WE ARE HIS PEOPLE
Psa 100 1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Over the last 11 days, I have had the pleasure and privilege of visiting 11 countries in Central Europe.
• I have traveled by jet plane, bus, car, van, trolley and train
• I’ve traveled over 13,000 miles & seen tens of thousands of people
• The conclusion that I have come to is simply that PEOPLE... are PEOPLE!
At a train station is Como, Italy... I saw a stressed out mother correcting her children
• At a bridge in Prague, I spoke with a beggar who was down on his luck
• I met a police officer in Austria who was having a bad day
• In Budapest, Hungary, I saw an elderly couple very much in love, holding hands as they walked down the street
• At an altar in Debrecen, I saw a teenage girl with tears streaming down her face as she accepted Jesus as her savior
• Throughout Europe, I saw happy people, sad people, people in love, people in despair, short people, tall people, heavy people, small people, rich people, poor people.... PEOPLE... are PEOPLE!
• People are people...but we are God’s people...
Psa 100 3Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Hallelujah, we are His People!
Regardless of any other situation in our life...
• Regardless of any other ‘tag’ or ‘title’ that we add to our name or nationality...
• We are HIS people!
The Bible says, WE ARE... His people!!
IF we ARE His people... there are some PROMISES that we can CLAIM!
1. I go on RECORD this morning accepting His promise that God WILL NOT ABANDON His people!
1 Sam 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
Psa 94:14 For the LORD will not cast off His people,
• Everybody else may turn their back on you...
• Everybody else may disappoint you and forsake you...
• But child of God.... He has PROMISED us in His Word He will stand with us!
Deut 31:6 Be strong & of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."
Deut 31:8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."
Joshua 1:5 ...I will not leave you nor forsake you.
1 Kings 8:57 ....May He not leave us nor forsake us,
1 Chron 28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you...
Hebrews 13:5 ... For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
God will not leave you!
• In the storm... He will be with you...
• Through the fire... He will be with you...
• Through the high waters... He will be with you...
• Through the shakings and the quakings of life.. He will be with you!
• Through sickness... He will be with you!
• Through tribulation....He will be with you!
• And when the enemy tries to come in on you like a flood...God will raise up a standard against him... and God will be with you!
Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died –– more than that, who was raised to life –– is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
HE WILL NOT LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US!!
2. As His People we also have a promise of STRENGTH & POWER... & PEACE!
Psa 105:24 He increased His people greatly, & made them stronger than their enemies
Psa 68:35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
Listen... When your “get up and go” has “got up and went”
• When life is bogging you down and you feel like you can’t take it anymore...
• When your sponge is dry and your wood is wet...
• When the spoon has fallen out of your bowl... praise God anyhow!!
Because the God that we serve is a God of REFRESHING....
• And He is a God of renewal!
• He is faithful to revitalize and restore our strength!
• And He is faithful to resurrect and rejuvenate our power!
• I’m SO THANKFUL for His strength & power, but praise God... there is more!
Psalm 29 reminds us of God’s promise to renew our strength and power...but then David goes even deeper...
Psa29:11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Praise God... in addition to STRENGTH and POWER... he promises us PEACE!
• In a world of STRUGGLE and STRIFE, and even INNER TURMOIL and CONFUSION.... God promises us PEACE!
ILLUSTRATION:
The philosopher Schopenhauer once compared us to a BULLDOG ANT. If a Bulldog Ant is cut in half, the front and rear segments will begin fighting brutally! As the front end and rear end war, The bulldog ant’s head will seize the tail with it’s teeth, meanwhile the tail will sting the head ferociously!
The ant’s battle against itself will sometimes last for hours! Bighting and stinging with no knowledge that the alleged enemy is not itself, but rather the one who cut him in half!
That is the way some people are on the inside!
• They wage war against themselves....
• They struggle with themself...
• They WAR within themself...
• They attack themselves with reckless abandon... not to mention anyone else who happens along!
But Jesus taught his disciples a new paradigm, "I’m leaving you w/ a gift... of peace!”
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
In this dog eat dog world...may I remind you... “You are not a dog!”
• (If I ever write a book, look for that to be a chapter)
God’s given HIS PEOPLE a promise of PEACE, mixed w/ STRENGTH & POWER
• Hallelujah! Aren’t you glad to be a child of God!?
