Be Thou my vision, O Lord of
my heart, That not be all else to me, save that Thou art, Thou
my best thought, by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy
presence my light. Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my
true word. I ever with Thee and Thou with
me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I Thy true
Son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one. Riches I heed not, nor man's
empty praise, Thou mine inheritance now and always. Thou and Thou only, first in
my heart. High King of heaven, my treasure
Thou art. High King of heaven, my victory
won May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun Heart of
my own heart, whatever befall Still be my vision, O ruler of
all. Still be my vision, O ruler of
all. Thank you, Adam. That is our
hope, isn't it? The Lord be pleased to cause
his face to shine upon us. He'd reveal his glory. And his
grace to our hearts. Ask you if you open your Bibles
with me to First Samuel Chapter 12. First Samuel. Chapter 12. I've titled this message, Who,
How, and Why of Our Salvation. Who, How, and Why of Our Salvation. And I believe the Lord has answered
those three questions in one verse. And I hope that he will speak
to our hearts by his word and by his spirit, and calls us to
bow to the who, to rejoice in the how, and to have a good understanding
of the why. 1 Samuel chapter 12, And I'd like
to read verse 22. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake, because it hath pleased the Lord
to make you his people. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. If we're to know God, he must
reveal himself to us. Some would say that it's presumptuous
to think that you can know God. Well, we would respond by saying,
our God is infinite and we are finite. He's in the heavens and
we're upon the earth. When we come into his house,
the scripture says our words are to be few. That all eternity
will not be sufficient to know the fullness of his glory. Nevertheless, nevertheless, through
the preaching of the gospel, by the power of his spirit, and
the revelation that he's made of himself in his word, he gives
us glimpses of his glory. Now, we look through a glass
darkly. We see in part. One day we'll
see him as he is and know him and be made like him. What a
glorious day that will be. My desire is to know him. Paul said, this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, I press towards the
mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. He went
on to say in that same passage of scripture in Philippians three,
he said, oh, that I might know him. The power of his resurrection. What is the power of his resurrection?
Proof of justification. That is the power of his resurrection.
That he was offered up for our offenses and raised again because
of our justification. And the Lord said, this is the
sign. This is the sign of Jonah. This
is the only sign that God gives. This is the evidence that we
are without sin before God, that Christ has been raised from the
dead and all those who died in him were raised with him. And
so Paul said, I want to know the power of his resurrection.
I want to be more thoroughly convinced by God's grace and
by his spirit that when Christ raised from the dead, I raised
from the dead. And when he ascended into glory, I ascended into glory.
that I'm found in him. That's also in that same passage
in Philippians 3, to be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that righteousness, which is by the
faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I might know him, the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, that when Christ
was crucified on Calvary's cross, that I was crucified with him,
that I'm dead. In Christ, in Christ is my life. And he goes on to say, I've not
yet apprehended. I've not yet apprehended that
which has apprehended me. He knows me thoroughly. He knows
everything. He knows my thoughts before I
think them. He knows everything about me.
I just wanna know. I wanna know him. And here he
tells us a little bit about himself when he says in the latter part
of verse 22, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you
his people. Why would God save some and not
others? There's the answer. because he
was pleased to do so. He hath done whatsoever he's
pleased to do. He doesn't consult anyone. He
doesn't ask for input or advice. He does what he's pleased to
do. When you and I do anything, we have to evaluate what we do,
whether it's right or wrong. good or bad, the consequences
of it. Our God is so absolutely independently sovereign and self-sufficient
that he just does what he's pleased to do. And the fact that he did
it means that it's right. It means that it's the best thing
that can be. That's God. That's what the Lord
is telling us about himself. He's telling us that he does
what he's pleased to do. Turn with me to Daniel chapter
four. Daniel chapter four. Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up
in pride He thought that the kingdom that he ruled over, that
he had established it and that he had made it. And not like
us, we get so lifted up in pride. We think that what we have is
to our glory and because of our contribution. So the Lord humbled
Nebuchadnezzar, turned him into a beast. And And then the Lord recovered him.
And look in verse 34, and at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned
unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored
him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom is from generation to generation. and all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? At the same time, my reason returned
unto me. and for the glory of my kingdom
and mine honor and brightness returned unto me and my counselors
and my lords sought unto me and I was established in my kingdom
and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all whose works
are truth and his ways judgments and those who walk in pride.
