Thank you, Joy. Don't you wish
she was here every Sunday? We miss you. I want to make a
couple of announcements before we begin. we're going to do the
lord's table a little differently this morning than we have been
doing in the past uh... the men will be going down eats
into the aisle and passing the trades so uh... so if you uh... do not participate that's fine
just take the train pass it on uh... and uh... hopefully a billable
orderly uh... that way Also, I'm sure most of you all
are aware that I will be leaving this evening. Angus Fisher, who
preached for us a few weeks, a few months ago actually, has
asked me to come and preach a conference for them, two different weekends
actually, in Australia. So we leave tonight. Brian and
Jill are going with us, Tricia and Jennifer and Laura Grace.
are going. I think Laura Grace has set up
a blog. I have no idea what that means. But if you want to find
out how to keep up with us, you can ask her about it. But we
covet your prayers. Robert, Michael, and Hugo will
be preaching for you here on Wednesday nights and on the 13th. Next Sunday, the 6th, Todd will
be here. From Lexington will preach for
you next Sunday, and we will return on the 17th If you need
to get in touch with me, please use my email address My phone
won't be working over there, so I I told the man this morning,
we're already looking forward to being back with you. And that's
sincere, we are. We'll be back, Lord willing,
the, what's the third? 20th? The 20th of May, okay? All right, Tom's gonna come lead
us in number six in your hardback teminal. Come thou almighty king. Let's stand together. Number six. ? Come Thou Almighty King ? ? Help
us Thy name to sing ? ? Help us to praise ? ? Father all glorious
? ? O'er all victorious ? ? Come and reign over us ? ? Ancient
of days ? you ? Come thou incarnate word ? ? Heard on thy mighty
sword ? ? Our prayer attend ? ? Come and thy people bless ? ? And
give thy word success ? ? Spirit of holiness on us descend ? Come,
holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear In this glad hour. ? Thou who almighty art, now
rule in every heart ? ? And ne'er from us depart, Spirit of power
? ? To the great one in three ? Eternal praises be ? Hence
evermore ? His sovereign majesty ? May we in glory see ? And to
eternity love and adore Please be seated. Would you open your Bibles with
me to Jeremiah, Chapter 31, please? Jeremiah, Chapter 31. It has become so much clearer
to me over time, and particularly more recently, of how dull of
hearing we can be. How absolutely impossible it
is for us to hear God if He doesn't give us ears to hear. The natural man is unable to
receive the things of the spirit. And I've become more, most aware
of that just by the dullness of my own heart and the attraction
that I have of this world. It's just so... The prophet experienced this
in Jeremiah chapter 31. You have your Bibles open there.
Look at verse 18. I have surely heard Ephraim. Now, Ephraim is used to describe
the church. These are God's people bemoaning
himself. And as I said in the first hour,
if we do bemoan ourselves, it's because God made us to do it.
He's the one that caused us to see our sin. Thou hast chastened
me, and I was chastened as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. The
Lord said, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, come unto
me. Learn of me, take upon you my yoke. My yoke is easy, my
burden is light. We're like a bullock, we're not
accustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned. God, if you don't turn me, I won't turn. If you don't
cause me to look up, I won't look up. For thou art the Lord my God.
Surely, after that I was turned, after that I was returned, I
repented. Now don't miss that. Religion will tell you that you
have to repent first in order for God to turn you. And here
the Lord says after. The prophet says after God turned
me, I repented. My mind was changed about who
I am, about who God is, about how it is that God permits sin.
And after that, After that, I was instructed. I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father, What great hope we have in being
able to approach your throne of grace and call you our father.
