Our first scripture reading,
we'll turn to Romans 8. We'll read Romans 8 through Romans
9, starting in verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law cannot do, and
that it was weep through the flesh, God sending his own son,
and the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh,
but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For
to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Because a carnal mind is enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God, but ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you, now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we
are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For
if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if you through
the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.
For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and join heirs with
Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also
glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of
God. For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who had subjected
the same in hope. Because the creature itself also
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption and to the glorious
liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only
they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption
to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why
doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see
not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise, the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And
he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again. who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
At it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I'd
like for you to turn with me this morning to Psalm 97. Psalm
97. The heading above the psalm says
the majesty of God's kingdom. And certainly His majesty fills
the hearts of its citizens as well as heaven itself. But I've
chosen to title the message after the last verse in the psalm,
Rejoice in the Lord. If he were not majestic, if he
didn't reign, what would we have to rejoice in? Rejoice in the Lord, he said. Now what I propose to do this
morning is to give a brief commentary on this psalm in hope that it
will move us to rejoice in him. We're not going to rejoice in
him until we know who he is. the name Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth,
and so on, my whole life. One day I come to know Him, to
know who He is, and I was able to rejoice. Now our goal in preaching, even
in the hymns that we sing, is edification. What is that? That's teaching
and learning. Paul said, do everything you
do to edify. That's our purpose when we get
together. No matter what kind of an outline
we might have in our head, it has to be to that end. Paul wrote concerning the gift
of speaking in tongues over in 1 Corinthians 14. I'm not talking
about speaking gibberish the way they do in Pentecostal churches
today. something ignorant men call tongues. But I'm talking about the ability
to communicate to others in their native tongues. That's what tongues
is all about. Luke writes in Acts chapter 2
telling us that the Jews that gathered there at Pentecost were
from all over. They were Parthians and Medes
and Elamites and dwellers in Mesopotamia and Judea Cappadocia,
Pontus, Asia, and on and on the list goes. Men from all over. And then in Acts 2 verse 11,
here's what they said when they heard these men preach. We do
hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. They heard it in their own language. Edified, that's my point. Edification. God inspired these men not only
to be apostles and to write the scriptures, but he inspired them
as preachers. And preachers understand the
only reason they're up here is for edification. You can't worship
an unknown God. How are you going to call on
him on whom you have not heard? And how are you going to hear
without a preacher? I spoke years ago out in a Mayan
pueblo in the middle of the Yucatan jungle. We drove for, I guess,
five hours out in the middle of that jungle. I had two interpreters. One interpreted into Spanish
and then those men interpreted on into the native language of
the people of Mayan. And at Pentecost, these men were
gifted to speak in all these languages, and the people were
gifted to hear. And he did this to confirm the
risen Savior and the gospel that he commanded to be preached.
That's what it's all about. Now my point in all this is edification. It's pointless to speak in an
unknown tongue if nobody understands what I'm saying. How are you
going to worship if you don't hear what's being said? How are
you going to remember something until you know what it is? You
know, it's just, it's shittiness. 1 Corinthians 14, 15. What is
it then, Paul asks, concerning these things? He said, well,
here's what it is. I will pray with the spirit and
I will pray with the understanding. You can't pray with the Spirit
without understanding, because that was the purpose in sending
the Spirit, so that you do understand. You see what I'm saying? And
he said, I'll sing with the Spirit, I will sing with the understanding
also. I've got no tolerance for singing
hymns that's not in harmony with the gospel we preach. It's going
a different direction. Music might be wonderful, But
the words make it of no value. So my goal this morning is that everyone here gathered here this
morning might enter into the words of this inspired psalm
and rejoice in the Lord, which is what he tells us to do. Now
if we understand anything, and he works up to this point and
talks about rejoicing, it's what he just said that led him to
that point. Now you can fake religion. I grew up in it. I know the difference. You can fake religion. You can
fake joy. You can put on that religious
language and you can run around good brother this and good brother
that. They talk about I love you and
I pray for you and it's just words. It just goes out and drops
on the ground. That's as far as it goes. But my goal this morning is that
everyone here might enter into the words of this inspired song
and rejoice in the Lord and give thanks for what the Lord's done. That's
what I heard Jerry pray a while ago. Thank you, Lord, for what
you've done. Where I'm at, what I know, what
I do, thankful. thankful that I know Christ my
intercessor, my advocate. If any man sin, maybe that ought
to be when a man sin, because there's no if in it. He's going
to sin. Now, I have eight things I want us to consider this morning.
