THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Numbers 23:11-23; Revelation 4:2-11; 19:11-16;

Nehemiah 12:31-34 (to “and Benjamin”), 38-43

It is in mind to say a word about the people of God and to speak about how dignified they are; and if we could, to lift them in our view. I trust that all here are conscious of being part of the people of God. John writes in his gospel, “He came to his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God” (chap.1:11,12). That is who we are speaking about: the children of God, or the people of God. They are those who receive Christ. If you are not sure that you are numbered among them, then I can tell you that the blood of Jesus is available for you. All that is needed is for you to receive Him, as it says in that verse. Receive the Lord Jesus as your own personal Saviour and know your sins forgiven, and your eternity is secure with God and with the Lord. This occasion will not have been in vain if one soul puts their trust for the first time in the Lord Jesus. When you do that, you take your place by right among the people of God; it says in that scripture that you have the right to it: “as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God”.

My exercise is two-fold: first, that our view of the people of God might be lifted; and second, that we might be encouraged to take our part among them. I need hardly say that in past years we have been tested as to fellowship, and the experiences we have passed through have been very painful. I take my part in confessing to have failed in that regard. I would say further, not only have these things been painful, they are painful. We feel very deeply in relation to those we have lost happy fellowship with, and it is in regard of fellowship I have failed.

I trust it might help to have our view of the people of God lifted. How do we regard them? Do we regard them like God does, or do we have some lower view? Let us value one another. When we look on this company here, we should see what God sees, they are among the people of God. How dignified they are; how special they are to Him, and therefore how special they should be to me. I feel that exercise deeply. We are speaking today in this room not to Jewish people, but to Gentiles who have been brought in, having had no right before. Peter says, “who once were not a people” – that is where we were – “but now God’s people”, 1 Pet.2:10. You can look on a company like this and say, ‘There they are, God’s people’. You can say of today, ‘I was there with God’s people’. What a thing that is, what a privilege to spend time with them. Peter also says, “But ye are a chosen race, a kingly priesthood ... a people for a possession” (v.9). That is what God says: let my view be more like that, and let us elevate our view of one another. In Romans, I see that I was foreknown and predestinated of God (see chap.8:29,30); what a thing that is. We cannot get our minds around that, but it is the truth. And if it is true of me, it is true of my brother and my sister too. The same is true of them.

Where we read in Numbers, Balak, the king of Moab, was against the people of God, the children of Israel. He was their enemy, and he was also afraid of them. Balak hired Balaam to curse the people: he wanted them cursed. We do not know very much about Balaam, he is not generally to be commended, but in this section of scripture he is used by God in a positive way. We had reference in our reading to “the accuser of our brethren”, Rev.12:10. That is a reference to Satan; and Balak was like that. We need to be wary of influences that might be on the line of accusing our brethren. That voice might be in my own head; I challenge myself first. Perhaps I have some lower view of the brethren, perhaps that is what is in my mind. Balak was set on accusing the people of God. He had already asked Balaam to curse them once, and Balaam had blessed them instead. Let us be like that. Let us refuse the accuser and rather speak good of the brethren, of the people of God, because they are a dignified company.

Balak tries again: he takes Balaam to a new place. He says distinctly, “thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all”. He deliberately took Balaam to a place where he could only see a few. Surely that is often our position. We can only see a few; we often sit down with just a few. My question today would be, ‘What difference does that make?’ Is it going to make a difference? Is Balaam going to say, ‘Well, now you show them to me like this, I can see what you mean’. Let our answer be different to that. The nobility of God’s people has not changed because we only see a few of them.

Balaam gets the answer. Is the smallness going to make a difference to what Balaam says? No! He says, “I have received mission to bless; and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it”. That is the situation; God is set to bless His people. In this company here, He is set to bless you. And let us be clear that there are millions of Christians in this world who all have their part in God’s blessing; they all have their place among God’s people. If there are only a few available to us, that makes no difference to how we view those few, none whatsoever. God is on a mission to bless: let us be clear about that, and let us give thanks for it. How much God has given! He has given His own Son to be our Saviour, given His own Son that His people might be redeemed, that they might be taken from the dung-hill and set among nobles (see 1 Sam.2:8; Ps. 113:7,8). These are the nobility we are speaking about. Do you have any lower view of them? I would encourage us all to lift our view and see the dignity that belongs to the people of God.

Balaam goes on, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen wrong in Israel”. If God is saying that, what right would I have to point out faults? There is plenty that God could have said through Balaam, plenty that God could have said to find fault with Israel and Jacob; and there is plenty that He could say about me. But of God it says, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen wrong in Israel”. If God is not seeing that, I have no right whatsoever to be pointing out faults; instead, I need to see the glory of the people that God has chosen. They are “a chosen race … a people for a possession”. Let our eyes be lifted, and let our view of one another, of my brother and my sister, be lifted to see what God sees, so that we might echo what it says at the end of this section. If we see the people of God as God sees them, we would look on them and say like Balaam: “What hath God wrought!”. Look at what God has done; look at the glory of it, even if, for now, we see only a few.

