Well, good morning to everyone.
Hope you had a good night's rest and ready for another blessing
today. We're going to begin our service. Brother Eric Floyd is
going to read scripture and lead us in prayer. Open your Bibles with me to Romans
chapter three. Romans 3, we'll begin with verse
19. And we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there
is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." We'll end our reading
there. Our God and Father in heaven,
Lord, we thank thee for this thy word. Lord, we thank thee
for this time to gather together as a people. Lord, we pray you'd bless us
this morning with your presence. Lord, for these men that you've
brought our way to declare your gospel, Lord, that you would
Bless them in preaching your word. And Lord, that you would
enable us to hear thy word. Lord, cause us to hear thy gospel
and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your many blessings.
We thank you for your mercies towards us. We thank you for
your grace. How we thank you for your son.
the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that he'd be exalted
this day, lifted up. Lord, set aside the thoughts
and cares of this world, those things that so easily beset us,
and take our attention. Lord, just for a little while,
set them aside and let us see the Savior. Again, we We pray
you bless us with your presence here this morning. We ask these
things in Christ's name, amen. Stand and sing 17. O Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above, Praise the Mount, I'm fixed upon
it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise mine amnesia, Hither
by Thy help I'm come, And I hope by Thy good pleasure, Safely
to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God. He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood. Oh, to grace how great a debtor,
daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and
seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. Remain standing. Turn to 212. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me wise. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon this I seek, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing this my plea,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes
me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. not of good that I have done,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. When this passing world is done When has said young glaring sun
When I stand with Christ in glory Looking o'er life's finished
story Then, Lord, shall I fully know Not till then how much I
owe When I hear the wicked call On the rocks and hills to fall
When I see them start and shrink On the fiery deluge bring Then,
Lord, shall I fully know But not till then how much I owe
When I stand before Thy throne dressed in beauty not my own. When I see thee as thou art,
love thee with a sinning heart, then, Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then, how much I Chosen not for good in me Wakened
up from wrath to flee Hidden in the Savior's sight By His
Spirit sanctified Teach me, Lord, on earth to show By Thy love
How much I owe How much I owe How much I owe You men can feel free to sing
that song as often as you want. Wasn't that a blessing? I'm very
thankful. Our first speaker this morning,
Pastor David Edmondson, pastor of the Bible Baptist Church in
Madisonville, Kentucky. David called the other day, thanking
me for inviting him. I told him, I'm thankful you're
coming. I'm so thankful he, Dave is one
of our favorites here. And I can tell you this much.
This is what I know. If you leave here this morning,
not believing on Christ, it won't be because you didn't understand
what you heard preached and it won't be because you didn't hear
the truth. And I think that's the best compliment you can give
a preacher. He's easy to understand and he always preaches the truth.
So David, you don't look the clock now and you come and preach,
preach what the Lord's given. We want to hear it. Let me say this in the beginning,
you two young men, I'm from Western Kentucky. The Everly brothers
are pretty popular there, but they ain't got anything on you.
