I normally have a good bit of
trouble sleeping on Saturday nights, as I did last night. I never feel prepared. To you who
aren't preachers, I'm sure you can't really enter into what
I'm saying, but Paul spoke of standing before
men with fear and much trembling. I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of men. I'm not
afraid of how men may respond to anything. I am terribly fearful
of standing here and speaking my words to you and not God's
word. I'm terribly fearful of going
through the motions of religious exercise and not having a message
from God for your heart. God commands his servants, speak
comfortably to my people. Speak to their heart. And I can't
do that. No matter how much I study, no
matter how much I prepare, I can't speak to your heart. 200 years ago, John Rusk expressed
what I'm trying to say. He said, I want an experimental
preacher. One who, when he has one meal,
has tried how he shall get the next. One who is tormented with
devils, fit to tear him limb from limb. One who feels hell
inside himself and every corruption in his nature stirred to oppose
God's work. One who feels so weak that every
day he gets over, he views it as next to a miracle. One who's
hated with a perfect hatred for flying, by the flying troop of
hypocrites in our day. Well, I went to bed last night
with my message all written out and finished and then I, started
preaching to myself all night long. I got up this morning,
about 8.30, started to look over my notes one last time, and realized
immediately I couldn't preach what I'd prepared, so I've got
something I believe God's given me. Who are God's people? Really. Really. Most everybody presumes They're
God's people. Who are God's people, really? Are you one? Are you one of God's people?
Am I one of God's people? But Brother Don, we don't ever
bother ourselves with things like that. You should. There are untold multitudes in
hell today who lived and died presuming they were God's people. are God's people. They're identified
in this book in many places and in many ways. Paul wrote to the
Philippians and said, beware of the concision, the mutilators,
those people who mutilate the body, those people who tell you
don't eat, don't drink, don't cuss, don't chew, those people
who tell you to do law works, people who tell you to not eat
pork, not eat fish, whatever. Everybody got some kind of rules.
And the rules always don't. Don't do this, don't do that.
And they presume if they don't do enough, they're God's people.
Paul said, beware of those folks. They're enemies to the gospel,
enemies to the cross of Christ, enemies to your souls. Not some
of them, all of them. Beware of people who give you
something to do by which they tell you you will become God's
people. Beware of those who give you
something to do by which you can assure yourself you're God's
people. Would to God I could get the
ear of every preacher in the world that I know right now and
hear this next statement. Preachers who believe the gospel
of God's grace often fall back on the law when they think folks
aren't behaving like they ought to. And they pull out the whip
of the law and start to whip folks You ought to come to church
more. You ought to read your Bible
more. If you was really saved, you'd do this. If you was really
saved, you'd do that. If I could convince you, if you was really
saved, you'd read 15 chapters a day. P.J., you'd read 15 chapters
every day and you'd say, now I've read my 15 chapters, I know
I'm saved. No. Who are God's people? Paul said, we are the circumcision. We truly are God's covenant people. People who have been circumcised
in the heart by God, the Holy Spirit in regenerating grace.
Who worship God. That's what it is to call on
the name of the Lord. We worship God. Worship God in the spirit. God is spirits. They that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The father seeketh
such to worship him. We are truly God's covenant people
who worship God in our spirits by his Holy Spirit in a spiritual
manner, not carnally. We don't burn candles, and we
don't count rosary beads, and we don't come to alters, and
we don't wear crosses, and we don't have religious slogans
and religious symbols. I despise them. I despise them. You ought to. We don't have religious
icons. Well, those help our worship.
That's the problem. That's the problem. Folks tell
me all the time, well, I don't worship that crucifix. It just
helps me to worship. That's your problem. That's your
problem. We don't worship God with physical
hell. We worship God in the spirit.
True worship is altogether a spiritual thing. We've come together here
collectively as a body of believers, but our worship is not the carnal
gathering of our physical bodies. Our worship is the assembled
worship of God's saints in the spirit and have know and rejoice
in Christ Jesus, that is rejoice in who he is and what he did. We rejoice in Jesus Christ as
our Lord, our Redeemer, our savior. We rejoice to trust his blood
and his righteousness alone. We rejoice to have no hope before
God except Jesus Christ. We are God's covenant people
who worship God in the spirit and believe on the Lord Jesus. We trust Jesus Christ, God's
Son. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. And have no confidence in the
flesh. No confidence in the flesh. And
then Paul went on to list exactly what he was talking about. No
confidence in our earthly parentage. No confidence in our earthly
training. No confidence in our earthly
experiences. No confidence in our religious
knowledge. No confidence even in our religious
experiences. I know I'm saying, because I
was a boy, I had an experience. I can't. I never got over it.
