My text tonight is Isaiah chapter
one and verse nine. Isaiah chapter one and verse
nine. When God drove Adam out of the
garden, Adam and Eve multiplied, bearing sons and daughters, and
they were scattered through all the earth. For hundreds of years,
men lived and they had sons and daughters scattered here and
there. After the days of the flood when
God destroyed all the multitudes that lived upon the earth except
for eight souls, Noah and his sons came out of the ark and
God divided the race of mankind into three groups, Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. Shem, speaking of God's elect
among the Jews. Japheth, speaking of God's elect
among the Gentiles. Ham, speaking of the reprobate
of this world, of whom God said, cursed be Ham, servant of servants
shall he be to Shem and Japheth. In other words, all others in
this world, except God's elect, serve God's elect all the time. The reason they were created
was to serve God's elect. The reason they exist is to serve
God's elect. The reason they're put in the
places where they're put is to serve God's elect, to serve for
the salvation of God's elect, to preserve his church, to preserve
his name and to preserve his worship, the church and the name
and the worship of him whom they despise. That's why the wicked live. That's why the wicked are given
the powers and the abilities they have only to serve God's
elect. And serve they do, they have,
and they shall in all things. Then the Lord God called Abraham,
established the children of Israel as a nation. And he brought them
down into Egypt by his servant Jacob. And there they stayed
for 400 years. And he brought them out. And
after 40 years, established them in the land of Canaan and fulfilled
all his promises to Abraham's physical seed, giving them all
things that he had promised Abraham physically, as Joshua states
plainly. But remember Abraham's seed. doesn't just speak of the physical
nation of Israel. Abraham's seed is God's elect
in this world, the Israel of God. And then the children of
Israel, after being established as a nation, abandoned the Lord
God in idolatry. And God sent the Babylonians
to destroy the land and the nation, the temple and the city of Jerusalem,
and they were scattered. scattered among the nations.
And they've been being scattered among the nations ever since
that day. But the Lord God speaks from
the days of the Babylonian captivity throughout his book to the close
of the New Testament about a group, a very small group among those
people whom he has scattered into the four corners of the
earth, and they're called a remnant, a remnant. Look here in Isaiah
chapter one, verse nine. The text could be taken from
a multitude of places in the word of God. Let's look tonight
at Isaiah 1.9. Except the Lord of hosts had
left unto us a very small remnant. Apply that as it is written in
Isaiah's days to the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
Apply that to the whole world, apply that to the United States
of America. The application is true wherever
you put it. Except the Lord of hosts had
left unto us a very small remnant. We should have been as Sodom
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. I want to talk
to you tonight about a remnant, God's remnant, the remnant of
Jacob. With men, a remnant is something
left over. It's waste material, material
for which there is no plan, no purpose, no intended use. God's
remnant is exactly the opposite of that. With God, his remnant
is the kernel. Everything else is the husk.
His remnant is that for which everything was planned and purposed
by him. The Lord God Almighty describes
his remnant in the passage Mark just read to us in Matthew 13,
44 as a treasure. His treasure. His treasure that he has in wisdom
and grace by divine providence and eternal predestination hid
in the field of this world. Hid it in all nations, in all
peoples, in all tongues. Hid it in families tucked away
here and there, treasure hid in the field. for which the Lord
Jesus Christ sold everything he had and bought the field,
that is the God-man, our mediator, as a man bought the right to
rule over and dispose of the whole world for one reason, that
he might get that treasure, that he might get that treasure, his
remnant, his remnant, It was true in Isaiah's time, it is
true today. The church and people of the
living God are a poor, weak, needy, despised remnant, a remnant
scattered among the nations, an elect remnant, a redeemed
remnant, a protected remnant, but a remnant still. We are God's
remnant in Christ's hands under Christ's care. The God of all
grace deals with the remnant. He seeks a remnant. He cares
for remnant. He builds his house with a remnant.
His treasure is remnant. This remnant is Christ's seed
in the earth. The seed that shall serve him.
The generation accounted to the Lord to serve him. Abraham's
seed. Heirs according to the promise.
The remnant is God's elect. All those who must and shall
be saved by his grace. the whole church, the whole Israel
of God, all who have been, all who are, and all who shall be
saved by God's grace in Christ Jesus. Blessed, blessed, blessed
are those who are included in this remnant. Turn over to the
book of Micah, Micah chapter five, and see a more full description
of this remnant. Micah chapter five, verse eight.
