In Isaiah 40 verse one, we read
these words. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Say if you're God, that's what
I want to try to do this morning. If the Lord will enable me, I
want to try to give your heart some comfort. Turn with me to
the book of First John, please. First John chapter three. Familiar text. First John Chapter three will
read the first five verses. Behold what manner of love the
father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the
sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not because it knew him not beloved. Now are we the sons of God and
it does 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. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever
committed sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression
of the law. And you know that he was manifested
to take away our sins, and in him He is no sin. John begins this chapter with
the word, behold, stop what you're doing and stand in wonder how
our God deals with lost centers. John encourages us to look with
amazement upon the marvelous grace that our God has bestowed
upon us. And he encourages us to behold
the manner in which he displays his love. This word manner, it
means the way in which something is done, the way one behaves
toward and deals with others. So John is saying to those to
whom he is writing, look at the unbelievably incredible way,
the merciful way that God deals with his elect. Stand in awe,
John says, of the manner in which our father has displayed his
love toward us, those of us who are the redeemed of the Lord.
And it says, Behold, what manner of love the father has bestowed
upon us. This word bestowed means to present
as a gift or a privilege to give or confer something. The love
of God is given in the same way that faith is given us. It is
a gift given to some, and withheld from others. But we have to ask,
why would our God deal with us in such a manner? He's infinitely
holy. We are ungodly. He's righteous. We are utterly depraved. He is
merciful. We're hard-hearted. He is good.
We are evil. Now, did he have anything to
gain by showing mercy to such as we? How can one who already
possesses everything have anything to gain by showing mercy to undeserving
sinners? All things are and were already
his. So what reason would God possibly
have for loving us? In this same book, in 1 John
4, 16, it tells us this, God is love. Love is as much one
of his attributes as his holiness. His omnipotence, His righteousness,
His justice, His mercy. But our God must have an object
on which to bestow that love, and certainly that love was bestowed
upon His Son from ages of eternity past. But the love of our God
is so abundant and so overflowing that He chose a number that no
man can number on which to bestow that love. As our God is infinite,
so also are his attributes, including his love. It is boundless. So God the Father simply loved
us because he would, for so it seemed good in his sight. An old saying, action speaks
louder than words, certainly applies here. Our God didn't
just speak of loving lost sinners. He put that love into action. We rejoice in those verses, those
familiar verses in Ephesians 1. 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 before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. He did all that we just read
of because he felt like it. It was according to the good
pleasure of his will. And, of course, that oh so familiar
verse in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish
but should have everlasting life. This is the greatest demonstration
of love that this world has ever witnessed. We know this because
what our Lord told his disciples, greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Don used to read us a hymn from
time to time that's a great description of the magnitude of God's love
toward his elect. This is the last verse of that
hymn. You all will recognize this.
Could we with ink the oceans fill, And were the skies of parchment
made, were every stock on earth a quill, and every man a scribe
by trade. To write the love of God above
would drain the oceans dry, nor could the scroll contain the
whole, though stretched from sky to sky. In our text in 1 John 3 tells
us the result of God's love toward us, that we should be called
The sons of God. Stop and contemplate those words
for just a minute. The sons of God. Children of the Most High adopted
sons of the God of this universe. And incredibly joint heirs with
Christ Jesus. Not begotten sons. God only has
one of those but adopted sons. An adoption which took place
before the foundation of the world to which we were predestinated
by this God who is love. But in order for that adoption
to take place, there was something that had to happen first, which
Paul spoke of to the Galatians in chapter four, verse four.
But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his
son, made of a woman, made under the law, to what end? To redeem them that are under
the law, that or in order that we might receive the adoption
of sons. Without redemption, there is
or without redemption, there is no adoption. In order to become
a son of God, you must be every bit as righteous, every bit as
holy as God himself. And there is only one way that
that is possible, and that's through the cleansing blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Men like to talk about being
descended from royal blood. But there's no more royal blood
in this universe than to be part of the family of God Almighty.
