The following presentation is brought to you by Faith Presbyterian Church Reformed. Delivering today's message will be Dr. Richard Bacon. Let's bow our heads. Father, we pray that Thou wouldst indeed teach us to rely upon Thee alone. We pray that even as we consider now that second phrase of Isaiah 53.10, that thou wouldst give us insight into thy word that we might live according to thy commandments. And we ask this in Jesus Christ's name, amen. Please be seated if you will and turn once again to Isaiah 53.10. We shall pick up in that same verse that we were looking at last week, at which we were looking last week, Isaiah 5310, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. We see in the second phrase or the it's really the third phrase but the second portion of this text when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin there are two things we need to understand here and that is the manner of Christ's soul being an offering for sin and also the matter of his soul being an offering for sin this week and I think we can finish this up this week we want to look at the manner or the form. And let me say in brief that this is the fundamental idea of covenant theology. And so we see that in the bulletin this morning, the title of this sermon is The Covenant of Redemption. And here is the doctrine that is central to our understanding of the covenant. It is this, that the business of man's salvation is conducted by way of covenant between God the Father and God the Son. Well, I thought you were going to say conducted by way of covenant between us and somebody. No. Fundamentally, the business of man's salvation is conducted by way of covenant between God the Father and God the Son. Now, here's what we need to understand, and this is something that I think escapes a lot of people with respect to the so-called five points of Calvinism. The first point of Calvinism explains to us what the problem is. If we don't understand the problem, we're never going to be able to comprehend how God's solution fits the problem. Well here's what the problem is. We are totally depraved. Now that does not mean that we are as wicked as we possibly could be. I suppose that there are some people in the world who are more wicked than others. So we do not mean total depravity in the sense of absolutely depraved and you can get no worse. Just as soon as you think somebody can't get any worse they fool you. By total depravity, what we mean is there is no part of man's makeup that has escaped the fall. We are depraved in our minds. We no longer have understanding. Our minds, our understanding is darkened. Now that doesn't mean a little bit lighter shade. By darkened understand complete blackness, complete darkness. The lights have not been simply turned down a little bit, the lights have been turned off in your understanding. You cannot by understanding come to God. You cannot by a greater degree of education come to God. In fact, some of the most anti-God and God-hating people in the world are also some of the most educated. Neither does it mean that our conscience is as seared as it can be, but it does mean that our conscience is not as informed as it ought to be, that we do not follow our conscience when our conscience is rightly informed from Scripture. Now once again, We need to understand that the human train is not driven as much as it's pulled by the understanding. The understanding has to be the engine that pulls the train. Then comes the conscience, and then comes the desires, and then come the affections, and then comes the will. But understand that these things follow after the engine of the understanding. Our understandings have to be rightly informed before our consciences can be rightly informed, before we love the right things and hate the right things. So the beginning of what we understand to be the problem or the plan or the understanding of salvation is this. Man is depraved in all of his parts. There is nothing that you can do to save yourself. not by running, not by willing, not by understanding. There's nothing that you can do for yourself to save yourself. That's what we mean by total depravity. We do not mean that every man is as sinful as every other man. Now that opens the door to our understanding now of the covenant of redemption. Because what we're going to find is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in agreement with respect to the purchase and application of salvation. And that by way of covenant. So that same group of people that the Father has elected is that same group of people for whom the Son has died and that same group of people for whom the Father has elected and for whom the Son has died is that group of people the Holy Spirit applies salvation to. So there is no difference of opinion between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is a Trinitarian salvation in which God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in 100% agreement. God has elected a certain number out of fallen mankind. God the Son has died in His humanity for that same number not just the same number in an abstract sense, but for those very same people whom God the Father has elected and God the Holy Spirit does not apply salvation willy-nilly to one or another, but specifically to those for whom the Son died. By the way, those are four of the five points of Calvinism. If you think about your tulip for just a moment, total depravity, unconditional