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This morning, we will examine what I like to call "A Glorious Benediction." Let me read it to you, beginning in verse 20,

"Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,

"equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

What a magnificent close to this sermon that was written to the first century Jewish people that come to a saving knowledge to Christ. In fact, according to verse 22 of this chapter, we are reminded by the writer's own admission that this is what he calls a brief exhort - brief word of exhortation - a phrase that literally means a sermon, not really a letter, but a sermon. And may I remind you, dear friends, that the grand theme of this sermon is the absolute superiority and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ over all things, a truth that should be a profound encouragement to us, especially in these days of darkness and wickedness, as we watch the world being prepared for the rise and the rule of the Antichrist. And in this sermon to the Hebrews, even in this benediction, we see a magnificent summary of the providence of God, who works all things according to the counsel of his will. And I might add, understanding his plan for the ages, especially as it relates to his covenant promises to Israel and, by extension, to we, as Gentiles in the church. Understanding those things are really essential to the hope that we can have through the word of God.

Let me remind you of the big picture of redemptive history, dating all the way back to God's covenant with Abraham. The Jewish people knew that they were the undeserved recipients of divine favor. They were his covenant people, and through them, God established a mediatorial kingdom on earth where he would rule through divinely chosen representatives who would speak on his behalf and who would represent the people before God. And those men served in three functions, as prophet, priest and king; and in this sermon to the Hebrews, the writer makes it very clear that the Lord Jesus Christ was and is the preeminent prophet, that he is the sovereign king, and that he was the perfect and the final high priest of Israel.

As the preeminent prophet, he alone, has given us the full and final and perfect revelation of God. In fact, the very beginning of Hebrews we read in chapter one and verse two, "...in these last days, [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." So indeed, he alone brought the full revelation of God to sinful man, which enables us to understand who God is and live consistently with what he would have us do.

And as the perfect and final high priest, he alone is holy and undefiled and separated from sin and sinners. Again, in chapter one, at the end of verse three, he says, "He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And we know that the Lord Jesus did not enter the holy place to offer the blood of animals, but rather he offered his very blood as the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. He accomplished all that could be accomplished - all that needed to be accomplished - for our salvation. And on the cross he cried out, "It is finished!" And in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 14, we read that, "by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified."

And then finally, as the supreme and sovereign king, we know that he reigns in absolute and unassailable sovereignty over a kingdom that he himself has created. Beloved, he reigns in unfathomable majesty in heaven. Hebrews chapter one and verse eight, we read how his reign is eternal, not temporary. He's a king of perfect righteousness. And there the writer says, "But of the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom." So throughout this magnificent sermon, the writer proves these great truths, and he's pleading with his countrymen, who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, not to revert back to the old covenant of works due to persecution, but to embrace fully the new covenant of grace, the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Lord. And here, in this glorious benediction dear friends, he summarizes these astounding realities that have animated the hearts of the redeemed down through millennia.

And I might add, if this is not true for you, if you can somehow hear these great truths and read these great truths, and it doesn't animate your heart to praise, there is something terribly wrong with your faith. If you have no appetite to feed upon what God has revealed to us, even right here, your heart has been seduced, and your mind has been corrupted. And I assure you when life is dark - and often it is - when all seems lost, it is the light of Bible doctrine and the light of fulfilled and promised prophecy that will become your most prized possession. For this reason, the Psalmist says, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." And pity the Christian that wanders around in the darkness and pity the non-Christian who loves darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. And folks, those people are all around us. They're in our families. We work with them. They're our neighbors, and they are even here in this worship center today.

So I wish to examine this benediction under three headings concerning the character and the purposes of God. I hope this will be helpful to you. We're going to examine, first of all, who he is; and then secondly, what he has done; and finally, you guessed it, what he is doing. So first of all, let's think about who he is.

In verse 20, he begins by saying, "Now the God of peace." In the original language, the grammar would indicate that this is referring to the God who grants peace. And in this context, we see that the peace that he grants is directly linked to the establishment of an eternal covenant. And we see this throughout the New Testament. In fact, Paul spoke of this in First Thessalonians, five and verse 23, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Every believer who is united to Christ in saving faith is at peace with God. And that's an amazing reality that we never want to underestimate. In fact, Paul speaks of this in Romans, chapter five and verse one, he says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, Christ." In fact, that is the first benefit of our justification: peace with God. That's referring to objective peace, not necessarily subjective peace. But once you have the objective peace - that you are no longer at war with God - then you can enjoy a subjective peace in the very core of your being.

