Five Sovereign Declarations

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible declares that God speaks and acts with ultimate authority, ensuring every declaration He makes will be fulfilled. God's sovereignty is a major theme throughout Scripture, and it underscores His absolute authority over creation and His power to accomplish His will. In Isaiah 45:23-25, God proclaims, 'I have sworn by myself; the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return.' His declarations are irrevocable, and every knee will bow before Him, demonstrating His reign over all. Psalm 29 emphasizes the majesty and power of God's voice, affirming that where the word of the King is, there is authority. Therefore, God's sovereignty not only speaks to His power but also to the certainty that His promises and declarations will come to pass.

Q: How do we know that every knee will bow to God?

Scripture assures us that every knee will bow to God, as confirmed in Isaiah and reiterated by Paul in Philippians. The certainty that every knee will bow before God is grounded in the authoritative declarations made in Scripture. In Isaiah 45:23, God asserts, 'unto me every knee shall bow.' This promise is echoed in Philippians 2:9-11, where Paul writes that God has highly exalted Jesus and that at His name, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. This reflects the sovereign plan of God, highlighting that whether willingly through faith or unwillingly through judgment, all will ultimately recognize His lordship. The fulfillment of this promise demonstrates God's omnipotence and the futility of resisting His authority.

Q: Why is justification important for Christians?

Justification is vital for Christians as it signifies being declared righteous before God through faith in Jesus Christ. Justification is a foundational doctrine for Christians, signifying that believers are declared righteous before God solely on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ. As expressed in Romans 5:1, 'Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' This secure standing is a gift from God, made possible through Christ's atoning sacrifice. In Isaiah 45:25, it states, 'In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified.' This emphasizes that justification is not based on human merit but is a sovereign act of grace where God declares the ungodly righteous as they trust in Christ. Understanding justification not only brings peace but also assurance of eternal life, allowing believers to live confidently in their relationship with God.

Q: What does it mean to glory in the Lord?

To glory in the Lord means to acknowledge and celebrate His grace and goodness in our lives. Glorying in the Lord is a profound expression of worship and acknowledgment of His sovereignty and grace. In Isaiah 45:25, it is stated, 'and shall glory,' which signifies that those who are justified and find strength in the Lord will naturally respond with praise. This glorying involves recognizing the great things the Lord has done as expressed in Psalm 126:3, 'The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.' It is a call to celebrate God’s attributes, His redemptive work, and His faithfulness. In our lives, glorying in the Lord becomes an outpouring of gratitude, resulting in a life that seeks to honor Him in every aspect. Our ultimate aim as believers is to bring glory to God, reflecting His grace in a world that desperately needs to see His light.

Q: How does God's grace influence our ability to come to Him?

God's grace is essential; He draws people to Himself, making them willing to come through His sovereign power. God's grace is the unmerited favor that enables individuals to come to Him. In John 6:37, Jesus states, 'All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.' This indicates that it is through divine grace that one is drawn to Christ. The role of God’s power in transformation cannot be understated; as shared in John 6:44, 'No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.' Additionally, in Isaiah 45:23, God affirms that men will come to Him. This demonstrates that any response to God or desire to seek Him is a result of His initiating grace. It underscores the importance of God's sovereignty in salvation, as only by His grace can one be enabled to come willingly and joyfully to Christ.