I'll give you a minute to get there, I want you to see it.
Micah chapter five and verse eight. The remnant of Jacob, look at
verse seven. The remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as showers
upon the grass that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for
the sons of men. Verse eight now. And the remnant
of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as
a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among
the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth
down and teareth in pieces and none can deliver. God inspired
his prophets to speak of his people as remnant. God's remnant,
his people, are described as a little flock, a little flock
of God's choosing. This remnant is distinguished
from all the world around it by divine blessings, just as
Gideon's fleece was distinguished from the dry ground by the dew
of heaven upon it. Micah describes his remnant as
God's remnant. a remnant in a covenant relationship
with God, the remnant of Jacob, a remnant maintained, owned,
and kept by the triune Jehovah. As such, this blessed remnant
is distinguished and separated from the world. They are a people
that dwell alone. They're not reckoned among the
nations. They're not reckoned among the nations. They're not
reckoned among the nations. This remnant is not reckoned
among the nations by God. And this remnant is not reckoned
among the nations by themselves. And this remnant is not reckoned
among the nations by the nations. God's church has always been
the object of the world's hatred. The seed of the serpent is always
on assault against the seed of the woman. The things we see
and we grumble about, like other folks do, the laws of the nation
designed, intended, purposed to do everything possible to
rid this nation and this world of the influence of this book.
These things are not new. They've been around since the
beginning and they will remain until the time is no more. God's remnant is a people that
dwell alone. It's in the midst of many people,
but it belongs to none of them. Some of them are in the United
States of America, some in Canada, some in Mexico, some in China,
some in Russia, some in Iraq, some in Iran. They belong, however,
to none of those nations. Though living in the world, God's
elect are not of the world. They are chosen, redeemed, and
called out of the world. This chosen remnant is described
by Micah as a dew from the Lord. What a picture. As dew is from
heaven, so believers in Christ are born from above, not of the
will of the flesh, nor the will of man, nor of the things of
this world or the connivings of this world, but of God. This
remnant, the prophet calls showers, as showers upon the grass. Remember
my brother. Remember my sister. Mike is talking
about you. A remnant. God's remnant. He describes God's church and
people as showers upon the grass. telling us that as the Lord Jesus
is promised to come down as showers upon the mown grass to revive
and refresh his people, so his people live in constant dependence
upon him and receive out of his fullness all that we need while
the earth is empty, barren, and dry as stubble to our souls. The dew and the rain are free.
They're not for man, but fall from God at God's appointment
and therefore God's elect. The grace of God is not dispensed
according to our deserving. The grace of God is not dispensed
according to what we decide. The grace of God is not dispensed
according to what we do, but rather it is according to God's
will and God's purpose, sovereignly dispensed where he will. He says,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. But this grace is dispensed like
the dew from heaven. like showers upon the mown grass
from heaven. A great bounty with limitless
supply from God Almighty upon his people. Oh, what precious
promises we have here. And look at verse eight again.
Here Micah takes up another figure. In verse seven, God's remnant
is described as a passive object receiving blessings from the
Lord. Understand that. That deserves more than passing
attention. God's remnant is described in verse 7 as a passive object,
receiving blessings from the Lord. We don't get God's blessings
by something we do. But in verse 8, his remnant is
described as a very active thing, going forth in the Lord's strength
to the Lord's cause. The remnant of Jacob shall be
among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among
the beasts of the forest, as the king of all the beasts of
the forest, as the mightiest of all the beasts of the forest,
as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, that is, as a lion
totally having his will and his way over flocks of sheep, who,
if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and
none can deliver. acting under the name and authority
of the lion of the tribe of Judah. The worm of Jacob is enabled
to thresh the mountains, Isaiah tells us. The worm of Jacob acting
in the name and authority of the lion of the tribe of Judah
prevails everywhere all the time. Now, Brother Don, you must have
popped a cork. Look at this congregation here. Who would dream of thinking
to tell these folks we prevail everywhere all the time? Look
at those folks up in Wasilla, Alaska, been meeting together
all these years, just a little band meeting together. Who would
ever think of telling those folks they prevail everywhere all the
time? God almighty, that's who. God almighty, that's who. and God speaks truth. Our notions
about things, our ideas about things, our perception of things
in the flesh, measured by the flesh, depending on the flesh
is never right, but always wrong. Now let's see what God says in
this book about this remnant. I'll show you five things and
we'll move along quickly. First, understand that there
is a remnant according to the election of grace, as the Apostle
Paul states in the book of Romans. God will not save all men. It never was his intention, purpose,
design, or desire to save all men. We do not seek the salvation
of all men, but God has chosen some. a remnant according to
the election of grace. And that elect remnant shall
be saved. God from eternity has chosen
to save some of Adam's race, which he calls a remnant. None
of us deserve God's mercy. We all deserve his wrath because
we're all sinners. That's what Isaiah tells us in
the first part of this chapter in verses two through eight.
