Priority #6 : The Atonement is Everlasting

Chapter 36 - God's Privileged List

The title of my message is God's privileged list. It has been said that the Lord is no respecter of persons but I've discovered in reading the Bible that God is a respecter of persons. How do you like that? Would God contradict Himself in saying He is no respecter of persons and prove that He is a respecter of persons? Well you can figure that one out yourself. I want to tell you that God has made some statements here where He said He would respect people but He's true on both counts. He isn't actually respecting the person as He is respecting someone else and their desires and you are the gainer for it. Some of you mom's are here this morning, you have prayed for your families and God wants you to pray for them. And God has helped them, God has answered those prayers. But do you know that the biggest thing that you can do for your family mom's is this, give yourself to Jesus Christ. Listen when He calls and that's the best possible thing that you can do for your families.

 

I told this to a mother this week and she said, "Well I realize that it will help me to be better to my families if I have Jesus," I said, "more than that." The reason why it's the biggest thing that you can do for your family is not that it helps you to do more for your family but it puts your family, not because God respects them so much but God has a spot that He respects and your name and the names of your children go into that spot that God said is so special to Him because you as a mother love God. Now the references that I want to give to you are very familiar references. Is. 55:3, "if you will listen, if you will come to Me and drink and feed upon Me and accept what I have to offer. If you listen to me your soul will begin to live."

 

This call is for every individual when you hear; your soul will come alive. And I will make a promise to you that let's you know how much I care. "I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David." If you'd like to turn back in your Bible's to Psalm the 89th chapter, you can find out what happens when you get on God's privileged list here. I want to show you what it does for you as an individual to be on God's list. Psalm 89 verse 15. I'm going to give you the bottom line of each of these verses. God said you would be blessed of Him because your soul was alive. This is where that everlasting covenant is described. God said, "I will make the same promise that I made to David." And here's the promise He made to David. I will bless you, I will smile on you, and the light of my countenance will be upon you. Oh, you can't have anything better than God smiling on you. Then He said you would be happy and exalted and the Lord Himself will be your defense. Talk about a blessing. This is the list. This is the privilege that God gives you. That He would defend you the Lord round about you. Then He said that you would be anointed. The Holy Spirit would be poured over your life. He said you would be strengthened. He said, "I promise you victory from any attack of the enemy." He will not exact upon you. The Lord Himself will be as a shield around about you because your soul has come alive.

 

Somebody told me just recently when I was sharing this, he said the world has to hear that message because they are so full of fear that they are vulnerable to the enemy and they don't know what to do about it. But he said if you hear and your soul shall live I'll give you the same promise that I gave to David and that is that the enemy isn't going to get you. He said, "I'd promised you victory, constant victory." Then He said, "My mercy and my faithfulness will not depart from you."

 

Oh, there are ten privileges that God has given to the person who has listened and their soul has come alive. And now especially you mom's I want to slip you into this position here. The highest thing that you can do for your family is to hear and let your soul come alive. And listen to the tenth favor that your family will be highly favored of God. Verse 28 to 34, "my mercy will I keep for him forever more and my covenant shall stand fast with him, his seed also will make to endure forever." I'm going to slip the word her in here because were talking about mothers. "If her children forsake my laws and walk not in my judgments." Mom's do you have some wandering kids this morning? "If they break my statutes and keep not my commandments then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes." Have things been going wrong for them? Are you here this morning, a son, a daughter of someone who knows the Lord? You've wondered why everything has turned upside down for you. Everything's going wrong; you've walked away from God. It just seems like everything has gone wrong. It could be that there's a visit with some rods and with stripes. But listen to this. Nevertheless because they're on my privileged list my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail, my covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.

 

Mom's you may feel you haven't prayed for your children like you should. God wants you to pray for them. But God made a promise to you that is effective even if you do not pray for them. Even if you've felt like you've miserably failed God. God said, "Notice that I cannot break this covenant and I can't even change it. I'm going to stay on those kids of yours. My loving-kindness that I'm beaming down on them is going to stay with them; I'm going to stay right on them." It doesn't say that they're saved, that they're going to heaven for sure, but God says, "I'm going to stay right on them, I'm going to give them every opportunity, I'm going to keep the door right in front of them. My loving-kindness will I not change or take away from them."

 

And you that are here this morning, you may be away from God. You have a mother or father that knows God. Why don't you quit fighting God? God said He wasn't going to let up on you because He made a promise to your mother. Are you here today mom's and dad's and you have a boy that's living for Jesus. God's not going to let up on you because your boy or girl loves God. God's made a covenant with them. Are you here today and you've had trouble with your husband or wife. And you've prayed so hard for the husband that's been so wayward in fighting God. And you've about given up, you're separated or you feel like separating and you've prayed constantly for them and today you've seen evidences that God is beginning to do something that they're beginning to surrender to the Lord. The stripes may have been on them, they may have been hurting. But the enemy would say to you well what's the use, you've given him the best of your life, why should you give him anymore, or you fellows why should you give her anymore.

 

But God made a covenant with you and He said, "as long as your faith is firm in Me, I'm going to stay on them." And just when God begins to move or just as the clouds begin to slip away don't give up now. Stop and take another look, that husband or wife in another city today, because of your faithfulness to God, God has brought pressure. His loving kindness is there. God is pulling, God is working. Hold faithful, don't surrender when the wheels of heaven are moving for them. Moms and dads don't give up on those kids, God's wheels are moving. God has put those members of your family on a privileged list in heaven. And He said, "I'm going to stay on them. I can't make their choice for them but I can sure stay on them. And I'll prompt them, I'll work at them, I'll pull them. I'll keep the door right close to them, I'll stand near and when they cry I'll listen."

 

Do you know why God's doing that? It's because He's made a promise to you. It's the same promise He made to David. Because you've listened, because your soul has come alive, God is listening to those members of your family. And there doesn't need to be a broken circle of your family up there. Whether you believe in the rapture or not that doesn't make any difference to God. Whatever comes, you need the uniting of God's Holy Spirit in your family as what God has planned for you. And mom if you're out of fellowship with God today, the greatest thing that you can do for your family, your husband, and those children is to turn your life over to God.

 

Dad, the greatest thing that you can do for your family is to keep your faith and trust firm in the Lord, and though you may not in anyway be able to reach them, God Himself is staying on them. Not because of what you are doing but because you have listened and your soul is alive. God said, "I can't break that covenant." Some of you are quite miserable here this morning because you have a mom or dad or relative that knows Jesus. You feel a little uneasy because there are some big angels prodding you and saying, "quit fighting you just as well give up, what are you fighting for? You can't win." When you put yourself on the opposite side of God to try to fight God you just as well know to start with that you're fighting a losing battle. How about surrendering?

 

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