And I will, if God will permit, just touch on each one of these
briefly. And then I hope you'll go home
and study them a little further. Why do we rejoice? Why does he
say rejoice in the Lord at the end of the psalm? Is it just
religious language? Is that just what he's expected
to say? Well, I'll tell you what he said.
Somebody come and said, David, today it's time to go up and
worship the Lord. David said, I was glad when they
said unto me, let's go up to the house of the Lord. I was
glad. You suppose he really meant that? Oh, from the deepest part
of his heart he meant it. Rejoice in the Lord. That's what
he says up here in verse 1. The sweet psalmist of Israel tells
us to rejoice because the Lord reigneth. That's why we rejoice. We had a critical election this
past year, and most men rejoiced that Donald Trump won the election.
They didn't want another four years of what they just had.
That's exactly what this psalmist is saying. Rejoice! The Lord
reigneth! What if Satan had his way? What
if he had power to overcome him who reigneth? And he took the
throne. And that's exactly what he said
back in Isaiah. Satan said in his heart, I'll
sit on the throne. I'll dictate things. I'll preach
to the citizens of Zion. I'm going to do all this. No
man's going to do that. No man's going to preach this
gospel. I'm going to do it. I'm the archangel. I'm the highest
angel in God's creation, and I'm going to do these things.
He never actually said it. He just said it in his heart.
And then it says, I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. And I said that about Trump not
to be a promoter of politics. I
said that to illustrate what the psalmist is saying, the Lord
reigneth. And it means something to you.
He reigneth. How many times during the day
does his reigning, his power, his sitting on the throne save
your soul? How many times? How many things? How many things does he overrule
in your heart and mind? Oh, thank God he reigns. Do you recall the story of Nebuchadnezzar? He was standing up there, I always
picture him in these big old suspenders with his thumbs in
them, you know, and he's rocking back and forth. And he's up on
the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the
ancient world. And he's looking down and he
said, is not this great Babylon that I built for the honor of
my name? And the Lord shut him down, didn't
he? He said, here's what you're going to do. You're going to
have the honor you deserve. You're going to crawl around
here on all fours like a beast, and you're going to eat grass.
And your hair is going to grow like a hairy animal, and your
fingernails like bird's claws. He crawled around like a beast. And then at the end of the curse,
Nebuchadnezzar speaks again, but boy, he's got a different
language now. He says, I lifted up my eyes
to heaven, and my understanding returned. Huh? That's what we're
talking about, isn't it? Understanding. He said, my understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised
and honored Him that liveth forever. Now listen, whose dominion is
an everlasting dominion, his kingdom from generation to generation,
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing,
and he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. And aren't you glad
he does?" Huh? There's no telling what even
our government, which I know is corrupt, there's no telling
what they'd have us doing if it wasn't for his power. He governs
over all these things and causes that government to be for good
to us, actually be a policeman over us, taking care of us. And how often do we forget to
pray for our government? Nebuchadnezzar saw the sovereign
Lord of glory and he rejoiced. Why? In His good pleasure, He
lifted the curse from the king. Isn't that exactly what He did
for you? By His sovereign grace, did He
not lift the curse from you? Because we live like beasts. That's what David said. Now listen to me. He gave that
man the mind of Christ. Somehow be involved in that this
morning with you. Give you the mind of Christ.
It's the mind of Christ that teaches us how to think and deal
with problems. Deal with this world, deal with
our sins. Worship God. It's the mind of
Christ. And Jesus of Nazareth was appointed
of God as his provision of grace to save a people for the glory
of his name. That's why he chose him. All men are under the curse,
live out their days like mindless beasts, but in God's purpose
of grace, there's a set day of revelation. A day when ignorance
and foolish imaginations are taken away. And he confessed
what God has done in him. He said, at the same time my
reasoning returned. Come let us reason together,
saith the Lord. Now I'm going to tell you something,
just between me and you. I can't reason with anybody.