It's such a delight to be here. I'm so honored. I'm honored not
only to be invited, but to also preach with these two other pastors
who are dear, dear friends of mine. I love you, Donnie Bell. Todd, I love you. And Frank, I love you. And it's
just an honor. We say that all the time, but
because it is, it's an honor. My text this morning is found
in Isaiah chapter 8, verse 20. Brother Don referred to this
passage in his message last night. Isaiah chapter 8, verse 20. I would have you to notice that
in the last part of verse 19, through the prophet Isaiah, God
asked a very reasonable and a very relevant question. He says, should
not a people seek unto their God? Shouldn't they? Why, I'd be nothing short of
absolute folly and ignorance for any sinner to seek life,
to seek salvation, to seek the forgiveness of sin from anyone
other than Christ. Didn't Brother Todd and Brother
Don show us that so clearly last night? It's all about Him. All about Him. Who else is there
to go to for life? Where else would we go? Who else is there to go to for
forgiveness? But to the only one who can forgive. Who else is there to go to for
righteousness? Our righteousness, filthy rags. We go to He who is the very righteousness
of God. Who else is there to go to for
salvation while we go to Christ, who is salvation? Shouldn't a
people seek their God? As we saw last night, this glorious
question is answered one way, verse 20. To the law and to the
testimony, if they speak not according to this word. Now that's
talking about preachers. If they do not speak according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them. There was once a young lady that
began reading a novel, and after reading a chapter or two of the
novel, she became bored with it, just lost interest. It seemed
dull, and she just placed the book upon her shelf. And not
long later, she began to see a young man. She met a young
man and their relationship developed and they became more acquainted
and became more serious. And soon she discovered that
he was an author. He was a novelist. And the title
of one of his novels sounded very familiar. And sure enough,
it was the same book that she had lost interest in and had
placed upon her shelf. and she immediately got that
book out and she began to read that book again and this time
she couldn't put the book down. Oh, it was so enlightening and
she just couldn't put it down. She didn't stop reading the book
until she had finished the book. What made the difference in this
young lady's attitude toward the same book? She is now fascinated
with the author. She now had affection for and
interest in the one who wrote the book. To some, the Word of God is nothing
more than fables, nothing but dull and to some confusing. But to the one who personally
knows the author, Oh my, to them it becomes fascinating and they
rejoice in the words of the one who wrote it. Is that not the
case with you? What is this law and this testimony
that Isaiah speaks of? Well, I've already said, this
is talking about the Word of God. This is talking about the
standard of truth. There's one standard of truth,
God's Word. This is talking about the Bible,
the Holy Bible. In particular, this is talking
about Christ, who is the Word. This is talking about the Gospel
of your salvation and mine. And friends, I am convinced,
I'm convinced that if men and women would diligently seek the
Scriptures, faithfully attend the hearing of the Gospel, they
would find that God's Word from the beginning of Genesis to the
end of the Revelation is about Jesus Christ. You know, it's
become a big cliché among us, quote, sovereign gracers, that
this is a hymn book, isn't it? Not H-Y-M-N, but H-I-M. It's all about hymns. This book, God's Word, is the
testimony of who Jesus Christ is. Who is Jesus Christ? He's
a just God and Savior. Not just a God, but He's a just
God and a Savior. This book, this law and this
testimony testifies to what Christ has done. Christ came to seek
and to save that which was lost. Are you lost? This precious Word of God tells
us and gives us the testimony to who God has accomplished this
redemption for. He came into the world to save
sinners. Are you a sinner? Then this is good news, if you
are. This precious Word of God gives
testimony to why Christ came to save these wretched sinners.
It simply pleased the Lord to do so. He always does what's
right. Always. Why do we worry and fret? He who works all things after
the counsel of His own will, He who works all things, Roland,
according to your good, is God. And these things are clearly
taught, declared, and revealed by God in this law and this testimony. Now, we can look to the law of
God. A lot of folks do. That old covenant of works, that
law that requires perfection. Well, that's where we don't know
much about. You know, babies born, we say, oh, they're just
perfect. No, they're not. We think they are. I still think
my grandchildren are perfect. That perfection that we cannot
provide has been provided for sinners. That's good news if
you're a sinner. And this is where the enlightened
sinner sees their need. We look to the law of God and
we go, oh my. I had a man tell me not long
ago, he said, you know, I've got eight of the Ten Commandments
down pretty good. And I wanted to say, no you don't. I should have, if I'd have been
taught I would have. You know that word testimony,
I mean that word means evidence. That word means proof. That word
means witness. This book, the law and the testimony
of God, it's the evidence, it's the proof, and it's the witness
that God Himself came into this world to save a maggot like me. Not a one like me. A maggot,
a worm like me. Modern day hymn books are trying
to take God out of our hymn books. a new rendition of amazing grace. Came to save a one like me. That's
not what John Newton said. Came to save a wretch, a no good
wretch, a maggot like me. That's who He came to save. And I love the words of Paul in Romans
8, verse 16 where he wrote, the Spirit of God bears witness with
our spirit As to what? That we are the children of God. How does the Spirit of God bear
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God? Through
the preaching of God's Word. Through the studying of this
book, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by what? The Word of God. The Word of
God. We are the children of God. I love the certainty of God's
Word. That's where we find our hope.
