I'd like for us tonight to turn
to the last book in our Bible, the book of Revelation, and the
next to the last chapter, chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. I want
to read these first three verses. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away, and there was 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 men, and he will dwell with them. and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God." A pastor friend of mine that I saw recently told me that
a man who had visited their church for several weeks asked him this
question. He said, Why do you sovereign
grace preachers speak so much about His people? Why do you
speak so much about His people? You notice in the text, the scripture
says in verse 3, and they shall be His people. Well, the pastor told the man,
he said, well, we talk a lot about His people because the
Bible speaks a lot about His people. And since he told me
that, it's been several weeks ago now, I've been thinking about
it, turning it over in my mind, his people. And so I took my
concordance and looked at just a few examples, places in the
scripture that speak to us about his people, about God's people. And I have nine that I want us
to look at tonight. You don't have to turn to all
of these places, but you are welcome to do so if you would
like. The first one is found in Genesis,
the book of Genesis, chapter 49. And these are the words of
Jacob. And Jacob is prophesying. He
had 12 sons and he had a prophecy to give for each one of his sons. And he came to, I believe, his
fourth son, who was named Judah. And in his prophecy this is what
he said in chapter 49 and verse number 10. The scepter shall
not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come. Now Shiloh of course is the peacemaker. Shiloh is Christ and This prophecy
tells us that the scepter would not depart from Judah. Judah
was the kingly tribe. Remember, David was of the tribe
of Judah, and the Lord Jesus Christ is David's son. He too
was of the tribe of Judah. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Now whose people are gathered
unto Shiloh? Whose people are gathered unto
Shiloh? His people. Obviously His people
are gathered unto Christ. Unto him shall the gathering
of the people be." God gathers His people to Christ, to the
Savior. Now, let's go on to another place,
if you will, in Deuteronomy. And there's many of these passages
of Scripture. I've just chosen a few. But in
Deuteronomy, chapter number 32, and verse 9, We read, for the Lord's portion
is his people. Now who is the Lord's portion? Who is the Lord's portion? His people. His people. Alright, let's go on to 1st Samuel
chapter 12. Just a few books over in the
Bible. 1st Samuel chapter 12. And This time verse 22. For the Lord will not forsake
His people for His great name's sake. Whose people will the Lord
not forsake? Or what people will the Lord
not forsake? His people. His people. Now let's go on to another one
in 1st Kings chapter 8. I Kings chapter 8 and verse number
56. Blessed be the Lord that hath
given rest unto his people Israel. Now what people is it to whom
the Lord gives rest? His people. There is no rest
to the wicked. Scriptures declare that in the
book of Isaiah. The wicked have no rest and will
never have any rest. But His people, God gives unto
them rest. We rest in Christ. We find rest
in Him. When a person is weary, weary
with their sin, sin becomes a load of bondage and a person comes
to Christ. How does a person come to Christ?
By faith. He looks to Christ and he finds
rest for his soul. You'll never find rest anywhere
else but in Christ. Not if you have a load of sin,
a guilt of sin upon your conscience, you'll never find rest. But he
gives unto his people rest. And then, if you will, let's
go on to Psalm 29. Psalm 29 and verse number 11. The Lord will give strength unto
his people. The Lord will bless his people
with peace. To whom does the Lord give strength? To whom does the Lord bless with
peace? His people. His people. Alright, let's go on now, if
you will, to Psalm 111. Now, don't call out the number,
the verse number, until I get here, because I don't want you
all to get ahead of me. Psalm 111 and verse 9. He sent redemption unto his people. To whom does the Lord send redemption? To his people. To his people. And then also, if you will, in
Psalm 149. Verse four, for the Lord taketh
pleasure in his people. The Lord takes pleasure in his
son, Christ. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased and every one of his people who are in Christ,
the scripture here declares, the Lord is pleased. pleased with his people, taketh
pleasure in his people. And then turn to Isaiah, Isaiah
chapter 51. In Isaiah chapter 51, in verse number
22, Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord
thy God, that pleadeth the cause of his people. Pleadeth the cause
of his people. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
advocate and he pleads the cause of what people? His people. His people. One other place,
Matthew chapter 1. This is in line with this time
of the year when many people are thinking about the birth
of Christ, Matthew chapter 1. These are the words to Joseph. The angel spoke these words to
Joseph. Joseph, verse 19 says, well,
let's read verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. And Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, Thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, or Savior, for he shall
save, who? His people from their sin. Why do we talk, why do we speak
so much about His people? Because the Bible speaks so much
about His people, His chosen people. And these verses that
we read here in the book of Revelation, in the new heaven and the new
earth, God will dwell and be with who? With His people. With His people. Now let me remind
us tonight of three things that the God of all grace gives His
people. His people. Three things that
the God of all grace gives His people. He doesn't give these
things to those who are not His people. He gives these things
to His people. First, God gives His people salvation
by grace. Many people look upon salvation
as an offer, but salvation is a gift. Salvation is given unto
