Take your Bibles now and turn
back with me to Luke chapter 10. Our God, the God of Scripture,
the one true and living God, is a God of purpose. He does things on purpose. It says in the Proverbs there
is a purpose, there is a time for every purpose under the sun. And God has purposed all things. All things. Creation, the fall
of the angels, the fall of man, redemption, God's effectual calling
of His saints, all of these things. are according to God's purpose. The death of Jesus Christ, the
rejection of Christ by the Jews, all of these things are according
to the purpose of God. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
46. Now the God, I say this because
this generation, the generation in which you and I live, This
generation reacts. They have a God who reacts to
things as they happen. He reacts to things. He can't
purpose things because he can't see things that are unforeseen. He runs into problems. He runs
into circumstances. And he has to change. That is
not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible purposes
all things. Now, listen to this here in Isaiah. Isaiah 46, verse 9. He is going
through these chapters and He is telling you that I am God
and beside Me there is none else. There is no other God. All these
other gods are gods of men's imagination. They are gods of
false prophets and gods of ignorant, idolatrous nations. It is not
the God of the Bible. He said, I am God and beside
Me there is none else. Listen to this, verse 9, Remember
the former things of old, for I am God and there is none else.
I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the
beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I'll
do all my pleasure. Now listen. Calling a ravenous
bird from the east, or the man that executeth my counsel from
a far country, yea, I've spoken it. I'll bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I also will
do it. Do what? Purpose what? The end from the beginning. And
from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. He said,
I've purposed these things and I'll do these things. Turn with
me to Ephesians chapter 1. I'm saying that the living God
does not react to situations and events and then decide what
to do. I've heard preachers say, well,
you take the first step and God will take the rest. You can't
take the first step. God has to do all the steps. You can't walk. Things like this is what ignorant
men say that don't know God. Look here in Ephesians 1, verse
9. Having made known unto us the
mystery of His will, That is His sovereign, eternal, unchangeable
will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
which are in earth, even in Him, in whom also we have obtained
and inherited. being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. You think about that. Now, that's
not the God being preached from the average pulpit. That's not
the God whatsoever that's being preached on radio and TV. changes, their God compromises,
their God can't declare the end from the beginning. He has ifs
and whatabouts and all these kinds of things. If this happens,
if that happens, God just simply says, I'm God. Beside me, there's
none else. I declare the end from the beginning.
From ancient times, the things that are not yet done. Saying,
my counsel shall stand and I'll do all my pleasures. Our God,
the God we preach, the God we worship, the God we hope in and
trust, is the God of purpose. God has saved us. Listen to how
these apostles wrote these early churches. God has saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. While preaching might seem to
us like a random call to the multitudes, I assure you it is
not so with God. Our God is the God of purpose. Now let me show you four things
in Luke chapter 10 that ought to encourage and motivate us
in this ministry which God has graciously called us to. some
of these men like Glenn and Winston and some of the ladies who are
not here today. Some of you all have been in
this way a long time. You've been supporting this ministry,
this preaching of the gospel, this church which stands for
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, let me give you four things
that ought to motivate some of you younger ones here this morning
and give some peace to some of these older men in Christ. and ought to motivate us in this
ministry which God has called us to. First of all, let's look
at verse 1 and see how these men became ambassadors of God. Listen to this. After these things
the Lord appointed 70 also. Who did? The Lord did. Isn't that what that says? and
sent them two by two before His face into every city and place,
whether He Himself would come." Somebody might say, well, this
was just an example. He was being, as the ultimate
preacher, our Lord Jesus Christ was an example. And He was setting
an example here. As He appointed them, we need
to appoint some too. No, sir. In verse 2, He tells
them this. Listen to this. The harvest truly
is great, but the labors are few. Pray ye, therefore, the
Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labors into
His harvest." It's His garden. It's His harvest. And His servants
are appointed by Him as He sees fit. And He said, if the labors
are few, He didn't say, get together a committee, a pulpit committee,
and let's pick out some young men and send them to seminary.
That ain't what he said. He said, pray the Lord of the
harvest. He's the only one who can put
these men in His service. The only way for a man to become
a minister of God is for God to put him in the ministry. Isn't
that what Paul said? God put me in the ministry. If God ever puts you in a ministry,
you'll be called to the ministry. And if He calls you there, He'll
put you there. Preachers are the ascension gift
of Christ to His church. Listen to this in the book of
Ephesians. He that descended is the same
also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill
all things. This is Ephesians 4, 10 and 11.
