I want you to give careful consideration to
this message tonight. You know, the Apostle Paul, in
the book of Galatians, said something like this, My little children,
I travail like a woman giving birth to a child. Till Christ be formed in you,
in you. Till Christ be formed in you. Now I've long understood, and
this thing called salvation is Christ in you. Paul said, it pleased God who
separated me from my mother's womb to reveal his son in me,
in me, in Christ. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. Christ is my life. Not the life
of my profession, but he's my life. I fear, lest we are among those
who put our religion on on Sunday. or on special occasions we wear
our religion and we can discard it as easily as we put it on.
But the Apostle said this, he said, I am crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, but yet it's not I at all, but it's Christ
that liveth in me. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. Now I've long understood, I know
this is true. that this work of redemption,
this work of God redeeming a people, redeeming a people, saving a
people, must be considered as it truly is an eternal work,
an eternal work. Now watch this. Turn to Romans
8. Let me show you this. It's an eternal work. It's something
God not only does in us, but something God does for us. And it's an eternal work. Now
watch Romans 8 verse 29. For whom he did foreknow. Now
here we've projected ourselves all the way back in eternity
before the world began. When only God was before the
foundation of the world. And that's when he foreordained
us. That's where we are here. There's
a whom there, there's a whom he foreordained. A whom, he calls
them his sheep, calls them his brethren, calls them his elect,
calls them Israel, calls them his people. Whom he foreknew. Then it comes on down, he predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren, moreover whom he predestinated
he called, whom he called he justified, whom he justified
them he what? glorify. Now we're clear on the
other end. When he glorified, there'll be
a new heaven, new earth, old earth will be dissolved, melt
with the fervent heat, the old heavens pass away, new heaven,
new earth, the last enemy destroyed is death. And when we see him,
you read about it, Charlie, we'll be like him. All right, you take
that whom in verse 29, see that for whom he foreknew, And that
them, verse 30, he glorified. And think of the decades and
centuries and millenniums between those two words. Whom? Them. Whom he chose in Christ, whom
he loved in Christ, whom he gave to Christ, whom he foreordained
to be like Christ. Them he justified. So long before
time began, God in an eternal counsel purpose to have a people
like Christ. His covenant is called that eternal
covenant, eternal covenant. His lamb is a lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, and I saw a lamb, John said,
Charlie, as it had been slain, same lamb. But look at the, look
at the eternal aspect of it, look at the, at the things that
have transpired between the Lamb chosen and the Lamb exalted and
all that took place. All these millenniums between
the two. The Lamb slain from the foundation,
the Lamb in the midst of the throne. For known unto God are
all his works from the beginning. And if you'll turn to Revelation
chapter 21. Now the scripture says someday,
one of these days, one of these days, an angel is going to stand
on the sea and on the earth and declare that time will be no
longer, no more time. Christ shall come, there'll be
a new heaven, new earth, the dead shall be raised and stand
before God, his people will be gathered. In verse chapter 21
of Revelation, verse 1, said, I saw a new heaven and a new
earth. The first heaven and the first earth were passed away
and there is no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with me,
and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be
no more death, neither siren nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain for the former things are passed away. Do you see that? And we shall
reign with him forever. But that, this thing of salvation,
I see it as an eternal work, as an eternal work, salvations
of the Lord. From its origination to its completion,
it's of the Lord. Whom he foreknew, them he glorified. Those whom he chose, for whom
Christ is a Lamb slain, Christ to be the Lamb exalted. I want
to be among that number. I desperately and sincerely want
to be among that number. I want you to be. It would break
my heart if anybody here was not in that assembled multitude.
at the feet of Christ in that great day. And partake of that,
God shall wipe all tears from their eyes. All right, secondly,
now we know that that's established. There's no doubt about that.