He is able to abase. Child of God, aren't you thankful
that the Lord is able to abase you when you lift up your heart
in pride, self-righteousness, and independence? The Lord reminds you of what
he taught Nebuchadnezzar. over the armies of heaven and
all the inhabitants of the earth, he hath done whatsoever he wills.
No man can stay his hand. No man can say unto him, what
doest thou? You know, I found that unbelievers find comfort in the sovereignty
of God when it comes to providential things. I don't suppose there's a group
of people that are more thoroughly believed in the sovereignty of
God than the Muslims and they, you know, they accredit. You see that. You see that happening.
People say, well, you know, it's the Lord. Really they sort of
have a fatalistic view of God's sovereignty. in Providence, but
it's nothing really more than the power of positive thinking.
They've come to the conclusion that there's a silver lining
around every cloud and somehow good's going to come out of this.
And they comfort themselves with that. We believe that God is
sovereign in Providence. But I want to tell you something
that the unbeliever doesn't believe about the sovereignty of God.
He is absolutely sovereign in salvation. Man left to himself believes
that his will is free to choose or to reject God at his own whim. He believes that he is sovereign
in salvation. What is the Lord teaching us
about himself here in our text? Turn with me again, if you will,
back to our text in 1 Samuel chapter five. For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake because it hath pleased the Lord. That's the only reason. To make you his people. Why does God choose some and
not others? Because it pleased the Lord.
When our Lord began his public ministry, he went back to Nazareth
where he had lived all of his life. And he went into the synagogue
as his custom was on the Sabbath day. And he took the scroll and
he opened it up to Isaiah. And he read from Isaiah chapter
61 and he put down the scroll. And all the eyes of the people
who knew him, his friends, his acquaintances, his family members,
his neighbors were fixed on him. And they wondered at the gracious
words that proceeded out of his mouth because they knew that
the passage he just read was a prophecy concerning the Messiah. And he told them after reading
that passage this very day, this text, this scripture has been
fulfilled in thy sight. And they all thought, could this
be the Messiah? Could we have been with him all
these years and not known him? And then he interpreted that
passage of scripture. And he said, in the days of Elijah,
there were many widows in Israel, but God showed mercy upon none
of them except for the widow of Sarepta. And in the days of
Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel, but God showed mercy
on none of the lepers except Naaman the Syrian. What was the Lord, he was revealing
himself as being sovereign in salvation. I will have mercy
upon whom I will have mercy and whom I will, I will harden. It is not of him that willeth
nor of him that runneth. It is of God that showeth mercy.
He was declaring himself as God. Sovereign in salvation. It pleased
the Lord to choose you. That's the only reason for anyone's
salvation is God was pleased to do it. Most will but that. God's people, those who have
been given life, rejoice. They rejoice because they know
that if their salvation had anything to do with anything they do,
There would be no assurance. There would be no comfort. There'd
be no hope. There'd be no peace. It's please God. I want a God
who's sovereign. And only a sovereign God will
man worship. You won't bow to a God that needs
you for something. You won't bow to a God like that.
Why would you? He should be bowing to you. And the God that most people
believe in is a God that they have fashioned in their own imagination
to make subjective to them. That man has set themselves up
on the throne of God. You say, well, how do I know
that he's pleased to save me? Do you need a sovereign God to
save you? Or do you need a God that's able
to do his part while you do your part? Do you need a God who takes
care of every part of your salvation, from election to redemption,
through regeneration and sanctification and glorification, every part
from beginning to end. Do you need an alpha and omega,
the beginning and the end, where you don't have to, you're not
being looked to for any part of your salvation. He does it
all. That's what you, if God's made
you to be a sinner, there's the good evidence. There's the good
evidence. You see, if you're a sinner,
you know you don't have anything to put into your salvation. You don't have anything. You
need a God who's sovereign. And you bow to Him, and you rejoice
in Him, and you believe on Him, and you rest in Him. That's the
hope. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. And so the hope that he was pleased
to save me is that I'm pleased that he's absolutely sovereign
in my salvation. I rejoice in that. I'm so thankful
for that. I don't want a God who's looking
to me for any part of my salvation, because I'm going to mess it
up. I want a God who does it all and does it all by himself. He's sovereign. He pleased the
Lord. Ephesians chapter one, having
predestinated us according to the good pleasure of his will. Why did he predestinate some?
