Our Sister, Our Service, Our Savior

Q: What does the Bible say about election?

The Bible teaches that God elects individuals for salvation from eternity, as seen in Romans 9:25-26. The doctrine of election asserts that God has chosen certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world. This is rooted in scriptures such as Romans 9:25-26, where Paul quotes the prophet Hosea to describe how those who were not a people have become God's people. This election is not based on foreseen faith or merit but is purely an act of divine grace reflecting God's sovereignty and love. Election is a comfort to believers, assuring them that their salvation is secured by God's purpose, not their own works.

Q: Why is Christ's sacrifice significant for Christians?

Christ's sacrifice is significant because it fully atones for sin and grants believers righteousness. The significance of Christ's sacrifice lies in its completeness and sufficiency for the salvation of believers. As noted in the sermon, Jesus Christ, through His precious blood, expunges sin forever, making those who trust in Him perfectly righteous before God. This reflects the core of the gospel; believers are robed in Christ's righteousness and accepted by God, a truth rooted in passages like 2 Corinthians 5:21. His sacrifice secures eternal redemption, emphasizing that salvation is entirely based on His work, not our own, which is central to historic Reformed theology.

Q: How do we know God's promises will be fulfilled?

God's promises will be fulfilled because His purpose cannot be defeated and His grace prevails. The assurance of God's promise fulfillment is rooted in His unwavering sovereignty and faithfulness. Scriptures affirm that God's purposes cannot be thwarted (Isaiah 46:10), and as the sermon highlights, His grace prevails, ensuring that His chosen people will eventually come to faith. This reliance on God’s character, as shown in passages like Romans 8:30, where Paul discusses the golden chain of salvation, gives believers confidence that God will bring His elect to Him, fulfilling His promises without fail.

Q: Why do Christians still experience suffering?

Christians experience suffering as they live in a sin-cursed world, but it is part of God's sovereign plan. The presence of suffering in the lives of Christians can often be perplexing, but it is essential to understand it within the framework of God’s sovereignty. As stated in the sermon, believers are left on earth amidst sorrow and pain not because of their unworthiness but as part of God’s plan. Their existence here serves not only to grow in faith and holiness but to fulfill their responsibilities toward others, sharing the gospel and encouraging fellow believers. Scriptures like 1 Peter 1:6-7 remind us that trials serve to test and refine faith, ultimately leading to greater glory through God’s perfect will.

Q: What is the role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life?

The Holy Spirit empowers believers, sealing them and facilitating their growth in grace. The role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life is multifaceted, encompassing both assurance of salvation and active sanctification. As noted in the sermon, the Holy Spirit is given as a seal and earnest of our inheritance, assuring us of our place in God's family (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Spirit also empowers believers to live righteously, guiding them into all truth and enabling them to partake in the divine nature. This indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is crucial for spiritual growth, providing believers with the necessary strength to endure suffering, serve others, and fulfill the Great Commission.