And I might add that if you haven't placed your faith in the Lord Jesus, you are right now at war with God, although you may not realize it. And I might add, he is also at war with you, whether you know it or not. It. In fact, if we look at the book of Romans, we see that Paul spent 67 verses at the beginning of his epistle to the Romans explaining the condemnation of man that makes him subject to the just wrath of God. And in Romans five and verse 10, he describes man as an enemy of God. And Jesus declared that the wrath of God rests upon the sinner in John 3:36; and we know as well that the unbeliever is a child of Satan, Jesus says in John 8:44, and he's a citizen of the kingdom of darkness, and on and on it goes. My friends, without Christ, man will never have peace in this life or in eternity.

Now, peace is a wonderful word, isn't it? Think about it, especially the concept here. We know that that the term is rooted in the Old Testament, Hebrew term "shalom," and that term encompasses the fullest prosperity of the whole man. And here, the idea of peace signifies the presence of something incredibly positive. It signifies the unfathomable blessing of sins forgiven, of righteousness imputed, of eternal life, all of which is a result of Christ's atoning work on the cross. And indeed, he is the Prince of Peace, right? Remember Isaiah nine and verse six; a concept linked to that of righteousness in verse seven of that very chapter. And we see the combination of both righteousness and peace in Psalm 85:10. There we read, "Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Kissing being a metaphor for the cooperative harmony of both righteousness and peace and both terms point to what Christ accomplished on the cross of Calvary. Jesus perfectly and eternally satisfied the wrath of God that should have fallen upon us, but instead they fell upon him. And because of Christ, we know in Hebrews eight and verse 12 that he remembers our sins no more. He now sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We have been declared righteous, and he treats us as such. And therefore, we are now at peace with God, so much so, that, according to Ephesians two and verse 14, we are told that Christ Himself is our peace, a wonderful concept.

But dear friends, apart from the objective peace of justification, we will never enjoy the subjective peace - the experiential peace - of being the special objects of God's love. And for this reason, using the analogy of the Roman soldier, whose boots were cleated with metal spikes in order to give him sure footing in battle, Paul warns every believer in Ephesians six and verse 15, to be prepared to to hold your ground in the midst of a battle against the enemy of the gospel, and the way you do that is by "having your feet shod with the gospel of peace." Without it, we will slip and we will slide, and we will yield to the lies of the enemy, and every sin and every discouragement in life will push you back into doubt and discouragement versus standing your ground.

And I might add that if your life is chaotic right now, if you're not enjoying the peace of God, there's a good chance you are still at war with him. I talk with people almost every week whose lives are in a state of constant chaos and confusion; people who are filled with fear and frustration and sin and sorrow, their life is without meaning. It's without hope. They have no clear sense of direction or purpose. My friends, if that is you, I would encourage you to bow before the God of peace and plead for the peace that only he can give through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

What a magnificent reality that is summarized right here in this very first phrase, God is a God of peace, and he grants that to all who come to him in saving faith. Folks, only then can the accusations of the conscience and the accusations of Satan fall on deaf ears. Only then can we be assured of our final destination. Only then can we be assured that we have no need to fear death or judgment, because "the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus, our Lord," has granted us peace with him. That is who he is.

Notice, secondly, what he has done. He has "brought up from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord."  Now folks, this is utterly astounding. I hope I can somehow help you wrap your mind around what he's saying. Here, you see, God, obviously, is the one who raised Jesus from the dead; and here Jesus is described as the Great Shepherd of the sheep. Now, the Jewish people would have been very familiar with this kind of imagery and the deliverance it depicted. For example, they would have been familiar with Isaiah chapter 63 and there God spoke through his prophet concerning the second coming of Christ, when the Messiah of Israel will come again to establish his kingdom upon the earth and reign in Jerusalem after having avenged his people. And what the prophet describes there, in that passage, in verse four, is a day of vengeance, and he describes "my year of redemption," referring to the Messiah's reckoning when he comes again to punish the wicked, and how all of this will coincide with his redemption of Israel. And what's fascinating is that in that context, he calls the people to remember the Lord's mercy, to recount his steadfast covenantal love towards them, and according to verse seven of Isaiah 63 he speaks of the great "goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to His compassion, according to the abundance of His steadfast love." I might add, despite their rebellion. And then in order to illustrate his everlasting covenant with them and how they are the undeserved recipients of all of the love that he has showered on them as a people - all because of his everlasting covenant - he reminds them in verse 11 of this, of the, "...days of old, of Moses," and his people. And he speaks of when he, "brought them up out of the seas with the shepherds of his flock"; the shepherds there, referring to Moses and to Aaron and the other shepherds that served with them. Of course, that was a reference to the time when he let his people pass through the sea on dry ground, and he delivered them from the Egyptian charioteers. And of course, that deliverance with those shepherds merely pointed to a far greater deliverance through a far greater Shepherd. That rescue, as magnificent as it was, pales into utter insignificance compared to the ultimate deliverance accomplished by the Great Shepherd, the one who can deliver his people from the penalty and the power and one day the very presence of sin. And folks, all of this is described here in Hebrews 13 in this benediction.

