Be Thou my vision, O Lord of
my heart. Not be all else to me, save that
Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day
or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence
my light. Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my
true word. I ever with Thee and Thou with
me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I Thy true
Son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one. Riches I heed not, nor man's
empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always. Thou and Thou only, first in
my heart. High King of heaven, my victor,
my treasure Thou art. High King of heaven, my victory
won. May I reach heaven's joys, O
bright heaven's sun. Heart of my own heart, whatever
befall, still be my vision, O ruler of all. Thank you, Adam. Abraham, the Lord told Abraham,
I am thy shield and thine exceeding great reward. That's our hope,
that the Lord himself would be our vision, our hope, and our
life. I love hearing a message that's
simple enough for me to be able to understand. That was a blessing
to my heart. Thank you, David. I can pray
those prayers. Lord, help me. Lord, save me.
Lord, be merciful to me. And as I understand that, that
verse in its original language, it's not a sinner, it's the sinner.
It's the sinner. Lord, save me, the sinner. And
that's always the way it is when God makes you to be the sinner.
No one else's sin is an issue, it's your sin. Thank you, brother. Caleb Hickman
needs no introduction here. He's a homeboy. We love Caleb
and Bobby and the girls and miss them. They've left a big hole
here the last 18 months since they left and go to Ole Pennsylvania. But we're thankful that the Lord
is Blessing his work and I've been so encouraged to count Caleb
a brother and a fellow laborer in the gospel and been a blessing
to me. We talk pretty frequent and I'm
thankful for him. Caleb, I don't know where you
are. I know you are, there you are. Brother, we love you. These folks love you. You come
and bring the message God's put on your heart. That's still my pastor, just
so everybody knows. I love him dearly. Miss you all. I will tell you that your Yankee
brethren, north of the Mason-Dixon line, say hi and that they love
you, and they love the gospel that's being preached here, and
I trust being preached there as well. If you would, turn with
me in your Bibles to John chapter 19. The Gospel of John chapter 19.
A question for us tonight. I pray
the Lord would be merciful in answering. That question is,
do you believe God or self? There's no in between. There
is no in between. Do you believe the truth or do
you believe the lie? You hunger and thirst after righteousness,
or like that Pharisee, you're proud of yourself and your own
righteousness. I hope the Lord will answer that
question for each of us tonight. The title of this message is
One or the Other. One or the Other, it can't be
both. Let's read our text here in John chapter 19. Look at verse
28. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full
of vinegar and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon
hyssop and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head. And he
gave up the ghost. Everything that we cling to in
salvation, everything that we hope in, in the glorious gospel
of the Lord hinges and it relies on, hangs on the promise of God. Not the promise we make, but
the promise he made. Not our goodness, but his goodness. Not our choosing, but his choosing. God's people are made to know
that we're false, we're full of sin, but he is full of truth
and grace and he cannot lie. That comforts me. Everything
that he ever spoke, if he cannot lie, that means it's going to
come to pass. It has come to pass if he cannot
lie. Now it's one or the other. Either
he can lie and he's therefore not God or being God completely
sovereign, being the successful redeemer of his people, everything
that he said, everything that he's done, the Lord's words here
on the cross of Calvary saying it is finished, that means it's
true. And the only way that we believe that God is true is by
the Lord causing us to believe it, causing us to believe it.
What was the difference between Peter and Judas? The Lord prayed
for Peter. What was the difference between
the Pharisee and The publican, it was the Lord. He made the
difference. Me and David or Todd, neither
one actually talked about what we were going to speak on. But
tomorrow, I hope to bring a message on the one thing needful. And you're just going to hear
what David said over again. But it's the same message, isn't
it? That's the only good news to sinners, that God is sovereign,
that he's holy, that he's successful, that he didn't try. He didn't
try to do anything. I can't mess up that salvation.
