Thank you, Leah. You can just
sing that anytime you want. That's such a blessing. Thank
you. OK, the book of Obadiah. The book of Obadiah is the shortest
book in the Old Testament, but it is full of Christ. As you
noticed when we read through here, most of the verses are
given to this prophecy of the destruction of the nation Edom. And that prophecy came true.
That nation Edom is destroyed. There's nothing left of it anymore.
You can't find out anything about it anymore. You don't read about
it. Hardly any, I suppose, in history
other than what's recorded in the word of God. They were completely
destroyed. But now there's a whole lot more
to the book of Obadiah than that. The name Obadiah means a servant
of the Lord or worshiper of the Lord. And there are 13 men in
the Old Testament whose name is Obadiah, but none of them
is this Obadiah who wrote this prophecy. We don't know anything
about this man Obadiah. He doesn't tell us any personal
information about himself at all. And many of the writers
feel like that this name Obadiah was a pen name. It wasn't his
actual name, it was a pen name that he used. to keep his name
hidden, to keep himself out of the way, so that when we read
this prophecy, the only name that is of any importance to
us is the name of Christ. Now Obadiah just suddenly appears,
seemingly from nowhere. He delivers the message that
God gave him, and then he disappears again. And I wish every preacher
would have this attitude. Isn't it refreshing to ever meet
a preacher who's not trying to gain a following for him, but
trying to gain a following for the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't
it refreshing to ever meet a preacher that doesn't as much care you
know his name, but his heart's desire is that you know the name
of Christ. God sends you a man like that,
that's refreshing. We all ought to try to follow
that example. Now throughout this, book, the
prophecy of the destruction of Edom or the Edomites is promised. The Edomites all descended from
Esau. So the Edomites are pictures
of unbelievers. And God hates Esau. That's plain
in the scripture. God hates Esau and Esau hates
God. Esau rejected the birthright
for a bowl of beans. Something of this world was more
important to him than the birthright. Esau rejected the birthright
because Esau hates God. And that's his whole unbelieving
world. They reject Christ, they reject the gospel because they
hate God. But then at the end of the book,
at the end of the prophecy, we find God's promises of grace
for Jacob. And those promises are the pictures
of promises of God's grace to all of his elect. That's who
Jacob represents. So the title of the message is
Jacob Loved and Esau Hated. Now the truth of that title rubs
the flesh the wrong way, doesn't it? Because the truth always
does. Anything that's true always rubs
the flesh the wrong way. You know, our society has gotten
so politically correct you can't tell the truth about anything
because the truth rubs the flesh the wrong way. The flesh says,
I don't see why it's fair that God would hate Esau. The spirit
says, I don't see how God could love Jacob. The flesh says, I
like Esau. If we knew Esau, we'd like him. As a man, we really would. Esau
was a man's man. He wasn't a sissy. He's a man's
man. Esau was a hunter who could go
out and kill the prey, and then he'd go cook it, make a delicious
meal out of it. Earl, you can do that. I love
when you do that. We appreciate a man who's got
those kind of skills. Esau, he's just generally speaking
a good guy. And Jacob was a sissy and a mama's
boy. Jacob was a cheat. I mean, his
name, you wouldn't do business with a guy like this because
you know he's going to teach you somehow. But what does scripture
say? God loves Jacob. God hates Esau. God does not love who we love. And God's love is not like our
love. God loves Jacob and he hates Esau. Now the real question,
when we talk about God loves Jacob and hates Esau, this is
the question. Do we see how God could hate
us? Do I see how God could hate me?
Do you see why God should hate you? And it's important that
we see that. God's gotta show it to us now,
he's gotta reveal it to us, but it's important that we come to
that understanding, because we'll never enjoy God's mercy unless
we see we deserve God's wrath. will never be recipients of God's
grace until we see what we deserve is his damnation. I must see
this. If God damns me, it's all my
fault. It's not Adam's fault. It's not
my parents' fault. It's not my environment's fault.
It's my fault. My sin and my guilt is all my
own doing. It's my fault. Now, if you'll
take your place with Jacob as an undeserving sinner, God will
have mercy on you. And if you refuse to take your
place with Jacob, you want to stand like Esau, God will destroy
you just like he destroyed Esau and just like he destroyed Edom.
And there are several very good lessons that we can learn from
this book of Obadiah about how God deals with Jacob and Esau. And the first lesson is this,
the purpose of our God cannot be changed and it cannot be defeated. God sent word. Before he destroyed
Edom, he sent word and told them that's what he's going to do.