Now our Lord told his disciples in Matthew 5 verses 44 43 and
44. He said this. You have heard
that it has been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine
enemy. But I say unto you love your
enemies bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despicably use you and persecute
you. And God the Father most certainly
demonstrated those principles which our Savior expounded here
by the manner of love which he displayed toward us. In verse
44, Christ Jesus lists four things that are impossible to do unless
God gives us grace to do so. They are so against our very
nature that without God's grace, we cannot possibly do them. Commandment
number one that he gave, love your enemies. Love your enemies. In Romans 5, Paul is describing
how that we're justified by faith, how that we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand, and how that we rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. how that in due time Christ died
for the ungodly, those who were exactly opposite of anything
good and righteous. But God the Father commended
his love toward us. It says that while we were yet
sinners, enemies to anything good and anything right, enemies
to the very God of this universe, this is the manner in which God
the Father showed his love toward us. Verse 10 of Romans 5 says
this. Remember, Christ said, love your
enemies. Verse 10 says, for if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life. Paul wrote similar words to the
Colossians when he said, and you that were sometimes alienated
and enemies in your mind, By wicked works, now hath he reconciled. Love your enemies. Commandment
number two that Christ gave, bless them that curse you. Now,
I'll be honest, and I think if you are as well, we would all
have to admit that we have a very hard time doing this. When someone
is openly and strongly making their hatred toward us known,
The hardest thing in this world is to meet that cursing with
blessing. But Christ commanded us, bless
them that curse you. Our blessed Lord gave us this
example. When he stood falsely accused before Pilate, he spoke
not a word. And Pilate was astounded that
he stood looking at death and answered him not a word. And
our God magnificently displayed this principle of blessing them
that curse you in the redemption of lost men and women. In Romans
3, there's a description of fallen man. And in verse 14, it states
that their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. David wrote a
similar description of lost men in Psalm 10, verse 7. He said
his mouth is full of deceit and cursing and fraud. Under his
tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places
in the villages. In secret places doth he murder
the innocent. Which is what the free will of
man did to the Lord Jesus Christ. It murdered the innocent. We're born with mouths full of
cursing. We curse our fellow man and we
curse God. by our very nature, using his
name in the most vile way. But because of the love that
he had toward those chosen in Christ Jesus in ages of eternity
past, our God blesses many who used to curse him. And the way
that this is accomplished is stated in Galatians 3, verse
13. It says, Christ hath 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. He was
made a curse when he was made to be sin. This is the manner
in which God displays his love toward his elect, the way he
displays and follows through on his commandment to bless them
that curse you. Commandment number three that
the Lord gave his disciples do good unto them that hate you.
Do good unto them that hate you. We're born with a natural mind
that hates God. Romans 8 7 tells us because the
carnal mind is enmity toward God and it is not subject to
the law of God. Neither indeed can be. It is
an impossibility. This word enmity It means a deep-seated hatred,
hostility, and animosity toward another. We're born with it,
and that old nature does not lay down until we put this flesh
into ground. It's there always, constantly
within us. But very few people will outrightly
declare their hatred for God. I know there's a few atheists
that proudly proclaim there is no God and if there is I hate
him. But most people say oh yeah I
believe in God but the God they believe in is a God that they've
created in their own mind. He's like an obedient servant
that stays in the background until he's needed. We've all
seen movies where there's a bunch of rich people sitting around
and they're having dinner and there's a couple servants standing
back here and maybe when they get done with their meal they
Motion for James come clear the table. That's the way most people
think about God. It's like, God, I need you to
do this for me. And when this thing is accomplished,
it's kind of like, all right, go back in the corner. I'll let
you know when you're needed again. That's the God that most people
don't hate because he's a God that they control. But you've
proclaimed a man, the God of this Bible, who does what he
wants, when he wants, why he wants, with whom he wants, and
they will hate both you and the God that you proclaim. They will
shout that such a God as this is a monster. They will speak
of God the way that Thomas Jefferson did in a letter to John Adams.
Jefferson was a man greatly used of God in the establishment of
this nation. He literally doubled the size
of this nation with the Louisiana Purchase. was a prolific letter
writer, Jefferson was, and he wrote this to Adams. They were
good friends. But this is how Jefferson saw
his God. He wrote to Adams, I can never
join Calvin in addressing his God. He was indeed an atheist,
which I can never be, or rather his religion was demonism. If
ever a man worshipped a false god, he did. The being described
in his five points is not the God to whom you and I acknowledge
and adore, the creator and benevolent governor of this universe, but
a demon of malignant spirit. Mr. Jefferson, as so many of
the sons of man, had his idea of what God ought to be. He was
a child of the enlightenment. But the God that he had in his
mind was nothing similar to the God of this Bible. Commandment
number four that Christ gave his disciples, pray for them
which despisefully use you and persecute you. This is probably the hardest
of these four commandments that our Lord gave. It is against
everything in our natural way of thinking to pray for someone
who dedicates their time to making our life miserable. Yet amazingly
enough, that is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ did when
he hung between heaven and earth on a Roman cross. Turn over to
1 Peter with me. 1 Peter chapter 2. Pray for them
which despisefully use you, Christ told his disciples. And in first
Peter chapter two, verse 19. For this is thankworthy if a
man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when
you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently.