I invite you to turn in your
Bibles this morning back to the 45th chapter of the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah 45. I'd like to read verse 23 through
verse 25. I have sworn by myself the word is gone out of my mouth
in righteousness and shall not return. that unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, In the
Lord have I righteousness and strength. Even to him shall men
come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel be justified, and shall glory. I want to speak primarily this
morning on the last two verses of Isaiah 45, on five sovereign
declarations that we find in these two verses, five declarations
given by a sovereign God. Now, you surely noticed, as our
brother read this chapter to us this morning, how the Lord,
through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, how he, God, speaks like
a God, as he is entitled to do, because he is God. And God speaks as a sovereign,
as a king, as a God in this chapter. Now, we read in other places
in the scripture that where the word of the king is, there is
power, there is authority. And David said in the 29th Psalm,
in verse 4, Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord is powerful. The
voice of the Lord is full of majesty. And we can hear that
powerful voice, that majestic voice of the Lord in the reading
of the 45th chapter of the book of Isaiah. It's there, the voice
of the Lord and the power of that voice. Now, the Lord here
speaks about men coming to him and confessing to him and obeying
him without inserting any if, as to their own will in the matter,
or raising any question as to whether he can accomplish what
he declares or what he promises that he will do. Look at verse
23, and the Lord lays here in this verse unusual emphasis upon
the irrevocable which he has sworn, and says that he will
never recall the word which is gone forth in righteousness out
of his mouth, that unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue
shall swear." Look at that. That unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear. The Lord said the word is gone
out of my mouth. The word has gone out of my mouth
in righteousness, and I'm not going to revoke it, and it's
not coming back to me void. This word will be accomplished. Every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear. Now Paul, he took up this particular
verse of scripture in Philippians 2, and in verses 9, 10, and 11
of that chapter, Listen to this. He said, wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
hath given him a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and
things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue,
in verse 11 there, should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Can he do it? Can he do it? Can he bring every knee to bow?
Can he cause every tongue to confess? that he is Lord, that
Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Can he do that?
Well, he speaks as the God he is, he speaks here as a God,
he speaks divinely, and he fulfills, surely, he can fulfill what he
has declared. Surely, if God said Ebeneez is
going to bow, I'm not going to take it back. I said it, and
it come forth out of my mouth in righteousness. I ought to
have said it. Every knee ought to bow, and
every tongue ought to swear to the fact that I'm God, there
is none else, and that my Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He
is God in the flesh. Every knee is going to bow, and
every tongue is going to confess that, and it most surely will
come to pass. He speaks in majesty. He speaks in sovereignty. And
he says this because I'm the only supreme God and governor
of the universe. It's going to happen. This is
going to come to pass. Now, there are two ways in which
men shall be made to bow the knee before the Lord. There are
two ways. Some of them will bow unwillingly. They will bow unwillingly when
they feel the weight of the judgment of God, when they feel the weight
of the iron rod of the Lord, they will bow but unwillingly. And others shall bow joyfully
before Him when they feel the power of His grace. Or when the
grace of the gospel comes to their heart, when the light of
the gospel comes, and when the power of God comes upon them
to make them willing, that day They shall bow. They shall bow
to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we've said before,
it is not if you bow. We've told you this a number
of times. It is not if you bow, it's when you bow. My friend,
you're going to bow. And the best advice I could give
you is to begin now, as it were, to exercise your knee, because
it's going to bow to the authority of this God, this sovereign God
of the Bible. Now listen to me. Listen to Romans
14, verses 7 and 8 and 9. Now hear these words. For none
of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live
unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end,
Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord
both of the dead and the living. Now then, he is everybody's God. That's what that means. For to
this end, Christ both died, rose, and revived, that he might be
Lord both of the dead and the living. Now you can say that's
the spiritual dead. and the spiritual, those that
are spiritually alive, and that's true. God is everybody's God. That's just Romans 14 verses
7, 8, and 9 that I've just read to you. And in the 9th verse,
he says that Christ has died, that He rose, and that He revived
to the end that He might be everybody's Lord. That the God of the dead
and the living And even if it were to mean the God of those
that are already died and their souls have been separated from
the body and their bodies are in the grave and their soul is
wherever it is, whether it's with the Lord or whether it's
