What Is a Christian 09 Christian Is Redeemed — James K. Boswell

Redemption and the Delight of God

Now, those of us who have gathered together this morning will remember we finished off the verse in Psalm number 18. Will you turn back to it, Psalm number 18 and verse number 19? We've been looking at that wonderful theme, a Christian is one who is a child of God, who is a ne 'er-of-God, and who is redeemed.

We're looking at the fact that one redeemed might, there was a ransom paid for our redemption. Christ himself was a ransom. We are to be reminded of the word emancipation. We have been emancipated, we have been set free.

We also remember we have been delivered, we've been elevated, we are enriched, we are marked with an eternal redemption, and we got done as far as letter D this morning. I want to continue on this word, delight.

Look at verse number 19, he brought me forth also into a large place, the word largely means wealthy place, he delivered me because he delighted in me. Aren't you glad you're a child of God, aren't you glad you're being delivered?

He brought us into a wealthy place, why? Just because he delighted in us. Now Isaiah 43, Isaiah and the 43rd chapter, one or two thoughts here might be a real definite blessing and encouragement to us.

Isaiah 43, remember now the word is delight. We delight in the one who is our redeemer, and he delights in me. Oh, the wonder of that delight. Now, verse number one, but now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that called thee, O Israel, sayeth not, For I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flames kindle upon thee.

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Zeba for thee, since thou wast precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee, therefore I give name for thee, and people for thy life.

Fear not, for I am with thee. Fear not, for I am with thee. Verse seven,. Even every one that is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Verse ten,.

Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me. I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior.

I have declared, and have said, and have showed, when there was no strange God among you, therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Now, don't please, verse number twenty-one, These people have I formed for myself, now this is one of the most interesting chapters we have in the whole of the Bible.

Each word is pregnant with meaning, and just notice how he starts off in verse number one, Thus saith the Lord, now notice the Lord himself is speaking, and he's saying, I have created thee of Jacob, and I have formed thee of Israel.

Now, there is a difference. He created Jacob, and he formed Israel. The creation of Jacob reminds me of that which is physical. The forming of Israel reminds me of that which is spiritual. Going back to where we started the other morning, Mosey morning, all mankind are God's creation.

He's the creator of all mankind, and thank God, he's the father only of those who have believed on his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's created us all, and my friend, those who are formed, think again of Galatians 4, verse 19, Paul said, I travel in birth again, for Christ is formed in you.

Now, here is a new life altogether. Here is a spiritual life. Jacob reminds me of that which is physical, that which is earthly, the creation of God. But Israel reminds me of that new creation altogether.

Remember, the Lord said, thou shalt be no more Jacob, but Israel. No more the supplant or the twister, but the prince of God. You have prevailed with God, you have prevailed with men. You have a power with God, you have a power with men.

There you have the picture. The creation of Jacob reminds me of that which is physical. The forming of Israel reminds me of that which is spiritual, aligned unto God. But what does he say in the very next sentence now?

Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. Then he says, I follow thee by faith, says thou of mine. Now, these three little phrases can keep us going for a long time, but I just want to linger a little upon them.

Remember, he says, fear not. One of the great 365 fear nots of the Bible. The fear not for each and every day of the year in the Bible. I said it once at a conference. A Hebrew Christian came up and said, Mr. Boswell, you made a mistake this afternoon.

Looking at mine, he said, just one. Well, he said, you made one. Well, what was that? When you said there are 365 fear nots in the Bible, that's a mistake. I said, well, how many are there, brother? He said there are 366.

I said, well, if you found one for the leap year, we can still rejoice together. So you don't need to answer it for today, not today for tomorrow. You get your fear not from the Lord each morning and go out and bank upon it.

And he's saying to you, he's saying to me, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I want to put one word against it, sir. The word is relationship. The word is relationship. He says, I have redeemed thee.

Now, we're redeemed not with silver or gold. We're redeemed by the precious, efficacious blood of our adorable Lord Jesus. We know this last night, he gave himself the ransom. Remember, the life is in the blood.

And his blood was poured out. He gave his life for you. He gave his life for me. I thanked him, have you? If not, will you do it tonight? After we can tranquilly look up and thank. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.

Thank you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to me thy great salvation, so rich and free. He said, I have redeemed thee. Then he comes a little closer. He said, I call thee by name.

Knowing Christ as a Living Reality

Now, there's something about this that thrills my soul. I call thee by name. Remember, in John 10, 27, he says, he called his own sheep by name. I know them, and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life, says verse 28, and they shall never perish.

