The Rereward

Q: What does the Bible say about spiritual warfare?

The Bible teaches that Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, as highlighted in passages like Ephesians 6. The Bible portrays the Church as an army marching through hostile territory, constantly under threat from external and internal enemies. In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul encourages believers to put on the armor of God to withstand spiritual attacks. Isaiah 58:8 reassures believers that those who engage in this holy warfare will receive God's light, help, and righteousness, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and reliance on Christ as our source of strength in this battle against sin and temptation.

Q: How do we know Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers?

Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers based on His perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice, allowing us to stand before God justified. The imputation of Christ's righteousness to believers is a core element of sovereign grace theology. When Jesus was made sin for us, He bore the wrath of God, allowing us to be declared righteous before Him. As stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This exchange means that believers are not saved by their works but through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, resulting in their acceptance before God. It's a divine reckoning that enables believers to live in confidence of their salvation.

Q: Why is Christian fellowship important?

Christian fellowship is essential for mutual encouragement, accountability, and spiritual growth within the body of Christ. Fellowship among believers is vital for sustaining faith and encouraging righteousness. In Hebrews 10:24-25, we are reminded not to neglect meeting together, but to encourage one another. Believers in the Church are called to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) and build each other up in faith. This community support helps anchor individuals against the temptations of the world and strengthens unity within the body of Christ, allowing believers to march together in the spiritual battle against sin.

Q: What promises does God make to the faithful?

God promises His light, help, and the assurance of His glory leading and gathering His people. In Isaiah 58:8, God promises that those who engage in the fight for His truth will receive His light and help, indicating both spiritual enlightenment and assistance through trials. This passage assures believers that their righteousness, which is Christ's righteousness, will lead the way, while God's glory will protect and gather them up. This reflects the sovereign grace of God, who promises to sustain His people, especially those who may be weak or struggling, ensuring their ultimate perseverance and triumph in faith.

Q: How should Christians view doctrines in faith?

Christians should view doctrines as essential teachings that provide clarity and truth necessary for spiritual life. Doctrine, or teaching, is foundational for the Christian faith. It is through sound doctrine that believers understand God's revelation and the gospel message. As expressed in 1 John 1:5, God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all; thus, adhering to the truth of God's word is essential. Without sound doctrine, spirituality can become distorted. True faith responds not only with belief but also through a life characterized by obedience to God's truth, as found in the Scriptures.

Q: What does the glory of the Lord signify in our lives?

The glory of the Lord signifies His majestic attributes, presence, and the assurance of His faithfulness in gathering His people. The glory of the Lord encapsulates His grandeur, holiness, and the divine plan for His creation. As indicated in Isaiah 58:8, the glory assures believers of God's commitment to gather and protect them as they navigate life's challenges. It is a comforting promise that speaks to God's unchanging nature (Malachi 3:6) and His omnipotence, which assures that none can snatch His people from His hand (John 10:28). Thus, understanding God's glory provides reassurance of His faithful love and the protection He offers those who trust in Him.

The Church of God in this world is often compared to an army marching through hostile enemy territory. And we must never count on a moment's peace from the world, the flesh, and the devil. It's not going to happen. If we were of the world, the world would love his own. But our Savior has called us out of the world. and out of darkness. Consequently, the world hates us.

Now, I keep warning folks, and you young people, God help you to hear me, and mom and dad, you hear me too, to seek your companions among worldlings is to take a traitor to your bosom. Don't do it. Don't do it. Make your friends among God's Make your companions among God's saints. Make your family, your lifelong companions, husband and wife, take them from God's saints. Don't take to your bosom those who despise our God, his church, and his kingdom.

Now, I grant that we are living in softer days now than in the past, at least in our and men no longer use the sword, the stocks, and the stakes against God's people. But do not be so foolish as to imagine that darkness has become the friend of light or that wickedness has become the friend of righteousness. It hasn't happened. The world is ever ready to pounce upon God's church. Satan is ever endeavoring to destroy the church of the living God. If not by outward physical force and outward attack, then by inward corruption. But his object and the object of the world, now listen, his object and the object of the world is the destruction of Christ, his church, and his gospel. That is the object of darkness. whether men know it or not, whether they are aware of how Satan manipulates their hearts or not, the objects of men in rebellion to God is the destruction of Christ, his gospel, and his church.

We must each of us then, as soldiers enlisted in the army of Christ under the blood-red banner of his cross, take up the battle for his truth and his glory right where we live. We're honor-bound to do. We're honor-bound to do. We must never look upon our life as a pleasure cruise in a ship of ease upon a sea of tranquility. Our life is a march, the march of an army through hostile enemy territory.