The scripture's too plain on this. His salvation is of the
Lord. It's an eternal work. Whom he
foreknew, them he glorified. Like Barnard said one time, there'll
be plenty of room in heaven, but no vacancies. There's plenty
of room. Every seat's going to be taken,
but there's plenty of room. Come on. Foolish people talk
about 144,000, but they're always part of it, you know. But there's
a number which no man can number. The sands of the seashore and
the stars of the sky. There's plenty of room for you.
But I just assure you of this. If you're among them He glorified,
you're among those whom He foreordained. Given to Christ. That's right.
All right, secondly, I know this. There's no doubt in my mind about
it. I've long understood that this work of our Lord in redeeming
his elect, the whom and the them, in redeeming them, is a lifetime
work. It's just flat a lifetime work.
You say, how long is a lifetime? Well, it's how old are you? It will take as long as you live
for God to save you. That's what I'm saying. And I can show you that in the
scriptures. It says, For by grace have you been saved. For by grace
have you been saved through faith. That's the way that reads. And
then the scripture says, to them who are being saved, Christ is
the power and the wisdom of God. Now that's what he was being
saved. And Paul clearly says that our salvation is nearer
now than when we believe. In other words, this is what
I'm saying to you. I'm saying that from all eternity, the hand
of God has been upon a people. The hand of God has been upon
a people. God knew you, if you're one whom he foreordained and
them whom he'll glorify, if you're one of them, God's known you
from your mother's womb. Whether you were born in Africa,
whether you were born in China, whether you were born in Russia,
born in the United States, God Almighty's eye and hand has been
upon you since before you were formed in your mother's belly.
He said that to Jeremiah, if you want to look it up, it's
Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah
1 verse 5. I'm not preaching strange doctrine,
I'm telling you the truth. Jeremiah 1 verse 5. Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee. Before you came out of your mother's
womb, I sanctified you. I chose you, I set you apart,
I put my hand on you, you're mine. And sanctification is setting
apart, it's taking something which is ordinary or something
common and God setting it apart from all the rest and saying,
this is mine. He sanctified the Lord's day, that's the seventh
day. He took it from among the other six and he said, this is
my day, back in the Old Testament. He sanctified the vessels of
the temple. He set certain vessels apart
and he said, these are mine. He sanctified the firstborn,
even the cattle, said that one's mine. God said, and here he's
saying before that seed was ever planted in the womb and that
life was ever formed, I said that was mine. Maybe a little
black boy you're going to see in the next two years. Maybe
a little black girl. Maybe that's why God's sending
you after some of his elect over there. It may be somebody you'll
get a job and start working next to. He said, they're not babies
now, they're grown, but God knew them before they were babies.
That's right, Paul said, God who separated me from my mother's
womb. Paul was a 40-year-old religious
rebel. Paul was a 40-year-old smart
aleck, is what he was. Paul was a 40-year-old know-it-all.
Paul was a 40-year-old Judaizer. Paul was a 40-year-old law keeper.
But God still knew him. God knew him before he knew God.
God loved him before he loved God. God knew Saul of Tarsus
from his mama's womb. He said, that is mine. He doesn't
act like one of yours, but he's still mine. That's right. It's a lifetime, this thing of
salvation. God either has his hand on a
man or he doesn't. He either has his hand on him
for mercy or his hand on him for judgment, but he's got his
hand on him. Our Lord said to the Father in that great prayer
in John 17, you have given me authority over all flesh, black
flesh, white flesh, red flesh, and yellow flesh. I have authority
over all flesh that I should give eternal life to whom you
gave me, whom he foreknew. And he knows them from their
mama's womb. That's right. And the Lord Jesus will be revealed
to the heart of that sinner when it pleases God. I want you to
turn to Luke, if you will. The book of Luke chapter, I think
it's chapter 1, I'll have to look for it, but it's in Luke.
It's in Luke chapter 1 or 2. When God spoke to Simeon, it's
in Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, verse 25. Now what he said of Simeon is
true of every one of God's elect. ever one of them. Now what's
it? Luke 2 verse 25, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout. He was religious, honest, man
of integrity, man who believed in God. He was waiting for something. What was he waiting on? The Messiah,
the Christ. That's who he's waiting on, the
consolation of Israel. He's waiting on the Redeemer.