The earth of any man plucked them out of my hand. My Father, which gave to me, is greater than all, and no man. At first, the Greek word means not even I myself. No man. Is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

I and my Father are one. I want you to notice verse 27. We make such a lot about verses 28 through 30, and correctly so. But please don't neglect and don't forget verse 27. What is it saying? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

I give unto my sheep who obey, those who are following him. If you're a sheep, you're following. I give unto my sheep eternal life. They shall never perish. I know how true that really is. He calls them by name.

I'm thinking of the fact when he called Peter, Peter. Some he called Thomas. Moses he called Martha. Mary he called Mary. Philip he called Philip. He called his own sheep by name. Have you heard him calling you by your own special name?

You know when we're born again, he gives us a new name all together. He calls us a Christian. We're a Christian. We're a Christ one. We're the anointing. We belong to him now. We're one of his own dear children.

All the wonder of it all. All the joy of being called a Christian. All the honor. All the dignity. A Christian. A child of God. Now go down to the very next phrase now. He comes to the close of it. You're mine.

You're mine. Little boy at school one day, you know, he's showing off his knife. It'll be given to him by his uncle for a birthday gift. Like most boys, they'll show off. He'll be showing off his knife at school.

Look, see what my uncle gave me for my birthday. One boy, oh isn't that a beauty? He's got a silver handle. Yes, and he's got five blades. Now look, he's got a corkscrew. Look, he's got a can opener. But look, he's got a screwdriver.

Yes, I said, little boy, best of all, it's mine. It's mine. Those boys will say all the likes about the knife. But little boys, it's the best of all. It's mine. Now let me stand here all night. I could easily do it.

And try and tell you something what the Lord Jesus means to me. All the glories and the pleasures and the joys and all the loveliness is treasured up in him. All his majesty and all his omnipotence. My friend, half of you can truthfully say that's all right, Jim.

But best of all, he's mine. I know him a living reality in my life. That's what it means to be redeemed, a child of God. I found a friend who's such a friend. He loved me ere I knew him. He drew me with the cause of love and thus he bound me to him.

And round my heart so closely twined those ties which not can sever. For I am his and he is mine. And you know something? It's forever and forever. I quoted this morning, Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not walk.

This is a very important finger upon the left hand of a lady. Very important finger. Sometimes you see two rings in that particular finger. The diamond rings when her young man says, Oh darling, I love you.

And he puts that diamond over her finger. Then that day they stood before the officiating passers and exchanged vows. And he put that wedding band over her finger. Darling, you're mine. You're mine. My friend, the Lord loves us.

He's privileged love in so many ways toward us. But best of all, he saves your mind. You're mine by redemption. You're mine by sovereign right. You're mine by eternal covenant. He said, you're mine by precious blood.

No, the German will say, yes, Lord, I am thine. I'm not mine forever and forever. So the word tonight is relationship. And this relationship, my friend, can never be severed. Once you're born into the family of God, you're in that family forever.

Aren't you glad you're related to him by precious blood? The next word is responsibility in verse two. And notice now, because we are redeemed in this wonderful relationship, there's a responsibility.

God's Presence Through Waters and Fire

And he takes the responsibility because we are his. It's his responsibility to care for us and look after us. Isn't that wonderful? When a child's born in the family circle, it's a responsibility, as well as a privilege of the parents to care for and look after that child.

So notice what it says in verse number two. When I pass you through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall overflow thee. When I walk you through the fire, thou shalt not be burned.

Neither shall the flame kindle upon me. What do we have here? First of all, when I pass you through the waters, I will be with thee. It refers to the Dread Sea, the children of Israel coming out of the land of Egypt.

Remember, they've been redeemed by the blood of the land. The blood's been applied to the suicidal and the upper limbs of the doorway. And God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Thereupon, I would say to interject here, the very same night they applied the blood that left Egypt.

Now, it's a wonderful lesson for us as the children of God. Egypt is a picture of the world. Pharaoh is a picture of the old master, Satan. And remember, the very night the blood was applied, the left of old fear and the left of old master.

And I want to say this and connect from Galatians chapter one, verse number four. The Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself to bear away our sin and to deliver us from this present evil world. Beloved, the very moment we're born again by God's Spirit, we must recognize Christ bore away the penalty against our sin.

For able to sing, my sin not in part but the whole, I've been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. All my sins were laid upon him. Jesus bore them on a tree.

God who knew them, laid them on him and believing, I am free. By that very same night, I let this old tottering world, I let my friendless fear altogether in the reckoning of God. May I repeat the verse?

Jesus Christ who gave himself to bear away our sin and to deliver us, talking about redemption, and to deliver us from this present evil age. I'll qualify that now in a moment. The children of Israel, my friend, have laid their spear.