He describes what a sinful people we are. So sinful that had it
not been for God's eternal election of some to salvation in Christ,
for the glory of his own name, we would all have perished long
ago. Look at what the scripture tells
us. Isaiah tells us that man's sin is so great and the justice
of God so inflexible and strict that had it not been for God's
election of a remnant, he would have destroyed everybody. Man's
sin so great, God's justice so just, so strict, so severe, that
had it not been for the election of a remnant in this world, God
would have destroyed the whole world. Thank God for his election. One of the most comforting, blessed
themes of Holy Scripture is God's sovereign election. Election
is an act of God's eternal sovereignty, an act of absolute free, unconditional
grace, an act of God's immutable love. Election is grace freely
and fully bestowed upon chosen sinners in Christ before the
world began. Now look in the book of Isaiah.
Let's just look through this book for a minute. And let me
show you what God tells us by his prophet Isaiah about this
elect remnant. We could go many, many places,
but since we're studying the book of Isaiah, I'm trying to
show you the message of Isaiah. Let's just stay with Isaiah.
Look in chapter 10. First, he tells us, though ruined
and scattered by the fall, the remnant shall return. Look at
verse 21, chapter 10. The remnant, if everything goes
well, if they don't behave too badly, no, the remnant shall
return. Even the remnant of Jacob returned
unto the mighty God. The remnant of Jacob shall be
in the midst of many people. The remnant of Jacob shall be
among the Gentiles in the midst of many people. But Micah tells
us back in chapter five again, you don't have to turn there,
this remnant shall return to the Lord. Look in Isaiah chapter
11, Isaiah 11 and verse 11. This remnant shall return because
Christ shall return to him. He shall recover that which was
lost. And it shall come to pass in
that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second
time to recover the remnant of his people. Peter tells us you
were as sheep going astray, but you are turned. You have been
turned unto the Lord. The Lord God doesn't wait for
his remnant to return to him. He goes and fetches his remnant. He doesn't wait for his remnant
to make a decision. He goes and fetches his remnant. He doesn't wait for his remnant
to do something. He goes and recovers that which was lost. Look at verse 16 of chapter 11.
There is a way by which the remnant comes home. And that way is Christ
the Lord. There shall be an highway for
the remnant of his people. who shall be left from Assyria
like it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the
land of Egypt. Now, turn over to chapter 37,
at the middle of Isaiah's prophecy. Look at verse four. And learn this. God's elect remnant ought to
be the object of our constant, unceasing, fervent prayer. Look at verse four. It may be,
it may be, the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh,
whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to reproach
the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy
God hath heard. Hezekiah says, call on God. It may be. It may be. It may be. The Lord will intervene. Watch what it says. Wherefore,
lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. Look at verse 31. This remnant, God's elect, shall
escape the judgment of God. By his almighty grace, this remnant
shall take root downward in the earth and bear fruit upward toward
heaven. and the remnant that is escaped
of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit
upward for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant and they shall
escape out of Mount Zion. So pastor, what on earth is that
talking about? Read the next line. It's the line that Paul
quotes in Romans chapter 11 when he speaks of God's salvation.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. A remnant shall
be saved. And then Isaiah tells us in chapter
46, that God will preserve and keep his remnant in the midst
of all their troubles. Look at verse three, Isaiah 46,
three. God will preserve and keep his
remnant in the midst of all their troubles. I've forgotten who
told me this. I don't remember whether it was
brother Bill Clark by the mayhem or someone else who had been
in Russia right after they were allowed to go in and set up some
ministry in that place. But one of my friends, one of
my acquaintances, had been right in Moscow, was on a train, and
headed to the airport getting ready to leave. They'd been there
for a while. And word had gotten around who they were. They'd
been over in Belarus to establish a book ministry through evangelical
press out of London. out of England, and someone just
slipped him a little piece of paper, just walked up to him,
slipped him a little piece of paper and said, there are believers
here. There are believers here. God
will preserve and keep his remnant in the midst of the most oppressive
circumstances, in the midst of all their troubles. Isaiah 46,
3. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of
the house of Israel, which are born by me from the belly. That is, I took you out of your
mother's womb, and I've carried you all the days of your life.
