We start our hymn there, which
you will find on page 493. God's Purpose. What a wonderful way for us to
start off this conference. I was thinking about his purpose. For those of you who weren't
here, I freaked. I totally freaked out when I
realized I had forgotten. And everybody sitting in the
lunchroom, all they saw was John running out. And then I walked in here, and
I saw the water all the way down that side, and my heart just
left me. We talk about God's purpose. comes in here with smiles. First
off, I didn't know he was even going to be here. You know, he'd
come all the way down from the state of Washington to join us in our conference.
Well, that's a child of God, going that far to hear the gospel
preached. And he's got a smile on his face.
And we're all panicking. And we're not panicking, but
frantically moving about, vacuuming up water. And he's like, look
at this! Isn't this great? What a blessing!
Look at all these people of God coming together to fix a problem.
God's purpose, brother. That was so good. Wonderful message. It couldn't have been a better
message laid on your heart to start this conference. Just a wonderful thing. And all
the way through it, the other brother, Mike Smith, Romans 8.28. All things are for our good.
And it wasn't long before I was joining everybody in the smiles,
and it wasn't that frantic man that was here just a moment ago,
just, okay, we're at it, let's get it done. It's called It Is
Well With My Soul, knowing that all things are in the hands of
our great God. Join me on 493 if you would,
It Is Well With My Soul. like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows
roll, me to say, it is well, it is
well with my soul. It is well. It is well. With my soul. With my soul. It is well. It is well with my soul. No Satan should come, if no trials
should come. it is well my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. I sing for the bliss of this
glorious thought. I sing not in part, but the whole. my soul shall be sound It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. This dear man, just as Luke and
so many other brothers in Christ, too, have invited me into their
lives, has become a very good friend to me. Pastor Eric Floyd, Wheelingburg,
Ohio. Why did I think that was somewhere
down in Kentucky? Across the river, isn't it? You're on the other side. Come,
brother. The Lord bless you as you preach
the gospel to us once again tonight. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
27. While you turn there, let me tell you what
a privilege it is to be here with you this evening. as Luke
said, so many friends rather than sisters in Christ. Matthew
27, Luke beginning with verse 33. And when they were coming to
a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of the skull,
They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall. And when he
had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him and parted
his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among
them and upon my vesture Did they cast lots? And sitting down, they watched him there. I'd like to take that last verse,
verse 36, as our text for the season. Sitting down, they watched
him there. Who? Who watched him? Who was there that day? Who watched
him? Well, we read the chief priests,
they were there. And the elders, they had taken
counsel to put the Lord to death. Pilate was there. We read that
Pilate was sinned. sitting on the judgment seat.
It was Pilate who said to the people, when they
were gathered together there that day, he said this, who will
you, that I would release unto you? Would you have me release Jesus? Or would you have me release
Barabbas. You know, if there was one scripture
in God's Word that would be more convincing that I don't want
to be left to my free will, it should be written right there.
Because they all cried out, Barabbas. Release, release him. Let him be crucified. Release Barabbas and crucify
the Lord of Glories. Pilate even asked this question,
he said, what has he done? What has this man done? And the people cried out even
louder, let him be Crucify. You reckon any of us would have
stood up and asked anything different to be done that day? Absolutely
not. We would have cried out with
all of them, crucify him. And they said this. They said, let his blood be upon
us and our children. You can read that if you want
to in Matthew 27, 25, but it means this. Let the responsibility, let the
punishment for his murder be upon us. Who else was there? Peter. Peter who denied the Lord. You
remember that? Peter who would later say this
in Acts 2.22. He said, ye men of Israel, hear
these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know Him,
the Lord Jesus Christ, Him being delivered by the determined counsel
and foreknowledge of God, you, you have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. You. That sounds a lot like what was
said to David. Remember that? Thou art the man. All this is going on. We read
this in Matthew. I'm going to tell you the same
thing Luke told you. all foreordained, all purposed
by Almighty God. He purposed it. He planned it. He predestinated. He willed it
to happen. The Lord Jesus Christ, God in
human flesh, a man approved of God, was delivered into the hands
of the people. His blood's on our hands, isn't
it? He was designated to be placed
in the hands of those people. It was determined by God. It was all purposed and planned
by Almighty God from before the foundation of the world. You know what that means. It
means God is God. God is who he says he is. He does what he will, when he
will, with whom he will. He is absolutely sovereign. In Acts 15 verse 18, known unto
God are all his works from the beginning. Man talks like When Adam fell,
God had to just rethink everything and come up with a new plan.