Well, what was Edom's response to that? Verse one, the vision
of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning
Edom, that God sent this concerning that he's going to destroy them.
We've heard a rumor from the Lord. And an ambassador sent
among the heathen. And this is their reaction. Arise
ye, let us rise up against her in battle. God sent the message. He's going to destroy Edom. And
Edom said, let's go to battle. We're going to fight. We're going
to fight against this. Well, what's God's reaction to that?
Verse two. Behold, I've made thee small
among the heathen. Thou art greatly despised. See,
the purpose of God cannot be defeated. But look back at Romans
chapter nine. We read this to open the service,
and this is what God says concerning this, concerning Jacob and Esau,
the descendants of Jacob and Esau. Romans 9, verse 10. And not only this, but when Rebekah
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, It was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it's written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now God promised before the children
were born, the elder is going to serve the younger. And normally
that's the other way around, isn't it? Normally the elder
gets the birthright. Normally the younger serves the elder,
but God promised the elder is going to serve the younger. Well,
how'd that work out? Esau did indeed end up serving
Jacob, didn't he? Jacob got the birthright. And
you know what? For a long time, that didn't
look too promising. It didn't look like, how's God's
promise gonna happen? When Jacob was on the run from
Esau, after he stole the birthright, it just didn't seem possible
Esau was gonna serve Jacob, did it? In all those years, Jacob
was hiding out, you know, in another country and he was serving
Laban to get his wives and all the crooked things, you know,
he was doing. He's in another country. He's in a far off place.
It just didn't look real possible that Esau would serve Jacob,
did it? And then when Jacob decided to come back home, remember the
story? He's come back home and he hears
the word, Esau's coming out to meet you. He got a great company
with him. Boy, it looked like Jacob was
a goner, didn't it? It just didn't seem possible that Esau was going
to serve Jacob. But how did it turn out? Jacob
did indeed get the birthright, didn't he? And Esau served Jacob. The descendants of Esau served
the descendants of Jacob. And you know why that happened?
Because the purpose of God cannot be defeated. It can't be. Before
Jacob and Esau ever came along, God promised to give the land
of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, didn't he? He told
Abraham, your seed's gonna possess all this land. He said that when
Abraham didn't even have a child. How's that going to happen? And
then there were just 70 of them went, you know, they're almost
starving to death, went down there to Egypt and they ended
up in Egypt in bondage to Egypt, to the Egyptians. It just didn't
seem possible that that bunch of slaves is going to come out
of the greatest nation on earth and go possess the land of the
Canaanites, the land of the giants and all these places. But sure
enough, That bunch of slaves came out of Egypt with great
possessions and they went and they possessed the land of Canaan. You know why that happened? Because
the purpose of God cannot be defeated. And God has promised
in his word, he's gonna save a people through his son. He's
gonna send his son to be made a man, made of a woman, to take
on him flesh and blood, the man, the Lord Jesus. And you know,
when he was a baby, Now it didn't look too good for him. That child
Jesus, Herod wanted him killed. Remember Herod sent out word,
go find all the children, all the babies, two years old and
younger, and you kill them. He figured if he killed every
baby under two years old, he's gonna have killed this one who's
born king of the Jews. He'll have killed the one who's
a threat to his throne. It just didn't look too good,
did it? And you know, that happened. Can you imagine? horrible scene
these Roman soldiers coming and taking babies from their mother's
arm and Slitting her throat in front of their mother and phone
the dead body at her feet. Can you imagine the horror? It didn't look too good did it?
But the Lord wasn't there Joseph had already been warned and he'd
taken the child to Egypt to fulfill the prophecy that the Lord's
going to call the Savior up from Egypt The Lord Jesus Christ is
going to die, but he's going to die a full grown man in the
prime of life. He's not going to die when some
king says he's going to die. He's going to die at God's appointed
time for him to be the sacrifice for the sin of his people. And
that's what happened. And you know why that happened?
Because God's eternal purpose cannot be defeated. And brethren,
nothing's changed. Now, these aren't just stories
that are ancient history and God deals with men and God does
things differently today than he did in those days. No, God
never changes. Men today bring the word of God
under attack. I mean, constant direct attack. How you reckon that's going to
turn out for them? Not good. They're not going to do it. People
attack the gospel at every turn. They attack the people of God
at every turn. How do you think that's going
to work out for them? It's not going to work out good.