That's who he's waiting on. He was waiting on the Redeemer,
and the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed to him by
the Holy Ghost that he would not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. Now this is what I'm saying.
I'm deliberately and boldly saying that everybody in this building,
everybody who will hear this tape, wherever they'll hear it,
in this country overseas, if you're one whom he foreknew,
if you're one of them who will be glorified, In your lifetime,
sometime, before you die, you're going to see the Lord's Christ.
I guarantee it. You're going to see the Lord's
Christ. I'm not talking about a vision. Well, I'm going to
lie awake every night waiting on a vision. No, that's not what
I'm talking about and you know it. I'm talking about you're
going to see the Lord's Christ. You're going to see the Lord's
Christ. You're going to see Him in His power, in His wisdom,
in His glory, in His redemptive work. You're going to see Him.
You're going to see Him. You may be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60,
or 70, but you're going to see the Lord's Christ. If you ever
see Him in glory, you'll see Him in His redemptive work. That's
right. I don't know how long it's going
to take. I don't know how long it's going to take. I don't know
when God will please to reveal Christ to your heart. But He'll
reveal Him to your heart. He will. And we'll be kept. You'll be kept. And you'll never
depart from Him either, once you see Him. Now, people come
down here and shake the preacher's hand and join the church. And
they're in and out and up and down and cold and hot and all
this sort of thing, you know. And people come up here and go
into this pool. They put on the gown or put on
the white pants and they're baptized, you know, and get on the roll. full of religious whim and wiggle,
you know, for a few years, and then they're gone. That's not
what I'm talking about. That's not at all what I'm talking
about. They go from Arminianism to Calvinism, from that to some
other ism. That's right. I see them come
and go. But when you see the Lord's Christ,
it'll be a different story. It'll be a different story. Too many promises here. Turn
to Philippians 1.6. Philippians 1.6. Now watch this. Philippians 1.6. He says this. Philippians 1.6. I'm confident, I'm confident,
Apostle Paul speaking, of this very thing. I'm confident of
this. And he which hath begun a good
work in you, But that work is in you. That's what I keep trying
to say. I prevail to Christ be formed in you. It's not a work
upon you, it's in you. It's not a work of persuasion,
it's a work of revelation. He that hath begun that good
work, that good work is a work of revealing Christ, will perform
it, he'll finish it, he'll complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. He said, I will not forsake them
and they'll not forsake me. He will keep me till the river
rolls its waters at my feet. And then he'll bear me safely
over where my Savior I shall meet. Now then, thirdly, this glorious divine work of
redemption, I'm not talking about religion. I'm not talking about
an experience. I'm not talking about an emotional
crisis. I'm not talking about joining
the church. I'm not talking about reforming your life or turning
over a new leaf. I'm talking about salvation. Whom and them. I'm talking about
those people who make up the Lord's bride, the Lord's body,
the Lord's people. The just shall live by faith. It's an eternal work. It's a
sovereign work of a living, holy, almighty God. It's a lifetime
work. A man who's entered into this
path never departs therefrom, if God put him there. A man or
woman who has the sovereign Christ revealed in his or her heart
never departs therefrom. A person who comes to know the
living Lord has already died and lives in Christ. and cannot
depart. You read that. He cannot sin.
His seed remaineth in him. He's born from above. He's a
child of God. And no person whom God ever saved
can ever cease to be his child any more than that girl right
there can cease to be my daughter. She can change her name. She
can change her address. She can change her mouth. But
she's my daughter. That can't be changed. It cannot
be changed. Nothing in heaven, earth or hell
can change it. And I'm telling you that about
God's sons. Now you said we are sons of God.
