The title of the message this
evening is Witnesses of God's Salvation. Witnesses of God's
Salvation. Now we know that salvation is
of the Lord. From beginning to end and everywhere
in between, salvation is of the Lord. Man is completely and utterly
passive in this matter of putting our sin away. We don't contribute
anything to that. Now we're commanded to seek the
Lord. We're commanded to call upon the name of the Lord. We're
commanded to come to Christ, to beg Christ for mercy. We're
commanded to believe Christ. But none of that contributes
anything to the putting away of our sin, does it? That's a
work of Christ alone. So salvation is of the Lord.
And all of God's elect, no matter where you find them, no matter
what age that they lived in, they're all saved the same way.
Their sin is all put away the same way. Their sin has been
cleansed by the blood of Christ. They've been made righteous,
not by what they do, but by the righteousness of Christ. Every
one of them had been given faith in life and the new birth. But
now God's elect, those things are all the same, but God's elect
are called from many different backgrounds, different countries,
different generations, different eras of history. God meets his
people at different points of rebellion. God meets each one
of his people their point of rebellion. My point of rebellion
is different than yours, but wherever it is, God's gonna meet
us right there. Some people are given faith the
very first time they hear the gospel. Others, it may take years
and years before they finally hear. All those things differ,
don't they? But everyone God saves will give
witness to some things about the Lord. They're all, every
one of them will give witness to these things, they're all
the same. They'll all give witness to who God is. They'll all give
witness to how he put their sin away through the sacrifice of
his son. They'll all give witness to how it is they came to know
the Lord because the Lord caused me to be born again. He revealed
himself to me. That's why I know him. They'll
all give witness to that. And in our text here at the beginning
of verse 10, God says to his people, you are my witnesses.
You're my witnesses. Now, witnesses are those people
who tell what they've seen with their own eyes. They're eyewitnesses
to something. A witness is someone who tells
what he knows to be true from first-hand experience. You know,
someone can't object and say, that's hearsay. No, this is what
I know to be true from first-hand experience. And God says he's
got some witnesses. These people have seen God with
the eye of faith. God has let them see some things
with faith. And when I read this text, I
wondered this, am I one of God's witnesses or am I a false witness? Am I a witness who testifies
of God's grace or am I a witness who testifies the lies of the
flesh? Which am I? Idols have witnesses too, so
which am I? What are the things that God's
witnesses testify? Well, they testify salvations
of the Lord. They witness to how God saves
sinners by telling from first-hand experience how did God save this
sinner. And here's the first thing God's
witnesses testify. They all testify God elected
a people into salvation. Look here at verse five. God
says, fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from
the east and gather thee from the west. Now what is this seed
that Isaiah refers to? What's God's elect? Look over
Romans chapter nine. This seed that he's referring
to here is the seed of Abraham. They're the seed, the people,
who have the same faith as that of Abraham. Romans 9, verse 6. Not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect, for they're not all Israel which are of Israel.
They're not all spiritual Israel which are of national Israel.
Neither, because they're the seed of Abraham, they're the
natural seed of Abraham, are they all children, children of
God. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. The seed who's called
is God's elect. I look over Galatians chapter
three. This is the seed that Isaiah
is referring to in this prophecy. The elect of God. Galatians 3
verse 29. And if you be Christ, if you
belong to Christ, if you have faith in Christ, then are you
Abraham's seed and your heirs according to the promise. If
you have faith in Christ, you're the seed. The way you know you're
the elect of God is you have faith in Christ. That's how you
know that you're the seed, you're the elect. And this promise that
Paul is talking about, your heirs according to the promise, This
is the promise of salvation. God's promise before the foundation
of the world, He promised to save a people. And that promise
was made to the elect in Christ. That promise was actually made
to Christ. And it was made to us if we're
in Christ. Look up here at Galatians 3 verse
16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not into seeds as of
many, but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ. This promise, this promise of
salvation, this promise of election, all has to do with the Lord Jesus
Christ. And Christ came in the fullness
of time. He came born of a woman, born of a virgin. He came a man
in flesh and blood just like ours, yet without sin. And this
is the reason he appeared as a man. He came to save those
elect the Father gave him. The Father gave him a people,
that's the seed the Father gave him. but they're born in sin. Christ came to put their sin
away, to redeem them, to save them from their sin. That's pretty
tall order, isn't it? Is it gonna happen? Isaiah says,
fear not, fear not. We looked at that last week,
a whole message on fear not. Now Isaiah says it again, you
fear not. The only way you and I can not
fear damnation because of our sin, the only way we can not
fear that is if Christ is not a failure, if he did what he
came to do. If Christ died for every son
of Adam to give everybody a chance to be saved if they so desire,
then Christ is failure. He is. You think about it. There
were already people in hell when Christ died. He didn't save them.