• A mixture of STRENGTH... & POWER.... & PEACE is a recipe for VICTORY!!
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
(We’re PROMISED to never be FORSAKEN & GIVEN strength, power & peace)
3. AS HIS PEOPLE... WE ARE GIVEN A PROMISE of JOY!
Psa 105:43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.
John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.Does that mean SORROWS and SADNESS will never darken your door?
• On the contrary... in John 16:20, Jesus said,
“Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament... but your sorrow will be turned into joy. “
In the next few verses, Jesus described the PROCESS of obtaining joy:
John 16:21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.... 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
1 Pet 5:8 in the KJV describes a joy that is “UNSPEAKABLE” and full of glory!
The NIV and the NASB declares that joy as “INEXPRESSIBLE”
But whether you say, “Unspeakable” or “Inexpressible”
• Whether you say, “tomato” or “tomah-to”.... “potato” or “potah-to”
• The Apostle Peter is talking about a JOY that can’t be explained, justified, rationalized or taken away!
Happiness is only evanescent and temporary...
• Happiness is brought on by circumstances, things or emotions...
• “Things” can change... Circumstances” can falter... “Emotions” can stray...
• But Jesus said...this GIFT of JOY I give you...no one can take away!!
4. AS HIS PEOPLE... WE HAVE A PROMISE OF HIS PROTECTION
Psa 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.
Deut 23:14 For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
Psa 12:7 O LORD , you will keep us safe and protect us... forever.
ILLUSTRATION: I heard a story of a hunter who was hunting when far away on the horizon he noticed a cloud of smoke. Soon he could hear crackling as the wind shifted. He realized the terrible truth: a brushfire was advancing, so fast that he could not outrun it.
Rifling through his pockets, he soon found what he was looking for - a book of matches. He lit a fire around himself and waited for the brushfire to come. Soon, he was standing in a circle of blackened and burnt earth... and waited.
When the fire came, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and covered his body with a blanket. The fire came near... but it swept over him!
• He was completely unhurt and untouched.
• You see... Fire could not burn where the fire had already been!!
(Would you just lift you hands to the Lord & thank Him for His divine protection?!)
• How many times has He watched over you and your family?
• How many times has he protected you?
Because Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego had been purified by the fire of God.... the flames of the fiery furnace did not harm them!
• Because we have sat through the REFINER’S fire... we are promised the PROTECTION of the REFINER!
• What can the world do to God’s elect?
1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5. AS HIS PEOPLE... WE HAVE HOPE AND A PROMISE OF A FUTURE!
Psa 111:6 He has declared to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations!
Psa 111:9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: (How long has he commanded His covenant? ) Holy and awesome is His name.
I love the passage in Jer that reminds us that God KNOWS the plans he has for us!
Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God has a PLAN for your life!
• Whether you are 9 years old... 29.... 59.... or 79.... God has a plan for you!
• Not only does God have a plan for you... he has a ministry for you
• Paul told Timothy, let no man despise your youth...
• But I believe if he were here today, Paul might say, let no man despise the experience of your years either!
It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, or somewhere in between...
• “The steps of the righteous are ORDERED of the Lord”
God has promised us a FUTURE...and a BLESSED HOPE!
6. AS HIS PEOPLE... WE ARE PROMISED HIS MERCY
Psa 136:16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever;
Oh, I am so thankful today for God’s grace and mercy!
• We don’t deserve His mercy... Yet He freely gives His mercy to us!
1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Do you remember what mercy is?
Whereas Grace is being given something you don’t deserve.... (A gift)
Mercy is NOT being given something you do deserve... (forbearance of punishment)
7. WHY DOES GOD OFFER ALL OF THESE THINGS TO HIS PEOPLE?
Psa 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
• He loves us... as a parent loves his child
• As a Husband loves His bride... As a Creator loves His Creation!
• God loves us and takes pleasure in us!
But the BEST thing God has done for His people is found in Matt 1:21
An angel prophesied to Joseph and said, “Mary will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
Who will he save?
• He will save HIS PEOPLE from their sins!
• Let me tell you today... in no uncertain terms...
• That WE ARE HIS PEOPLE!!! And we are the SHEEP of His Pasture!!
CONCLUSION: HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE ARE HIS PEOPLE??