election is the response, I shouldn't call it a response, but it's the work of the Father, limited atonement, or effectual atonement, or true purchasing atonement, is the work of the Son, and effectual grace, or what's sometimes called irresistible grace, is the work of God the Holy Ghost. So there you have four of your five letters from the TULIP, don't you? You say, well, how about perseverance? Perseverance indicates that what God the Father, what God the Son, and what God the Holy Spirit have done for men will, in fact, happen. That it's not left up to chance now. It's not the will of God plus chance that saves us. It's not the will of God even plus obedience that saves us. It's the will of God that saves us as the Father elects, as the Son dies, and as the Holy Ghost applies our salvation to us. And as a result of that, men and women do in fact persevere in holiness. There you have all five points, don't you? And the only thing that we disagree with with non-Calvinists on is what the problem is, what God the Father has done about it, what God the Son has done about it, what God the Holy Spirit is doing about it, and whether it works. Other than that, we agree. But that is all five points. And it's important that we understand that there is no middle ground. People say, well, I take a position halfway between those. You can't. That's like saying you take a halfway position between black and white. Say, well, yeah, I'm gray. Then you're not white. Then you're not black. You must, in fact, choose. This is binary. Either man is totally depraved, or he's not. Either God has elected unconditionally, or he has some condition. Either God the Son has died for all men, or he's died for fewer than all. Either God the Holy Spirit is applying salvation effectually or He's not. And either we persevere to the end or we don't. Where is the middle ground in any of those? I put it to you, when someone says, well I take the middle ground between those two extremes, either they haven't studied the issue at all or they're simply waffling on what they really believe, and they really believe that salvation is of man, not of the Lord. Well, that's the doctrine. Now let's take a look at proving it, not necessarily just from this text, but examining this text and taking it apart, parsing it, and putting it back together again. The first thing I want to demonstrate to you is that such a covenant actually exists. You say, well are we going to find the term covenant of redemption anywhere in scripture? Not if you're looking for all three words together you won't. But you will find the fact that we are saved by covenant and that our redemption is by covenant. Take a look at some of Christ's titles. In Malachi 2.1 he is called the angel of the covenant. Now understand that we use the word angel sometimes in a very flippant way. We talk about everything from those little precious moments figurines all the way up to angelic hosts and so forth. But what the word angel actually means in the Hebrew tongue is a messenger. He is the messenger of the covenant. He is the one who brings the news of the covenant. It's not that he brings the news of anything he wants to or everything that you want to know. He brings the news of specifically what you have to know to be saved. So when Christ speaks, we would do well to listen. And where does Christ speak? I put it to you that people who talk about the Lord telling them to do things, that's a very dangerous mindset. It's very dangerous because we know God has spoken in His Word. And remember that rich man in Lazarus? Why is it that Lazarus wouldn't go to his family and tell his five brothers about what he should believe? Because if they will not receive Moses and the prophets, then neither will they believe though one rose from the dead. Right here is everything you can know truly about Jesus Christ and His covenant. Right here in this book. And that's why it's important to know the book. What's not important is to depend upon pastor to know the book. I promise you, I don't know the book nearly as well as I would like to. And I hope I don't know it nearly as well as I one day will. But I will also go so far as to say how well I do or do not know this book has little bearing on your salvation. You need to know the book, you need to know what God requires of you, and God does require faith in you, doesn't He? What does that mean? That means that whatever He has revealed, you are supposed to believe and do. What is the rule of our duty toward God? It is His revealed will. Where has He revealed His will? Not in dreams, not in visions that somebody in the church might have, not some neighbor or somebody on a talk radio program. God has revealed His will for you right here in this book. And everything you need to know for your sanctification is in this book. You do not need any extraneous sources, including some of the excellent books that I have written. You just don't need them. You don't need books, you need the book. So that's the first thing. Christ is called the angel of the covenant, the messenger of the covenant. He is the one who reveals God's covenant to us by his word and by his spirit. Secondly, he is given for a covenant. Turn back just a few pages in Isaiah chapter 42. remember we talked about three really important songs in the book of Isaiah one of which is Isaiah 42 one of which is Isaiah 49 and one of which is Isaiah 53 in Isaiah 