I am born of God's Spirit. We
are true believers. We trust the Lord Jesus Christ
as our only righteousness, our only redemption, our only acceptance
with God. If indeed that is the case, then
we are God's children. We have been from everlasting
to everlasting chosen of God in eternal election, adopted
from eternity into the family of God, accepted in Jesus Christ
the Beloved before the world began, and claimed by God himself
as his own. We are now redeemed. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, by his precious blood, has fully expunged our
sins from the record of heaven forever. He put away our sin
by the sacrifice of himself. He has robed us in his spotless
garments of righteousness and salvation so that we stand before
God. I keep preaching this, and I
keep trying my best to preach it so you can get a little bit
of a handle on it. It's too big for us. But we now
stand before God without sin, perfectly righteous in Christ
the Savior just as he is, without sin, and perfectly righteous. What a statement! What grace! What a marvel of grace! Not only
that, but we have been sanctified by God's Spirit, given a new
nature, a holy One of these days we're going to drop this body
of flesh, the old man's going back to the dust, he's going
to die. But that new nature, that new
man lives on forever in Christ Jesus the Lord. We are heirs
of God, heirs of God in joint heirs with Christ, so that all
the glory of heaven, whatever it is, is our present possession,
held in reserve for us by Jesus Christ himself, our forerunner,
sealed to us, in us, and for us by the earnest, the pledge,
and the seal, who is God the Holy Spirit, who's given us to
be partakers of the divine nature by God's grace. We are, the Apostle
Paul says, for Colossians chapter 1 verse 12, Right now, not tomorrow,
not after we die, but right now, we're right now, meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. Now having said that,
this question comes to my mind. Why then are we still here? Why are we left on this earth?
Why did God leave us for a time to dwell in this sin-cursed earth,
to dwell here in such sorrow and pain? Why has he not already
taken us to glory? Now, for most folks, the answer
is very simple. They say, well, God's not done
with us yet. He's got some patch-up work to
do. Actually, grace is just sort of a start, and if you stay in
the world long enough, you'll You'll make yourself more and
more good, and gooder and gooder and gooder, and holier and holier
and holier, until at last you're just too holy to be any fit for
this earth, and God'll take you home when you've done enough.
But that blasphemy we don't believe. We are right now meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. All that heaven is,
is nowers right now. It's already ours by then. Well,
why do you leave us here? Our text this evening gives us
the answer to that question, at least in part. It's the Song
of Solomon, chapter 8, verses 8 through 14. Throughout this
song of love, Christ and his Church have confirmed their love
for one another. Both have agreed that they love
one another and that their love for one another is as strong
as death. His love for us is eternal and
immutable. And though our love for him is
not in any way such as it ought to be and shall be, yet it is
true. And if our love for him is true,
it cannot be destroyed either. Because if our love for him,
Merle, is true, it's his work in us. He caused us to love him.
And it can no more be destroyed than his love for us can. This
is his work. Now then, in these last verses
of the Song of Solomon, we see Christ and his Church, his beloved
Bride, like a loving husband and wife, consulting one another,
consulting one another about their affairs, considering what
they are to do. Having laid their hearts together,
now they put their heads together. making plans with regard to their
relations and their property. Does that make sense to you?
My wife and I don't have anything. We've just got one child, but
we do that. We put our heads together. When Faith was just
a baby, it decided to the best we could what our responsibilities
are with regard to her future. And this is what we have pictured
for us here in the Song of Solomon in this last paragraph. In these
last verses of the Song of Love, The conclusion of this song is
given, showing us some special practical instruction about our
responsibilities in this world in three directions. First, with
regard to our sister. Secondly, with regard to our
service. And thirdly, with regard to our
Savior. First, in verses 8 through 10,
the Lord Jesus gives us instruction concerning our responsibility
toward our sister. Read it with me. We have a little
sister, the bride speaks. She hath no breast. What shall
we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?
And the Lord Jesus answers. If she be a wall, we will build
upon her a palace of silver. And if she be a door, we will
enclose her with boards of cedar. And here the bride speaks again.
Oh, yes, I remember. I am a wall, and my breasts are
like towers. Then was I in his eyes as one
that found favor." The passage begins with a question of compassion
and concern in verse 8. The bride, the Church of Christ,
raises a question about her young little sister. What shall we
do for our sister? She is saying, How can I help
my little sister? Well, who is this little sister?
This is the first mention we've had of her here in the Song of
Solomon. Who is this little sister about whom there's so much concern?
Prophetically, I want you to look at three texts with me.
Turn first to Isaiah 54. Prophetically, the passage is
speaking about the Church of God. The Church of God scattered
among the Gentiles, the heathen nations of the world." Now, in
the Old Testament, you know, the gospel was revealed only
to the nation of Israel under the types and shadows of the
law in the Mosaic economy. It was revealed in types and
shadows in prophecy under the Mosaic economy. It was not revealed
in its clarity and fullness as it is today in the New Testament
with the completion of Holy Scripture, but it was certainly revealed
so that those men who walked with God in days gone by knew
him as we know him, and walked with him as we walk with him,
