. This book Obadiah is the shortest
book in the Old Testament. But it is full of Christ. Most
of the verses of this prophecy are taken up with the prophecy
of the destruction of the ancient nation Edom. And that prophecy
came true. That nation was destroyed. You
can't find any Nobody can trace their family back to the nation
Edom. There's almost no reference in
history to the nation Edom outside of the word of God. It's completely
destroyed. Now the name Obadiah means servant
of the Lord or worshiper of the Lord. And there are 13 men in
the Old Testament who have the name Obadiah. This Obadiah is
not any of them. And really we don't know anything
about this man Obadiah. He tells us no personal information
about himself at all. Matter of fact, a lot of the
writers think that the name Obadiah is not his name at all. It's
a pen name that he used to keep his name hidden so that the only
name that's important to us from this book is the name of Christ. Now Obadiah just suddenly, seemingly
out of nowhere appears in scripture. He delivers this short 21 verse
message that God gave him to give, and then he disappears
again. We don't hear anything more from
him. And I wish every preacher would have this attitude. Just
deliver the message that God gave us and disappear, get out
of the way. We ought never try to gain a
following for ourselves. Our goal, as Obadiah's goal is,
not to gain a following for ourselves, but to gain followers for Christ.
to not make a name for ourselves, but make a name for Christ. One
of the most important things I think a preacher can do is
to have his goal for you not to know his name, but for you
to know the name of Christ. And that's Obadiah's goal here.
I appreciate that about him. And like I said, most of the
verses here are taken up with the prophecy of the destruction
of Edom. But anytime you find promises
of destruction, you also find promises of grace. Promises of
God's judgment are always accompanied by promises of God's grace. And
where there's God's grace for his people, you always find destruction
for unbelievers. In our lesson this morning, I
want us to spend some time looking at the end of this book and see
some of these promises of God's grace. And the first one in verse
17 is this. First promise of grace, there
shall be deliverance for God's people. Verse 17, but upon Mount
Zion shall be deliverance, and there should be holiness, and
the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Now, Mount
Zion is always a picture of God's church. It's the body of Christ. So Mount Zion is believers, and
this is the promise to believers. You shall be delivered. Christ
our Savior is the deliverer. Christ has delivered us from
our sin by putting our sin under the blood of his sacrifice. He's
delivered us from the curse of the law by being made a curse
for us. He's delivered us from the rule of the law by dying
to satisfy. He died to the law, we died to
the law anyway. He delivered us from the rule
of the law. Christ has delivered us from
the power of Satan. He's delivered us from evil,
from the evil one. Christ has delivered us from
this present evil world He has delivered us from the power of
darkness and he's translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. Christ has delivered his people from death. By dying for
us, he's delivered us from the fear of death, from that bondage
of the fear of death. Christ has delivered us from
the wrath to come. What a deliverer, what a deliverer. Look here, Romans chapter 11.
The apostle Paul takes up the same message that Obadiah had. There is deliverance for God's
people. Romans chapter 11, verse 26. And so all Israel shall be saved. As it's written, there shall
come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. For this is my covenant. This
is why he's coming because this is God's promise. This is my
covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. And this
deliverance is sure and certain because of who the deliverer
is, Christ the deliverer. Now look at second Corinthians
chapter one, this deliverance, there is a deliverance, there
shall be a deliverance for God's people. This deliverance is threefold. I'm sorry, I said first Corinthians,
second Corinthians, second Corinthians one. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 9. But we have the sentence of death
in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in
God, which raised up the dead, who delivered us from so great
a death, and doth deliver, and in whom we trust that he will
yet deliver us. See, that's a threefold deliverance.
He has delivered us, he doth deliver, and he will yet deliver
us. First, God's people have been
delivered. We have been saved. There is
a sense in which God's elect have always been saved. There's
never been a time that they've been under God's wrath. They've
been saved from all of eternity. When God chose them and God purposed
to save them, they were saved at that moment. We have been
saved from all of eternity. Look back in Romans chapter eight.
We have been saved. This deliverance is so sure because
it's already happened. Romans chapter eight, verse 29. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then he also called. And whom he called,
then he also justified. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified. You notice how that's all written
in the past tense? Justified, we have been justified.