Many people, we read in scripture, many people have gone to hell
since Christ died. Well, if he died for them, Christ
is a failure. If Christ died for everyone, he's a failure
and you and I have lots of reason to fear. We have good reason
to fear the judgment. We have good reason to fear death.
But if Christ died for his elect, if he died for the sin of his
people, and the sin of his people was taken off of them and charged
to Christ our substitute, and Christ died as a sacrifice, and
he shed his blood to atone for the sin of his people, then those
people shall be saved. He shall not fail to be discouraged. There's no doubt they'll be saved.
See, there's no reason to fear in this message of salvation
in Christ, through grace, through his blood. There's a reason for
reference, reason for thanksgiving, reason for rejoicing, but there's
no reason to fear. If Christ died for you, your
sin's gone and you're saved. And everyone that God saves is
gonna bear witness to this fact. I didn't choose God. God chose
me when I never would have chosen him. He chose me. My salvation
is not based on a decision that I made. My salvation is not based
on my will at all. Salvation is not of him that
wills nor of him that runneth. My salvation is based upon the
will of God, upon the decision of Almighty God. Now, is that
your testimony? If it is, you're one of God's
witnesses. Here's the second thing God's
witnesses testify. They testify this. God brings
his people to Christ. He doesn't leave them out there
wandering around by themselves. He brings them to Christ. I don't
care where they are. God's fetching grace is going
to find them and it's going to bring them to Christ. In Adam,
they've tried everything they can do to get away from God.
And God set his affection upon them. If God chose them, if Christ
died for them, I don't care how far they've gone. I don't care
where they are. God's grace reaches there. He's
gonna reach there and bring them to his son. Verse five, he says,
fear not for I'm with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. God says,
I will gather. I will gather my people. I'll gather them. He's not going
to leave it to chance. He's going to do it. God the
Holy Spirit will gather his elect. He'll bring them to Christ and
he'll see them through all the trials and tribulations and journey
here below till they come all the way to glory. Now that's
not something man has the ability to do. God does, and he's gonna
gather his people and bring them, that's just the work of God,
he's gonna bring them to glory. He uses this word in verse five
here, bring. For I am with thee, I will bring
thy seed from the east. That word, it means bring, it
means to carry. It means to go get those that
are fallen. And it means doubtless will bring
again. Now in Adam, we're falling. We
need somebody to bring us because we're falling. We've fallen away
from God when Christ came to get his people that are falling
in Adam and bring them to God. And he has to do it because when
Adam died or fell, we all died. We lost the ability to come back
to God. We're dead. We can't do anything.
So God has to come where we are and carry us. to be with Him. We went away from God and Adam,
but the Holy Spirit, doubtless, will bring His elect back to
God. I'll bring them, God says. That's a good reason not to fear,
isn't it? God said, I'm gonna bring them. And He says, I'm
gonna gather thee from the West. I look that word up, it means
to collect. It means to surely collect. And Adam, we're a sheep
going astray, aren't we? But Christ, the good shepherd,
He will surely, surely collect all of his sheep. I don't care
how far they've wandered. Christ, the good shepherd, is
going to go find them. And he'll surely collect all of his sheep
together. Or they'll be one fold and one
shepherd. And there's no doubt about this.
He'll surely do it. No matter how far God's elect
have gone away from Christ, there's no point to the compass that
they can go so far in the wrong direction. that Christ won't
bring them back. God commands to the north, you
give up my people, you give them up. He commands the south, don't
you keep my people back, don't you keep them from coming to
me. God himself goes to the east and to the west and to the ends
of the earth and brings his people, collects his people, he brings
his sons and daughters back home to be with him. What tender love
our heavenly father has to his children. They're rebellious
sons and daughters. Oh, they're good for nothing.