Know, Lord, that you are a God who delights in showing mercy. Knowing, Lord, that you have
not left one child behind. Lord, we pray in this hour that
your Holy Spirit would bless your word, open our hearts, open
the windows of heaven, do for us, Lord, what we could never
do for ourselves, turn us that we might be turned, give us the
spirit of repentance, instruct us in the way in which we should
go. We ask it in the name of thy
dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's all stand together once
again and we'll sing the hymn that's on the back of your bulletin. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. ? In Christ obedience clothed
? ? And washed me in his blood ? ? So shall I lift my head with
joy ? ? Among the sons of God ? Thou my sins subdued, Thy sovereign
love make known, The Spirit of my mind renew, And save me in
Thy Son. Let me attest thy power. Let me thy goodness prove. Till my full soul can hold no
more of everlasting love. Please be seated. Adam Cher is
going to bring special music. Dark the stain that soiled man's
nature. Long the distance that he fell. Far removed from hope in heaven. Into deep despair and hell. But there was a fountain open. and the blood of God's own Son
purifies the soul and reaches deeper. Stain has gone. Praise the Lord
for full salvation. God still reigns upon His throne. And I know the blood still reaches
deeper. Stain has gone, conscious of
the deep pollution. Sinners wander in the night. Oh, they hear the shepherd calling. There's still fear to face the
light. It's the blessed consolation
that can melt the heart of stone. That sweet balm of Gilead reaches. Deeper stain has gone. Praise the Lord for full salvation. God still reigns upon its throne. And I know the blood still reaches
deeper. Stain has gone. All unworthy,
we've wandered and our eyes wet with tears as we think of love
that sought us through the weary wasted years yet we've walked
the holy highway walking by God's grace alone knowing Cal Grease
fountain reaches, deeper stain has gone. Praise the Lord, hurtful
salvation, God still reigns upon his throne. And I know the blood
still reaches, deeper stain has gone. When with holy choirs we're
standing In the presence of the King And our souls are lost in
wonder While the white-robed choirs sing Then we'll praise
the name of Jesus With the middle Praise the Lord for full salvation. God still reigns upon his throne. The blood still reaches deeper. Stain has gone. Thank you, Adam. I remember the
first time I heard that hymn. It was a blessing to me then
and a blessing to me now. The Lord said, when I see the
blood, I'll pass by you. As deep as our souls are stained
by our sin, the blood goes deeper than the stain. Will you open
your Bibles with me to Isaiah chapter 66, please? Isaiah chapter
66. It would not be an oversimplification
to say that the conclusion of every Gospel message is in the
command for us to look to Christ. Look to Christ. The Lord said,
And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me. As the
serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, Look, isn't that
what Moses said? Look, you've been bitten by fiery
serpents, you're dying. The serpent of sin is, look and
you shall live. The brazen serpent that was put
on a pole. What a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ bearing our sin on Calvary's cross and suffering the full
wrath of God's justice. And God says, look, look to him. for all your salvation. That's what Adam just sang, full
salvation, his salvation. Behold me, behold me. Now what we saw in Isaiah chapter
65, if you look back just one page of Isaiah chapter 65, I
said behold me, behold me. Look to me. Look to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, I want to make a statement. I don't mean it to be provocative,
but it's true. There is something more important than you looking to Christ. And by more important, I mean
that it must precede you looking to Christ. There's something that has to
happen in order for us to be able to look. And if that doesn't
happen, we'll never look. We'll never look. And if it does
happen, we will look. It's kind of like in Galatians
chapter 4 when Paul said, after that you have known God, and
then it's like The Spirit of God spoke to him and said, or
rather that you are known of God. Are you going to turn now
to the weak and beggarly things of this world? In order for us,
there's something more important than us knowing God. And that's for him to know us.
If he knows us, we'll know him. But he must know us first. We
love him because he first loved us. Now I want you to notice
a phrase in Isaiah chapter 66 about halfway through verse 2. To this man will I look. Here's the title of the message
this morning. To whom does God look? As important as it is that
we look to Him. For all our righteousness, for
all our justification before God, for all the hope of our
salvation, we must set our affections on Him. Something has to happen before
that. And God tells us the description of the man to whom He looks. Sometimes Our experience of looking to
God can involve some subjectivity, can it? We just wonder, have
I really looked? Have I really looked? Here the Lord tells us to whom
he looks. It's very revealing. It divides
the sheep from the goats. It makes me say that that's me.