And He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastor-teachers. Who did? The Lord did. The Lord
did. God Himself selects and ordains
preachers. And then secondly, listen to
this, let's look at God's purpose in sending these preachers. There
is a two-fold purpose in the preaching of the Gospel. First
of all, to call out God's elect. God made known unto us the mystery
of His will in Christ, and in Him we have obtained an inheritance,
He said, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him,
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,
that we should be to the praise of the glory of His grace who
first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. I can't say
who will and who will not be saved except in general terms,
but I do know this, if God's ever purposed to save you, He'll
do it by crossing your path with a preacher. That's how He's going
to do it. Look down at verse 6 of Luke
chapter 10. He said, now you go out and you
are ambassadors for me. And you are going to preach my
message of reconciliation. And you are going out in the
name of peace. We are not going out to start
trouble. We are not going out here to cause a riot. We are
going out here in the name of peace. Be you reconciled to God. And if the Son of Peace be there,
your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you
again. Now this is not talking about
Christ or else that word son would be capitalized. This is
talking about His elect. This is talking about His sons,
the son of peace. This is talking about God's elect
who have been predestinated under the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself. There is a verse that I quote
to you every now and then. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and
verse 13, I think it is. And in this verse, he tells us
that God has from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. That
is how God chose to do it. That is how God purposed to do
it. And that is how God does it. That is how He does it. And that's what he's talking
about here when he talks about the Son of Pete. When that gospel
falls on the ears of one of God's elect, he hears. He hears. And those who are not, never
will hear. They never will hear. Listen
to what our Lord said over in John chapter 10 to those Jews.
Those Jews, they were sons of Abraham. They knew for a certainty
that they were in the covenant. They were covenant children.
We're sons because we're blood relatives of Abraham. What was
questionable was whether or not he was the Christ. They never
one time questioned whether or not they were sons. And so they
told him, if thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told
you. I told you. But you believe not. Now listen. Here's the reason why you don't
believe. You're not of my sheep. That's why you don't believe.
You are not My sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep
hear My voice. So here, instead of saying, those
who heard, He says, the Son of Peace. If the Son of Peace be
there, He will hear. If the Son of Peace be there,
He will receive your message. If the Son of Peace be there,
He will tend to your needs. And don't you go house to house
trying to raise money to live. You stay right there where the
Son of Peace is, and whatever He sets before you, you eat it.
And you'll be thankful for it. And He'll set it there. He'll
provide for you when you find that Son of Peace. He'll provide. He'll give. He'll labor. He'll
work. He'll let you stay in His house if you can find that Son
of Peace. The Sons of Peace are those He
speaks of in Galatians 4, 6. saying, Because you are sons,
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father." Listen to what he says here. If the Son of Peace be there,
your peace shall rest upon it. But how does a preacher know
if this one is a Son of Peace? Because God will bring His gospel
to him in power and demonstration of the Spirit. This man will
hear and rejoice. This man will submit and follow.
This man will be broken and contrite. This man will receive both God's
preacher and the Christ He preaches. He will receive Him. How will
we recognize God's Son? The Spirit of the living God
will take up a bode in Him. He'll take up His abode in him.
He'll be born of God. He'll be taught of God. God will
begin a good work in him. Isn't that what Paul said about
those Philippians? Back there, back yonder in verse
6, he said, This is my very confidence that he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. How
do you recognize them? God does a good work in their
hearts. Let me tell you something, where
God finds His sons and sends His preachers, His peace abides. It abides. And oh, what a blessing
has come upon that house. What a blessing. My children
have had the privilege of being in the company of some of God's
most choicest preachers. Brother Henry Mahan has spent
two and three days at a time in my house. He talked to my
children, held my children in his lap, preached to us the glorious
gospel of Christ. Don Fortner, Walter Groover,
Milton Howard, and a host of others. Spent time in my house. Came down there, saw in me a
son of peace, and let that peace abide on my house. Spent time
in my home. preach to us the gospel of God's
redeeming grace in Christ. And even my distant relatives
and friends and neighbors were blessed by God's purpose in me. Think about that. God visited
me with one of His preachers and preached to us the glorious
gospel of Christ. And the sovereign Spirit of glory
came down and did a work, began a good work. It's God who worketh
in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. And this
blessing was not just on me, but this blessing extended even
to my distant relatives who would never have heard the gospel apart
from that. But now they've heard. that they
have heard. But there is another purpose
in gospel preaching. God sends His ministers to warn
the ungodly to turn from their ways. Look down at verse 10 of
Luke chapter 10. But into whatsoever city you
enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets
of the saints, And say, even the dust, even the dust of your
city which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you. Notwithstanding,
you be sure of this, the kingdom of God is come now unto you. It's come now unto you. No man before God in judgment
will have any excuse. He's got creation and conscience.
And he won't be affected by either one. But woe to those who have
heard the truth of the Gospel and chosen darkness rather than
light. Listen to the woes our Lord pronounces
on those cities. He said if these cities, these
detestable cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, these immoral,
you just shiver when you think about them. He said if they'd
heard what you heard, They've been repenting in sackcloth and
ashes. If they'd saw what you saw, they'd
be repenting in sackcloth and ashes. Now woe unto you. Woe unto you. And then thirdly, I want you
to see God's promise to His preachers and their inmost desire and confidence. Luke chapter 10 verse 1. He sent
them two by two before His face into every city and place. Now
listen, whether He Himself would come. I want you to think about what
He said there. Like Moses of old, every gospel preacher cries
out in his heart, who am I that I should go and deliver your
children out of bondage? Who am I that I should go and
preach this gospel? Who am I that I should be the
means of their salvation? Who am I? And to every preacher
who cries that, as Moses did from his heart, the Lord assures
us, certainly, I'll be with you. You know what He told Moses?
