Thank you both. Good morning. It's a pleasure and a blessing to be among you. I'm Lalo Peña. Well, my real name is Jorge Eduardo Peña Jimenez. But the name that I usually introduce myself is Lalo. That is the form to refer to Eduardo's there in Mexico. In fact, I realized that Lalo was the name for every guy whose name was Eduardo when I got to the college, you know. I thought that it was a nickname for me only in my house. And well, it was a very interesting thing. Please receive greetings from my family in Cordoba, Veracruz. Cordoba, Veracruz is something like 300 kilometers from Mexico City. We're working there. We live there since 2002. Please receive greetings from them. They're very happy that I can be here, especially my wife, because maybe she wanted some holidays away from me. So with thanks to our good Lord that he granted that for her. It's a joke, but she's very happy. My boys are very happy too for my visiting here. So let's have a little prayer if you join me. My good Lord, I want to thank you. I want to present my grateful heart to you because you allowed me to be here with my brethren. It's a blessing to be here. It's a blessing to be part of this beautiful presbytery. I want to thank you for those days that we enjoyed in communion, in praying, and listen to the word of God. Thank you very much for my brother Larry that so lovingly has been giving me his time and treating me. And I only can say that I'm worthy of this love and this grace. And I want to thank you. Please let my testimony be a blessing to my brethren. and that your glory and your mercy always remain above us so that we can accomplish, fulfill your purpose and your will in this earth. Thank you very much. In Jesus' name, amen. I met my Lord Jesus in 1992 when I was a young boy. I was attending to a predatory church, almost something like nine years old, so I left the church because of some familiar issues. You can, I can tell you that since that moment, I can see my life was going down and down and down. And, you know, I was a normal young man in those times. And when I went to the college in the city of Puebla near the city of Mexico, very important city. When I was studying there, I had a relation with a girl and, you know, we had a very, So in 1992, when I was graduating, I presented my professional exam and I failed. And you know, that was very harmful to my life. I mean, very painful, very terrible. But the thing that was my mother was praying in her church in Xalapa, Veracruz. That is the place where I was born. And they were praying for me for six months. So my life began to tear in parts, you know. It was very confusing times, very troubled times. And finally, I had to return to Jalapa on December 1992, and my mother wasn't attending at that moment to a Presbyterian church. He left that church, and she began to attend to a charismatic church where the time of prayer and the signs and wonders were a very important part of their lives. So they were praying for me. So I got to the Lord one Saturday at night, I received the message of the gospel and I'm sure that I was born again that night because after the meeting I went to a party, you know, and there was alcohol and all those things and when I got to the party I felt like I wasn't part of that, you know. It was very strange, very pretty weird. What am I doing here? And well, that night was the worst party of my life. When I got my house that night, I slept and when I woke up, I felt like I was going to die. There was something inside that was telling me, you're going to die. You're going to die. So I say, my mother, she was sleeping at that moment. And I woke her up and tell her, please take me to your church. I'm going to die. I feel that I'm going to die. And I got to the church. And I remember the clothes that I was wearing. I remember the clothes that in the near future was going to be my pastor. I remember the clothes. I remember the sermon. As it would be yesterday, he was preaching about Psalm 103, and when he began to expand and explain and expose the word, and he began to relate it with the work, the atonement, the glorious work of our Lord Jesus, I began to say, really? Are you Jesus? I didn't imagine that you were Jesus Christ. So when I realized I was, you know, the kind of activities or the acts that they realize in those kinds of meetings, they invite you to come to the altar and to repeat a prayer. And when I realized I was in the front and I was doing this prayer, you know, it was glorious. When I met my Lord Jesus, He really set me free. And my life changed. Everything changed. I was a drunk. Usually I get drunk. And I left the alcohol the next party that I was in because, you know, you are a kind of hard head, you know. And I went to another party and I didn't have to take a little of alcohol because I get drunk. You know why? What? With a cigarette. So it was like disgusting to practice what once was my favorite things to do. So my life changed. Everything changed. My Lord saved me, and He was His being since that moment, very gracious with me. I remained in that church for maybe We're talking about 21 years I remained in that movement. In 2002, I made the decision to incorporate myself in a ministry in the city of Cordoba in Charismatic Church. And I was working from 2002 to 2013, and we were there working in this charismatic church. I could be the second in charge in that church. You know, I have very important responsibilities in this church. One of that responsibility was to develop all the programs. We began to use the materials of Rick Warren. that supposedly provokes the grow up of the churches. We applied that materials. I used to be the specialist in that materials. From 2002 that we were maybe 250 people attending to