You know, it seems that all of
God's preachers are somewhat different and yet we all have
the same message. But I heard recently about a
pastor who was a very methodical preacher. You could set your
clock by the time he would take in bringing his message. In fact,
his wife could set the oven before they left for service, and the
oven would come on, the food would be cooked, and they would
be ready to set down to eat. One Sunday, they got home, and
the food was burned up. The preacher had preached on
and on and on. And so they kind of got on to
him about it and he said, well I tell you there's a story behind
that. He said this morning on the way to service, he said one
of the buttons on my shirt popped off. And I just took it and stuck
it in my shirt pocket. And he said, you know for years
I've had this same habit. When I stand up to preach, I
reach in my pocket and pull out a mint. and put that in my mouth
and when that mint is dissolved my message is ending. He said
I reached in my pocket and pulled out that button and put that
in my mouth and so that's the story behind why I preached as
long as I did. I want to speak to us tonight on
a subject I'll give us in just a minute But in the Word of God,
in the New Testament especially, God's children, those who are
saved by the grace of God, we have many names which are given
unto us. We are called the sons of God.
Remember in John chapter 1, to as many as received him, to them
gave he the power to be called or to become the sons of God,
even to them which believe on his name. We are called the elect. The Apostle Paul in Colossians
speaks to the elect to put on vows of mercy. We're called his
sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ said, My
sheep, hear my voice and follow me. And we are also called the
heirs of God. Heirs and joint heirs with the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we are also called strangers
and pilgrims. And I want to speak to us tonight
on the subject of strangers. That is, how believers are marked
off in this world as strangers. The nation of Israel, we know,
was typical of God's people when they were in Egypt and after
God had delivered them. Egypt, of course, is a type of
the world. Pharaoh is a type of Satan. And
God put forth his hand and saved them, delivered them out of Egypt. And God gave them instructions,
once they came out of Egypt, God gave them instructions concerning
strangers. For instance, in Exodus chapter
22 and verse 21, we read, Thou shalt not vex a stranger, nor
oppress him. For you were strangers in the
land of Egypt, and also in Exodus chapter 23 also thou shalt not
oppress a stranger for you know the heart of a stranger seeing
you were strangers in the land of Egypt then the Apostle Paul
in Ephesians chapter 2 he wrote to Gentile believers and he said
this about them That when they were without Christ, they were
strangers from the covenants of promise. Now that all changed. When God saved them, they were
no longer strangers from the covenants of promise. Because
he said, now in Christ Jesus, you who were sometimes far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. They were no more strangers
from the covenants. They were God's children, but
they were strangers in this world. The apostle Peter wrote both
of his letters, 1 Peter, to Jewish believers who were strangers. He addressed them as strangers
scattered about. And in that sense, they were
Jews who had been scattered or dispersed among the nations,
but once they were saved, now here's the point, they were strangers
when he wrote to them, and once they were saved, Peter refers
to them as strangers and pilgrims. The men in the scripture and
women who we refer to as the patriarchs, those who lived before
Abraham. Abraham was, of course, a patriarch
also, but the scripture in Hebrew says, These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth. If you are a child of God tonight,
you are a stranger in this world. And I want to give us four things
that mark off a stranger. Now of course when the scriptures
was written these nations were separate from other nations and
these marks were maybe more apparent than they are today and especially
in our country because our country has always been a country referred
to as a melting pot where people from various nations have come
and have become a nation of Americans. So there's a lot of peculiarities
among us who are Americans. But here are four things that
mark off a stranger in the day in which the Bible was written.