That's where we find our confidence. That's where we find the proof,
the evidence. We are the children of God, present
tense. We are right now. We are, not
will be. We are and will forever be the
children of God. How do I know? God's Word tells
me. according to the law and the
testimony. It's a sure thing. It's for certain.
People want sure things. Well, here it is. This is a sure
thing. Because it deals with our surety
who cannot fail. That's why we preach Jesus Christ
is God. Because He is. And only God can
save wretched sinners like you and I. That's right. It's the final authority, it's
the standard of truth. God's word is infallible proof. Does God save sinners or do sinners
save themselves? It's not a hard question. Did Christ pay the wages of sin's
debt or does the sinner pay sin's debt for themselves? That's not
a hard question. Does God receive all the glory
and the salvation of sinners? Or does man share in that glory
of salvation if he's some kind of a contributor to Christ's
work of righteousness? What does God's Word say? It says it's salvation's of the
Lord. And you've probably heard me say this. It's not original
with me, but I love to say it. You know what it says after that
in the Scripture? Salvation is of the Lord. Period. It's a period there. That's what
a period is, some of you English scholars know. Nothing else to
be said. Period. Salvation is of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The scriptures are very clear.
It's not of him that will it. Not of him that run it, but of
God. But of God. But God. Don't you love those words? But
God. And in the law and the testimony,
we see with certainty that Christ came into the world to save sinners.
It was Christ who paid sin's wages. It's God who gets all
the glory. Well, who is Paul and who's Apollos? Who is David Edmondson and who's
Frank Tate? Who's Todd Nyberg and Don Bale? Well, the Scripture says, but
ministers, servants, by whom you believe. This book
declares how God saves sinners as we so clearly heard last night. I'm so glad I was here last night. This book declares who saves
sinners. And the truth of the matter is
the sovereignty of God is offensive to natural-minded men and women. It always has been and it always
will be. Now, God can be God of creation,
and God can be God of providence, but God can't be God in salvation
now. That's taking it a step too far,
brother. That wouldn't be fair. God doesn't have to be fair.
He's God. He's God. He has to be right. He has to be just. And He can
by no means clear the guilty. Are you guilty? God can rule in the waves. He
can rule in the wind. He can rule in the storm. But
no, He can't rule in my heart. That's something I have to give
to Him. Well, you better read this book.
Better read this law and this testimony. Men declare that God can't have
mercy on whom He'll have mercy. Before the Lord saved me, I knew
He could do that. Men rage that God can't be gracious
to whom He's gracious. But God of this Bible can. We
better dust it off and read it. What does God's Word say? God
says, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why
hast thou made me that? God ask hath not the potter power
over the clay and of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor? That's God's prerogative. The
Lord Jesus declared, is it not lawful? Is it not right for me
to do what I will with my own? Yes, the sovereignty of God is
offensive to man. And here's something that you
already know. The election of God is offensive
to man's religion. I love the election of God. I
love to hear it. That's my hope of salvation in
Christ. That God chose me before the
foundation of the world and set His affection on me and gave
me to Christ. And Christ came into this world
and He did for me what I could not do for myself. And that's
the message God's people want to hear. Isn't it? Isn't that what you want to hear? I could have sat here another
two hours last night. and listen to that gospel. I
had a man tell me that not long ago. He came to hear me preach
for about two years, and after two years, I think he heard what
I was saying. Now, he didn't believe it, but
I think he finally heard me. And you might say we must not
be much of preachers if it took two years for him to hear. But he told me, he said, everyone
deserves a chance. Listen, salvation is not by chance. Salvation is by choice, and it's
God's choice. A man chooses his bride. I look
at Don and Shirley, still newlyweds. I asked Shirley last night, how
long has it been? Seven years? When man chooses his bride, does
God not have the right to do the same? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is it not right for God to choose one and pass by another? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Our God's in the heavens. He's done whatsoever He hath
pleased. Who can stay God's hand? Who
can say unto God, what are you doing? Lord, help us. This is the crucial
difference between salvation by grace and salvation by works,
and that being the glory of God. If you want a telltale sign of
what, if a man is preaching the gospel, does it give God all
the glory? Or does man share in that glory?