In the passage we read in Revelation 4, the people of God are in heaven. Are you conscious that the people of God are going to heaven? That is where they are going, where we are going. We sang at the beginning of the meeting about taking ‘the heav’nly road’, the pathway leading up to God, the pathway that leads to where Christ is (see Hymn 228). This scripture depicts a scene of celebration around God’s throne, where all He has done and the greatness of God Himself is being celebrated. They say, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come”. There are the four living creatures; they are a representation of the whole creation responsive to God. What a scene it is! You are going there: if you are part of God’s people, you are going to be there in this wonderful scene of celebration. The saints are represented by these twenty-four elders. It says about them that they are “clothed with white garments; and on their heads golden crowns”, and they are around the throne. I was struck by a comment that these crowns are not exactly royal crowns; the elders are not crowned because they are royalty, but these crowns have been earned, morally. Where were they earned? They were earned in the scene of the testimony, in the time of formation, before they went to heaven. That is where the elders earned the crowns; they have white robes, too. They would speak to us of the exercises believers face in their lives, as we do, and God gives them crowns. It speaks of the moral worth of the saints.

I thought to link this with what Scripture speaks of as “him that overcomes” (see e.g. Rev.2:7). It is another view of the people of God: they are overcoming difficulties, overcoming opposition, overcoming doubts even. In some cases, believers are overcoming persecution and suffering; some are overcoming frailties. Think of a company like this one here today: you look around and you think what overcoming there has been, and is: it is ongoing. The Lord sees it and He commends it; He would encourage us to take our part in it and be overcomers. There are overcomers in every assembly: in those seven churches written to in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, there were overcomers in every one. You can be an overcomer; there is room for them in every locality.

The present time is the time of formation. This is the time to take our place among the people of God, and to overcome whatever might hinder us being here for the Lord Jesus, so that things might be held for Him, in the scene of testimony. The addresses to the seven churches speak of rewards: you have “the hidden manna” (chap.2:17), and “a pillar in the temple of my God … and I will write upon him … my new name” (chap.3:12). These are all rewards for “He that overcomes”. The Lord says to those in Sardis “which have not defiled their garments”, “they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy” (chap.3:4). What a view that is of the people of God, who have laboured in the testimony and earned those crowns. It says that they cast their crowns before the throne. Those crowns were not for their own glorification; it was all for His glory. Is there something you can do for Him in overcoming? Can you observe an overcomer in your meeting, take a lesson from them, and follow their example?

Revelation 19 is another view of the people of God. In this view they are again in heaven, the Lord Jesus is there, and He is called “Faithful and True”. Who else could that be? The Lord Jesus is seen coming out of heaven to make war in righteousness, to take things up for God. He will assert God’s rights, and defeat the forces of evil; He is mounted on a white horse. He is coming out righteously, bearing that great name we referred to earlier: “King of kings, and Lord of lords”. He is the Leader: He is leading “the armies which are in the heaven”. It says, “And the armies which are in the heaven followed him upon white horses”. This is the saints coming out in military array, with the Conqueror going on before. I wanted to refer to this military view of the people of God: “the armies which are in the heaven” is a military view; it is another view of the people of God. This event is yet to come, but even at the present time, believers are in a campaign for the Lord and He wants you to take your part in it. I want to make clear that I am not speaking about physical warfare: Paul says, “For the arms of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful”, 2 Cor.10:4. And he says to Timothy, “Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”, 2 Tim.2:3.

Can you be a soldier for Christ now? Can you take some encouragement from this military view? All of the saints will form the armies which are in the heaven, but there is combat now. Paul says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”, 2 Tim.4:7, AV. There is an appeal to every one of us to take our place in the ranks, to follow the colours, as it were. These military references might help us; we do not speak about them often because we are not in actual warfare, and we have to be careful not to be drawn into such things, but the idea is there. There is a call to the colours, and there is a banner to follow; the Lord Jesus is going on before. The well-known hymn says,

‘Onward Christian soldiers!

Marching as to war’²

It is ‘as to’ war; the Christian’s experience is like it. It is not war, but it is like it. It is another view of the people of God, that they are soldiers in the ranks and there are places there to fill. We do not want gaps in those ranks; they become very obvious. I encourage myself and others to take our place, take our part with those who are for Christ and who are prepared to take part in the combat for Christ. The world in general is against Him, and so there is something to be stood for. May we be encouraged to take our place in the ranks.

In Nehemiah, we have the people of God again. We are reading about the Jews here as a type of believers today. We apply such a scripture currently, and see what learning we can gain for ourselves. How can we apply this scripture? It was written about a day of recovery, and there have been many days of recovery when God’s people renewed their strength. We can refer to things that happened in the past, to historical events, but let us think of today; let every day be a day of recovery, of revival. Let me have the desire to be brighter today than I was yesterday.