the church, for 2005 we were something like 80, 100 people. For 2008, we were something like 2,000 people plus the young people ministry and the children. So we were a very big and important church in that area. But I began to realize that the people was a kind of, you know, a mixture very interesting because they used to go to the time of the services with us and after they used to go to the Catholic Mass, So I said, there's a problem here. So I began to tell my former pastor that we had to do some changes, that we have to begin to teach the people the doctrines of our faith, you know. So he gave me the opportunity and the responsibility to open the first biblical school. And that began in 2009. There were too many curriculums that we were teaching, but I had the privilege to teach church history. So I began to teach church history. I had some ideas about that. I began to teach about the Apostolic Church, the Persecuted Church, the Imperial Church, the Medieval Church. And when that first course finished, we went to visit Israel. My Lord grant me that great privilege and we were there the the scriptures begin to open in a way that I had never seen Because you are now you can see in your mind what you are reading in the word so it was very interesting when I returned to Mexico I began the second course and I I began to teach about the Reformation. You know the Reformation. Everybody knows something about the Reformation. I gave the class. I gave the lesson. And then the next great movement that we began to study was the Remonstrance controversy. That was the first time that I read this word, Armenian. Is the right pronunciation? Armenian. And I said, when I see the characteristics, I said, wow. We are Armenians. Great. We respect the will, the free will of the man and all this stuff, you know. And when I got to the class to teach this lesson, I began to fight against the Calvinism, against Calvin and his predestination doctrine and saying, when I, when I, left the pulpit, I felt like, um, I'm not being fair. I'm not being just because I don't know really what they are teaching. I came again, I came again to the pulpit again, began to teach about this and I was fighting against these doctrines. And again, when I left that place, I felt like, um, you're wrong. You are not being fair. So I began to study about the Calvinism. And the word that these men were teaching in that time began to make some difference. So I began to make a research in Google, and I googled contemporary Calvinism and it displayed names like John Piper and you know, these guys, R.C. Sproul, Lincoln Duncan and John MacArthur and all this number of people. And I begin to get into the, their, uh, web pages. And you know, the, the preachings, the, the sense begin to confront me. something like 15 days or three weeks after my defense of the Arminianism, I realized that I was wrong, totally wrong. And that sense of smallness and worthiness that was in my life in the day that I made my Lord Jesus was again there. My life began to realize how beautiful, how great, how glorious the word of our Lord Jesus, and how great is His grace. And you know, my life began to change again. My Lord was leading me, in a sense, for 18 years. I did a lot of things. But now I am at the point of the beginning. And I said, why now? Why now? And from that day to this day, it's been an adventure. It's always been an adventure. You know, I see that this life in Christ, not as a life of routine, life, boring. No, not at all. It's always been a blessing. But at this moment, my life was so blessed. Tremendous what my Lord did. So I began to preach other things. I left those preachings about the, you know, motivations and you can, you have to look the champion that is inside you to tell people, you know, you are not a champion. You're a poor, you are a unworthy man. You are horrible. I don't know what Jesus saved me and saved you. I don't know. The people began to know this and, well, it was tremendous because everything changed. My way of doing the pastoring began to change because I used to be more a manager than a pastor, you know? I was always administrating the resources, the human resources of the church, and I began to see that they were people of God. Some of them, not all, I can say that. I began to feel very ashamed because of what I was doing at that moment. And my life changed. My family changed. My marriage changed. Everything changed. So I left my church. In 2013, I left the brother Marcus Reyes in 2012. He helped me to not only embrace the doctrines of grace, but to deep inside the reformed theology. And he confronted me about the plurality of elders in the church, because I wanted to be the same kind of church, but plus the doctrines of grace, you know, and that now is the new Calvinism. And he helped me to see things that I didn't see. So I left my church in July 2013. I left that church. I began to attend to a particular Baptist church in the area. And it was in that mood for the next nine months. And meanwhile, Marcus and I begin to work together to teach some things about the doctrines of grace, and especially a class about the eschatology. And I used to be a pre-millennial, historic pre-millennialist. And when I began to see things that Marcus Reyes teach me, I came to them. a millennialist view. I respect the others. Please don't get me wrong. And finally, on May of 2012, we founded the church that now I am pastoring, Coram Deo Reformed Church. You know, Coram Deo is an expression in Latin to talk about the benevolence, the face of God towards his people. And what we mean by Coram Deo, what we want people to know is that he's been benevolent with his people by his grace, but our whole life it's in front of him. You just cannot