Now think about this, what an encouragement this must have been to those people. They're struggling with persecution. They've heard all of these things. They're grappling with these things in their mind, and they are reminded that it was God alone who has power to raise the dead, and there is no greater illustration in all of the world of the exertion of his power than in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is called the Great Shepherd of the sheep. And they may have remembered that it was Jesus who described himself as the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep in John 10. And of course, that underscores the tender care that a shepherd has for his sheep, who are helpless and defenseless without a shepherd. But the imagery of the shepherd in Scripture extends beyond his role of of caring for his sheep and protecting his sheep. It includes something of far greater importance. It stresses the absolute sovereignty that a shepherd has over his flock. We often miss this in our consideration of Jesus as our great Shepherd. You will recall what Jesus said in Revelation, chapter 12 and verse five, speaking of Mary, we read, "And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations." "Rule" there is "poimainō," a Greek term that it can be translated "shepherd." He's the one who will shepherd, "all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to his throne."

Likewise, in Revelation 19, beginning in verse 15, "From His mouth comes a sharp sword." By the way, this is speaking, now, of the Lord Jesus coming again at his Second Coming. "From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations. And He..." - a repetition from the preceding clause that denotes the idea of of he himself, or he alone - He Himself, "will rule." Again, could be translated "shepherd." He will shepherd them, "with a rod of iron; and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty." And then, to underscore the absolute authority of the warrior king that will one day come, John sees a prominent name written upon the Lord in his vision;  and it was probably a banner that was draped across his shoulders and his chest, and hung down off his side; verse 16, he says, "And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ';KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'" You see, my friends, the great Shepherd of the sheep is Israel's long anticipated Messiah, and he will one day return again, and he will ascend an earthly throne and establish his kingdom. And all of that will be in fulfillment to his unconditional covenants that he made with Abraham and David; they will be fulfilled to the letter. Daniel's 70th week of pre-kingdom judgments prophesied in Daniel will finally be over.

Folks, don't miss this. One day the dawn of God's glory is going to break over the horizon - and how I long for that day - and the dark night of man's sin is going to give way to that glorious light, the light of his unfailing grace. And in the hour of Israel's greatest peril, as we read the prophecies, just before the Lord returns, all of the lights are going to be turned out in the skies, and suddenly they will be replaced with the light of the glory of Christ. The prophet Joel, speaks of this in Joel three, beginning in verse 11,

 "Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones.

"Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,"

which means "Yahweh judges,"

"for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

"Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come tread for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

"The sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness.

"The LORD roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble.

"But the Lord is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

"Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will pass through it no more."

My friends, it was this hope that caused the longing souls of Israel to say, "Watchmen, how far gone is the night?" To which the prophet Isaiah answered with comforting assurance, “The morning comes" (Isaiah 21). And the prophet Zechariah adds in his prophecy in chapter 14 and verse seven, "For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light." And in verse nine, it says, "And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one." Oh, Child of God, this is my Jesus. I hope it is your Jesus. If it's not, your Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. And what hope we have as we see all of the systems of the world disintegrating before our eyes to know that God is still on his throne and that Christ is coming again.

Now back to Hebrews. This is the one whom, the God of peace, raised up from the dead, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. It's interesting, the adjective "great" here underscores the fact that he is ranked far above all of the other shepherds. And how could the resurrection of the great Shepherd of the sheep be accomplished? Well, we see it here in the benediction, in verse 20 of chapter 13 in Hebrews. It's "through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord."