in hell, The Lord is the God of the dead, and He's the God
also of those that are yet alive, breathing the breath of life,
and those that are His, and those that are not His, that are still
in this world. And so whichever way you want
to read it, the Lord is God over both the dead and the living. He's everybody's God. And everybody
ought to bow to his authority. Only those who are in Jesus Christ,
only those who have the grace of God who comes to their heart,
only those who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, only those
who are called affectionately by the gospel will bow willingly. And the rest of them, God will
force it out of them, He will cause them to bow, they must
bow, and they will surrender to Him and confess all along
what they ought to have owned in their lives, that Jesus Christ
is indeed Lord God Almighty. Now men are called upon today
to make Jesus Lord. I've heard a number of preachers
and read after a number of preachers and even seen signs in church
yards That said, make Jesus Lord. Make Him Lord. And I often chuckle
and say to myself, well, God has beat you to it. God has beat
you to it. Because God has already made
him everybody's Lord. And best thing you could do is
just bow to his authority. In Acts 2 and 36 it says, Therefore,
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, God has made him both
Lord and Christ. God has made him Lord, and so
he's your Lord by the virtue of the fact that he went to the
glory tree, that he died on that tree and shed his blood in order
that he might be exalted and have a name which is above every
name, and that he might be your Lord. You're under his control,
and it's whatever he does with you. It's not what you do with
him, it's what he does with you. because he is the sovereign. So I read then with delight the
expressions here of my text as to the decrees and the determinations
and the promises and the declarations of the God of grace who affirms
that men shall say, listen to it here in verse 24, surely shall
one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength Surely shall one
say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength, even to him shall
men come. These are sovereign declarations. These are declarations of a king. These are the declarations of
the governor, the one who is in control. These are the declarations
of the Lord, don't you see? And he says, even to Him, speaking
of Christ, shall men come, and all that are incensed against
Him, they shall be ashamed. That is, after they come to Him,
and after they receive the benefits of the cross, then they'll be
ashamed. Now those that are believers
are not ashamed that they're believers, but they will be ashamed
of themselves and of their nature which is contrary to God, and
they'll be ashamed that they ever, that they ever had enmity
in their heart toward this God. And in the Lord shall all the
seed of Israel, in the Lord shall all of the Israel of God. In the Lord shall all of those
that are of the promised seed, in the Lord shall all of those
be justified and shall glory. These then are the five declarations. May the Lord be pleased to bless
us as we consider them. Now the first of these is that
there shall be a people who will see that their righteousness
and strength must be found in God. There will be a people that
will come to see that it's in the Lord that we have righteousness
and strength. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is
spoken of in the Bible as being the Lord, our righteousness. He is referred to as being God's
righteousness. Men by nature, they fancy that
they can find righteousness in their own doings, that they can
find righteous or that they can become righteous through their
own fleshly obedience unto the law of God. They think that they
can somehow or other establish a righteousness of their own,
a righteousness which will equal the demands that God has made
of them. But beloved, the Lord's people
know that the work of righteousness has been carried out to the full
only by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they're content to
be the recipients of God's righteousness by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's people come to know that.
Sure, there's going to be a people that is going to know this truth.
They're going to believe in imputed righteousness. They're going
to believe that God makes people righteous on the basis of faith,
and that men and women come into right standing with God through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 1, 16 and 17, Paul
said, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it
is the power of God unto salvation, unto every one that believeth,
unto the Jew first, and also unto the Greek. For therein is
the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is
written, that just shall live by faith. And so it says to us
that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, and
men shall live by faith. They live by believing God just
like Abraham did, and they're made righteous just like old
Abraham was made righteous, and it's imputed to them. They don't
work for it. It's not to him that worketh,
but to him that believeth, on him that justifieth the ungodly.
His faith is counted for righteousness. Romans chapter 5. Now listen
to me as I go on here. In 2 Corinthians 5 and 21, for
he hath made him, Paul says, to be sin for us. He knew no
sin. but that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. There shall never cease, and
this is the meaning of this verse of scripture, this statement
here, this declaration. There shall never be, there shall
never cease from off the face of the earth a people who shall
feel that all of the righteousness is found in the Lord, our righteousness,