Now, if the message men preach gives any, any glory at all to
man, that message is not a gospel message. You know, Paul wrote
in Galatians 2, verse 21, these words. He said, I do not frustrate. That word frustrate means I don't
despise, I don't reject, I don't bring to naught. I make nothing
of the grace, the graciousness of God. For if righteousness,
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. And you know,
I have read that and studied that and even preached that before.
And I don't think until just recently I saw what that verse
said. Paul said if righteousness come
by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If salvation is by grace, if
salvation is not in Christ alone, then Christ is dead and He died
in vain. His death had no meaning. It
had no fulfillment. His death produced no result.
It was useless. And for a man and a woman to
claim that they can, by the work of their own hands, do anything
to earn, deserve, or merit God's grace and favor, in a sense of
the word, is murdering Christ. It's saying that Christ is not
enough. It's saying that Christ didn't do enough. It's to say
that His work was not perfect. It's to say that His work's not
finished. It's saying that Christ is dead
and vain. And how ridiculous is it to think that God needs
our help? Does God need for you to lend
Him your will? You know, I heard that all my
life. And when I got old enough and big enough that my parents
couldn't make me go to church, I quit going for that reason.
I thought if that God is God, then I'm not too worried about
it, just to be honest with you. And then one day, in a meeting
in 1986 that you preached in, you were it. The Lord showed
me who God is. He saves whom he wills. He has
mercy on whom he wills. He has compassion on whom he
wills. Whom he wills, he hardens. People say that is not fair.
No, that's God. I had a preacher. Well, I shouldn't
have thought of that. I'm sorry, really not a preacher
at all. A noise maker. He said, I believe that God's
sovereign in salvation and God on purpose made it so that men
and women would have to exercise their own will in order for Him
to save them. You just told me what sovereignty
and salvation is not. And there's only one problem
with that kind of talk. It's not so. It's wrong. How do I know? to the law and
to the testimony we go to. And we see that it's not so. Our Lord said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. God the Holy Spirit through the
Apostle Paul said, it's not of him that willeth or of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. I was not willing. God made me willing. Was it because I exercised my
will? I was dead in trespasses and
sin. You know what? A dead man doesn't
have any will. So it wasn't by my will. Was
it because I let go and let God? I hate that. I hate that saying.
I went into a church at a wedding not long ago, and big old letters
right out the door. Let go and let God. I'd like to know how you do that. You can't. We should never use that word
let or try or anything in the same sentence with God's name. I wasn't willing. God made me
willing. He made me willing in the day of His power. He gave
me life. He gave me faith. He gave me
sight. He made me willing. He made me able. Christ is not
dead and vain. He ever lives to make intercession
for us and to trust in a work of righteousness that we do,
to rely upon a work of our will, to take credit for a decision
that we made, is to again, to take God's perfect Son and crucify
Him afresh and to do so in vain. But by God's grace, I won't frustrate. I won't despise. I won't make
nothing of God's graciousness to me in Christ. For I know that
righteousness, God's perfect righteousness, Donny, that you
talked about, did not come to me by the law or by the keeping
of the law or what I did with that law. God's righteousness came to me
by Jesus Christ, who is not dead in vain. Christ forever lives to plead
for those for whom He died. God beget us, He born us with
the word of truth. God says in our text, whosoever
does not speak according to this word, it is because, now He's
telling us why. There's no light in them, no
light in them. Just as God said, let there be
light, and there was light. God's got to shine this light
into our hearts, these dark, void hearts of ours, and shine
the light of the glorious gospel in the face of Jesus Christ.
