Good morning. Delighted to be
with you. I thank the Lord for this church.
I'm bound to give thanks always to God. For you, brethren, you
know, beloved of the Lord, because God had from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit, set apart and
belief of the truth. The truth is preached here and
believed herein. Whereunto he called you by our gospel. That's what we're talking about
here. To the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those aren't just words. From my heart, Paul's heart,
I thank God for you, for this church. Thank you. Thank everyone
for everything you've done. Thank you, Todd and Lynn, for
your hospitality. They treat us so wonderfully. And everyone who plays the instruments
and leads the singing and supports this work, give their gifts,
those who prepare the food, those who wash the dishes. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it very
much. Turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 17. John 17. John 17. Most of you know that this is
the Lord's Prayer. This is our Lord's Prayer for
His people, the prayer that He gave to His disciples when they
asked Him to teach us to pray. That's the disciples' prayer.
This is the Lord's Prayer, the Son of God. son of the Most High, whom God sent for his people. He's praying to the Father for
his people here, the sent one, sent by the Father, the Covenant
Head, their Redeemer, their Savior. This is the prayer of the Great
High Priest. He's about to go into the Holy
of Holies to offer up his own precious blood on the altar.
He himself is that mercy seat and that altar. But like the
Old Testament tabernacle and temple, there was a a laver or
an altar of incense, wasn't there, before the Holy of Holies? Well, that represents the prayers
of the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't it? You sang that hymn, and that
hymn said, not my prayers, they can't avail anything. But James
said, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,
doesn't it? Well, this is the righteous one. This is the holy one of God. His prayer is truly effectual,
all effectual, fervent, and availeth everything. Availeth everything. Look at verse 9. If I have a
text, it's in verse 9. I pray for them, our Lord said. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them, which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. Verse 20, neither pray I for
these alone, but for them. also which shall believe on me
through their word. Now he's praying for his apostles,
that's clear isn't it? Praying for them. But he also
said, not just for them, but for them which shall believe
on me through their word. That's me, I believe. That's
me, is that you? He's praying for them. praying
for them. Now, whoever they are, the Lord
came for them. The Lord lived for them. The Lord died for them. The Lord
shed his precious blood for them. The Lord redeemed them. The Lord
arose for them. The Lord ever lives to make intercession
for them. Whoever them are, excuse my grammar,
but whoever they are, the them, I want to be one of them, don't
you? That's who he's praying for. I pray for them and everything. Now, the Lord himself said, the
father always hears me. He said that for our sake, didn't
it? At Lazarus tomb. He said, I know you always hear
me, but for their sake, I say that. And so whoever he is praying
for, the father is going to grant him everything that he asked
for, for them. Someone said this is the greatest
prayer ever prayed, which followed the greatest sermon ever preached.
From John 13 through 16, our Lord's words from the Father
to his disciples, to us, to his children, and now he's praying
to the father for his people. And the father hears him and
the father grants everything that he asked for. And this prayer
is no desperate plea for the father to do something to help
him to please grant that. He's praying with finality. He
even said in verse four that I've finished the work before
he went to the cross. He said it's finished. He's declaring
the end from the beginning for our sake. This is recorded. This is a private conversation,
as it were. You and I were talking about
that last night. The Lord has let us in on this private prayer
of the son of God to his father. And he lets us in on it. Now,
much can be known of someone's heartfelt feelings for another
by their private conversation. about them, right? Either what
they say about them in private or what they don't say about
them in private. They're talking about someone
you love. Hopefully you don't say anything
but good things about them in private. That's how it's really
done. Well, the Lord, his prayer here, everything he says about
his people, it's all good. He doesn't bring up their sins.
He didn't bring up their sins. Like Hebrews 11, nobody's sin
is brought up. It's all good. It's all about
his love for them. It's all about why he came for
them. It's all the blessed promises of God for them. Prayer of the
son of God. He said, I pray for them. I want
to be one of them. Don't you? Can we know? Can we know we're one of them?