There it is, there's your answer. According to the good pleasure
of his will. He hath done whatsoever he wills. Matthew chapter 11. The Lord
says, Father, I thank thee that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and the prudent and revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, it seemed good
in thy sight. Whatever God sees to be good
is what God does. And whatever he does is good. Ephesians chapter one, verse
nine, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. That can't be any more clear. John, I remember the first time
you and Lorraine came here 25 years ago. I was preaching from Ephesians
chapter one and you came out of a freewill church and you
said to me, you said, I've never heard Ephesians chapter one even
preached from before. And it's so simple, it's so clear,
it's just right there. It's right there. According to the good pleasure
which he purposed in himself. So who saves us? Who does the
saving? A sovereign, omnipotent, successful
God. How does he save? How does he
save? Mercifully. You see, if you need
a sovereign savior, it's because you're a sinner. Because you're
a sinner and you need mercy. It's not that God saw something
good in us and that's why he chose us. You know what a man, a man's
looking for a wife, he's attracted to beauty. And when the Lord chose his wife,
oh my, he went for the, Ugly ducklings,
didn't he? I mean, he, he, he. Ezekiel chapter 16, turn with
me to that passage, Ezekiel 16. Verse six, and when I passed
by thee and saw thee in thine own blood, here's a baby born
with serious deformities who has been discarded into a field
to die. And the Lord is likening this
horrific scene to our salvation. And when I saw thee in thine
own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood,
live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, live. I have caused thee to multiply
as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen
great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments thy breast are fashioned,
and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now, when I passed by thee, and
looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love, and
I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea,
I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. And I washed thee with
water, yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and
I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broided
work, and I shod thee with badger skin. And I girded thee about
with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee
also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and
a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel in thy forehead,
and earrings in thine ear. and a beautiful crown upon thine
head, and thou wast decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment
was a fine linen and silk embroidered work, and thou didst eat fine
flour and honey and oil, and thou wast exceedingly beautiful,
and thou didst prosper in a kingdom, and thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect And here's what
I wanted to get to. Thy beauty was perfect through
my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord God. Oh, the Lord has a beautiful
bride, but her beauty has nothing to do with her. She was a bloody covered, deformed, discarded. The Lord took her,
washed her, dressed her, put his comeliness on her. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter
seven, Leviticus seven. I'm sorry, I think it's Deuteronomy
7 is the passage I wanted to look at. Yes, Deuteronomy chapter seven,
look at verse six. For thou art a holy people unto
the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people for you were the fewest. You were the fewest of all people. Who saves us? A God who is absolutely
sovereign in salvation. How does he save us? Mercifully. Mercifully. He delights in showing
mercy. Turn with me to Psalm 85. Psalm
85. Israel, in our text in 1 Samuel
chapter 12, Israel had rebelled against God. And then they added
to their rebellion by insisting that Samuel give them a king. And Samuel went to the Lord and
the Lord said, give them what they want. But Samuel was grieved
that they didn't trust God as their king. And so what Samuel
is now saying in our text is in spite of the fact that you
have rebelled against God, in spite of the fact that you have
insisted on a king, in spite of the fact that you didn't trust
God, you didn't believe God as you ought to have, He's not gonna
forsake you. Because He was pleased to make
you His people. He's gonna continue to save you
because he is a God of mercy. How was he able, does he just
show mercy? How is he able to be just, not
allowing the guilty to be unpunished and justify The
sinner at the same time, here it is, Psalm 85. Look at verse
10. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. When did that happen? It happened
on Mount Calvary when the Lord Jesus Christ as our sin bearer
suspended between heaven and earth. Doing for us what we could
not do for ourselves. Suffering the full wrath of God
for the sins of his people. Establishing righteousness and
truth. Justice must be served. Sin must
be paid for. And yet doing it in such a way
whereby God is able to have mercy toward his people. That's how
God saves, and it's the only way he saves. No other name has
been given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved.
The Lord Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man can come to the Father but by me. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness has been established. We have a righteous advocate
with the Father. the Lord Jesus Christ, the end
of the law for our righteousness in order that we might have peace
with God. See, so our salvation doesn't
have anything to do with us, in who saves or how we're saved,
or how we're saved. And my last question is, why
did he save us? Turn back with me to our text. Why did he save us? Verse 22, for the Lord will not
forsake his people. He's not gonna forsake you. In spite of the fact that you
continue to turn from Him, you continue to forget about Him,
you continue to rebel against Him, He will not forsake you.