They cannot hurt the people of God. They may be able to touch
your flesh, but they cannot hurt the people of God. They will
fail just as sure as the Egyptians failed, just as sure as Esau
failed, and just as sure as Herod failed. They're going to fail
because the purpose of God cannot be changed and it cannot be defeated. Look at 2nd Timothy, 2nd Timothy
chapter three. Paul here is recounting the story
of Janice and Jambres standing up against Moses. They're attacking
Moses. Well, how'd that work out for
them? Verse eight of 2nd Timothy chapter three. Now as Jannes
and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate
concerning the faith. How's that going to work out
for them? But they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall
be manifest unto all men as theirs also was. They're going to fail
because the purpose of God cannot be changed and it cannot be defeated. Here's a second lesson. The enmity
of the seed of the serpent toward the seed of woman is never going
to stop. As long as time on this earth
exists, that enmity will never stop. Jacob and Esau, when did
they begin to fight? In the womb, before they were
born. And they're not going to stop fighting after they're born
either. And those two religions, those two ways of life, they're
never going to stop fighting. until God brings an end to time
on this earth. False religion is always going
to war against the truth, always. So don't be surprised and don't
be dismayed when it happens. It's never going to end as long
as time on this earth exists. And the warfare that goes on
in the heart of every believer, the warfare of the flesh and
the spirit, it's never going to end. As long as these bodies
draw breath, it'll never end. The flesh will always lust against
the spirit and the spirit will always lust against the flesh
because they're contrary to each other. They're the opposite of
each other. The gospel that we preach, the gospel of Christ
that we believe, it's not just another way of saying the same
thing people in false religion are saying. No, it's not. We're
saying two totally opposite things. The difference is not terminology. The difference is not words.
The difference is the message. The message is diametrically
opposed to each other. So there always will be warfare.
The flesh will always hate salvation by grace, through faith alone,
through Christ alone. It always will. So there'll always
be a warfare. Don't expect it to stop. The
third lesson is this. Men are destroyed by their own
pride. Look back at Obadiah, verse three. Men are destroyed by their own
pride. Obadiah says in verse three,
the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. Thou that dwellest
in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that sayeth
in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? Now men
are so full of themselves, look back at Jeremiah chapter 17.
Men are so full of themselves that we think we're good enough.
We're just so full of ourselves, we think we can do enough to
please God. And we can't think any differently
because we have a spiritually dead heart that is always so
full of pride that it sees us into thinking we're something
that we're not. Jeremiah 17 verse nine. The heart is deceitful above
all things, and it's desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the
Lord, search the heart. I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his
own doings. Now, the birthright that Esau
rejected, that was more than possessions. It was the blessing
of God. That's what the birthright is.
It's the blessing of God's presence. It's the blessing of His grace.
And Esau was so full of pride, he thought he could go without
the birthright. Esau was so full of pride, he
said, well, who needs this? Who needs God? I can do this
myself. And men today hear the gospel.
They hear the gospel of God's free grace in Christ. It's free. And they reject it. They say,
I don't need that. I don't need Christ to do it
all for me. I need Christ to help me, but
I can do some of this myself. And they think they can do some
of it themselves because pride's deceived them. And so what they
do is they offer their polluted works to God, and God damns them
for it. See, they think their religious
works have given them a well-defensed position. Edom, you know, they
had places up in the clefts of the rock and high in the mountains,
and they thought they were protected. And men think, well, you know,
my religious works are so good. I built up this mountain of them.
I've got a good position. Even God won't cast me down from
this. And when God comes, he casts them down to hell. See,
their pride deceived them, thinking they were in a defense position.
And as I told you, the title of this message, Jacob loved
and Esau hated, that rubs the flesh the wrong way. And you
know why it does? It's pride. Nothing more than
that. It's pride. Men hate the truth of election
because pride makes them think, I'm good enough to have some
reason that God should choose me. You know, I don't want to
leave this to chance. You know, I'm good enough. God
should choose me. And they're so full of pride.
They won't admit they're helpless. They won't admit they're dead.
They won't admit they're blind. And they need to say, What's
more foolish than a blind person being so full of pride that they
won't carry the white cane, they won't have somebody lead them,
and they constantly bump into things and fall into the ditch?