Am I? I'll be tomorrow too. I'll be
the next day too. And I'll be when he calls me
home. I'll be a son of God. I can never be anything else
than a son of God if he gave me birth. Is that right? Well,
you know it's right. It has to be right. You never
cease to be his son. He never departs from you. He
will not depart from you and you cannot and will not depart
from him. Never you can't do it. You can't
do it. Now you can come into church
and leave anytime you want to. You can come into a doctrine
and leave anytime you want to. You can come into a reformed
way of life and leave anytime you want to. You can come into
emotional spirits and leave anytime you want to. You can come into
a persuasion and leave anytime you want to. But a man who is
You know what a union is? Two become one. I'm in union
with Christ and I can no more leave Christ than he can leave
the Father. I in them and thou in me. That
they may be one as we are one. Can you see that? I tell you
I hate religion. And I'm getting to the place
I almost hate preachers of religion as bad as I hate their religion.
They're deceiving people. They con me, and of the worst
sort, talking about, you can be saved today and lost tomorrow,
you can join a church, you can do all those things, but if you're
ever brought by the power of God, by the sovereign grace of
God, by the purpose of God, into a living union with his blessed
Son, you'll never leave. You can't leave any more than
he can cease to be the Son of God. That's right. It's just a pack
of foolishness. That's all in the way we're surrounded
on every street up and down here with fools and con men and foolishness. And I'll tell you this, thirdly,
I know this. That glorious divine work of
redemption is an eternal work that God does. God does. Miraculous, supernatural, birth
from above. God does it. And I know it will
be done in his good time, it's a lifetime work, from my mother's
womb until the day God calls me home. But there is indeed
a day, there is indeed a day of divine visitation. That's
the title of this message. There is a day of divine visitation
in that eternal purpose. In that lifetime, in that day
from eternity to them He glorified. In that time from my mama's womb
to the day John Steen will embalm me. Right in here, somewhere,
there is a confrontation with the living God. That's right. There's a time when you say,
I do. That's right. I know it. There's a time when
the sovereign Redeemer is pleased to meet that sinner and reveal
himself. You see, we don't love an unrevealed
Savior. We don't have a husband whom
we don't know. We don't have my beloved that
I've never met. I've met him. He kissed me with
the kisses of his mouth, and I knew it when he did, and I
responded. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes, sir. That
woman at the well, God met her, didn't he? How long had he known
her? Whom he foreknew. How long had
he known her? From her mama's womb. Oh, he
left her in a mess, didn't he? Yes, she stayed in a mess for
a long time. She went her way. She didn't know him. She didn't
know his way. She didn't love him, but he loved
her. And one day at that well, he
crossed her path. That's right. He crossed her
path. I'm not talking about a 24-hour
day now. I'm not recommending anybody
try to remember a time. Somebody's trying to say, I'm
going to see if I can think of a time. No, that's not it. You fool around
and trust the time. And I'm not talking about a place.
Let's see, she met him at the well. Where was I when I saw
the light? Well, you wouldn't even be conscious
if you really saw the light of a place. I'm not talking about
a day, but what I'm talking about is there is a, and I hunt for
a word, but there's a meeting. There's a meeting with the Lord
God. There's a confrontation. There's
a day of divine visitation when the living God fulfills what
he purposed to fulfill. fulfills what he purposed to
do, when the living God applies to the heart, to the heart of
a man or a woman, repentance and faith through the Spirit
and the Word of God. I could go through the Bible
and give you some illustrations. I do know this, Jacob never forgot
that night he wrestled with the Lord. He never forgot that night. That's the night God changed
his name. He had had a lot of religious experiences prior to
that time. He said, well, man, I'm no fool.
I know. I didn't say you were. Well, I know a little bit about
the Bible. I'm sure you do. Jacob did too. Well, I've had
some experiences with God. Jacob had too. Some unusual experiences. But he never had one like this.