men. In Titus 2 and verse 11, the
scripture said, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation. I think most people have the
idea that grace is just some attribute of God that's out here. Yes, God is gracious. He's the
God of all grace. And grace is there if you take
advantage of it, if you use it. But listen, the grace of God
is powerful. God's grace accomplishes what
God intends, and God gives salvation unto His people by grace. Look at this verse in Ephesians
chapter 2, very familiar verse of scripture to all of us here
tonight, but Ephesians 2 and verse 8. For by grace, Ephesians 2 and
verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Now if you notice
here within four verses, short verses, the Apostle Paul declares
this truth two times. That salvation is by God's grace. Notice he says that in verse
5, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, by grace you are saved. And then again in verse
8, for by grace are you saved through faith. I want you to
notice here in this passage in Ephesians chapter 2, several
things about God's grace bringing salvation. Number one, where
does grace find his people? Where did grace find you? If
you're saved, God's grace found you. Where did it find you? Well,
notice what the Apostle Paul tells us about the place when
God's grace finds his people. First of all, we were spiritually
dead. That's what it says in verse
1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins. Where did God's grace find you
when it brought salvation to you? And where does it find all
of his people? No exceptions. All of his people,
we were chosen in Christ. That's true, before the foundation
of the world. But we were also in Adam. And
when Adam fell, when he sinned, when he disobeyed God, we too
fell in him. He was our representative head,
just as Christ is the representative head of his people. Adam represented
all men. The scripture says, for in Adam
all die. Even so in Christ shall all be
made alive, all who are in Christ. But where does grace find his
people? He finds them dead in trespasses
and sins. Someone said, well, I don't feel
dead. Well, a dead person doesn't feel
anything. A live person's the one who feels. Do you feel your sin? Is sin
a weight to you? A dead person doesn't feel anything.
The grace of God finds us dead in trespasses and sins and quickens
us so that we do feel our sins, know our sins. Notice the second
thing he says, that grace finds us not only dead in sin, but
we are living according to the dictates of the prince of the
air. Verse 2. Wherein in time past
you walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air." Who's he talking about? That's
Satan. That's the devil. And he tells
us in 2nd Timothy that he takes people captive at his will. People think, oh, I'm free. I
can do anything I want to. I'm so free all the time under
the dominion and power and captives to Satan, under the prince of
the power of the air. Now, have you ever heard someone
say, well, I can quit this anytime I want to? You know, maybe they're
enslaved by some sin, some vice. Oh, I can just quit this anytime
I want to. And the way they prove it is
they've quit it many times. They're enslaved in captivity
to the prince of the power of the air. And that's not all he
says here. He says also that we were children
of disobedience fulfilling the desires of our flesh, among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
And not only that, but notice next in that verse of Scripture,
we were deserving. What am I saying? Where does
the grace of God find His people? God's grace finds His people
dead in trespasses and sins. Under the Prince of the power
of the air, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and deserving of the wrath of God. That's what he says, isn't
it? And we're by nature the children
of wrath, even as others, even as those who experience the wrath
of God, even as those who spend eternity in hell. We were no
different. His people, when God's grace
finds us, we were no different. From the Word of God, you cannot
imagine a worse condition to be in than to be lost. Lost in this world. Without any
interest, without any hope, lost. That's where God's grace finds
His people. But thank God God's grace doesn't
leave us there. Notice in this passage what God's
grace does for His people. Well, it tells us that we are
in union with Christ. His people in Christ are quickened,
raised, and saved. Notice verse 4. But God, who
is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. In union with Christ, we've been
quickened, we've been made alive, and hath raised us up together. Again, in union with Christ.
You know, this body that all of us live in, We have a head
and we have members. Now Christ has a body. He's the
head and all of his people are members of his body. And so when our head, when he
was crucified, we were crucified. And when he was raised, we were
raised with him. In fact, the Apostle goes on
in this passage to tell us that we are actually rather seated
with Him in the heavenly places. Already seated with Him in the
heavenly places. But we are quickened, we are
raised, and we are saved, and it is all by His grace. It's the gift of God. Most people,
that scripture that is given two times in Proverbs, it tells
us there's a way which seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof
is the way of death. That one way that just seems
like no matter where you find a person, we all think the same,
whether we were born in Africa, the United States, or China,
or Europe, wherever. All men seem to just be born
with this idea that I've got to work and earn my salvation. I've got to work and do something
to earn God's favor. That's the way that ends in death. God's salvation is by grace. You notice in this verse, It
says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God. And men like to argue, it, what
does that have reference to? Well, there are three things
before it, really. There is grace, and there is
salvation, and there is faith. It is the gift of God. All three,
really, are the gift of God. Grace is the gift of God. You
can't earn it. We never merited God's grace.