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name
If you have RECEIVED Him by BELIEVING in His name... God gives you the RIGHT to become his child!!
• Understand... that it is a PRIVILEGE to be called His child!
∙ Yet, in almost a contradiction of ideas.... we are told it is our RIGHT!
Arnold Prater, in his book YOU CAN HAVE JOY!, tells about a man in a little English village named John Deckard.
• John was a clerk in a textile factory.
• He was a modest and quiet man, he lived in an ordinary little house at the edge of town with his wife and his six-year-old son.
• Like thousands of Englishmen, every morning John put on his plain tweed suit, got on his bicycle, and rode to work.
• Returning home at 5:00 P.M. he’d work in his garden until suppertime.
• Then he would spend a quiet evening with his family.
• He was a very ordinary man living a very ordinary life.
But John Deckard had one claim to fame.
• For five consecutive years he had won the blue ribbon in the Village Garden Show with his prize rose.
• It had gone on so long that people had come to expect it.
• John Deckard’s prize rose would win, and that was that.
Behind his house was his rose garden.
• When he returned home each evening, he would don his coveralls and spend his time out there with his roses.
• Some said he had more than just "a way with flowers."
• Some said he mothered them, that he talked to them and that they even understood what he said.
This year, deep in his own heart, John Deckard knew that he would again win the blue ribbon, for this year his rose was truly a rose among roses.
• Never had he seen such perfection in a flower.
• This was his masterpiece and as he watched it daily, his contentment and pride grew.
The show was on Saturday and he planned to transplant his rose to a pot early in the morning.
• But while he was at breakfast, the tragedy happened.
• His 6year old son burst into the kitchen, and chatting excitedly he rushed to the table and cried, "Look Daddy, look what I have for you!"
• And in his grimy little hand, with half of it’s petals gone, and the stem broken was John Deckard’s prize rose.
That afternoon, visitors to the Garden Show were astonished when they came to John Deckard’s entry.
• For in a flower pot he had thrust a stick, and attached to it, at the very top, was a picture of his son.
• When the judges heard what had happened, they gave John Deckard an honorary blue ribbon.
• Some said that “the rose that was not a rose” was the finest he’d ever grown.
And even a blind man could see what was important to John Deckard.
• God’s love is like that towards His children too.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
It is our RIGHT....yet it is our PRIVILEGE to be called His children!
FINAL CONCLUSION
Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness w/ our spirit that we are children of God
I said we ARE His people!
• We are His people and we are CALLED by His Name!
• If we are His people... we need to BEHAVE as his people!
(Watch your toes... I may be stomping around for a few minutes)
Eph 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
Who is it that you act like...
• When disagreements arise at home... is God pleased with your reaction...
• When stress arises at work... is God pleased with your behavior...
• When someone cuts you off in traffic... is God pleased with your attitude...
Paul is telling the church at Ephesus to IMITATE God.
• He said imitate... or mirror the things of God.
• If God has shown you love.... show others love
• If God has show you mercy... show mercy to others
• If God is a god of forgiveness... you should be a mirror of forgiveness...
• If God is HOLY... then be ye HOLY! Paul said, “Be IMITATORS of God!”
The world we have been placed in does not KNOW God!
• They have NOT experienced God’s attributes...
• The only thing they know about God is what you have SHOWN them
• Notice I said what you have SHOWN them... not what you have TOLD them!
• Your ACTIONS are what makes the difference!
Phil 2:15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
• Blameless, Harmless, and Faultless?!
• We may never achieve absolute perfection...but holiness is definitely the end we should strive and travail for.
Why? Because, we are HIS people... the sheep of HIS pasture...
• We are HIS representatives... We are HIS ambassadors
• We are the LIVING EXAMPLES of the PEACE, LOVE, STRENGTH, MERCY, HOPE, JOY and EVERY other promise that BEING His people affords us!
Are we REPRESENTING these attributes to the world around us?!
1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
I challenge you this week to live your life in a manner that will be pleasing to God!
• I challenge you to live your life as if Christianity was on trial and you were the key defendant and the star witness.
• I challenge you to allow your actions be conducive to the expansion of the Kingdom
• I challenge you to let your holy lifestyle be the anointed straw that breaks the back of the devil’s bondage on your family, your co-workers, and your friends