But you're carried from the womb, and even to your old age, I am
he. And even to whore hairs will
I carry you. Ah, we've reached there, haven't
we? That's just a white-headed man. All these days, God said,
I've been carrying you. I've been carrying you. I've
been carrying you. Look at the next line. I have
made and I will bear, even I will carry and deliver you. The word of God teaches us that
there is a remnant according to the election of grace, which
must and shall be saved. Now here's the second thing.
God's long suffering God's goodness, God's mercy as it appears to
be toward fallen men is the result of his love for this remnant
according to the election of grace. The only thing that keeps God
at any time in history from destroying the world is his love for this
elect remnant he has scattered among the fallen sons of Adam. That's exactly what Isaiah tells
us in our text. Except the Lord of hosts had
left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. God is long-suffering
with men because he is not willing that any of his elect remnant
should perish. 2 Peter 3, verse 9. He's long-suffering to usward,
long-suffering with men, but long-suffering to usward, not
willing that any should perish. The angel said to Lot, said,
I can't do what I came here to do. I can't destroy this city
till I brought you out. And so he said, make haste and
get out of the city. Our Lord Jesus speaks of the
end days, the tribulation. He said, if those days were shortened,
the very elect shall be deceived. But those days shall be shortened
for the elect. And then in Revelation chapter
seven, Our Lord gave the Apostle John that revelation of the angel
who came down and he speaks to those angels having the vials
of judgment. He said, hurt not the earth. Don't touch them. Don't touch
them until we have sealed the seal of God in the foreheads
of His elect, His remnant. And the number of those who are
sealed are all God's elect, 144,000. This long suffering, Peter tells
us, is salvation. God's goodness to men in general
is the result of his goodness to his elect remnant, the remnant
of Jacob in particular. As God blessed Egypt for Joseph's
sake, so he blesses the world around us for our sake. As God
blessed the house of Obed-Edom because the ark of God was there,
he providentially blesses men and women in this world for the
sake of his elect. You fellows who need your hay
and probably get in a place where you might need to cut it pretty
soon, but God's been reigning real good lately. He'd been raining
real good. And the grass is growing. Those
of us who just cut the grass and try to get rid of it, it's
a complaint. But folks who are raising hay, it's a good thing.
The grass is growing. How come God sent so much grass?
This place over here got it. That place over yonder got it.
That place down yonder got it. That place back here got it.
How come? I'll tell you how come. Because Billy McCormick and Bobby
Estes and some of you folks got hay growing on your fields. And
God sends rain for his remnant. And since they live next door
to you, they get a little. And that's the only reason. You understand
that? That's the only reason. Everything
God does, he does for the remnant. If God gives power to Cyrus and
reaches to a pagan nation, He does it for the sake of his elect
remnant. Look at Isaiah 45, Isaiah 45. Hear what the Lord God says to
Cyrus, that pagan king whom he raised up to bring his people
out of Babylon, back to Jerusalem, back into the land of Israel
to build his temple. Verse four, for Jacob, my servant's
sake, and Israel, my elect, I have called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee, now watch
the next line, though thou hast not known me. God is gracious
and merciful in providence to men in general. because he is
merciful and gracious in eternal mercy, love and grace to his
elect. God spared Adam in the garden
because Abel was in Adam's loins. And Abel was one of his chosen.
God spared Adam because in Adam, in his loins was the woman's
seed. and the woman's seed was in Adam's
loins, the remnant of Jacob. God gave Manasseh a life for
another 15 years as he prayed that he might, in order that
he might raise up Josiah. God spares many here for a time,
and even blesses them with temporal good, that he might be merciful
to his elect. Were it not for the remnant,
God would have destroyed the world long ago in his wrath,
as he did Sodom and Gomorrah. This, I'm certain, is the fullest possible meaning
of our Lord's words when he said, ye are the salt of the earth. When we speak of men of good
character, good character, they're the salt of the earth. They're
the ones who preserve everything. That's not the meaning of our
Lord's words. God's elect truly are the salt of the earth, the
preservers of the whole world. He preserves the world for the
sake of His elect. Here's the third thing. I've
already hinted at it, and I can't miss this opportunity to tell
you one more time. Everything God does, he does
for a remnant, the remnant of Jacob, a remnant according to
the election of grace. All providence is for a remnant. All men benefit from God's goodness
to his remnant. He sends the rain and the sunshine,
plenty and pestilence, drought and darkness, war and peace upon
all men alike. but they come for and belong
to God's elect remnant. All things are yours. I will
cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things
for me. Blessed are they who know and
understand all the works of the Lord that he hath done for Israel. all the wondrous works of God. He only doeth wondrous things. Do you know that? God doesn't
do anything that's not wondrous. And he does all his wondrous
works for the children of Israel, his elect remnant. And they go
to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness
that the Lord has done for Israel, his people. God chose his Israel. God gave his law for his Israel. God made atonement for his Israel.