escape from the Lord. Whatever you do, whatever you think, whatever you feel, he knows. He knows better than you and than I. And it's been a challenge. It's been a blessing. It's been hard times in some realms, in some things. It's been very challenging to my life to be now, or try to be a reformed Christian. Yesterday, a man asked me, what is to be a reformed Christian? And I said, it's a pleonasm. It's like saying Christian, Christian. But what we mean is that we are. Biblical Christians. Christians that tries to be faithfulness to the word. And it's a big challenge. You know, not everybody wants to hear about this. People want their own God. We used to have a phrase when I teached in the former church, and that was that the people was looking for God. No, the people is not looking for God. is looking for their own God. And we have to be very aware that if we don't take this responsibility of our own lives and make it to conform to the Word of God, we easily can be looking for our own God. I want to read you only a little versicle of the Bible that I think it's very important. To me at this point, when I see myself at this place talking to you in English, in Matthew chapter 5, I know you know about the Beatitudes. And it says in the chapter number 5, verse 3, Blessed, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When I used to be a charismatic, I thought that I was blessed because I had reunite or accomplish something. Now I decide, I see that because I have been blessed, I can see that I am a poor guy. And when you understand your emptiness, you are in the right place to begin to be filled by the goodness, the grace, the glory, the love of our Lord Jesus. Thank you very much. We pray for you in Mexico. I want to ask you, beg you, pray for us. We have a great responsibility to preach the gospel and in some cases to re-evangelize America, Latin America, Cordoba, Veracruz, and Mexico for our good Lord. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Pastor Peña, for sharing that testimony, and I encourage you to come back and hear our brothers tonight as he shares with us something more of what God's doing specifically in his own ministry in the church where he is ministering in now. So we thank God for that testimony. We're going to take up the offering for the work of the Lord here, and we're turning to number five. A good Thanksgiving hymn for us now. Thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices. Please remain seated while the offering is received. ♪ We prove His truth with all His tears ♪ ♪ Through the mountains of earth ♪ ♪ And places far and near ♪ ♪ With complex dreams of love ♪ ♪ That still His hearts obey ♪ ♪ Holy is the Lord ♪ Give them new joy for us, and blessed be Suji in us, and keep us in his praise, and guide us when we're faced. Standing, please, for this final verse. Thank you. You may be seated. You know, when I heard that Dr. Cairns was down in Greenville, South Carolina, he was there teaching at our Geneva Reform Seminary and then also filling in the pulpit there for a number of weeks. And I contacted him, and he said, well, my schedule is very full, and I don't know if we're going to be able to do something. And he went back to his calendar again and said, yes, I think we can do this particular date. And I said, well. It'll work out very well because I wanted him to come and preach on a Reformation theme, as this is the 500th anniversary this year that we are recognizing. And, of course, the combination of this being Thanksgiving weekend, well, the two things coincide very well together, as we thank God for his provision and certainly for the great benefit of the heritage that we have. Our brother is no stranger to us here. He is Pastor Emeritus of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, where he served the Lord there for many years. And he has preached for us a number of times in our congregation here and helped us over the years. And so we're very thankful that he's here with us today. And he will be preaching the word again tonight. Thank you, brother. Can I move this lollipop? Good. Well, it's nice to be back in Toronto and see some, I'll not use the word old faces, I mean faces I'd seen before. Every time I talk about seeing old faces, it reminds me of the Irishman who spent 40 years in America. He came from County Cork and he was in America for 40 years. So he went back to Cork and he said, man, it's good to see all your, He would say, oh, but old cork faces. So I'm glad to see all your old cork faces. It's good to see you. And trust the Lord will bless us. Your minister said that he asked me to come for the Reformation Day and Thanksgiving Day, and these two things go well together. He can say that because he's not preaching. Actually, I've divided them entirely, and the Reformation service will be tonight. I'm going to preach tonight on a statement you've heard many times, and to a large extent, it's true. In some ways, of course, it's not, but it certainly carries a great truth, and that is the statement, the Bible, the Bible only, the religion of Protestants. And so we're going to be thinking of that tonight in the evening service. But this morning, we're turning to the book of Deuteronomy, and we're going to read together in chapter 4, just a few verses, Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 14. We'll read through to the end of verse 24. With God's word open before us, let's bow together in a word of prayer. Our gracious God and our Father in heaven, we rejoice that once again we may bow in thy presence in the name and through the merits of the precious blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thy word tells us it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and we recognize