But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that we should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. This is exactly what our Lord
did. He prayed for them that persecuted
Him. I love that hymn, Blessed Redeemer.
I've asked Billy to close the service with that today, but
especially that verse that says, Father, forgive them. Thus did
He pray, even when His lifeblood flowed fast away, praying for
sinners while in such woe no one, no one but Jesus, Ever loved
so. As our Lord was suspended on
that Roman cross, he looked through eyes nearly swollen shut from
the beating he had received out into the faces of many who were
celebrating his death. And he loved them. Because they were among those
for whom he was dying. Just try to imagine this. We
hear about the sacrifice of our Lord, but there were many who
were cheering his death, who later would become objects
of his mercy, who witnessed in person the death of the Lamb of God,
which purchased a redemption. We know this from what we read
in Acts chapter two, Turn there with me if you'd like to look
at it, Acts chapter 2. Pray for them. They persecute
you, our Lord said. And in Acts chapter 2, verse
22, Peter declares, ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him, in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain. You did this, Peter told them.
And he drives a point home even further again in verse 36. Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
this same Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ. And in
the very next verse, we find many of those who celebrated
the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, crying out, men and brethren,
what shall we do? And Peter replies, repent and
be baptized. And incredibly, our merciful God, Saved about
3,000 that day. Many of whom stood and celebrated
the death of Christ. Christ prayed for those who despised
and persecuted him. When he prayed from the cross,
Father forgive them for they know not what they do. And God
the Father answered that prayer. by saving about 3,000 on the
day of Pentecost. But I feel sure that it did not
stop there, that many others who witnessed the death of Christ
that day, after hearing the disciples and others preach, were brought
to faith in Christ, that Christ that they jeered as he hung between
heaven and earth. This is what John wrote of in
our text when he said, behold, the manner of God that God has
bestowed his love upon us. The love of the Father, it is
truly astonishing. Paul encouraged the Ephesians
and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given
himself for us and offering in a sacrifice for sin to God for
us to meet sweet smelling Savior. Christ put his love for his bride
into action. Now, because of his unimaginable
love to his people, our Lord Jesus Christ willingly bore their
punishment. Turn over with me. I want to
look at a verse in Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63. This one verse speaks of the incredible love that God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ had toward the elect. Isaiah 63, the verse I want to
look at is verse 9. In their affliction, he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in
his pity, he redeemed them. and bear them and carried them
all the days of old. In their affliction, he was afflicted. This is described so well in
Isaiah 53. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement, of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. Our afflictions
became his afflictions as he bore the punishment that was
due our sin. He carried our sorrows so that
we would never know the sorrow that the damned in hell endure
as we sit here. And in the same way that his
afflictions or our afflictions became his, so his righteousness
became our righteousness, blessed, blessed substitution. And next
in this verse, in Isaiah, verse nine, it says, and the angel
of his presence saved them from the moment that one of God's
elect is conceived in the womb there overseen by guardian angels. Did you know that your mother,
when she was carrying you, was immortal? She could not die. She was preserved until the time
of love, until the time that she bore one of God's elect,
one of God's saints. David said in Psalm 93, when
mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at
thy presence. And in Psalm 91 we read, there
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thee,
for he shall give his angels charge over thee. to keep thee
and all thy ways preserved from all those things that would have
destroyed us until the time of salvation. This very text in
Psalm 91 is quoted by Satan when he took the Lord Jesus Christ
to Jerusalem, set him on a high pinnacle of the temple, and tempted
him to cast himself down. And we're told in Psalm 103 that
the angels of God excel in strength and do God's commandments. God
the Father doesn't send someone to watch over his chosen people
who's not able to do so. No, he sends angels that we're
told that excel in strength, that are more than able to keep
us from harm, both before and after we come to faith in Christ.
But as strong as those angels are, both God's angels and the
fallen angels, They cannot possibly override the purpose and the
will of God when it comes to a safe center falling from grace.