42 we began looking last week at behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect upon in whom my soul delighteth then drop down to verse 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thy hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles. Now if you're one of those who keep these special days at the end of the year you may have read in Luke how in fact Jesus Christ appeared as a light to those who sat in darkness. It is this passage that's being quoted in that context so in Isaiah 42 6 I the Lord have called thee that is called Christ behold my servant whom I uphold I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles." So Christ is Himself the covenant. We cannot be in covenant with God the Father without going through God the Son, without going through Jesus Christ. And then look at Isaiah chapter 49 which has the same fundamental theme as Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 53. In Isaiah chapter 49 verses 7 and 8 we read this, Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee, and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant, the people to establish the earth to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. So see once again in Isaiah 49, 7 and 8, again we're told that Jesus Christ not only is the angel of the covenant, He is in a very real sense Himself the covenant. We must be in covenant with Jesus Christ in order to be in covenant with God the Father. It is only those who are in Christ or in covenant with Christ who have that covenantal relationship with Jesus Christ that God the Father will acknowledge or own as His own people because He has given Jesus Christ for that covenant. So for us to say that we are the covenant people without being in covenant with Jesus Christ is a bald-faced lie. That means people in the Middle East today, who claim to be in covenant with God, but do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, are not in covenant with God. I don't care who their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was. But for most of them, their great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was not who they think it was. Jesus Christ was given for a covenant. Secondly, we see that such a covenant exists because of the word that exists or the words that exist between the Father and the Son or if you will between God and Christ. Thus in Psalm 110 that we're going to be in the Psalms throughout this entire section. So just turn with me back to the Psalter, back to Psalm 110 first of all. By the way, Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm when we come to the New Testament. And so we might want to start there in our Old Testament studies. It's so important. Psalm 110 says, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. In Psalm 110, God is proposing to his Christ, to his anointed one, to Jesus himself, he is proposing, sit at my right hand while I make your enemies your footstool. That is to say, while I put them under your feet with victory over them in Psalm 28 the same idea is set forth where Jesus Christ is the conquering King the nations want to throw off his his yoke they want to throw off his cords but God the Father makes him his firstborn in Psalm 89 and verse 19 Psalm 89 which by the way is a Psalm that commemorates the covenant made with David. it's a Davidic covenant psalm but when we drop down to verse 19 we see here that thou spakest in vision to thy holy one and saidst I have laid help upon one that is mighty I have exalted one chosen out of the people now we know that with one eye we have to be looking at David in that respect that God used David to deliver the people of Israel from the Philistines But we mustn't stop there. If we stop with David, our myopia, our short-sightedness, our near-sightedness will keep us from enjoying who Jesus Christ is. He is the Savior of whom David was merely a shadow, a type, a promise of someone else to come. And so when we read here, Thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty, understand that our help The help that we need to be extricated from sin, that we need to be brought into heaven, that we need to be taken out of an estate of sin and misery and brought into an estate of salvation requires a Redeemer. And that Redeemer is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. And then one last place I want us to look at in the Psalter and that's in Psalm 42 verses 7 and 8. In Psalm 42 verse 7 we read, Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts, all the waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime and in the night his song shall be with me and my prayer unto the God of my life. Once again we need to look beyond just King David to King Jesus. That though King Jesus underwent significant turmoil and trouble in his life, and as we have been calling him in this series, the man of sorrows, yet he becomes at the end of it, the man of victory. He becomes at the end of it, the one to whom God the Father was pleased to give the kingdom. deep calls unto deep yes by all means Jesus Christ was the man of sorrows and yet verse 8 the Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime and in the night his sons shall his song rather shall be with me and my prayer unto the God of my life so Christ's titles and we used a couple of examples the angel of the covenant and given for a covenant then we looked at the words secondly between God the Father and God