who justifies the undaunted. There will always be a people
on earth who believes that. That their righteousness is found
in the Lord. Their strength is found in the
Lord. They shall find their strength
in Him. They shall be conscious of their
own weakness. Everybody that God saves becomes
conscious of their own weakness. That they're born with the inability
the inability to choose God. They're born with the inability
to do that which would please a thrice holy God. They're born
with this spiritual inability. They got hands, they got feet,
they got a head, they got brains, they got eyes and ears, but they
have not the spiritual ability to exercise a free will toward
God. Every man, his will is biased. Everybody, every natural man
has a will that is biased towards sin. And he will not choose God,
he will not choose what is right because his will is dead and
it is bent towards sin and toward rebellion against God. These
people that he's talking about here that will find their strength
in the Lord, they are those who have come to receive the righteousness
of God, and in receiving that, have discovered their own innate
weakness. Now listen to me, for when we
were yet without strength, Romans 5 and 6, For when we were yet
without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. When we were without strength.
Have you met anybody without strength? No. Everybody's strong. I can do my part, preacher. What
do you want me to do? Push a peanut around from here
to Great Falls with my nose? What do you want me to do, preacher?
I can do it. I'm up to it. Listen. It's after we're converted,
after the Lord does a work of grace in our hearts, that we
become conscious of our weakness. And we see that it was when we
were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Now they know that they have
no strength to run in the ways of holiness by themselves. These
people that we're talking about here, they have no strength to
run in the ways of God. They will falter, they will fail,
they will stumble. Scripture speaks of the righteous
falling seven times and the Lord lifting them up. These people
know they have no strength in themselves, but they trust God
to uphold them and preserve them in the ways of integrity until
the end. Our perseverance is of God. No man can persevere apart from
God enabling him to. And the Lord must give us daily
grace and daily help to do that. Every believer that I'm addressing
here this morning can say in the Lord, I have righteousness
and I have strength. But listen, you have neither
righteousness nor strength apart from Him. And every one of you
this morning, if you've been genuinely converted, you know
it. You know it. You know that you're
a bankrupt yourself. You know that you don't have
any strength yourself. You've tried to be faithful.
You've tried it on your own and you know you can't make it. You
gotta keep crying out to the strong for strength, and you
gotta keep looking to the Lord, and you know you have no righteousness. Further, it's your delight to
confess. to confess this morning, I'm
one of them, that I don't expect to find righteousness or strength
anywhere else but in the Lord. That's where I expect to find,
that's where I've been led, and that's where I've found righteousness
and strength. Besides that, they shall not
only know and feel it, but they shall be prepared to openly avow
this truth. Surely, shall one say, Surely,
shall one say, and one is saying it this morning, and it's all
because of that sovereign declaration and decree of God from old eternity,
that this man is standing before you today, saying that in the
Lord we have righteousness and strength. Listen to me now. Some
are timid. and some won't open their mouth.
Some may know this truth and will not speak of it, but I thank
God that there will always be a people that's brave enough
to stand up for the doctrine of imputed righteousness there
always will be. God will have his people in the
world, and their tongue will be loose, and they will openly
avow, and they'll surely say, in the Lord there's righteousness
and strength, and nothing, even persecution, will not stop them.
The flames have tried to stop men from saying that in the Lord
there is righteousness and strength. And the flames have not been
able to extinguish this truth. Men are still preaching it today.
And God has reserved unto himself a people who will be brave for
him even to the end. God will put strength in them,
and even though they're threatened, even though they're threatened
with being taken, their lives being taken, they'll be brave.
And they'll say, surely, surely in the Lord have I righteousness
and strength. Now then, the second declaration
is this, even to him shall men come. Now, I must remark again
how the Lord speaks here like the God he is. He says unto him,
even to him shall men come. Even to him shall men come. Someone says, perhaps, preacher,
they will come. Perhaps. I say, and you say,
well I suppose that they might, that is if they would be willing
to come. But if they're not willing to
come, what then, preacher? even to him shall men come. But they will come because they
shall be made willing in the day of his power. The Lord's
shall come will carry the day, brother, sister. Remember that
you're living in a day when our Lord reigns. He reigns in absolute
sovereignty. Pardon me. And he will accomplish
his purpose by and through his effectual grace and power he
will bring his own unto himself. I say the Lord shall come will
carry the day. Now in John 6 and 37 it says
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and they that
come to me I will in no wise cast out again we find in verse
44 and 45 he said no man can come to me except the father
which has sent me draw him and I will raise him up I will raise