It's pride that stops them from admitting it, and it's their
own pride that will deceive them and damn them. Look at John chapter
9. They're so full of pride. so
full of themselves so that they don't make themselves a candidate
for God's grace. This is what the Lord says to
the Pharisees in John 9 and verse 39. And Jesus said, for judgment,
I've come into this world that they would see not might see
and that they would see might be made blind. Now, the Pharisees
knew what he was saying. Some of the Pharisees which were
with him heard these words and they said unto him, are we blind
also? Are you saying we're blind? Look
at us, we're these spiritual leaders, you're saying we're
blind? Jesus said unto them, if you were blind, if you knew
you were blind, if your pride didn't stop you from admitting
you were blind, if you were blind, you should have no sin. But now
you say, we see. Therefore, your sin remaineth. See, they are too full of pride
to admit they were blind, so they remained in their sin. But
if we're humble and we would admit that we're blind, that
we're spiritually blind, that we're in need of the Lord, he'll
have mercy. Men are going to be destroyed
by their own pride. Here's fourth lesson. When men
and women are sent to hell, it's going to be their own fault.
It's gonna be the fault of their own sin. Look here at verse 10
in Obadiah. For thy violence against thy
brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off
forever. He's saying you shouldn't have committed this violence
against your brother, so you're gonna be cut off. It's gonna
be as a direct reaction to your actions. In the day that thou
stoodest on the other side, And the day that strangers carried
away captive his forces and foreigners entered into his gates and cast
lots upon Jerusalem, you stood there watching them, you didn't
stop them. It's even thou was as one of them. But thou shouldest
not have looked on the day of thy brother and the day that
he became a stranger, neither shouldest thou have rejoiced.
You should have been happy about this calamity over the children
of Judah and the day of their destruction. Neither shouldest
thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldst
not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their
calamity. You know, they had the calamity
and nobody was stopping them, so they just went in and they
just, you know, spoiled their brother or their brother's possessions.
Yea, thou shouldst not have looked on their affliction in the day
of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the
day of their calamity. Neither shouldst thou have stood
in the crossway to cut off those of his that did escape. Neither
shouldst thou have delivered up those of his that did remain
in the day of distress. For the day of the Lord is near
upon all the heathen. As thou hast done, it shall be
done unto thee. What goes around comes around.
As you've done, the same thing's gonna be done unto you. Thy reward
shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my
holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually. Yea,
they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall
be as though they had not been. Now, When men and women go to
hell, it's their own fault. God said, I'm going to judge
you for the way you've done this to Jacob. You ought not have
done those things. Now, I can't overemphasize this
enough. Remember our first point. The
eternal will and purpose of God cannot be changed and it cannot
be defeated. God's will shall be done. Everything
that happened, everything. is the express will of Almighty
God. If it wasn't his will, it wouldn't
have happened. The only things that happen are
his will. God set his love on Jacob and
God hated Esau from eternity. But it's not God's fault Esau
lost the birthright. Esau's got nobody to blame but
himself. It's Esau's fault. It's his own weakness and it's
his own hatred of God that caused him to lose the birthright. Esau
preferred the world to the blessing of God. So God gave it to him. It's Esau's fault. Now it's true. God has an elect people and those
people and only those people shall be saved. But when a person
goes to hell, it's never God's fault, ever. It's always their
own fault. God's sending them to hell. is
exactly what their sin and their willful rebellion and refusal
to come to Christ deserves. It's just exactly what they deserve.
What do you expect God to do with someone who refuses to bow
to him, who refuses to beg him for mercy, who constantly sins
against him and spits upon his word? What are you expecting
to do? It's only just that he damned them. Now God elected
a people unto salvation. God didn't elect anybody to hell.
No, he did not. If they go to hell, it's their
own fault. And if anybody goes to heaven,
that's God's fault. That's God's doing. That's the
result of God electing a people and choosing them by his grace,
saving them through the sacrifice of his son, calling them through
the gospel, and preserving them to the end. If we wind up in
heaven, that's God's doing. And if we wind up in hell, it's
our doing. The fifth lesson. You parents
and grandparents listen to this one closely. Beware of the far-reaching
influence of evil. There's a day he saw he was out
hunting. He came back in, he was famished. Thought he was
gonna faint. And on that day, he sold his
birthright for a bowl of beans. And you think, that's not all
that big a deal. I mean, yeah, he sold his birthright,
and yeah, he loses, you know, some inheritance, but I mean,
you know, it's just him. He doesn't have a wife or a family.