But the Lord can. And once the Lord does something
for you in your heart, then you can be reasoned with. It's not
wrong to reason with folks, but it's a... a fruitless job to
try to reason with an unbeliever who's not being converted. You're
just wasting your time. But he confessed what God done
in him, and he said, My reasoning returned unto me, and I was established
in my own kingdom. God established me there. I thought
I earned it, but I found out different. And God established
me, And majesty was added unto me. Oh, thank God He reigneth. He reigns, now listen to me,
He reigns in wisdom. Don't ever think that you can
out-thank God. He reigns in wisdom. He reigns
in strength. None can stay His hand. He reigns in love. We just heard
Brother read it in Romans chapter 8. Nothing can separate you from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But it's a reigning
love. It's not a fruitless love. It's
not a one-sided love. His love reigns in the hearts
of men. If it didn't, you'd quit loving
Him the first time you thought He crossed you. And His throne is a throne of
grace. Isn't that what the scripture
said? We come unto a throne of grace.
His throne is a throne of mercy. But make no mistake, it is a
throne. And he reigns. Over in Acts chapter 4, the world
joined hands in crucifying the Lord. And Peter said about this
very thing, He said they did what God's hand and God's counsel
determined before to be done. He reigns. When I think about
the world, the total depravity of man, the power and deceit
of Satan, walled cities where men hide from God, why would
anybody preach who does not believe that the Lord reigns? It would
be a fruitless activity, wouldn't it? Somebody told me one time, said,
I think you pastor a house full of goats. Yeah, but he rains, and he can
make sheep out of goats. He can make wine out of water. I believe the Lord reigneth. Here's
what he said to his preacher. Here's a handful, just a handful,
that Luke wrote and said, turn the world upside down. A handful. And he led them out on the brow
of the hill and he was about to ascend up into glory. The
angels, God had sent the angels down. They're going to escort
him into glory and he's going to sit down on his throne. And
he looked at those apostles and he said, all power in heaven
and earth is given unto me. What did that leave out? Anything?
That didn't leave anything out, did it? Now he said, you go preach. That's the basis of it. Yes,
I preach grace, but it's sovereign grace. He'll have mercy on whom
he will have mercy. But here's the thing I want you
to take home. He said, I'll have mercy on whom
I will have mercy. If he will have mercy, that mercy
will be sufficient. It'll do its job. It'll be effective. The Lord reigneth. Let the earth
rejoice. Let the multitude of the isles
be glad thereof. Everybody, everywhere, be glad
that He reigneth. And then secondly, we rejoice
in His righteousness and judgment. God's righteousness and judgment
seem a strange thing to rejoice in, don't they? We've been going
through Joshua, which has been a while since I've had a lesson.
Maybe we can get back to it pretty soon. We've seen the judgments
of God on those cities. Do you see anything there to
rejoice in? He come in, crushed their city, crushed the walls,
burned everything that was left and killed all the people. Does
that sound like something you want to rejoice in? It seems
a strange thing to rejoice in His judgments and His righteousness. Oh my soul, the prophet said
all your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And if that's
the standard, and it is, in which he looks at men, what is there
to rejoice in? Filthy rags, the leper's cloth,
the minstrel cloth, the unclean covering of the dead, all these
things, unclean, and judgment. By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned. That's the judgment of God. And Adam all died. So how are
we to rejoice in righteousness that we cannot produce and a
judgment that we cannot escape? Well, here it is, Romans 3.21. But now the righteousness of
God without the law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, a righteousness not gained by
our obedience, but on one given to us by a representative
man. There's your righteousness. Romans
3.22, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of,
or faithfulness of, by His obedience, Jesus Christ, and it's unto all
and upon all them that believe. Here's the question, can I believe?
Can I trust Him? Can I put my faith in Him? Can
you? That's the question. Because that's how righteousness
comes. It's imputed. Jew or Gentile, bond or free,
all who believe. And Christ, it says, is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
The law has no part in it. The law's done all it can do.
It killed the substitute. That's as far as it can go. And what about judgment? God
laid all our sins on His Son. Isn't that what He says? He bore
our sins in His own body on the tree. Well, what about my sins,
preacher? Look to Christ. Your sins are
laid on Him. Will God punish sin? Look to
the cross. He died for our sins. What about judgment? God laid
all our sins on His Son. He judged Him in righteousness. God was just in His death. He
bore our sins. He was made sin for us who knew
no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
He judged Him in righteousness and untainted justice. And in
so doing, He reconciled us to God by putting our sins away. God looks on us and sees no sin
in Christ. Our sins and iniquities, he said,
I will remember no more. I'll tell you something. I've
had stats and differences with people. Don't like to admit it,
but I have. But I tell you, I never could
forget. Can you? I try not to let it bother me
anymore. I try to put it away, but I still remember. But God
said, your sins, they were so paid for. So God was so satisfied
in the death of Christ that He can't even remember your sins.