him up at the last day it is written in the prophets and they
shall be all taught of God all of my people shall be taught
by me they shall be all taught of God And every man therefore
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, does what? Cometh
unto me. Cometh unto me. And then over
in the, a little further over in verse 65, and he said, Therefore
said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were
given to him of my Father. The only way men will come is
because the Lord said they would, and because the Lord plans to
teach them unto Himself. He's going to teach them, and
they're going to come to Christ. They have been given to the Lord
Jesus Christ, and so they will come unto Him. This is very important
for us to see this. The responsibility of men coming
to Christ is not the church's responsibility, although we preach
the gospel, and as the bride, we say, Come! We say, Come! Come! and drink. Come, whosoever
will, come and drink of the water of life. That's the bride saying
come. But when it boils right down,
the actual coming to Christ, the responsibility is of the
Father. No man can come except the Father
draw him, except the Father teach him. There's got to be something
goes on inside the heart of the sinner that teaches that sinner
and brings that sinner unto the Lord Jesus Christ, even unto
him shall men come, as thou hast given him power, John 17 and
2, over all flesh. Thou hast given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him. The Lord Jesus said, You give
me power over all flesh. I'm everybody's God. And I can
take a poor sinner and I can give him eternal life. I can
do that. I've got power to do that. And
I can do it. I can save any sinner I want
to save. Life is in me and I can do what
I will with that life. And if you ever get life, you've
got to get it from Christ. Because He's the one that has
life in Himself. And He gives it unto men. It's a gift. And He gives it
unto men. And He's got the power over all
flesh. And He can do what He will with
men. He can damn you or save you. And He can certainly save
you according as the Father has willed and purposed it in old
eternity as He gives you unto Christ. And Jesus says, I can
give eternal life to as many as you've given to me. Whoever
it is, I can give it to them. And I will give it to them. That's
John 17 and 2. You better get your Bibles down
and begin to read the Bible. The God of the Bible is an absolute
sovereign. And Jesus Christ, listen to me,
even to Him shall men come. Jesus Christ is the temple in
which all believers meet. Everybody, all believers will
meet in Jesus Christ. They'll all be brought to Him.
They will be made to believe and able to believe, and they
will be led effectively to the temple of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will be saved, you must
get to God in Christ. Let others go where they will.
We will go to Christ if we be taught to Him and the disciples
most surely will. And Peter said, To whom shall
we go, Lord? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We'll come to Christ because
we've been taught to Him and we're still coming. Wherefore,
the Bible says in Hebrews 7 and 25, He is able also to save to
the uttermost all who come to God by Him, seeing that He ever
liveth to make intercession for them. Even to Him shall all men
come. You say, I'll pray about it,
preacher. I'll pray about it. I pray by all means, but praying
will not save you. And if you must pray, and you
say, I'm going to be praying, then you better pray this prayer.
Draw me, and I will run after you. But only as the Lord draws
us will we run after Him. Is that right? Even to Him shall
men come. That's a second sovereign declaration
of the Lord. Now the third is this. that those
who do come shall be ashamed of their former opposition unto
God. Now all that are incensed against
him shall be ashamed. Now let the potsherds of the
earth strive with the potsherds of the earth, but woe unto that
man who strives with his maker. Woe unto that man who says, what
begettest thou, or what makest thou of the work? Well, you have
no hands. You haven't made anything that
amounts to anything. Woe be unto that man that opposes
God, that stands against God. There is never a soul that comes
to Jesus Christ Never a soul that gets to Christ savingly
thus does not soon begin to be ashamed with a blessed and holy
shame of having possessed a nature that is contrary to God. Have
you ever just simply literally shed tears that you had a nature
in you that was contrary to God? Now does it bother you that you,
a puny creature of the dust, a wiggling maggot, a worm of
the dust, would ever oppose God. That you would ever be incensed
against Him. Listen to me, the Bible says
in Romans 8 and 7, the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is ridiculous, my friend,
but it is true that puny creatures, they are angry against God, they're
at enmity against God. Can you imagine that? Can you
imagine an insect? Can you imagine a flea being
angry with a man? Can you imagine this puny creature
man being angry with his God? Now some are angry against God's
providence mostly for the card that they have been dealt in
life. I have known people, the fact is I just heard a man say
yesterday He said, well, somebody said, are you a believer? And
he said, well, he said, I got an awful lot of reason not to
be. An awful lot of reason not to be a believer. Now listen
to me. You may be angry with God this
morning for the lot that's been dealt to you in this life. You
may say, well, I'm just flat mad. And there's a lot of people
in this world that are. They're angry with God. And they'd
stick a butcher knife in the back of God if they could get