Now our text tonight addresses us as such. My text is Isaiah chapter 58. and verse 8. Isaiah 58 and verse 8. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Lord God speaking by the mouth of his prophet Isaiah makes three promises to all who take up the banner of the cross and engage in holy warfare with this world, the flesh, and the devil. Read the text with me. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine help shall spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward."

First, in this world, God promises every believer, every sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, light and help. not physical light and not physical health. We live in this age where people preach their health wealth gospel and men somehow equate physical blessings, physical health, and physical prosperity with spiritual blessings, and spiritual health, and spiritual prosperity. That may or may not be the case. When the promise speaks of God giving light and health, he's talking about spiritual light and spiritual health. He's talking about gospel promises. This prophetic promise refers specifically to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. and by whose blood and righteousness sinners are made completely whole, speedily. That is, as quickly as we look to Jesus face by face, we're made whole, just like that. You remember when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness? It came to pass that as soon as anybody looked to that serpent, He was made whole, healed of the fiery plague in his heart, in his body, and in his soul. Even so, the Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up in the gospel, and he tells us, look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none else. And as soon as you look to him, you're made whole, just like that. Made completely, instantly whole before God himself. When the light of the gospel the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines in the heart, then the light of joy and peace and comfort shines in the soul. God's saints, God's people are people who walk in the light as he is in the light. Hold your hands here in Isaiah 58 and turn to 1 John chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1. The scriptures declare, ye are not in darkness. The whole world lies in darkness, but if you're in Christ, you're not in darkness. The whole world is blind, but if you have life and faith in Christ, you see. Bobby read back in the office how Solomon gave thanks to God and God gave him an understanding heart. For the whole world is in ignorance, but if God puts you in Christ, he's given you an understanding heart in the things of God. We walk in the light, you children of the light. Look here in 1 John 1 in verse 5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declaring to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Now what does that mean, walk in the light? light, the light of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ given to us shining forth in our hearts. Now what does it mean to walk in the light? It means two things. Those who are born of God walk in the light of doctrinal purity. I mean by that they walk in the light of divine revelation, believing the word of God and the gospel of God. I realize that in this day people have sloppy, sentimental religion, and they're not interested in doctrine. But I want to tell you something. Without doctrine, there is no spirituality. Without doctrine, there is no understanding of the things of God. Without doctrine, there is no understanding in the Word of God. The word doctrine simply means teaching. And our Lord Jesus came here and taught the doctrine of the gospel. And I as his servant must proclaim to you the doctrine of the gospel so that you walk in the light of doctrinal truth, believing what God has revealed. But there is more to this business of walking in the light than having the right doctrine. Believers walking in the light of doctrinal truth walk in righteousness and true holiness and true godliness. Now, I could spend a long time talking about this, and we talk about it often enough, I suppose, but when I talk about holiness, when the Word of God talks about holiness and righteousness, godliness, we're not talking about a pretense. We're not talking about a show. We're not talking about showing folks how good we are, showing folks how holy we are, showing folks how spiritual and how dedicated we are. Not at all. We're not interested in making a show of religion. To walk in righteousness, really walk in righteousness, to walk in holiness and in godliness is to simply walk in this world, in the uprightness and integrity of your heart, worshiping God, seeking his glory. That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about.

It has nothing to do with a show of religion. It has nothing to do with whether or not you pray when you sit down at the restaurant to eat, or whether you You get together and you decide you're going to dress a certain way and go certain places and eat certain things. That's got nothing whatever to do with godliness. Godliness is walking with God in this world by faith for his honor. That's what it's all about.

Moreover, all who are in Christ being born of God and made partakers of the divine nature through grace have been restored to life and health in him. The Lord promises, then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily. With his stripes we are healed."

Don't ever imagine that the Charismatics have got anything on you. When they talk about physical healing, They talk about miracles they claim to perform. All of the physical healings that took place, all of the miracles that took place wherein our Lord healed men in their bodies were designed to teach us that he who has power to heal the body has power to heal the soul. And Buddy Gardy, he healed your soul. He made you wholesome. You're in Christ. You know what the book says? You're complete in Him.