That's me. You see, if you and I fit the
description of the man to whom he looks, then we can have some
hope that we're looking to him. So what does the man to whom
God looks look like? What's he look like? Do I look
like that man? Notice in verse 1. Thus saith the Lord. Oh, what
authority God's word has. Thus saith the Lord. The heaven
is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house? that you build unto me, and where
is the place of my rest? For all these things have my
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord." What's the point here? God looks to that one who looks
to Him for everything. Man-made religion is based on
man doing something for God. You know why there's no fear
of God in the world? Because the God that most men
worship is not worthy to be feared. He's not worthy to be feared.
He's depending upon me to do something. I've got to make a
decision. I've got to let him have his
way. His hands are tied. He's not sovereign. He's not
omnipotent. Man has set himself up on the
throne of God and he's created in his darkened imagination an
idol that worships him. And what's the Lord saying here?
Well, he's saying the same thing that he said in Psalm 50, when
he said, if I were hungry, I would not tell you. For the earth is
mine and the fullness thereof. I own the cattle on a thousand
hills and I own the hills. Here's the point. God's saying
to you and me, I don't need anything from you. And you need everything from
me. So to whom does God look? The
man who's looking to him for everything. The man who thinks
that he can provide. You remember when Peter in Mark
chapter 10, turn with me to that passage in Mark chapter 10. This is, People always, I talk to people
all the time, well, you know, I'm doing this for God, and I'm
doing that for God. And I'm God's hands, and I'm
God's feet, and I'm God's this, and I'm God's that. I'm serving
God. As if God needs me. I heard a man say one time there
were four preachers flying together down to Mexico. And one of them mistakenly said,
well, we know this plane's not going to crash. And one of the preachers thought,
well, I knew right then it was going to crash. You know, to
think God needs four preachers and he's going to keep a plane
from crashing because... Look what Peter said in Mark
chapter 10 at verse 28. Then Peter began to say unto
him, Lo, we have left all and followed thee. You know what
Peter's saying, Lord, we've given up everything for you. What's
in it for us? That's what he's saying. And that example I just
gave about the preachers, I was a gospel preacher that made those
statements both ways. You know, we just get this, well,
God needs us. No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't. God's gonna accomplish his purpose
with or without each and every one of us. He doesn't need a
thing from you. That's what I am means. When God first gave us his name
at the burning bush, when Moses said, whom should I say sent
me, tell them I am. I am the self-existent one. I am complete within myself. I am not dependent upon anything
or anybody. I'm not contingent. I'm not derived. I don't need anything. I'm self-existent. And I've always been and I am.
You know, people think God got lonely one day and decided to
create man. God never had a beginning. He
was complete within himself before man was ever... before the angels
were created. That's God and that's what he's
saying. You gonna build a house for me? You gonna feed me? You gonna do something for me?