That's good news if you've been made a sinner. If you beat upon
your chest and know that it's a heart condition, it's not that
you need a quadruple bypass because you just have some blockage,
but I need a new heart, one of flesh, one that's after the Lord,
not a heart of stone. I need a new heart. That's why
the publican beat upon his chest. It's a heart problem, isn't it?
It's a heart problem. Lord, give me a new heart. Our Lord is absolute in every
attribute of His person. Everything that He purposed,
He's absolute. He's all-powerful. If He's all-powerful,
how much power does that leave you and I? None. I like the word all, don't you?
He's all-powerful. He's all-sovereign. He's thrice
holy. You and I are not. We are other
than Him. No, it's not our choice, but
it's His choice. It's not our will, but it's His
will. It's His will. God's gospel is
simple. That God did all the electing,
that the Lord Jesus Christ did all the saving, and the Spirit
does all the calling and keeping. Where's our part in that? Where's
the contingency responsibility that have been laid upon man
in that? No, it was the Lord laid the
iniquity of His people upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
was laid. Aren't you glad it's not up to
you and I? It's not a choice. It's not a duty that you and
I had to do. But the covenant of grace, before
time ever began, was between the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. It was a promise to redeem the Lord's people.
Everyone that was given to the Son, it was a promise written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. They would be redeemed and He
cannot lie. He cannot lie. I couldn't rest
in a God like that, can't you? Now, either he can or he can't. And the only way that you and
I believe the truth and not the lie is God must be the doer of
it. He must give life. He must say,
live. When the Lord spoke to Ezekiel,
he said, can these bones live? Now, I'll remind you, it was
a valley of very dry bones. They were sun scorched. They
had been dry for a very long time. He said, can these bones
live? And what did Ezekiel say? The same thing you and I cry
out, Lord, thou knowest if they're going to live, you're going to
have to do it. I can't do anything to cause these bones to live.
Can't the same thing be said about you and I? What's in here?
The dead bones that we are sun scorched by our own sin and truly
our self-righteousness until the Lord comes and the Lord makes
his gospel effectual. The Lord says, live. And he gives
faith that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as all in salvation. When did the Lord ever say, you
have to do your part? I've done my part. You have to
do your part. He never said that in the scripture,
did he? No, that was the lie. That is the lie, isn't it? Where
is it written? Let God. I have some family members
that have signs in their home, and it says, let go and let God. He's God. We don't let Him do
anything. We can't let Him do anything.
We can't constrain Him by what we do, and we can't restrain
Him for doing that which He's purposed to do. What is He purposed
to do? Call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sin. What does our text say right
here? It is finished. It is finished. He said, I am the Lord. I am
the Lord, not us. I change not. Therefore, I like
what Todd said one time, and I believe he said Henry's the
one that said this, but preachers really don't care, give credit.
We don't want to take credit for it if we didn't come up with
it, but the Lord gets all the glory in it. What did he say, though?
He said, well, what's the therefore therefore? He said, I am the
Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed because of who he is, because of what he's done,
not because of what we are. We can't constrain him or restrain
him. I can't make him do something.
And thanks be to God, we can't prevent him. We can't prevent
him from doing anything. Now, either we believe God or
we believe self, one or the other, one or the other. Either we believe
that salvation's all of the Lord, all by grace alone, or there's
one work that has to be added to it. Something that has to
be taken away from it. Some glory that we get, it's
one or the other. There's no in between. What does God say?
What does the scripture tell us? Romans chapter three says,
as it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. What does none mean to you and
I? Well, to the world, none must mean something different than
none because some believe that they're righteous. David, you
mentioned that Pharisee. I think the Lord, I'm not like
this man. I've got some, a little bit of
right. No, he says none. There's none righteous. There's
none that seeketh after God. So what's our hope? Lord, you're
going to have to do all the electing. You're going to have to do all
the saving. You're going to have to do all the calling and you're
going to have to do all the keeping because I'm a none. unless you
make me something. I think it was Donnie Bell one
time here in the old building at a conference. He got a piece
of paper and he wrote a bunch of zeros on it and it kind of
took me back. I didn't know where he was going.