They're just like that prodigal son gone away and wasted our
substance on riotous living. But the tender love of our father,
that story of the prodigal son, that's just a parable. The father
waited for that son to come home, didn't he? Here, God says, I'm
gonna go. I'll go to the far east, to the
far west, to the north, to the south. I'll find my rebellious
son in that pig pen. I'm going to bring him home.
What tender love. The father comes to that rebellious
child and says, now you come home. It's time to come home. Everyone God saves is witness
to that fact. I'm a rebel. By nature, I was
a rebel. I was going as far away from
God as I could get. But Christ, the good shepherd,
came. He sent those two sheepdogs, Mercy and Grace, and he found
me and he brought me home on his shoulders. Now, he picked
me up. He carried me all the way. But
I did come to Christ willingly. But even that's God's doing,
isn't it? He brought me to himself and he made me willing to come
in the day of his great power. And I lovingly surrender and
bow to him. Now, is that your testimony? If you can give witness to that,
you're God's witness. Here's the third thing God's
witnesses testify to. They all testify God gives his
people life in the new birth. Verse seven, even everyone that's
called by my name, for I have created him for my glory. I formed
him. Yay, I've made him. Now when
a person's born again, there's a new man born who never existed
before. This thing of the new birth is
not a reformation or improvement project of the old man. The old
man's unchanged. This is the birth of a new man.
We talk about the new birth. This is not something that the
flesh can learn and give assent to and somehow learn to love.
No, the flesh is never going to love it. The new birth is
the birth of a new man. who's never been born before.
Now, when we're born, here's why that old man can't be remodeled
and improved. When we're born into this world,
fleshly speaking, we're born from seed, aren't we? We're born
from the seed of our father. Now, I know God gave life. There's
no life form that God doesn't give it. But in this sense, we're
formed from our father's seed. He formed us. We're born in our
father's image. We look like him. We've got the
nature of our father. We bear the name of our father.
And that birth is a shameful birth because of the sinful seed
that started the whole mess. We're born in the image of our
father, Adam, and it's shameful. We're born with his sinful nature.
And that's the only nature our father could have passed on.
I mean, I love my dad like nobody else, but the only nature he
could have passed on to me was a sin nature, because that's
what he is. He's a sinner. We're shapen in iniquity. That's
how we're formed in the flesh. So we've got to be born again,
don't we? That birth is no good. There's nothing about it any
good. So when a sinner's born again, he's born through a very
similar process. The difference is, who's the
father? Who's the father in this apartment? It's not our natural
father, is it? It's our heavenly father. When
a sinner's born again, we're made new by our heavenly father. This is a new father and a new
seed. God, our heavenly father uses
but you've got open in your lap, the incorruptible seed, the word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. That's what he uses
to give birth to his children. Now that creature is made of
God. That, that creation is made of
God. He made in the image of God.
He's born with the nature of God. We're partakers of the divine
nature. We're born bearing the name of
God. This is the name where with she should be called Jehovah
Sikhinu, the Lord, our righteousness. And this man has been created,
God says, for the glory of his grace. And everyone God saves
will give testimony to this. God gave me life. This is not
something I could conjure up on my own. God gave it to me.
He gave me new spiritual life. And every person God saves will
also bear witness to this. In the new birth, the flesh is
unchanged. So I have in me two men, two
opposite men, two opposite natures. I've been born again, but the
flesh is unchanged. I've got two men, two natures. One of them's flesh, one of them's
spirit. One of them loves God, the other hates God. One of them
loves the word of God. One of them loves to read the
word of God. The other hates the word of God, falls asleep
when I read it. One loves sin, the other loves righteousness.
There's a civil war going on in me at all times. And when
I read Romans chapter 7, I read what Paul says and I say, I can
bear witness to that. I can amen that so. I'm an eyewitness
to that too. Now is that your testimony? If
it is, you're one of God's witnesses. Now God's witnesses have a story
to tell. That's a testimony to give. True testimony we have
to give. It's all about the glory of our
Savior. But you know, God's witnesses also have something to do. That's
something we're to do is to tell others of Christ, to bring others
to hear of Christ. Look at verse eight. Bring forth
the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears.