We have been made righteous. We have been saved. We've been
delivered from all of eternity. Look at 2 Timothy chapter one.
2 Timothy one verse nine. Speaking here of the power of
God who hath saved us. and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our savior,
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. See, what this is saying is God
saved a people in eternity. That was already done. He sent
his son to accomplish that salvation. and then he told us about it
in his word. We have been saved from all of eternity because
whatever God purposed to do in eternity, it's as good as if
it were already done because God cannot fail and he cannot
lie. We've been saved from all of
eternity. Then we have been saved when Christ died on Calvary Street.
At the very moment Christ died, he accomplished everything God
purposed in eternity. His blood, pay the debt of his
people in full. Paul said in Romans 4.25, who
was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.
At the moment Christ died, we have been saved. Then we have
been saved in the moment that we were born again. We believe
on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're saved by grace
through what? Faith. through faith, not of
works, lest any man should boast. At that moment in which we believe,
we have been saved. And a true salvation's got a
stain on all three of those legs. We've been saved from all of
eternity, God's eternal purpose. We're saved at the moment Christ
gave up the ghost, and we're saved at that time that we're
born again and we believe. We have been saved. Then secondly,
we're being delivered. Right at this moment, we're being
saved. God's people are always delivered
by God's power and grace. We're always being delivered.
Oftentimes, we don't even know it. Some evil or something, you
know, that could happen that would destroy us and God directs
providence, directs us away from it. We don't even know it happened
and we're being delivered. But there are plenty of things
that we know about and we're being delivered. God delivers
us from those things by his daily grace. We're constantly being
delivered from ourselves. And aren't you thankful to be
delivered from yourself? I am my own worst enemy. I am
so thankful God keeps me from doing the things, at least many
of the things that fly through my head. I'm thankful to be being
delivered from myself. We're being delivered from evil.
Both within and without, we're being delivered. We're being
delivered from trials. We're being delivered from falling
away. Why haven't you fallen away?
Because you're being delivered. We're being delivered from temptation. We're constantly being delivered.
We've been delivered. We're being delivered. And thirdly,
we shall be delivered. We shall be saved. Look back
at Romans chapter 13. Romans 13 verse 11. And that knowing the time that
now it is high time to wake out of sleep for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed. The time is drawing nearer. The
time of the full enjoyment of being made just like Christ is
nearer today than it was yesterday. It's certainly nearer today than
that day when we first believed. You know, heaven is a real place
and it's nearer today than it was yesterday. That perfection
in Christ is nearer today than it was yesterday. That moment
that we come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ is nearer
today than it was yesterday. The time of the resurrection
of these bodies is nearer today than it was yesterday. That ultimate
salvation, when we shall be saved, is drawing ever nearer for God's
people. There is a deliverance for God's
people. God promised it in his grace.
Second, the second promise of grace, Obadiah says there shall
be holiness. Now all of us, this is quite
a promise, because all of us are unholy by nature. And we
can never see God. We can never dwell with God in
heaven unless we're made perfectly holy. Hebrews 12, 14 says, without
holiness, no man shall see the Lord. So this is a precious promise. There shall be holiness. But
now this holiness, it's not something that we make ourselves. We don't
make ourselves holy. You can't do it. You can't bring
a clean thing out of an unclean. We can't make ourselves holy.
We can only be made holy in Christ. Now there is a deliverance for
God's people. And our deliverer is the holy one of Israel. When
he delivers his people, he makes his people holy in him. Look
at Ephesians chapter one. This holiness is in Christ. Ephesians
one verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. Now, what is the
purpose of God choosing a people in Christ? It's not that they
have a fire escape from hell, is it? God's purpose in choosing
a people is to make them holy, isn't that what it says? That
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. God's purpose in choosing a people
in His Son is to make them holy, is to make them just like His
Son. And with His spotless garments on, we're as holy as the Holy
One, we're as holy as our Deliverer, as He is. So are we in this world. This promise is not something
you got to wait to enjoy in eternity. As he is, so are we in this world. This is the pure, perfect holiness
of Christ given to his people. There is holiness promised in
Christ by God's grace. Here's a third promise of God's
grace. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Now
the house of Jacob is not just the Jews, it's not just those
physical descendants of Jacob. It's every believer. God often
calls himself the God of Jacob because the name Jacob describes
the nature of every believer, the nature that we're born with,
the name of a cheat and a supplant or a name that's no good. That's who God chose. That's
who God saved. Well, what are Jacob's possessions?