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as we believe on him. But the
gospel was hidden to the Gentile world. Satan went about blinding
the nations of the world, the Gentiles, with all the pagan
foolish nonsense that so long pervaded in Gentile society,
that same pagan foolish nonsense that's now being called New Age
philosophy and New Age religion. You know, we got so smart we
go back to being barbarians. But this same Gentile world is
the world out of which you and I have been born. And it was
always God's purpose not just to have a people for himself
among the Israelites physically, but to save an Israel of God,
a spiritual nation, a holy nation, out of all the nations of the
world, both Jew and Gentile. Now let me show you this from
the scriptures, here in Isaiah 54 and verse 1. We have a plain prophecy given
concerning the barren and desolate Gentiles being united to Christ
as a bride, and telling us that the church of the Gentiles, made
up of Jews and Gentiles, will be far more fruitful than the
Jewish nation could ever have imagined. Sing, O barren, thou
that didst not bear, break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
thou that didst not travail with child. For more are the children
of the desolate. The Gentile world at this time
was desolate, having never heard or received the knowledge of
God's grace. For more are the children of the desolate than
of the children of the married wife, saith the Lord." Now then
look at Hosea chapter 1. Hosea chapter 1 and verse 10. The number of the children of
Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured
nor numbered." Now, that's not talking about the people Hitler
tried to kill. That's not talking about the
physical seed of Abraham. Nothing in Scripture will allow
that kind of interpretation of Scripture. Well, he's not talking
about the physical seed of Abraham. Who on earth is he talking about?
His spiritual seed. And that's so abundantly, plainly
revealed in Scripture. Listen to what it says. They
shall be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured nor
numbered. Ten thousand times ten thousand
we see in Revelation. And it shall come to pass that
in that place where it was said to them, You are not my people. Where? Over in Africa? Over in England? down Mexico,
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, America, all through the Gentile
world where folks worship stumps and worship their own bellies.
It shall be said where they were called, not my people, you're
the people of the living God. Now, Pastor, how do you know
that? Because Paul said so in Romans chapter 9. I want you
to turn there for just a moment. Romans chapter 9, verse 25. The Apostle Paul is now writing
to the Roman Gentile believers, and he is assuring the Roman
Gentile believers, that's you and me, that's Bobby Estes and
Don Ford. He's saying, now, this is you of whom God spoke to Hosea
back in Hosea chapter 1. This is you of whom God spoke
in Isaiah 54. As he saith also in Hosea, I
will call them my people, which were not my people. and her beloved
which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass that
in that place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,
there shall they be called the children of the living God."
How come? Because God said, Jacob have
I loved But he saw have I hated. And that's the basis of Paul's
whole explanation of what took place with the Jews when God
cast them off. He says God from eternity has
purposed to save a people here in our text described by the
believing bride as my little sister who has not yet been called. Here the church of God among
the Gentiles is called my little sister for these reasons. First,
because the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are
all children of the same family. They are called little because
they had not yet been honored with the revelation of God in
Jesus Christ. The gospel had not yet been preached
among the Gentiles. During the Old Testament age,
the Gentiles had no breast. Remember the scriptures were
told to desire the sincere milk of the Word? Because the Scriptures
are the breast by which the Church of God feeds. These breasts of
the Old and New Testament, the two breasts of Holy Scripture.
The Gentiles had no prophets. They had no word from God. They
had no revelation from God. No one came and brought the Gentiles
a word of God. As a matter of fact, when God
commanded Moses to tell the children of Israel to slay the Paschal
Lamb, he said, you whisper it into the ears of the Israelites.
Don't tell the Gentiles anything about it. Don't tell the Egyptians
about this. This is not for them. Because in the Old Testament,
the Gentiles had no covenant, no promise, no ordinance, no
instruction, no breast of consolation. Though chosen of God, their election
was not yet manifest and revealed. But now, Paul says in Ephesians
2, God's taken down the middle wall of partition that separated
us. He's taken that away which divided Jew and Gentile. He's
taken that away which divides men socially and racially. He's
taken that away which sets men apart from one another. And he's
brought us together in Jesus Christ and made us to dwell together
in peace in him. But taking the text in its wider
range, and certainly we must, it is to be applied to all those
who belong to Christ, All those who are numbered in what the
scriptures describe as that remnant according to the election of
grace, who have not yet been called to life and faith in Christ,
who have not yet been given the gifts of God's grace. You see,
all of God's elect belong to Christ already. They're already
His. They don't know it yet, but they're
already His. A lot of them maybe have never even been born yet,
but they're already His. Our Lord said, Other sheep I
have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. You remember
when Paul was at Corinth and he was persecuted, he was about
to leave town. The Lord God came to him and
He said, Paul, you stay right here. For I have much people
in this city. Not I shall, it is I have them.
They're mine already. I chose them. I redeemed them.
They're mine. And the time has come for me
to call them. So God's elect belong to him already, though