I stand before you a new man, made new by grace. He has healed me by virtue of His blood atonement. He has poured out His grace in my soul and given me new life. That's what it is to walk in health, spiritual health in this world. God promises every believer the light and life of his free grace in Christ. And now we live. I mean we live. I spent my youth thinking that I was living. Boy, this is living. This is living. Creating misery for yourself and everybody around you. This is living. And one day God invaded my dead, dark, depraved heart and planted His grace in me. And now I'm living. I mean we live in Him. We have the life of God in us for Jesus Christ Himself is the hope of glory who lives within us.

The second thing spoken of in our text is a vanguard, or an advance guard. Now, every army, as it marches, has a vanguard, or an advance guard that marches in the forefront, leading all the rest. They are the ones who step out in the front, and they open up the way They direct all the rest of the army as they march through the particular area to the goal which they are aiming for. And this is what God says to us as we march through this world. Look at our text. And thy righteousness shall go before thee.

Now there is a similar promise given over in Isaiah 52 and verse 12. Isaiah 52 verse 12. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward." So when he speaks of thy righteousness going before you, he is not talking about your works of righteousness, or your righteous character, or your personal righteousness going before you under glory. As a matter of fact, if you read Revelation 14 and verse 13, you will find that John tells us that when the saints die and they enter into heaven, their works follow them, but they don't go before us. Our works in his name, our works of righteous obedience to God, follow us to glory.

But when he speaks of righteousness here, he says, thy righteousness shall go before thee. These words are referring to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. and his righteousness which has been so thoroughly and completely imputed to us that his righteousness is our righteousness. Now get hold of this, it'll help you, oh it'll help you like nothing else will. This is the name whereby he shall be called Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. He who knew no sin, was made sin for us that we might be made, what does the scripture say? The righteousness of God in him.

Now, we are made righteous in exactly the same way and to exactly the same measure as Jesus Christ was made sin. You got that? He stood before God and was made sin for years. When he was made sin, God treated him as the sinner, and God rewarded him according to the multitude of the transgressions imputed to him. He was made And the only way God could in justice punish him for our sins is if he was actually made to be sin for us. It would not be right in justice in any court to punish one man with the infinite wrath of God Almighty when he was not deserving of his wrath. But Jesus Christ was made sin and so was made deserving of God's wrath.

Now here's the glory of it. If righteousness has been imputed to us in exactly the same way, so that now we stand before God on the merit of Jesus Christ the Lord in perfect righteousness, deserving of God's glory, deserving of God's deserving of heaven itself. The scripture says we are made meet to be partakers of the saints in life. Right now, in Jesus Christ, made righteous. So when it says thy righteousness shall go before thee, it is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, our righteousness, and he is indeed our righteousness. He goes before us. for three reasons.

First, as our example, he's the vanguard. Here he is marching in the front. He said, now, you want to know how to live? Do this. You want to know how to behave? Follow me. He said, I'm giving you an example that you should do as I have done unto you. In all things, that's our rule of life. Follow the example of Christ. You read the scriptures. You will find our Lord Jesus was not a man of pretentious, showy religion. There was nothing remarkable about his dress, or about his speech, or about his person, as far as the eye could see. His brothers and sisters didn't see anything remarkable about him.

Our Lord Jesus walks in an example giving us two things particularly, two things. The consecration of himself to the glory of God and love for God and his people. Walk in this world as you ought. Consecrate yourself to God. Love his people. He walks before us as the advance guard, the vanguard, showing us the way to walk. He says, do as I've done to you. He walks before us also as our forerunner, who opens up the way before us, and he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, who has himself claimed heaven in our stead, for he's the forerunner. And thirdly, he goes before us as our mediator to prepare a place for us. He said, I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Now thirdly, the third thing promised in our text is this. The glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Now this word, R-E-R-E-W-A-R-D. is not re-reward as we would commonly pronounce it in modern English. The word is rearward, and it means exactly the same as if it were spelled R-E-A-R-W-A-R-D. It means the glory of the Lord shall bring up the rear. Or as you have the marginal translation, if you have a marginal translation in your Bible, The glory of the Lord shall gather you up.

Now, this is the promise that God makes to us by his prophets. The Lord God will, by virtue of and by the power of his glory, gather all his elect up to heaven, and not even one of them shall perish. This word of promise, the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. is exactly the same thing our Savior says in John 10, 28, when he says, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.

Now, as every marching army has its vanguard and its foot soldiers, so it is necessary that every marching army also have its rearward to protect, defend, and gather up the weak, the wounded, and those who for one reason or another cannot keep up the march and lag behind. That's what the rearward is. These are the soldiers who come behind and the wounded and the weak and those who just simply can't keep up the rearward guard. They gather them up. They seek to it that they too march in possession of all things with the completed army.

