Good morning. I'm as nervous
as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but I'm
sure thankful to be here. Thankful for that man and his
wife who have been dear friends of ours for a long time, Mr.
and Mrs. Fortner. Thankful for this congregation
and your love, and not only for our Lord Jesus and His gospel
and your congregation, but for God's saints everywhere. I have
to say your testimony of faith has reached many borders. This
church has been talked about in a good way amongst our folks
back home and folks I've talked with all over the country. So
we're thankful to be here and I want to express my appreciation
for your love and your hospitality. I know I speak for my wife as
well, for all the labor of love that goes into not only preparing
for the conference, but during the conference and even afterwards.
Thank you. We appreciate you. And I know
that our folks would be mad if I didn't do what they asked me
to do. They send their love and their
greetings not only to Mr. and Mrs. Fortner, but to all
the saints who are gathered here for this conference. We're delighted
to have some of our own children, grandchildren, folks from our
church with us. Miss Betty Thomas, her son, and
his wife from Arkansas, former member of our church. Still a
member, by the way, honorary, so we're thankful they're here.
And I'm thankful to be here. Let me say a little bit about
my wife. She's going to be embarrassed. We celebrated our 50th wedding
anniversary last June. And she's been such a faithful
Helpmeet is the word that is used in the scriptures. She's
the church secretary, handles all the banking, might as well
call her the church treasurer as well. She is the piano player. She teaches children's Sunday
school class. She does things that I don't
have time to do and she does things I don't know how to do.
And we just needed to get away, and we're so thankful. And I
was thinking about this. If somebody wanted to be mean
and got the wrong information, or the right information, I should
say, by leaving out some information to our little hometown newspaper,
it could create quite a scandal back home. Local pastor runs
off with church secretary. Neither showing any remorse. They'd be right. We've been smiling
every mile. And we're delighted to be here.
Reminds me of some of those Armenian prophets of Baal. You know, they
speak a little bit of the truth, but they leave out the important
parts. And just to see so many. Well, I want to ask you if you
would turn to Isaiah chapter 62. I've been so blessed hearing
all of these messages and fellowshipping with you folks and the food has
just been great. But I've been a little concerned
because I wasn't sure if somebody was going to get my text. They
didn't. And so if Brother Pruitt has
chosen the same text that I have chosen, you just preach it right
after me, it will be fine. You won't preach the same way
that I preach, but you'll preach the same message. It'll be alright.
God's preachers have one message, and that message is Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. And it doesn't matter if we're
starting at the first part of Genesis or the last part of Revelation
or any Scripture in between. It all points to Christ our Savior.
Miss Betty Thomas heard her husband Jim were members of our church
when we first came to rescue 29 years ago. And we went to
a conference down in Southern California. My wife didn't get
to go, but I went along with one of the brothers. And Jim
and Betty Thomas met us there. And we were sitting on the pew
waiting for the speaker that evening. And Betty nudged me. She said, I'm going to put him
to the test. I said, what test is that? She said, you've always
told us you can tell if a man is filled with the Spirit of
God when he's preaching, because he'll be preaching Christ. After
the services, I asked her, did he pass the test? And she said,
no. No, he didn't. It was sad. But you can't say
that about these folks here, Betty. They have all preached
Christ. And we're so thankful. taught us through His Word that
all the Scriptures point to Him. He said, certain scriptures,
in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of Me. And when He spoke to those two
on the road to Emmaus, we read, beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, He expounded on all the Scriptures of things concerning
Himself. Our Lord Jesus preached Himself. And we better be preaching Him
also. If we're not, we're not preaching the Gospel. God's preachers
are not called to determine who gets the biggest share of the
inheritance amongst the congregations. We're not called to march in
demonstrations with signs against abortion, against gays, against
Obama. Or any of those evils. We're
not called to be the mayor of rescue, the mayor of danger.
God has called us to preach the gospel. That's our business. Look at verse 10 of Isaiah 62. Scripture says, Go through. Go
through the gates. Prepare ye the way of the people.
Cast up, cast up the highway. Gather out the stones. Lift up
the standard for the people. This verse alludes to the cities
of refuge, the six cities, ordained by God, appointed by God. Three
on each side of the river Jordan. Strategically placed throughout
the land of Israel for the benefit of anyone who might unwittingly
slay another person. And if that happened, that person
could make a run for that city of refuge. And I don't believe
he would wait around to try to explain what had happened to
the next of kin, because he knew his life was at stake. But he
would have no interest in that city of refuge unless something
like that happened and he knew he was guilty of taking another
person's life. Christ Jesus is our safe hiding
place, that city of refuge. And until the Holy Spirit convicts
us of our sin, not so much what we do, what we are. We are sinners. We do sin. From the top of our
head to the bottom of our feet, there's no soundness in any of
us. We're just sin throughout body, soul, and spirit. And until
the Holy Spirit makes us aware of that, we will have no interest
in Christ, that city of refuge. Those people in those cities
were to put signs clearly pointing the way. They were to keep the
roads clear of any debris. filling in low places and leveling
out high places. And those who were running to
that city of refuge would have no problem finding that place.