that it is good because, Lord, thou art worthy to be praised. When we come to praise thee, we recognize that the Lord is great, and the Lord is good, the Lord is gracious, and our God is glorious. We rejoice this morning in the greatness of our God. We do not serve some man-made idol, some mere extension of ourselves, Thank God we worship him who is the creator of all things, the upholder of all he has created. We bless thee today that it is good to give thanks to thee. Lord, it's good because we thank thee that praising God, as we have already heard from thy servant, makes us feel our own smallness and our own unworthiness. When we think of thy vast creation, Think of how small even our world is. Then think of how insignificant we are among all the billions who have ever lived upon this earth. Yet the great God of glory has regard to us. Lord, we thank Thee that Thou dost love us freely. We thank Thee Thou hast not chosen us and blessed us because of our greatness or our goodness or our worthiness. but because thou hast loved us freely. Lord, we thank thee today that when we praise God, it inevitably leads us to the cross, where we see our blessed Savior, God incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, take our place, bear the wrath of God that was our due, make himself a sacrifice unto God for our sin. save our souls from death and eternal hell. Lord, it is good to give thanks to Thee. We thank Thee for every good and perfect gift, but most of all for the gift of life eternal in Jesus Christ. We thank Thee also now for the opportunity to turn to Thy Word, to read it, to come not to the words of man, but the Word of God, to hear what God the Lord would say. Lord, have a word in season for every soul. Lord, thou dost know the battering that God's people take from the world day by day, the temptations that the devil throws their way, the discouragements that fall upon them. Lord, we pray that today there'd be a word to lift our hearts heavenward and bless every believer. Thou dost see the need of every heart. And if there are those here without Christ, Lord, we pray that Thou wilt lay hold of those souls and bring them to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. So, Lord, take this preacher, fill me with Thy Spirit, grant the anointing of the Holy Ghost, grant that Thou wilt hide the preacher behind the cross, and let us know not a sermon, but a word, a message from the Lord. We ask in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Now, Deuteronomy chapter 4, and we're going to read together from verse 14 of the chapter. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 14. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you the statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest ye corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth. the likeness of any winged fowl that flyeth in the air, the likeness of anything that creepeth in the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth. And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them and serve them. which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations unto the whole heaven. But the Lord hath taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, that I should not go into that good land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. But I must die in this land. I must not go over Jordan. But ye shall go over and possess that good land. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you. make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." Amen. May the Lord add His own blessing to the reading of His own precious Word for His name's sake. I want today to direct your attention to a little phrase in the 20th verse of this passage of Scripture, Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 20. And you will see there in a phrase a description that God gives of his own people. He says that he's taken them out of the iron furnace from the land of Egypt to be, and this is the phrase, A people of inheritance. A people of inheritance. The word inheritance to us is something that comes into our possession by the gift of another upon his death. That's what we mean by an inheritance. You get it by somebody dying. Now, the original words in both the Old Testament and the New Testament for inheritance may bear that meaning, but not necessarily so. In fact, when you look at the original words that the Holy Ghost uses, they will tell you that God uses the word inheritance in two distinct senses. First of all, he's telling God's people here You are God's inheritance. And of course, in that case, the word does not mean that he has derived that inheritance from anybody else. Then he uses the word inheritance in the sense that he has given his people a rich inheritance. And of course, we have received that as a gift from another. through the death of another, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. I want us today to think of this statement, this little description of God's people. You are a people of inheritance. If you're a child of God today, if you've been bought with the precious blood of Christ, redeemed unto God out of sin and darkness, out of a worse bondage than the land of Egypt ever was to the children of Israel. If you are a new creature in Christ, this is God's word to you today. You are unto me a people of inheritance. And what he's saying, first of all, is you are my inheritance. And I want us to think of that. This is God's inheritance in us. And here we meet with a glorious truth that is emphasized again and again and again in the Word of God. Later in this book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32 and verse 9, we read, the Lord's portion. That's another word that has the very same meaning as