And if you're here this morning rejoicing in God the Son, that's
what He's done for you. He's shined the light into your
heart. My, my. What a gospel. Search the Scriptures. Go to
the Word of God. Prove to yourself that the things
that I'm telling you are so. This man stands two, three times
a week to preach to you. Be like the noble Bereans. Get
in this book. And see that these things are
so that he's telling you. They are. I never forget a man telling
me years ago that he didn't believe the Bible was the Word of God.
And I just, I told him, I didn't even think about what I said.
I told him that my only hope of salvation was found in the
fact that the Bible was the Word of God. How hopeless not to think
this is God's Word. All the promises of God that
I hold dear are effectual for one reason and one reason only. They're according to the truth
of this word. This man argued that the Bible
was written by man. No, this book declares that it
was written by man under the inspiration of God. That's something
you have to believe by faith. This man scoffed that the Bible
was controversial, and I told him, without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God became a man, friends. That's
what that means. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory, It's not controversial to me.
He declared the Bible was inconsistent. And listen, the Bible is controversial
and inconsistent with man's natural way of thinking. The God that
we're talking about. The God. Only one. Not a God. His ways are not our
ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
His ways and thoughts are past finding them. What's that mean,
Roland? That means we gotta believe them
by faith. We gotta trust that the things that are written in
this book are true. How do we do that? By divine
revelation, no other way. How is it? that God Almighty
could be dependent on man. How is it that God needed anything
seeing that He gave it to all life and breath and all things? It's God who gives life and breath
to every man and woman. God's rain and His sunshine fall
on both the just and the unjust. God is God to all. He's Lord
to some. He's Savior to some. God created
all men and women, but God makes new creations out of those that
He chose in Christ. This is the only gospel that
gives this sinner any hope at all. Any hope at all. My Savior
is God. God is my Savior, and He's a
just God and a Savior. Now in closing, I want to quickly
give you Five things, won't take me but just a couple minutes.
That the infallible light of the word of God shines forth
as truth. The first thing is everything
that is of any eternal value is found in Jesus Christ. Nowhere
else. All the blessings of God. All
the blessings and spiritual places are in Christ Jesus. Every good and perfect gift is
from above and coming down from the Father of lights with whom
is no variableness nor neither shadow of turning. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. We're chosen in Christ. We're
accepted in Christ. In Christ we have redemption.
In Christ we have the forgiveness of sin. While without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission. None. But with the shedding of
Christ's blood, there is. Nothing but the blood. and Christ dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him." All spiritual
blessings are in Him. But of God are you in Christ,
who of God is made unto us. What's Christ made unto us? Everything
that God requires. He's made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Why? That no
flesh should glory in His presence. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption. Those are all things that I do
not have by nature. Christ has made those things
unto me. Christ is wisdom. I don't have
any wisdom. Christ is righteousness. My righteousness,
filthy rats. My righteousness is self-righteousness. Christ is my sanctification.
I'm chosen and set apart and healed. Christ is redemption,
salvation of the Lord. Period. And here's the second
thing. The spiritual blessings that
are found in Christ are now ours. They're ours. Well, I could see
how maybe He might save you, but I don't know how in the world.
You just don't know how bad I am. God knows. That's nothing but pride. That's
nothing but unbelief. God's blessings, all His spiritual
blessings in His Son. If I am to have any part of those
blessings, I have to be where God put those blessings. I've
got to be in God the Son. Eternal life does not just believe
that there's a God. This is eternal life that you
may know God. Not just know there is a God,
not just to know some facts about a God, but to know Him, to be
intimately acquainted with Him. As a man knows a woman, I may know Him. Eternal life's not learning the
correct doctrine. Eternal life's not having an
emotional experience. Eternal life is Christ in you,
the hope of glory. It's not Christ in a book. It's
not Christ in a creed. It's not Christ at the altar.
It's Christ in you. Salvation comes by being one
with Christ. Paul said to the church at Galatia,
he said, I travail. That's what a woman does when
she gives birth. He said, I travail until Christ be formed in you.
This man travails over your souls. This man travails over men and
women's souls. That man travails over them.
Because God has made it so. He's given shepherds under shepherds
to care for His flock. You know, I never understood
that until I became one. It's kind of like being a daddy.
