Good morning. Let's open this
morning's service with hymn number 22 from the Gospel Hymns Spiral
Hymnbook. And let's all stand together. We were ruined by the fall, Adam's
sin defiles us all. By our deed, as by our birth,
we deserve the law's great curse. Helpless, hopeless sinners we,
never can our souls retreat. but the blessed son of god came
as man in flesh and blood he fulfilled the lost demands and
in death stretched out his hands on the cross of calvary christ
redeemed Which God had set The Spirit
came for His elect To regenerate and call From the ruin of the
fall By His power and by His grace We were born for God's
own praise ? Now your purpose be fulfilled ? ? Save according
to your will ? ? Sing this joyful student's praise ? ? For the
glory of your grace ? ? Blessed, holy, triumphant ? ? Hear our
praise to Christ our Lord ? Please be seated. Good morning. We're going to
be in Psalm 119 this morning. If you'd like to turn with me
there in your Bible, Psalm 119 verse 130 is our text. Between the services, I'm going
to ask you if you are planning to participate in the Lord's
table to find your way to either one of the back, the back table
or this front table and get your own wine and bread. and bring
it back to your seat and put it in the holder in front of
you. And that way you'll have it at the end of the second hour. So, I've never done it that way
before, but we just figured that's probably the best way to do it
under the circumstances. So, that's the way we'll do it
until something else changes. Okay. Also, after the second hour,
As many of the men that are available to help, we need to load up the
pews in the old building and we have a truck here. Ryan, did
you bring that truck? It's over there now. So, we'll
try to get those loaded up today and we can get started on the
old building. If you need to get into the old
building between services or during the service, there is
now a doorbell. because the ladies have that
locked during the nursery. There's a doorbell on the door,
the side door that has the awning. There's a little white doorbell
there. So you can press that and let them know you need to
get in. All right. Let's ask the Lord's
blessings. Our heavenly father, we come before thee pleading
your mercy Lord, we know that we are deserving
of your wrath, but we also believe that you delight in showing mercy
and that you have satisfied your holy justice in the sacrifice
that Christ made on Calvary's cross. And so Lord, we pray that
you would send your spirit enabling us to to look to Christ for your
mercy, to look to him for the forgiveness of our sin, to look
to him for your grace and for all the blessings of your goodness
toward us. Thank you for your word. Lord,
we know that it is sharper than any two-edged sword and it is
able to divide asunder. the soul from the spirit and
the thoughts from the intents of the heart. Lord, reveal to
us our need for Christ. Reveal to us his glory. Reveal
to us his accomplished work. Increase our faith. Enable us
to believe on him. For it's in his name we ask it.
Amen. I've titled this message A Word
for the simple. Now, most people don't consider
themselves to be simple. This word simple in our text
means to be naive. It means that you believe anything. It means that you're so open
minded that anybody's suggestion is sufficient for you. And though That may not be true
when it comes to the natural things of this world. Most people
are a little inquisitive. Most people are somewhat critical
and inquiring and analytical when it comes to the natural
things of life. When it comes to spiritual things,
all men by nature are simple. We come into this world simple
minded. And by this word simple, it's
very similar to what we experienced with very young children. Very
young children won't believe anything you tell them. And that's
how we come into this world. And that's how we will remain.
If the Lord doesn't open the eyes of understanding, if he
doesn't give us faith, we will remain simple. all our lives,
just swallowing hook, line, and sinker, whatever the religious
world has to tell us. But here in our text, the Lord
says in verse 128, therefore, I esteem all thy precepts. I hold high. That's what the
word esteem means. I value greatly all the precepts
of God, the word of God. concerning all things to be right,
to be true. And I, I'm sorry. Verse, yes. And I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful. Verse 129. Therefore doth my
soul keep them. The entrance of thy words give
us life. It giveth understanding unto
the simple. The most inquiring, analytical,
intelligent people in this world will believe the most ridiculous
things when it comes to the most important thing in their life.
And you would too. and I would too. We have. Some
of us have. And if the Lord doesn't convert
us and convince us by his word what the truth is, we'll remain
simple, simple-minded, We'll believe traditions, we'll abandon
our soul to our feelings, we'll abandon truth to the persuasion
of men or to science so-called. God has to open his word in order
to give the simple understanding. And here we have a word for the
simple, the naive. The ones who are by nature so
open-minded that they'll believe anything. Look at me, look with
me again at verse 130. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. If the light of the gospel doesn't
shine in our hearts, in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, by
the means of God's word, will not have any understanding of
truth, will remain in darkness, will remain in darkness. For it, the word of God, giveth
understanding to the simple. Proverbs chapter 14, verse 15
says, the simple believeth every word. They just believe whatever
you tell them. It is incredible what men will
believe when it comes to spiritual things. And yet, it's not surprising. He's spiritually dead. He's spiritually
blind. He's spiritually unable to know
anything that's true about God unless God opens his word and
gives understanding to the simple. I've wondered why it is that
the religious are so open-minded. Why is it that they are so willing
to negotiate and compromise with one another what they say they
believe? And the answer to that question
is that they don't believe anything. They really don't believe anything.