inheritance. The Lord's portion, the Lord's possession is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. You remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 33 and verse 12. He speaks of God's people and says, they are the people whom he hath chosen for himself or for his own inheritance. He uses even a more strong or stronger expression in the book of Exodus chapter 19 and verse 5. Now remember, this is spoken to the children of Israel as they're at Mount Sinai. The thunder is thundering. The dark clouds have gathered. The great mountain is on fire. The whole earth is shaking at the presence of the glory of the Almighty. God says regarding that day that he spoke to them, out of that mount of thunder, if anything was ever meant to impress the people with their own smallness and God's greatness, it was what was happening at Mount Sinai. But in Exodus 19 verse 5, he calls his people A peculiar treasure unto me. A peculiar treasure unto me. The psalmist picked that up as he thought of the same thing in Psalm 135 verse 4. The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. Now come with me to the New Testament, because the Apostle Paul takes this very thought and he applies it to all who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Ephesians, there are two great prayers of the Apostle Paul. I always advise Christians to memorize them. Not only to memorize them, but to get on their knees before God and pray through them, syllable by syllable. They're great prayers. I could not count the number of times in my own study I've got before God with Ephesians 1 or Ephesians 3 open before me, because these are prayers that lead you into the very presence of God and teach you what it is to pray in the center of the will of God for your own life. These are the things that God wants for His people. And in Ephesians chapter 1, Paul is talking about his prayer for the believers, and he says, I pray that ye may know three things, that you may know, and here's one of them, what are the riches of the glory of His, that is, God's inheritance in the saints, that you may know what are the riches of the glory or the glorious riches of God's inheritance in His people. The great American theologian Charles Hodge gave it as his interpretation that Paul meant the inheritance that the Lord has provided for his saints. Now, he has provided a rich inheritance, as we'll see in a minute, but I don't for a minute think that that's what Paul was talking about in this text. He's speaking of what is God's inheritance in His people, not provided for them. In other words, He's referring to what He has in His people. And this is the glorious truth. It's an amazing truth. Think of this. Hebrews 2.16, our authorized version says, He took not on Him the form of angels. The simple literal force of the Greek text is this. He did not lay hold of angels, but he laid hold of the seed of Abraham. Now stop and let that sink in. There is this notion, you know, among people, even among Christians and among preachers, who know no better, that angels and archangels are the glorious pinnacle of God's creation. They are not. The pinnacle of God's creation was the only creature he ever created in his own image. That was man. So that he says the very angels are appointed to be their ministering servants. That's what God has to say. He's saying when the angel sinned, God never took a step to save a fallen angel. God never did a thing to recover a sinning angel. But what did he do for men? He laid hold of the seed of Abraham, and he did send his son. In the likeness of sinful flesh, he took upon him the form of a servant, being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself to take that form of the servant, and he became obedient to go all the way to the cross to save sinners from their sin. We were deep-dyed, filthy, guilty, rotten, hell-deserving, rebellious sinners, fit fuel for the wrath of a sin-hating God. That's what we were. But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love, wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with Christ, saved us by grace, raised us up together with Christ, made us sit together with Christ in heavenly places, and claimed us for His treasure. You see that? I want you, as a believer, and I don't know where you've come from this past week, I don't know what you've been facing, but I do know this, if you're walking with God, the devil has been in your face, using every instrument that he can to upset you, to bring you down, to defeat you, to discourage you, to wreck your walk with God, to put such a darkness in your soul that you're useless to God and man. He does that to every Christian. Sometimes Christians get under the burden and they begin to believe the lie of the world. We're out of step with the world. Hallelujah! I'm glad to be out of step with this filthy old world. I'm tired of listening to these reformed, deformed preachers who are always talking about redeeming the culture. This is not a culture to be redeemed. This is a culture out of which men need to be redeemed. It's good to be out of step with the world. Can't be in step with God if you're in step with the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father's not in him. But because we're out of step with the world, oh, you're an odd bunch. Well, you look at some of us, you'd understand why they might say that. You're an odd bunch. There's something wrong with you. You know, this is a bunch of blind men talking to the only people who have real sight and saying, you can see nothing. That's what it is. I want to tell you this. No matter what the world has to say about God's people, the Lord says, to his redeemed people, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, redeemed by