But he said, you see all these zeros? They don't amount to anything,
do they? But watch what happens when you put one right in front
of them. They become a big number. See, he's the one and we're the
nones. We're the zeros. Lord, if you're going to make
me into something, you're going to have to be the one to do it. I can't
do it. I can't do it. Scripture says,
how can the unclean thing be made clean? How can that which
is born of a woman be made pure? The answer is simple. God must
do it. God must do it. And thanks be
to God, he did. He did. When he, by himself,
purged our sin, what did he do? Sat down. The work was finished. Everything given to him by his
father Satisfied, he satisfied the law's demands, he satisfied
justice, he sat down. He made the unclean thing clean. Either we believe that we are
totally, completely depraved and dependent upon him, or we're
not totally depraved and completely dependent upon him. But you know
who cries out, Lord save me? The one that's been given the
need. He has to cry it out. He has to give the cry. See,
everything he requires, he must provide, and he gives that cry
to his people. He gives the cry. He gets it
all. He gets all the glory, doesn't he? Either all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, or they haven't. What does the scripture
tell us? For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. You mean partly? No, 100% completely. come short of the glory of God.
I need a substitute, don't you? I need one that stood as my surety
in a my stead on the cross of Calvary that took every one of,
as it's already been said, it has to be every bit of our sin.
It can't be one sin that remains. We can't get rid of one sin,
can we? No, we just add to it. It's called
iniquity. Every attempt we make to try to get rid of it. No,
it's the Lord that gets glory in this great salvation. Either we are unable to save
ourself or we can save ourself. What did Paul say about that?
Oh, wretched man that I am. Not that I was. No, we're not
getting better, are we? We're getting worse. Oh, wretched
man that I am. I can't save myself. I couldn't save myself then.
I can't save myself now. I'm never going to be able to
save myself. Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Either we have been made a mercy
beggar, like the publican, or we're a self-righteous bragger,
like the Pharisee. That's all that that Pharisee
was doing. He was bragging, wasn't he? But the publican was a mercy
beggar. If you're made a mercy beggar
and I'm made a mercy beggar, there's only one explanation.
God did that. God did that. He made the need.
He made the need. Either we're leprous from the
top of our head, to the bottom of our toe where there's some
little bit of flesh on us that's still good. Little dot of flesh
that we say, no, I'm not completely bad, I'm mostly bad. But the
Lord said, only if you're covered from the top of your head to
the bottom of your feet are you considered clean. Isn't that
what the Levitical law teaches us? What does that mean? God
made you a sinner and you need a savior. You, in my hand, no
price I bring. We come as a beggar before the
Lord. You're gonna have to supply all the need. All the need. Either Christ saved his people
or salvation is completely dependent upon you and I. It's that simple. It's that simple. But what did
he say? What did the Lord say? What was his name? What was the
reason he was called Jesus? Call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sin. There's good news. There's good
news. He saved his people. The truth, brethren, is the natural
man receiveth not the things of God, their foolishness to
him. That's the truth. We can't receive the things of
God because they're foolishness to the flesh. Our flesh hates
God right now. Everything about the flesh is
opposed to God. There's none that seeketh after
him. There's none that are righteous.