the Son and saw that those are covenantal arrangements those words being spoken between the Holy One of Israel and Jesus Christ are covenant words And then finally, we can look at the New Testament and see Christ's own carriage in the New Testament. That is to say, how did he carry himself? What did he say about himself? What did he do in the New Testament? And turn, if you will, to John 4, 34. And some of you may want to jot this down because it seems to be one of the more overlooked verses of the New Testament by many. Jesus saith unto them, John 434, Jesus saith unto them my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Now notice he doesn't say my meat is to do my will and to finish my work. He says my meat, that is to say the thing that keeps me going, the thing that gives me life, the thing that sustains me, is not to do my own will but to do the will of him who sent me he's there on a mission right he's there at on an errand to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work so Jesus understands by his carriage and by his words he understands that he has been sent by God the father to carry out a work that was assigned to him by God the father and then in John 10 18 turn over just a few pages in John 10 18 and there you read no man taketh it meaning my life no man taketh it from me but I layeth it down but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again but look at this this commandment have I received of my father now what's the commandment he's received of the father not the suggestion the commandment that he has received of the father is to lay down his life and to take it again. These are the words of covenant. A covenant cannot be easily broken. In John chapter 12 and verse 49. For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. Once again, there is perfect unity of will between the Father and the Son. The Father does not command something that the Son is unwilling to do, nor does the Son want to do something beyond or apart from the commandment of the Father. and then one last place and that's at John 17 4 and understand this is the great high priestly prayer of Jesus this is the prayer that he offers up to the father the night before he goes to his trial and his execution and of course finally his resurrection from the dead in John 17 and verse 4 he says I have glorified thee on the earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do Understand here again, these are words of covenant, this is the carriage of one who is under covenant, who is a steward, who has been sent on a mission, or if you will, as a missionary, to carry out, to fulfill the work that the person in charge has given. And here what the person in charge has given is a commandment to speak certain things, to do certain things, and to glorify God the Father. Now listen to me very carefully. If our understanding of salvation, of the gospel, does not bring glory to the Father, but instead brings glory to man, to his will, or to his running, we have the wrong gospel. It's not the gospel that Jesus Christ preached because Christ said, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. So that's the first thing, that such a covenant exists. And I think that we have seen from Christ's titles, from Christ's words, or more specifically the words between God the Father and God the Son in the Old Testament, and then third, by the third witness of Christ's carriage and his words and his prayers in the New Testament, that such a covenant actually does exist. The next thing we want to look at is the nature and terms of the covenant. If such a covenant exists, what is it? It is one thing to say a covenant is, it is another to say what the covenant is. So I want us to look at four things. Two on the part of the proposer of the covenant and two on the part of what I am going to call the undertaker of the covenant. But if you want to use biblical words understand it this way, the mediator of the covenant. One on the part of the, or two rather, on the part of the proposer, two on the part of the mediator. On the proposer's part, something is required and something is provided, or prophesied rather. The thing that's required, something is required by way of actual merit. Christ must have actual obedience. He must be obedient to the Father in every last particular, otherwise there is no obedience to be imputed to his people. He must be obedient in every last particular. He has required that of Christ. And here are some of the things that He has to do. First of all, He has to divest Himself of His own glory. We saw that in Isaiah 53, 2. Secondly, He has to take a body, which we see in Hebrews 10, 5. Galatians 4, 4. He was to work all of our works for us. Because of the imperfection, even of our good works, He was to work all of our works for us. That is to say, He was to fulfill the covenant made with Adam in the garden. What was the covenant made with Adam? Do this and live. In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. He took that death, that spiritual death, that fell upon us of His race, upon Himself. But not only was something required by way of actual merit, something also was required in a way of special care over His people. Let's not think of this simply as a transaction. It's more than a transaction. It is friendship. It's friendship of the King with His people. I'm not talking about buddy-buddy. I'm not talking about what we see at eye