So it's God's preacher's business to point our hearers to the Lord
Jesus Christ, the only refuge from the fury of God's eternal
wrath. the watchman on the wall, so
to speak. We've heard about it at this
conference already, the bill on the wall. And we're to warn
people, and we're to remove, or I should not say it that way,
we're to point to any of those hindrances that would keep you
from coming to Christ, and God Himself will remove them as it
pleases Him, as He reveals the Gospel to you. Pastor Scott Richardson, or our
brother Scott Richardson, asked this question. Then he gave the
answer. He said, what is a preacher?
A preacher is a nobody who tells everybody about somebody who
can save anybody. And I liked the way that was
worded. And so all we are just instruments. We plant, we water,
but only God can give the increase. So as we declare the gospel of
God's salvation through the perfect redeeming work of Jesus Christ
our Lord and our Savior, our God will remove hindrances. He will reveal to His people
those things that might keep you from coming to Christ. Someone
might say, well, I'm just too sinful to come to Christ. God
tells us in His Word that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners. of whom I'm chief. Someone might
say, but what if I backslide? God says this to His church,
the daughter of Zion, I will heal their backslidings. I will
love them freely for mine anger is turned away. Or the convicted
sinner might say, but what if I stumble and fall? The Holy
Scripture tells us, underneath are the everlasting arms of God.
can't fall out of His arms. We might stumble, and we do every
day, but He will hold us very dear to Himself in the midst
of all of our struggles and troubles and backslidings and difficulties
and our falls in this life. But, one might say, what if I
can't continue in the faith? God assures us that He which
hath begun a good work in us We'll perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. God has never started something
that He didn't finish. And He will keep us all the way
from the pit He took us out of to eternal glory. And God has
strategically placed His eternal refuge in such a position that
any guilty sinner, no matter where they are in this world,
can find refuge. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
has risen from the grave. He has entered there into heaven
to appear in the presence of God for us. And any convicted
sinner who cries out for mercy in the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord will never be turned away. Flee to Him. God promises eternal
life to all who believe on His Son according to the Scriptures,
and God's promises are sure. Now look at verse 11. Behold,
the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye
to the daughter of Zion, behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold,
His reward is with Him and His work before Him." Folks, listen,
this verse is not talking about the possibility of salvation. This is talking about a salvation
accomplished by Jesus Christ our Savior. Our Lord is not trying
to save sinners. Can you imagine God trying to
do something? Anyone who says God is trying,
he's implying that maybe God can't. God is not trying to do
anything. God does what pleases God, always
what pleases God. Whenever it pleases Him, whatever
it pleases Him to do, God does that. And it pleased God to reveal
His Son in us. Isn't that wonderful? It's just
wonderful to know that salvation is of the Lord. We can put our
trust in Him. We know that He, Jesus Christ,
by Himself purged our sins. They're gone, gone, gone. So
this verse is teaching salvation accomplished. Jesus Christ didn't
die on that cross to make redemption possible. He redeemed His people. Purchased us with His own precious
blood. We have a redemption that actually
redeems. We have a Savior that saved us.
That's why they call His name Jesus. For He shall save His
people from their sins, and He did that. Now I want you to notice
something in verse 11 of Isaiah 62. The word behold is used three
times in this one verse of Holy Scripture. Behold, the Lord hath
proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, His reward is
with Him and His work before Him. You reckon the Holy Spirit's
getting our attention to this verse? Behold means listen up,
pay attention. There's something here that we
need to pay attention to. Behold, it says, the Lord hath
proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, God Himself, has proclaimed His gospel unto the end of the
world. God's preachers continue to preach
the gospel wherever God leads us, takes us, directs us. And
it might be in Rescue, California. It might be in Danville. What's
this state? Kentucky? I knew that. I was
just giving you that. Wherever God's preachers are
sent, they declare the gospel for the glory of the One who
loved us and gave Himself for us. And here's what we're to
say to His blood-bought people. Say ye to the daughter, Behold,
thy salvation cometh. God purposed the coming of this
salvation before time began. Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. All of God's Old Testament prophets
prophesied of the coming of God's salvation. Every animal sacrifice
pointed to the coming of that Lamb of God who would take away
the sins of His people. Jesus Christ is God's salvation. He has come. When Joseph and
Mary brought the Christ child into the temple, to dedicate
him unto the Lord. There was an elderly man there
by the name of Simeon, and he had received a promise from God
that he would not die until he saw God's salvation. And he took
the Christ child up in his arms. He said, now let me die. He said,
I've seen thy salvation. That's not a quote, but you know
what the Word of God says. He saw God's salvation in Christ
Jesus when He was a child, a baby. But I believe our text, verse
11, is referring to God's salvation coming to His own chosen blood-bought
people when we experience the miracle of the new birth. When God Himself comes to us
When we're dead in trespasses and sins. When He regenerates
us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Nobody knows when that happens.