He put them away. If He can't see them, they're
not there. And so our brother read, there
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ,
who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. What does
the Spirit do? He reveals Christ to us. What
is it to walk after the Spirit? It's to take part in the things
of the Spirit, the preaching of the Gospel, conversion, regeneration. And those who see His law and
righteousness with the mind of Christ can say this very thing.
Now listen to this, Romans 8, 33. Who shall lay anything to
the charge of God's elect? Who? Are you worried about judgment? You worried about, oh, I believe,
pastor, but I've done some things. Huh? Listen to this. Who is he that can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Who? Satan's the accuser of the
brethren. He can't find anything. God himself
can't find anything because he put it away. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. There
is no higher court. Where? How? He was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. How do
I know I'm completely justified? Christ rose from the dead, if
that's my hope. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. And then he says over in Isaiah
53, 11, he shall see of the travail of his soul, talking about Christ,
and shall be satisfied. We rejoice in his righteousness
and judgments because God sees our representative and is satisfied. Now, I can rejoice in a satisfied
judgment. I can rejoice in a righteousness
satisfied. Can't you? Oh, Paul said that I might be found
in him, listen, not having my own righteousness, but the righteousness
of Christ. He expects no more. Nor can he
demand more than was given of Christ. His life and death are sufficient
to put away our sin, make us righteous, the righteousness
of God in Him. And then thirdly, we rejoice
in the Lord because of His presence and power. You can read that
in verses 3 through 5. I'm coming down this psalm a
verse or two at a time. Brethren, if God's not present
with us, nothing of any eternal value will ever come to pass.
And I know that, and so I pray for His presence in all that
we do. And He's promised, we have the promise of God that
we're two or more met together in His name. If there's just
a couple of us here today that know the Lord, and have come
here and met in His name, He said, there will I be in the
midst. That's my hope. Listen to what he says. At his
presence the hills melted. Oh, we wonder, can the Lord really
do something for me, preacher? Well, let me tell you about his
presence. The hills melted. His presence settled in that
place and the hills just melted. Oh. The thunder roared. It woke me
up the other night Came in about midnight, 1230, that thing rolled
in, woke me up. And we had one strike, it's been
about a week ago, it shook my house. The paintings on the wall
were shaking. That's a bolt of thunder, and
that's what he says. The thunder roared, the lightning
lit up the heavens, and he says to all who do believe, here's
what he says, I'll never leave you. Oh, you mean God's presence
with the believer? Oh, yeah. He and the Father take
up their abode in you. And He said, I'll never leave
you. I'll never leave you. And I'll never forsake you. Does
His presence cause us to rejoice? Oh, I hope so. Well, how do we
know God's presence is with us? First of all, because He says
it is. That's the chief reason. We don't know anything apart
from God's Word, do we? Now we're back to edification.
How do I know if God's presence is with me? Because He said it
was. We're two or more gathered together.
I'll be in the midst. Secondly, we know the presence
of His Spirit by the revelation of Christ to our hearts. Can
I rejoice in the message? Does it enable me to remember
His holiness and remember things about Him? Glorious things. Oh, I was nothing but an ignorant
religious sinner. That's all I was. I didn't know
anything. I knew that we couldn't have
any kind of service without a guitar or piano or something. Something
to have a beat and make a little racket, you know. And so I went
and I sang. And I get to say a few words
before I sang. And I just watched the preacher.
And when I started going too far, I'd have to quit because
he'd make me sit down. But oh, how ignorant. how ignorant I was. Didn't know
that preaching was the means of God. I didn't know that this
was what God commanded to be done for poor sinners. I'd try
to buttonhole them back in the corner of the church, you know,
and get in this debate and get in this argument with them. Try
to convince them of this, that, and the other. Oh, but the Spirit said He'll
take the things of Christ and show them unto us. And then,
you know, His presence by an inward work of grace conforming
us to His image. We're not ignorant of who God
is, and that's what He's talking about here. We know that Jesus Christ has
come and given to us an understanding that we may know Him as the truth.
When we pray, we pray with the knowledge of who God is, what
He's done, where He's at, His power, His grace, His mercy,
His love. We know God. And we're enabled of God to pray. And then fourthly, we rejoice
in the Lord our Creator. I have in Him a being. And not
only that, but a being called a vessel of honor on my soul. Could you rejoice in that when
the powder gets done? You're not an old jar that somebody's
going to spit tobacco in. But you're this wonderful vase
that he's turned with his own hands. The pot has power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel under honor and
another under dishonor. We rejoice in the Lord our Creator,
made for His glory, predestinated to be predestinated to the adoption
of children and to be an heir of His grace. I just can't imagine
these things. These things are high, as He
said in the Scripture, and I can't attain unto them. I just can't.