There's none that desires him in the flesh. Natural man receiveth
not the things of God because they're foolishness. Neither
can he know them. They're hidden. Why? Because
they're spiritually discerned. When the Lord started speaking
to Nicodemus about spiritual things, he said, you must be
born again. Nicodemus said, how is that even possible? How can
a man, when he is old, enter into his mother's womb a second
time and be born? What did the Lord say? That which
is flesh is flesh, that which is spirit is spirit. Marble not
that I say unto you, you must be born again. The wind bloweth
where it listeth, and thou can't tell whether it come or whether
it goeth. So is every one that is born of the spirit. What was
the point there to Nicodemus? You can't be born again in and
of yourself. It's of the spirit that you're
born. It's my choice is what he's saying. It's my doing. I get all the glory in it, Nicodemus. These things are spiritually
discerned. They're foolishness to the flesh. The truth is this. They that
are in the flesh cannot please God. Are you in the flesh right
now? Are you sitting there in the flesh? Yes. You cannot please
God, neither can I. There's one that did. His name
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything required for the salvation
of his people, he executed. He did it. He did it. The Lord's only pleased with
him. He said, this is my beloved son. with whom I am well pleased,
even the angels. He said, at what point did he
say unto the angels, sit thou here at my right hand? No, he
said that to his darling son when he had successfully redeemed
his people. There's our hope. There's our hope. We've been
made to know the truth. Either he saved us or no one
is or ever can be saved. It's that simple, isn't it? Either
he did it or none of us are going to be saved. We can't do it.
He's going to have to do it all. What's the good news of the gospel?
Well, in 2 Timothy 1.9, it says, God, who hath saved us, he saved
us, then called us, not according to our works, not according to
our works, but by his own purpose and grace given to us in Christ
Jesus, when? Before the world ever began.
I can rest in a God like that, can't you? The God of the scripture,
the true God, He must do all the saving or we're lost. He
must do all the seeking or we're lost. He must do all the calling
or we'll remain dead. He must do all the keeping by
his power. We can't keep ourself, can we? We can't keep ourself. He does. We're kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time. He does that. Brethren, you and I have been
made to realize that everyone in the scripture only reason
they would come to the Lord is if they were given the need,
if they were made needy. Did Adam seek God after he had
sinned, after he had disobeyed the Lord, after him and Eve had
fallen or did they make fig leaves and try to hide? Adam didn't
seek God until God sought him. What about Jacob? I guess I should
say Abraham first. Did Abraham seek God or was Abraham
an idolater when God found him? Abraham was an idolater. Abraham
was a pagan. He was a pagan idolater. I mean,
it's just how it was. And it's the same for you and I in our
heart. We're idol factories. We're idolaters. We are trying
to cover ourself with the fig leaves of self-righteousness.
We're not seeking after the Lord until he says, seek you my face. He says, live, seek you my face. And what did David say? Lord
thy face will I seek. Not at my word, but at yours. Did Jacob seek God after he had
stole the birthright or was he fleeing for his life from Esau
when the Lord gave him the vision? He was fleeing for his life,
wasn't he? What about Moses? Moses had committed murder. He
was hiding out on the backside of a desert for 40 years, tending
to Jethro, his father's sheep. Was he seeking the Lord then?
No, no. The Lord appeared unto him, didn't
he? The Lord appeared unto him in the burning bush. Lord, you're
gonna have to appear to me. I can't find you. How can we
find God? Can't, we can't. About David, after he had sinned
with Bathsheba, did he seek the Lord? Nine months to a year had
went by. What was he doing? Was he going
to the temple praying? Was he making sacrifice? Perhaps. Scripture's
not clear on that. But what we do know is the Lord
didn't give him repentance until Nathan came to him, until the
Lord sought him first. Nathan came down and told him
the parable of two men. One was rich and had many flocks
and many herds. and the another one had one ewe
lamb that he nurtured it and it was like a daughter into him
brought it to his own house and cared for it and when the time
came the rich man took that ewe lamb rather than taking of his
own flocks and herds and they they killed it they ate it and
you know the Lord knows exactly exactly how to reach you and
I he's not limited at all David was a shepherd David What he
heard infuriated David. It made him so angry. He said,
that man's going to die. David was ready to fight for
this man, not considering his own sin, not considering that
he was the man until Nathan said, thou art the man, David. You're the man. You're the problem. Lord made you see that you're
the problem. Guess the glorious, the most glorious news. Guess
what Nathan told David. The Lord hath put away your sin. You didn't do it. You didn't
do it. The Lord put away your sin. You
shall not die. You shall not die. Oh, either
he puts away our sin or it won't be put away. Either he's done
it or it won't be done. Did the Lord's disciples seek the
Lord or did the Lord seek all of them out? He said unto them,
you've not chosen me. I chose you. I chose you. He's God. He's God. Saul was persecuting the church,
wasn't he? He wasn't seeking God, he hated
God. He was the Pharisee we heard about. He was the one that was
proud of himself. We get his pedigree, I believe
it's in Philippians, and he talks about everything that he had
done or that he was. He said, I counted all that but
done when I saw the Lord. When I saw the truth, and what
was that seeing that he did? He was on the road to Damascus,
he was ready to deliver papers to persecute the church further,
and the Lord knocked him off of his high horse, didn't he?