they haven't been called by his grace. Oh, the thought just floods
my heart. Maybe some of you here shall
tonight be brought to the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ because you're his. And you'll be called now. But
God's people are his from eternity. They are our sisters, according
to the election of grace. They have no breast. And I'm
not pulling this out of my hat. This is exactly what the scriptures
teach over in Ezekiel chapter 16. You don't need to turn there,
but you remember when our Lord describes how his grace came,
we were naked and cast out. We had no breast. He says, I
have formed you, and I have caused you to multiply and bud, and
thou hast increased in wax and greatness, and come to excellent
ornaments, and now thy breasts are fashioned, and thy hair is
grown whereas thou wast naked and bare. Those who are not yet
called, who have not yet been born of God's Spirit, have no
breast of affection for Christ, no principle of grace within
them. they haven't yet been spoken for. And our text here says,
what shall I do for my sister in the day when she shall be
spoken for? The text is telling us the day will come when they
shall be spoken for, when the chosen sinner shall be called. And this is the thing for which
we labor. By the Spirit of God, through the preaching of the
gospel, at God's appointed time, I mean precisely at God's appointed
time, he's going to call every one of our little sisters to
life and faith in Christ. He's going to do it, and he'll
do it in the method he has ordained for the glory of his name, by
the preaching of the gospel. We were talking back in the office,
God's opened so many doors of opportunity for us around the
world. This new electronic age, much as it's abused by many,
and some will find it as an excuse to neglect their responsibilities,
but God's open doors of utterance for the gospel around the world. I mean literally around the world. And folks are hearing the gospel
being converted by God's free grace. You see, it's no difficulty
to God Almighty, no difficulty at all to God Almighty to cause
the chosen sinner at the time of love and grace to cross paths
with the preacher whom he sent with the message of grace. That's
no difficulty. My soul, we're talking about
God Almighty. He will raise up nations to save
a single sinner. Do you believe that? I quite
do. And He'll destroy nations to
save a single sinner. He'll do it. That's His purpose.
And He will save His children. His love and grace will, at the
appointed time of love, prevail over their hearts. and thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power." Now the question
is raised here, well, what shall I do for my little sister? The
Apostle Paul puts it this way, I endure all things, what did
he say? For the elect's sake. What thought
that they might obtain the salvation that's in Christ Jesus with eternal
glory. That's our business, Bob. That's
our business. We're on the trail of Christ's
sheep. We're seeking the salvation of God's elect. We're seeking
the building up of his kingdom. I know folks say, well, I believe
what you do. I just preach to the elect. I
would, too, if you'd tell me who they are. I'd just go find them
and tell them, you're one of God's. But since nobody knows
who they are, we preach the gospel to everybody. But we preach it
for the elect. There's a huge difference. What
are you doing? We're seeking the Lord's sheep. We're seeking His elect. We're
seeking our little sisters who shall be born in God's due time.
What do we do for them? Why, we preach to them. And we
pray for them. We persuade you. Oh, we persuade
you, knowing the terror of the Lord, to be reconciled to God.
But then in verse 9, our Lord Jesus quietens the hearts of
His troubled people. We all become a little uncomfortable.
We all become a little uneasy when we don't see things happening
the way we think they ought to, don't we? We get a little concerned
for our children when they grow up. And you preach to them, you
pray for them. When they're little, they seem
to be so tender and so impressionable. The whole religious world says,
now, you con those kids into making a profession of faith
while they're little, and you'll show them they're saved when they're lost
as a goose in a snowstorm and everything will be all right.
It might make you feel better for a little while, but it won't
do their souls any good. Pastor, surely we ought to do something.
Yes, sir. Pray for them. Preach to them. Press on them
their responsibilities and listen to what the Savior says. The
Lord Jesus assures us of what he will do for his elect people.
If she is a wall, we, and wait a minute, I thought it was him
speaking. He is. He is the revelation of the Father, the Son, and the
Spirit, the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead. We,
my Father, my Spirit and I, we will build upon her a palace
of silver. If she is a door, We will enclose
her with boards of cedar. And this is what it says. We
will gather the elect ones and we will save them. It is as though
the Lord were saying, now, you let me alone, I'll do everything.
You let me alone, I'll do everything necessary to be done for my own.
Trust me, I'll build my church. I'll protect my people and I
will protect my people. Well, Pastor, what are you saying?
We must faithfully, faithfully labor for the salvation of God's
elect. Labor for their salvation as
if everything depended on us, but never compromise one hair's
breadth, anything. Nothing. Never bend not one inch
the glory of God and the truth of God. Never. Just wait on God. Believe him, knowing that he
alone builds his church. He alone does. Well, what do
you do with your sons and daughters? What do we do with our children? We do the same thing, Larry and
Chris, with our children that we do with everybody else's children.
We commit them to the all-wise, good, gracious hands of God Almighty,
knowing that he will always do what's right. He will. He will. Whether he sends you
to hell or saves you by his grace, God's going to do what's right.
He's going to do what's right. Then in verse 10, the bride acknowledges
his favor, his grace, and his faithfulness. She says, I'm a
wall. My breasts are like towers. Then
was I in his eyes as one that found favor. Now this is the