God called his Israel. God performs all things for his
Israel, his elect, the remnant of Jacob. To top it all off,
the Lord God tells us that he has promised salvation to his
Israel. But don't think that those things
were done for Israel after the flesh. Those things were done
ceremonially for Israel after the flesh because they were all
done in reality for the Israel of God, his elect remnant. He
says, I bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off and my
salvation shall not tarry. And I will place salvation in
Zion for Israel, my glory. Now, Let me remind you that the
remnant of Jacob in this world is always a very small remnant. In the end, it will be a multitude
which no man can number, 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of
thousands. Some have suggested, and I'm
inclined to agree, that in the end, the number of God's elect
will be far greater than the number of the reprobate. Sham
and Ham, or Sham and Japheth represent two thirds and Ham
only a third. Consider the fact that by the
hands of godless reprobate men throughout history, the millions
and millions and millions of babies who've been slaughtered.
chosen, redeemed, called, saved by God's grace. But be that as
it may, at any time in this world, at any time in human history,
at any time in any society, in any place, God's remnant is always
a very small remnant. I have no hope. I have no delusions
that one day the nation is going to turn to God. So none of it
did, they did only in a temporary act of God preserving them for
a time. I have no hope the nation will
turn to God as a whole. Only God's elect nation turns
to him. God's elect are always a very
small remnant. Our Lord Jesus said, many are
called, but few are chosen. Only a few go in at the straight
gate. Only a few walk in the narrow
way. Isaiah describes it in our text
as a very small remnant. In chapter 16 of his prophecy,
in verse 14 he says, the remnant shall be very small and feeble. God has always done his work
in this world with a small, feeble, insignificant remnant. Do you remember when Gideon was
called of God to be judge in Israel? And God sent Gideon to
deliver Israel out of the hand of the Midianites. Gideon was
scared to death. He was scared. I can't do that.
My daddy will kill me if I destroy his idols. I can't do that. He
was scared to death. God said, you're going to deliver
them. And he said, choose some men to follow you. And he went
out and announced himself being called of God and 22,000 joined him in forces. 22,000. God said, that's too
many, I won't use them. Can you imagine Gideon so excited?
Ha, maybe we can do this after all. We got 22,000 men with us. And God said, let's see if we
can't get rid of some of them. And he whittled Gideon's army
down to 300 men. Do you remember how the last
distinction of those 300 was? He said, take them down here
and those that stoop down on their knees and lap up the water,
you send them home. They're too brave. But those
that are so scared, So terrified that they run along there. Get
a little water. Don't dare stop. He said, that's
the ones I'll take. That's the ones I'll take. Those
that you would want to send home. And it brought them down to 300
men. In Noah's day, I have no question, the earth in Noah's
day was as fully populated as it is in our day. God chose one
man. One man who found grace in his
eye. In Abraham's day, one family
obtained mercy. In all the ages of the Old Testament,
throughout the Old Testament, one nation, just that tiny little
speck of dirt over yonder called Israel, one nation had the revelation
of God, the word of God, and the prophets of God. after our
Lord Jesus preached on this earth for three years. When he left
this world, ascended back to glory, only 120 were gathered
to worship in his name. That's the way it's always been.
