Now, it's hard to begin where we left off, but I was talking about the peculiarities of the Lord's church. The peculiarities of the Lord's church. So, I want us to try, at least, to begin where we left off. Not talking about the similarities, not the familiarities, not the commonalities, not the things that we believe, that other folks believe, but the things that are peculiar to Baptists. The things that make Baptists different from every other religious institution in the world. And I can say that without any fear of not being able to establish that from the word of the Lord. We've already dealt with some of those peculiarities, But this morning I would like to introduce at least two things that might illustrate that there are some things peculiar to the Lord's churches. If you were to choose ambassadors to go into all the world and to represent the greatest institution that ever existed on the face of the earth, the greatest with the greatest message, the greatest mission that was ever given to accomplish the greatest ends that could be accomplished, eternal salvation for the souls of men. What sort of people, what kind of ambassadors would you choose to do your work? Well, I want you to turn with me to two passages of scripture. One of them dealing with the apostles early on, and the other one a church at Corinth. But I want you to look first of all at Acts chapter 4 and verse 13. It seems strange to me that the Lord would have chosen these men, these kinds of men. Now, looking at just one verse, and that is verse 13, for I'm not going to deal with the healing that went on at that place, but it says, now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. They marveled, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Now if you were to look up those words, you will find that when they perceived that they were idiotic, Does that word ring a bell with you? It's spelled I-D-I-O-T-E-S. When they perceived that they were idiots, when they perceived that they were ignoramuses, when they perceived that they were unlearned men, they took note and they marveled that they could speak with such blowness. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. I wonder if you would have chosen ignoramuses to represent the institutions that I just mentioned. I wonder if you would have chosen idiots. That's exactly what they referred to them as. Common men. not educated, not trained, ignoramuses, unlearned idiots, and yet they were the men that caused them to marvel that they had been with Jesus. Another passage is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and I know that you're familiar with these scriptures, but it up does us good to go back and look at the things that we are familiar with because often times we lose sight of precious truth because of familiarity. Now the Corinthians of course considered themselves way up on the rungs of the spiritual ladder. And I believe that Paul is bringing them back down to where they can see themselves as they really are. Yet at the same time, it illustrates the point that I am trying to make, illustrating that God does not do things the way the world would do it. God does not employ the intelligentsia of the will in order to do his bidding and his will. Now we read here in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 beginning at verse 26, where the apostle said, well you see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen Yea, and things which are not, they bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. that according as it is written, he that glorious, let him glory in the Lord. And so we begin today with eleven frightened men for fear of the Jews. They were up in that room when Christ, on that first resurrection day, appeared to them, breathed on them, spoke peace to them, and showed them his hands with nail breaks. And the disciples were glad. We want to begin there and talk about today after we pray the peculiarities of the church that Jesus called my church. Let us pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, we pray in the Lord Jesus' name, that Thou will open our eyes and our ears that we might see and hear, and give us willing minds and hearts that we might apply what Thy Word teaches to us this day. Help us, we do pray, to learn more about this church that Jesus calls my church, that we might treasure it more, that we might realize what a tremendous thing it is to be a part of, to be a member of, to be associated with, and have the blessed, wonderful promise that He is coming back to present his church unto himself without spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing, but to present her in all of her glory as his bride. These things we thank thee for in the name of the Lord Jesus, and for his sake we pray. Amen. Now, I thought those two passages might just offer us a good introduction to the peculiarities of the Lord's church. Now Christ, we are told in the New Testament, is referred to over and over as Lord. And maybe one time you might find Him looking for that blessed hope and that glorious appearing of the great God, our Savior, Jesus Christ. I want you to understand, first of all, that I know that Jesus Christ is as much God as God the Father is God. But the New Testament does not refer to the Lord Jesus that way it refers to Him as Lord. And when you're reading the New Testament, and you run across the term Lord, it will be talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul prayed that that thorn might be removed from him, he prayed to the Lord, and it was the Lord Jesus that said to him, His grace was sufficient And so it was