summary of that. Let me just give it to you in
a nutshell. I remember. I was just as you described,
but you've been faithful and gracious to me. And I know that
what you've done for me, you'll do for your own. You'll do for
all your chosen. Let us acknowledge, then, that
salvation is altogether God's work, and let us trust God to
save his people. His purpose cannot be defeated.
Christ's blood was not shed in vain. God's grace will not be
frustrated. His power cannot be resisted.
His chosen can never perish. Now then, look briefly at verses
11 and 12. I'll just scan over this and
we'll come back to it in the coming weeks, if the Lord will
it. The Lord tells us something here about our service for Him.
Solomon had a vineyard in Baalhamin. He led out the vineyard unto
keepers, every one for the fruit thereof, who was to bring a thousand
pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is
before me, thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that
keep the fruit thereof two hundred." Here the bride consults with
Christ about their vineyard, the vineyard they had in the
country. Solomon had a vineyard in Bethlehem. Now Solomon, you
know, was a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Matthew
21, our Lord Jesus compares himself to a husbandman who has a vineyard
that he's let out to his servants. Christ's church is his vineyard. The Lord has entrusted each of
us with his vineyard as keepers of his vineyard. And that's our
responsibility. It is primarily, of course, the
responsibility of gospel preachers. But it is equally the responsibility
of Bob and Sally Potts in your place where he's put you. I write
to preachers frequently, and I give a subtle reminder, give
my greetings to those immortal souls trusted to your hands. Here's this little band of folks
here. been trusted to my hands as your
pastor, as God's servant by God himself. I shudder at the weight of responsibility. But my friends, God has committed
his kingdom to you as well. He has trusted his vineyard to
your hands. What will you do for Christ? What will you do
for the increase of his kingdom? What will you do for the furtherance
of the gospel? You see, this business of Christianity
is not a spectator sport. Rex, God's people, every one
of them, are laborers in his vineyard. Every believer must
endeavor then to serve Christ, being motivated only by love
for him, and zeal for his glory. And thus we enrich our own souls. Look at this. Those that keep
the fruit thereof, two hundred. The Lord's not out of his vineyard
for the fruit of it, but those who keep the vineyard, they get
their reward, too. But what is that talking about?
Matthew Henry put it this way. He said, Those who work for Christ
are working for themselves, and shall be unspeakable gainers
by it. Not materially. No, no, no. but
spiritually. And remember how Paul said, those
that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but
those that sow to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life
everlasting? Now what's he saying? Is you
take what God's put in your hands and you use it for pampering
the flesh. You use it to indulge your flesh. You use it for your pleasure
in this world. Now all you get is corruption.
Just corruption. But you take what God's put in
your hands everything you put in your hands, your life, your
family, your wealth, your prosperity, your lands, everything, and you
sow to the Spirit. Use it as best you can for the
glory of God. Spread it bountifully for the
increase of his kingdom. And you stand back and watch,
and you will reap everlasting blessedness, everlasting blessedness,
as you see the Lord gathering in his harvest in his kingdom.
And then our Lord tells us that we have a responsibility toward
our Savior himself. Verse 13. Thou that dwellest
in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice. Listen to this. Calls me to hear
it. Calls me to hear it. Make haste,
my beloved, and be thou like unto a roe or to a young heart
upon the mountains of spices. The Lord Jesus and his bride
are here pictured as the time when Christ must part. He must
leave his church upon the earth. She must stay here below in the
gardens on the earth to work for him, but he must ascend up
to glory to intercede for her, to rule all things for the good
of his people. And our Lord lets us know that
he desires to hear from us, and to hear from us often. Let me
hear your voice. Calls me to hear you. Other folks
hear you talk. Let me hear your voice. You speak
to other folks. Speak to me. Not only does our
Lord hear and answer prayer, he courts our prayers. He says,
come now. Come on. Let me hear your voice.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For her part, the bride, the
Church, the believing heart, longs for Christ's speedy return. It's good to be here, dwelling
among the gardens of our Lord, laboring for his glory in his
vineyard. But to depart and be with him
is far better. Our Lord is coming again. It's
our business to work and live in anticipation of his speedy
return. And the comfort, satisfaction of communion with him that we
presently enjoy inspires in our hearts a longing for that day
when we shall have communion uninterrupted, when we shall
rejoice in his presence in perfection. And so our hearts cry, and cry
continually to him, Make haste, O my beloved. Come on. Make haste. Hurry back for me! Hurry back
for me! The Lord Jesus says, Surely I
come quickly. And we hear Him, and we say,
Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Okay, let's listen to Him.

Our Sister, Our Service, Our Savior

What does the Bible say about election?

Why is Christ's sacrifice significant for Christians?

How do we know God's promises will be fulfilled?

Why do Christians still experience suffering?

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life?

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Our Sister, Our Service, Our Savior

What does the Bible say about election?

Why is Christ's sacrifice significant for Christians?

How do we know God's promises will be fulfilled?

Why do Christians still experience suffering?

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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