Sermon
#121 Series: Isaiah
Title:
Precious, Honorable, Beloved
Text: Isaiah 43:4
Subject: God’s Estimate of His People
Date: Sunday Evening - June 28, 1992
Introduction:
The
world looks upon the church and people of God with hatred and contempt. I readily grant that the world embraces
religion as a respectable, commendable thing.
The world loves its own. But it
hates the church of God and looks upon his saints as contemptible things. It always has and always will- (John
14:18-21).
And
God’s people always look upon themselves as contemptible, sinful things,
unworthy of the least of God’s favors and blessings. Others may not know us; but we know ourselves. “We know that in us, that is, in our flesh
dwelleth no good thing!” We know that
we are, by birth, by nature, and by practice, sinners deserving of God’s
wrath. Paul was not speaking with false
humility when he called himself “the chief of sinners.” Job was not being hypocritical when he said,
“Behold, I am vile!…I abhor myself!”
David was not playing games with God when he said, “My sin is ever
before me.” The world looks upon the
church and people of God with hatred and contempt. And God’s saints look upon themselves as hateful, contemptible
creatures before the holy Lord God.
That is the essence of repentance.
It is a loathing of myself because of sin.
But
the Lord God himself looks upon his people in Christ as the most precious,
honorable, beloved things in the world.
This is what he says to us- “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou
hast been honorable, and I have loved thee!”
Proposition: God’s estimate of his people is that they are
precious, honorable, and beloved- Imagine that!
Divisions:
1. This is God’s estimate of his church as a whole.
I. This is God’s Estimate of His
Church as a Whole.
Whether
talking about the church universal, the whole body of Christ, or the local
church, which is the outward, visible representative of that great mystical,
spiritual body, when God speaks of and to his church, he says, “Since thou wast
precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee.”
NOTE:
We do
not say, or even suggest, that there are some true believers in all churches,
or that all churches are a part of one great universal church. Far from it! Most churches and the people in them do not know God from a
goat. But we do say that God’s people,
all God’s true people, in heaven and on the earth are one. And this is what God says to his church, his
Israel- “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I
have loved thee.”
A. The Church of God is precious in his sight.
There is nothing in, or about, the church by nature that sets it apart from the people of the world. God is no respecter of persons; but if he were, there was nothing in us for him to respect. Yet, he says, “thou wast precious in my sight!”
1.
The
church of God is precious in his sight because he loved
us with and
everlasting love and chose us to be the heirs of eternal salvation.
2.
God’s purpose of grace relates
to his church, whom he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son; and all
his purposes regarding all other things are made subservient to his purpose of
grace toward his church (Rom. 8:28-30).
“The bounds of the nations hath he set according to the number of his chosen. The arrangements of providence have all been disposed with an eye to them. All things work together for their good, and for the achievement of their ultimate perfection. God is pleased to reckon them as his crown jewels, his peculiar treasure, because he sees in them the purchase of his Son’s agonies. They have been bought with a price far above gold and silver.”- (C. H. Spurgeon).
3.
God’s
church is precious above all creation in h is sight, because in it his glory is revealed- (Eph. 1:3-14; 2:7).
He
has displayed his glory in creation, he manifests it in providence, but he
displays all the glory of all his attributes only in the redemption and salvation
of his church by Christ.
B. Exceedingly precious is the
church of God in his sight; and she is therefore, in the highest sense of the
word, honorable.
Notice
how the Lord puts it- “Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable.”
Let us ever hold the church of God in high esteem. She is honorable in God’s sight. God blesses the world through his church. She is God’s ordained mouthpiece and instrument of grace to the world. Honor the church as God honors it. If you have been standing aloof, unite with the church of Christ. Commit yourself to it. “Come thou with us, and we will do thee good.”
C. Then the Lord God says, “I
have loved thee!”
That
means, “I have taken complacency in thee.”
The Lord God is well pleased with his Son, and he takes delight in his
church because of her union with his Son (Zech. 3:17). “Therefore,” he says, “will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life!” Because
God loves his church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, nations
will fall before it, and kingdoms will be sacrificed to advance it. The cause of God, his church, his truth is
in no danger!
II. This is God’s Estimate of
Every Individual Believer.
To
every believer the God of heaven speaks personally. He says to you and to me- “Since thou wast precious in my sight,
thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee.” Here are three adjectives by which God himself describes you who
believe.
A. Precious- “Since thou wast precious in
my sight.”
How
precious the believer must be if he is precious in God’s sight! Here we are in God’s sight, placed as fully
and completely before him as we shall be in the day of judgment. His thoughts about us are not mistaken. His judgment is not cloudy. He knows exactly what we are, have been, and
shall be. Yet, he declares that we are
precious in his sight.
As I
said concerning the church as a whole I must say concerning each of us
personally- There is nothing in us by nature to make us precious in God’s
sight. We were not dug from the quarry
of precious things, but from the pit of corruption.
Illus: The Remembrance Room
If I
am precious in his sight, it is because of what he has done, not because of
what I have done! We are precious in his sight because…
1.
He
has bought us at a very dear price (I Pet. 1:18).
2.
We
are his workmanship (Eph. 2:10).
3.
We
are being conformed to the image of his dear Son- (Rom. 8:29).
4.
We
are his own sons and daughters (II Cor. 6:17-18; I John 3:1).
NOTE: That which is precious to me is that which I look
upon with great satisfaction, set great store by, think of often, and keep in
safety.
B. Honorable- “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been
honorable!”
To be
honorable among men, these days, is insignificant. Our “honorable men of rank and position are the most dishonorable
men in the world. Daily we read of
legislators, senators, and congressmen who are thieves, adulterers, and
homosexuals! Speak of the scum of
society! Judging by our nation, it
seems that the old proverb is true, “the scum of every pot rises to the top!” But to be honorable in God’s sight is
something else. That is indeed
honorable! Every believer is in God’s
sight honorable, because discriminating grace has made him precious.
God
says to you who believe, “Thou hast been honorable.” Grace has made you so!
Now, meditate for a moment on this third adjective…
C. Beloved- “I have loved thee!”
Here
is a theme better grasp by thought than by talk, so I will say little about
it. But I urge you to think much upon
it.
God says, “I have loved thee!”
Application:
By
way of practical application, let me urge you who are God’s own dear children,
precious, honorable, and beloved, to use these words as your own and…