Remember those who requested
prayer. Praise is going back this Friday for another biopsy
on his neck. See what happens there. We'll
pray to the Lord. Intervene in that situation. Remember those
others who requested prayer also. Seek the Lord's help for them.
Other than that, I can't think of any other announcements. Let's
begin our worship service with hymn number 442. Praise Him,
praise Him, Jesus, our blessed Redeemer. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. Sing o'er these wonderful love
proclaim. Hail Him, hail Him, highest archangels
in glory. an honor, give to his holy name. Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard
his children in his arms. He carries them all day long. ♪ Praise Him, praise Him ♪ Tell
of His excellent greatness ♪ Praise Him, praise Him ♪ Ever in joyful
song ♪ Praise Him, praise Him ♪ Jesus our blessed Redeemer
♪ For our sins He suffered and bled and died ♪ Rock our hope of eternal salvation
♪ Hail Him, hail Him, Jesus the crucified ♪ Sound His praises,
Jesus who bore our sorrows ♪ Log on by Praise Him, praise Him, tell
of His excellent greatness. Praise Him, praise Him, ever
in joyful song. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus
our blessed Redeemer. ♪ Heavenly portals loud with
hosannas ring ♪ ♪ Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever ♪ ♪
Crown Him, crown Him, prophet and priest and king ♪ ♪ Christ
is coming ♪ ♪ Over the world victorious ♪ Power and glory
♪ Unto the Lord belong ♪ Praise Him, praise Him ♪ Tell of His
excellent greatness ♪ Praise Him, praise Him ♪ Forever in
joyful song After scripture reading and prayer,
we will sing hymn number 294. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the Revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, chapter 17. I want to read one verse
of scripture. Verse 8, The beast that thou
sawest was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world. when they beheld the beast that
was and is not and yet is. Let us pray. Our Father, we bless you and thank you for your
great grace for ruined and wretched sinners who are without hope
and without help in this world and of themselves are nothing
and can produce nothing that would recommend them to you.
And yet you and your kindness Your love, eternal love, mercy
and grace, chose out of this fallen race a number that no
man can number, spoken of as being greater than the stars
of the skies and the sands upon the seashore, and sent your son into this world
to die in their room instead, to satisfy your laws, demands,
and justice. and set it so they would stand
before you accepted in the beloved, sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, saved by your grace, redeemed by the blood of Christ. We praise you, Father, for we
deserve nothing but eternal perdition, to be cast into the pit with
the beast, Thou, Lord, has written our names
in heaven before the foundation of the world, and in that we
do rejoice. Father, we pray for those who
are sick, remember especially Brother Fred as he's going for
this biopsy, we pray you'd be with those doctors and give them
great skill. You know our hearts desire that he be healed of these
maladies, bring him back to a good measure of health. Pray for the
others who've requested prayer, We ask, Lord, your help for them,
strengthen them in Jesus Christ. We pray for ourselves this day.
We need to see our Savior high and uplifted through the eyes
of faith, to see Him exalted, seated in our right hand, even
ever living to make intercession for us. We are thankful that
we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the
righteous. We know what we are. We know that in and of ourselves
there's nothing. But because of what Christ has
done, we are your children, your household of faith. And we thank
you for that. Help us now to worship you. In
Christ's name we pray, amen. Hymn number 294, Savior like
a shepherd lead us. Savior, like a shepherd lead
us, much we need thy care. In thy pleasant pastures feed
us, For our use thy foes prepare. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. ♪ Blessed Jesus, blessed
Jesus ♪ Thou hast brought us thine we are ♪ We are thine,
do thou befriend us ♪ Be the guardian of our way ♪ Thy flock
comes and defend us ♪ Sing us when we go astray ♪ Blessed Jesus,
blessed Jesus ♪ Thou has brought us thus far ♪ Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus
♪ ♪ Hear, oh hear us when we pray ♪ ♪ Thou has promised to
receive us ♪ ♪ Poor and sinful though we be ♪ ♪ Thou has mercy
on us ♪ ♪ Praise to cleanse and pound to
free ♪ ♪ Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus ♪ ♪ Early let us turn to
Thee ♪ ♪ Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus ♪ ♪ Early let us turn to
Thee ♪ Early, let us do Thy will. Blessed Lord and only Savior,
with Thy love our wills fill. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
Thou hast loved us ♪ Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus
♪ ♪ Thou hast loved us, loved us still ♪ Bless Steve and Sam
to receive that this morning, please. Let us pray. Father, again we
approach in the name of Jesus Christ, our majestic and glorious
savior, the one who purchased our salvation with his blood,
the one who represents us before thee, the one who has been made
to be unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is that unspeakable, perfect gift from heaven that you have
given to all your children, and with him you have freely given
them everything. Let us return unto Thee that
which belongs to You with a joyful heart, we pray in Christ's name.