That's foolishness. All things, all things are ordained
of God. Everyone who was there that day
at Calvary, not one of them was there by
accident. They weren't there by chance. And you know that truth has not
changed. There may be some of you here
this evening wondering how you ended up here. I can remember years ago, I sit
in about three rows from the back on Wednesday nights was I wanted to sit beside the
girl that was there beside me and take her and get a milkshake
after the sermon. That was my only intention of getting married. And yet God in mercy was pleased
to reveal Christ to me. No accidents with God. Every now and then, I guess you
could take this, you certainly could take the baptistry as an
example tonight. You know, every now and then
we have a fly or a wasp come into the building and start circling
around and sometimes it catches people's attention and they're
watching it. You know, every zig and zag of
that fly that big is ordained according, it's all according
to His purpose. That's right, isn't it? Everything
God does, He does on purpose. And you can disagree with that
if you want to. You can refuse to believe it.
Stomp your feet, do whatever you want. but it does not change
the fact that it is the truth. Almighty God is sovereign in
all that He does. He works all things after the
counsel of His own will. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this earth in the fullness of time. There was no room for Him in
the end. That's no accident. There he was, out there in that
stable, out there in that barn. What a lowly entrance into this
world for the Lord of Glories. Christ came at the exact appointed
time. That star that hung over that
manger, There was an angel that appeared before those shepherds
out in the field. And with the angel, a multitude
of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the
highest, peace, goodwill toward men. And those shepherds, they
looked at each other and they said this, let's go to Bethlehem
and let's see this thing which has come to pass. They didn't doubt it, did they?
Sure doesn't appear, reading scripture, they didn't question
it. Let's go see this thing which
has come to pass. This thing which the Lord, they
wouldn't have known about it otherwise, which the Lord hath
made known unto us. born in Bethlehem. He walked
this earth doing God's will, doing what God gave him to do. Remember that he said to his
mom and dad when they had, they kept going and left him behind,
wished he not, wished he not that I must be about my father's
business. And then he went to the cross
and he died at the precise time appointed by Almighty God. Yet, in the same breath, man
did what his wicked hands desired to do. And at the same time, they did what
God before determined to be done. God delivered him by his counsel
into their hands. Who else was there? We read that
Jesus' mother was there, Mary Magdalene and some of the disciples.
There were two thieves that were there that day, hanging on the
cross on each side of them. One of them said this, if thou
be the Son of God, He questioned who he was. If
thou be the Son of God, save thyself and us. But that other thief, he rebuked him. He rebuked that
first thief, and he said, do you not fear God, seeing that
we're in the same condemnation? And we, indeed, justly. We're getting what we deserve.
We should be hanging here. But this man, this man, he hath
done nothing amiss. And listen to this cry. He said,
Lord, remember me. I tell you, if there was ever
a sinner's prayer, I believe that's it. Lord, remember me. The Lord spoke to him and he
said, today, verily, today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. Thrones of people, not just that
one thief, but thrones of them questioned who he was. And then
there were those soldiers that were there. You don't need to pay attention
to these pictures that man made of what our Lord looked like
hanging on the cross. They stripped Him and they put
a scarlet robe on Him. And they took a, they plaited
a crown of thorns and they thrust that down on His head. And they
mocked Him. And they took a reed and they
put it in His hand. God's purpose is unaltered, is
it not? How He didn't just wrap it all
up in a ball on that day. They bowed their knee to Him
and they said, Hail, King of the Jews. And then those soldiers,
they spit on Him. And then they took that reed and then they led him away to
crucify him. Parting his garments and casting
lots, and that leads us here again to verse 36. Sitting down,
sitting down, they watched him there. My second question, what did
they see? What did they see? Listen to these words from Lamentations
1 verse 12. Is it nothing to you? Is he nothing to you? All you
that pass by, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto
my sorrow. That which is done unto me. Wherewith
the Lord. Who? The Lord. hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger." How awful. How awful sin must
be. What did they see? They saw a
man of sorrows acquainted with grief. They saw a man who was
very likely unrecognizable to anyone that looked at him. After the beating he endured,
after the punishment he endured, bloodied and beaten, was there
any sorrow like unto his sorrow? A man whose life blood was poured
out, a man who endured the shame and humiliation of the cross. And all of this for sins not
His own. Turn with me to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. This is often referred to as
the psalm of the cross. Spurgeon said that he believed
these were the actual words spoken by our Lord as he hung on the
cross. Follow along with me, verse one. My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? And from the words of my roaring,
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not. And in
the night season, and I'm not silent, but Thou art holy, O
Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted
in Thee, they trusted in Thou, He trusted in thee, and were
not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man,
a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that
see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They
shake their heads, saying, he trusted in the Lord, that he
would deliver him. Let him deliver him. seeing he
delighted in him. But thou art he that took me
out of the womb. Thou didst make me whole when
I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my mother's
belly. Be not far from me, for trouble
is near. There's none to help me. Many
bulls have compassed me. Strong bulls of Basin have beset
me around. They gaped upon me with their
mouths as raven in a roaring lion. I'm poured out like water. All my bones out of joint. My
heart is like wax melded in the midst of my mouth. My strength
is dried up like a pot shirt. My tongue cleaveth to my jaws.