We know this from what Paul wrote in Romans. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, so
powerful, it's a saving power of Christ's blood that it is
impossible for a lost sinner to ever be, or a saved sinner
to ever be lost. There's no force in the universe,
Paul tells us, that is able to make that happen. Then verse
nine in Isaiah 63 goes on to say this, in his love and in
his pity, He redeemed them. This word pity means sympathy
and sorrow aroused by the misfortune and the sufferings of another.
And in Isaiah 31 three, our God says this. Yay, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. An everlasting love is one that
has no beginning and no end. There was never a time that God
hated us and then began loving us. He tells us, I am the Lord,
I change not. We have always been in Christ. And because our God loves his
people with an everlasting love, he redeemed us by the blood of
his precious son. In Psalm 103, 13, we read, like
a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them. that
fear him. But folks, we have to understand
that because God the Father chose to take pity on his elect people. There was no pity. There was no mercy. To be had
for his son. When our sins were found upon
God's justice. Is not overruled by his love.
Sin must be paid for. Psalm 69 20 tells us, speaking
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reproach. Have broken my heart. And I am full of heaviness. And
I look for some to take pity. But there were none. And for
comforters. But I found none. Not I didn't
find many. I found none. Our blessed Lord died alone,
though surrounded by thousands. He died alone, even forsaken
by the father with whom he had dwelt in perfect unity for billions
of millennia. Ezekiel 511 describes the attitude
that God has toward those who sin against him. And it's a good description of
how our God dealt with his son when he was made sin for us.
Listen to these words. Wherefore, as I live, saith the
Lord God. Surely. Because thou has defiled
my sanctuary with all thy detestable things. And with all that abominations. Therefore, will I also dismiss
thee, neither shall mine eyes spare, neither will I have pity. There was no mercy shown to our
savior when he was made sin for us. God took no pity upon his
son when he hung upon that Roman tree because by imputation, he
deserved every single ounce of wrath that was being poured out
upon him. And it was poured out without measure. We read in the
scriptures that God is wicked with the angry or angry with
the wicked every day. So you can imagine how angry,
how furious our God was when all the sins of all the elect
were laid on our Savior. There's never been such a concentration
of sin punished at one time as there was when Christ took upon
him. the iniquity of us all. Ezekiel
7 9 gives a similar description of how our God viewed his son
as he hung between heaven and earth. It says this in mine I
shall not spare. Neither will I have pity. I will recompense thee according
to thy ways and dine abominations that are in the midst of thee
and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth thee. Our Lord Jesus knew who it was
that was pouring out his wrath upon him. That's why he cried,
My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Because of our sins,
he was smitten and afflicted. Verse nine of Isaiah goes on
to tell us more of what our God did for us. that he not only
took pity, but it says that he bear them. Speaking of his people,
I already quoted verses 10 and 11 of Psalm 91, but let me read
verse 12. Speaking of the angels of God,
it says they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou
dash thy foot against the stone. The protective hand of our God
is carried out by his angels watching over us every moment
of our lives. And that verse goes on to say,
and he carried them all the days of old, like a good shepherd
that Christ pictured, who finds that lost sheep and puts him
on his shoulders. He carries us all the days of
our lives here, both before and after we come to faith in Christ.
But this verse means much more than that when it says it God
carried us all the days of old. It is speaking of Christ carrying
us in his very heart. From long before the foundation
of this world was ever laid, we have always been in Christ. From eternity past, as this verse
says, from the days of old. From untold ages, we have been
carried in the heart of Christ. There wasn't ever a time we were
put in Christ. We have always been in Christ. But there's even more to this
verse than that. We love to talk of God for venient grace in our
lives, and that certainly is something to rejoice over. But
our God for venient grace stretches all the way back to Adam. Everyone
in our family tree had to be preserved until an offspring
was born to them. They had to survive untold wars,
diseases, persecutions, genocide, and every other imaginable peril
in order for us to be born and later given faith of Christ to
believe upon him. Think about that. Untold trillions
of circumstances had either come to pass or be prevented from
coming to pass. in order to preserve our ancestors
all the way back to Adam. That, to me, is hard to imagine. And yet our God controls all
things. Therefore, it was no effort on his part to make that
happen. And he made it happen for one reason, that he might
bestow upon us his unimaginable love. So I would encourage you,
dear saint, as John did to these he wrote, behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Billy, come lead us
in a song, please.