What a great joy and what great comfort and what great hope and
what great confidence and what great security we have in believing
the truth. Believers are really the only
ones that believe. They're the only ones that believe.
Unbelievers are willing to compromise everything that they hold to. They really don't believe anything.
They don't believe the truth. What they do believe can be negotiated
if properly persuaded. And they're offended by the fact
that we're not willing to negotiate what we believe. When the Lord gives those who
are by nature simple-minded understanding, they're no longer open-minded.
Not when it comes to the truth. They're no longer open-minded.
They're not willing to compromise. They're not willing to negotiate.
They're not willing to change what the Lord has taught them. They know what they believe is
true. When the Lord said to the disciples,
will you lead me also? What did they say? Lord, where
should we go? You alone have the words of eternal
life. We know and we are sure that
thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And you remember
in John chapter 11, after the time of Lazarus' resuscitation,
that's really what it was, the Lord was talking to Martha. And
Martha said, well, Lord, we know that he'll rise in the resurrection.
And the Lord said, Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me, though he be dead yet, shall he live.
And he that believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Martha, do you believe this?
And what'd she say? She said, yea, Lord, I believe. believe that thou art the son
of God, the Christ, the one that should come into the world. I
believe. And nothing's going to change
that. What a, what great hope. I can remember years in religion,
you know, running to and fro to listen to this preacher or
that preacher or go to this conference or that conference or changing
my position on this doctrine and that doctrine over and over
again. And when the Lord teaches you
who Christ is, you no longer do that. You're just persuaded. You're persuaded. Paul said,
I am persuaded. That is my persuasion. And my persuasion has been given
to me by God. And had he not given it to me,
I'd be open-minded. I'd be simple. I'd be like a
little child just being led about by every opinion of man. But
now that God has spoken, now that God has spoken, I have a settled faith. I believe.
I'm sure. I'm sure. Psalm 119 verse seven says, the
law of the Lord is perfect. Can't be added to, and
it can't be taken away from. Don't you love the way the scriptures
conclude? The Lord concludes his whole
canon of scripture by saying, if any man adds to, The prophecy
of this book, the curses of this book should be added unto him.
And if any man take away from them, his name should be taken
away out of the book of life. He'll have no hope of salvation.
We don't add to God's word. We don't take away from God's
word. We don't add to the work of Christ and we don't diminish
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sure. We're sure. I said, what else can we say
that we're sure of? Nothing. We don't know what's
going to happen with our president. We don't know what's going to
happen with the economy. We don't know what's going to
happen with the elections. We don't know what's going to
happen with our own life. We don't know about our own life
tomorrow. What is your life? It is a paper.
We're not sure of anything. And that's the way men are when
it comes to the gospel. They just, they just willing,
but we have a, we have a sure hope. He giveth understanding
to the simple. We didn't come to this understanding
on our own. We didn't achieve some level
of intellect that enabled us to figure it out. It was revealed
to us. What do you have that you did
not receive? Lord, I'd be just as simple minded
as everybody else. I'd be just as open-minded and
it's just as easily to be persuaded with a lie as everybody else
would be if you didn't give me understanding by your word. But
what great comfort, what great hope, what great surety in a
life that is filled with uncertainty. I am sure. I'm sure that God's
Word is true. I'm sure that Jesus is the Christ. I'm sure that he accomplished
the salvation of his people. I'm just certain of it. Where else are we gonna stand? The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. There's no salvation apart from
the preaching of the gospel. God uses the law of the Lord
is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. Lord, I'd be so simple minded.
I would know up from down. I would know truth from error. I would know right from left.
If you don't open your word, if you don't send your spirit
to open your word, open that which no man can shut, open the
windows of heaven, open my heart, give me faith to believe. And
when he does, when he does, The law of the Lord makes wise the
simple. Makes wise the simple. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter
one. We need a firm ground to stand
on. We need a rock. We live in a world that just
seems to be shifting sand all around us. And the greatest evidence
of that is in us, in our own inability to just maintain our
faith as we ought. We just so easily. We're kind of like which one of the Jacob's sons
that he said, you're weak as water. We just were so easily
led one way or the other. Look at Proverbs chapter one.