Amen. This passage of scripture states
that the whole world is interested in and wondering
at the beast, which represents Satan, but also represents Babylon,
the great whore, whose religious, sociopolitical influence has
covered the world and mocked the true and living God and His
people. And everybody's interested in
that except for somebody who's not. And the people who are not
interested in that are said to be those whose names were written
in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world. They're
not interested in Babylon. are not interested in the beast
and his works, the mighty works that he's done and he can do,
as predicted in the Word of God, as prophesied in the Word of
God. He would come in the last days and do wonders and signs
and miracles and people would flock to him, except for those
whose names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation
of the world. Now what that speaks to is a
group of people called in innumerable company,
called a number greater than the sands of the sea or the stars
of heaven. We know that is metaphorical
language. It means a whole lot. A whole lot of people were written in a book. an eternal book, a book that
existed in the mind and purpose of God before the foundation
of the world. And it's clear that those people as set forth
in the Word of God are people who will not perish. They are
people who are safe and secure in the arms of Jesus Christ.
Now there are many themes in this book of Revelation, the
Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Lamb slain is a prominent
theme. The Lamb upon the throne is a
prominent theme. These are central to the entire
book. It is Christ in His capacity
as Substitute that occupies the place of the Sovereign Ruler. This is a theme that brings great
comfort to the child of God, and we can rest in quiet peace
knowing that He who has bought us by His blood and His death
sits in regal majesty governing and directing all creatures,
all events, everything for our good and for His glory. Another theme that comforts our
soul is that Christ appears and is revealed in this book as the
absolute conqueror and victor over all evil, all sin, and all
enemies. And there is another theme that
is prominent and permeates this wonderful revelation of Christ.
A prominent feature of the revelation is that everywhere we find the
Church in this book, And this book was written to the seven
churches of Asia about the seven visions that were given to John
concerning the seven churches in Asia Minor. No matter where
you find the church in this book, we find Christ in their midst. Every occasion where you find
the church, it said, whether it be the seven candlesticks,
That's the churches, and Christ has starred the middle of them.
No matter the incident, whether amid harsh judgments or providential
woes, or times of wondrous praise and worship, Christ is always
in the midst of His church. It says in Zephaniah, He that
is in the midst of thee is mighty to save, is mighty to save. Since this book This Revelation
of Jesus Christ is not a future book. It was written 2,000 years
ago, about the year 100 or so, maybe 120, by John the Beloved
on the Isle of Patmos. He wrote about what was happening
now and shortly to come to the churches of God, and what he
was writing about was what we are living now in the Gospel
Age. Christ is in the midst of His
Church this hour. God's Church is in the world,
but they are in the world as an elect, redeemed, and sealed
multitude, whose names are written down in eternity in the Book
of Life, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
That is how He is described in Revelation 13. He is the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. Now His slaying or
His death was our salvation. There is nothing in this world
or in the world to come that is more secure in this world
than the believer. There is nothing more secure
than the believer. In our text John makes a true
distinction. He describes a world-gone man
for religious power and political power and all that dwell therein.
at the beast and it says they are deluded. They are deluded. He speaks of that in another
place in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. It describes them why they are deluded.
Why are they deluded? We like to think, well, they
just made a bad choice. No. Why are they deluded? In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2
and verse 9 it speaks of the beast. Since even him who is coming
after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, he captivates the mind of people. And with all deceivableness,
everything he does is a lie of deceivableness of unrighteousness
in them that perish or are perishing. Why do they perish? They have
not received the LOVE of the TRUTH that they might be saying. They have not received it. Now, how does someone get it?