He shined the light, and he spoke to him. Now, ironically, or interestingly
enough, everybody, everybody, they saw the light, they heard
the voice, but only Saul saw the man. Why? God was only talking
to him. He wasn't talking to everybody.
Lord, if you're passing by and it's my responsibility to somehow
see you and somehow hear you because of what I do, I'm going
to remain dead. Lord, knock me off my high horse.
Either you're going to do it or it won't be done. Speak to
me. Don't give me a choice. Flesh
will choose itself. It won't choose God. Lord, you
do the choosing. You do the choosing. You do the
saving. This is what faith cries out, Christ is all. Repentance
and faith, that's what Paul was given. Repentance and faith believe
God over self. He believes God over self. We don't believe in ourself anymore,
do we? We've been made to see the king. Queen of Sheba, I heard
with the hearing of the ear, but now mine eyes have seen the
king. Mine eyes, when you see the King, there's no confidence
in self anymore, is there? There's no righteousness about
us at all. We're utterly impotent, utterly desolate. Lord, you're
going to have to do it all. You're going to have to do it
all. The error in all of false religion
is this. They don't believe God is God. They believe they're God. They
believe they're God. Now this was the lie that started
in heaven. This was where Lucifer says,
I will ascend above the throne of God. He wanted to be, I will
be like the most high. He said he wanted to be God.
And this lie was passed down to Eve. And by only one word,
I would remind us whenever the temptation came to Eve and The
only one that's offering a choice is the same one that offered
a choice from the beginning. God didn't say, if you do, I
will at that time. He said, don't eat of the tree.
That was a command. It wasn't a choice. And yet we
see Satan gave a choice, didn't he? He said, the Lord knows that
in the day you eat thereof, ye shall not surely die. That's
just one word. One word is all he added to it
to turn it completely into the lie. Because then he said, The
Lord knows the day that you eat, you'll be like God. You'll be
like God. That's the desire of us by nature. That's the desire of this flesh
to be in charge, to be in control. Aren't you glad when the Lord
reveals the truth that we're not in control? You just rest.
I don't want to be in control anymore. I don't want to be in
control. I'll mess it up if I'm in control.
I'm glad he's seated. He's seated as the successful
redeemer, the intercessor for his people. He's seated. He's
purposed. He's in control, not us. Now, either the words here are
true in verse 30. It is finished. It is finished. Either those words are true or
it's not. It's really that simple. Either we believe God's word
or we believe the lie. That's what it comes down to.
And if we believe the truth, it's not by some choice that
we've had an experience that we've experienced a prayer that
we prayed. It's by God saying, live, believe
he gets all the glory. Scripture says that Christ was
raised from the dead because of our justification. It says
for, but that word also is because. He was raised because he justified
his people. We believe that, don't we? He's
our justification. It's not what I do that justifies
me before God. It's the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
It's got to be him. It's got to be him, his precious
blood alone. Either everything required for
the salvation of God's elect, he provided in Christ Jesus,
or we're going to have to provide something. Aren't you glad you've
been made to know that he did provide everything needed for
the salvation of his people? He's not looking to you and I
and giving us a performance base in order to determine whether
we're worthy of salvation or not. There's none worthy. He's
looking to his darling son and because of his sacrifice, because
of his shed blood, because of eternal redemption being wrought
on the cross of Calvary, he is well pleased to look at his son
and pardon his people. Brethren, men say these type
of words where they don't know what they're saying truly. It
takes God to reveal the truth. But either the blood of Christ
cleanses, cleanse his people, or it didn't. And what that means
is if it didn't, then I have to do something to make the blood
of Christ have power. How blasphemous is that? No,
every Every drop that the Lord Jesus Christ shed was not in
vain. It wasn't an attempt. It's purpose
before the foundation of the world. It was sure. That's our
hope. That's our hope is that salvation
was really accomplished. It truly is finished. The scripture says in Christ
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin. according to the riches of his
grace. Of his own will begat he us.