All right, yes, because our Lord describes them here. Look at
verses one and two. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify
thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given
him power over all flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ reigns
and rules over all flesh. But here's the power He exerts
for His people. This is why He came. That He
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.
What's He talking about? What's the Lord talking about?
He's talking about that sovereign election. That eternal election
that was made by the Father before the world began. Election. I
hope no one in here says, there you go again. Election, what do you think about
that word? God calls his people his elect. That's the blessed term he uses
for his people. Listen to this. He said, for
Jacob, my servant's sake, and Israel, mine elect. Where's Frank? There you are. You know he's
talking about not the nation, he's talking about his true Israel. His people, mine elect, that's
who he calls them. A blessed term used by the father,
by God the father about his people. Listen to this, in Isaiah 65
verse nine, he says, I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and
out of Judah, an inheritor of my mountain, and mine elect shall
inherit it. And my servant shall inherit
it. Mine elect, you like that? You like the sound of that? That's
what he calls his people. Listen to this. In Matthew 24,
the Lord Jesus Christ, this is what he calls his people. In
Matthew 22, he said, speaking of the days of tribulation, except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.
But for the elect's sake, those days should be shortened. He
said, There shall arise false Christs and false prophets and
shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. But it's not possible, is it?
Because the stranger's voice, they won't hear it. They belong
to Christ. He said, they hear my voice.
They're not going to hear a stranger. And he said he's going to send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet. Remember that.
And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to another. What do you think about that?
Does that sound good to you? God calls him his elect, Christ
calls him his elect. If anyone hears this, it's God's
word, it's God's term for his people, it's Christ's beloved
what he calls his people, his elect. If anyone rejects that
and doesn't love the sound of that, they're not one of them.
Right? We're not talking about a doctrine
per se. We're talking about someone,
Marner used to say, election's not a doctrine necessarily, it's
a person choosing persons. Brother Todd quoted that hymn,
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus of Nazarene and wonder
how he could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. I remember
first learning that hymn, How Can It Be, How Can It Be in Cottageville,
West Virginia. They sang that there, never heard
it before. How can it be that God should love a soul like me? God's people stand amazed. While
the world may, if there is an elect, they say that I ought
to be one of it. That's what they say. God's people will stand amazed
throughout eternity that God would choose them, that God would
love them, that God would call them. They love it. They love it. It's God's glory.
Granted, one can know the doctrine of election, even believe it
and not know God. But they can't know, you cannot
know the true and living God and not know and believe and
love His election. That's His person. And that's
where our salvation began. So He said, dare mine elect.
Mine elect. And who loves the blessed doctrine
of His election? The elected. I must be one of
them. You must be one of them. Some
people, you mention the word and grit their teeth. Some of
you grinning. Bless God. You ask them all,
they'll tell you. It is not that I did choose thee,
but Lord, that could not be. If thou hast not chosen me, I
would never have chosen thee. And Spurgeon once said, he said,
I know, I believe God, I know he chose me before I was born
because if he had waited till afterward, he never would have
chosen me then. There he's elect, and they were
given to Christ. Look at verse two. The Lord says
this six times or more. Verse two, he said, as thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. Verse six, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and thou gavest them me. and they have kept thy word. Verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Verse
11, and now I'm no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me. that they may be one
as we are. Verse 12. While I was with them
in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest
me, I have kept, and none of them is lost. Verse 24. Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me Be with me where
I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.
For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. So who
are they? Who are the ones that Christ
is praying for? He says those who have been given
to him. They were given to him. Now this
whole Bible is a book about a covenant. It's what you spoke of last night.
Covenant. Covenant redemption. A covenant
made of God with His Son and the Holy Spirit. Don't leave
out the Holy Spirit. He was that. But this covenant,
this agreement, as it were, this contract, this promise made My
God in Christ was before the foundation of the world. And
this covenant is when God chose a people and gave them to Jesus
Christ, who's called the head of the covenant, isn't it? He
was in charge. All things were given into his
hands. The people of God, chosen by
God, were given to Jesus Christ to come down here and to save
them. We're in good hands, aren't we? And as I said, he even said
before he went to the cross, I finished it. It's done before
it started. It's over. It's a sure thing.