He never had one like this. From that moment on, his name
was changed and his walk was changed. Our Lord touched him
in a way that he never forgot him. That's right, Moses. Moses was 80 years old when he
had this confrontation, 80 years old. You say, well, I know a
few things, and Moses did too. Well, I've been around. Moses
went around in a little basket. And God protected him in that
basket. Moses was in kings' houses and shepherds' halls. But on
that mountain one day, he met the Lord. And he said, who are
you? I am. And I tell you this, that
old gentleman was never the same. And I'll tell you something else
about that old gentleman. You could never alter his course
from that day till he walked into the presence of God. That's
right. I know whom I have believed.
That's what Moses could say. We're a people that talk about
I know what I believe, I know when I believe. Paul, Jacob,
I know whom I believe, Jacob said. I can tell you something.
What about Job? We studied it this morning. Taught
it to your class. He said, I've heard of God. Who
hasn't? He said, now man, I see it then. It's a whole new ballgame now. It's a whole new ballgame. I've heard of you. Isaiah had
two, but he said, I saw the Lord. I saw the Lord. And I tell you, our Master said,
he that seeth the Son and believeth on him hath everlasting life. I see. I see. There's a difference, my friend.
There's a whole lot of difference. Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus
saw him. Who art thou, Lord? I'm Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecust. Lord, what will you have me do? I tell you, from that time he
could look back and talk about where he was born, of the tribe
of Benjamin. You didn't slight that birth
before he saw the Lord. You bet not. He'd jump all over
you. But he could say, I can't but
don't. Why? The revelation of Jesus Christ
to his heart made that fade into insignificance, absolute insignificance. He taught, and I tell you prior
to that time, he was pretty proud of his education and his credentials
and his accomplishments. He could name them all. I imagine
they were on his office wall. But I tell you, once he saw him,
him, wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting He
never even looked back to those things. What are they? What are
they? You know, Isaiah repeatedly,
repeatedly uses a term. I want you to turn to Isaiah
2, first of all. Isaiah chapter 2. He repeatedly
uses this term in that day. In that day. And this is what
I'm saying. And are you with me? Because you're listening
good. And you're responding, I can see it in your many faces.
And you know that this great redemptive purpose is an eternal
work. And you know that this redemptive
work is a lifetime work. A man asked me, a preacher down
in Louisiana, We were standing in the aisle after the service.
I wish I'd have thought of this when he was talking to me. It
just now came to my mind. But we were standing there in
the aisle talking, and he's been pastor here and there and yonder
and here and there and yonder. He's pastor of a PCA, Presbyterian
Church of America now over in Louisiana, and he came to hear
me preach. I met him in Kentucky years ago. Nice man, and he shook
hands with me. He said, how long you been pastor
over there? six years, going on 37. He said, how do you stay
in one place so long? I wish I'd have thought to say,
because it takes a lifetime for God to save his true people.
That's how long it takes. I'm dead serious. I'm dead serious. God sent me to minister to his
sheep and his elect in this place until he saves them. I really
believe that, Ken. I believe when you establish
your ministry, wherever it may be, you'll be there for God's
elect until he saves them. He won't save everybody, and
you'll be discouraged. You've already seen this. You've
seen them fill the building and then disappear at one stage. And then further in another place,
but two or three stayed. And they heard. And they walked
with God. And they walked with God. And
like Olenus, they just walked right on into heaven. Takes a
lifetime. That's right. He uses the word, and what I'm
saying though, but there's a time, and I've experienced it with
some of you, there's a time when you When you give mental assent
to these things, it sounds biblical and scriptural and logical and
feasible and whatever. But then there comes, I've seen
it happen in your lives, and I wait for it to happen in others.
I've seen people come from just From what we call ordinary religious
lives and ordinary common everyday cooperation to committal. To committal. I've seen it happen. I've seen people come. Hey, I
know him. I know him. I remember, if I
may use you as an illustration. You don't care do you? You're
not going to quit are you? Okay. But I used to see him sit back
there, way back on the back, every Sunday morning. He was
a school teacher and religious and upstanding in the community.