If you've got to look to this morning to know that you're saved,
something's wrong with you. Well, Brother Don, don't you
think we ought to Remember what Lord's done for us. Yes, sir,
but you don't trust what happened yesterday You don't trust what
happened yesterday Somewhere in the safety deposit box or
back here in one of the files somewhere. I've got a birth certificate
Do you know how long it's been since I looked for that thing?
I? Haven't looked for it in 30 years
First time I got a passport last time I pulled it out And only
then not to prove that I was alive Just to prove I was born
in this country How do you know you got life? Well, just really
here's my birth certificate. Read it. That's nonsense. That's nonsense. I know I say
because I had an experience. Nobody else could have had like
that. No, no. We have no confidence in the
flesh, no confidence in any thought, experience, feeling, training,
relationship, anything in this flesh. Our confidence is in Christ
alone. I don't know whether I really
trusted the Lord back then or not. That's not significant. Do you trust him now, Bobby?
That's the only thing significant. Do you believe on the Son of
God? That's all that matters. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. He that believeth
not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abides on him.
Now I want you to open your Bibles again to John chapter 17. My title this morning is God's
people identified. Identified by Christ himself
in prayer. Identify. When you pray for someone,
we pray for folks in private and in public. Perhaps not so much in public
What I recommend this, lest cause needless embarrassment to anyone,
but when you pray for someone in private, I'll suggest some
things to you. Call them by name. I pray for my daughter, son-in-law,
granddaughter, grandson, you. I pray for you. I pray for you.
I pray for that lady there. I pray for you. And I call your
names before God. and I tell God what I'm praying
for. Tell Him what I want for you. Tell Him what I'm asking
and why I'm asking it. And in doing so, I urge my plea
with God on the basis of the need that you have or that those
have for whom I'm praying, and I urge that plea on the basis
of Christ's person and work. Here in John 17, our Lord Jesus
identifies God's people Calling their names as his people and
telling exactly why he's praying for them and the basis of his
plea He's telling us who God's people Really are and he's praying
for you and I who believe and all who have believed and all
who shall believe Asking these things for them as he identifies
them. All right, look in verse 2 John
17 verse 2 as thou hast given him power,
authority, dominion, the right and the might to rule over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. Here's the first thing. All God's
people are a divinely given people. All of God's people are a people
who have been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to John
chapter six, John the sixth chapter. God's people were given to Christ
in the covenant of grace before the world began as an elect people. given to him as a trusted people,
that is, a people trusted to the hands of the Son of God as
our surety, given to him as a man might give his business to the
one he chooses to manage his store, given to him as a man
might give his sheep to a shepherd to tend the sheep, so that the
business becomes the responsibility of that man who's trusted with
it. The sheep become the responsibility of that man who is the shepherd
trusted with those sheep. So the triune God trusted Christ
as our surety with our souls before the world was. And the
Son of God struck heads with his Father and said, I will present
them to you all and none shall perish. I present them, every
one to you, holy and without blame, in everlasting glory. Give them me." And the father
trusted the son with his people, given to him in sovereign election
before the world began. Now understand this, the salvation
of God's elect is totally, did you hear me? Totally the responsibility
of God's Son. Totally. Totally. He and he alone assumed responsibility
to bring in everlasting righteousness for us. That means, Bob Duff,
you can't bring it in, and he alone is responsible to bring
it in, if you're his. He and he alone was responsible
to satisfy the justice of God for the sins of his people. That
means Bill Raleigh, you can't make atonement for your own soul.
No man makes atonement for his own soul. Your righteousness
doesn't extend to God, but Christ is responsible to make atonement
for your soul. If the father trusted you to
his hands. He's atonement. He's required and responsible
to make satisfaction to divine justice. And he willingly assumed
that responsibility. And those people who were given
to the son in eternity are given as the reward of his obedience
in the free work of God's grace called the new birth. Regeneration,
if that's what you call it. Now, we can't know anything about
the former. until we've experienced the latter.
There's no way for anyone to know he's chosen of God, given
to Christ as one of God's elect before the world began until
he is given to Christ in the experience of his grace. Now
look at how it's given here in John chapter 6, verse 37. Our Lord Jesus says, all that
the Father giveth me. That's a good word. Giveth me
remember that ETH ending it is a work that has begun and continues
on It's called a linear tense It has begun at a specific time
and continues on there comes a time in the life of every chosen
center and When God, the Holy Spirit, comes to that chosen,
redeemed sinner and gives him life and causes that sinner to
come to Christ, it's called the time of love. It's effectual
grace by which we are given to the son. All that the father
giveth me shall come to me. If the spirit calls you, you're
coming. If the spirit of God gives you to Christ, you're coming
to Christ. And if you come, it's because
he gave you to him. Read that. And him that cometh
to me, I won't cast out if he behaves
right. I won't cast out if he's a good
Christian. I won't cast out as long as he
doesn't mess up again. I won't cast out if he quits
his sinning. That's not what it says, is it?
Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Skip Gladfelter
come to Christ, and he's honor bound to keep you. He's honor
bound to keep you. Him that cometh to me, I will
for no reason at any time cast out. But you don't. But I said
unto you, I'm sorry, verse 38. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the father's will, which has sent me. That of all
which he, what's that say? Hath given me. That's talking
about something that took place in the past. Way back in eternity. Given to him in electing grace. given to him as the covenant
surety. This is my father's will, that of all which he hath given
me in election, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. You mean, Brother Don, that the
Lord Jesus is saying here that everybody God willed to save
from eternity Christ redeemed at Calvary and the Spirit calls
in time and Christ will present them to God in glory. No exceptions. All of them going to be saved.
You know, I can't find any other way to read those words. Can
you? I can't find it. I can't find any other way to
read those words. Oh, but, but, but, but, but that's
goats language. How are you going to read them?
Those the Father has given me, it's His will that all of them
be raised up to the last day, and I not lose one of them. Therefore,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. All right, that's the
first thing. God's people are a divinely given
people. Look at verse 11. They're a divinely
kept people too. John 17 11 and now I'm no more
in the world But these are in the world These
that you've given me And I come to thee Holy Father
Keep through thine own name Those whom thou hast given me That
they may be one as we are While I was with them in the world,
I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition
that the scripture might be fulfilled. Well, let's talk about him first.
He's lost because the scripture said he must be lost. He's lost
because he's the son of perdition. Judas is lost this one who was
outwardly called my disciple This one who was outwardly called
my apostle he's lost Because that was God's purpose from eternity. Oh I don't like that. Well, just
throw your Bible away Just throw it away Either the book means
what it says or it's a meaningless book He's lost because he's the
son of perdition Judas went to his own place. But these whom
the father gave the son, he says, I kept them through your name.
Why did he say that? He could have said. I keep them. They left it that they'd be right.
He could have said they're kept by the Holy Spirit and that did
that. That would have been right. He could have said they're kept
in grace and that would have been right. But he says, Father,
I'm leaving here. While I was here on this earth,
I kept them through your name. And now, Father, you keep them
through your name. What is he talking about? Through
your name. The name of God declares what
he is. His name is Jehovah Sidkenu. His name is Jehovah Nissi. His
name is Jehovah Jireh. His name is Jehovah Shabbat and
so on. All those names of the Lord. His name is El Shaddai. His name is Adonai. All those
names identify God's character. God, keep them now through your
character as God. Keep them through your name.
In other words, my father, your name's at stake here. You remember how Moses prayed
when he prayed for the children of Israel? The Lord said, Moses
said, get out of my way, I'll kill them and raise up another
nation. And Moses said, remember, they're your people. Don't forget your name. Lest
the heathen should say that you brought them out here into the
wilderness to destroy them, and your name be blasphemed." An
old fellow said one time, somebody asked him, did you believe once
saved, always saved? He said, I sure do. Well, he
said, how can you say that? He said, he's got more at stake
than I do. If I perish, I just lose my soul.