Now let me show you just two things with regard to this promise. May God graciously seal them to our hearts. First, in this place, the Lord God promises that he will take care of and protect the weak and feeble among his saints. He gives assurance to those who are in the rear of the army. And this word of assurance includes all the army. He says, now I'm promising that I will gather up the rear, I'll gather up the lagging flanks, and if the lagging flanks go in and possess the land of Thomas, then certainly all the rest of the army will go in as well. So the promise that is made here is a promise to the weak and feeble among his saints.

John Gill exactly explained with brevity exactly what this passage is talking about. He says he gathers his people to himself. He protects and defends them. He takes care of the weak and feeble that are straggling behind. He brings them up, being the rearward and saves them. Now this promise, particularly, is intended by God to comfort and encourage those who normally would not be comforted are encouraged by others. It is intended to be a word of comfort and encouragement to those who cannot likely find any comfort for themselves in the promises that God gives. They are likely to be judged severely by their brethren, God forgive us, and likely to be judged severely by themselves as well. It is a promise of grace, not to those who march boldly in the front, in the thick of the battle, or even to those who faithfully stay by the stuff as David's servants were commanded to do, but to those who seem to themselves and often seem to others to be useless weights and drains upon the church and cause of Christ.

Let me see if I can be pointed and clear. This is God's promise to you, brother and sister fearful hearts. Some of you I know are fearful of heart. Your faith is true. You trust the Lord Jesus Christ. but you're ever full of doubts and fears. You ought to be strong. I tell you that repeatedly. Oh, the Lord God, our Savior, is worthy of implicit confidence and implicit faith. You ought to be strong, but your faith is weak. You live in great trouble of heart because you have no assurance of a saving interest in Christ. And you miss much happiness, joy, and peace because of that lack of confidence and assurance. We sang a little bit ago, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. I know some saints who would give anything in the world, if in their hearts they could

Now I would do nothing to encourage that fearfulness. I would do nothing to encourage that unbelief. I don't know another word for it. I do not in any way wish to countenance or excuse weak faith. But I do understand it. I do understand it. Because while I may not struggle as you do with that particular thing, my faith is terribly weak in many other areas very, very often. If it weren't, I'd never fret. If it weren't, I'd never be afraid. If it weren't, I'd never be uneasy. I'd never be uncomfortable.

So, when you start thinking about and having hard thoughts toward those who speak of having struggled with assurance, understand and remember, you too have weak faith. Not one of us has faith that is as it ought to be. Not one of us has the strength, the faith that we ought to have before God. Many in the bold of Jesus, full assurance cannot boast. Yet, according to his promise, none of these can e'er be lost. By his mercy, deeply graven on his hands, their names remain.

" Some of God's saints go through the Valley of Despond, the Slough of Despond, as Bunyan described it in his Pilgrim's Progress. But then some of God's saints carry the Slough of Despond in them.

are weak in faith but very strong in foreseeing evil. Weak in faith but very strong in foreseeing trouble and difficulty. Weak in faith but very strong in perceiving things out yonder that seem dark and foreboding for them. They carry the slaw of despond in them. And yet, God is to you the rearward. Your faith may be only as a grain of mustard seed. But if you do trust the Lord Jesus Christ ever so slightly, ever so slightly.

Preacher, you oughtn't to say that. Our Savior did, didn't he? He said, your faith is just as a grain of mustard seed. If you truly trust Jesus Christ ever so slightly, the Lord God says, the glory of the Lord

You see, salvation comes not to assurance of faith, but to faith. Salvation is promised not to confident faith, but to faith. Salvation is promised not to those who believe and have no doubts and no troubles. It's promised to those who believe. Do you believe?

I have no hope before God but the righteousness and shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I don't trust that righteousness, I don't trust that blood, and I don't trust that Savior as He is worthy to be trusted. But I do trust Him. Do you?