Now let me give you some background here; very important. As we look at Scripture, we see that God has clearly revealed four basic covenants in his Word pertaining to his redemptive purposes. And each of these covenants are inextricably linked together and actually build upon one another. If we look at Scripture, we will see that there was a covenant that he gave to Abraham, then to Moses, then to David, and then the New Covenant. And this is really the key to redemptive history, I might add. I wish I had more time to elaborate on it, but I want to give you the big picture, and I think you will get the idea, because this is so comforting to know that even in the midst of the collapse that we see in our nation and all around the world, we know that God is in control.

First of all, God's covenant with Abraham was introduced in Genesis chapter 12, and then it was really made in chapter 15, and reaffirmed in chapter 17. And there were four elements to that covenant that God made with Abraham. First of all, there was a promise of a seed that would come from his loins; a seed referring to Christ. Secondly, there was a promise of land - that there would be a specific territory that that God would set apart for his people - a place where he would one day dwell with them in a holy and intimate union. And then there was a promise, thirdly, of a nation where Abraham's godly reputation - where his legacy - would be displayed materially and spiritually and socially; a nation through which God's grace would ultimately be put on display. And finally, there was a promise of divine blessing and protection.

Now that covenant was an unconditional covenant in the sense that its fulfillment of a kingdom and salvation for Israel was ultimately dependent upon God; but it was also at some level conditional in terms of its immediate fulfillment, because there would be certain responsibilities that would fall upon its recipients. And you will recall in Genesis, 15, the Lord came to Abram in a vision, and he promised him an heir, and God promised that his descendants would be as countless as the stars in heaven. And then you will remember how God removed Abram from any participation in, or fulfillment of, the covenant. And while it, while it revolved around him, humanly speaking, its conditions and its obligations were God's alone. And ultimately, the blessings of the covenant were not conditioned upon any meritorious act on the part of Abraham but were received by him through simple faith. And so it was unconditional and unilateral. It was made between God and himself, and it depended, therefore upon the faithfulness of Abraham and his descendants; or not so much upon Abraham and his descendants, but upon God Himself.

And we're reminded of this, remember in Hebrews, chapter six and verse 13, we read,

"For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, he swore by Himself,

"saying, 'I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply you.'

And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

"For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

"In the same way, God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,

"so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we have taken refuge, would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast, and one which enters within the veil,

"where Jesus entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever."

Then you will recall later on, God revealed himself to the newly formed nation of Israel on Mount Sinai. Remember, in Exodus 19, and there he gave the Law to his people, the Law to Moses, it's called the Mosaic Covenant. He wanted them to understand the righteousness of God and ultimately see their need for a Savior; for a righteousness that they did not have, a righteousness that would have to be provided for them. And in that covenant ceremony on Mount Sinai, God made an agreement with Israel, and it was a binding covenant dependent upon their obedience, and apart from which they could never enjoy the covenant promises that he gave to Abraham, according to Leviticus 26 verses 40 through 46. This is why Jesus, you will recall, came preaching repentance. Remember in Matthew four and verse 17? Repentance that they might be God's people and that he might be their God. Otherwise, none of the covenanted promises which were given to Abraham would ever occur.

But then God also made a covenant with David in Second Samuel seven and verse 16 and following. There, God promised to establish "a house" for David. There, he promised that David would have an eternal lineage. The name of David would go on. There would be an eternal Davidic dynasty, including a throne and a nation. And of course, all of that pointed to David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But then, dear friends, as we read earlier this morning, the key for all of these promises to be fulfilled rested upon the fourth covenant - the New Covenant - to the house of Israel revealed in Jeremiah 30 through chapter 33. And there, God revealed his promises for both physical blessings associated with Israel's eventual restoration and the promises of a new heart that serve as the basis for receiving the physical promises that would happen in the millennial kingdom. And ultimately, in order for the curse to be reversed upon the earth, in order for Israel to repent and have their hearts circumcised and joyfully obey God's statutes and ordinances, in order for God's promises to Abraham and David to be fulfilled, God would have to do something. He would have to do a mighty work of grace. He would have to give them a new heart, a new spirit. And of course, all of this is at the core of the New Covenant, and this was what all of the blood sacrifices in the Mosaic Covenant pointed to. The "blood of the covenant" according to Exodus 24:8, or the blood of My covenant with you," as Zechariah 9:11 describes it; "the everlasting covenant," as we see here in verse 20 of Hebrews 13, which Jesus even inaugurated at the Last Supper. There, he said in Matthew 26 and verse 28, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