It's always been. Throughout the centuries, God
has used a very small, feeble remnant to build his kingdom. I'm reminded of Athanasius back
in the days when all the religious world denied the Trinity and
the work of Christ our Redeemer. Athanasius wrote his creed and
started to have it published, and his friends in high places
said, Athanasius, the whole world is against you. His response
was, then it is I, Athanasius, against the world. Oh, God, make
me such a man. It is I, Athanasius, against
the world." Martin Luther, just an ordinary monk with not a great
deal of respect and credibility as a monk, one day walked out
on the church door, at the church door in Wittenberg, Germany,
and he nailed a sheet of paper to the wall. That's the place
where folks in those days went to read the newspaper. Any public
notice nailed to the church wall. And Luther just nailed up his
99 Theses, and God turned the world upside down. He turned
the world upside down. John Calvin was a brilliant man,
but he was just a thin, feeble man. But oh, how he used him. Calvin's Institutes, For bad
or good, Calvin's Institutes were written by him when he was
26 years old. 26 years old. I don't know of a Baptist or
Protestant seminary or Bible college in the world that don't
still make them required reading. God uses small insignificant
things. Back in the 1800s, there was
a fellow, a young man, a 19-year-old boy, a 19-year-old boy, who was
called to come and preach at a chapel in London where John
Gill had pastored. And Spurgeon, that 19-year-old
boy, how God used him. Let us never forget God's people
are a remnant, and God uses His remnant for the saving of His
remnant, for the establishing of His kingdom, for the glory
of His name. How we have proved it. How we
have proved it. Does it not cause you to bow
in awe before God? Every time you're reminded by
someone speaking to you, of how God had been pleased to take
a people stuck in nowhere in Danville, Kentucky with nothing,
no unique abilities, no unique talents, no nothing. I was just speaking to men in
the back, Brother Frank Hall and Eric Richards. They're both
very gifted. They're brilliant young men. I look for God to use them in
spite of that, not because of it. God works through a small,
feeble remnant for one reason, that the excellency of the power
may be of God and not of us. Come to think of it, of all people in the world, we
might just expect God to use us. because God uses nothing
to accomplish everything. God uses nothing to accomplish
everything. We read in the book about a little
girl, a slave girl who had been taken captive by the Syrians,
who was used of God to bring about the healing of the mightiest
man in the land. We read in this book about a
little boy who carried his lunch one day somewhere where the Lord
Jesus was. And in the crowd, they found
this little boy who didn't have anything but his loaves and fishes. And the Lord Jesus took those little sardines and that
little bit of bread he had and fed 20,000 people. There was once a small woman
whose name I don't know for sure, who by her ardent prayers for
her son, whom she left to her sea captain husband because God
took her home when her boy was just a boy. But by her ardent
prayers, she gave the world John Newton. God's people are a remnant and
God uses the remnant for his glory. One last thing, this blessed
book is full of good news for God's remnant. Understand this
first, God has a remnant still. There are still people in this
world who must and shall be saved. I know because the sun's still
shining. I know because the world still
stands. God has a remnant still. Let
us pray ardently that God might call out his elect in our day
and save his remnant. Second, we're told plainly in
the book of God, the remnant of Jacob shall be saved. The remnant shall be saved. No exceptions. No exceptions. Everyone chosen of God, everyone
redeemed by the blood of Christ, the Lord God will seek them out. People often like to ridicule
and argue against God's election and God's sovereignty and limited
atonement and say, well, what if there's nobody there to preach
to them? Seems to me there was a eunuch one time who had been
up to Jerusalem and all his life had been deceived with false
religion. And the time of love had come for that eunuch. And
somehow by a marvelous, marvelous stroke of luck, by a marvelous
coincidence, there was a man by the name of Philip who knew
God, who was just picked up and set in the road, walking along
the road, and he heard that eunuch come by. And he looked up his
list, and the eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53. And he said to
the eunuch, he said, do you understand what you're reading? And the
eunuch had better sense than most religious folks. He said,
how could I, except some man showed me? He said, scoot over.
I'll tell you what he's talking about. And God sent the gospel
from that man, Philip, to that eunuch into Africa. And Africa
became at that time, the greatest influence for the gospel the
world had known. The remnant of Jacob shall be
saved. And understand one more thing.
God Almighty is never angry with his remnant. He sent me to tell
you so. He said, Don, you go and comfort
my people. Comfort my people, saith your
God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem. Cry unto her. Tell her her warfare
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, and she hath received
the Lord's hand double for all her sins. For all your sins. for all your sins that deserve death, for the wages
of sin is death. God has given free pardon and
perfect righteousness. Oh, Don, how can I know I'm one
of this amendment? Believe on the Son of God. Oh, if you can't believe Him
right now, It's because the Lord has come to gather that which
was lost and bring it home. And your faith in Christ is the
evidence God puts in your heart by which he declares your name
is written in the book of life of the Lamb, the remnant of Jacob
before the world began. Amen.