Turn with me to Psalm 24 again. We just looked at the first two verses of this psalm for our Bible study, and we saw that as verse one says, The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. Everything belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason is because he made it. Everything belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. He made it. He controls it. He sustains it. Everything and everyone is in his hands to do with as he pleases. We read there in the Bible study Isaiah 64 where our Lord said, I'm the potter. You're the clay and you're in my hands to do with as I please. The Apostle Paul quoted that in Romans 9.

Turn with me if you would over to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9 verse 1, Paul said, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh." Paul said, if I could, I would wish myself to be cursed so that my brethren might be saved. I want to point out that Romans 9 was not written in hatred or arrogance. You know, people know Romans 9. Romans 9 was not written in hatred or arrogance, it was written in sorrow and compassion.

Verse 2, Paul said, I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. Or I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. All of these things were given to the nation of Israel. Verse five, whose are the fathers? They're the ones who have Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. He came into that nation, was born an Israelite, who is over all, God blessed forever, amen.

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. What he's saying is some are God's people and some are not God's people. He started by saying, I could wish myself were a curse so that they would be saved. And he said, if they're not, it's not that the word of God has taken on effect, it just couldn't do it. are his people, some are not his people. He said, all my brethren may be Israelites, but God doesn't save by nationality. God saves according to his own purpose and will.

Verse nine, for this is the word of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. He said that to Abraham. And they had Isaac, verse 10. And not only this, but when Rebekah, Isaac's wife, also conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children being not yet born, this is Isaac and Jacob in Rebekah's womb, the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. Normally, it's the other way around. But he said, the elder shall serve the younger as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? You know, people say, well, that's not fair. That's not right. God can't do that. Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. Not of the one who makes that decision and, you know, exercises his free will. I think I'm ready to be saved. It's not of him that says, well, you got to do this and do this and make sure you do that and don't do that. Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? If he's the one doing it, Then how can he blame me? Verse 20, nay, but oh man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?

What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.

Now what he just said was, God saves who he wants to save. What he said. He's the potter, we're the clay, And he will make some of us vessels unto honor and some unto dishonor. The earth is his, the fullness thereof, he can do with it what he wants to. He can do with it what he wants to. Some, he will accept to live with him for all of eternity. And some he will cast into everlasting condemnation, period. He's God, period. And what shall we say then? How are we going to reply to this? What do you mean reply to this? Period. He's God. This is God's word, period.

Now, here's our question for the morning. Who will be who? That's our question for the morning. If he has purpose to make some vessels unto honor, to receive into glory, to be with him, who will they be? Who will they be? Let's, you know, just end this room. You know, throughout all the world and generations of time, start to finish, but let's just end this room. Who will they be?

All right, go with me back to Psalm 24. Verse three says, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? That's the question. Here is the answer. Verse four. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. He said, that's all you need to do. That's all you need to do. Just those four things, just those four requirements. He said, number one, you have to have clean hands, clean hands. And what that means is you have never done anything wrong You've never done anything wrong. It doesn't just mean from this point on, it's like, well, wash your hands and from here on, I mean, start to finish, cradle to the grave. You've never done anything wrong. No sinful thing. Your hands have never touched sin. Okay, that's the first one. He that hath clean hands. If you've ever done, and again, I'm just gonna talk to this room for just a minute. If you've ever done anything wrong, sorry, you're out.

All right, here's the second thing. You have to have a pure heart. That means that you've never had one wicked thought. The word heart means on the inside, it means bowels, on the inside. The first one is on the outside, now the second one's on the inside. You've never had one bad, wicked, evil thought. You've never felt one inappropriate feeling. You've never thought about harming someone or never felt hatred for someone or felt lust or felt covetousness, desiring something you don't have. If you have ever thought or felt anything sinful on the inside, you're out. There cannot be any sin on the outside or on the inside.