God has got to give it to them, and they have not received the
LOVE of the TRUTH. There are many people who enjoy
studying the TRUTH. There are many people who can
quote you book and chapter concerning the TRUTH. But there are only those elect
who love the truth of God. Why don't they love the truth?
It says, For this cause God shall send them strong delusion. God
will delude them that they should believe the
lie. You remember those discussed in Isaiah chapter 28, who they
said, ìWe have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have
we hid ourselves.î This is their statement in the face of the
true and living God. He says, ìThis is what they say. Iíve sent before them the sweet
peace of God. Precept upon precept, line upon
line, here a little and there a little, and they would not.
I've told them about the rest and the peace and the refreshing
of the gospel. They wouldn't have anything to
do with it. They're gonna believe a lie instead.
The world's gone mad. Religion's gone mad. You tell
somebody that God saves whom he will, God has chosen whom
he would save for the foundation of the world, and he'll tell
you, you know, I believe in the free will. That's a lie. Free will is a lie. It doesn't
exist. It's a lie. But it's more comfortable
for the human being to believe that, unless God does something
for him and to him. For this cause God shall send
them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness." He sent them a delusion so they'd
believe a lie and He's going to put them in hell for the lie
they believe. Now, who's the first cause of
all that? You say, well, they don't sound right. It doesn't
matter what it sounds like, it's what God's Word says. It's what
God's Word says. These are seduced and deceived
by the great harlot Everyone has succumbed to the wiles of
the great whore Babylon, except for those whose names are written
in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. Who
are they? Those who are written to life. The word prografo, written
to life, is used in Acts chapter 13 and 48. And they all rejoiced
in the Word of God, and as many as were ordained to life. That word is prografo, written
to life. When were they written to life?
Before the world began. The repeated theme of this book
is that the believer is eternally safe and secure in Jesus Christ. Now, much of the world's religion
holds that a person can be secure one moment and lost the next. They that believe such do so
in overt denial of the Word of God. Now I grew up in religion
and under the false teaching of the security of salvation. I was a Baptist, raised a Baptist,
taught a Baptist, Sunday school Baptist, church Baptist, Wednesday
night Baptist, choir member Baptist, that was all those things. And
I was taught, once saved, always saved. And what they based that
on was at 12 years old I walked down an aisle after they sang
74 verses of Just As I Am, and I came down and I shook a preacher's
hand, and people patted me on the back and congratulated me
that I'd been saved, like I had something to do with it. And the preacher told me, don't
ever doubt your salvation, because if you do, you're doubting God.
If that's your experience in Christ, I suggest you start doubting
right away. Start doubting right away. But I grew up in that. I was
taught that once I made my decision for Jesus that God would never
let me go. I did the work and he's gonna keep me. That's what
they taught me. Though I never had a true interest in Jesus
Christ until I was a lot older. My manifold reformations and
rededications were done to assuage my screeching banshee of a conscience
in my bosom. I was told never to doubt my
eternal security lest I be found doubting God. And that notion
was neither secure nor eternal. However, those who have been
redeemed and justified and sanctified and called by Jesus Christ, those
who have been saved by His grace, alerted to the fact that it is
by the Holy Ghost they are regenerated through the Word, the Gospel.