God says, I'll gather you up. I'll be your rearward. This promise is to you also.

who have a very low esteem of yourselves and think of yourselves as a hindrance rather than a help in the cause of Christ. I have found over the years, usually, those who have the lowest opinion of themselves and imagine that they are the most useless in the cause of Christ are most useful. And those who think themselves to be something, those who imagine that they really are somebody in the kingdom of God, usually we get along better without them. That's just usually the way it is.

but still those who look upon themselves as being less than the least in the kingdom of God. They look upon themselves as lagging stragglers in the army of heaven. The Lord gives this word of promise to you. He says, the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

Many think they're too poor to help. I don't have anything. My wife and I, we just struggled trying to make ends meet. What can we do? What can we do? There was a widow whom our Savior observed in the temple who came and put two lives in the offering box. And the Lord said to his disciples, said, now, fellas, you want to learn something about giving? Come here, I'm going to tell you what giving is. You've seen all those fellows who came out of their riches and their abundance and who cast in their great gifts that men so highly esteem? He says, this lady, she outshines them all because they from their abundance have given theirs. She with her two mites has given her all.

Give your all to the Savior. I mean give yourself to him. And giving yourself to him, you'll serve him well in his kingdom where he puts you. You don't have to be wealthy to serve God. As a matter of fact, not many wealthy men do. Not many wealthy people do. I have found over the years that most of the time when people have got a lot of money, it's because they want it that way. They didn't get it by accident. and they're not likely to part with it quickly.

Sometimes people think, well, I have too black a past to be useful. What can I do? Nobody listened to me. Nobody paid any attention to me. There was a woman who was a sinner. When she saw the Lord Jesus, Sitting down to supper in the Pharisee's house, she said, I'm going to go in there, listen to it. And as she stood behind him, her heart began to break and the tears began to flow. She took out a basket box of ointments, very precious, and anointed him with fragrance filled the room. She washed his feet with her tears, wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet. She's the only woman in all the Word of God of whom our Savior said, wherever the gospel is preached, tell their story. She's the only one. She did what nobody else could have done. She came to the Savior. knowing his word, knowing his grace, knowing his glory, and anointed him for his burial in anticipation of his death.

Sometimes you think, well, you know, I live in obscurity. Nobody knows who I am. What am I going to do? There was a little Hebrew maid, a little maiden girl, I suppose, Maybe she might have been Carrie Barclay's age, maybe a little younger. I'm just supposing, but a young lady. She had been carried away into slavery, down into Syria, and her master nailed her. Oh, he was a great body searcher. He was stricken with leprosy, and nobody could help him. And she said, I would to God. You can meet up with the prophet of God. There's a prophet. There's a prophet in our land, a prophet of our God. He'll take care of you. And that little Hebrew maiden gave a word of counsel to that great general in her obscurity by which that man came to know the Lord God Almighty in his saving mercy.

Sometimes God's saints think they're too unworthy. Too unworthy to pray, too unworthy to receive the Lord's table, too unworthy to preach, too unworthy to witness, too unworthy to serve. Now listen to me. You listen carefully to me. You're unworthy. You are unworthy. I'm unworthy. I have no right in myself. I have no right to stand here and talk to you about righteousness and faith and the glory of God and the service of God. My soul, I've got no right to do that. I have no right to lead this congregation to the throne of grace and prayer and faith and so on. Believe or don't. I have no right in myself to eat this bread and drink this wine.

A preacher, how can you possibly even think about doing it? My worthiness is at the right hand of God. My worthiness is Jesus Christ the Lord. We are accepted of God in Him. And if you trust Him, you too are worthy to approach God and to serve God and to minister to the saints of God as God gives you opportunity.

Now, I grant, my brother, my sister, you may be in the rear of the army, but if you trust Christ, if you follow the Lord, you're in his ranks, and he will surely gather you up to heaven as he gathered up your substitute, his son, the Lord of Glory. But most particularly, I am sure that this is God's promise to every fallen saint. This is God's promise regarding every fallen believer. The glory of the Lord is thy rearward. The glory of the Lord will gather you up, though they have wandered from him. The Lord's word is not a word of wrath, but of grace. His voice is not the voice of condemnation, but the voice of God.

You remember when God sent Nathan to David? Nathan exposed David's sin. David said, I've sinned. You remember what Nathan said to him? The Lord has put away your sin. Oh, bless, bless you. is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Now let me run the risk of being scandalized and tell you just how that's to be understood. If Ron Wood there is a believer, I have every reason to say he's one of God's children, God won't charge John Wood for sin. Ever. For any reason. No matter what. That's not too much is it? He won't do it. Not if he's a believer. Not if you're in Christ. He charged your sin to your son. He'll never charge it to you again.