No. No. So Peter said, Lord we've left
everything for you. We've served you with all of
our heart. What's in it for us? And look what the Lord says to
Peter in verse 29. And Jesus answered and said,
Verily, truly, Peter, I say unto you, there is no man that hath
left house, or brethren, or sister, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands for my sake and the gospels, but he
shall receive a hundredfold now in this time. houses and brethren
and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecution and
in the world to come, eternal life. Peter, you think you've left
your job, you've left your family for me. And I've given you a
hundredfold. I've given you a hundredfold
and I've given you eternal life. Yeah, it's going to involve some
persecution. That's going to be a blessing from me too. Peter,
I'm not depending upon you. I'm not obligated to you. You're not going to do something
to make me. What you're receiving from me
is a hundred times more than anything that you're able to
do. And that's the way it is. The Lord calls us out of darkness
into his marvelous light. Oftentimes it causes rifts in
our families, doesn't it? But oh, the family that we inherit,
the brothers and the sisters that we have in Christ are so
much dearer, so much more precious. And we can go anywhere. We're
going to Australia today and we're going to be meeting with
brethren over there and just received into their homes more
warmly than any of my lost family would ever be able to receive
me. And the Lord says, Peter, you're
not going to obligate me. I've given you so much, so much
more. So to whom does the Lord look? The one who is looking to Him
for everything. Are you dependent upon God for
your very next breath? Do you realize that everything
you enjoy in this world came from the hand of God? Are you
most importantly dependent upon Him for the new birth? for spiritual
lives, for faith, for the conversion of the Holy Spirit, for repentance,
everything, everything. To whom does God look? Those that look to Him for everything. Lord, all the hope of my justification
If I'm going to have my sin put away, if I'm going to have your
holy law satisfied, I'm depending upon you for that. I can't keep
your law. I can't put away my sin. I can't
sacrifice enough. I can't shed enough blood. I
can't spend eternity in hell to satisfy the justice of God
for my sin. That's why hell is an eternal
existence. Because a man who goes to hell
will never be able to satisfy God's justice for all eternity. There's only one person who ever
did that. There's only one man who was
ever able to present his blood and his life to his father and
satisfy the demands of God's holy justice for the sins of
his people. He bore our sins in His body
upon that tree, didn't He? Lord, I know You don't need anything
from me. See, in religion, well, if you repent, if you repent
and have faith, isn't that what they say? If you believe, it's
all up to you now. God's done His part. You got
to do your part. If you believe, then God will
save you. as if God needs you to exercise your faith in order
for Him to be able to... I ask you, does God want to save
everybody? Yeah, He wants to save everybody,
but He's giving everybody a free will. Faith is not the cause of our
salvation. It is the result of it. Oh, if the Lord ever teaches
us that. Turn me, O Lord, and I shall be turned. Give me faith,
and I'll have faith. Cause me to repent, and I'll
repent. God's not waiting on us to give
Him something in order for Him to be able to have His way in
our life. That's the man to whom God doesn't look. And God's not
looking at a lot of folks. because they believe God to be
dependent upon something they have to do in order for God to
get his way. And the Lord says, where's the
house that you're gonna build for me? Heaven is my throne. If I were hungry, I wouldn't
tell you. I am, I am. You need everything from me and
I need nothing from you. Nothing. Do you believe that? Later on in Mark chapter 10,
the Lord said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
heaven. And Peter said, Lord, then who can be saved? Who can
be saved? And what did the Lord say? With
man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Yeah, God can get a camel through the eye of a needle. And that's
exactly what he does when he saves a sinner. The sinner's
not going to be saved God's way. He's going to believe that he's
got to bring something to the table. He's got to make some
contribution. And the man to whom God looks
says, Lord, you're going to have to do it all. You're going to
have to do it all. I'm dependent upon you for everything.
I'm dependent upon you to open up the eyes of my understanding,
to unstop my ears, to give me faith, to cause me to come, to
give me repentance, to satisfy the demands of your law, to put
away my sin. I'm dependent upon you for everything.
Everything. How about you? Does that describe
your status before God? Does it? If it does, that's different
than the rest of the world. If that's your status before
God, if that's what you believe about yourself, then you can
have some hope in believing that God is looking upon you in favor
and in grace. What else does the scripture
say about the man to whom God looks? Well, look at the rest
of verse two. Even to him that is poor. Now, in the world, poverty doesn't
get much of our attention, does it? I mean, we, most of us, I
do. I pull up to a red light and
there's a The guy standing on the side of the road there asking
for a handout, I generally don't even look. Don't even look at
him. You know, we divert our eyes
from poverty and from that sort of thing. And yet, we look at
those things that are expensive and beautiful, don't we? We have
lots of cars passing on the road. We see a really expensive one.