What are the possessions of spiritual Israel that we shall possess?
Well, our possessions are not what we earned. Our possessions
are not anything that we deserve. What are the possessions of God's
people? They're everything that God promised
to give us in his covenant of grace. Our possessions are spiritual
blessings. It's the inheritance that we
have in Christ. Look at first Peter chapter one.
Now this inheritance, can you lose it? Not on your life. You cannot
lose what God promised that you'd inherit. Look here, 1 Peter 1
verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope, a living
hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to
an inheritance. Now this is our inheritance.
This is the description of it. It's incorruptible, it's undefiled,
and it fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
at the last time. Can you lose that inheritance?
Well, of course you can't. It's incorruptible. It's undefiled. It doesn't fade away, and it's
reserved in heaven for you who believe. Our inheritance, the
believer's possession, is holiness, righteousness, peace, and sonship. Now, those possessions are ours. They've been given by God to
us. They're ours by faith. They belong
to you. And brethren, lay claim to them.
Are you washed in the blood? Are you? Then claim that blood
that sets you free from sin. Claim that freeness from sin
through the blood of Christ. Claim it. Have you now received
the atonement? Then claim it. Lay claim to it. Enjoy complete justification
in Christ. What a gift. Enjoy it. Use it. Did Christ make peace
for you through the blood of his cross? Then lay claim to
it. Lay claim to that peace. Enjoy
that peace that passes all understanding. Have you been given by God free
access to his throne of grace? The brethren lay claim to it.
What a blessing you come boldly in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ before the very throne of God and do it all the time. You'll go there to find grace
to help in time of need. What a shame to have such a gift
and not lay claim of it. Go to the Father in prayer and
be heard in Christ. If you've been made a child of
God, don't, you know, sulk around in the corners like a servant
who's afraid of getting beaten by the master. You're a child. Then lay claim to being a child
of God and enjoy all those benefits that come from having God as
your father. You shall possess your possessions. Now lay claim to them. What a
promise of God's grace. The fourth promise of God's grace.
Look back in Obadiah. The fourth promise of God's grace
is there shall be saviors. Look here at verse 21. And saviors
shall come up on Mount Zion. to judge the Mount of Esau, and
the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Now he says, and saviors shall
come. Now, he's not speaking of many
different saviors from sin. There's one savior. There's only
one savior, the man Christ Jesus. Christ has saved his people by
himself. He didn't need any help from
us, he's the only Savior. His name is the only name whereby
we must be saved. There are not many ways of salvation,
there's one. The Savior, Christ Jesus. Then
what's Obadiah referring to here? Saviors, plural. Well, they're
believers. They're believers who have been
made just like the Savior. First of all, they're preachers.
They're preachers who preach the message of Christ to them
crucified. Now we saw this earlier, there shall be deliverance. God
has a people he's gonna save. He chose them from all of eternity.
He chose to save them. He sent his son to die for them
on the cross. But they gotta hear the gospel.
They must hear the gospel. They must believe on the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. How should they hear without
a preacher? Now you just never fear. God's going to send a preacher. He's going to send these saviors.
He's going to send men to go preach Christ and the elect are
going to hear them. They're going to believe and
they're going to be saved. They're preachers, but now they're
not only preachers. These are all believers. Every
believer who's been made just like the Savior. These believers
witness. Wherever they go, they give witness
to the Savior. Sometimes they give witness by
telling people about the Savior. Maybe they invite them to the
service. They give them an article from
the bulletin, or they give them a link to a message they can
hear or something. Sometimes, everywhere you go,
you're telling people about the Savior by the way you live your
life. We're always witnessing of the
Savior. People could tell about the disciples.