Those who had tasted the grace of God have been shown mercy
from God. Those who have been NAMED and CALLED and CHOSEN and
FAITHFUL are ABSOLUTELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT, UNCONDITIONALLY SECURE,
and they will never fall away. They may trip, they may stumble,
they will trip, they will stumble, they will fall down, but the
Lord will lift them up. The Word of God never puts the
elect in jeopardy of soul. Never, never one instance does
it do that. In Job chapter 17 and verse 9
it says, The righteous also shall hold on his way, he'll hold on
his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. That's a promise, a promise of
God. That's throughout the scriptures
these words are spoken. Let's look at a few, open your
Bibles. Psalm 94, verse fourteen for the lord will
not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance
so your security is something that the lord won't do he won't
cast you off he won't cast you off psalm eighty nine verse twenty nine his seed also will I make to
endure forever. His throne is the days of heaven,
if his children forsake my law, and walk not according to my
judgment. If they break my statutes, and
keep not my commandments, then I will visit not them, but their
transgression." Where was that done? On Calvary's tree. with
the rod and their iniquity with stripes, nevertheless, my lovingkindness
will not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to
fail." You see, your salvation is about God's faithfulness. The old preacher asked John Jasper
one time, he said, if you get to heaven, God, what happens
if you get to heaven and God doesn't accept you? John Jasper
said, he'll have more to lose than I will. you lose his honor,
his faithfulness, his loving kindness, his word
will have fallen to the ground. Time and time again in scripture,
Jeremiah chapter 32 Verse 40, I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good. God says I'm not going to turn
away from them, I'm always going to be doing good for them. But
I will put my fear, that is worship, love, reverence in their hearts
and they shall not depart from me. I'm not going to depart from
them and they're not going to depart from me. Our Lord said,
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will know wisely cast out. For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is my Father's will, which is sent me. Of all he has
given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again in the
last day. John Chapter 10, Our Lord said,
In the face of unbelief by she, shall hear my voice, and they
shall follow me, and I will give unto them eternal life, and no
man is able to pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave
them me is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." Romans chapter 8 verses 28 through
39 says it all. starts out with all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that call according
to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. Whom he called,
them he also justified. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. What shall we say to these things?
Well, if God's for us, who can be against us? He spared not
his own son. But freely gave him up for us
all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? God,
Paul said to Timothy, who has called us with a holy calling,
not according to our wish, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us before we existed, given us in
Jesus Christ before the world began. That is when your names
were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now I remember many
of those invitation systems where the preacher would wax elephants
or wax eloquent. And he would stand up and he'd
say, When you come down front tonight, an angel in heaven is
going to go dip his wings in the blood of Christ and he's
going to write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's a
beautiful baloney. That's what that is. It's Oscar
Mayer 3D. It's a lie. When were your names
written? Before the world was. Ere a star
was hung in space. Ere the planets were put in their
orbits. Ere the first thing was called into existence was only
God. He wrote your names in the everlasting wondrous book of
the Lamb. Several things declare that the
believer is eternally secure and that it is impossible for
anyone who is saved to ever be lost. God's perfection guarantees
the security of the believer. His mercies are new every morning.
Every morning. The fact that God does not change
guarantees the eternal security of the elect. I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore, because I don't change,
ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. What God does, he says in Ecclesiastes,
He does forever. He does forever. James 1.17 says,
All good and perfect gifts come from above, from the Father of
lights, in whom there is no variability, nor shadow of turning. His love will never become hate.
That's what religion's fault is. They say God loves you, has
a wonderful plan for life, and He loves you, and He loves you,
and He loves you, and right at the end of your life when you don't
accept Him, He's going to hate you and put you in hell. That's
a changing God right there. The reason you don't perish,
sons of Jacob, sinners all, because God does not change. God does
not change. His mercy will never become wrath.