It's not our will. It's his will. It's his blood. It's not our work, not by works
of righteousness, which you have done, but according to his mercy.
It's all of mercy. It's all according to grace,
not according to works. God says it's not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
And in hearing that, we'll do one of two things. Either we'll
believe the truth or we'll believe the lie. And if we believe the
truth, it's because he's given faith to do so. We'll either,
I think it was Greg that said this, we'll either, the word
bow and bow are spelled exactly the same, aren't they? We'll
either bow to it because he's given the heart to bow. He's
given life to live and the ability to bow to him. Or we'll bow up
against it, won't we? We'll bow up against it. It's only by grace that we don't
have to wonder, did Christ save his people? We know he saved
his people, we believe him. Hebrews 1.3 says, being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. That's all past tense, did you know that? Every bit
of that's past tense. He upheld all things by the word
of his power. He purged his people's sin, and
he sat down because the work is finished. In the temple, there
was never a chair placed because the work was not finished. But
this man, when he entered once into the holy place, he had,
having obtained eternal redemption, he sat down. He sat down. Our message is not a proposition
dependent upon our cooperation. It was completely dependent upon
the Lord Jesus Christ and he successfully redeemed his people. He successfully saved his people
from their sin. Our message is actually quite
simple. It is finished. You can't get more simple than
that, can you? It is finished. It is finished. You know what
that means? I've already said this, but I
can't mess it up. You can't either. That's good
news if you've been made a sinner. I can't mess it up. Look in verse 28 with me. After this, Jesus knowing, I
love the wording here, Jesus knowing that all things were
now accomplished. Either they were, Are they what?
And Jesus knew that they were. You trust in him or we trust
in ourself? He knew all things were accomplished right then.
He knew it. We believe that, don't we? We
believe that. All by grace, we believe that.
God says, let every man be true, or let God be true, excuse me,
and every man a liar. Now he's the one that's true.
What would, what about the, had this written down as an example,
the Seraphim woman as well. What would cause her to say truth,
Lord? I am a dog, a dog. And David said it best only like
a puppy would have been allowed. But we're talking about a mangy
mongrel. We're talking about something. They didn't have purses
for Chihuahuas back then. You understand what I'm saying?
It wasn't a pleasing animal. It was an outcast. It would have
been scruffy and Why would she say truth, Lord, to that great
insult? Because she had a need. And she knew the only one that
could save her, the only one that could meet that need was
the bread of life. So her confession was truth,
Lord, but the dogs desire the crumb from the master's table.
I've got to have one more crumb from the Lord Jesus Christ. Either Christ Jesus successfully
redeemed his people or redemption is completely up to you and I.
What does the scripture say? By his own blood, he entered
once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
That's past tense. That's past tense. It's already
done. He had obtained it. That's why he entered into the
holy place. Romans 8, 1 says, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. I like that
word now, don't you? When is it not now? It's right
now. And it's right now. There is
now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Right now there's no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
When will it never be not now? It'll always be now, won't it?
Always. That's what the Lord did on the
cross of Calvary. Either we are justified by his
precious blood, his successful sacrifice, or we earn justification. But what does the scripture tell
us? Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him. It's all by his blood. It's all
by grace, all by his blood. Being freely being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. He's the justifier of his people. He's the justifier,
all by grace. We can't have it by saying we
have to justify ourself or he just. We believe he justified
his people. It's no longer one or the other, is it? We know
the truth. We've been set free. We know the truth. But when men
hear this gospel, they'll want to add to or take away from it.