And of course, that spoke of the Lord's sacrifice of expiation and propitiation. Expiation meaning that he would take our sins away; and propitiation meaning that he would satisfy the just wrath of God on our behalf. So why will Israel ultimately be blessed? Not because of her faithfulness. No, solely on the basis of God's unfailing devotion to his covenant, the covenant of blood that he made with Abraham back in Genesis 15; a covenant that will remain in force as long as God lives. And even we, as Gentiles, are recipients of those same blessings, because we are, according to Romans 11 and verse 17, the "wild olive branches" that have been grafted into the root of Abrahamic blessings. So we too have become spiritual heirs of Abraham with respect to salvation.

For this reason, Paul gives a warning in Romans chapter 11, beginning in verse 25 and following. In summary, he's saying to the Gentiles, hey, don't be arrogant towards Israel. I'm revealing you this mystery of their salvation and restoration based solely upon God's sovereign election and his faithfulness to keep his promises. Paul's whole argument in Romans 11 is based upon God's covenant with them (verse 27) "when I take away their sins."  Once again, a reference to the New Covenant promise of Jeremiah 31. This is why I believe the Scripture teaches that a remnant of Israel will one day be saved in mass at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there again in Romans 11, verse 28, Paul says, "From the standpoint of the gospel, they," (referring to unbelieving Israel), "are enemies for your sake" (referring to the Gentiles). "But from the standpoint of God's choice, they (again, unbelieving Israel) are beloved for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." The "gifts" meaning the unmerited blessings of divine grace. The "calling" there speaking of that inward calling of God without which man would never come to saving faith; and it always results in men responding to God's offer of salvation.

And also it's "irrevocable," or "irrevocable," as some people will pronounce it. The original language indicates that this is the idea of not feeling regret as a result of what one has done; that God is never going to change his mind. He's never going to change his heart. He's never going to look and say, "oh, you are so wicked. My grace cannot extend to you. You're on your own." No, it's irrevocable, even with Israel's rebellion in unbelief.

And I might add that was so comforting to the apostle Paul, who was grieved over the rebellion of his = kinsmen, the Jews. But God's word is immutable. It never changes. Malachi three and verse six, "For I the Lord, do not change." Aren't you glad for that? "I do not change. Therefore you, O sons of Israel, are not consumed today." Unbelieving Israel, not the remnant, who have not been hardened that are coming to Christ, but unbelieving Israel as a whole are enemies for the sake of the Gentiles, that we might be grafted into the rich root of patriarchal blessing. We might say unbelieving Jews are passively enemies of God, while at the same time being passively beloved of God.

But from the standpoint of election - that is God's original, irrevocable choice of national Israel, by grace alone, according to divine foreknowledge - the unbelieving Jews designated as enemies are at the same time beloved, on account of the original, irrevocable promise made to the fathers - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I hope this background in covenantal promises, and I know it's a bit heavy, but you need to hear it. You need to be taught these things. I hope this is helpful to you, to help you understand what is being said here in verse 20 of Hebrews 13, that, "the God of peace brought up from the dead, the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant."

Now the Jews would have been very familiar with the covenant that God would give to Israel. In fact, in Isaiah 55 and verse three, we read, "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen that you may live and I will make an everlasting covenant (the idea of the new covenant) with you, according to the faithful mercy shown to David." You see, all of these covenantal promises stack on top of each other. They're all inextricably linked. But all of this was contingent upon, now get this, all of this was contingent upon the resurrection of the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul spoke of this in Acts chapter 13 and verse 34 and here he actually quotes Isaiah 55:3, he says, "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay. He has spoken in this way. I will give you the Holy and sure blessings of David." You see, Paul connected the resurrection of Christ with the fulfillment of the New Covenant, the eternal covenant, here in Hebrews 13:20.