He's not responsible for anybody. It's just him. But do you know,
that day Esau sold his birthright. He taught every one of his descendants
to follow his example. Every generation that followed
Esau followed his example and they perished because they preferred
this world to God's grace. And we parents need to be very
careful, very careful. You be careful of the example
that you set for your children, because more than likely they're
going to follow it, more than likely. You can act all gracious
and warm here, And if at home you're stingy and you're mean,
you know what example they're going to follow? That's the example
they're going to follow. You make sure the example that
you set for your children is following the Lord in faith and
in love and humility, because they're going to follow your
example more than likely. How many people have I heard?
I know you've heard this too. Well, I hear this, I hear the
gospel that you're preaching. I think it's true. And I'd come
to church with you, but I can't do it. My family would disown
me. The trouble I'd have in my family,
I just, I cannot do it. I just, I'm just gonna keep going
over this free will play show with my family and have a Sunday
afternoon dinner together and keep the peace in the family. Can you imagine the conversation
they'll have in hell? I followed you here. And as a church, as this church
body, we can only imagine the far-reaching effect that it would
have if we just compromised the truth a little bit. If we just
compromised a little bit, we'd have more money. We'd have more
people. We'd have more connections with
people. We would. We'd have more influence. We'd
have more comfort. If we compromised the truth just
a little bit, In short order, we'd have a real nice fellowship
hall built on this building. But at what cost? If we compromise
just a little bit, what do you reckon our children are going
to do? They're going to compromise too. What effect is it going
to have on the souls of the coming generations if we compromise? Wayne, nothing worth it. Nothing
worth it. Nothing. Beware the far reaching
influence of the evil in the example that we've set. Are you
ready for some good news? Here's my sixth point. Sixth
lesson we learned from Obadiah. The eternal salvation, the eternal
life of God's people is absolutely certain. Look at verse 17. Aren't you glad for the butts
of scripture, but God? Oh, this is what Edom deserves.
This is what Esau has come, but God, but upon Mount Zion should
be deliverance and there should be holiness. And the house of
Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob should
be a fire and house of Joseph, a flame and the house of Esau. They're just going to be stubble
and they should kindle in them and devour them. For there should
not be any remaining of the house of Esau. for the Lord has spoken
it. And they of the south shall possess
the mount of Esau, and they of the plain of the Philistines.
And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of
Samaria. And Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captivity of
this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of
the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath. And the captivity of Jerusalem,
which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. And
Savior shall come. They should come up on Mount
Zion to judge the Mount of Esau and the kingdom should be the
Lord's. And we covered these verses in
some more detail in the lesson, but let me give you an overview.
First, the eternal salvation of God's elect is sure and certain
because there is a deliverance for the people of God. God's
people shall be delivered. They shall be saved by Christ,
our deliverer. Christ will deliver his people
by taking their place under the law. He'll take their place under
the wrath of God as their substitute, and he'll suffer the wrath, he'll
suffer the death that they deserve so that they're delivered. You
see, the Father purposed their salvation in eternity. Christ
the Son came to purchase it, and the Spirit will apply it. They shall be delivered. When
Edom is destroyed, Israel, spiritual Israel, shall be delivered. Second,
God will make his people holy. He's gonna make them just like
his son. And that's very important, because
the writer to the Hebrews said in chapter 12, verse 14, without
holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Now, what was God's purpose
in choosing a people? God elected a people, didn't
he, for salvation. What was the purpose of God in
choosing a people to save. Well, it wasn't so they'd have
a fire escape from hell, was it? No, God's purpose in choosing
a people is to make them holy. Let's read that again in Ephesians
chapter one. God's purpose in choosing a people,
not to give them a fire escape from hell, it was to make them
holy. So he'd populate heaven with
a people made exactly like his son. 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, now Paul's
getting ready to tell us why God chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love. And this holiness that's been
promised to us is promised in Christ with his spotless garments
on. We're as holy as the Holy One,
made just like Christ. Now third, the house of Jacob
shall possess their possessions. Now the house of Jacob represents
every believer. God identifies himself as the
God of Jacob. This is his people, people who
were born in sin, born cheats and supplanters, born with a
horrible rotten nature, but God gives them a new nature. They're
born again and named Israel, Prince with God. What are Jacob's
possessions? Well, not anything that we've
earned. Our possessions are what we've inherited in Christ, what
God's promised us by His grace. The believer's possessions are
holiness, righteousness, peace, sonship. And these possessions
are ours. They belong to us by faith. Believer, they belong to you.