But God loses his honor. And God's not going to lose his
honor. God's not going to lose his honor. No, sir. I sat my grandson on my lap yesterday
afternoon. They were over here Friday night
and Saturday morning, all the great sets of ballgames over
here. I sat him on my lap and dealt with some fears. And I
said to him, I said, son, you listen here. When you're in this
place, you be comfortable. Because Pop's not going to put
you anywhere. where anything going to happen
to you and you can trust me. How can you say that? Because
before I'd let something happen to that boy, I'd die in a heartbeat. I'd die in a heartbeat. I couldn't
lift my head in any society if I let something happen to that
boy I could prevent. Could you? Could you? Something you could
prevent? Well, you're not near the character
God is. God's name's at stake. So we
are kept. Turn over to Jude. You might
want to hold your place here in Jude as well. We'll be right
back in a minute. Look at the book of Jude. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James to them that are sanctified by God, the
father. Now, what's this? And preserved
in Jesus Christ. And called. When the scripture gives us something
built in a specific order, it always gives it in that order
for a reason. Always. We read in John 6, the
Father giveth and then talk about those whom he hath given. Now
obviously the order in which the thing occurred, that which
was done from eternity was first and that which is experienced
in time is second. But it's revealed in just exactly
the reverse manner because we can't know what was done in eternity
until we experience God's grace in time. Well, why does Jude
say here that we're sanctified, preserved, and called. It ought
to have read, we're called and sanctified and preserved. No,
it ought to read, we are sanctified, preserved, and called. Because
we're sanctified from eternity in election and preserved in
Jesus Christ. The word might be translated
this way. If you have a marginal translation, it may give you
this. Kept for Christ. Kept for Jesus Christ. Before the world was God gave
us in his son. Gave us into the hands of his
son and he kept us. When Adam sinned in the garden,
preserved in Christ. When we went forth from our mother's
wombs, speaking lies preserved in Christ. All the days of our
rebellion preserved in Christ. I try not to look back upon my
rebellion with pleasure. God forgive me when I do. I spent my youth playing with
hell. I spent my youth as a young man
toying with death, defying God at every turn. And I can specifically point
to events in my life to which I can look back and I can say
with no question at all, The only reason I didn't die then
was because God kept me from dying. The only reason. The only
reason. The only reason that thing didn't
kill me was because God wouldn't let it happen. Preserved unto
the day and the hour of our calling. And then called. Preserved for
Christ. And now the Savior says, I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. No man can
pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them to
me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my
father's hand. God's people are a divinely kept people. Number
three, look at verse 14. I have given them thy words, and the world hath hated them,
because they're not of the world. Even as I and not of the world
I Have given them Thy word Turn to first Thessalonians second
Thessalonians. No, I had it right start with
first Thessalonians chapter 1 What's he mean I've given them
thy word Certainly He's talking about
the written word. You got it right there in your
hand What a privilege. But I want to tell you something
about this. This word is given only to condemn
if it's not given in the power of the spirit to give life. By this word, you shall be judged.
That's not what it's talking about. I've given them thy word.
Certainly, he's talking about the preaching of the word. Oh,
what a privilege. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. But if all you hear is the voice
of this preacher, if all you hear is the voice
of this preacher, you would have been 10,000 times 10,000 better
off to have been raised as a hot and tot in New Guinea. and never
heard a preacher's voice. That's all you hear. Oh no, he's
talking about something else. I've given them thy word. I've given them thy word in the
power of the spirit. Let's see if that's not the case.
First Thessalonians chapter one. Verse four. Paul says, knowing
brethren beloved your election of God. How can you know that? For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance. Oh, God. Oh, God. Speak your word. in the power
of the Holy Ghost giving life. And if God causes his word to
come into you, if God speaks his word in saving power in you,
it comes to you in much assurance. Much assurance. People all the
time questioning things. And I understand that. I really
do. I understand that. Because they
don't have this much assurance. They don't have this much assurance.
But when the Word of God comes in the power of God's Spirit,
you hear God speak. And you know it's God speaking
as much as you know my voice when I speak to you. In much
assurance. because it comes in the Holy
Ghost. That is when the Lord God teaches you by his grace,
the grace of God that bring us salvation has appeared to all
men. But that grace of God that's
appeared to all men teaches us to whom it comes in power, teaches
us, effectually educates us, causing us to know the gospel
of God's grace so that when the word comes, We are divinely taught. Taught by God the Son giving
us his spirit. Look at verse 17. Verse 17. Here's the fourth thing. God's
elect are divinely sanctified people. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. as thou has given, has sent me
into the world, even so have I sent them into the world. And
for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they might be sanctified
through the truth. Sanctified. God's people, all
of them are a divinely sanctified people. Well, now wait a minute. Wait a minute. You can't say
that all of them are sanctified. Sanctification is something that
we are involved in. Sanctification is something we
make our contribution. It's God's work, but it's work
in which we cooperate with God and God cooperates with us. Is
that so? Is that so? Do you know what
the word sanctified means? It means holy. It means set apart. Set apart for a holy purpose. Set apart as a holy possession. Set apart as holy. Read it all through the Old Testament.
Sanctify the altar. What? Well, it's just a piece of shit
and wood. covered over with dirt. That's what gold is, you know,
it's just thick dirt. Oh, how can you call that thing
sanctified? Because God set it apart and
God said it's holy. And God said, no, you treat it
that way. So much so, if you touch it and you're not one of
God's priests, you're dead. Paul wrote to the Corinthians
whom he had never known, folks he had never seen in the
flesh. And he said, you are sanctified. How could he say that? Well,
he didn't know how much time they spent in prayer. He didn't
know what they did do and didn't do. He didn't know whether they
were, their women wore short skirts or wore breeches or men
wore long hair. He didn't know any of that. He
didn't know that. When I was in Bible college, Piedmont Bible
College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I hope the world hears
it, especially the folks at Piedmont. They had rules. They had rules
of sanctification. Do you know we were not allowed
to wear our sideburns below the middle of the ear? When the girls
wore their skirts, the skirts had to touch the ground when
they would kneel to pray. That's a good measure of sanctification. Fellas were not allowed to wear.