They could tell these men had been with Jesus. They witnessed
of the Savior just by the way that they conducted themselves.
And these believers, support the gospel. They pray for their
pastor. They pray for the lost. It's
like Wayne did in his prayer this morning, praying for the
lost, praying for our children. These saviors are an encouragement
and a comfort to each other. Now I touched on this Wednesday
night. Y'all talk to one another. And
I don't mean just make small talk. I mean, you talk to one
another. You really be with one another. You be a help and encouragement
to each other. When somebody needs help, help
them. When somebody needs comfort,
go sit with them and cry with them. When somebody needs fellowship,
just make time to have fellowship together, time of laugh. Don't
just make it in times of trouble, just make it all the time. You
have time of laughter and fellowship and breaking bread with one another,
you know. Sometimes somebody just needs somebody to talk to. If they just had somebody to
talk to, well, then give them that. Give them somebody that'll
listen and keep their mouth shut. Give them somebody to talk to.
They'll feel better. Any time somebody comes to your mind,
give them an encouraging word. Send them a card or something.
You just don't know what a huge difference it could make to somebody.
Just give them a kind word. Saviors, they're helps to one
another in this journey here below. And then fifthly, the
last promise of God's grace is the kingdom shall be the Lord's. At the end of verse 21, the kingdom
shall be the Lord's. Now, oftentimes it looks very
bleak for God's kingdom, doesn't it? We know God's got a kingdom. We know he's got a people he's
gonna save. Boy, you just look around. They're few, aren't they? At
best, at any given time, they're just a remnant on earth. There's
so few people that believe the gospel. There's so few people
that love Christ. There's so few. And you don't
have to look very far. Just watch the evening news.
You don't have to be real smart to understand our world's gone
to hell in a handbasket. It's easy to see. It's easy to
see how our country is going further and further and further
and further away from God. And it's not just our country.
When I look at myself, when I look at my life and my heart and my
family and think people around me, boy, it can look bleak, can't
it? I mean, anytime you look into
your own heart, it looks bleak, doesn't it? And we look and we
wonder, our country, our society, our world, my own heart, and
we cry, what are we gonna do? This is a disaster. Hang on a
minute, just hang on a minute. I agree, it looks bad, but the
kingdom shall be the Lord's, it shall be. This thing's not
out of control. It looks that way to us, but
this thing not out of control. This, everything that's happening
in our world, in our country, in our lives, it's all under
the direct control of our deliverer. He's gonna deliver you. Is something
happening in this world gonna make you perish? Not a chance. The kingdom should be the Lord's.
This whole world, while it looks like it's out of control to us,
it looks like chaos to us, this whole world, is working together
for this purpose, to serve God's people. That's what this world...
Why does God let unbelievers prosper? Why does he let them
do the things that they do? To serve God's elect. To bring
his people to Christ. He might let them prosper, an
unbeliever, a wicked man. I'm a wicked man. He may let
him prosper wildly so he can give you a job. I mean, who knows? But I'm telling you, all this
is working together to serve God's people. This world is the
footstool of Christ. I know we read in scripture one
day it'll be the footstool, his footstool. But there's another
sense. This world is already his footstool. He's already in control of all
of this. It's all working together to
accomplish his eternal will, which is to save his people.
The kingdom should be the Lord's. I don't care how bad the situation
looks right now. The kingdom should be the Lord's.
He's not going to lose one of his sheep, not one. They're all
gonna be presented to the Father in glory. Look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. You know, we know how this thing's
gonna end up. We already read the end of the
book, the last page, didn't we? The kingdom be the Lord's, it's
all right. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24. Then cometh the end. When he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and all power, for he must reign,
the kingdom's gonna be the Lord's, he must reign, till he hath put
all enemies under his feet. And the last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death. And he hath put all things under
his feet. But when he saith all things
are put under him, it's manifest, this is obvious, that he is accepted,
which did put all things under him. And when all things shall
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him, that put all things under him, that God may be all
and in all." The kingdoms in the Lord is the Lord. It shall
be the Lord's and he's going to rule in it. This thing's all
right, isn't it? It's all right. Promises of God's
grace. All right. I hope the Lord will
bless that too.