to Him. Yes, they would. And cast Him down off of the
throne. And crawl up on there themselves. Do you know that
the essence of sin is wanting to go into the God business yourself?
You just want things different. You want this to be, that to
be, and you're mad at God because it's not worked out like you
wanted it to, and because it's not the way. You've been dealt
a card in life, and you say, I'm somewhat aggravated with
God about all of this. You're all perturbed about the
providence of God. Now, there's men in this world,
women in this world, and they'll tell you openly, they will not
forgive God. They will not forgive God. There are people whose loved
ones are taken away from them. They won't forgive God. They
will not. They're going to live in rebellion
until God takes them out of this world, as if they could forgive
God. There's no one here that I know
of that could ever be on a level equal with God where they could
forgive God. Opportunity. They'd be His God. And they would rule over Him
if they could. There are people that are incensed
against God. And I think maybe on account
of His holy law, there's some people that are put out, said
the law is too strict. The law is too strict. I can't
do that. I mean, how are you going to
live in this world and keep that law? Well, my friend, listen
to me now. I'll tell you something. You're
faced with that law. You're faced with that law. What
God said, there isn't anything wrong with the law. There's nothing
wrong with the law. The law is spiritual. Your problem
is you're carnal and you're fleshly. That's what's wrong with you.
I'll tell you this, what a glorious thing it is when we discover
that the Lord Jesus Christ, that He kept that law. That He satisfied
every jot and tittle of that law. That He fulfilled that law. That His life was a vicarious
life. He lived for me. He lived that
law in my place. He lived it! For me, in order
that I might have a perfect righteousness to stand before God in, Jesus
lived that law. But there are some people that
you see, they don't understand that. They don't see that. And
all they can see is standing before God, giving account of
them commandments. I'll tell you, that's a fearsome
and awful thing to be facing. To face a God that says, I'm
going to judge you according to your works based on my holy
law. I'm going to judge you in righteousness
and you're going to have to give an account. for your sin and
men will tremble and say that's too much to expect from any man
that he should have to keep that law. Well I'll tell you this,
if you don't get into a substitute, you better keep that law or you're
going to hell for sure. That's the only way for you to
get to heaven is to be perfect. perfect as God is, and in Jesus
Christ, praise God, we're as holy as the Holy One. We have
His holy garment on, the garment of salvation, and we stand before
God perfect and complete in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, true
believers, they don't want to be reminded of their thoughts,
and you may even feel bad toward me for reminding you this morning
of the hard things and the hard speeches that you said when you
were lost. And you're ashamed of it now.
You're ashamed of the attitude you used to have toward the Lord.
And listen, true believers are glad the war is over. They're
glad that there's quiet now. and that they are at rest, for
they are brought to the fair haven of gospel security and
joy. Oh, what a melting thing the
love of God is to our hearts when rebels see what the Lord
has done for us, how it melts our hearts and makes us ashamed
of what we were when we were in a state of nature. When we
find that He loved us even while we were in rebellion against
Him, that He died for us when we were dead, in trespasses and
sins, that He had our names engraven upon the palms of His hands,
and He knew us, though we did not know Him. And that's referred
to in the 45th chapter here of the book of Isaiah. He knew us
even before we knew Him. He loved us when we did not love
Him. And I remember what the Lord
said to Jeremiah. He said, Before I formed you
in the belly, I knew you. I knew you before you was ever
conceived in the womb. I knew you. I knew you. And I had already ordained you
to be a prophet unto the nations before you were ever conceived
in the womb. I knew you. And whenever a believer
finds that out, oh, when he finds that out, that the Lord knew
him, he knew him in the sense that God had given him in an
intimate way unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was known by God
before the foundation of the world. Oh, when you come to see
that, oh, this free grace and dying love, that there's been
a shelter provided for us in Jesus Christ, and He's the shelter
that we need in the time of storm and that that's been provided
for us. Oh, how that will cause us to
bite our lips and cover our eyes with deep humiliation. We're
ashamed of ever, ever being in rebellion against this God that
loves us. And that's what I wanted to say
about that declaration there that, and all that are incensed
against him shall be ashamed. They'll be ashamed. Now then,
let's go to the fourth declaration, and that is that the Lord's people
shall all be justified. Listen to it here. It says, In
the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified. Now, I want you to turn to Romans
chapter 9 and look at verse 7 and 8. You have to do that or you
won't understand this verse of Scripture. Romans chapter 9,
verse 7 and 8. Look at it with me. Neither because
they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in
Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, the fleshly descendants of Abraham, these are not the
children of God. They are not God's children,
but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For