Salvation is the gift of God. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And faith is the gift. And faith, faith cometh, the
scripture says. Faith cometh by hearing. You're
sitting here, you're listening to preaching just like I've done
many times and all of us have done many times. And faith comes. Somehow it comes. And we believe. We believe. We believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Faith cometh. It's a miracle,
isn't it? It's a miracle. Repentance comes. Christ is a prince and a savior
to give repentance. All of these graces are gifts
that God gives His people. Do you believe tonight? Well
then, if you do, if you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, if
you can say Beyond a shadow of doubt, I know He is the Christ,
the Son of God. I believe in Him. I trust in
Him. What does that tell us? That
tells us you are one of His people. One of His people. Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Not in their sins, from their
sins. From the consequences of sin.
from the power of sin, and one day even from the presence of
sin. That's the first thing I would
remind us, that the God of all grace gives His people salvation. If you're saved tonight, you
know beyond a shadow of a doubt God gave you Christ. You don't deserve Him. You don't
deserve Christ. You don't deserve salvation.
It's God's gift. Number two, the God of all grace
gives His people His Word of grace. His Word of grace. Look with me in Acts chapter
20 just a moment. These are the words of the Apostle
Paul when he was meeting with the elders from the church at
Ephesus. And they knew that they were
partying in this world for the last time. And this is what he
told them in Acts chapter 20 and verse 32. And now, brethren, I commend
you to God and to the word of His grace. God gives His people
The Word of His Grace. The Word of His Grace, of course,
is the Scriptures, and they are given to us. And one writer said
this, His people may look in the Word of His Grace in these
directions. First, His people may look back. And when I mean back, I don't
mean behind us, I just mean in days gone by, all the way back
into eternity. We may look back. He's given
us the word of His grace and in this word of His grace we
read about that eternal covenant. That covenant that God made with
His people in Christ. We may look back to God's everlasting
covenant. When God's everlasting love presided
When He set His love upon His people. When God chose and gave
His people to Christ to be their covenant head and representative. So He's given us the word of
His grace. We may look back and we may look
down. His people may look underneath.
Because when we look underneath, what do we see? We see His everlasting
arms to sustain to keep His people. In Psalm 125 and verse 2, the
psalmist said, as the mountains are round about Jerusalem. Jerusalem
was situated with mountains all around it. And the psalmist makes
that comment, as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so
the Lord is round about who? His people. He's round about
His people. Those of us here tonight who
are His people, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about
us. That's what he said. As the mountains
are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people
from henceforth even forever. And neither sin, nor death, nor
hell can snatch one of His people out of His almighty hand. Nothing shall separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And third, His
people may look up. We may look back, we may look
underneath, we may look up. And when we look up, there we
see our Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God
who continually makes intercession for His people. those who come
unto God by Him. Here's the third and last thing.
God gives His people His throne of grace. Let's look over to
Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4 and beginning
with verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. God gives his people this throne
of grace, this throne of grace upon which our high priest continually
makes intercession for us. You know in the Old Dispensation,
the Old Testament, from the time that God gave the law to Moses
until the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. Remember there
was that tabernacle and later it was made a temple, but there
was one part of that place called the Holy of Holies and only one
day out of the year If they had 365 days in their year, I'm not
sure if they did or not. But however many days they had
in their year, one day, one day, I believe it was the 16th day
of the 10th month, they went into the Holy of Holies, the
high priesthood. When the Lord Jesus Christ died,
Now God dwelt in that place. There was the Ark of the Covenant,
there was a mercy seat with a cherubim, and above the cherubim was the
Shekinah. That was the throne of God. That's
where God dwelt. The physical manifestation of
God at that time was that Shekinah, that light, a manifestation of
the presence of God. That was the throne of God. But
you remember when the Lord Jesus Christ was hanging on that tree
outside the gates of Jerusalem and he cried out, it's finished.
The work which the Father had given him to do, it's finished.
Inside that temple, that veil that separated the holy place
from the most holy place, the scripture said it was rent from
the top to the bottom. and they could see into the priest
could then see into the Holy of Holies. What did that signify? It signified two things. Number
one, God had departed. God had departed. He no longer
could be worshipped, could be approached by the blood of those
animals. That dispensation was ended. And anyone today, you say, well
what if a person today were to get a lamb and offer that lamb
as a sacrifice unto God, would God accept it? No, no, absolutely
no. Why? Because those lambs pictured
the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He has been sacrificed. His blood has been shed. And
He's entered into the holy place made not with hands, into the
true tabernacle. And not only did it signify that
old dispensation was ended, But it signified that we have access
into the presence of God, the throne of grace. Let us therefore
come boldly. That's what the writer here says.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Do you ever have need? Do you ever find yourself in
need? I mean, you are in need. There's
a problem. There's a difficulty. There's
a trial. There's a situation. Whatever
you want to call it. And you're just ready to throw
your hands up. You don't know what to do. You
don't know how in the world this is ever going to be resolved.
Aren't you thankful for a throne of grace to which you may come
as one of His people and find mercy and grace to help in the
time of need? Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless this message to us tonight. His people. Why do we talk so
much about His people? Because the Bible talks a lot
about His people. He shall save His people from
their sins. All right, David.