Good morning. You don't have to turn there
in your Bibles, I just want to read one verse from Psalm 147.
Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our
God. It is pleasant and praise is
comely. Now the word comely is a word
in the Bible that means beautiful. Praise. Praise is beautiful. Oh, what a beautiful thing it
is when God's people join their forces together and praise Him,
worship Him in song. So Tom's going to come lead us
in number 37 in the Sproul hymnal. Let's stand together. Number
37. Approach my soul the throne of
grace in every time of need. There's mercy for the needy one
who Jesus' name shall Though I'm a weak and sinful
wretch, I will approach the throne. I'll lean upon Christ's mighty
arm and plead His blood alone. The blood, the precious blood
of Christ has opened up the way by which I can draw near to God
and to my Father pray. Though Satan tempts my heart
to sin, I'll call upon my God. And if I fall, he'll lift me
up and cleanse me in the blood. The way is open, God will hear
my groans and cries of grief. Nothing can keep me from His
throne but my own unbelief. O Lord, my unbelief removed and
turn my heart by grace. Compel me to approach your throne
and there spread out my case. Please be seated. Good morning. Will you please
turn with me to 2 Corinthians 6, and we will read the last
three verses of the chapter. 2 Corinthians 6, verses 16-18. In what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God. As God has said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them. And I will be their God and they
shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among
them and be separate, saith the Lord. And touch not the unclean
thing and I will receive you. and will be a father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, sayeth the Lord Almighty. Let's
pray. Abba, Abba, Father, living God,
we're so thankful for your word and the gospel you've given us. through yourself in the form
of your son, Jesus Christ. We're thankful for the volume
of the book being written of you. I pray that you would be
with us, Lord. Please direct our attention and
our focus solely on Christ. Remove our idols from us, Lord. Pray that you would be pleased,
Father, to separate us from ourselves from our unclean things, Lord,
direct us to your word. In your word, it is truth and
light. We request, Lord, and we pray
by your grace and your goodwill and pleasure that you would draw
us near to you. Pray for Greg, Lord, that you
would give a message to him. Deliver it to us, Lord. Pray
for Jennifer and her healing, Lord, that you would be pleased
to heal her body. Pray for all those that are suffering from
physical infirmities, Lord, and please give them the grace in
their time of need. Please give us the grace in our
time of need as well, Lord, as we're here today. Thankful that
you've drawn us here. In your son's holy name we pray,
amen. Let's all stand together once
again. We'll sing the hymn that's on the back of your bulletin. This promise is proclaimed to
all who trust in Christ. Christ Jesus keeps his saints
secure. They cannot be condemned. Though oft I sin, I know, and
feel so very low, nothing I say or feel or do will change my
God, I know. His word can never be broken
or changed at all. This sinner justified by grace
from grace can never fall. No sin can justice charge against
my ransomed soul. When Jesus died, he paid my debt,
not part, but paid in whole. Please be seated. Adam and Rachel
are going to bring special music. Be still my soul The Lord is on thy side Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain leave to thy God to order and
provide In every change, ye faithful
will remain. Be still, my soul, thy best,
thy heavenly friend. Through thorny ways leads to
a joyful end. Be still, my soul, thy God doth
undertake. to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let
nothing shake. all now mysterious shall be bright
at last be still my soul the waves and winds still know his voice who Then while he dwelt below Be
still my soul The hour is hastening on When we shall be Forever with the Lord When disappointment, grief, and