Because he's called the surety. This covenant, David said, is
ordered in all things and sure, just as sure as God is God. Just
as sure as Christ is the surety. God's people are saved, shall
be saved in Christ. Guarantor, he's the surety of
this covenant. Now covenant is a contract, is
an agreement. And our Lord said here, as thou
hast, those whom you've given me. Marriage is a covenant. Marriage covenant, we call it
that. In the marriage, it's when a father gives his daughter to
be the bride of a man. That's exactly what. happen in
this covenant of redemption. It gave me great pleasure to
give my daughter to this beloved man, this wonderful Christ-like
man whom I love, a son of a man I love greatly. But it gave me
great pleasure to give my daughter in marriage to him, knowing,
believing, having confidence she would be cared for and be
protected, be provided for. Well, God chose his people whom
he loves, his bride, and gave them to his beloved son. And
believe this or not, it's true. It gave him great pleasure to
give them, to give us, to give them to his son. And we are in
good hands. This covenant cannot fail. That's
what Isaiah wrote in it. He shall not fail. that he brings
in this everlasting righteousness. These people of God, they were
chosen of God, they were numbered. There are people which no man
can number, but the foundation of God stand this year. The Lord
knoweth them that are here. He has them numbered like the
stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. He has them
numbered. Shouldn't that give us hope? If he's got that many
people, surely I can be one of them. That many? But they're
chosen by God, numbered, given to Christ, predestined. Predestinated. Everything about them is predestinated.
You like that? And some people hate the P word. A man told me that one time.
I was working on a railroad. He said, I believe anything but
that predestination. He just let the sour taste in
his mouth. Oh, do you like the taste of
that? Predestination. Everything has been predetermined.
Predetermined end. Don't you like that? Ordered
in all things and sure. David said, that's all my salvation.
All my salvation depends upon this eternal covenant of grace
that I was given to Christ. And Christ came down here to
finish that work. And he did it. That's all my
salvation. That my love, the love of God
is in Christ. And who shall separate us from
that love? If God loved me and gave me to Christ, I'll be loved
always. Predestinated everything. Ordered
and ensured. Scripture even says the hairs
of our heads are numbered. You may think that's insignificant.
If you were like a 24-year-old young fellow, unmarried, I tell
you, the number of hairs on your head is pretty significant. But if you're losing them, but
do you have your hair's number? No, you don't. Well, God does.
Now, if something so seemingly insignificant is important to
God, how much more greater things? Everything. Ordered, everything. Everything about us, our lives
are ordered. Every single thing. Before we were born, that's what
Psalm 139 said. Before we were born, it was all
ordered. And sure, this ought to give us such peace and comfort.
Ought to. Everything about us, our lives
are determined. Our death is determined. Our
days are numbered. The number of our months are
with the Lord. The cause of our death has already been determined.
Shouldn't that give us peace? Bounds are set we cannot pass.
Salvation is fixed. Salvation is fixed today. We
hear the gospel, now this gives, people use this argument all
the time. If I believe in an election, why preach? Why preach?
Well, this is exactly why we preach. Because the gospel is
the power of God unto salvation. We know that God has a people.
And we know the gospel is his power. And we know that they're
going to hear his voice. We don't know when, but we know
he has a people. And when we stand up and we preach,
we know somebody's going to hear it. Brother Chris and I like to fish.
You know, you go to some lake, and if you don't know if there's
any fish in there, what if you didn't know if there's any fish
in there? Could be. You might fish a little while, there ain't
no fish in there, so you quit fishing, don't you? Well, I went
the other day, and the man that owns the place told me he's stocked,
it's full of fish. Man, I kept fishing. I wasn't
about to quit. Ask me later, I'll show you a
picture. But God has a people. We're his fishermen, aren't we?
And incidentally, he doesn't use lures and bait, he uses a
net. Artificial lures and baits, he'll
try to lure them in. Oh no, he apprehends them by
the gospel. Salvation is fixed. This gives
us, this is why we preach, and this gives us hope. This is our
only hope for those that are lost. This is our only hope.