The first thing is this. His birth His birth will mark
him a stranger. Typically a stranger is a person
who had been born in another country. And so he would be a
stranger in the land. And one of the things that marks
off every child of God as a stranger is his birth. Look with me in
John chapter 3. In John chapter 3. You're very
familiar, I know, with this passage of scripture when our Lord was
speaking to this religious man, this Pharisee, by the name of
Nicodemus. In John chapter 3 and verse 1
we read, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night
and said unto him, Rabbi, We know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now Nicodemus saith unto
him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
You must be born again. You see, the new birth is not
an option. It's not an option. If a person
would be a member of the kingdom of God, would enter or see the
kingdom of God, that person must experience a new birth. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
you must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, But canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth, so is every one that is born
of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto
him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Every child of God is marked
as a stranger because of his birth. Now this word which is
translated again in verse 3, except a man be born again, if
you look down in verse 31, the very same word is translated
by the English word above. He that cometh from above is
above all. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except A man be born from above. He cannot see the kingdom of
God. Now it's clear from Nicodemus'
response that he understood our Lord's question to be again. You must be born a second time. You must be born again. All of
us have been born one time. But if we are to enter the kingdom
of God, we must experience a new birth, a second birth, a birth
from above. The new birth is much more than
a reformation. And this is what I think gets
a lot of people in trouble. They recognize that something's
wrong in their life, and they need to make a change for whatever
reason. And so they reform. And they
are much better, morally speaking, than they had been. But that's
not the new birth. Many people reform. Many people
go to self-help programs and go through those programs. And
no doubt, when they come out morally, they are better. Better citizens. Better husbands. Better fathers. than when they
began. But that still is not the new
birth. Everyone who is born again of
the Spirit of God will become a better husband, a better father,
a better neighbor, no doubt about that. But you can do all of those
things by self-reformation. The new birth is a very radical
thing. It is a radical thing because,
just think of the terms that are used in the scriptures speaking
of the new birth. It is called taking away the
stony heart and giving a heart of flesh. Now that's a radical
thing, isn't it? Heart transplant, that's a very
radical surgery, physically. And the same is true spiritually. It has been made alive from the
dead. That's radical, isn't it? Here's
a person like Lazarus who has been in the grave four days and
he walks out of the grave. That's a radical thing. That's
not just a reformation. That's not just turning over
a new leaf. That's not just adding something.
No. He received life. Life. It is also referred to as being
made a new creature. And the very fact of the word
creature shows that it is a creation. And as our Lord says here in
this text in Nicodemus, the wind bloweth where it is listed. And
then He said, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. This
is a spiritual birth and it is wrought by the hand of God because
He's the only one who can create. Man cannot create. He may take
some things, some material and make something and we call it
a creation, but really he didn't create anything. He just rearranged
some things or put some things together. But God is the one
who created all things out of nothing. And you hath he quickened, the
apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2. You hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins. Here's a person, he has
no interest in the things of God. He may sit in a service
like this and when God's people are rejoicing, singing hymns
and praising the lily of the valley, his thought is, how can
I get out of here? When is this going to be over?
He has no relish. Why? Because he's spiritually
dead. And God works a work of grace
in the heart. You can't tell a person how to
be born again. You just can't do that. Now you
can give a person some advice, good advice, where you most likely
would be born of the Spirit of God. I would tell a person, find
a preacher. If a person asks me, how may
I be born again? I tell you what I would say,
you find a preacher who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
you be there listening. You be there every time the doors
open. And God may quicken you. He doesn't have to, but if He
does, He's going to use His Word. of his own will, begat he us
with the word of truth, the Apostle James tells us. This new birth
is also referred to as being delivered from the power of darkness. Man's under the power of darkness. His mind is darkened and only
God can command the light. The same God who in the beginning
commanded the light Let light be and light came into existence. He's the one who commands the
light to come into the heart of a person who is spiritually
dark and that person is now able to see the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. It's called a new creation. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, new creation. Old things
are passed away. We began to love that which before
we had no desire for. And we began to hate that which
before we loved. It's a radical thing. A stranger. All of God's children are strangers
in this world. Why? Because, first of all, They
have experienced a birth, they've been born from above, been born
by the Spirit of God. Now, in Titus the Apostle refers
to this new birth as the washing of regeneration and being made
a partaker of the divine nature in 1st Peter, or 2nd Peter rather. And the Apostle Paul speaks of
being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into
the kingdom of God's dear Son. Now how do I know if I have been
born of the Spirit of God? In 1 John, I believe God had
this book written for us, just a short letter, five chapters,
but I believe there are five marks in that epistle to show
a person if he has been born again. The first mark that I
mention tonight and the only mark I'm going to mention is,
whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Whosoever. Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ. Remember, when our Lord asked
his disciples, whom do men say that I am? There was a number
of answers, wasn't there? And then our Lord said, but whom
do you say that I am? And I asked each one of us tonight,
whom do you say that Christ is? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Blessed, blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal
that unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. The second
mark is a stranger. His spirit will mark him as a
stranger. Look at this verse in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse
12. His spirit will mark him a stranger
in this world. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 12,
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit of God, that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. The Holy Spirit is the author
of the new birth, as our Lord said, compared to the wind, which
is the same word, spirit, And he said, so is everyone that
is born of the Spirit. When a person is born of the
Spirit of God, he trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord
and as his Savior, and God the Holy Spirit comes to live in
our heart. Christ in you, the hope of glory. We, the apostles, says we have
not received the Spirit of the world, but we have received the
Spirit, which is of God. What is the spirit of this world?
As I thought about this, I think there's one word that describes
the spirit of this world maybe as good as a multitude of words. The spirit of this world is selfishness. Selfishness. You know, the believers
in the church at Philippi were generous. They were generous. they didn't have much, look with
me in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, they didn't have much of the
things of this world But Paul describes them encouraging
the believers. Corinth was a wealthy city, relatively
speaking, especially compared to the churches in Macedonia,
where Philippi was located. And Paul says, Moreover, brethren,
we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches
of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance
of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their
liberality. For to their power I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves, praying
us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take
upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And
this we did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves
to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. These people in
their deep poverty. Now, we don't, most Americans
do not know what poverty is. Really. If you have not visited
a foreign country, most Americans have no idea what poverty is. What is poverty in this country
is one of these big color TVs, air conditioning, two cars in
the garage, and so forth and so on. These people were in poverty,
deep, when Paul said deep poverty, but yet that gave them the opportunity
to show that they had a spirit, not a spirit of selfishness,
which is the spirit of this world. but a spirit of thanksgiving
to give for the good and for the going forth, sending forth
the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote to that
church, to that church, the church at Philippi, godliness with contentment
is great gain. How many people do we meet with
who it seems are never, never content. They're never content. They always want more, more,
more. Reminds me of that proverb, one
of the proverbs, which says there are three things that are never
satisfied. Yea, four things that say not,
it is enough. The grave, The grave just keeps
clamoring for more, more, more. The barren womb, the woman who
desires to have children, the earth that is not filled with
water, and the fire that saith not, it is enough. The fire never says, I've burned