And you believed the Bible. You know, you didn't have anything
against it, did you? But he'd come to church and sit
back there. I remember one Sunday night, I'd never seen him any
time on Sunday morning, sometimes not then. But most of the time,
one Sunday night, I came through there and walked up and sat down.
I happened to look up and I thought, what's he doing back there? Doesn't
he know this is Sunday night? It's exactly what I thought. Wednesday night, it's true, isn't
it? Wednesday night, what's he doing back there on Wednesday
night? And then it dawned on me. God's doing something. God's creating a thirst and a
hunger. and a desire. That's what was
happening, wasn't it? God was doing something. God was doing
something. And I can't create... You know,
everybody by nature has an emotion called religion. Everybody by
nature wants to go to heaven. You know anybody that doesn't
want to go to heaven? Everybody believes the devil's a bad man
and sin's a bad thing to do. And everybody ought to be good.
And it'd be great to go to heaven and everybody believes Jesus
Christ was born on December the 25th 24th or sometime there,
and he arose on whenever it falls, April, May, or June, whenever
Easter comes. But everybody doesn't have that
hunger for God and that thirst for righteousness and that desire
to know Him. Oh, to know Him and the power
of His resurrection. Oh, to win Christ and be found
in Him. Oh, to be in divine union with
the Son of God. Oh, to be one of His elect, one
of His own. That's different. And when that happens, that man's
not going to be stopped until he knows him. I'm not going to
let you go until you bless me. That's what he'll say. And that's
what I'm talking about. That's that time. Let me show
you this, and I'm going too long, but let me turn to Isaiah 2,
let me show you this. And this day, in that day, Isaiah
2, verse 11. The lofty looks of man shall
be humbled. And the haughtiness of men shall
be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
What's happening? Conviction. It's the day of conviction. See that, Tom? It's the day of
conviction. Look at verse 17. Verse 17. And the loftiness of
men shall be whittled down, bowed down. The haughtiness of men
shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that
day. My friends, I promise you this. When that day of confrontation
comes, when God meets you in that saving grace and faith,
before He'll give you grace, He'll judge you. He'll break
you. He'll cut you to the heart. He'll
strip you before He'll clothe you. He'll empty you before He'll
fill you. He'll kill you before He gives
you life. He'll humble you before He exalts you. And He'll judge
you before He gives you grace. Put you into dust. That's where
he'll put you. I am nothing, have nothing, and
know nothing. Now look at Isaiah 11.10. Watch this one. Isaiah
11.10. There's a day of conviction,
there's a day of humbling, and then Isaiah 11.10 says there's
a day of revelation, and in that day, and in that day, and I know
this is talking about the great day of Jehovah, but I tell you
the great day of Jehovah is made up of people who've had a great
day with Jehovah. That's just exactly right. How
are you going to have the great day of Jehovah unless you meet
him? And so in Isaiah 11.10, And in that day there shall be
a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an insolent of the
people, and to it or to him shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest
shall be glorious. The woman at the well says when
Messiah comes, he said, I'm here. I'm here. He's called by many
names. He's called here, root of Jesse.
He's called the seed of woman. He's called that prophet. He's
called the king of peace. He's called the lion of the tribe
of Judah. He's called the rose of Sharon. He's called the son
of David. He's called the son who's given. He's called the
fairest of ten thousand. But I tell you this, by whatever
name He's called, His people in that day will look to Him.