fear are gone Sorrows for God, love's purest
joys restored. Be still, my soul, when change
and tears are passed. All safe and blessed we shall
meet at last. I love that hymn. Thank you all. Adam and Rachel, that was a blessing. Let's open our Bibles together
to Psalm 119. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, to Acts
chapter seven, Acts chapter seven. I was thinking that what Paul
said in Acts chapter 17, when he went to Thessalonica, he was
quickly run out of town by the religious leaders there and went
to Berea. and the Bereans received the
gospel. And he wrote like this under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He said, the Bereans were more
noble than those in Thessalonica for they received the word of
God with gladness and they searched the scriptures daily to see if
that was so. And so I hope that's the spirit
the Lord will give us. that we'll be more noble than
those who would reject the word of God and that we would receive
the word of God with gladness. And I can say to you, don't take
my word for it. Don't take my word for it. Search
the scriptures and see if these things aren't so. I've titled this message, The
God of Glory. The God of glory and every time
I stand to preach, I know that I'm preaching a subject that
is infinitely larger than anything I can speak to. And we are always dependent upon
the Holy Spirit to take our frail efforts and speak light and truth
and hope to our hearts beyond what we hear audibly from a man. But this subject is is far beyond
any of our comprehensions, the God of glory. We saw last Sunday from the end
of Acts chapter 6 that Stephen stood before the synagogues of
Satan and he confronted them with the gospel. They made false
accusations about Stephen at the end of chapter 6. And so
the Sanhedrin brought Stephen in and said, are these accusations
true? And now in Acts chapter 7, if
you want an overview of the entire Old Testament, all you have to
do is read one chapter of the Bible. That would be Acts chapter
7. Because Stephen begins with Abraham and takes it through
the patriarchs and then through Moses and then through David
and ends with Solomon and declares the things that God had done
in Israel throughout that period of their history and how their
fathers, he's speaking to these religious leaders and he says
to them, You are stiff-necked and rebellious just like your
fathers were. You're responding to the things
of God in the same way they responded. For which one of the prophets
did they not persecute? And what he's declaring in this
sermon, and it's the only sermon we have preached by Stephen,
He's the first martyr. They stoned him to death. I mean,
I just can't even imagine the violence of a mob taking a man
and killing him with stones. But that's exactly what happened.
And the glorious, now I'm going to preach a message on the last
verse from Acts chapter 7 on another day, but I'll tell you
what it is now. The scripture says, and Stephen fell asleep. He fell asleep. I love that. That's the way the Lord describes
the death of the first martyr. And that's the death of every
one of God's people. They just fall asleep. What a
blessing. But Stephen is saying to these
religious leaders, you're acting just like your fathers, but He's
saying God is accomplishing his purpose in spite of your rebellion
and in spite of your unbelief. He's confirming what the scripture
says when God says, the wrath of man shall praise me and the
remainder of wrath I will restrain. We look at this world that we
live in today and we think, you know, all the anger and the wrath
that men are demonstrating in riots and things, and God says,
it's going to praise me. And what I can't use to praise
me, I will restrain. The Lord only allows that which
he can use for his own praise and for his own glory. And so, Stephen begins his message
in verse, well begin, look with me in Acts chapter 7 verse 1. Then said the high priest, are
these things so? These accusations that they've
made about you, are they true? No, they weren't true. They weren't
true. They were accusing him of blasphemy. They were accusing him of tearing down the temple of God.