Now it's brought me into the dust of death. Your dogs have
compassed me. The assembly of the wicked had
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. I may tell all my bones. They look and stare upon me." As they sat there, as they looked
upon him, what did they see? There on the cross, forsaken by the Father. How can God forsake God? Why would God forsake His Son
at such a time? There was no cause in Him. He's
holy. He's harmless. He's undefiled.
He's separate from sinners. Why then was He forsaken? as our substitute. Don't we love
that word, substitution? He was numbered with the transgressors.
He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He endured the death. He endured the judgment that
was due to us. He endured being separated, separated
from God. What did they see? Could they see the Lord Jesus
enduring every cruelty, every scorn, every insult? You know,
not only did He bear the wrath of God, but He also bore the
contempt of man. Man whom He came to save. You know, if you look back at
verse 11 of Psalm 22, you'll see this. He was there alone. There was none to help. There was none that could help.
And I assure you this, there was none that would help. None
to help. He must tread the winepress alone. He by himself purged our sins. That means we contribute nothing. All we bring to the equation
is sin. That's what we are. That's who
we are. Our Lord is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. He must die. He must be put to death. Our
Lord, Almighty God, has a people that He's going to save, that
He has saved. And He pays the debt in Behold a man suffering like no
man ever has or ever will. I imagine we all have seen men
suffer. Painfully, we've seen men suffer. But I assure you this, none have
suffered like our Lord. His condition, His suffering,
His greatest agony was that of His soul, His very
soul. Turn to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. Let's begin with verse 10. Isaiah
53, verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his day, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. His death on the cross, we can't
even describe his agony. utterly spent, that's what we
just read it, poured out like water on the ground. The pain
made his heart feel like wax that had been melted. His strength
dried up, his tongue swollen with thirst, nails driven through
his hands. He was so stretched out upon
that cross that you could see his bones just up against his
skin. pulled out of joy. And before
I go on to the next point, consider this. In all of this agony, in
all of this suffering, listen to his prayer. Listen to what
he says. As he looked over that crowd
of people mocking him, spit upon him, he says this, Father, forgive them. for they know not what they do.
Sitting down, they watched Him. Do you see Him? Do you see Him? Better yet, what
think ye of Christ? You know there are those that
think much, Think much of their doctrine.
Think much of their family lineage. Think much of their denomination. Think much of their church. Think
much of their pastor. Yet none of these things can
save a man. Only one. Only the Lord Jesus
Christ. Paul wrote this. He said, none
of these things move me Neither can I my own life, dear, so that
I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus to testify of the gospel of the
grace of God." That which was promised, that
which was prophesied in the Old Testament, it was fulfilled on
the cross. Acts 26-23 declares that Christ
should suffer and that He should be the first to raise from the
dead and that He should show light unto the people and unto
the Gentiles. This is all about Him. It's all about Him. What think
ye of Christ? A gripper was told that, and
he said, almost. Almost. Thou persuadest me. I asked you this question at
the Passover. What mattered? I know how vain we are. Somebody
said, well, you know, when I slayed that lamb, I used a galvanized
steel bucket. I used a wooden bucket. How many
quarts did you catch in the bucket? What kind of brush did you use
to put that blood? What mattered? The blood. The blood. It's the blood that
makes atonement for the soul. the blood of Jesus. Turn with
me to Galatians 6. Galatians 6. Look at verse 14. God forbid, God forbid that I
should glory, say, in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Shouldn't that be the glory?