in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. I want to begin, first of all, with this thought. I don't know how much of it I covered before, so it will be repetitious, but it will not be vain repetition. We learn in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 28 that God set some in the church first Now that is very, very important. I know I mentioned it before, but we should stop and realize that this is an approach to the origin of the church that you all read about. I have read, I don't know how many books that deal with the church. I have never ran across anything, and I'm not saying this to boast, I have never run across anything that approaches the origin of the church the way I have been doing in the last two or three services. To take it all the way back to God Himself. Now was it the Lord Jesus who set the apostles in the church? Or was it Almighty God who set the apostles in the church? God set some in the church first apostles. Now, if that sounds contrary or confusing to you, you just hang on, because I'm going to elucidate and elaborate on these things and surely they will not be confusing when you look at them as you are. Someone has said that we often think of Christ as being more intimate with us. We think of Christ loving us and saving us and we feel an intimacy with Christ that we don't feel or imagine with God the Father. But I want to ask you this question. Who was it that loved you enough to give up his son for you? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. You see, it is a wrong view to think somehow or another Christ loved us. God was aggravated and mad at us. And Christ sort of went as a go-between, and consequently, God is willing now to accept and put up with us because of what His Son did. As a dazed man in between fallen man and almighty God, we need to come to grips with these kinds of things and to realize that it was not only that God loved you, but that God sent his Son into the world to redeem you from your sins. that you might receive the adoption of sons in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when did God set these apostles in the church? Well, you said it was after Jesus. and spent all night in prayer as we learn from the Gospels, and he called all of his disciples unto himself, and he chose twelve whom he named apostles. You say, that's when it happened. Really? Then what did Jesus mean in John 17 when he said, the men that thou gavest me? When did the Father decide to give to His Son those twelve men? Did God the Father decide to do that after the Lord Jesus chose them, after an all-night of prayer? Or did God Himself, who set the apostles in the church, Give these men to the Lord Jesus, even before He sent Christ Jesus into the world. Now, we are going to deal with that when we get into the 17th chapter of John, where Jesus is praying that high priestly prayer. What I want to establish in your minds, if I can, that the church concept was with Almighty God before he ever sent Jesus into the world. And he sent John the Baptist before he ever sent Jesus to prepare the material out of which Jesus would take and organize this institution that he calls My church. Now there is a view that the church began on the day of Pentecost. And as a matter of fact, it is a very popular view that the church began on the day of Pentecost. But before I get away from the thought I was just trying to establish I want you to look at Acts chapter 15 and verse 18 and see if it doesn't accredit what I just got through saying, that the concept of the church originated with Almighty God. All you have to do is use a little common thinking and it makes me wonder why I never read where somebody thought of it. Do you imagine that God is going to send his son into the world to be a sacrifice? And the gospel is his death, his burial, and resurrection. and not make provision for that message to be preached to the whole world. That God so loved the world that He gave His Son, but that God would not have provided that there would be an institution to go into all the world and preach the gospel, what gospel? The gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So you see, God is making provisions. Even before John came, even before Jesus came, even before the words were spoken by the Lord Jesus, I reveal my church. It was conceived in the mind and the heart of Almighty God. Look at Acts 15 and verse 18 and see what it says. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world? No, from the beginning of the ages. Now, do you believe that God knew about the church? Well, he didn't know about it until Christ instituted it. Now, you're talking about getting yourself hung on the horns of a dilemma. If you believe that Christ did a work that God knew nothing about, and that Christ did a work that God had not commanded Him to do, when He says, I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me, It is as clear as the noonday sun that the Lord sent Jesus into this world to do a work, to complete a work. In John 5 and verse 36, if you care to look there, and you ought to look there whether you care to or not, John 5 and verse 36 Jesus says here regarding works, but I have greater witness than that of John for the works which the Father has given me to finish. That word is significant. It is a word that means that the Father has given me a work to complete. The word finish there is the word complete. Now Jesus said that he did not come to do his own will, but he specifically teaches us that he had come to do the Father's will, he had come to do the Father's work, and he gave the Father's words to those disciples, those apostles, that God