Folks, if I can put it this way, if Jesus had not fully satisfied God's wrath on the cross of Calvary, the Father would have never raised him from the dead. And if he had never been raised from the dead, he would never be able to sit upon the throne of David, right? And all of those covenantal promises would be completely invalid. But guess what? He rose from the dead. Right? He rose from the dead. We serve a living Savior. We serve a living King, and therefore, one day, he will fulfill his kingly role, and the whole world will come to him as the great king and worship him. I cannot wait for that day. I am what you might call a triumphalist. I'm waiting for the triumph. I'm waiting to see that time when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. I'm waiting that day when his name will be vindicated and when all of those who mock at my Savior and my King will see him for who he really is.

Isaiah prophesied of this, as did many other prophets, in Isaiah 55 and verse five, he says, "Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you" (this is referring to what will happen in the millennium). "Because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you." Dear Christian, think of what all of this means for us as believers. Look at what this benediction is saying in the lens of the whole counsel of God. As we look at Scripture, we realize that before time began - the Lord in eternity passed before the foundations of the world were set in place, before the first star was hung in heaven - the Triune Godhead comes together and decrees a plan to bring glory to himself, and he sets that plan into motion, and ultimately it will be accomplished through a redeemed humanity. There the father chose a bride for his son, and in his plan, included all of these covenants. He didn't make this up on the fly. Indeed, he works all things after the counsel of his will.

Let me make it even more personal. Before anything was ever created, he designed your DNA and mine, and the DNA of every creature that would ever live. Before anything was ever created he knew what you would look like. He knew the color of your skin, the color of your hair, the color of your eyes. He knew the sound of your voice, the shape of your face. He knew everything about you. He even knew the length of your days. And before we were ever created, understand this dear friends, he set his love upon you. I cannot fathom this. I cannot understand it, but I believe it because God has said it so clearly. He set his love upon a great multitude which no man can count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, that one day they would, according to Revelation seven verses nine through 10, "stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes," and one day, they will "cry out with a loud voice, 'Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'"

Indeed, according to Ephesians, chapter one and verse four, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him," and he accomplished our redemption through the blood of the eternal covenant, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And I might add, it was all according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, as Peter said in Acts two verse 23. Oh, dear friend. If you do not believe these things, your god is too small. Moreover, he is not the god who has revealed himself in the Bible. He is some god that you have invented, or some god that you have heard of. Worse yet, if you do not believe these things, you are wandering through life with no clue as to what's going on in the world. No clue that history is moving towards a consummation, because you have no clue that history is ultimately his story, right? And all of these covenants fit into that.

Finally, and very quickly, we've seen who God is and what he's done. Now notice what he's doing. This, "God of peace who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord," is the one who can, verse 21, "...equip you in every good thing to do His will." What a staggering statement. Folks, if he didn't do the equipping, we would be hopeless, right? We could never do it on our own. ".... working in us that which is pleasing in His sight." I look at the few things maybe in my life that have been pleasing to him, and those things were certainly not because of my own effort, but all because of his grace, "all through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever." Think about it. This is the God who has the power to cause us to be born again. This is the God who can help us understand and apply the Word of God that we might be sanctified in the truth, that we might be conformed evermore into the likeness of our precious Savior, that we might live for his glory and because of him, we are able to do his will, because he is at work in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Folks, in conclusion, this morning, we all know that the pathway of sorrow and suffering is going to be ours in this journey through life, but may I remind you, that is the pathway that leads home, right? So we need to rejoice on the way, especially knowing that God has revealed to us his plan for the ages. He's not only revealed these things to us, but catch this, he has made us a part of it. If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is, right? So what should we do?

As I was thinking about the application of this, my mind just went to so many places, but the thing that I kept coming back to is what Paul said in Romans, chapter 12 and verse one, he says, "Therefore," in other words, in light of all that God has done, all that he is doing, all that he's going to do, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." "Spiritual" meaning rational, reasonable; literally logical, "service of worship to Him." And then, as we live this out, we can sing with the hymnist "Praise to the Lord, Oh, let all that is in me adore Him; all that have hath life and breath come now with praises before Him; Let the amen sound from his people again; gladly, for 'er adore Him." Amen.

Let's pray together. Father, thank you for these eternal truths. I pray, as always, that somehow, by the power of your Spirit, you will cause them to be anchored within our soul, so that we will have a clear understanding of what you are up to and how we are a part of it. And as we see these great mercies, not only will they animate our hearts to praise, but they will cause us to live lives as a holy sacrifice; a living and holy sacrifice that is pleasing to you. So we give you thanks, we give you praise, and we ask Lord Jesus that you will come quickly and take us away, that your kingdom will come, your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.