Those we love, those that don't know the Lord, we want them to
know the Lord, but we know if they're one of God's elect, they're
going to know the Lord. They're going to know the Lord.
Our lost children, our lost spouses or parents, we know that if they
belong to the Lord, As long as this gospel is still being preached,
if they belong to the Lord, one day they're going to hear His
voice and they're going to come. Oh my, that day is determined
and fixed. If they belong to Him, they've
been given to Him, oh my. All of God's people know and
love and rejoice in the fact that there's not one thing dependent
on them. That it's all completely dependent
on Him. In Him. In Him. What do you say
about that? He must be one of them. That's
who he's praying for. Look at this. They know and love
the Father's name. Look at verse 6. He said, I've
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me. Now
they were, thou gavest to me. And they've kept thy word. Verse
11 and 12. He said, now I'm no more in the
world. He's leaving. And these are in
the world. And I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me. Keep through thy name. 12, while I was with them in
the world, I kept them in thy name. Verse 25, O righteous Father,
the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these
have known that thou hast sent me. They know his name. What
is his name? But our Lord said in verse 3,
this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true
God. We know his people. They've been
given an understanding that they might know Him that is true.
They know that their God is God. It's not just a name, that's
who He is. They believe that He is God,
God Almighty, the Lord God omnipotent who reigneth. Don't we? Brother
Marvin, I hear you refer to Him as Almighty God all the time. That's because of who He is.
And that's our hope, isn't it? That's our peace. That's our
comfort. We know Him as God. He's God. Not a wannabe God. He is God. He is God. The Lord God. Oh my. Creator Sovereign. Reigning,
ruling. Look at Revelation 11 real quickly. Revelation 11. If you don't know
these verses, you'll want to remember where they are. Revelation
11 is a blessed chapter that talks about those two olive trees
who represent the prophets or the word of God whom the world
wants dead, but they rise up. But look at verse 15 in Revelation
11. It says the seventh angel sounded
and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of
this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and 20 elders
which sat before God on their seat fell upon their faces and
worshiped God. Say, we give thee thanks, O Lord
God Almighty, which art and wast and art to come, because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. Don't
you, aren't you glad that our God reigneth? Well, look at the
next line. And the nations were angry. They
didn't like that. But all of them do. All that
know him All of them do. They love that they're God-dressed.
That's what they call it. Our Lord, our God, our Almighty
God, our Creator, our Sovereign. That's His name. What's His name?
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty. Who am I talking about? I'm talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God. He is the Almighty
God. He's the Father. The Mormons,
the Jehovah Witnesses, they say, He never said He was God. Oh,
yes, He did. He just didn't say it to you.
He tells all his people know it, don't he? And like Thomas,
they bow the knee to him and they call him what he is, my
Lord and my God. Is it important you believe that
he's God? You don't know if you don't. You're not saved if he's
not. You can't save anyone if he's
not. Who can forgive sins but God? That's right. He's forgiven all my sins. He's
God. That's His name. Lord, we don't
make Him so. He's Lord. God hath made Him
so. God hath made Him so. Who are these? Them. Who are
they? Look at verses 6 through 8. They've been given God's word
and they receive it and they believe it. All of it. They love
it. Verses 6 through 8. He says, I manifested thy name
unto the men which thou gavest me. out of the world, thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they've known that all things
whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. I've given unto
them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received me."