level. I'm talking about the kind of friendship that Jonathan had with David. In John 10 3, we talked about John a little bit, or John 10 a little bit earlier, about the sheep and the shepherd. But listen to what he says. to him, that is to say the shepherd, to him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out." In other words, he has a special care for his sheep that he doesn't have for the goats. he takes upon himself not only the transaction of keeping the commandments of God but also of watching over his people and then once again in John 17 in that high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 and verse 6 we read I have manifested or shown if you prefer I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word." In other words, here's what characterizes people who believe in Jesus Christ. People to whom Christ has manifested the name of God. First of all, God gave them to Jesus, and secondly, they have kept the word that Jesus gave us. We have heard the word, and we have kept the word. That's John 17 and verse 6. This requires enlightenment because our minds were initially darkened. We talk about darkened understandings. This requires enlightenment. Remember in Isaiah 42.6 that he has shown light to the Gentiles. He has been a light for the Gentiles, Isaiah 42, 6. In John 6, 37 and 38. In Isaiah 61, 1. He is a light to enlighten our understanding. But secondly, He supplies the defects even in our obedience. Do you remember that in Revelation chapter 18, The angel takes the prayers of the saints and mixes them with incense before presenting them to God. Understand that our prayers going up to God, apart from the mediatorship of Christ, are just the prayers of the wicked. But when they have been mixed with the obedience of Christ, Christ makes up the defects. And that is what he was charged with doing. He was charged to obey, he was charged to require, to give special care to his people, but also he was promised, he was promised that he shall have the spirit in such measure that he can pour it out upon his own people. Isaiah 61 and verse 1. He was promised that the Father would remember Him. He was promised that the Father would uphold Him. That is to say that He would not fail. He was promised that He shall receive a kingdom. This is not something that's left up to chance that Christ on the cross thinks to Himself, I hope this is good enough. Rather, we understand that what Christ did on the cross purchased everything that He intended to purchase. Everything that the Father had given Him. He kept the Father's charge completely. He upheld Him. He did not fail. Christ did not fail. And Christ did receive His kingdom. we see in Philippians chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 starting off in verse 5 that this mind should be in us which also was in Christ Jesus though he was equal with God though he thought it not robbery to be equal with God yet he humbled himself became of no account took the form of a servant but starting in verses 9 and 10 we read this that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We see also that he has re-entered into his glory and not now just into his essential glory he never lost his essential glory but rather he has entered into a mediatorial glory that we see spoken of in the Psalms. When the psalmist cries out for the doors to be lifted up, to be lifted up high, why? So the King of Glory can enter in. That's not speaking primarily of David. It's not speaking primarily of Solomon. There it's speaking primarily of Christ. And it's the doors of heaven as Christ returns to heaven and seats himself at the right hand of God the Father. And he now has the power to justify all those for whom he died. So, we see on the proposer's part, something is required, something is promised, or prophesied, if you will. On the undertaker's part, or on the mediator's part, there are also terms that he undertakes. The first is this, as our undertaker, or as our mediator, as equal in power and glory, the son must undertake, or concur, if you will, with the father's plan, with the father's proposal. You see, we do not believe in a kind of subordinationism in which God the Son is simply told what to do, God the Father snaps his fingers, and God the Son jumps. That's not the kind of Trinity that we understand. We understand the Father and the Son to be equal in power and in glory. And because they are equal in power and glory, what the Father proposes, the Son must also agree to. The son does not simply be, he's not simply told, but rather his will is to do the will of his father. So because he is equal in power and glory, the son must undertake and concur with the father. And we see that, if you will, in Psalm chapter 40, verses 7 and 8. And someone might say to me, well you're making an awfully messianic use of the Psalms. Well, so did Jesus. Jesus said, let me prove to you that I'm the Christ, and he began at Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, and showed them how all the scriptures pointed to him. So in Psalm chapter 40, or the 40th Psalm, if you will, verses 7 and 8, and I'm still in Isaiah, I better turn to Psalms, in Psalm chapter 40, And verses 7 and 8 we read this, Thus said I, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law is within my heart. Notice Christ was not dragged kicking and screaming into mediatorship. He delighted to do the will of God the Father. By the way, let's