Now, those first two requirements may have knocked a few people out of the running. But for whoever's left, here's the third requirement. You can't have ever given yourself, you can't have ever given your attention, you can't have ever given your focus, your efforts, your time, your resources to anything that is empty which is anything other than God. Anything other than God is vanity. It's just empty. Anything other than the glory of God. Everything you've ever done has had to be unto Him. Unto Him. Not unto me for my glorification or for my gratification. You can't have ever done anything for your own gratification and glorification. unto His glory and praise and worship only, only Him. If anything has stolen your focus and your attention and your devotion to Him, you're out. But if every fiber of your being has been completely committed to Him, then here's the last requirement. You can't have ever lied.

Now, if you lie, that's breaking number one and number two, but specifically by way of making a promise and not keeping it. You can't have sworn deceitfully. You can't have told somebody, I'll do this, and then had to call them up and say, I am so sorry, but I'm not going to be able to make it. You can't have ever broken a promise. Our Lord reminded us of that in Matthew 5. You can't have ever broken a promise. If you have promised something, if you've ever not done something that you said you would do, or if you've ever done something that you said you wouldn't do, you're out.

All right, now how did we do? How did we do? How do we feel about our own merits? If anyone here is saying to himself or herself, I think maybe I've kept those four requirements. You are deceiving yourself. You're deceiving yourself. If I believe in my heart that those four requirements describe me, when I read that, I think that's me. I'm the greatest fool that has ever walked the face of this earth. This earth that is the Lord's. And here's the reason why I'm saying that. Look at Psalm 14 with me. Psalm 14 verse 2 says,

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men. And that does not just mean at that time, it means period, all men, all women, all generations of time. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. That means stinking. There is none that do it good. No, not one.

1 Timothy 6, 16 says, Christ only, only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto. Why? Because no man or woman lives up to God's requirements. It is time we stop deceiving ourselves. People read this thing and think, okay, I'm gonna try. I'm gonna try. It is time we stop deceiving ourselves. There is none good. I will admit you are gooder than me, But that's not saying much. There is none good but God.

Those four requirements in Psalm 24, they describe the person and the character of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to John chapter 3. John 3 verse 13, it says, No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man which is in heaven. No man, not one man or woman has ever been worthy to ascend up into heaven except for the God-man, Jesus Christ. The one who came down is the only one who of his own merit earned the right to ascend back up.

All right, if that's the case, what hope do any of us have? What hope do any of us have? You know, we had a question in Psalm 24. We got the answer in Psalm 24. Seeing the reality, what hope do any of us have? Hold your place right here and go to John 6. This right here is what you call good news. John 6 verse 38. Our Lord said, I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day.

What he's saying is they're not going to ascend on their own. They cannot ascend on their own. That's the reason I came down. I only came down for one reason. To accomplish that work for them. I'm gonna have to do it for them. Flip back to John 3. Verse 14 says, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. He said, in order for my people to ascend up, I'm going to have to be lifted up. If they're going to ascend up, I'm going to have to be lifted up, lifted up on a cross.

All of the sin that they have committed with their hands. Hands. All the sin they've committed with their hands. All the evil they've committed in their minds, in their hearts. All the vanity, all the lies. I'm gonna have to take that from my people and I'm gonna have to bear what they've done and what they are in my own body. I'm going to have to be made to be what they are, so much so that God Almighty sees all of their dishonor in me, all those vessels of dishonor. He's going to have to see all of their dishonor in me.