He loved God's word. He loved his truth. These people,
these ones whom Christ prayed for, they not only believe the
word, they receive it with great joy and gladness. They receive
the love of the truth. They not only believe the truth,
they love the truth. They love the sound of it. It's
a joyful sound to them. Words like election and predestination. These blessed truths are a joyful
sound, aren't they? You ever get tired of hearing
these things? No, no. Todd, the theme is, as it were,
what is the gospel? The gospel is all these things
concerning Christ. Concerning who God is and who
Christ is and the people given to Christ in this covenant. All
of these blessed things. And we're going to say the same
things over and over again. Chris is going to stand up. Don's
going to stand up. Donnie's going to stand up. We're
going to say the same things, aren't we? But to say the same
things is not grievous, is it? It's joyful. We love it. I'm not saying, you know, there
he goes again. God's people say it again. Blessed truth is music to the
ears of God's people. You remember the story of Rahab,
the harlot? The story of Rahab that Joshua
sent. She lived in that decadent city
of Jericho that was about to be destroyed. And Joshua sent
his spies into that land that represent the gospel preacher
with the truth. And she received them. God had
chosen her and sent these men to her house, a harlot, to hear
the truth, the fear of God, to believe his preacher and to call
upon him and wait for her redemption. Well, she received these men.
She loved the truth and she's waiting on her redemption. She's
waiting on Joshua to come according to his promise. Remember that?
She was given a sure token. That scarlet line hung out the
window that she loved. She looked at all the time. Well,
one day, lo and behold, she didn't know when it was going to happen.
But one day, according to the promise of Joshua, they came. Some men started surrounding
that city and they were blowing trumpets. They were blowing trumpets
and raves. Hear that? Did you hear that? She stuck
her head out the window. Did you hear that? And the people
of Jericho were saying, what's that noise? That sounds, what is this? Rahab
said, my redemption draweth nigh. That's the sound of my redemption.
First day, sweetest note she'd ever heard. Joshua's coming. Second day, same as the first. Kept blowing that trumpet. Kept
blowing that trumpet. Third day, kept blowing the trumpet.
Same thing, it never quit blowing. One note, one blast, one trumpet. To Rahab's ears, it was music. The people of Jericho, who said
quit that. I bet you Ray had stuck her head
out the window and said, play it louder, I need for my mom
and dad to hear it. Fourth day, fifth day, same thing. Is that all you all preached
there? Yes, isn't it wonderful? Sixth day, seventh day. That trumpet sound to Rahab was
just as sweet as the first day, if not sweeter. My old dad and mom are in their
90s, and I wish we all had the appreciation and love for the
gospel that they do. They love it now more than the
day they first heard it. They rejoice in it. Every message
I preach is the best message he's ever heard. Their redemption draweth nigh.
Blow it louder, say it louder, don't quit blowin' it. I know
what key that was in. Oh my, what about it? The same
things, you need to hear the same thing. Do you like to hear
the same thing? Look at verse 10. Let me hurry. It says, our Lord says of them,
He says, all mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified
in them. I am glorified in them. He is
glorified. God is glorified. Christ is glorified
in choosing them. In choosing them. Rahab, the
harlot, was chosen by God. A harlot? Yeah, that's who he
came for. Chief of sinners. Isn't that
good news? Mary Magdalene was chosen by
God. Isn't that wonderful? She thought it was. The thief
on the cross was chosen by him. Oh, he was so thankful. Are you
one of them? Are you one of them? That's what
old John Newton said in one of his sermons one time. He said,
I am the thief on the cross. I am Mary Magdalene. I am. I am. That's who I am. That's
who Christ came for. That's who he praised for. Them.
Them. He is glorified in choosing the
likes of them. He will be glorified in eternity
for what he's done for them. And they will glorify him. They will glorify him. He's glorified
in choosing them. He's glorified in justifying
them. He's glorified in sanctifying
them. He's glorified in redeeming them. He's glorified in keeping
them. He's glorified in saving them. He's glorified in all about
them. Given to Him and He saved them. That's who He's praying for.
I pray for them. Glorified by them. in everything they do.
The fruit that they bear is fruit that comes from Him. It's His
fruit. But they bear fruit under the
glory of the Father, under the glory of Christ. And they glorify
Him. They dare not, they would not,
they cannot glory in anything and anyone save in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how you know them. They
glory in Him. I have glorified Him. And they're
kept by Him. Look at verse 11. He says, Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one. While I was with them in the
world, I have kept them in thy name. Don't you love that? That we're kept by our blessed
Lord. We're kept. We cannot fall away
if kept by Him. That's my hope. That's my peace.