Look at that. Look at that. God says my ways are not your
ways. As the heavens are high above
the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts. I don't
look at that what you look at. Now, I'm not suggesting that
we do more for the poor. God gives you an opportunity,
a burden to help somebody out, do it. Here's what I'm saying. You are the poor. This word poor means poverty
stricken. It means abject poverty. It means
you don't have anything. You can't rub two pennies together. You've got nothing. You see,
it goes back to the same thing we saw. To whom does God look?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Are you poverty stricken before
God? Lord, I don't have anything. I can't present you anything
to earn your favor. I wouldn't know anything unless
you taught me. And it seems like the things that you do teach
me are just right on the edge, ready to be forgotten at any
moment. Lord, if you don't keep them
forward in my mind, I'll let them go. I'll get caught up with
something else. I can't do anything. I don't
know anything. I don't have anything. Lord, I'm poor. God says, that's the man God
looks at. He's not like us, measuring the
abundance of a man's material possessions to find out what
his worth or his status or his importance is in this world.
No, he looks on the poor, the beggar. He doesn't say, what do you have
for me? You remember what the Lord said in Revelation about
the church at Laodicea? Here's what he said. You say
that you are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing. Do you not know that you are
miserable and poor and blind and naked? Do you not know that? So God doesn't look at the abundance
of our wealth. I'm not talking about material
wealth, I'm talking about spiritual wealth. People think they've
got something to give God. No, He sets His gaze on the poor
and the needy. That's who the gospel's for.
It's for the person who's got nothing. What else does the Lord described
this man as, does this describe you? God doesn't need me, I need
him. I can't provide for him, I'm
poor. I'm naked, I'm blind, I'm miserable. I'm sinful. What else does he say? Look at
verse two. Even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit." Now
that word contrite means to be smitten or stricken. You see, being poor is not something
you decide you're going to do. It's a work of grace, isn't it?
And having a contrite spirit is being smitten by the Spirit
of God. It's being stricken by Him. The
Lord said, it's expedient for you that I go away, for if I
go not away, the Comforter will not come. But when he comes,
when he comes, what's he going to do? He's going to convict
the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because
they believe not on me, of righteousness because I go to my Father. and
of judgment because the prince of this world has been judged.
That's the smiting of the spirit of God that causes a contrite
heart. What did David say in Psalm 51?
He said, he said, if, if sacrifice and offerings of what you want,
I would give them. What is the sacrifices of God?
A broken spirit and a contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not
despise that. You see, we've got to be smitten
by the Spirit of God, causing us to realize that the root cause
of all of our problems and all of our sin is unbelief. Unbelief. What does the child of God say?
He says the same thing that man said about his... He said, Lord,
I do believe. Oh, help thou mine unbelief.
I'm so full of unbelief. You see, that's the difference
between what distinguishes the Lord Jesus Christ from you and
me. He had perfect faith all the time, with all of his heart. He believed God. To his dying
breath, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. You and
I, we've never been able to believe God perfectly. We're carrying
around all this old unbelief, aren't we? Doubts and fears.
And the Lord says, when the Spirit of God comes, he's going to convict
the world of sin because they believe not on me. They're going
to realize that they can't escape this sin problem they have because
they're full of unbelief, of righteousness because I go to
my Father. They're going to realize that
the only hope of righteousness that they have in the presence
of a holy God is the Lord Jesus Christ. who is their advocate,
who is seated at the right hand of God, whoever lives to make
intercession for them and presents himself for all their righteousness.
Do you have a contrite spirit? Has the Spirit of God smitten
you? Has He stricken you and caused you to realize that your
problem is your unbelief and that all your righteousness is
bound up in Christ? that your righteousnesses are
as filthy rags before God. That's all the Bible says about
our righteousnesses, doesn't it? The prince of this world has
been judged. Sin's been put away. Grave's been conquered. The Lord
Jesus Christ was successful in accomplishing the salvation of
all of those he came to live and die for. He's not offering
salvation. He's not trying to make it happen. He's already made it happen.