They've come down now to the Red Sea. The Red Sea is right before them. Iristan is a mountainous rock. Behind them, there's a pursuing enemy. They're in all these muddy hills. There they are completely hemmed in.

They can't run to the right hand or to the left. They can't turn back because the enemy's pursuing. Right before them is the Red Sea. Moses said, remember, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

The Egyptians whom you've seen today, you'll see them again no more forever. Dear child of God, study the no mores of scripture. They're very important, they're very precious, and there's one of them.

The Egyptians whom you've seen today, you'll see them again no more forever. What did God say to him through Moses? Go forward. And as they went forward, the Red Sea opened before them. And the waters rolled back into great waters, walls of crystal.

The waters were congealed on either side. And they stood there like great walls of beautiful, shining crystals. And a heavy wind came, remember, and blew. And the bed of the sea was all dried up. And the children of Israel went through on dry ground.

And the Lord went right through with them. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And maybe tonight in this group, there's someone here near the Red Sea experience. In your spiritual experience, at the night you're all hemmed in.

And you don't know what way to turn. You can't turn the right hand or to the left. To go back would be absolutely fatal. But my friend, there's only one way for you to go, and the word is go forward. Go forward.

Oh yes, the Red Sea's there. But just as they went forward in faith, what happened? The Red Sea opened before them. And you too will find your Red Sea opening before you. And you too will find the Lord going right through with you.

As you're saying to some heart here tonight, go forward. You're hesitating. You're holding. You're hemmed in. The pressure's terrible. And all the time the Lord will be saying to you, go forward. And you're questioning it all, aren't you?

My friend, question no longer. Take Him at His word and go forward. What happened now? As they went forward right through the bed of the waters, they came to the other side. And then remember old Pharaoh?

He said, I will pursue. I will overtake. I will destroy. All that great big personal probe on I. I will pursue. I will overtake. I will destroy. And what happened? The Lord, my friend, caused, He caused the strong winds to come again.

And the waters came back while they were pursuing through the dry land. And the waters came back. And Pharaoh and all his many horsemen went right down into the depths of the water. And they perished.

Get the picture. Mr. Pharaoh, with all his great big eagles. What happened? I will pursue. I will overtake. I will destroy. And God only blew a little puff of wind. And Pharaoh and all his many horsemen went down and they drowned.

Friend, you can't fight God. And you can't fight God's people. You're touching His anointing. You're touching those who are precious to Him. And it's His responsibility to look after them. What happened?

And the children of Israel got to the other side. Looking back upon the old sphere of Egypt. There's the old enemies dead upon the seashore. And they remembered the word, the Egyptians whom you see today.

Just as them again, no more, forever. And now notice now, the rain sea rolled between them and old Egypt. Rolled between them and the old enemies. And so does the crosswork of Jesus Christ stand between us and our old sphere.

Galatians 6, verse 14 says, By the cross, I am crucified to the world. And by the cross, the world is crucified to me. And tonight we're standing on resurrection ground. And mind what happened then. Then sang the children of Israel, The Lord has triumphed gloriously.

The horse and the rider is cast in deathless sea. There is no singing in Egypt. Plenty of grumbling and grousing and complaining. Oh, but no song. But now the liberty. The redeemed by the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb.

The redeemed now by the mighty power of God. Double redemption here. Redeemed by the blood. And redeemed by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I said this morning, you'll remember. When a person's born again, his sins are forgiven.

And that very moment, the Holy Spirit enters in. Enters into your life and my life. And oh, let us rejoice and glorify. Tonight we're redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. And by the power of the Holy Spirit we're set free.

Now we can sing the song of Moses. You know my friend, listen. The very song that commences in Exodus 15. Continues right through the Bible to Revelation 15. And what does it say there? They sang the song of Moses and the Lamb.

Oh, this is the first song in the Bible. It's a song of glorious triumph. The song of redemption. Can you sing that song tonight, dear one? Can you sing the song of the soul set free? It's a wonderful song.

Ah, yes. My friend, have you got to sing salvation? You know the joy of emancipating, liberating, power of redemption. The joy of being a real born again Christian. He's put a new song into your mouth.

Even praise unto our God. He said, bring my soul out of prison. I'm a crazy. We are liberated.

We are set free. And we're set free to praise Him.

Are we praising people? Then it says, the next phrase now, the same second verse. What does it say? And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. Now, here we have the Jordan. Here we have the Jordan.

Just about a year ago now, we were standing by the Jordan. My wife and some of the others were more courageous. They went into the Jordan. I washed my hands in the Jordan water. And my friend is paused over the Jordan to overflow its banks.