To rejoice and delight in the person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. not in myself, not in my works,
not in even anything that He's pleased to do through a man. Our glory is in Him, in Him alone. Not in the wood of the cross, but in the person who suffered
on the tree. His obedience, His sacrifice,
The Lord Jesus Christ, our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification,
our redemption. He gave his life for ransom. What have we given? Truly, what have we given? You hear that? He gave Himself. Is there anything
we could offer in light of that? Nothing. God forbid that I should
glory in anything save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sitting down, they watched him. There was much to see that day,
wasn't there? Much to see. But don't leave here this evening
without just seeing a few of these things. Man's sin. And I'm not just talking about
his depravity and his wickedness which was on display that day.
I'm talking about sin. Scripture says this, the wages
of sin is death. That sin is what was laid on
Christ as He hung on a tree. He suffered once. for sin. He made satisfaction. He got
the job done, didn't he? He suffered the just for the
unjust. It was there on the cross that
he was made sin. That's not up for debate. That's
clearly what scripture says. He was made sin. He bore our sins. He bore the
sins of his elect. There on the cross, in His body,
on the tree. And when that sin was found on
Him, when my sin was found on Him, God slew Him. He was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my transgressions. Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. We see man's sin. We see something
here of God's purpose. God's purpose in saving sinners. the eternal purpose of God. Jesus Christ nailed to the cross. He's the Lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world. Before this creation existed,
before there was any matter, before there was anything, there
was God. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Spirit. And Christ was the Lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ. What do we read about Him? Jesus
Christ came into the world for what purpose? To save sinners. Oh, I'm thankful to hear that. He was buried. He would rose
again according to the Scriptures. Man's depravity. God's purpose. And then we see love. Love. God's love for His people. Christ's love for His people.
God so loved that He gave. Again, listen to this prayer. We read this just a little bit
ago. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He
laid down his life for the sheep. We read this in the book of John.
Greater love hath no man than this. What is it? That he laid
down his life for his friends. Sitting down, they watched him. I pray the Lord would enable
us to see him, to see him there on the cross, to see our sin,
to see his purpose, to see his great love for his people. And one day, one glorious day,
to see him exalted, almighty, sovereign, far above
all principalities and powers. He's sovereign. He's Lord. He's
going to do with us what He will. Do you believe these things to
be true according to God's Word? I was reading an article by Brother
Henry just a while back and he said this, if Jesus Christ is
exalted at God's right hand, and seated at the right hand
of God, equal with the Father. If he's been seated at the right
hand of God, the place of acceptance, the place of power, the place
of authority, the place of love, everything else should be pretty
easy to believe, shouldn't it? Sitting down, they watch him
there. Brother Marvin Steinecker said
this, he said, Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word
of God. It's my turn. And sat down at
his conference and listened to the man preach. All those years my pastor came,
I would, why don't you preach for the conference yourself?
He said, no John, it's my turn. I understand that now. Thank
you, brothers. I'd like to ask Brother Eric
and Luke to make their way to the back of the room as we sing
our closing hymn. Tomorrow morning, we will have
one message starting at 11 a.m. Pastor Rick Warda from Marysville
will be here preaching his message at 11 o'clock. We have refreshments. Stick around. to speak with these men who've
come so far to preach the Gospel for us. Stand if you would please. Turn to page 473. You know what
he just preached is this. There's victory. Victory over
sin in Jesus Christ. 473. Victory in Jesus. to save me ah ah ah ah ah ah Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior
forever. He sought me and bought me with
His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and
all my love is to Him. He plunged me to victory beneath
the cleansing flood. And I heard about His healing,
of His cleansing power revealing. How He made the lame to walk
with Him, and caused the blind to see. And there I, dear Jesus,
come to heal my broken spirit. And somehow Jesus came and brought
to me the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior
forever. He sought me and bought me with
His redeeming blood. He learned where I knew Him and
all the love is to Him. He plunged me to victory beneath
the cleansing flood. He is built for me in glory and
I've heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea. about the angels singing and
the old redemption story. And some sweet day I'll sing
out there the song of victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior
forever. He sought me and bought me with
His redeeming blood. In a fear I knew Him, and all
my love is to Him. Our merciful God and Father,
our Lord, in the name of your Son, Lord Jesus
Christ, we thank you for your Blessed gospel we've heard tonight.
Thank you for your saving purpose in Christ. Thank you that you
sent men to lift him up. You said, if I be lifted up,
I'll draw men to me. We've been drawn to him. to Him,
sit down here and watch Him there, and glory in our Lord Jesus Christ
and Savior. Thank You, Lord, for these men. Thank You for Your Word. Thank
You for this church. We ask, O Lord, that You keep
the foul of the air from stealing this away, thorns from choking
it. Let us think on these things and go home and and meditate
on these things. Let our conversation be in heaven.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we give thanks. Amen.