They were making the same accusations against him that they made of
Christ. And he said, men and brethren and fathers. I love
the respectful way that Stephen addresses his audience. These
men who are just about to murder him and they will. in just a
little bit. I mean, how long did it take
to preach this sermon? Not long. And these are the men that are
gonna murder him. And he says to them, men and brethren and
fathers, hearken, listen to me. This is the only truth that's
gonna save your soul. And he pleads with them to listen
to him. The God of glory. The God of glory. So he begins his sermon by declaring
God to be the God of glory. The God who reigns over the armies
of heaven and over all the inhabitants of the earth. The God who always
gets his way and always accomplishes his purpose. And Stephen is saying,
if God be for me, who can be against me? I'm just going to
stand on God's side. And if it costs me my life, so be it. I'm
going to stand with God, the God of glory who called out Abraham
from Mesopotamia. Abraham was from the Ur of the
Chaldees, which is a pagan land. And God called Abraham out. Abraham didn't have any way to
know God unless God came to him. And Abraham is called the father
of the faithful. And what's true of Abraham is
true of me and you. We are born into this world at
enmity with God. We are born into this world as
pagans. And if God doesn't come to us,
there's no way for us to get to him. Now that's exactly what
God did when he left the glories of heaven and came into this
world. When God was made flesh and when
God dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and full of truth. That's the
Lord Jesus Christ. He tabernacled among us. He lived
among men, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem them
who were cursed by the law. And that's exactly what we have
to have him do right now. We have to have him come to us
by the power of the Holy Spirit and open the eyes of our understanding
and give us faith. The God of glory is the only
one that can do it. And our God reigns. Oh, he reigns
sovereign. What, what hope there is in bowing
to his sovereign rule and his sovereign reign. You see, the
truth is that believers just believe God. They believe he
is God. They believe that he has the
right to do whatsoever he wills. They believe that if. That if
God chooses to send them to hell, that he has the sovereign right
to do that. That they have no claim on God. That they are completely dependent
upon his mercy and upon his grace. He reigns. He reigns in creation. He reigns in salvation. He reigns
in our circumstances. Our God reigns. He's not threatened
by the rebellion of men. not in any way, is our God in
the heavens, wringing his hands, thinking, oh boy, things have
gotten out of control. And we think that. Our politicians,
I'm sure, feel that way. Our elected officials, you know,
they're wringing their hands. What are we going to do about
this problem? We've got a problem here. God, he never, he's never
that way. No, I purpose that. I'm going
to use it for my glory. The God of glory that called
out Abraham will call you out. The God of glory who revealed
himself to Abraham and gave him a promise. Stephen's going to
go on. We're not going to read all of
this. You can read it when you're able to. But Stephen says to
them, Abraham was brought to this land where we are and he
was given a promise. And he didn't even have a seed
at the time. He didn't even have a child, but he believed God's
promises. In Romans chapter four, verse
one, it says, and Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him
for righteousness. And so it is today. We're just
like Abraham. Abraham didn't look at, look
at, um, Look at verse 5. And he gave him none inheritance
in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on, yet he promised
that he would give to him for possession and for his seed after
him, when he yet had no child. Abraham never possessed any of
the promised land in his experience, but he possessed it in faith.
He believed God. He believed that God would be
faithful to all of his promises. And that's all faith is. Faith
is believing that God is faithful. He cannot lie. All the promises
that he made, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved. Rest your hope, believers. Well,
they bow. They bow. You know the word bow
and bow is spelt the same way. And yet there's a difference
between a believer and an unbeliever. And what's Stephen saying to
this group of men is you're bowing up. You stiff neck people, you
are bowing up in rebellion against a sovereign God. How foolish
it is to fight against God. You don't win that fight. Bow,
submit to him. So Nebuchadnezzar, in his pride,
in Daniel chapter 3, thought, well this kingdom termed me that
passage. Daniel chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4. The Lord had raised this pagan
king. up to the position of ruling
the world. Nebuchadnezzar was the world
ruler of Babylon. I mean, he had no competition
whatsoever. There's been five kingdoms that
have ruled the world from the beginning of time, and Nebuchadnezzar
was the first one. He was the first one. Medes and
the Persians came in after him, and the Greeks came in after
him, and the Romans came in after him. Actually, that's, count
the Medes and Persians. But nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar
was the ruler of the world. And look at verse 30. And the
king spake and said, is not this great Babylon that I have built
for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and
for the honor of my majesty. Look what I've done. Look what
I've done. That's the pride of man. looking
at their possessions, thinking, ah, look what I've accomplished.
Look what I've set up. Look what I, look at, and they
compare themselves to other men. And while the word was in the
king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, oh, Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. And Nebuchadnezzar
was turned into a furry. If you were here the first hour,
you know what I'm talking about. He was turned into a furry. He
became an animal. Read the next two verses. He
became an animal. And he lived out in the field.