Now, if I'm lying, I'm dying. We weren't allowed to wear shoes
that had buckles on them. Of course, those were worldly.
I wonder if they ever met up with any Puritans. In that day,
what all they had was shoes with buckles. And the fellow who made
those rules, it was 20 years after I saw a picture of him
one day. He had sideburns down to here and a mustache. Of course,
the sanctification rules had changed. It had become acceptable
now. Religious nonsense change, that's all. Well, Brother Don,
don't we make ourselves holy by what we do? No, I told you
the world going to hell with the false gospel. No, our holiness
is Christ. God says to his people Israel,
you shall keep my Sabbaths. The ceremonial Sabbath given
in the law. Because I am Jehovah and Kadesh you read for yourself
in Exodus 31 13 I Am the Lord which doth sanctify thee He sanctified
us before the world was we read it in Jude 1 sanctified by God
the Father. I He sanctified us by the blood
of Jesus Christ, Hebrews chapter 10. Sanctified by the blood.
And He sanctified us by the gift of His Spirit, putting His holy
nature in us. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Look at verse 20, John 17. Verse
20. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word
that they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee
that they also may be one in us that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me. In Acts chapter 2 We're told that the disciples
continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and in breaking
of bread and in prayer. These days, I find it concerning
that so many start to cut back worship times. We're not going
to be on Sunday nights anymore. Not going to be on Wednesday
nights anymore. and that we need more time to spend with our families. In the New Testament, the people
of God didn't have trouble because they met too often. They couldn't
find often enough times to meet. They met every day. Every day. Breaking a bread in prayer. Every
day. How long they met, I don't know. Maybe they just met before
breakfast or after supper. I don't know. Every day they
met. Breaking bread in prayer. Observing the Lord's table. Worshipping
God together. You see, sheep are animals that
are always congregated. They're always gathered together.
You're not going to find them unless there's something wrong
with them out in the field by themselves. Wherever there's
other sheep, that's where they find themselves. God's people
are a congregated people. They're sheep. They're one. Redeemed with the blood of God's
Son. Born again by the power of God's
Spirit. Given one nature, one hope, one
heavenly inheritance. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. What is it that can take folks
like us? I'm sure some of you are not
as aware as I am of the diversity of our backgrounds. People of
different races, people of different cultures, people who were just godless rebels, people who were
morally upright, people who were educated, people who were uneducated,
people who have some measure of wealth, people who have a
tough time paying the light bill every month. How is it that here
we are? one body and dearer to one another than
any earthly brother or earthly sister or mother or father. Now, Merle, that's either really
true of us or it's all fake. How can that be? How can that
be? God must have done that. God must have done that. That's
God's work. God's people are divinely united. Let me show you one more thing.
I'll skip over the rest of this thing. Look at verse 23. I in them, thou in me, that the world may know that
thou hast sent me and hast loved them. I'm going to come back to this,
Lord willing, in a few weeks, but you ought to take your pencil
or pen or star or if you don't want to write in your Bible,
write it down on a piece of paper and underscore and circle that word
as. It'd be marvelous if he had said
that thou hast loved them. But it didn't stop there, Rex.
Thou hast loved them. As thou hast loved me. Imagine that. God Almighty loves Larry Brown
just like he loves his son. God Almighty loves Don Fortner
just like he loves his son. How can that be? I'm one with
His Son, always have been. He loves us as His Son, for the same reason
He loves His Son. Therefore doth my Father love
me, the Savior said, because I lay down my life for the sheep.
He loves us just exactly as He loves Christ, because of his
son's perfect obedience as our substitute before the world began. Oh, but he loved us. That's the
reason that was done. Please don't make the mistake
of trying to get God in your logical box. He won't fit. He won't fit. There's no sequential
order in God's decrees. They're given to us in a sequential
order because our puny brains can't think of everything at
once. God Almighty loved us, gave us to His Son, chose us,
redeemed us, accepted us in Christ everlastingly from eternity without
beginning, without end. Loved us for the same reason
He loves His Son. Loves us to the same degree as
He loves His Son. See, God's Son, yonder in glory, with
all the accolades of angels and men. The triune God constantly heaping
upon him tokens of his love. That's how he loves his people.
These are God's people as they're identified in this world. Oh, may God now give you faith
in his son. May God now give you to his son
in saving grace. Amen.