This isn't something God says he's going to do. He says, you
witnesses, you people of mine, you bring forth the blind people
that have eyes. You bring forth the deaf people
that have ears. You do that. And you're wondering,
Frank, I thought you just said God does that. I thought you
just said God's the only one that can do that. Well, He does.
That's true. But we who believe are told to
bring sinners to the feet of Christ. You bring sinners to
come here of the Savior. Now, God's the only people who
actually bring them to Christ. God's the only one who can actually
give them life. God's the only one who can actually
give them faith. But what's the commandment? God's
commandment to the church. You go out into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. You go out and command
them, come to Christ. Well, now there's a tall order,
isn't it? But don't fear when people don't believe. You know,
we do try to do that, and many people, most, don't believe,
but don't fear when they don't believe. God's gonna see to it
not one Christ died for is gonna perish. God will see to it if
one of His elect ever comes in here, they'll hear and believe,
God will see to it. Look over at Luke chapter 14.
Our responsibility is not to produce results. Our responsibility
as the church is to preach the gospel, to preach Christ to them
and compel, command men and women, you come to Christ. Luke 14 verse
15. And one of them sat at meat with
him, heard these things. He said unto him, blessed is
he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he
unto him, a certain man made a great supper and bade many,
and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were
bid and come, for all things are now ready. And they all with
one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I bought
a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee,
have me excused. And another said, I bought five
yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I've married
a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and
showed his Lord these things. Then the master of the house,
being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets
and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor, the maimed
and the halt and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it's
done as thou has commanded. And yet there's room. And the
Lord said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges
and compel them to come in. that my house may be filled. Now the house was filled, who
filled it? The house was not filled with
people that had somewhere else to go. If you've got someplace
to go other than Christ, you'll never come to Him. This house
wasn't filled with people that had somewhere else to go. This
house wasn't filled with rich people that didn't need anything. If you're not poor and needy,
you'll never come to Christ. The house wasn't filled with
those rich that didn't need anything. The house was filled with the
poor, and the maimed, and the haught, and the blind. Did you
fit in there? The house was filled with those
who were commanded to come. Now we have to look for opportunities
to tell people about Christ. As an opportunity arises, invite
people to the service. Give them a CD. Give them a link
to sermon audio or something. Give them an article. And I know
most people won't hear. I understand that. But I promise
you, everyone who's supposed to hear will. Everyone of God's
sheep are going to hear. And they'll come to Christ. We're
commanded to tell them. Here's the gospel. You come to
Christ. And we're to tell those people
who are blind yet have eyes, come. Now how can they have eyes
but be blind? Well, it's because they only
have one nature. They just got the nature of the flesh. They
haven't been born again. They have fleshly eyes. And those
fleshly eyes, what do they see? Just carnal things. That's all
they can see, isn't it? They have fleshly eyes, but they're
spiritually blind. They can see things of this world,
They can't see Christ in His Word. They cannot see Him. They
have fleshly ears that can only hear fleshly things. Those carnal
things that they hear, those things all appeal to them. But
when they hear of Christ in the gospel, they don't hear Him.
They don't hear His voice like you do. It doesn't appeal to
them. Well, if they're blind and they're deaf, why bother
preaching to them? You're blind and deaf one day, somebody preach
to you. Aren't you glad? God may be pleased to give them
life in the new birth. He might be pleased to give them
new seeing eyes and new hearing ears. Proverbs 20 verse 12 says,
the hearing ear, the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both
of them. I know people, they're blind,
they're spiritually blind, but boy, they think they see, don't
they? They're spiritually deaf, but they think they hear. But
you know what they think they know about God? They think they
know God. But you know what they really know? They know an idol. And God says, now you tell them,
you come compare their idol to me. Look at verse nine in our
text, Isaiah 43. Let all nations be gathered together
and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this
and show us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses
that they may be justified. or let them hear and say it's
truth. Now here is another example of
how gracious God is. He calls these idolaters to come
before them. He's not come before me. Now
come together. Let's, let's look at this. God has his witnesses. You believe
you're his witnesses, but he says, these idols have witnesses.