I'm sorry. I know in my head what it means
to be an heir. But in my heart, to see myself
an heir of God, what would that mean, Russell? An heir of God. a joint heir with Christ. You
think about Christ and the honor and glory and everything attached
to it. Oh, we're joint heirs with Him. I don't sit around
and think about, well, I remember the day and the moment, you know,
and that's my hope. And I'll tell you this, we know
His presence by an inward work of grace conforming us to His
image. And then we rejoice in the Lord
our Creator, who has given us a being and made
us a vessel of honor. And then fifthly, we rejoice
in the free and gracious revelation of Christ. Oh, to see Him. To see Him. Verses 7 through
8 in this psalm tells us about the confusion of false religion.
and the rejoicing and the truth of Christ. Confounded, he said,
be all they that serve graven images, boast themselves of idols. Worship him, all you gods. The word image comes from the
word imagination. And what we think we know produces an image in our minds
and deceive men and women Sometimes carve out these images, mold
them, make them images of God, and then they worship them. But carved or imagined, they're
all idols. They're all idols. And those who imagine a false
god are idolaters. Do you imagine a God who will
accept any and everything imagined by man? Is that your God? A God, for instance, who's willing
to compromise his character to get his way, is that how your
God deals with you? I'm talking about thousands of
people right now who are doing that this very morning. Or a
God who will receive man's good intentions and reward him for
that with a righteousness? Is that your God? Or a God who will accept man's
boasting and free will? Or man's preaching of the sacrifice
of Christ as insufficient? God's done all he can do, now
it's all up to you. Huh? Is that your God? I tell you, if God Almighty's
done all he can do, you might as well throw in the towel. Beloved, God calls all false
religion, all of it, idolatry. That's what it is. They're worshiping
a false god. They're preaching a false god.
Even man's greedy lust to have everything he sees and touches.
covetousness, now listen, which is idolatry. He's an idol worshiper. Verse 8, oh listen to this, this
is good news, Zion heard. Have you ever had a day when
you're sitting there, you come to church, and it's just going
to be like every other Sunday, or every other Wednesday, and
you come there and you sit down in a few, but when you left,
you heard. You didn't leave like you come
in. God done something for you. And you went out that door and
you was rejoicing. I heard. They've been telling
me for years that believers hear, I heard. Zion heard. What was the effects
of their hearing? They was glad. I can't tell you how glad you'll
be if you ever hear it. You think that old man paralyzed
down at that pool for 38 years, you think he wasn't glad when
he picked up that bed? Or that blind, old blind bard
of mass sitting there? He wasn't about to let the Savior
pass him. He just kept crying out, all
that I might see. Well, he did. He did. They heard the gospel and they
were glad. Glad that the Lord delivered them out of their idolatry
and ignorance. And then sixthly, we rejoice
in the effects of our sovereign God and His love for us. Ye that love the Lord, here's
what he says in that verse. Ye that love the Lord, verse
10, hates evil. Why? Most people love it. They revel in it. They drink
iniquity, Job said, like water. Iniquity. They drink it like
water. Take that dipper and dip it out and drink it down. We hate evil because we know
its end. The wages of sin is death. We
know it's in. And eternal separation from God. Can you imagine not even having
an inkling of a thought of mercy? Separated from Him forever? That's
what reprobation is. He just turns you over to yourself.
You ain't even gonna have a thought of Christ or His work or His
glory. No, He'll put your mind somewhere
else. He'll turn you over to yourself.
And that's who you'll love, yourself. And we hate evil because we see
it's judgment in Christ's suffering and death. When you look on that cross,
and there he is beaten and marred until you can't even recognize
who he is. Nailed to a cross, suffering,
writhing in pain. There he is up on that cross.