It's one or the other. Either it is finished or it's
not. Aren't you glad the Lord causes us to believe? It is finished. It is finished. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Either he's our justification,
our righteousness, our sanctification, our wisdom, or we have none. That's the truth. We have none
then. If he's not, we have none. But
aren't you glad the scripture says, God hath made him unto
us, his people, all our wisdom, all our righteousness, all our
sanctification, and all our redemption. He did it all. He was made poor for his people
that we through his poverty might be made rich. Told his disciples,
this is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for the
remission of many. He did that. It's already been
done. Salvation's been accomplished.
Salvation's been accomplished. His soul was made an offering
for sin. And what did the Father say? Thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. And then it's up to you and I? No. Be satisfied. Satisfied to redeem his people. No, he by himself purged our
sin. Satisfied God's justice. He drank
damnation dry for his people. Now he is just and justifier
of his people. Scripture calls him the author
and the finisher of faith. If you were to write a book,
what detail would you be in control of to write that book? You could
choose the weather, could you not? You could pick the color
of the outfits of the characters in the book. He's the author
of salvation and the glorious news is that he wrote himself
as a character in that book to redeem the characters of that
book that he chose into eternal life. We're talking about eternity
and we're talking about time. That's what he's done for his
people. He became a creature. He who knew no sin became sin
for his people. Am I saying God was made a sinner?
I'm saying he's made the sinner substitute. The sinner substitute
on the cross of Calvary. He bore our sin in his own body.
The spotless Lamb of God. or our sin upon the cross of
Calvary. Either he did and we're redeemed or he didn't and we
have no hope. Aren't you glad for the faith
that believes it is finished? It is finished. I started with
this question and I want to finish with this question. Do you believe
God or self? It's one or the other. Do you
believe God or self? The gospel call that says believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ is not an invitation, it's a command.
And only God's people believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Do
you believe God or do you believe self? Is the Lord Jesus Christ
your only hope before God? Is the words, it is finished,
all your hope before God? Or do you believe in self? It's
one or the other. Brother Greg. Caleb, thank you. Thank the Lord. The only message of salvation
that I get any comfort from is one I can't mess up. Scripture
says that God the Father saw the travail of his soul and was
satisfied. The false prophets of man-made
religion will tell you that Jesus Christ is offering himself to
you to be accepted or rejected. That's not what was happening
at the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ was offering himself to
his father. I love thinking about the first
words recorded in scripture that our Lord spoke in his flesh. When at 12 years old, he said
to Mary, did you not know that I must be about my father's business?
And then the cross, it is finished. And you know, it is finished
was not his last words. His last words were, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. He was confident that he had
accomplished what the Father seemed to do. And he knew that
the Father was going to be satisfied. The question is, are we satisfied
with that which the Father is satisfied? I hope we are. Our God's grace will be. Amen. Our Lord willing, we'll meet
back at 10 o'clock in the morning. And we have lunch scheduled after
the service conclude around noon. And so hope you're able to come
back and be a part of that tomorrow. Tom's going to come lead us in
a closing hymn. Number 15. 15 and the spiral
hymnal. Let's stand together. Number 15. And we'll be dismissed
after we sing this. It is finished, Jesus cried. Then he bowed his head and died. Died for sins but not his own. And redemption's work was done. Justice then was satisfied. ? God's elect are justified ?
Righteousness our Lord brought in ? And removed His people's
sin ? Sin and death and hell subdued By the power of Christ's
blood, grace to sinners now is given, pardon, holiness, and
heaven. It is finished, can it be? that Christ's blood was shed
for me. Yes, I know He died for me, for
by grace I now believe. ? Pleading Christ's atoning blood
? Kneeling at the throne of God ? Gone my guilt, my sin is gone
? It is finished, all is done Amen, that's it.