Lived with the animals. He was a wild man. He was out
of his mind. And look at verse 34. And at the end of the days, when
God was finishing humbling me, 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." God used Nebuchadnezzar's
rebellion and pride to humble him. and then brought him to
his senses. And he said, I looked up. I looked
up. That's what faith is. You know,
we all have problems with our pride, don't we? And our rebellion
against God. Look up. Look up. There's a God
in heaven who reigns sovereign. And here's the confession of
faith. Verse 35, all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as no
thing. That's you. Before God, that's
me. If you ever see God, you will
come to that conclusion. I'm nothing. I've got nothing. I can do nothing. I know nothing. I am completely dependent upon
God. We love boasting in ourselves
among men. And comparing ourselves and competing
with one another, don't we? But if God ever brings you into
his presence, you will come to the same conclusion Nebuchadnezzar
came to. I am nothing before God. And he doeth according to his
will. Whatever he does and whatever's
done is done according to his will in the army of heaven. With all the angels of God, they
do exactly what he would have them to do. And among the inhabitants
of the earth. Are you an inhabitant of the
earth? We are, aren't we? Our God reigns
sovereign over us. That's what, that's what Stephen
is preaching to these men. He tells them about Abraham.
He tells them about the patriarchs. He tells them about Moses. He
reminds them of their futile rebellion against God. He talks about Joseph and his
rebellious brothers. And how they sold him into slavery,
but God raised him up to be the prime minister of Egypt. And that God used Joseph to save
all of his brethren. That God overruled their rebellion. That's what his message was.
You are just as stiff-necked bowing up against this sovereign
God. Just like Nebuchadnezzar did.
You're not bowing to him is what he's telling them. But God's
going to have his way. He's not threatened by your rebellion
or by your unbelief. And so what is he saying? Bow.
Believe. Rest. Trust. Come to Christ. You're fighting a fight you're
not going to win. How foolish it is to fight against God. It's
insanity to fight against God. Can you imagine being on safari
in Africa and you're in a security of a Jeep and, Bert, we've been
there. You've got, and you see a pride of lions eating their,
you know, their fresh kill. And you tell the driver to stop
and you go over there and think you're going to scare the lions
off of that, you know, animal that they're feeding on. And
what would everybody in the Jeep be saying? He's crazy. He's out
of his mind. What's he doing? That's a very weak illustration
of what it is to fight against God. You've got to be completely out
of your mind to stand in rebellion against God. That's what Stephen's
saying to them. Why are you rebelling against
God? Bow to Him. Rest in Him. Believe on Him. You're not going
to win that fight. It's complete lunacy. But that's what men are by nature.
By nature. Men are just completely out of their mind. Look what
Nebuchadnezzar says. Look at the rest of verse 35.
And among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand, and none can say unto him, what doest thou? No one's
going to stop the hand of God, and no one's going to call God
into question. Who are thou, old man, that thou
would call? It's how you would stand in judgment
against God. And at the same time, my reason
returned unto me. I was completely out of my mind,
thinking that I had achieved these things on my own. And men
who think that they had anything to do with the salvation of their
souls are completely out of their mind. And you think that you
can obligate God? You think that you can, that
you can somehow, well, the scripture says the carnal mind is enmity
against God. It is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. Now we come into this world with
nothing more than a carnal mind, a fleshly mind, and God says
the carnal mind is at enmity against God. It cannot be subject
unto God. It will not bow to God. It cannot
be. It won't and it can't be. God
has to give us the mind of Christ, and that's what the new birth
is. The Lord has to give us a new nature. You remember the story of Esther? Artaxerxes was the king after
Nebuchadnezzar. and he had sovereign power over
everyone. He could do with anybody whatsoever
he will. He didn't have to answer anybody.