When he said it is finished, it was finished. Everything that
God required for every one of God's elect was accomplished
in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what
it means to have a contrite heart. Been smitten by the spirit of
God. Listen to what David said in Psalm 34. The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such that are
of a contrite spirit. Remember old Mephibosheth? Mephibosheth brought before the
king and what did Mephibosheth say? Why would the king have
such to do with such a dead dog as I? He had a contrite heart. He knew he wasn't worthy. He
knew he was deserving of death. Man just doesn't have any idea
how lame he is until the Spirit of God makes him tremble at God's
Word. You see that? Trembles at God's
Word. Why would God look on one who
has a contrite heart? Well, if you go back to the very
beginning and read the book of Genesis, the very first chapter,
the seven days of creation, and at the end of each day, the first
six days at least, at the end of each, the first six days,
and God said it is good. And then at the end of the sixth
day after He created man, the scripture says, and behold, God
looked and saw that it was all good. If you do something, you spend
a lot of time and energy building something or making something
or whatever it is, writing something, you want to just step back and
look at it for a minute, don't you? You know, I can take some
pride in doing a good job on that. Why does God look at one who's
poor and has a contrite spirit and tremble if at his word? Why
does God look at such a man? He's just looking at what he
made. He's looking at what he created.
He's looking at it in the same way he looked at the physical
creation and he's saying, it's good. It's good. They didn't do that. They wouldn't
have been that way had I not put it in their hearts. And God
looks at this man because God is looking at what he made. He's
not looking at what we made and saying, boy, you did a good job. He's looking at that new creation
of life that He put in the heart. Because the natural man is not
going to believe that he's got nothing to offer God. The natural
man is not going to believe that he's poor. The natural man is
not going to have a contrite spirit. And the natural man is
not going to tremble at God's Word. You see, that's the next
thing. What does it mean to tremble at God's Word? Well, we look
at the commands of God's Word and we tremble at our inability
to fulfill any of it. Lord, I can't. Your law shuts
my mouth. I can't keep any of it. And the
trembling at your inability is what causes us to look to Christ,
doesn't it? And our inability is made clear
when the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself. That's why when we preach,
we preach Christ. What did Isaiah see in Isaiah
chapter 6? In the day that Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord. And he was high and lifted up.
And what did Isaiah say? Oh, woe is me. I'm undone. I'm
a man of unclean lips. My eyes have seen the King. I'm
dead. He was trembling at the Word of God. Men don't tremble
at the Word of God. Men don't fear God. Why should
they? Why should they? The God they
imagine to exist ought to be worshiping them. Well, He is. They create a God that needs
them for something. When God speaks, when God speaks, it's clear.
I have people all the time say, well, that's your interpretation.
Well, what do you think it means? God doesn't speak with ambiguity
or confusion. His word is clear. His word is
clear. Paul said, I fear lest as Eve
was beguiled of Satan, that you might be drawn away from that
simplicity which is in Christ. You see, all these points are
the same, really, aren't they? All these points are the same. Believing that God is the glorious,
great I AM, independent on anything from us, believing that we're
poor, At being made of a contrite spirit and trembling at God's
Word, who does God look to? He's looking at the one who's
looking to Christ. That's who He's looking at. We tremble at God's Word. We tremble at the glory. of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we tremble at God's holiness. We bow in
worship, kissing the hand of God. Agreeing with that Syrophoenician
woman, truth Lord, I am a dog. Lord, the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from the children's table. Would you just give me
a few crumbs of your grace? Lord, we're just, we tremble
in the presence of a holy God. Why are we trembling? Because
we're completely dependent upon Him for everything. God's Word is clear. Religious people are kind of
like college students. I was a college student once,
so I know a little bit about this. They're emboldened to speak because
they think they have some knowledge when in truth they don't know
anything. Isn't that true? You just want to listen to a
fool just listen to a college student spew the things they
just learned in college. They don't know a thing. Religious
people are like that. They talk about this and that.