And it says, even then, I will be with thee. And they shall not overflow thee. At the Red Sea, Christ died for me. At the Jordan, I died with Christ. At the Red Sea, He bore my sins away. At the Jordan, He bore Jim Boswell away.

And another is no longer I, but Christ that lives in me. And coming right through on the resurrection ground again, there's a glorious song of triumph. But time will allow me to divert that, Father. Go to the very next phrase now.

Christ With His People in the Fiery Furnace

And there's something very precious about this. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. What is the lesson here? I think you know only too well from the book of Daniel, three young Hebrews, 15 years of age, brought face to face with a burning fiery furnace, are to bow down to the King's image and obey His decree.

Remember what the old King said, Is your God able to deliver you? They say we are not careful. We are not worried. We're not perturbed. We're not disturbed about this. Our God is well able to deliver us.

But if not, and thank God for that, if not of faith. But if not, we still trust Him. But if not, we're not going to bow down to your image. We're going to go all the way with our God for heaven. There are three young Hebrews, 15 years of age, are bound by those cords and are thrown into the burning fiery furnace.

He is seven times more than usual now. Even my friend, when he opened the door, the heat come out, my friend, smoke of people standing by. Oh, the terrible heat of that furnace. There are three young Hebrews, they're taken and thrown into the burning fiery furnace.

The King could not sleep. He had no rest. He went down after the door, he opened, looked in. Three? Why, there are four. There are four there. He said, you put three in there, but I can see four. And one like the Son of God.

Ah, my friend, listen. And one like the Son of God. And he called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come forth. And they came walking four through the flames. You know, the only thing burned were the bands they had around them when they were thrown in.

They hadn't even got the smell of singing upon them. No, not a blister upon them. Why? This is a God we've come to know, isn't it? Amen? He's a wonderful God. My friend, listen, he said, you're my responsibility.

If you're called to pass through the Red Sea, I'm going to be with you. Through the Jordan, the floods are not going to overflow you, I'm still with you. And if you're called to burn in the pasture, a burning fiery furnace exputed, I'm going right through the flame with you.

Maybe tonight in the quiet of the evening hour. Some dear heart here, and you're knowing something about the flames of affliction. There may be, my friend, real times of testing which are bursting in your heart now.

You wonder why the Lord's allowing you to go through the crucible. And my friend, that fire may be very severe. Don't forget, he's still going through with you. And he's going to come out, all that's going to be burned away is all the dross, all the sun-like incels, all the impurities, all the bands, my friend, holding you air-bound, they're going to be severed.

And you're going to come out, my friend, purified, and his image upon you in a way you never knew him before. That's his design, to get rid of all the dross, and work it off the pure gold of his own blessed character.

That's what he's doing in your life, in my life. Forget the picture, he said, when your relationship is so vital, it's my responsibility to care for you. Remember what he said, casting all your burden upon him, he cares for you.

And I'm quoting now two verses, really, I'm mixing two verses up. Psalm 55, 22 says, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, he shall sustain thee. 1 Peter 5, 7 says, Casting all your care upon him, he cares for you.

The word casting means unloading. Unload your burden, unload your care upon him. Unload it. He means that, unload it. All your anxiety, all your care, bring to the mercy, leave them there. Never a burden he cannot bear, never a friend like Jesus.

Friend, do you know him? Do you know him? Is he real to you? Is he vital to you? If not, I want you to come to know him tonight. Not theoretically, but a living vital reality in your life, moment by moment.

He walks with me, he talks with me, along life's narrow way. You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart. And your heart says, Jim, mine too. Mine too. Yes, thank God, tonight was a glorious night.

The relationship, and now the responsibility. And go to the Father, shall we? All right now, go down to the reason in verse number four. Another little word for you, the word is the reason for all. Now, I love this.

God's People Are Precious and Beloved

You all pray, my heart just bubbles over tonight. I just don't know why, but the Lord is just so real, making himself so precious this evening. Ah, he always does that, you know. But look what it says here.

Since thou wast precious in my sight. Now, isn't that just wonderful? The first word is relationship in verse one. The second word is responsibility in verse number two. And the only reason for it is this.

Because we're precious to him.

Isn't that wonderful? Because we're precious to him. Isn't that just wonderful?

We've been singing, do you believe he is precious? And I'm true. But now he brings it back in flash. Well, you're precious to me. You're my delight. You're my apportion. You're everything to me. And just because you're precious to me, notice the very next phrase now.

Now, the Honorable, I know this. I have loved thee, prayed for thee. Now, isn't it just precious? Isn't it real to you, my friend, tonight? Remember, first of all, the relationship, then the responsibility, and now the reason.