He didn't have to go through court. He didn't have to get
anybody's counsel. He had sovereign control. And
he said to his wife Vashti, he was having a He was having an
affair with all of his cohorts and his subjects and he wanted
his wife to come in to display her beauty before his friends. And she refused to come. She
said, I'm not going to submit to that. I'm not going to let
him make an object out of me like that. Artaxerxes got rid of her. Got rid of her. You're not going
to bow? Now this is not a picture of
male dominance or some sort of... This is a picture of Christ and
his church. Artaxerxes is a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Bashti is a picture of the Jewish
nation who Stephen's preaching to. And he says to them, you
won't bow. You're just like Artaxerxes'
wife, Bashti. And the Lord's going to discard
you. And he chose Esther. And Esther became his wife. And
Mordecai, you remember, needed Esther to intercede with the
king in order to save the Jews. And Esther said, but he hasn't
summoned me to come into his presence. I can't go before the
king unless he calls me. And Mordecai said, perhaps the
Lord has raised you up for this very day. And Esther said, I'll
go. And if I die, I'll die. And the spirit in which Esther
entered into the presence of the king was a spirit of humility. She bowed into the presence of
Artaxerxes. And she was just hoping that
he wouldn't kill her for having come in without having been summonsed.
And he stuck out his scepter. What would you have me to do?
What a picture of the gospel. You see, the believers like Esther,
who comes humbly into the presence of God and the unbeliever, just
like these men that Stephen's preaching to are just like Bast.
I'm not going to let him have control over me. I refuse to
be subject unto him. I'm going to have it my way.
I'm going to do things my way on my schedule and my time. And
God says, no, you're not. No, you're not. Believers submit. Unbelievers resist. They submit to the truth of what
God has done in salvation. In election. having predestinated
us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ." Now don't lose
that. Ephesians chapter 1, God predestinated,
He chose a particular people according to His will and purpose
before the foundation of the world, but He chose them in Christ. In Christ. according to the good pleasure
of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. And believers say, if I'm going
to belong to God, he's going to have to choose me. I'm not
going to be like Vashti. I'm not going to be like Nebuchadnezzar.
I don't have this. I don't have the right to stand
up to God. I have to come into his presence like Esther, pleading
his mercy and his grace, backing into his presence, if you will,
hoping that he holds out his scepter and he receives me into
his good graces. Believers believe that the God
of glory reigns in redemption. God did not consult us for our
approval or for our participation when he saved his people. He didn't look down through the
quarters of time and think, well, who's going to choose me or believe
upon me and I'll choose them. No. No. The Lord Jesus Christ
Listen to what Peter said in 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 18,
for as much as you know you were not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold. You're not going to redeem yourself
with God by anything that you offer God. Your good works, your
good intentions, your free will, You were not redeemed, you were
not bought with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but
with incorruptible, yea, with the precious blood of Christ
as a lamb that was slain without spot and without blemish. The Lord Jesus Christ all by
himself. Listen to Hebrews chapter 1 verse
3, who being the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person. The Lord Jesus Christ,
everything that we're ever going to know about God, we're going
to be revealed to us in Christ. He's the express image of his
person. and he upholds all things by
the might of his power, when he had by himself purged our
sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Our God reigns in election, our
God reigns in redemption. We dare not stand in rebellion
against him thinking, well, that's not fair. And we dare not try
to add to or take away what the Lord Jesus Christ did when he
by himself purged our sins and redeemed us to God with his precious
blood. Our God reigns. That's what Stephen's
saying to these men. Our God's in control of all things. He's in control of your salvation.