Do you know it's your sin that nailed him there? He's dying
for your sin, my sin. That's why He's there. He's not
suffering because He's a sinner. He's suffering because He's a
sinner substitute. That'll make you hate sin. And I tell you this, you'll never
hate sin until you see it as it is against love, against the
love of God. He loved us. and gave himself
for us. And he describes in the book
of Hosea exactly what we were and what we were doing. It's against love. I can't imagine
that old prophet, his wife going out and playing the prostitute
and he's going up to her door and laying down provision for
her. And she comes to the door in the morning and thinks her
lovers have left all this stuff. But it wasn't, it was Hosea,
it was her husband. And she'd pick up that sack of
potatoes or whatever it was, go and cook a meal, all this,
or maybe a new grass or whatever it was they left outside. Yeah,
that's Hosea. And finally she's spent. Oh, she must have looked horrible.
I can't imagine in that day being a prostitute and forsaken, can
you? But here she is now and she's
down on the auction block. And who's down there bidding
for her? And why? Because he loved her. And he made her to see that all
her sins was against his love. And here's number seven. We rejoice
in Him as a person. Our God is a person. Did you
know that? He manifested Himself in a man. Jesus Christ the righteous. Lord Jesus Christ. And give thanks
at the remembrance of His holiness. Remembering God's glorious character
and how that character was in perfect harmony as He gave Himself
for our sins on that cross. That maintained the harmony of
God's character. That's his name, that's who he
is. I say with a holy salvation,
a righteous salvation. Read about it in Romans chapter
3. That he might be righteous in his remission of our sins.
That he might be just and justifier of all that believe in Christ. and everything he did in perfect
harmony with his perfections. And let me ask you something,
if all the terms of the covenant, did you know you're saved by
the covenant of grace? The psalmist David, the very
psalm that we're studying here, that man who wrote that psalm
inspired of God. These were his dying words. He
said, although it be not so with me, with my house, but God hath
made with me a covenant. ordered in all things and sure.
He said this is all my salvation and all my desire. All the terms
of our salvation was met in Christ that was written in that covenant
of grace. Now, if all the terms of the
covenant be perfectly fulfilled. If they're all perfectly fulfilled,
that means a covenant can never be called into question. Is that
right? Boy, it's good if you have a contract with somebody. I've seen and known too many
people disappointed with insurance companies, but maybe there is
one good one out there somewhere. But if all the terms be perfectly
met, then there's no question about the covenant. God has made
a covenant for us and it's ordered in all things and sure. Why?
Because He appointed Christ as the surety of that covenant. They're all fulfilled in our
covenant surety. And then lastly, we rejoice in
the Lord seeing our deliverance out of the hand of the wicked.
I can almost taste the delight of Israel. standing on the opposite
shore of the Red Sea. And they're looking back, and
here comes Pharaoh and all of his army. And they're coming
through that division of waters. Here they come. Boy, they got
chariots, bowmen behind them, spear throwers, and everything
that they had, this big old army. Most modern army of today, powerful. And here they come, Pharaoh and
all of his army. They're coming and all of a sudden,
the sea closes up. And now you can't even see your
enemy. Got a few spears that float up to the top and a few
chariots maybe, and that's it. All these men are gone. All your
enemies are gone. Now listen, if God be for you,
who can be against you? That's what David's talking about.
He's talking about standing on that other shore and watching
all your enemies being drowned in the sea. Fannie Crosby wrote this old
hymn. We don't sing it very often. Here's the words. Tell me the
story of Jesus. That's what I tried to do this
morning. Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every
word. Tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard. Tell of the cross where they
nailed him, writhing in anguish and pain. Tell of the grave where
they laid him, and tell how he liveth again. Love is the story so tender,
closer than ever I see. Stay, let me weep while you whisper,
love paid the ransom for me. Oh, I hope you've been led to
rejoice in me. And that's, you know, folks run
around getting all these weird ideas about what it is to believe.
I'll tell you what it is to believe, it's trusting Christ. I'm saying
all these other things to show you the ineffectiveness of religion. It's evil. God calls it evil.
He said it's the working of Satan. He told those Jews that refused
to believe on him, he said, God's not your father, Satan's your
father, and the lust of your father you will do. And that's
not even to speak of all the other things that come forth
out of our heart, the adulteries and idolatries and all the things,
lies. Oh my, we're so wicked. So wicked. But God has made a provision
that's effectual, and it's effectual because it's in Christ. That's
what I want you to see in every message I preach, Christ. I love
what that woman, she was aggravated with Scott. She'd been there
for a solid week's worth of meetings, and she'd come back in her next
shop by the door, and she said, Christ, Christ, Christ. She said,
that's all you ever preach. He said, would somebody preach
right there on my tombstone? I don't know if he ever did,
but that's all I ever heard him preach. Oh, that they might one day say
that of me. All he ever preached was Christ.