eBible Fellowship

A few Sundays ago, I have been speaking a little bit about how glorious and wonderful God’s salvation plan is. The Bible has a whole lot of information.

The Bible is all about God’s salvation plan and God hid it in the Bible in parables and all sorts of languages. But when He opens our spiritual eyes to it, we begin to see how wonderful it is.

We could try studying the Bible a lot and maybe even for our whole life, but if God is not willing, He can let us never come into seeing the depths of the riches of the glorious salvation plan of God.

But the more if we study the Bible and if God is willing, He can begin to open our spiritual eyes into seeing how wonderful His salvation is and it is indeed a wonderful salvation that He gave to His elect, who are people who are not deserving of anything. They are not deserving of God’s mercy or His love or His patience or anything like that.

We are so grateful that God has not given to us what we truly deserve, which is to be destroyed forever, but God in His infinite wisdom and mercy decided to save a people out of this human race, for Himself. Let us go to Psalm 86. It is a prayer of David and it is a beautiful chapter (Psalm) like all the chapters in the Bible. In Psalm 86:8-9, we read:

Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, …

And we know that God has. He had a people throughout all the nations of the world. They were His elect. That would come and worship before Him. It continues:

… O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

When God saved His elect, they glorified the name of God. The true believers want God’s perfect will to be done and glory to be given to God. God’s people from all the nations of the world shall glorify the name of God. In Psalm 86:10-12, we read:

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O JEHOVAH; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

The true believers will do that. But when God saved His elect and throughout all eternity to come, all the true believers will glorify the Great and Holy name of God and that is what we would want to do when God has saved us. We would want God’s perfect will to be done and that God may be glorified in all things and that is the desire of the true believers, that God be glorified in our personal life and as we go about to serve Him. We want God to be glorified. Let us go to Isaiah chapter 55. Notice the same idea there in Isaiah chapter 55. It is a beautiful chapter (in particular). Also notice how God lays out salvation there in that chapter. In Isaiah 55:1, we read:

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money (remember that, salvation is a free gift of God to His elect); come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

In Isaiah 55:5, we read:

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations (there would be people from all over the world, from different nations and languages and so forth, but who calls them? God does.) that knew not thee shall run unto thee because (the key word in this verse is “because”. So, because of what? Is it because of something that we did? No.) of JEHOVAH thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

When God’s elect become saved, they are all part of this wonderful glory of God. They are undeserving of it and the salvation plan here that God has written about in the Bible, it is to the glory of God. The only reason why the true believers glorify God is because God saves His elect and He calls them to Himself and they will glorify Him and no other. Remember that in Isaiah 42:8, we read, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” All glory goes to God for salvation. Let us read from “because” again, in Isaiah 55:5:

… because of JEHOVAH thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

It also speaks about Christ through this chapter and when God saves His elect, they are in Him and so forth. They abide in Him and all this is working out to the glory of God. Let us go to Isaiah chapter 60. When you look at these chapters more closely, you may notice that God has laid out His salvation plan throughout the whole Bible. There are many things in the Bible that we may not understand but as we read it we may notice how God wrote the Bible and how He laid out salvation in the Bible. In Isaiah 60:1-7, we read:

Arise, shine; for thy light is come (it is speaking about Christ), and the glory of JEHOVAH is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but JEHOVAH shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee (As He saves His people through Christ.). And the Gentiles shall come to thy light (the light there is Christ), and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of JEHOVAH. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

God is just simply laying out that the people (His elect) would become saved through Christ and how it would bring glory to Himself. In Isaiah 60:8-9, we read:

Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of JEHOVAH thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

They are speaking about Christ and how He would save a people (His elect) for Himself and that would bring glory to God. Remember that in Luke 15:7, we read, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Just imagine that they bring glory to God for saving this person and all God’s elect. In Isaiah 60:10, we read:

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

And God is just simply talking about the beauty of God’s salvation that He would provide through Christ because Christ at that point was not born as yet, so He is just speaking about the wonderful nature of His salvation that His elect from all over the world would become saved through what Christ has done. Let us go to Isaiah 60:21-22, we may notice the same idea. In Isaiah 60:21, we read:

Thy people also shall be all righteous (God’s elect are all righteous through Christ. They do not have any righteousness of their own): they shall inherit the land for ever (which is the new Heaven and the New Earth), the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Salvation is the work of God’s hands and it glorifies God that God may be glorified as He saved a people (His elect) for Himself. In Isaiah 60:22, we read:

A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I JEHOVAH will hasten it in his time.