Lay claim to them. Take possession of them. Are
you washed in the blood? Then lay claim to that blood. Lay claim to the freedom from
sin found in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you now
received the atonement? By whom we've now received the
atonement? Have you received it? Then lay claim to it. Claim it, complete justification,
complete being made without sin before the Father in Christ. Did Christ make peace for you
through the blood of His cross? Did He? Then why is your soul
troubled? Lay claim to that peace. You
have peace with God. Lay claim to and enjoy, make
use of that peace, which passes all understanding. It's yours
by faith. Have you been given access to
God's throne? Have you? then lay claim to it. You have that in Christ. Brethren,
take advantage of such a blessing that you can at all times come
before the Father boldly in Christ, that you might find grace to
help in time of need. If you've been made a child,
don't go around acting like a servant who's about to be beaten. Don't
go around acting like a servant that you've got to always do
things and work to please your master or he'll never give you
any crumbs. Don't act like that. You're a child. Act like one
and come to the Father. Four, God promises saviors to
his people. Verse 21, he said, and saviors
shall come. He's not saying there are many
different saviors, many different ways to be saved from sin. Christ
is the only savior of sinners. These saviors, and you can tell
that's not speaking of Christ the savior, the S is not capitalized.
These saviors are believers, believers who've been made like
Christ. They've been washed in his blood. They've been given
his spirit. And these saviors, you know why they exist? The
reason they exist on this earth is to support the gospel, to
be a witness of the gospel, and to be a help to each other. Now,
what a blessing to have each other as we go through this life,
to be a help and a comfort and an encouragement. And you know,
I get, I hear this in the psychobabble in the world, I get sick to death
of it. Well, what's my purpose? I just need a purpose in living.
Well, how about getting up every day and going to work and being
productive, you know, loving your family. There's a good idea,
teaching your family. Do you want a purpose in living?
I can tell you that believers' purpose in living, just live
to serve each other. Just live to do it. Live to support
the gospel so that it's preached. Live. Shawn, get up and go to
work in the morning. Live so you can support the gospel
so your children have a place to hear the gospel. Does that
give you a reason to get up and go to work in the morning? That's
your purpose. They're like the saviors. That's
what he's talking about there. Fifth, God promises his people. I don't care how bad things look
on this earth. I don't care how bad it looks.
The kingdom will be the Lord's. He's not going to lose one. The
kingdom should be the Lord's. He's going to, in his time, and
he's got a time appointed to do it. He's going to gather all
of his people together into an everlasting kingdom. There'll
be new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.
And his people will live a life of perfect holiness, worshiping
the Savior face to face. Now, that's how this thing's
going to end. I've read it. That's how it's going to end.
I used to like to read these big old thick books. Like, John
Jakes was the author, and he had all these characters. And
he wove the characters. And I kind of grew to like the
characters. And if there was one, I'd think, boy, I hope he
don't kill this one off. I'd go to the last end of the
book and see. I wouldn't want to read it. I don't want to give
the story away. But I'd look to see if I saw that person's name. OK, they
lived to the end of the book. I've read the end of the book.
I know how this thing's going to end. And I don't care how
dark the valley. I don't care how dark the night.
I don't care how cold the night. The kingdom shall be the Lord's. He's not going to lose one. You're
going to be in that kingdom with the Savior, worshiping Him face
to face. Is there going to be pearly gates
and streets of gold? I don't care. I bet you you won't
notice. if you're looking in the face
of the Savior, but you won't. The kingdom should be the Lord's.
And the last lesson is this. The only hope for proud lost
sinners is the deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
our only hope. Christ is the only Savior. He's
the only way of salvation. He's the only way of righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ is your
only hope. But what a hope. Oh, what a sure
hope through grace. And what's your choice? Which
way will you go? Oh, I hope and I pray, not just
as a religious show. I hope God gives us a heart to
say from the heart, as for me and my house, will serve the
Lord. I pray God will make it so. Let's
bow in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for
these precious promises of your grace to your people. We know
what we deserve in our flesh. We're no different than Esau. By nature, we're no different
than any of these unbelievers that will be damned. We know
what we deserve. But how we thank you for your
free grace through the righteousness and through the sacrifice of
your dear son, our Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you. Human words cannot express the
thanksgiving that you would choose to show mercy to sinners, that
you'll save every undeserving sinner by grace, and by your
power. That's your will that cannot
change. And the kingdom shall be the
Lord's. Father, we're thankful. And we
pray for the faith as we go through this life to be found following
thee, to be found faithful to thee, to be found faithful to
serve you and to serve our brothers and our sisters in love and faith
as Christ has been so merciful to us. God bless your word, we
pray, to your glory and to the hearts of your people. In the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray and give thanks.