Christ as he took their place and died for them on Calvary's cross, upheld by Christ as he presents himself as their great high priest at the throne of God, seated already with Christ in the heavenly places, destined for eternal glory, God says, you are my treasure. That's what God thinks of his people. You are precious to God. Precious to God. So precious indeed that when a Christian comes to die, the Lord says, precious in my sight is his death. because it's an answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus who says, Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. I was saved in the Salvation Army many, many years ago. The old Salvationists, they did walk with God. Mind, they were Arminians, and they were wrong in a lot of things. I want to tell you, they had the joy of the Lord. And when a Salvation Army person in the old days died, there was no, I'm not saying they didn't grieve. Obviously, if you lose a husband or a wife or a child, yeah, there'll be grieving. But they rejoiced because to them, this was their description of death. Promotion to glory. Why? Because the Lord says, you are precious to me. You are precious to me. It's a glorious truth. Don't let anything ever loosen your grasp of that truth. There's also a glorious message in this. Time does not allow me to explore it in depth. Frank McClellan sitting there really getting worried at the minute because Jonathan came to give me this microphone and he checked the battery. He says, oh, you're all right. It has seven hours of power left in it. And Frank said, Jonathan, that's a very dangerous thing to tell that fellow. So I'd better be careful. We're not here for the whole seven hours. Well, they don't think so anyway. But here's a glorious message. What does it mean that God's people are his inheritance? What does it really mean that they are his possession? Does he not say in Ezekiel 18.4, all souls are mine? Is He not, as Hebrews 12 verse 9 says, the Father of spirits? Or as the book of Numbers chapter 12 tells us, He's the God of the spirits of all flesh. So if all souls belong to Him, what does it mean we are His possession? That's a big question. It has many answers. For example, it means the Lord has chosen us to be the special objects of His favor. I know that there are people who hate, as our brother has indicated, hate the biblical truth of divine election. No man who's a Christian should ever fall into that devil's trap of trying to be smarter than the Word of God. I think of the words of the psalmist in the 65th Psalm, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee. What a blessing that God says, you've not chosen me. He's talking now about the initial choice. I have chosen you. What a blessing. He tells us in Deuteronomy 7, verse 6, you're a holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto him, above all the people that are upon the earth. Through Amos, he says, ye only have I known of all the families of the earth. Now, God knows everybody. He knows everything. in his omniscience, but this is a knowledge that's peculiar to God's people. He means, I have defended you. I have fed you. I have sustained you. I have set my love upon you. I will keep my love upon you. You only have I loved, Ephesians 1, 4. He had chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame, before him in love. Having predestinated us, you know, the original New Testament was written without full stops, commas, or even spaces between the letters. And so it's been left to later people to discover, and it's usually easily discovered by context, where the punctuation marks should go. But there's a big controversy here. Where should the punctuation come? That we should be holy and without blame before him. and then start the new sentence, in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children. You see, all that God does, he does not because we're great. I hear people, in fact, there used to be people sing some hymns, some solos. There's more heresy sung in hymns, so-called, and solos. than you could imagine. Sometimes I shudder when I hear what congregations sing without a thought. If the preacher preached it, he'd be kicked out of the pulpit, but they somehow can sing it. And I heard people get up and saying, Lord, what did you see in me? It's a mock humility. The Lord must have seen something in me. The Lord said, not at all. I didn't choose you because, you find this in Deuteronomy chapter 7, I didn't choose you because you were greater, because you were better, because you were bigger, because you did this, because in some way you were superior to other people. No, why did I choose you? I chose you. I loved you because I loved you. That's it. He says, I, even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions. Why? For mine own sake. In other words, the great source is in the Lord Himself. This is what it is, to be His possession. It means that He's called us as His children and adopted us as His sons and heirs. If I were to ask most Christians, what is the, if you take the whole building, take it like a pyramid, the whole building of the blessings of God that God has given to His people, what would you say is the topmost blessing, the most amazing thing in the blessings of God? What would you say it was? And I think 99 out of 100 people, including preachers, would get it wrong. At the top of all, listen, He has chosen us. He has called us. He has justified us. In Christ, He has glorified us. Listen, He has adopted us. That's the pinnacle. Why? Because in Romans chapter 8, we're told what it means. We're adopted to be the sons of God, heirs of God. And listen to this, if the Holy Ghost hadn't said it, I could never have dared to say it. Joint heirs. The word joint is the word