I'm not asking you to do this. You're just a man. You're just
a man. Certainly, I'll go with you.
The Lord appointed these 70s, and He sent them out two by two
into every city whether He Himself would go. Our Lord did not send these 70
out to be unsuccessful in their labors, but assures us that where
they are sent, He purposed to go also. And what a sad and depressing
ministry this would be if the Lord had not promised His presence.
Oh, my soul, I don't think I'd go. I don't think I'd go. My brother told me one time,
he said, if I believe what you believe, I wouldn't preach. And
I said, no, if I believe what you believe, I wouldn't preach.
Because there wouldn't be any need. If men are dead in trespasses
and sins, if they're spiritually dead, which the Bible says they
are, If there is none that understandeth and none that seeketh after God,
if the good man perish from the earth, what good am I going to
do? No, my hope is that where He
sends me, that is where He plans to be too. That is where He is
purposed to be also. But what a sad and depressing
ministry this would be if the Lord had not promised His presence. If He'd be present, there's nothing
to fear. Nothing to fear. Nothing to fear
in the gathering of His people, or the feeding of the multitudes,
or the danger of the storm. Look at all these examples the
Lord's left. He's got a multitude on the mountainside,
and He's got a few fishes and loaves. But in His hands, it's
sufficient to feed the multitude. And He sends them out in this
little boat. It was just a fishing boat. It wasn't a great ship.
It was just a fishing boat. And He sends them out on that
sea and brings a storm on them that they feared for their very
life. No need to fear. The Lord came
up walking on those waves. Walking in the midst of the sea
in that storm. And He said, Peace be still.
And that place was as calm as it could be. If the Lord be there, there is
no reason to fear, is there? Huh? Ain't no reason to fear. If Christ be with us, the prison
is as blessed as the palace. Isn't that what Paul said? He sent them whither he himself
would go. Were two or more gathered together
in my name, he said, there shall I be in the midst. Now let me tell you something,
when the people heard and saw the miracles of Christ, and discerned
that He was the Christ, they brought all the sick, diseased,
and demon-possessed of their land to hear Him. And when you
and I are convinced that Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Substitute,
and reigning King of glory, attends at the gathering of His saints
and the preaching of the Gospel, we'll do the same thing. We'll
do the same thing. We will get everybody we know
and invite them to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. And
whether men believe it or not, whether men are called or not,
whether preachers are respected or not, the Kingdom of God, when
this Gospel is preached, has come nigh to you. It brought
nigh to you. And just as it was when our Lord
visited their cities, just as it was When the apostles came
to their towns, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. And I tell you this, there's
no excuse for insolence. There's no reason for indifference.
He said, he that heareth you, heareth me. And he that despiseth
you, despiseth me. And then fourthly, here's the
last thing I want you to see, is the reason for rejoicing. Luke 10, verse 17, And the seventy
returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld
Satan. You think you've seen something?
You've seen some little peon devils cast out of a man. You
think you've seen something? He said, I saw Satan fall from
heaven like lightning. I was there. I saw it. Behold, I give unto you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding
in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you,
but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
As believers, and especially as preachers, we live under the
special protection and authority of God. Think about it. Think
about the Scripture said, be careful. Be careful what you
have to say about one another. Be careful about your offenses.
Because their, T-H-E-I-R, their angels do always stand before
the face of my Father. So you be careful. Nothing shall by any means hurt
you. We have the Gospel which is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. We have
the promise of the presence of God's Spirit to go with us. And
I'm glad He does. But our rejoicing is not in how
much we know or how much authority we have or the fact that our
enemies have no power against us. We rejoice because our names
are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You want to rejoice
about something, rejoice about that. Oh, my soul. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
20. There is only one thing which
shall prevail at the judgment of God. God has a judgment. He has set a day in which He
will judge this world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained. No matter how great a preacher
you were, no matter how much you sacrificed to the church,
no matter how many souls you won or how many hospitals you
visited, listen to this, Revelation chapter 20 verse 15. And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. Just one consideration in that
day is your name in that book. Revelation 21, verse 27, listen
to this. And there shall in no wise enter
into it, talking about heaven's glory, that holy city, there
shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination. or maketh a lie, but they which
are written in the Lamb's book of life." Just one consideration
is your name written in God's book. Rejoicing this, he said,
your names are written in heaven, written in the very book of God,
written in the Lamb's book of life, written upon His breastplate
and upon His shoulders. to bear you up before God. He
who is our surety and redeemer, our righteousness and our ransom,
written in His book, placed in His hands to be preserved forever,
appointed for all those given to Him by the Father before the
world began. He tells us not to rejoice in
things, but rejoice in this, your names are written in heaven.
heirs of God and join heirs with Christ. And Christ is our guarantor. He has already entered in and
taken possession for us and now sits expecting till His enemies
and ours are made His footstool. Rejoice in this, he said. Rejoice
in this. Your names are written in the
book of God.