make a word of application here. That also should be our understanding of God's law as well. We should not be obeying God with pouting lips. We should not be obeying God simply because, well, I hate it, but it's my duty. No. Obey God by all means, but ask for a cheerful heart. Ask for a heart that's delighted to do His will, that has His law written upon your heart. and that is quoted again in Hebrews isn't it in John chapter 4 and verse 34 I believe we already read this verse in John chapter 4 and verse 34 he said I have come to do Jesus saith unto them my meat rather is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work he made himself of no reputation Philippians 2.7 He was willing to offend himself rather than offend God. And as for application, he invites the weary to come to him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will make your burden even greater. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I will give you rest for your souls. Learn of me, he says, because I'm meek and lowly. He dispossesses the devil of what the devil once owned. For those of you especially who have been converted as adults, you know this, the devil once owned your heart. The devil once owned your mind. He led you about whether you knew it or not. He led you about the same way you can lead a bull about by the nose if there's a ring in it. And the devil led us about the same way. And except Christ removed that ring, the devil continues to be our king. In Mark chapter 5 and verse 18, he dispossesses the devil of what the devil once owned. He pities the faint. you know Paul goes so far as to say that he he is thankful in one respect that God has not answered his prayers for deliverance because God's strength is made perfect in his weakness remember that in 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 he said three times I prayed for this thorn in my flesh to be removed Well, if you prayed for it three times, what happened? It didn't get removed, did it? You don't keep on praying for that. You can be thankful for it, but you don't keep on praying for that which has come to pass. If he kept praying for it, it's because it did not come to pass. But he finally came to the conclusion that God had sent him this thorn in the flesh for a purpose, for a reason, and that God's strength was not made perfect in Paul's strength. God's strength was made perfect in Paul's weakness. and that's just the opposite of the way we think, isn't it? He pities the faint, Luke 15, 5, and he raises the faithful, John 6, 40. This is what Christ is undertaken to do in the covenant. It's not simply that, well, if he happens to be paying attention and you happen to pray enough words and you happen to pray long enough and hard enough and with enough fervor he will hear you and care for you. No, not at all. He has undertaken to care for you in the covenant. As he died on the cross, as he was buried, as he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven, all of that work was to give you comfort in the day of distress. And here are the terms that God gives him. He says, I will help you. God the Father said to God the Son, I will help you. You will be successful. And here we can look a little bit farther down, if you look in Isaiah 53, if you kept a finger there, drop down to verse 12, Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors, he bare the sin of many, and he made intercession for the transgressors. and the result being that God has divided him a portion with the great he has given him success in his undertaking he has promised to give the Holy Spirit as an enabler as a gracious enabler to his people in Luke 24 49 he has promised to return him to glory to the glory that he had with him before the world began as Jesus says in John 17 5 and finally And this is where it comes down to it being about you. He has promised to give him a people. He has promised to give him a citizenship. There is no king without a kingdom. There is only a law book. The king must have a kingdom. That is to say he must have a people over which to rule, over which to reign. And we believe that scripture teaches that that people shall be an innumerable company of men made just, that it shall be an innumerable company from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation, and that we shall be brought one by one for sure, family by family, nation by nation into the kingdom of Christ so that what he delivers over to the father at the end of time is a kingdom and not simply a principality. Let's stand and call upon the Lord. Father we thank Thee that Thou art a gracious God and that Thou hast dealt graciously not only with us but first of all with our covenant head Jesus Christ. We pray that Thou would continue to be faithful to Him grant to him a people over which to reign, over which to rule as king. Grant to him that kingdom which thou hast promised. And we pray that more and more as that gospel goes forth from this place and other places like it into the world, that thou wouldst be pleased to honor the death, the burial, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is in his name that we pray these things. Amen. You have been listening to a sermon by Dr. Richard Bacon of Faith Presbyterian Church Reformed in Mesquite, Texas. For more information on FPCR Ministries, visit our website at www.fpcr.org or contact us by mail at 8301 Lakeview Parkway, Suite 111-164, Rowlett, Texas 75088.