this is the word of promise, at this time will I come and
Sarah shall have a son." Isaac was the miracle, the miracle
son of Sarah and Abraham. And all of the seed of God, all
of the true Israel of God, all of the Israel of God is the children
of promise. Those that are born miraculously
by the new birth. Those that are brought out of
sin into the Lord Jesus Christ and find life and liberty in
Him. And so in the Lord shall all
of these children of the promise be justified. Be justified. Now what is meant by our being
justified? It means, now you listen to me
carefully, it means that we are made and constituted just before
God. Well, you say, can that be done? That we can be made and constituted
just before God? Can an unjust person be made
just in the sight of God? How can a man who is born of
a woman be clean? How can a man be just before
God? Well, it is done as the text
says, now listen to this, he said, in the Lord, in the Lord
shall all the seed be justified. In the Lord. Now the prophet
here means to teach us that the Lord Jesus Christ stands in the
sinner's place and puts the sinner in his place. Now did you get
that? This is what the prophet said.
He's saying that Jesus Christ will stand in the sinner's place
and that he will put the sinner in his place before God. Now that's a marvelous and wonderful
thing. This was done in God's purpose.
from all eternity, as John Kent says. Now listen to this, listen
to this little poem of John Kent's, it was a song, but listen to
it. Then in the glass of his decrees, Christ and his bride
appeared as one. Her sin by imputation his, while
she in spotless splendor shone. Now that's exactly what the prophet's
telling you here. That the sinner has the place
of Christ before God and Christ takes the place of the sinner
and goes to the cross and dies the death of the sinner on the
tree. He was numbered with the transgressors. Did you ever read that in the
Bible? Did you ever read that? He was numbered with the transgressors. He was made to be sin, constituted
sin for us. for us. All right? And it's done,
I think, also at the time each of the chosen people of God are
brought and led by the grace of God to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. It happens experientially when
we experience the new birth and when we're regenerated by God's
Spirit. It is received by faith in time through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. You ask, can I who have been
a sinner all my life to this day Can I become just and righteous
in God's sight? Can I be justified? Well, yes, if you can believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and for His sake, you will be accounted
righteous. if you will believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is how Abraham, I told you
earlier, was saved. He was saved by believing God.
He believed God and it was accounted unto him. It was imputed to him. It was reckoned unto him for
righteousness. Now the long list of sins which
you and I have committed when we're unable to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ by divine grace That long list of sins that so
troubles us. We shall see written at the bottom,
because of this divine declaration, this word, forgiven. Forgiven. These sins are canceled. These sins are remitted. These
sins are put away. These sins, we shall never face
them again. We're clear of sin in God's sight,
just as if we had never, never committed a sin. Now that's glorious. Now it may take us a little while
to get through that. For that to get through to us,
we may just be, you know, just real slow on the uptake. But I'll tell you that, that
is glorious. That is the glory thing about
this declaration which the Lord's made that in the Lord shall all
the seed be justified. A guilty, weak, and helpless
worm on thy kind arms I fall. Be thou my strength and righteousness,
my Jesus and my all. What a wonderful thing it is
to be justified. A justified man need not fear
to live or die. Well, there is therefore now,
Romans 8 and 1, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. And listen to
these scriptures. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. It's God that's done this. Who
is He that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. That's Romans 8, 33 and 34.
And so, beloved, in the Lord shall all of the seed of Israel
be justified. That's a mighty declaration,
but God said it. And that's the only way that
we know for certain that all of the seed is going to be justified. All going to stand before God
just like Jesus stands before him. As righteous as Jesus Christ. And every believer in Christ
is as righteous as Jesus Christ. And that's not blasphemy. They're
as righteous as Jesus Christ himself before God. Sure, here in this world, in
our state, we're sinners still. And we're still all so needy. But before God, I have taken
the place of the Lord Jesus Christ before God, and he looks upon
me, and he sees Christ, and I'm standing in his place, and he
stood in my place. Glory to God. I said it's wonderful,
I won't take it back. It's wonderful. Now then lastly,
and I'm coming along here this morning, I'm going to try to
get back on the track in a couple of weeks. I'll be back to preaching
just Right there where I should be, 45 minutes trying to get
this done. Lastly, look at what it says
here. There's three words here I want
you to see. And shall glory. And shall glory. Now, those who find righteousness
and strength in the Lord, and those who come to Christ and
are justified in Him, shall glory, shall glory. And really, when
we see what God's grace has done for us, we feel inclined, do
we not, to cry out, glory be to God. Glory be to God. I believe that most believers