He's in control of your circumstances. And you, and you're responding
against him with rebellion. Our God reigns in regeneration. Paul said, when it pleased God. when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb. In other words, it was God that
brought me into this world. When it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and revealed himself, called me by
his grace and revealed himself in me. It was God's time. when Saul of Tarsus was riding
his high horse of rebellion and independence on the road to Damascus,
that the light of heaven shined down upon him and knocked him
off his high horse into the dirt. And God spoke to him and said,
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who art thou, Lord? I'm Jesus of Nazareth. You're
standing against God. And Saul, it's hard to kick against
the pricks, isn't it? You see, the end of chapter 7
of Acts chapter 7 tells us that there was a young man by the
name of Saul who consented to the stoning of Stephen. And it seems clear to me, drawing
some conclusions between that and when God called him, that
Saul saw the grace of God. He heard the message that Stephen
had preached. And now He's having these goads,
kicking against the prick is a farmer who's got a sharp stick
and he's goading the oxen to move and the oxen in rebellion
does what? He kicks against the goat, only
makes the stick sticking him harder. Just move and you'll
be a lot better off. Saul had been kicking against
the pricks. Spirit of God had been preparing him. For this
moment, but he was still in rebellion against God. Spirit of God been
goading someone here. And then. In rebellion, you've
been kicking against the goads. It's a bad place to be. It's
it's you're not going to. You're not going to win that
battle. We have to be arrested, don't
we? Just like Saul of Tarsus was
arrested. When they come and get you, you
know, you don't have a choice about it. They put you in cuffs
and they arrest you. The difference is when the Lord
arrests you, he sets you free from those cuffs, doesn't he? He takes those who are slave
to their unbelief and rebellion and makes them a slave to Christ. Our God reigns in sanctification.
He's the one who keeps us. He's the one who convicts us.
He's the one who converts us. And by converting us, I don't
mean to be converted in salvation or in regeneration. You remember
when the Lord said to Peter, when Peter said, Lord, they may
deny you, but not me. What was Peter having the same
problem that you and I have? Same problem Nebuchadnezzar had.
Peter thought, I'm better than they are. And one of the lawyers
said, oh, Peter, before the cock crows, you're going to deny me
three times. But when you are converted, teach the brethren. And how many
things we have in 1 and 2 Peter where Peter brings up that experience. Now, the Lord didn't say, when
you become a Christian. He said, when you're changed,
when you're turned. That's what He meant there. And
it's the Spirit of God in our sanctification that convicts
us and keeps turning us. And He's sovereign in that. Lord,
if you don't turn me, I won't be turned. If you don't convict
me of my sin, and if you don't renew me in your grace every
day, if you don't feed me with a fresh supply of bread from
heaven, Lord, I'll just go about my way. Our God reigns in election,
He reigns in redemption, He reigns in regeneration. We didn't decide
when we were going to be saved. He makes us willing in the day
of His power. He stops us on our tracks of
rebellion. He shines the light of the gospel
in our hearts. He reigns in sanctification and
He reigns in glorification. Paul said in 2 Timothy, the time
of my departure is at hand. The time of my departure is at
hand. There is a time set by God. You're not going to change it.
Be as healthy as you can. You'll feel better in this life,
but it's not going to change that day. when God has already
purposed our death. It is appointed by God unto man
once to die. And there's a day of death already
recorded in glory for each one of us, just like there was a
day of our birth, so there's a day of our death. And Paul
said, the time of my departure, and I love that departure. To
depart is to go from one place to another place. He said, I'm
going to die. He said, I'm going to depart.
I'm going to go be with the Lord. The time of my departure is at
hand. The Lord is sovereign in our
salvation. From election to glorification,
he reigns and God's people rejoice in bowing to his sovereign control
over everything relating to their salvation. Now I want to make
another point quickly. Our God reigns over our sins. Now James makes it clear, let
no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God. For
God tempteth no man. Don't blame God for your sin. Neither tempteth he any man,
but we are each tempted when we are drawn away by our own
lust, and when lust is conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin
bringeth forth death. God's people know that they are
fully responsible for every one of their sins. They can't blame
God. They can't blame anybody else.