His justice, having been satisfied for the elect, can never demand
satisfaction from the elect. God's omnipotence ensures us
of His salvation. It is He who is working in us
to will and to do of His good pleasure. God's eternal purpose
in Christ will not be altered. Read Ephesians 1 and 2 Thessalonians
2. It is not going to be altered.
This is a sure thing. It ends with us being sealed
with the Holy Spirit as the earnest of our salvation. His promise
is as sure as His Word, and all the promises are yea and amen
in Jesus Christ. The finished work of Christ guarantees
the eternal security of the believer. We were freed from the curse
of the law because He was made a curse for us. Galatians 3 says,
He hath entered once into the holy place and obtained eternal
redemption for us. For by one offering He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified, so much so that God will remember
their sins no more. The believer once justified can
never be unjustified, not if God did it. Christ has made the
elect COMPLETE! What does that mean? That means
they are DONE! They are CLEAN! They are COMPLETE! You are COMPLETE in Him, it says
in Colossians 2. If we are BLESSED, we cannot
be UNBLESSED! Any more than being BORN, we
can be UNBORN! Christ's ongoing intercession
SECURES us! What does He say in John chapter
17 as He finishes that wonderful prayer to the Lord? John chapter 17, He says in 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. Well, how long has he loved his
people? Verse 26, And I have declared unto them thy name,
and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou loved me,
that was before the foundation of the world, may be in them,
and I in them. Thou lovest them as thou hast
loved me. How did he love him? Before the
foundation of the world. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, he said, Jeremiah. Therefore, because I love you,
I've drawn you to me. I've pulled you toward me. I've
brought you to me in Jesus Christ. He is our present Advocate. John
said if we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ
the Righteous. The Holy Spirit has sealed the
elect in the day of redemption, becoming our down payment or
our earnest. We are secure because all of
our salvation is the work of the Father, the Son, the Holy
Spirit, and no part of it is or ever has been or ever will
be dependent on us in any way. God did it! How great is that? God did it. It's a done deal.
What of those who profess Christ but end up in the end turning
back to their former life? There are those who do that.
We've seen them here. I've seen them in my life. I've
seen preachers. Man, they could preach up a storm. Every time
they got in a pulpit, preached God's grace, knocked the ball
right out of the park. I mean, they were something else. Leave. Depart. and join some false religious
organization. I've seen it happen. I've seen
those come to hear me and be with us for a while and then
all of a sudden they're gone. They disappear. There is no doubt
that every member of the body of Christ and every man who occupies
the pulpit can recall the name of many who seem to have been
believers but have let go of the plow and turned back. many
walked in the company of this local body and they left never
to return but this is life our lord after preaching the
great great message in john chapter six for many who heard him said this
is too hard sovereignty and salvation it's
too hard we're going to leave many departed from him and he
looked at Jesus and said will you go away also? Peter said
no way no way you're the living Christ we believe and assure that thou
art the Son of God and thou hast the words of eternal
life Why do some seem to be sincere
yet depart? We know that no true believer
will, but many who profess to believe disappear. Love of the
world claims many souls, our Lord said that in the parable
of the sower. Others are destroyed by trials,
the thorns that come up in the garden. False teaching ensnares
some and puts them in chains, according to Galatians chapter
5. These who depart and never return
Why do they? They're not believers. John said in 1 John, because
when he wrote 1 John, many of those who had started out good
seemed to be gone altogether. And I've quoted this to some
people, and they say, Well, that's too hard, but it's just so. If we
could start believing God's Word and stop believing our own thoughts
and our own emotions, we'd be well off. John said in 1 John, Chapter
2, verse 19, he says, They went out from us, but they were not of us. That's
pretty clear, isn't it? For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be manifest that they were not at all of us. They were not of us. Why'd they
go? Well, they weren't of us. They weren't of us. It is one
thing to embrace a system of doctrine. I did it for years.
It teaches us about a person. It is something else altogether
to meet and know and embrace a person whom the doctrine teaches. It is altogether something else
to meet, know, and embrace him. It is one thing to reform. It
is another something else altogether to be regenerated through the
preaching of the gospel. There is one thing to change
and it is altogether something else to be changed by the creative
power of God Almighty. Many will depart believing that
they are yet safe. Matthew 7, verse 22. Lord, Lord,
didn't we prophesy in thy name? Didn't we do great wonders in
thy name, great things in thy name? Didn't we cast out devils
in thy name? Disciples cast out devils, and
they were really proud of themselves. They come back to the Lord and
say, your word is great. We usually cast out devils. He
said, don't take no stock in that. Rejoice in this, that your
names are written in heaven. That your names are written in
heaven. Those who are God's will never
depart. Paul said to the Philippian church,
ìBe confident of this very thing, that God, who began the good
work in you, will perform it until the return or the day of
Jesus Christ, salvation of the Lord. Therefore the believer,
the elect, the Church of God is eternally secure. Everybody
will follow the beast. Everybody will join up with Babylon. Everybody will become religiously,
socially, and politically correct in doing all that to rule the
world until Christ comes. But there will be those who walk
this earth who are in it but not of it, and they will not
look to false religion. They will look to Christ. because
their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. Father, bless His
true understanding, we pray in Christ's name, Amen.