They twist the word of God. They confuse things. You know
what ought to be on the front door of every college? Silence
is golden. Keep your mouth shut until you
know something. The message of the Bible is the
Lord Jesus Christ. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me. A man doesn't know Christ, he
doesn't know the gospel, he ought not to speak. Y'all not speak. Here's a story in the Old Testament
where Abner, who was the captain of Saul's army, Saul was that
king, that they weren't satisfied with the safety that God gave
them. They wanted a king, so they got
a king. And Abner realized that God had
taken his hand off of Saul and put it on David. And David was
exiled, but Abner went to David and said, I'll make a league
with you, and I'll bring over Saul's army to your side. And
David made this statement. David said, I'll make a league
with you. A league is a promise, a covenant. So David says, I'll
make a covenant with you, Abner, but one thing I require of thee. One thing I require of thee.
My wife's been stolen from me. Michael was David's wife. Saul
had given Michael to David. But then when David was exiled,
Saul took his daughter back and gave her to another man. And
David said, one thing I require of thee, bring me my wife. Then I'll make a covenant with
you. One thing was required of the
Lord Jesus Christ when he came into this world, and that was
to bring his wife to glory. And when he ascended back into
glory, he took with him the names of those for whom he lived and
died, and he presented his bride to his father. And God said,
the league, the covenant is sure, it's sure, ordered in all things,
my son, has brought his bride back to glory. So that we are
in the heavenlies in Christ right now. Now that's what the Bible's
about. That's what it's about. And we
tremble at the word of God because we glory in the fact that God
redeemed successfully his bride and took them back to glory all
by himself. We tremble at that. You see,
the religious man who doesn't tremble at God's Word prides
himself in believing that he did what was necessary in order
to make what Jesus did work for him. But we tremble. We tremble at
the Word of God. Lord, I'm completely dependent
upon You for everything. I'm poor. I'm of a contrite spirit. You've smitten me. You've caused
me to realize that I've got so much unbelief. You've caused
me to look to Christ for all my righteousness. You've comforted
me in believing that the prince of this world, Satan, has been
defeated. You see, God's bride was given
to Him in the covenant of grace before the world ever began.
The Lamb's Book of Life, that's the Bride of Christ. And she
was stolen. She was stolen by Satan in the
Garden. And Christ came to restore His
Bride. One thing I require of Thee,
bring me my wife. We tremble at God's Word because
God's Word is authoritative. I was talking to somebody yesterday
and they said, well, you know, talking about a person who said, you
know, we just don't know if God's Word's true. And I know a lot
of people believe that. You know, well, it contains the
Word of God, but it's not. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
instruction, and righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly
furnished unto all good works. No scripture is given by private
interpretation. And no scripture can be interpreted
by private interpretation. You see, it's not my place to
convince anybody that this is the Word of God. That's God's
place. I'm just telling you it is. I'm
telling you it is. And if God convinces you it is,
you'll believe every word of it. People say, well, how much
of the Bible do you have to believe to be a believer? Every bit of
it. Every bit of it. Every word of it. Understand
it all? No. Believe it? Yeah. This is the Word of God. Paul said there's one question
that settles all controversy. What saith the scriptures? We tremble at God's Word because
we know it's true. We know it's faithful. And let
me say this, the only authority, the only authority that any gospel
preacher has is the authority based on this book. to be able to say, thus saith
the Lord. This is what God says. God gives you the grace to believe
it, believe it. But all I can do is say, thus
saith the Lord. There's a lot of men who call
themselves gospel preachers that abuse their authority. And they subject men to their
authority. And they say, well, you know,
we're the elders and you've got to submit to our authority and
you've got to do this and you've got to do that. I have no authority,
no authority whatsoever over you except for what God gives
me in his word. And that authority is, thus saith
the Lord. That's what God says. Why does God look? on those who know they can give
God nothing, those who are poor, those who are of a contrite spirit,
those who tremble at His Word. Because when God looks at that,
He looks at what He made, and He says, it's good. It's good. He's glorying in Himself. That's what He's doing, glorying
in Himself. And as God, you and I glory in
ourselves, that's sinful, isn't it? God glories in himself, that's
the right thing for God to do. He's worthy of that glory, isn't
he? Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would speak volumes more to our hearts than what
we've been able to say in words, and how hopeful and thankful
we are that you are able. You are able. to save to the
uttermost those who come unto thee by thy Son. O Lord, look unto us. Be merciful to us for Christ's
sake. We pray that you'd be pleased
now to bless this table, to give us faith to believe that the
bread is symbolic of that sinless life of Christ and the blood,
the wine is his shed blood. Speak to our hearts by this ordinance
that you've given us to observe. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. And ask the men if they'll come.