Why? Because it pleased the Lord.
It pleased Him to make you His people. You say, well, why does
He continue to show mercy? Here it is. For His Namesake. His name is at stake. You shall call his name Jesus
for he shall save his people from their sins. His name is
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. His name is Jehovah
Rapha. the Lord who heals. His name
is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord of peace. We have peace with God. His name is on, is at stake. This is who he is. And so David
says in Psalm 115, he said, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but for thy name, for thy name. Unto thy name give we glory for
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. I saved you for my name's sake.
The Lord Jesus Christ in the covenant of grace became the
surety of his people. You remember what Judah said
to his father Jacob, when he said, I will be a surety for
Benjamin. Reuben, by the way, before he was agreed to be his surety,
Reuben said to Jacob, I'll take care of Benjamin, and if something
happens, you can kill my sons. You know, you can take your wrath
out on your grandchildren if I don't bring Benjamin back. Ah, Reuben's name means weak
as water. Isn't that the way we are? No. No, Judah had to stand up. And
the Lord Jesus Christ is from the tribe of Judah. And Judah
said, I will be surety for him. Father, you'd let me take Benjamin
back to Egypt, and I'll be sure to bring him back. And if I don't,
you hold it to my account. You charge me for it. Now that's
the Lord Jesus Christ going before his father saying, I am Judah. I will take care of Benjamin.
I'll take care of my people. And if I fail to bring them home
to glory, you hold it to my account. You charge me for it. My name
is on the line. That's why he saves us, for his
namesake. David said in Psalm 23, he restoreth
my soul. He leadeth me beside paths of
still water, paths of righteousness, for his namesake. Psalm 25, verse 11, for thy namesake,
O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. I write unto
you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for
his namesake. God's not looking to the Does
the Spirit of God put sorrow in our hearts over our sin? Of
course He does. Does He put a spirit of repentance
in our hearts? Of course He does. Does He put
a desire in our hearts to not want to sin and to follow after
Christ and to obey Him? Of course He does. Is the experience of my sorrow
and the depth of my faith have anything to do with the forgiveness
of my sin? No. No. You see, that's nothing more
than penance, isn't it? Well, if I can just wallow in
my guilt and shame and feel enough sorrow and do enough good deeds,
somehow God will forgive me. No. He forgives us one reason. His namesake. That's the reason for the forgiveness
of sin. Who saves us? Sovereign God. How does he save us? By mercy
and truth, righteousness and peace, kissing one another at
Calvary's cross. God becoming just and justifying,
putting away our sins, through the sacrifice of Christ once
and for all. And I said this in the first
hour, I'll repeat it again. Why do we believe something we
can't see? Why do we believe something that
is contrary to our experience? What are you talking about, preacher?
I'm talking about your sin. Why do you believe? that you in Christ are sinless
before God. You can't see it. You don't experience
it. All you experience is your sin
is ever before you. And there's only one answer to
that question, because God said so. God's given you faith and
you believe God, and you're hanging all your hopes on that nail.
That nail which is fastened, as the scripture says, in a sure
place. And if you have to rely upon
your experience and your feelings and you're full of doubt and
full of fear, but if God said it, it's so. It's so. And he did it for his namesake. That's the only hope. there is
in salvation. If it's dependent upon anything
else, we're in trouble. Our Heavenly Father, thank you
for your word. Lord, we pray that you would speak it effectually
to our hearts. Give us faith. Forgive us. Forgive
us, Lord, of our unbelief. Turn us Revive us. Cause thy face to shine upon
us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. 226 the hardback demo 226. I am not skilled to understand
what God hath willed, what God hath planned. I only know at
His right hand is one who is my Savior. I take Him at His word indeed. Christ died for sinners, this
I read. For in my heart I find a need
of Him to be my Savior. ? That he should leave his place
on high ? And come for sinful men to die ? You counted strange
so once did I ? Before I knew my Savior And, O that he fulfilled,
Maci, the travail of his soul in me, and with his work contented
me, as I with my dear Savior. Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring That He who lives to be
my King Once died to be my Savior you.