So, notice how glorious God’s salvation plan is. Let us go to the Gospel of John. When we start to look at this issue about how glorious God’s salvation plan is, there are so many verses and as I said last week, we begin to see a little bit of it as God opens our spiritual eyes to it. We begin to see the glorious nature of God’s salvation plan and it is a perfect salvation plan because God is the one who designed it. God is the one who designed the salvation programme and it is perfect and it will bring praise and glory to God. In John 12:20-23, we read:

And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

Remember when Christ came to demonstrate the work that already had been done, all of that was glorifying God. When Christ went to the cross of all He did, it was glorifying God. We may notice it here, in John 12:24-31, we read:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name (All what Christ was going through - but he finally said there). (All that was done was to the glory of God. All of it was to the glory of God.) Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

But notice, all that Christ was doing, as He came to be the gospel and He is the gospel, it was to glorify God. At the end of the day, God gets all the glory for everything. Even in Heaven, the true believers eyes won’t be on each other, but it will be on God. He is going to be glorified throughout all eternity forever and ever, for His salvation. Let us go to John chapter 14. Let us break into the middle of the chapter. In John 14:12-13, we read:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

As true believers bring the true gospel, they are glorifying God and as we wait upon the LORD, we are glorifying God because remember, in all that we do as we live out our lives, it is so that God may be glorified and that is it. After one of God’s elect becomes saved, he/ she will not be greatly concerned about himself/ herself but will want God to be glorified in all things. In John 14:14, we read:

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

That verse has been totally misunderstood over the years. Some people may think that if they ask the LORD for “this” or “that”, they will get it, but that is not so. The true believers will want God’s perfect will to be done, but not theirs and they will want God’s name to be glorified.

During the church age, a lot of people may have heard that if they would ask the LORD for “this”, He would give it to them. Notice that their minds are not in the right place. Remember that we should want the LORD’s perfect will to be done and His name to be glorified in all things. Let us go to John chapter 15. In John 15:7, we read:

If ye abide in me (if we are truly saved, we are abiding in Christ), and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Remember that we should want God’s perfect will to be done and it should not be what we want anymore. In John 15:8-10, we read:

Herein is my Father glorified (notice that God is glorified and that should be our number one priority, that God may be glorified), that ye bear much fruit; …

What fruit is that? It is the fruit of the Spirit which God gave to the true believers. One of the fruits of the Spirit is “patience”. We should wait patiently. Patience is waiting. (Added by the transcriber: But remember that in James 1:3, we read, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”) We should wait upon the LORD to bring about what He has promised. God will bring it to pass. The fruit of the Spirit is what glorifies God. It continues:

… so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Also remember that, we should want our lives to give praise to God. As He strengthens us and as we turn away from sin or whatever the case is or whatever trials or afflictions God has put upon our lives, we should want God to be glorified in all things. Remember how He tested Abraham? That also glorified God.

Remember that in Genesis 22:12, we read, “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” That glorified God. Remember that in John 21:15, we read, “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” And Christ went on to tell him about how he would die. Let us pick up the context. In John 21:17-19, we read:

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. …

That was referring to Peter’s death, that it should glorify God. Remember that in all things, God gets the preeminence. With regards to Peter’s death, Christ was telling him that it would glorify God. It continues:

… And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

That is God’s commandment to us also as His people. We should follow God, no matter what. Did Peter come back and react to that statement that Christ made? No. Peter was not upset and he did not fall apart. He told him that His death would glorify God. Remember that in Psalm 116:15, we read, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Remember that, all things work out to the praise and glory of God, even if we do not understand it that God may be glorified and that we may have a desire in our heart to glorify God. Let us go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, we read:

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints (remember that all things work out to the praise and glory of God. When the LORD comes to get His people (the true believers), He will be glorified in his saints, at that day), and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Also remember that, we should patiently wait upon the LORD to bring about the end of all things, in His time.

Let us stop here. Let us pray please.

Heavenly Father, we thank You O LORD that You are on the throne and that You are in total control of all things. Nothing is not gone awry. You are in perfect control of all things and thy people because You saved them and they will never fall away. They will never follow another and You will keep them. It is not our own strength, in our own strength or in our own wisdom or nothing like that. But we know that You will keep us and we have this wonderful promise that nothing will ever pluck us out of thine hand, no matter how dark a day in this life may be and some of us may be in situations that we cannot get out of or whatever the cases may be, but O LORD, You are in control and O LORD, we just thank You O LORD for thy mercy and we thank You for bringing us through this past year and beginning of another. We pray O LORD, that You will have us to continue to wait upon thee for all things. We ask for blessings upon all of us today, as Chris brings forth the study and as we sing these hymns to thee O LORD, that they may glorify thy name. We thank You for this day, in Jesus name. Amen.