The Kingdom of God does not come with observation. But when the
Holy Spirit regenerates His chosen people, those who were purchased
by the blood of Jesus Christ, it will be under the preaching
of His gospel God will bring His people under the preaching
of His gospel. And when we are enlightened by
God the Holy Spirit, when He commands the light to shine to
give us the understanding of Jesus Christ, who He is, He's
Jehovah God. I don't care what all these other
people are saying. He's my Lord and He's my God.
And I know that He is my Creator. And when God reveals that, when
He reveals to us that this wonderful, majestic God condescended to
come to this earth and become a man, to take on human flesh,
to mantle Himself with a human body for the purpose For the
purpose of establishing a righteousness for His people, honoring God's
law perfectly. For the purpose of satisfying
the holy justice of God by laying down His life for us. When God
commands the light to shine in our heart to see the light of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Brethren, salvation's
come. Salvation comes to us. We can't
come to salvation No man can come to me, our Lord said, unless
the Father would send me dry him, and I'll raise him up at
the last day. We all must be taught of God.
Faith is a wonderful, wonderful thing to experience. This is
God's gift to us. But it's not blind faith. It's
based upon what the Word of God teaches. So God's preachers declare
who Christ is. Jehovah God. The second person
of the glorious Trinity. Who redeemed us. with His own
precious blood, who is now seated in glory, ruling over this whole
universe and everything in it. We can trust Him. He's never
made a mistake. He never will. Salvation comes
to each child of God by the power of God the Holy Spirit under
the preaching of His gospel That's when we come to Him by faith.
That's when God makes us willing in the day of His power. But
there's another behold. Behold, His reward is with Him
and His work before Him. When our God comes to us creating
a new heart in us, His reward is with Him. Jesus Christ is
every believer's reward. Every believer's reward. And
when He comes to us, when He comes to us, In the power of
God the Holy Spirit, this reward is ours. And folks, listen to
me. If we have Christ, we have it
all. We have everything. God has given
us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. And His work
is before Him. God's work is before Him. It's
always before Him. Him choosing us in Christ before
the time began, before a star ever twinkled in the sky. That's
always before Him. His eternal choice of a particular
people whose names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We've
heard that already by our brother. I know his name. It's not Bruce Crabtree. That man right there. It's Rupert Reibenbach. One of my friends read his name
the other day and said, who is Rupert Riverbank? But he brought before us last
night how this God is the one who wrote our names in the Lamb's
Book of Life. That's always before our God. His work is before Him,
the work of salvation, His Son redeeming us. It wasn't just
the life that He lived establishing a righteousness for us, and that's
so wonderful. Listen, every step He took, every
word He spoke, every thought He had, every deed He performed
was perfect and pleasing in the sight of God the Father. He came
to do the will of God the Father. And He did that. And that's ours
if we're in Christ. God sees us in Christ. Doing
always that which pleases Him. But it's not just that. As wonderful
as that is, our Lord honoring God's law for us, making us righteous
and holy in His sight. As wonderful as that is, The
holy justice of God still had to be satisfied. The soul that
sinneth, it must surely die. And when our Lord Jesus laid
down His life, and He did, nobody took it from Him. He willingly
laid down His life. And when He said, it is finished,
redemption work was done, God had poured out His wrath on His
only begotten Son, so that we're free from the wrath to come.
Through what Christ has done for us, we are not only righteous
in God's sight, His holy justice has been satisfied to the point
that not one thing can relate to the charge of God's elect.