Just because we're precious to him. And remember the merchant, how he sold all that he had, that he might buy that field, because in that field there was a precious treasure. A precious treasure, a wonderful gem.

I remember, my friend, the field speaks of the world, speaks of the world, and in that world there's a precious gem, a precious jewel. Oh, friend, tonight that jewel is his bride. That precious gem is the darling of his own heart.

And he finds it because I delight in thee. Remember the verse I started off with tonight, Psalm 18, verse 19. It's, I've delivered thee, just because I delight in thee. And now he says, it's my responsibility, because you're precious to me.

And he said, you know, you are as the apple of the eye. You are as the apple of my eye. Anything that touches you, you're touching the apple of my eye. Oh, how precious we are to him. Oh, he finds all his delight in us, you know.

The Father's delight was in the Son, for the Son's delight was in the sons of men, in you and in me. Oh, blessed be his name. And so there is the book of Deuteronomy. You know, it quills my soul. You know what it says?

I love you, just because I love you. Now, you think that one through, and it'll bow your heart in worship. It'll bow your heart in adoration, in true thanksgiving. It says, I love you, just because I love you.

When we were unlovable and unlovely, yet hallelujah, he loved us notwithstanding all. Oh, isn't that just wonderful? And then now he says, I've done all this for you, because you're precious to me. And I love you, just because I love you.

And he said, my love for you knows no change. I've loved you right unto the very uttermost, the uttermost of Gethsemane's garden, the uttermost of Calvary's cruel cross, that my friend of day's dark remains, and my friend's right true into perfection, and his love will not let him rest.

For his chosen all are blessed, for the all for whom he died, live rejoicing at his side. Oh, he's longing for that day, he's yearning for that day, when his blood got possession, his own precious treasure, the darling of his own heart, shall be with him in yonder glory.

And he and I in that bright glory, one deep joy to share, mine to be forever with him, haste that I am there. And in that day, the bride eyes doth her garment, but her dear bridegroom say, I will not give it glory,.

But on the king of graves, nor the crown he giveth, but on his blessed face,.

The lamb is all the glory in Emmanuel's land. Is he all the glory in your heart tonight? Is he all the glory in your heart? Do you find in him the preciousness, or is he real to you, my friend? The name of the first word, relationship, the second word, responsibility, and the third word, the reason.

Created for God's Glory and Praise

Now go to verse number seven, just for a minute. Verse number seven. Notice what it says right here. Even every one that is called by my name, I have created him. Now, just keep your finger there, but I want to read it by me.

Just one or two verses from Ephesians chapter one, verses five and six and 12. Now, just to put these down on your notes, and don't turn them, I'll try and read them to you correctly. Here it says, He has chosen us in him before the foundation, well, that we should behold him without blame before him, in love having predestined us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Now, verse six, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Now, verse number 12 reads like this, that we should be to the praise of his glory, the first trust in Christ.

What does it say? I have created him for my glory. Friend, that's why he brought this wonderful miracle about, that we might be to his praise and to his glory. And what I've read, remember in verse 21 of ICF 43, These people have I formed for myself, that they should show forth my praise.

And haven't we great cause, friend, to show forth his praise? Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless his holy name. Oh, we should be appraised, full people, full with his praise. And it says, remember, in 1 Peter chapter two, verse number nine, your chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, to show forth, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises, the virtues, the excellencies of him, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

I'll go a little slower here. The Old and Revived Version says, that we might show forth him. That's it. That your life and my life, day by day in the office, in the home, on the campus, in the varsity, in the schools we journey around, that your life and my life might be an outshining of the indwelling Christ.

That men and women may lose sight of us all together, but see him in all his glory and beauty, your life, showing forth his glory, showing forth his praise, showing forth him. May his beauty rest upon us as we seek the lost to win, and may they forget the channel, seeing only him.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord. Oh, to be lost in me. Oh, that it may be no more I, but Christ who lives in me. Something flashed into my heart now. Don't turn to the game, but in chapter two of Ephesians, verse number 10, it reads like this.

I'll read verse 7 before the chapter, in the chapter 43, verse 7. Even every one that is called by my name, I have created him for my glory. Yea, I have formed him, I have made him. Listen carefully to what Ephesians 2, 7 -10 says.

That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus, for by grace he is saved through faith, that not of yourselves is the gift of God, nor the works of any man should deserve, for we are his workmanship.

We are his pawn. We are his pawn. We are his workmanship. Created in Christ, he is unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Oh, children of God, do you see how precious you are to him?

Do you see, my friends, the light and all the precious he finds in you and in me? Is it just because you are precious to me, and just because I love you, I won't understand I created you, and I formed you, that you might be for my praise and for my glory?