equal. equal heirs with Jesus Christ. I'll stop and let that sink in. What has Christ earned by all His obedience unto death? What is due to Christ because of His life, death, resurrection? Well, whatever is coming to Christ as the reward of his obedience unto death. Now we're told, as the adopted sons of God, we equally are heirs with him. Now can you see what it means when he says, you're my treasure? You are my possession? This is amazing grace. The psalmist cried, and Hebrews 2 picks it up, What is man that thou art mindful of him? Lord, what am I that ye should think on me? The psalmist said, The Lord is high and holy, yet hath he regard to the lowly. What am I, poor, vile, hell-deserving sinner, but God who created me? has purchased me with the blood of His own dear Son." That's why Peter says, you're a peculiar people. Now, the word peculiar to us means a wee bit odd. And we all know we have seen peculiar people. Well, that's not the meaning of the word. In fact, the original meaning, I'm not going to bore you with the root. The word peculiar comes from a Latin word that needn't bother you today. If you want to know it in detail, Ask Mrs. Saunders and she'll put you right on it. But its original meaning here is you're a people of a purchased possession. God has purchased you to make you his gracious, glorious treasure. And he occupies that possession in a special way as he prizes us. His people. Here's what it means to be His treasure. Now, this is maybe going to shock some of you. It may come as a surprise. In Matthew chapter 13, we have some parables. And in those parables, there's language that we have all come to know, or at least think we know. There's the parable of the hid treasure. And there's the parable of the pearl of great price. And many a sermon has been preached on Christ as the treasure and Christ as the pearl of great price. In actual fact, that's altogether wrong. You see, it's commonly believed that Christ is the treasure, he's the pearl, and we sell all to obtain Christ. First of all, we have nothing to sell, and secondly, even if we had, we couldn't purchase Christ. You see, the entire testimony of Scripture and the meaning of the Lord Jesus here is that His people are the hidden treasure. His people are the pearl of great price, and He paid the price. He did the purchasing. It cost Him everything. Even Almighty God could not pay a bigger price than He paid when the Lord Jesus purchased His people, His treasure, whom He now jealously guards as something precious. This is God's inheritance in the sense. I just have a moment then to say that because of that, the inheritance speaks of our inheritance in Christ. He has promised us, his people of inheritance, a rich inheritance, a rich provision. that he's made for his people. We read about the children of Israel being led into the promised land, the land that flows with milk and honey. You'll find it described in detail in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and Deuteronomy chapter 10. It has its literal fulfillment in the land of Canaan, but it has a spiritual fulfillment in God's salvation. When the Lord saves you, he brings you out of bondage. Isn't that what her brother was testifying? brought him out of bondage. Some of you may never have been in bondage to alcohol and the open worldliness, wickedness, but you're in bondage. Ephesians chapter 2 says, not only were you in bondage, but you were energized by the devil. That's not very flattering, is it? But it's true. You've been brought out of bondage. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. It's great to be saved. He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free. That's the glorious testimony that God gives His people. But He not only brought you out of bondage, He does something special. Dr. Paisley used to talk about people who had just enough religion to make them miserable. And I want to tell you, if your religion makes you miserable, it is not Bible Christianity. Understand that. I wonder, is that where you are today? Just enough religion to make you miserable? I want to tell you what Christ does. When He brings you out of the bondage of Egypt, He brings you into a promised land, a land that's flowing with milk and honey, a land in which God has provided everything necessary for life and for godliness. This is the inheritance that we have received in Him according to His promise. It's plenteous. There's nothing lacking. What do you need for life? It's in Christ. I'd like to have time to develop that, because here I'm going against the common tide of opinion in so-called evangelicalism. Brother Lalo spoke of Rick Warren and his whole movement, and thousands of churches around the world are following that heresy. And it is a heresy. And I'll tell you why it's a heresy, and it's not only in that area. You'll find it in one church after another, that the gospel is something by which men come to a knowledge of sins forgiven. They're saved by the gospel. But if you want to go on with God, then here are the principles you've got to live by. Here's ten secrets of a happy marriage, ten principles for a fulfilled life. What's it doing? It's telling you that Jesus Christ is able to save you from hell, but there's somehow you need more if you're going to live the life and get victory and fulfill all your so-called potential. I want to tell you, my friend, the gospel of Jesus Christ is all you need to be saved and to walk with God. It is the key to victory. I used to tell my people in Greenville again and again and again, any fool can tell you what you ought to do. Not any fool can tell you how to do it. Where do you get the power to obey the law of God? Where do you get the power to pray? Where do you get the power to love