We'll begin reading the verse one. The Proverbs of Solomon,
the son of David, king of Israel. Solomon's a type of Christ. He's
the king of peace. He's the son of David and he's
the king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction,
to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of
wisdom, justice and judgment and equity, to give subtlety. Now that word subtlety means
wisdom and discernment. To give wisdom and discernment
to the simple. You see, there's the problem
that the unbeliever doesn't believe himself to be simple. He thinks he's got it all figured
out. And the child of God says, Lord,
if you don't keep me and you don't teach me, you don't provide
your truth for me, I'll revert right back to what I am by nature. to give wisdom and understanding
to the simple verse four, to the young man, knowledge and
discretion. A wise man will hear and will
increase learning and a man of understanding shall attain unto
wise counsel to understand the proverb and the interpretation
and the words of the wise and their dark sayings. The sayings
of God are dark to the natural man, he can't see them. Turn to me to Romans chapter
16. Romans chapter 16. There is an area in life where
the Lord has admonished us to remain simple. Ignorant, that's
what the word means. Naive. What is that area? Romans chapter 16. Look at verse
17. Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the
doctrine which you have learned and avoid them. For they that are such serve
not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good
words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. In other words, men are drawn
away by the speech of another man, even though that man's words
be contrary to the word of God. Who does that the simple do?
The simple will hear the words of a person causing division
and contrary to the doctrine of the gospel and say, no, that's
not true. That's not true. But the simple will be led astray. For your obedience has come abroad
unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf,
but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good and simple
concerning evil. We ought not to be so familiar
with the evil things of this world that we understand them.
The Lord's saying, remain simple to the evil of this world. Remain ignorant. What is it that the simple understand
from God's Word? Well, we understand that we're
sinners. We understand by the revelation of God's Word that
every imagination of our heart is only evil, and that continually.
We understand that in us, left to ourselves, there's nothing
good. We understand that to will is present with us, but how to
perform that which is good, we find not. We're not able to have
a holy thought. We're not able to perform a righteous
work. Why? Because we're sinners. We
understand that. We understand that every man at his very best state
is altogether banished. We understand that the heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and no
man can know it. We understand that we're dead
in our trespasses and in our sins, apart from the work of
grace, giving us life in Christ. We have no ability to believe.
We're unable to believe. We cannot come to God. We understand
that no man can come unto me except the father which sent
me draw him. We understand that our faith
is a gift from God, that we didn't decide one day that we were gonna
believe. We understand God said, The heavens
are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water. We understand that left to ourselves,
we're hell-deserving, simple-minded sinners. We believe that. How do we, why do we believe
something that's so contrary to what everything else, everybody
else in the world believes? Because he's given understanding
to the simple. He's revealed this truth to us
in his word. And we know it's true. We believe that our God is absolutely
sovereign and that he is omnipotent. That he has chosen a particular
people according to his own will and purpose before the world
was ever shaped and formed. We believe that what our God
does is right. We believe that he's sovereign over the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth and no man can stay
his hand or say unto him, do us that. We believe that he's
the potter and we're the clay. And he has the sovereign right
to make out of the same simple lump of clay some vessels of
honor and some of dishonor. Why do we believe that? Because
God said so. He's given wisdom and understanding
to the simple. The world doesn't believe this.
The religious world doesn't believe this. We believe our God is sovereign
in salvation. that he spoke the worlds into
existence and that he holds all things together by the word of
his power. We believe that he's sovereign
in providence, that he works all things together for our good. And he does it ultimately for
his own glory. We believe he's sovereign in
salvation. We believe that he'll have mercy upon whom he will
have mercy and he'll have compassion upon whom he will have compassion.
and is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. Why do we believe these things?
Because the precepts of God are true and perfect. And they've
revealed, you see, this is where we stand. This is our, this is
our sure hope. This is where we, this is what
we believe. We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ was sent of the father and the power of the spirit of
God to actually accomplish the salvation of God's people. That
God saw the travail of his soul and God was satisfied. That it
pleased the father to bruise him. That he was a root out of
dry ground that we would have despised him by nature. There
was no beauty in him that we should desire him, Isaiah chapter
53. We didn't have anything in us
that was attracted to him. And there was nothing in him
that was attracted to us. He had to have mercy upon us.
He had to bring us to that place where we're able to hear the
gospel and believe. You see, this is what faith is.
Faith is just saying, yeah, yay, Lord. What'd Martha say when
the Lord said, believest thou this? Yea, Lord. Yea. Yes. I believe that you are the
Son of God, the Christ, the one that should come into the world.
The successful Savior of sinners. Simple minded sinners. Sinners
that would have no hope of salvation if you didn't accomplish Brethren,
we need some stability, don't we? We need some place to hang
our hopes. And Christ, is that nail, the
scripture says, the scriptures likens the Lord Jesus Christ
to a nail fashioned in a sure place. Hang all your hopes on
Him. We believe the Lord. has to send
his spirit. He has to open the eyes of our
understanding. He has to give us faith. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, you got to be born
by the spirit, the spirit of God. You know, you're completely
dependent upon him. That's why you keep begging.
The Lord said, if you be an evil, and there we know we're evil.
If you be an evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children.