He said, let's hear from their witnesses. Let's hear from these
idols witnesses. Can the idols witness? Can they
say they're idols like God? No, they can't, can they? Can
they say their idol has the nature of God, who's both holy and gracious? Can they say their God is both
righteous and merciful? Can they say their God is both
just and justifier? No, they can't bear witness to
that, can they? They can't say that their idol
is love. Their idol is cruel. Their idol promises salvation
and then says multitudes to hell. God never does that. God never
promises anyone salvation and casts them off. Never. God is
love. He saves all those He promised
to save. An idol always demands something
from you. An idol demands your obedience
to the law. God provides the obedience that
He requires. That idol demands you give. You've
got to give and give and give and give. God commands you receive. An idol has a beginning. There's
a day when man created. That's that idol, the beginning.
But God's eternal. He's without beginning, without
ending. Their idols aren't like God.
Their idols don't have the power of God. An idol cannot bring
its will to pass. Not without you helping it. Now,
an idol, it may have a will. We hear about this idol, he's
got a will to save everybody. But you can mess it up by not
accepting him, can't you? Oh, he don't have much power,
does he? Or maybe you can make his will
all work out all right if you just decide to let him. But see
how it's all up to you, not up to that idol? That idol's no
God. Salvation. is of the Lord. Now hear this, salvation's of
the Lord. And God proves salvation's of
the Lord by telling us what he's gonna do long before he ever
does it. Now, God doesn't tell the future like He's a fortune
teller. You know, He's looking down through the telescope of
time. He sees what's going to happen. He tells, no. God tells
the future because He declares the end from the beginning. God
tells you the future because He's telling you, this is my
purpose. This is my will. I'm going to bring it to pass.
I'm just telling you about it before I do it so that you'll
know. I'm always accomplishing my will
and bringing my purpose to pass. That's what He says here in verse
12. He said, I have declared and saved, and I have showed
when there was no strange God among you. Therefore, you're
my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the
day was, I am he, and there's none that can deliver out of
my hand. I will work, and who will let it? I'm gonna accomplish
my purpose, and who can stop it? Who can turn it back? None,
because I'm God. Now, you who are witnesses to
this idol, You either prove that your idol is like God, or you
admit God's God and worship Him. That's what he's saying there.
Now you come and compare, and then you see who's God, and you
bow to Him and worship Him as God. Now these witnesses of the
idol have come. Maybe they want to cross-examine
God's witnesses. So God's witnesses give one final
testimony. This is the testimony of God's
witness. They give it under oath, and
their testimony never changes. It doesn't change under cross-examination. They always testify to this.
Number one, God elected the people. Verse 10, God says, you're my
witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen. Now this is our testimony. God
chose me when I could not and would not choose him. God chose
me to be his servant, even though I can't add anything to him.
God chose me to be His servant even though I can't do anything
for Him. That's God's mercy and God's grace. He chooses the undeserving. He sets His mercy and grace on
the undeserving. Now the idolater is going to
have to admit, my idol didn't choose me. I chose that idol. I made him. I put him where he
is. That's where he stays because that's where I put him. That
idol is dependent on me. My friend, that's a dunghill
God. That's all that is, a dunghill God. God is God. He chose me
and made me his. That's our testimony. Second,
we always testify to this. I was blind, I couldn't see. So God revealed himself to me.
He goes on in verse 10 here, that you may know and believe
me, that you may know me. I'll tell you, without fear of
contradiction, I know God. But boy, I don't know much about
Him. That's up to you. I don't know much about Him. But what
I do know, God revealed to me. I can say with the Apostle Paul,
I know whom I believe. And because I know Him, I'm persuaded. I'm fully confident He's able
to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. I
know Him. Look at 1 John chapter 2. I know
that we can fit what all of us know together all into one, fit
it in a thimble. We don't know much, but there
are some things that every believer knows. They know this because
God taught them. God gave them eyes to see it
and they know it. 1 John 2, verse 3. And hereby, we do know that
we know him. if we keep His commandments.
Now what's this mean if you keep His commandments? Does that mean
you've got to keep God's law? No, that's not how you know Him.
This commandment that John's talking about here is God's commandment
to not try to keep the law, to not try to earn your righteousness
by keeping the law yourself, but obey God's commandment to
seek righteousness by faith in Christ. This is God's commandment,
do nothing except trust Christ. If that's your testimony, you
know God. If you know God, you know He's
holy. You know He's righteous. You
know He's your righteousness. You don't try to earn your right.