If left to myself, I'm a goner. But if I'm in the hands of the
Lord Jesus Christ, I'll be kept. I'm His bride, as it were, and
I'm a kept woman. And I like that. I like it. If I'm His, I'll be kept. They're
not of this world. Dan, verse 16, he says, they're
not of the world, even as I'm not of the world. They don't
think like the world. They don't follow the world.
They don't walk with the Lord of the world. They walk with
their Lord, don't they? They belong to Him. He's bright. They're the sanctified ones,
sanctified by Christ, verse 17. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth, verse 19. And for their sake, I sanctify
myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
You love that? Some people like to talk about
their own sanctification. God's people know that in Him,
of God are they in Him, who of God is made unto them. wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. We know that
our sanctification is completely in Christ. We love Scripture's
life. By one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Them. What do you think about
that? Them. That's who he's praying
for. Them. They belong to him. Look at verse
9 and 10. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me. For they
are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine. They're mine.
They belong to me. They belong to me. They're loved by Him, married
to Him, found in Him. They're in Him. Do you know how
many times in Scripture it talks about being in Him? Look at verse
21. That they all may be one, as
thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also might
be one in us. They're in Him. This is a mystery,
but it's a blessed, wonderful thing that we can say a few things
about, but we're chosen in Him. We're accepted in Him. We're
found in Him. We abide in Him. We're one with
Him, this blessed union of God's people with Christ. Don't you
love the sound of that? We're in Him. See if I can illustrate
this a little bit. A woman who's with child, pregnant
with child, expecting a child. She has that child in her, doesn't
she? And that child is known by her. Known by her. Loved by, can you love an unborn
child? Ask these ladies. And even their
husbands. been given this gift. You can,
can't you? Oh, yeah. Before they're born, you loved
them. You loved them. You named them. And that child
in the womb of its mother is being fed by that mother in it,
isn't it? Feeds on her. Feeds off of her. This is a good illustration of
that. In Christ. It is, even if I'm saying it. That child feeds off of its mother,
feeds on its mother, is found in her, feeds on her, is covered
by her, protected by her, provided by her. Everything is planned
for that unborn child. How many of you made a room for
your child before it was born? Decorated that room, had everything
ready, ordered and sure, waiting on the birth of that child? How
much more the father's children? In Christ. And that child is
named, and that child is always on the mind and in the heart
of that mother, isn't it? That mother cannot, that child
lives and moves and has its being in her. And her life is wrapped
up in that child. We're in Christ, always in him,
abide in him. Now, where that mother is, the
child is. It's not possible for the mother
to be one place and the child another. All right? Can you accept the
mother and not the child? Can you say, well, you can come
in, but not your baby? It's not possible. The child
is accepted in the mother. Is this making sense? We're in Him. We're in Him. You can't love the mother and
not love the child. We're in Him. Her works are His
works. Where she's seated, He's seated. We're in Him. That's the best
I can do with that. We're in Him. In Him. Always
in Him. They're in me. The Father's in
Him. We're in Him. One with Him. One in love to Him. One in love
to each other. And look at this. Let me close
with this. Verse 26. He said, I have declared unto
them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me made me in them. And I in them. The love wherewith
thou hast loved me may be in them. What love is that? Scripture
talks about God shedding abroad the love of God in our heart.
Doesn't it? That's what it says. God's people
have the love of God shed abroad in their heart. What our Lord
said, it's the love that the Father hath for him. Oh, they
love one another. They love the truth. But here
it is. What does the Father, or rather,
who does the Father love supremely? Why did God create everything?
Why does God do everything? For the love He has for His Son. He loves His Son supremely. And
this is what God puts in the heart and the mind of all of
His people, of them. They love Him. They love the
Son like the Father loves the Son. If you ask them, We all
will say Christ is all. He's all. And so Christ said,
I pray for them. I pray for them. Are you one
of them? I pray that you are. I hope and pray that you are.
May the Lord bless his word to you. Amen.