The recovery in Nehemiah’s time is very inspiring to read about, and I would recommend it. In the beginning it was Zerubbabel and his companions who came from Babylon, and the first thing they did was to set the altar of Jehovah on its base (Ezra 3:3) – they considered first for God. The nations around them brought pressure to bear, and stopped the building of the house (see chap.4:23,24); but there was recovery (see chaps.5,6). They considered for God, and applied themselves to building up what was for Him, God’s house. And then Nehemiah comes and they start to build the city, Jerusalem. They built the wall to protect what was for God; they built it up and made it strong, so it would stand. When you read the account in Nehemiah, when they built the wall, the word used is “repair” (chap.3:4 and onwards). That is something for us to think about. Jerusalem was in ruins; it had been there before, and its wall had been built, then it was ruined. But they repaired, every one his piece, and they overcame as they were doing it. There was opposition, there were those who sneered at them and openly attacked them too (see Ezra 4). But the people under Nehemiah were working together repairing, healing, restoring. What work there is to do now, and we are to do it together, it is the work of the people of God. This is another view of them, repairing the wall, repairing what had been there before. A beloved brother used to speak often of those who repaired “a second piece” alongside their piece (see Neh.3:11,19,27). There were those who were prepared to do more. May we be encouraged, I appeal to every one, to do a bit more. There is always more to do.

The day came when the wall was finished, and Nehemiah brought up these princes of Judah upon the wall: they stood on what they had built. I think that is very suggestive. If we have a time of celebration, maybe going to three-day meetings, as some will do soon if the Lord will, that is like a celebration. But then it is a question of what it is built on. There is work and labour in the background, underlying it. All the labour in our localities, in real conditions: that is like the building. Then on this day the princes stood on it, and there is a celebration of all that had been done in the building. Nehemiah appointed two great choirs and processions. It is a lovely picture, of the people of God. The choirs would sing; let us keep singing! We can sing as we go. We can all sing, and we sing together. No one should think that meetings are for a few brothers down at the front, the singing brings everyone in. It says here at the end, “and also the women and the children rejoiced”. The rejoicing is for all, everyone together.

The two choirs that Nehemiah appointed went in two different directions – one went one way around the wall, and the other procession went the other way. The places are named; I was thinking about that when I read the names. A lot of detail is given; what does it mean? The scripture speaks of the broad wall, and the fish gate, and the sheep gate; one thing is that these are all parts of the wall that have been repaired. The people forming the choirs would take account of them as they walked, all the work that had been done, the tasks that had been undertaken, all the overcoming necessary so that the wall might be completed. Think of them in their celebratory procession as they sang, taking account of different pieces of the wall and thinking, ‘That work was difficult’. These considerations would help us to put our energy into the work so that we can enjoy the result, the procession and the singing.

Then both choirs stood in the house of God, and all these persons are taken account of. The singers sang loud: they had nothing to be ashamed of; they celebrated God’s blessing on them. He is on a mission to bless His people, and you can have your part in it among the people of God. He has brought you into this celebration, and He will bring you into His house, the house of God. The outflow of all this construction is in the service of God, where both choirs stood in the house of God, and the singers sang loud. God had made them rejoice. We feel happy to have our part in this dignified company. If we are left here, we will take our place in the service of God tomorrow, where there is an outflow to Him, to His glory, and where the people of God are engaged in their highest calling.

The scripture says, “in whom all the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord”, Eph.2:21. Let us have some experience of that, of the increase, by the Spirit’s power, that we experience as joined together in worship to God, in His glory and His praise for all that He has brought us into. “And the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off”: let us continue to reach for that top-stone. There is work to do which is at the bottom, as it were, and how important it is. There is still repairing to do, but you can have a part with the people of God in their true light where the choirs are standing together in the house of God. I encourage us all to lift our view of the people of God, our view of one another; and to take our part among them in all these different ways. Perhaps one of these ways particularly appeals to you; well, take it up, take up your part in the military campaign, or overcome that difficulty that has been holding you back, so that we all may be encouraged together.

One more thought before I finish: regarding the second choir, Nehemiah says, “and I after them” (v.38). I want to leave that with you. Nehemiah is saying, ‘that is where I was’. Can you say that? I think it is most important that we can. He described everything in full detail, all the details around him; and then he says, ‘that is where I was’; it is like saying, ‘I was there’. I would encourage each one of us to think about that. Where are you? I was at the service of God last Lord’s Day. Were you? Let us have a suitably exalted view of our privilege: I was there at the service of God among God’s people. I would ask each of us to think about these views of the people of God, and be able to say in our hearts, ‘There is my part – I was there, that is my place’. May we be aware of the Lord’s help, and be conscious of the glory of the company we are in, and let us also be exercised about what our part is in it as individuals. Where am I? Where are you?

May He bless the word.

 

Address at Grimsby

11 October 2025

Garth McKay