souls? Where do you get the power to walk with God? I'll tell you where you get it. The love of Christ constrains us. That's what impels us. What does that mean? Listen carefully to what Paul says in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20, a very famous verse. I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Now, that's the experience of every Christian. In Christ, we died. In Christ, we live. But he goes on. and the life that I now live in the flesh." Stop there. Where do you have all your problems? In the flesh. We're not yet glorified. And in the flesh, you're going to have problems. The devil and the world will use even your physical frame as a vehicle of temptation. ungodliness. He'll bombard your eyes, your ears, he'll seek to get into your thinking. This is where we've got to live in a real world that's at enmity with God and therefore at enmity with us. The life that I now live in the flesh, how do I live it? I live by faith, the faith of, or literally, it's the same thing, by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. You see, the old hymn had it absolutely right. More theology in it than in most sermons. Jesus, keep me near the cross. That's how you live the Christian life. Hebrews 12, looking unto Jesus, literally looking off, looking away. Get your eyes off all these other things. Get your eyes on Christ. And as you get your eyes on Christ, something happens. 2 Corinthians 3.18, what happens? You begin to be transformed into the same image. From glory to glory. That's how you become more like Christ. Spending time looking unto Jesus. Letting your heart and your mind become saturated with the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That's how you get victory over sin. That's how you can love your enemies. That's how you can love the unlovely. That's how you can get a passion to win the lost for Christ. That's where you'll get the power to pray. That's where you'll get the joy of the Lord. You see, this is the whole thing. It's a plenteous purchased inheritance. And you know the great thing about it? It's only the beginning. It's only the pledge. Some of you have bought a house or a car or something, and you've put a down payment on the house. It's a pledge of more to come. Just a very simple but weak illustration of what the Scripture's telling us in Ephesians chapter 1. This inheritance in which we're sealed by the Holy Spirit. Unto the day of redemption, it is the earnest, it is the down payment, it is the pledge of our inheritance. God says, all that I have given you now is just my down payment. All this and glory to follow. That's what he's saying. Some people will tell you, you know, you could lose this inheritance. No, it's an eternal inheritance according to Hebrews 9. It's incorruptible and undefiled and it fadeth not away according to 1 Peter 1. We're a people of inheritance. God counts us precious and he gives us every precious thing for life and death and eternity. I want you today to think of that. Don't let it be taken from your mind. The Bible says, rejoice in the Lord. Well, this is how you rejoice in the Lord. This is what you've got to rejoice in. Rejoice in the Lord. And then go out and live for Him in the strength of that. I trust that if you're not saved, you'll realize you're the deprived one. I pity you. If you had all the world, Jesus said, what would it profit you if you lost your own soul? Recently, I've had the pastoral job sitting down with people I love who are facing the very grave reality of death looming them right before them. I want to tell you when you're in that position, all the money in the world doesn't mean a thing. All the pleasure in the world doesn't mean a thing. There's only one thing that matters. That's to know that you're God's prized possession. The only way to know that is by obeying the call of the gospel. Repent and believe the gospel that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. that He died and rose again, and that He will receive and save every soul who comes to receive Him. I trust that you'll not leave this place, the possession of the world or the possession of the devil, but you'll flee to the cross. pass from death unto life, come out of the house of bondage into the light and liberty of the sons of God, and go on your way rejoicing that you're precious in the sight of the Lord. Let's bow together in prayer. Let's all pray. In a moment, the meeting will be over, and you'll be free to leave. May I say that Dr. Saunders, Dr. McClellan, and I are here as your servants for Christ's sake. If we can help you in the things of God, if you're not saved, we'd love to take the time to point you Christward. Don't leave without the Savior. And if you're a Christian, maybe you come in burdened, Now's the time to cast your care upon Him, knowing He cares for you. Father in heaven, bless Thy Word to every heart. After the feeble voice of man is silent, Lord, speak on to every soul. Bless Thy people. Lord, You know how the world and the devil would buffet God's people. Well, Lord, we pray Give them a sight of glorious truth in Christ today, and grant that they leave this house rejoicing in the Lord Jesus. And we do pray for the lost. Father, we pray, have mercy and bring the lost to embrace Christ as Savior. Bless us through the day, bless the outreach team as they go out. Give them good success, favor in the eyes of God and men, and may there be souls saved even as the result of their efforts. Bring us back in the will of God in the evening service, and God grant that there will be a meeting tonight in which God the Lord will come and open the word with power to every soul. Part is with thy blessing, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Yeah. Oh. Good morning. you