Number 17 and the spiral hymnal. See the table spread before you
see the feast of bread and wine These are symbols of our savior
tokens of his love divine Bread that's broken is his body, crushed
beneath the wrath of God. Wine poured out is a reminder
of our Savior's precious blood. Children of our God, remember
how he bought your soul and mine. In remembrance of our Savior,
eat the bread and drink the wine. Jesus came the God incarnate
to fulfill God's holy law. On the cross he made atonement
and retrieved us from the fall. Let us never forget the promise
Jesus made to soon he comes our king to call
us home to glory praise his name with this hope and expectation
we rejoice to keep this beast ? Celebrating our redemption
? Till we lean on Jesus' breast ? and and Gospel is too simple for most
people. Did you read ahead in our text
in Isaiah 66 verse 3? He that killeth an ox as if he
slew a man, and he that sacrifices a lamb as if he cut off a dog's
neck, and he that offer an oblation as if he offered swine's blood,
he that burneth incense as if he blessed an idol, yea, they
have chosen their own ways and their soul delights in their
abominations." Now, there cannot be a clearer description of man-made
religion. men offering to God something
in hopes that He'll save them for it. And God says, it's an
abomination to me. I'm satisfied with one, and that's
my son. Are we satisfied with the one
whom God is satisfied with? If we're looking to Him, we have
hope in knowing that He's looking to us. What are we looking to Christ
for? His righteousness, His life is the only life that God's pleased
with. He's not pleased with your life. He's not pleased with my
life. He's pleased with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
pleased with the spirit of faith that He's put in our hearts.
There's no question about that. God's looking to the life of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we take this bread,
we're saying that the sinless life of Christ is all my righteousness
before God. That's why the Lord said, do
this in remembrance of me. Sin had to be put away. All the
way back there in the garden, what did God say to Adam? In
the day in which you sin, you shall surely die. Without the
shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. But your blood
and my blood will never put away our sins. No matter how many
sacrifices we make, God requires perfect blood. So the Lord said,
this is the blood of the new covenant. As often as you do
this, do it in remembrance of me. And all God's people said, amen,
amen. We're going to miss you all.
We'll see you in a few weeks, a couple of weeks, two or three
weeks. Robert, would you dismiss us, please, in prayer? Let's
stand together. Father, we come before you this morning, Father,
praising your name for doing all things well, Father. You've
done everything we could ever do for ourselves. You brought
us here together, Father, in a gospel church. You opened our
ears to the truth. Thank You for raising us from
the deadness of sin, and You've given us a preacher, Father,
to keep us in His presence. We ask, Father, You'd be with
Greg and Tricia and their family as they go overseas. You'll watch
over them carefully, Father, and bring them back safely, because
You know we love them, Father, and we need them. Thank You,
Father, for