long enough. No, it just keeps crying, give
me more material, more combustible material. A stranger is marked by his spirit. He's not a selfish person. By
nature, all of us are selfish. Now that's just so. Someone said,
we need to teach people to love themselves. Oh, I don't know
where you came from. We automatically love ourselves. The problem is to love others,
right? even as we love ourselves this
past week and maybe I shouldn't tell this story but we were last
Sunday evening about this time we visited a church and a new
church and they they wanted us to go out after the service and
pastor invited everyone who wanted to come to a place to eat and
he told me he said we'll go over there and they have shakes and
they have burgers and I was hungry And I said, I thought to myself,
well, you can have a shake. I'm getting me a burger with
french fries. But we went in there and there
was a young couple, young couple. He's a carpenter by trade. And
he was kind of standing in the back and people were giving their
order. And I said, now, I want to pay
for this. No, no way. I want to pay for
this. and I could afford it I had the
money I want to pay for this and this young man he said no
no way and I mean he was just insistent so he paid and then
we were talking and he's a carpenter he was telling me about working
in a house 10,000 square feet pretty big house right that they're
building and he said my wife and I live in a mobile home Now
there's nothing wrong with living in a mobile home. But I told
Pat, when we left there, and she said, isn't that always the
case? The people who have the less
are always the most giving people you ever meet. And that's just
so. God's people are people, they're
strangers and they're marked because they have a giving spirit
of sharing with other people. And I told that young man, I
said, haven't you ever read the scripture after we were walking
to the car that you should let, or the older should give to the
younger? There is a scripture, I'm going
to look it up, I haven't yet, but it speaks of parents should
lay up for their children. You know what I'm talking about? It's here in either 1st or 2nd
Corinthians. And I'm going to write him and
tell him where that scripture is found. But so kind to us of
a different spirit. Now here's a third thing that
marks a stranger. His speech, his birth, his spirit,
and his speech will mark him a stranger. Because he speaks
the language of grace. Oh to grace, how great a debtor. Daily I'm constrained to be. The language in the land is the
dignity of man, the power of free will, man's inherent goodness,
but the stranger, he speaks of God's amazing grace, where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound. I am what I am by the
grace of God, and that speech marks him off as a stranger,
and especially in religious circles. No, they want to talk about what
they've done, what they've given, and so forth and so on. But the
child of God, who is a stranger in the land, he speaks a different
language. He speaks the language of grace. You know, our speech is made
up of our vocabulary. And God's strangers have a vocabulary
that most people in this world do not have and do not use. They
speak of sovereignty, of God's sovereignty. They speak of unconditional
election, that God of His own sovereign will and purpose chose
a people that He would save. And He had every right to pass
over those whom He's passed over. And in mercy and grace choose
those that He has chosen. They speak a language of irresistible
grace. I was doing everything I could,
running as fast toward hell as I could go, and God did something
for me. He touched me. He arrested me
on my pursuit to eternity without God. They speak of being eternally
secure in Christ. They like to speak of the everlasting
covenant and the surety of that covenant. And oh, they love to
speak and to sing of the blood of Jesus Christ. What can wash
away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Christ. Now fourth, a stranger is marked
off by his apparel. So his birth, his spirit, his
speech, his apparel, his dress. Among the Mayan Indians, where
we lived in Mexico for so long, and this had been changing before
we got there, and even more so since we left, even much more.
But the Mayeros, that's what they were called, they had a
dress, and it was white. It was all white. The men dressed
all in white, and the ladies, they had those dresses that were
white, but they were bordered beautifully with embroidery.
But you could tell a Mayan by their dress. We visited Chiapas,
Mexico. I remember in San Cristobal de
las Casas, there were a number of tribes there and they were
all distinguished by their dress. Now I didn't recognize their
dress, but they recognized. others, and some of them had
a hat that had ribbons. I remember different colored
ribbons and those colors identified them. And God's people are identified,
are marked off as strangers by our apparel. God's strangers,
we all have the same dress, the righteousness of Christ. And
everyone else is clothed in filthy rags. And those of the world,
they pride themselves in their filthy rags, their righteousnesses. But the stranger that is God's
child, he would not trade his apparel for all the world. Because he knows that dressed
in the righteousness of Christ, he is accepted. And he is before
God as holy as God's dear son. Oh, the apparel is so different.
Now let me close with this. We should let these things sink
into us who claim to be strangers here tonight. And don't be surprised
at the reception you receive in this world. Don't be surprised. You are a stranger. And people
are just afraid of strangers, anyone who's different. And number
two, don't forget that we are traveling through our home where
we will not be strangers. And all of us there, all of us
there, will have experienced the same birth, have received
the same spirit, have the same speech, and have the same dress. for we are predestined to be
conformed to the image of his son. I pray the Lord would bless
his word to all of us here tonight. Let's take our hymn