had given Him. Now, should you remember those three things? The Father's will, and the Father's works, and the Father's words. Christ did not give them His own words. He said, the words that thou hast given Me, I have given them. I have given to the men that thou gavest me. And as thou hast sent me, even so send I them." We're going to deal with all of those things eventually. But I want to move away from that for a moment. I told you I'd be a long time preaching on this business of the church. But I want you to look at something now. I mentioned a while ago that there are many who believe that the church started on the day of Pentecost. Some believe, whenever he chose those first disciples mentioned in the first chapters of John, instituted it with three disciples, that that's when the church started. and that others believe that it started when he named apostles. Others believe that it started on the day of Pentecost. But now, you remember what I just told you about that word in John 5, 36. He said, the Father has given me a work to finish. Then there must be a work that the Father had started. a work that the father had originated, a work that the father had conceived of, instituted, and he wanted that his son would finish that work. Now, that work, part of which, is prophesied in the book of Daniel, and we'll not go there now. The work is to be completed in John 5 and 36. But in John 17, he said, I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do. And in the 19th chapter of John, he bowed his head and said, it is finished. That's a different work. He had already finished the work before he finished the sacrifice. that God sent him into the world to do. Now, I want you to look at that passage in Matthew 16 and 18. 17 and 18, if you would, please. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Now the Lord Jesus used two different words, Petra and Petra. One means a piece of the rock, and the other one means the massive rock. Now the Catholics would have us believe that Peter, here is the Pope, is talking about the church being established on Peter. Others believe that the church is being established on the basis of what Peter said. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God, which is an easier thing to justify than Peter being a Pope. But I want you to notice something, that Jesus did not, the Holy Spirit did not use a word just accidentally. He is very careful in the words that he uses. And when it says in Matthew 4, When the Lord Jesus was tempted, he said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Now, every word, then, proceeded out of the mouth of God, it is inspired. It is the inspired word. Jesus said, I will build my church. Now, before I even tell you, I want you to just look at some passages with me first. Turn, if you would please, to John 2 and verse 20. Maybe that's an unfair way to do it. What I need to do, I suppose, when you turn to those places, is to tell you first my reason for doing it. This word build here does not mean to found. It does not mean to start. It means to add the superstructure to. It means what we read in John, he has given me something to finish. And his church, he promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. And men become members of it, just like Peter believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when Philip asked the eunuch, When he said, What doth hinder me to be baptized? He said, If thou believest with all thine heart. And he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he baptized him. So you see, there is a good argument for that part of it. But now, the same word that Jesus used when he said, I will build, is found in John 2 and verse 20. And I want you to find it. John 2 and verse 20. Then said the Jews, forty and six years was this temple in building, and we'll now rear it up in three days. Do you have an idea of what the word was? Forty years doing what? Laying the foundation? Well, of course not. Forty years in completing the building. in the building of it. Now, another passage. Turn to 1 Corinthians 14 and 4. 1 Corinthians 14 and 4. And if you get that, wait on me. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself, but he that prophesieth edifies the church." Do you have some suspicion of what the word is there in that text? Of course you do. Edify. Building up. Edify. Now, if you would say that that passage in Matthew 16 and 18 means the beginning of the church, the founding of the church. Then I ask you, if when this fellow speaks in an unknown tongue, has he built a church? Is that when the church was founded? Why, no. Common sense teaches you about edifying here is building up. And that is exactly the word, the same word that is translated, I will build my church is the word here used to edify, to edify himself or to edify the church. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5 and 11. 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 11. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also You do. Now, you know and I know that the Holy Spirit does not just pick words at random. He says exactly what He wants to say when He wants to say it, the way He wanted to say it, and for that specific purpose. Now, is there a way then to prove that He didn't build the church then? I think so. Turn to Hebrews, if you would, chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3, and we're going to read from verse 1 down through verse 4. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, and also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is who? Is God. You see, we went all the way around that and we come right back to where we started. The builder was God. And God knew when any purpose in eternity for the Scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ was a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. God saw Christ slain in His purpose before the foundation of the world. Now then, did God say, well, now let's see, since I have purposed to send my Son into the world, Maybe I ought to fix a way that the message would get out. You've got to be kidding. The almighty purpose before Christ came into the world, that there would be an institution that would herald to a lost and dying world the gospel of God's dear Son. And there was a man sent from heaven, and his name was John. And there was a son sent from heaven, and his name was Jesus. And there is a church sent by God into this world to preach that glorious gospel of God's dear Son. And that's the way He plans. And then somebody is going to tell me that you can just start a little institution along the way and it's just as good as what God planned and purposed in the beginning of the ages. Known under God are all his works from the beginning of the ages. And I want to tell you something, Mr. or Mrs. young man or young woman, if you think it is not important for you to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and become a member, be baptized and become a member of His church, you've got another thought to think if you don't think that's important. Because before God, or at least when God, determined before the foundation of the world that he would send his son Jesus to die as a sacrifice. He, at the same time or prior to that, made arrangements that there would be an institution that Christ would finish when he came and that he would take the men. And it's amazing. I'm going to show you all of those. I'm going to show you how He speaks about Himself being sent and sending them. And the Father sent Him to do the work, and the Father's words were given to Him, and He gave those words to the men that God gave Him, and they kept the words. And as you have sent Me, even so send I them. I'll tell you, the thing is so plain that you would have to shut your eyes to not be able to see this great eternal plan of the Almighty. And I remember someone saying, and no names necessary, please don't take my name off the church road. And I'll tell you something, if people knew the truth about this church that I'm talking about, they would crawl on their hands and knees if it were necessary to become a part of such a church in this world. And you may not think it's that important now, but I'm going to tell you the day will come when you will realize how important this matter was in the sight of Almighty God. And let me say to those of you who may be here and you've never trusted Christ, at least you've never stepped out and publicly said so and acknowledged Christ as your Savior. You think maybe you're too bad. You think maybe you're too sinful. Well, let me let you in on a biblical truth, not a secret, but a biblical truth. It is not your wickedness that is at filter right. It is your righteousness that is at filter right. And I'm going to tell you then, if the best that you can do and the best you are is a filthy rag in God's sight. Anybody with a thimble full of intelligence then knows that God doesn't save us on the basis of our goodness, but on the basis of his amazing grace. And don't you understand that if you could improve yourself, if you could get better and then God saved you after you got better, you would rob God of the attribute of His grace being manifested in the saving of your soul. For that is exactly the reason that God saves sinful men, not because sinful men are worth so much or they're so wonderful, but it is because one of the attributes of Almighty God is grace, and He would manifest that. The same thing is true with love. Love desires to express itself. Grace desires to bestow itself. And God will save you this morning simply because He is a gracious God. He'll save you this morning if you trust Him as your Savior. Oh, don't you know that I know that if If these truths were revived among God's people who are members of the church, it would bring about a revolution among believing Christians. Would you trust Him today? Or are you just going to keep on putting it off until it's too late? One day it will be too late. You can plan and say, someday I'm going to do it. But the very fact that you put it off another day proves that you're less likely to ever do it. Because you see, each time you put it off, it makes it easier to put it off the next time. And that's why the scriptures say, today, after so long a time, if ye shall hear his voice, pardon not your heart, I wonder why it says it that way. Today, after so long a time. Do you suppose we have the right to infer from that that it may be that you haven't heard him speak to you for a long, long time? It may be. But he said today, after so long a time that he's here, If you know when I say those of you who claim to be saved but you've never been baptized and joined the church, do you suppose maybe God is speaking to you about that? Do you suppose if you've never trusted Christ that this service was designed to speak to you about your soul? Today, after so long a time, at least you'll hear His voice. And with that, I'm going to give you the opportunity to come if you will. Come professing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come saying, I want to unite with the church on a statement or promise of the letter. Come saying, I've never trusted Christ, but I do trust Him today to save my never dying soul. Will you do it? While we stand and sing.