You believe Him. Your righteousness is through
faith in Him. You know that. Look in 1 John
2 verse 18. Here's something else we know.
Little children, it's the last time. As you've heard that Antichrist
shall come. Even now, are there many Antichrists? whereby we know it's the last
time. We know it's the last time, don't
we? Well, then let's redeem the time
we have. Let's seek Christ urgently in the time that we have. It's
the last times. 1 John 3, verse 2. Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be, But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is. What a precious promise
for the sons and daughters of God to know he's coming back. I know he's coming back. And
when he does, woo, we're gonna be like him. I mean, we're gonna
be just like him. And just like our brother Job
said, in that day, this is what I know. I'm going to see him
face to face. He won't be a stranger. He won't
be another. I know him. Oh, what a precious
promise to hang on to. I don't have to be like this
the rest of my days, the rest of the free. Well, I do have
to be like this for the rest of my days, but not through eternity.
I don't. There I'll be like him. Look at 1 John 3 verse 14. This is what we know. Every child
knows this. We know that we pass from death
unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not
his brother abideth in death. Why do you love the brethren?
Why do you love God? Because God gave you a new nature
that does love. The nature of this flesh doesn't
love anybody but the flesh. When you feel yourself, I love
my brethren. One thing you know, that's not
me. That's not just flesh. That's a new nature born of God.
That doesn't come natural to the flesh. That had to come from
the new nature born of God. Look here, 1 John 3, verse 24.
This is something we know. And he that keepeth his commandments,
his commandment of faith in Christ, to look to Christ in faith, dwelleth
in him and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth
in us by the spirit which he hath given us. I don't know how
to, and I'm glad I don't have to, logically explain how it
is I know Christ dwells in me. I don't have to explain how it
is I know there's a new heart in me. A believer just knows
it. You just know it. How do you
know it? How do you know that? The exact
same way you know you're a sinner. How'd you find out you're a sinner?
God chose you, didn't he? God taught you. The reason you
know Christ dwells in your heart is God taught you. God revealed
that to you, too. And you can't understand that,
but you believe it. If you're God's witness, you
do. Look at 1 John 4, verse 13. You can't explain it, but you
believe it. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us,
because he's given us of his spirit. That's how we know it,
God's given us his spirit. One more here, 1 John 5, verse
18. This is what we know. We know that whosoever is born
of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself,
and that wicked one toucheth him not. Now, we know this. There is in me a nature that
can do nothing but sin. It loves sin, it drinks iniquity
like water, it can't do anything good. But there is also in me
a nature that Cannot sin. Utterly impossible for that new
nature to sin because it's born of God. It's born from the holy
incorruptible seed of the Word of God. And I feel absolutely
no need to explain that. It's just so. You know how I
know it's so? God's Word says so. Isn't that
enough? God's Word says so. But I can
also tell you, I know there's two natures in me. One that loves
sin, one that hates it, because that civil war I talked about
earlier. It's going on in me all the time. That's how we know
it. So 1 John 5 verse 20. And we know, this is why we know
all this, the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true, that we're in Him that
is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God
and eternal life. I was blind, but now I see. I see that because God opened
my eyes and taught me. And the last thing, every believer,
this is our final testimony, we know and believe these things
because God's given us faith in Christ. He gave us faith to
believe. He says here in verse 10, Isaiah
43, you're my witnesses, saith the Lord, my servant, whom I've
chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that
I am he. I believe and I understand that
God is the only savior of sinners. You know why I believe that?
The only way anybody can believe it is if God gave you the free
gift of faith in Christ. Now either God is God, either
the God I've declared to you tonight from God's word is God,
or there is no God. That's only two choices. Either
this gospel, the gospel of our salvation is the gospel, or there
is no gospel. You may as well quit religion
altogether if this isn't the gospel. But I'm telling you,
God is God. I believe him, I know him, and
you do too. This gospel is the gospel of
salvation. This is the gospel God uses to
call out his people, to save his people, and to feed his sheep.
Now that's the truth. That's the whole truth and nothing
but the truth. God grants faith to believers.
God gives us faith. All right, let's bow in prayer.