feel the glory in their soul even if they do not have the
ability to say it with their mouth. Even if they're not able
to say amen, don't you believe that? Feel the glory of all this. I feel sorry for the man or the
woman that does not feel the glory of what we're talking about
here this morning. Doesn't feel the power of God
and the glory of God in these blessed declarations. But when
you have, even though you may not say anything, you still feel
the glory of it in your soul. Now, all your sin gone, Jesus
Christ, He's your Savior, your soul forever secure in His hands,
and all that granted to you, free grant us by divine grace,
simply through faith, simply through believing. Surely you
must have felt the glory of this within your soul. Surely. Some
time or other. Do you ever meditate? Do you
ever meditate? Do you ever just sit down some
place and think? about what the Lord has done
for you? Well, the psalmist did on one occasion, and he said,
he said this, the Lord had done great things for us, whereof
we are glad. The Lord's done great things.
Well, the Lord has done so much, we're glad. We're glad. Our souls rejoice, and we're
glad. Now, brother, sister, we ought
not keep this glory to ourselves. I said that some people may feel
it, but don't ever say it. But we ought not keep it to ourselves. We ought to glory. Paul says,
he said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. But he did glory in that. He
gloried in the cross. Now every man has an irresistible
tendency to glory in something. Oh, that we would glory in the
Lord. Let him the glory, glory in the Lord. That is to say,
we'll let it out, the glory. We'll talk about the glory. The
Lord is to be praised. Let everything that has breath
praise the Lord. Let men wonder if they must as
to why we make so much of the grace of God. Why we make so
much of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let them wonder if they
must, but the Lord is to be glorified. He is to be glorified. And I
don't see how. Listen. He said, this people
have I formed for my glory. I formed you for my glory. I've
done what I've done in you. And I've done all of the work.
And I get the glory. You give it to me. This people
have I formed for my glory. Those who truly know Christ,
then they will glory in him alone. Not in his church, not in their
creed, not in their denomination. They'll glory in the Lord alone. He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. Well, when we're well, when we're
sick, When we're poor and when we prosper, when we have sit
backs and when we get along real well, when we're young and when
we're old, when we have our hair and when we don't have it, and
when our hair is the color it ought to be, natural color, and
when it's white, We are to glory in the Lord. Listen, we will,
I hope, have the grace of God in our hearts when we come to
die, to also glory when we take our last breath. Glory in the
Lord. I read about an old person, I
believe it was John Warburton. I'm not positive, but I believe
his last words were glory, glory, glory, glory. Well, praise the
Lord. We show glory. God said it. God
said it. He said, and shall glory. Some
people, I'm going to, I'm just going to clear this up and the
waters are going to be clear enough to where they're going
to be able to glory in this thing. Oh, I'm confused, preacher. I
never did see this clear. Oh, I don't think this thing
of election and free grace and all of that is that clearly taught
in the Bible. Well, bless God, some people's
waters is going to get still and they're going to clear up.
Isn't that right? And they'll glory! And they'll glory. Some will. And praise God for
a little light. Praise the Lord. Well, And will
we not glory in Him when we enter those pearly gates above? I think
we will. When we get to heaven, we'll
glory in the Lord. And I think that if we are in
heaven for ages before our bodies are raised from the dust of the
earth, and are united with our never-dying souls, I think that
all we'll really be able to do in glory, now in our scripture
speaks of just men, the spirits of just men made free, the spirits
of just men, and when we're in glory, we're just going to be
thinking about, we're going to be speaking of, we're going to
be speaking of Christ in glory before our bodies are raised,
and then When our bodies are raised and united with our souls,
ah, we'll glory then. We'll glory then. Won't that
be a glory hallelujah time? When the Lord's people, when
their bodies are united to their souls and we're all assembled
around the throne of God singing His praises, we'll be glorying
then. God said, I fixed it up that
way. And they shall glory. They shall glory and shall glory.
Now, then loudest of the crowd I'll sing, one old believer said,
while heavens resounding mansions ring with shouts of sovereign
grace. And I think that's probably the
desire of every one of us believers here this morning. May every
soul now here be there in that day for Jesus' sake To glory
in Him. To glory because of Him. Well that's the message this
morning. These five declarations.

Five Sovereign Declarations

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know that every knee will bow to God?

Why is justification important for Christians?

What does it mean to glory in the Lord?

How does God's grace influence our ability to come to Him?

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Five Sovereign Declarations

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know that every knee will bow to God?

Why is justification important for Christians?

What does it mean to glory in the Lord?

How does God's grace influence our ability to come to Him?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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