I will do nothing to encourage men in sin You who know me and know the message of this pulpit know well I'll do nothing to encourage it. But I do guarantee you this. I'll say this since Bob and Sally are not here and I wouldn't say it publicly here at all to remind them of their pain. You know they haven't heard from their oldest daughter in years. their hearts ache with it. If they could somehow find anybody who could go to that girl in their name and say to her, honey, our love hasn't changed. It's still the same. Come on home. There will be no countenancing of her evil. There will be no countenancing of her horrible behavior. There's no approval of that. But I guarantee you, Bob and Sally would give anything in the world if somebody would just communicate that message to that girl. Our love hasn't changed. You come on home. The door's open. And I'm here to tell you, my fallen brother, my fallen sister, if you are. If you are gods, if you do indeed trust the Lord Jesus Christ, if you're washed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, and born of his Spirit, no matter what you've done, no matter how long, the glory of the Lord will gather you up."

Locke was a stagnant man. I declare I can't think of a good thing, whatever it is, that I read about in this book. I don't see one thing in this book that's good and noble that Locke did except he vexed his righteous soul from day to day with those folks down in South. That's the only thing I read. And that in itself not too good because he put himself in Sodom. I don't see anything noble or commendable about Ron. But I read in the book of God, he's a righteous man. And he's seated today with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Jesus Christ himself washed in the blood and robed in righteousness.

David failed. If David could speak to you, David would say, my little children, these things are unto you that you see not. I stand here to tell you, we have an advocacy provider. Peter denied his Lord, but the Lord still gathered him up. He still gathered him up. But what do we say to all this? I beseech you, therefore, my brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves for living sacrifice unto the Lord. And be not conformed unto this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your you may do that which is good, acceptable, and sound. This is your reason for suffering. God will correct you. Yes, he will. But he'll not cut you off. He'll discipline you. He certainly will. But he won't destroy you. It'll never happen.

John Newton wrote these words,
once a sinner near despair,
sought by mercy, seek by prayer,
mercy heard and set him free.
Lord, that mercy came to me.
Many days have passed since then,
many changes I've seen,
yet have been upheld till now.
Who could hold me up but Thou?
Thou hast helped in every need,
yet more help, my Lord, I need.
After so much mercy passed,
Thou will keep and hold me fast.

All right, secondly, and very quickly, that which is our rearward, that which is our assurance, that the Lord will yet gather us up into heaven, is his glory. The glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Now, the glory of the Lord is what he is. It is his name, his attributes, his honor. It is the glory of the Lord that will gather us up at last. The glory of the Lord is his sovereign decree. I'll be their God. Nothing's gonna interfere with that. His glory will stay. The glory of the Lord is His immutability. I am the Lord. I change. You change. And I change. He doesn't change. Therefore you sons of Jacob are not compared. The glory of the Lord is His omnipotence. Our Savior said, none can pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. The glory of the Lord is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Savior, by which the glory of God is revealed to men. And the Lord Jesus says, down my life for the sheep." Now, he's either going to have his sheep, or lose his sheep. The glory of the Lord is his grace. He says, I have called you, and you shall be to the praise of the glory of his grace. For with the Lord God will end the last days. take such things as we are, and spread us before wandering worlds, and say, look here, for my grace is gone. The glory of the Lord is his face.

Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians 5. I've often told you there are a few verses of scripture that early in my life as a believer, when I was just a boy, 17 years old, going through some struggles, different times, God just graciously sealed them to my heart just at the time when I needed them. One day, Enough said, all right. I had some difficulty. Had some trouble at school. And I thought, well, that's it. I ain't going to make it. And I read this passage here in First Thessalonians, Chapter 5. The very God of peace sanctify you, O Lamb. Verse 23, I'm sorry. And I pray God your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that about killed me till I got to verse 24. Faithful is he that calleth you, you also will do. The glory of the Lord is his faithfulness. not your faithfulness, not my faithfulness, his faithfulness. He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

One more text. Look in Hosea chapter 14. The glory of the Lord is his free love. The glory of the Lord will be thy rearward, the glory of the Lord will gather you up. Listen to what he said, Hosea 14, verse 4, I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely. His glory is his free love, absolutely free. absolutely unqualified, absolutely unconditioned.

Now, I've done the best I can to describe our Savior as one who is worthy of implicit love and faith. Will you come to Him? You who have never proved His grace, come to Him now. Prove it for yourself. And you, who have followed me, and you think you'll ever hear me again, come to it, and I'll tell you, prove it wrong. He says I will not do it. I'll deal with it next time.

The Rereward

What does the Bible say about spiritual warfare?

How do we know Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers?

Why is Christian fellowship important?

What promises does God make to the faithful?

How should Christians view doctrines in faith?

What does the glory of the Lord signify in our lives?

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