How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him? And what are we always doing?
Lord, send your Spirit. Give me your Spirit. Don't leave
me to myself. Shine the light of the gospel
by your Spirit on your word in my heart. except you'd be born of the spirit,
which you're not in the kingdom of heaven. You can't even perceive
of it. You can't see it. And we believe
that. And we believe that he's got
to keep us and present us faultless, don't we? Lord, if you don't
preserve me, protect me, provide for me, keep me, Lord, I'll forsake
you. We see enough of that in our
hearts every day, don't we? to know that if the Lord didn't
keep us on a leash, if he didn't restrain us, you know, I used
to think when I was a young man, I wanna do great things for God.
Now I'm just thinking, Lord, just restrain me. Just don't
let me be reproached to the gospel. Don't let me, just keep me. We believe that our God's sovereign. They honor him with their lips,
but their hearts are far from them. They're so simple-minded
and so open-minded that they will call him God and then turn
right around and deny the very essence of deity by denying him
sovereignty and omnipotence. Wait a minute, you say that Jesus
is God. but you're so simple-minded and
so open-minded and so ignorant that you're willing to say two
things that are contrary to one another. If he's God, then he's
God. And if God's not sovereign of
everything, he's not God. And yet he is dependent upon
you to do something in order for him to be able to save you.
What kind of God is that? and you and I would believe the
same thing. We'd believe two opposing contradictions
and hold to them both at the same time and die right between
them. If the Lord didn't give understanding
to the simple, we would, you know, we, we sometimes get,
get frustrated with our unbelieving friends and family members, religious
ones in particular, who hold to nonsense. They hold to contradictions. And we say, you know, can't you
see the inconsistency of what you're saying? But the real miracle is that
we're not like that. That's the real miracle. You
know, why can't they see it? No, why do I see it? Why has
the Lord made me to differ? Why, that's the mirror. That's
the amazement. That's the thing that ought to
just keep us in wonderment all the time. Lord, why did you have
mercy upon me? We believe that the Lord Jesus
is the Christ, the anointed one. We don't believe he's trying
to save anybody. or wants to save everybody, we believe that
he actually did save his elect. We believe that. I listen to
preachers. When I'm gonna prepare for a
message, I'll go on Sermon Audio and find somebody that's preached
a message from that text. And if I think they have something
to say, usually that's based on where they pastor, I'll listen
to it. And I listened to one last night.
guy that pastored some church up in Canada that was a reformed
church. And, you know, he didn't say
anything. He wouldn't preach like I'm preaching
right now. He wouldn't tell people the truth.
And I got so far, I got about halfway throughout this. They say they believe that Jesus
is the Christ, but they won't declare him as the sovereign,
successful, substitute, sin-bearing savior, surety of God's people. They won't say it. They won't
say it. They're playing, they're trying
to appease everybody. What are they? They're open-minded.
They don't say it because they don't really believe it. It's
in their doctrine. If you talk to him one on one,
if I was to talk to this preacher one on one, he would agree with
everything I had to say, but he won't preach it. Why not? Because he doesn't believe it. That's the simple answer. He
doesn't believe it. Child of God, What great hope,
what great comfort, what great assurance we have in actually
believing God. We really believe. He has given. Understanding. Now it doesn't mean that we comprehend
all these great and glorious truths. We don't, to that degree,
we don't understand any of them. These things are, David said
in Psalm 139, he said, these things are too wonderful for
me. I cannot attain them. Here's the glorious truth about
the gospel. It's simple enough for the most simple person to
believe it and understand it. And it's profound enough and
deep enough and infinite enough that all eternity will not be
sufficient to plumb its depths. That's the glory of the gospel. He gives understanding. We do
have some under, we understand that we're sinners. We understand
who Christ is. We understand what he's done. We're persuaded. Sanctification, that's a work
of grace. He's got to set me apart. He's
got to make me whole. Go back with me to our text and
we'll close. Psalm 130, Psalm 119, verse 130. The entrance of thy words giveth
light. That word entrance is the word
door, an open door. Paul preached and he said, pray
that the Lord will open doors of opportunity for us to be able
to preach the gospel and pray the Lord will open the windows
of heaven. He'll open the doors of heaven. He'll open the hearts
of men. He'll open up God's word. That's what the word entrance
here means. We're, God has to open that up. Otherwise it's
shut out to us. It's shut out to us. The entrance
or the opening of thy words giveth light. It giveth understanding to the
simple. The simple. The open-minded, the ignorant.
the ones who would by nature swallow hook, line, and sinker
anything that anybody had to say, had the Lord not opened
his word and shined the truth of the gospel in the face of
Christ in our hearts. Where else are we gonna be? What
else are we gonna be sure of? Nothing, nothing. Our heavenly father bless your
word to our hearts. Increase our faith in Christ.
For it's in his name we pray. Amen.