Now, I'm going to tell you something. Christ was made to be sin. If Christ was not made to be sin, then God would have told Moses to lift up a sheep on a pole. That's what he would have said, lift up a lamb on a pole. But that's not what God told Moses to lift up. As Moses lifted up the serpent, in the wilderness. I always wondered, and I've told you this before growing up, I've heard this since I was a child, he's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Why didn't he lift up a lamb on a pole? Make a lamb, put it on a pole, lift it up. Why a serpent? You know the story, the serpents were killing the venomous snakes, put a snake on a pole, Our Lord said, if I am made to be the very thing that is killing my people, sin. If I'm made to be their sin and made to be their death, a vessel of wrath, they will be made to be vessels of mercy. If I become what they have done and what they are, they will become what I have done and what I am. What's that? Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Ephesians 1 says we are accepted in the beloved, only in the beloved. in Christ being condemned in our sin and us being accepted in his righteousness. Colossians 1 says Christ is the one who reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death in order to present us holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Jude 1 says he is the only one who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. He's the only one.

And all of those scriptures in this scripture right here, John 3, they all tell us that we will know who Christ did this for by this evidence. They will all believe on Him. They will all turn to Him. They will all stop looking at every other thing that religion has set forth to them. And they will look at Him and Him alone. They will plea and cry Him and Him alone. They will have one answer.

You better be ready to give a reason for the hope that's in you. What is it? Well, I have started doing better. Here's the reason for my hope. I've really started Christ. Christ only, Christ only. All of my worthiness, all of my acceptance is in Him. It's by Him, only in Him.

John 3 verse 14 says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him. How are we gonna believe in Him? God is gonna have to give us the faith. He's gonna have to author and finish that faith. Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world. Aren't we Gentiles so thankful for that? Jews and Jews, not just Israel. A people out of every tribe, nation, kindred, and tongue from all over this world. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world. They were already condemned. but that the world through him might be saved. Verse 18 says, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Verse 36 says, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

And that's exactly what Paul went on to say in Romans 9. We're not gonna turn back, but he said Gentiles, I'm done, you can rest assured, okay? So just listen to this. He said Gentiles who never even knew they had to fulfill requirements. Israel was given the laws and the commandments and the this. Gentiles on the other side of the world who never even knew they had to fulfill requirements are accepted in the beloved. And Israelites who spent their whole lives trying to attain those requirements have been cast out. And he said it's all because they stumbled at the stumbling stone. The rock of offense, which is Christ himself. It just wasn't enough. That just wasn't enough. It's Christ alone. No, it's gotta be that plus everything that I need to do and add. They could not rest in him accomplishing all of that work for them.

How about us? Has God given us the ability to rest in Christ accomplishing all of that work for us? Paul told the Philippians, we are the circumcision. We're God's people. We're the ones who will ascend. We're the ones who will be accepted, who worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. None. Our faith looks to Christ alone.

In closing, go back to Psalm 24. Verse 3 says, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? Here it is. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. That's Christ. That's Christ. That's the Lord Jesus Christ, and thank God that's every soul who has been placed in Christ. Every soul who has been given that standing and that condition in Christ. Every soul who Christ alone is his or her only representative before God. I don't represent myself. Christ is my only representative.

Verse five says, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him. You want to know who it is? Every soul that seeks him. I need him. I need him. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face. The center margin in my Bible says Oh Jacob translates this is the original Hebrew writing. Oh God of Jacob. This is the generation of them that seek him that seek thy face. Oh God of Jacob. Oh God of the sinner. The savior of sinners. We look to thy face, oh God.

Where do we look if we want to see God's face? Jesus Christ. The glory of God is seen in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our hope. He's our goodness. He's our purity. He's our equity. He's our covenant promise keeper. He is our clean hands. That's what it means. He's our clean hands. I'm going up with clean hands. I have no hands but his hands. Religion has it a little bit backwards. They say he has no hands but your hands. Thank God that's not so. We have no hands but his hands. Clean hands.

He is our pure heart. He said I'm gonna take out your old stony heart and I'm gonna throw that thing away. I'm gonna give you a new heart. His heart. He is our pure heart. He is our fullness. All the fullness of God is in Him. You're complete in Him. He's our truth. Can't lie. Don't tell any lie. He said, I'm the truth. You know me, you know the truth. The truth will make you free, set you free. He's our truth. To Him be all the glory forever. Amen.