You don't know what it is to be a daddy until you become one.
your ideas and thoughts of what it might be like. But you really
find out when you get up at 2.30 in the morning to change a diaper. Our Lord said I'm the vine and
you're the branches. The branch has no life outside
of the vine. It's alive because of the vine.
The vine said without me you can do nothing. The branch cannot bear fruit
of itself except it abide in the vine. Christ is our source
of life. Christ is the head of the church,
and the church is His body, and the head is where the power and
the life is. Now, I can live without an arm.
I don't want to. And I can live without a leg.
And I don't want to. But I can't live without a head. Christ is my head. In Christ
I have life. I spoke of it briefly. A husband
and a wife. Paul said what a great mystery
concerning Christ and His church. When husband and wife join in
holy matrimony, the Scripture says they become one flesh. And again, I'm reminded, all
spiritual blessings are in Christ, our heavenly Husband. And they're
ours by our union with Him. You're not going to get them
any other way. But by your union with Christ. And that brings
me to the third point. It's been more than two minutes.
I'm sorry. How is this union with Christ accomplished? Well,
I know from the law and the testimony that the grace He's shown me
is a gift. It's just a gift. I recently was preaching there
at home I said, if you ever had anyone give you a gift, and then
after they give it to you, you go, that was $27. That wouldn't
be much a gift, would it? This gift don't cost you nothing,
but it costs God everything. It costs God's son everything. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Faith is God's gift. He that
cometh to God must believe that God is. He must believe that
God is God and that God is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. Are you diligently seeking Him? He that believeth on the Son
hath life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life. That is so plain. Is there anything
about that we don't understand? Is there anything about that
we don't believe? That's the issue. He that heareth My word
and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life and
shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto
life. We're born condemned. But whosoever believes on Christ
shall have life. Everything's in Christ. Everything
is ours by our union with Him. The union that we have with Christ
is through believing God. As you heard last night, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And then the fourth thing is
this, this saving faith comes by hearing the Word of Truth. Hearing the preaching of the
Gospel. If any man speaks not according to this Word, no light
in him. The words there is are italicized. God says, no life in him. No
life in him. No life in him. How can one who is dead in sin
be made alive? Well, first, their sin is going
to have to be put away. How is one who is unrighteous
going to be made perfectly righteous? That's what we've got to be,
perfectly righteous. We need to know that. How can
we know? Well, I know this much. It's according to the law and
the testimony of God and His infallible Word. It's not by
works of righteousness that we've done. but according to His mercy. It's all through this book. According to His mercy, He saved
us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost. And then lastly, how is God's
Gospel made effectual to me? Not by might. I have no might. I'm without
strength. Not by power. Well, I have no
power to call my own. Then how? God said, it's by my
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. It's the Spirit that quickeneth,
the flesh profiteth nothing. The Holy Spirit speaks of Christ. Now what I've told you this morning
is according to this Word. May God command that light. to
shine out of the darkness into our hearts to give us more light
and more revelation. That's why we come in here. We
want to know more. Tell me again. Tell me again
about my Savior. That's what I need most. And
that's what you need most. I need Christ every hour of every
day. May God be pleased to make it
so for his glory, for my good, and for Christ's sake. Amen. Thank you, brother. Thank you, David. You know about
all of our theology and our attitudes. And our questions will all get
settled if we get this, what David just told us, is God God. If God is God Almighty, then
everything he does is right, it's just, and it's good. Let's
get right down where the rubber meets the road. What God does
with me and mine is right, and it's just, and it's good. Where
does that leave you and me? like that leper, bowing at his
feet, begging him for mercy, worshiping him. If God's God,
now that would straighten our attitude right up on him. Well,
Isaac couldn't leave us in a, oh no, wait a minute. I gotta
have myself, we're gonna take a break. I was thinking it's
time to, Todd's gonna come preach. We're gonna take a short break.
When you hear the music playing, come back. Brother Niber's gonna
preach to us, I'm sorry. You gotta think for me all day,
man.