They'll be stripped and broken and brought down and their eyes
turned in one direction toward Him, Christ. That's right. All right, watch the third one
now. Isaiah 25, verse 9. Watch Isaiah
25, verse 9. And it shall be said, Isaiah
25, 9. I love this one. And it shall
be said in that day, Lo, this is our God. We waited for him. We waited for him. This is what
I've been wanting to hear. This is the voice I've been waiting
to hear. This is the one I've been waiting to see. This is
my God. This is my God. That woman with the issue of
blood had tried all the physicians, and finally she said, Oh, if
I can just get to Him. This is my God. Listen. And He'll
save us. This is the Lord. We've waited
for Him. We'll be glad and rejoice in
His salvation. I'm saying this, that in that
day, In that day, when God's pleased to meet you, confront
you, through his gospel, through his word, through his spirit,
you say, but will I receive him then? Oh yeah, you'll receive
him because he'll strip you. When will a man grab a life preserver
when he's going down? When will a man reach for food
when he's starving? Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. And before he ever shows Christ
to you, you want Christ more than you want life itself. That's
what I'm saying. So he'll strip you, and when
he holds up the robe of righteousness, you say, that's what I'm waiting
on. And when he breaks you and holds Christ up as the Redeemer,
you say, hey, that's my God, that's the one I've been waiting
on. I see what you're talking about. See, most people never
needed Christ. Most people have never needed
Him. This is my day. This is my day. This is my God. This is my God. Now, here's the
other one. In Isaiah 26, verse 1 through 4, and it's a day of
assurance. Isaiah 26, listen. In that day
shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong
city, salvation. We've got a point for walls and
bullets. open ye the gates, that the righteous
nation which keepeth the truth may enter in, and thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace, in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee, because he trusteth in thee." Trust ye in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Now one other scripture,
turn back to Isaiah 12. And that's what gives birth to
this song right here, and we'll close with reading it, Isaiah
12. And in that day, and in that
day, that day of divine visitation, that day when God singles you
out, that day when God's arrow shot on purpose hits the target,
that day when God has been stripping and breaking and humbling and
bringing down and revealing Christ, in that day, In that day thou
shalt say, O Lord, O Lord, I will praise thee, though thou wast
angry with me, and he was. Thine anger is turned away, and
you are my comforter. Only in Christ can God comfort
a sinner. Behold, God is my salvation,
not the church, not the pastor, not the law, not my works. God is my salvation. I will trust,
and I will not be afraid. I'll never be afraid. Whatever
comes my way, I won't be afraid. I'll never be afraid. Why? For
the Lord Jehovah. See that big word, Jehovah? God's
my Savior. God's my Savior. He's my strength. He's my strength. And my son, he also has become
my salvation. Shall you draw waters out of
the wells of salvation? He's the fountain of living water.
The Holy Spirit is the wells of living water. And in that
day, shall you say, praise the Lord? Praise the Lord. Call upon his name. You go in
that day, call upon his name. You call on him. You'll declare
his doings among the people. His doings, not yours. You make
mention that his name is exalted. You'll sing unto the Lord. For
he hath done excellent things. This is known in all the earth.
There's not a voice, not a language in which his voice is not heard.
So cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion. That's what you was
talking about this morning. I've set my king in the holy
hill of Zion, and we're in that Zion. You're an inhabitant of
Zion. For great is the Holy One of
Israel in the midst of thee." Now let me tell you this, when
God met old Job and shut his justifying mouth,
his self-justifying mouth, and he said, Job, I want to ask you
something, boy. Where were you when I laid the
foundations of the earth? Where were you when I put a swaddling
band around the around the seas, said, this far you'll come. Now,
where were you? Well, I have to say with Job, you know,
Lord, I won't shut my mouth, but I will say this. I know where
I want to be when he lays the foundation of that new earth
and when he enthrones Christ. I know where I want to be. I
want to be in his fold, don't you? As one of his sheep. So
if he's met you, Isaiah 12 will be the response. And when He meets you, it will
be the response. Our Heavenly Father, we have tried, O Lord, Thou knowest. Lord, You look on the heart and
know the motives of men, the thoughts of every person. And
we sought to be clear and to be honest and truthful from thy
word with those who hear, with the congregation of thy people.
And I know, I know before thee that thou art God and salvations
of the Lord from beginning to end. And I know, O Lord, he that
endureth to the end, the same shall be said. and we are the
house of Christ if we continue.