Does that bless you? That blesses me. Because I know
me, a little bit of me, I know every day of my life Not just
before, I would say, but since the Lord delivered me, I'm still
a sinner. I still have things go through
my mind that just cause me to wonder, how could a child of
God think something like that? But God sees me in Christ just
as if I had never sinned. Isn't that wonderful? And that
work is always before Him. His work is always before Him. Seeing us in Christ and seeing
the power of God the Holy Spirit creating that new man in us that
gives Him all the glory and all the praise. It's just so wonderful to know
that God Himself looks upon me with love. Behold! Behold! Behold! what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God. Look at verse 12, and I'll bring
this to a close. They shall call them the holy
people, the redeemed of the Lord, and thou shalt be called sought
out A city not forsaken. They shall call them. Who are
the they? Well, God's preachers call God's
saints the holy people redeemed of the Lord, sought out, city
not forsaken. And we call one another that,
brothers and sisters. I'm not going to tell you what
other people call me, but we call one another redeemed of
the Lord. Could it be that the word they
has reference to the three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit? Now it's something if I call
my wife one of God's redeemed, that's good, and she loves to
hear that. But when we know that God Himself calls us His holy
people, His redeemed ones, those He has sought out, A city not
forsaken. There's no words that can describe
the joy that floods the souls of God's people in knowing that
God Himself looks upon us and calls us by these descriptive
words. It's wonderful. Holy people. Us? Holy? We better be. Because unless we're as holy
as God Himself, we're not going to enter into the Kingdom of
God. I had my wife's Daddy stayed with us for a while in his latter
years. Tried witnessing to him and he
pointed his finger right at me and said, I'm just as good as
you are. I said, that might be, but that's
not good enough. You might be better than me,
but that's not good enough. And incidentally, I think the Lord
did speak to him before he died. I hope he's in glory. But we
better be holy. And we are in Christ. We're just
as holy as God Himself. We're the redeemed of the Lord.
Our Lord did establish a perfect righteousness for us. But like
I said earlier, God's holy justice must be satisfied. And it was. Our Lord Jesus redeemed us. Purchased us. We're not our own.
We're bought with a price. He owns us lock, stock, and barrel. And I'm thankful, aren't you?
I'm thankful Jesus Christ didn't just die as our substitute. He
died under the fullness of the fury of God's unmitigated wrath. And now we're free from the wrath
to come. God cannot pour out His wrath
on our substitute and be just in pouring out His wrath on those
that our substitute represented. He cannot do that. God is merciful,
but He will not have mercy at the expense of His holy justice.
But folks, He can have mercy on us because Jesus Christ satisfied
the holy justice of God in laying down His life for us. The divine order of verse 12
is interesting. They shall call His people holy
people. They shall call them the holy
people. So there's the righteousness
of Christ established for us as He honored God's holy law
perfectly. The redeemed of the Lord That came next as He laid down
His life for us, redeeming us with His own precious blood.
Being sought out. We didn't know anything about
this. Did you know anything about this? None of us knew anything
about this until the Holy Spirit quickened us. Now folks, faith
does not save us, but nobody's going to be saved without it.
So God comes to us when we're dead in trespasses and sins,
and He quickens us. He gives us life, revealing to
us what He has done for us. He seeks us out. It is true that
we're to seek the Lord while He may yet be found, but no man
seeks after God in his unregenerate state. God must seek us out. And that's why Christ came, to
seek and to save that which was lost. So He seeks us. fetches us, brings us unto the
sound of the gospel, and turns the light on. It's like coming
into this room in the middle of a dark night, turning the
lights on, and lo and behold, all of these furnitures here. Turning the light on didn't put
the furniture here, it revealed the furniture. And so when God
turns the light on, it reveals to us what He has done for us.
So He seeks us out, bringing us unto the sound of His gospel,
revealing Christ to us, letting us know. that were His sheep
that had gone astray. Seeking us out and bringing us
into a living union with Himself. So the order is right. But there's
one more statement in the last part of verse 12. A city not
forsaken. All of God's chosen blood-bought
children are members of His holy Jerusalem. That's what you were
talking about last night, brother. That holy Jerusalem were members
of that city of refuge, Christ, His city. And if God has given
us faith to believe this, we have entered into that city that
will never be forsaken. Isn't that wonderful? That's
such good news. We read these words from God
in Hebrews 6 verses 17 through 20. God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel,
confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which
it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation,
who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before
us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whether
the forerunners for us entered, even Jesus, made in high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek, God reveals to us. giving us
this strong consolation that Christ is our hope. And that
hope has already entered within the veil. And if we're in Christ,
we've been made to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We're already there, representatively. And so we have this strong consolation
from God Himself. Consoling us, encouraging us,
letting us know that He's the one who has made us holy, who
has redeemed us, who has sought us out and brought us into this
wonderful relationship with Himself, this heavenly Jerusalem that
we're a member of and He will never leave us and He will never
forsake us. Christ our Savior is the blessed
surety of all of His people. Until He can be removed from
His throne, He will not lose. Not one for whom He died. All
of those that were given to Him in the eternal covenant of grace
shall come to Him. And He will never leave us nor
forsake us. And we have that promise from God Himself. Amen? Listen, when Judy and I ran away
from rescue, it was legal. You come to Christ. Run all the
way. to glory with Him. God's law
has been honored. The law can't save the Indians
there. Amen. God bless you. Thank you.