Lord, it's my sin. It's my rebellion. But here's
the good news, brethren. where sin abounds, grace does
much more bound. Was David responsible for his
sin with Bathsheba and Uriah? You bet he was. David, you've
sinned. You're the man, but God has forgiven
you. And here's the glorious truth,
brethren, we wouldn't have Psalm 51 We wouldn't have had Solomon
without Bathsheba. Bathsheba is in the lineage of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon brought forth Obed and
Obed Jesse and Jesse David. And, and, and, and he's right
there, right there in the lineage of Christ. What was God doing?
He was overriding David's sin to bring into the world, the
Lord Jesus Christ. He did the same thing with Ruth.
Ruth is in the lineage of Christ, that Moabitess. It came back
to Jerusalem and to Bethlehem with Naomi. And she just happed
upon Boaz's field. That's what the scripture says.
She went out gleaning, she was desperate. And the scripture
said she just happed on his field. Was that just a circumstance? Was that just luck? Oh, child
of God, take that word out of your vocabulary. There's no such
thing. There's no such thing. No such
thing as being lucky or being, you know, having good circumstances
or, you know, things just going my way. No, God's in control.
That's what Stephen's preaching. God's in control and he will
override your sin. The wrath of man shall praise
him. And that's not just talking about
the wrath of the world in their riots, that's talking about the
wrath of your rebellion and my rebellion in our sin against
God. He's going to use it for His
glory. Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid! God forbid! How shall he that is dead to
sin live any longer therein? We don't use this truth as an
excuse for sin. But what a glorious hope we know,
to know that God uses everything in this world and everything
in our lives for his glory. That's the God of glory. That's
who Stephen's preaching. This is the God of glory. This
is the God who reigns sovereign over all the armies of the heaven
and all the inhabitants of the earth. And no man can stay his
hand and no man can say unto him, what doest thou? The woman at the well, bless
her heart, been married five times, destroyed her life. I
mean, she was an embarrassment to her community. The Lord said,
I must go through Samaria. And the Lord saved her. She went
down into Sychar and said, come meet a man who told me. We wouldn't
have the story of the woman at the well if she hadn't been such
a, had she hadn't messed up her life so bad. There we are, brethren. We've
messed things up. And God takes our messes and
uses them for his glory. What a great God we have. He's
sovereign in our salvation. He's sovereign in our sin. When the Lord told Isaac that
the older would serve the younger. Jacob was the man of flesh. That's the old nature. You're
born first, according to the flesh. You're born second, according
to the spirit. Isaac is a picture of the promise.
And God said the older Jacob would serve the younger. And
so it is for the child of God. Your flesh serves your new man. When your flesh sins, the separation
that you feel from God causes you to cry out and flee to Christ. Is that not true? You see God's
sovereign over that. He uses that for his glory. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee. What Christ did to put away my
sin. Oh, it drives me in faith. My
my sin reminds me of what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's
Cross. Now look to Christ. Realize there's
hope. There's forgiveness. There's
grace for centers. The God of glory reigns in salvation. He reigns in our sin. He reigns
in our circumstances. Like I said, coincidence, cloud
with a silver lining, power of positive thinking, lucky, those
kind of words don't have any place in our vocabulary. There's no such thing as luck.
Our God reigns. He's sovereign over everything.
And you know, you know, if you're a believer, you know, this is
true. All things work together for good for them that love God
and those that are the called according to his purpose. The God of glory, the God we
worship. the God we serve, the God we
rest in and put all our hope in for our salvation, for our
sin, and for our circumstances. What a great God. If God before
me, who can be against me? Our Heavenly Father, bless your
word to our hearts. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. 268, let's stand together, 268. How firm a foundation, ye Saints
of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word. What more can He say than to
you He hath said, To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled. Fear not, I am with thee, O be
not dismayed, For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand. When through the deep waters
I call thee to go, The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow,
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee
thy deepest distress. When through fiery trials Thy
pathway shall lie, My grace all-sufficient shall be Thy supply. The flame shall not hurt Thee,
thy only design, thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned
for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake.