so so All for me, Christ, then surrender,
all for me, Come to me, my blessed Saviour,
please surrender to me. Coming from His throne in heaven,
Jesus made His way. Forgive, O man, in Christ day's
glory apply. Be surrendered, O man, in Christ
day's glory apply. ? In to death Christ's name ? ?
Surrender even death upon a cross ? ? All to save the worst offender
mine ? ? The gain is all our lot ? ? We surrender all our
life to thee ? the Father's pleasure prospered
well in Jesus' hand. Now he's honored with a measure
so the Father's will demand. He surrendered all I'm so thankful that We don't sing that song like
we used to. When we do all we can do, we
are but unprofitable servants. It's His service, His service
to the Father, His service to the people, to His people, that
we have the hope of our salvation. When we first started this church
18 years ago, Brother Maurice Montgomery preached one of our
first meetings that we had. Maurice's health is not good
and not able to preach anymore. David Edmondson was in that church
18 years ago, I assume, David. and is now pastoring the church
in Madisonville, Kentucky. And David and Teresa drove all
day yesterday, long way to be here with us. David, thank you,
brother. I look forward to hearing what the Lord has for us. Thank
you. Well, it was worth the drive.
I smelt that, Mike. Smelt that. Wish you hadn't brought
up the car door thing, though. Does God have the right? That's
a good question. Does God have the right? Turn with me to Romans chapter
9. know this passage of scripture
so well. Let's look at it again tonight
and keep that question in mind. Does God have the right? In verse 13 of Romans chapter
9, it says, as it is written. When we read that we might as
well just say God says. God said, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau I have hated. Does God have the right? Does God have the right to love
one and hate another? Surprisingly there are many who
would say that he doesn't. In verse 14, Paul asked this
question, what shall we say then? What are men and women going
to say about God's sovereign right to save one and hate another? I hear folks say it and so have
you. Men and women who don't know
God. are gonna, most every time, say,
well that's not fair. It's not fair. And Paul, anticipating
their objection, he asked a very direct question. Look at it with
me. He said, is there unrighteousness
with God? Is there unrighteousness with
God. Is it wrong for God to love one
and not another? That's the same question I'm
asking you. Does God have the right? Does God have the right? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is there injustice with God? We get a good idea of what that
word unrighteousness means by just looking at the word. Unright
is God wrong and loving one and hating another. Does God have
the right to do that? Other times when the word unrighteousness
is used in scripture. In other places it's translated
unjust. Same Greek word, unjust. Iniquity,
wrong. Is God unjust in loving some
and hating others? Does God work iniquity? Does
God sin when he chooses to love one and passes by another. Is there unrighteousness with
God? It's easy enough for men and
women, because they don't know Him, to say that's not fair. So is God wrong to love Jacob
and hate Esau? Well, Paul answers that question
without any hesitation. God forbid. God forbid. No way. It's not possible. God is too holy to sin. He's too righteous to be wrong. He's too just to be unfair. He is right, He does right, and
He has the right. can possess no unrighteousness
and still be God? Now, in verse 15, God said to
Moses, He said, I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and
I'll have compassion on whom I will have compassion. God said
I will have mercy, notice those words, on whom, on whom. That word whom is a pronoun.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. And in context
of these verses, God is saying, I will have mercy on Jacob. I'll have compassion on whom? I will. God has the right. He has the right. He has the
prerogative. the right to love Jacob and hate
Esau. He has the right to have mercy
on whomever he will have mercy. Is that your God? Is that your God? He's entitled
as God. The clarification here is on
whom I will. The amazing thing to me is that
he'd have mercy on anybody. And anyone who endeavors to strip
God of his right is attempting to strip him of his glory. This
is God's glory. He's got the right to do whatever
he pleases. They asked David, they said,
where's your God? He said, my God's in the heavens. And he's
done whatsoever he hath pleased. And God gets all the glory. You
remember in Exodus chapter 33, Moses beseeched the Lord. He
said, show me your glory. Show me your glory. And God said,
okay Moses, I'll make my goodness pass before you. I'll proclaim
the name of the Lord before you. This is the proclamation of my
glory. And what did God say? This is
His glory now. He said, I'll be gracious to
whom I'll be gracious. That's His glory. I'll show mercy
on whom I'll show mercy. And in that, God gets all the
glory. Is that your God? Well, now preacher, there you
go again What about man's will? You're leaving out man's will
and man's work as a factor in this thing. No, I'm not. God did. God left it out. There's no glory given to God
in our will, is there? You will not come to me that
you might have God. What glory is in that? You will
not come to me. No glory given to God in our
work. And that's exactly what Paul
says here in verse 16. He says, So then, it's not of
him that willeth. Is that what your Bible says?
It's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. No glory
in man's will or work. Here's the glory. but of God
that showeth mercy." That's God's glory. It's Him that showeth mercy.
Isn't that what David said in Psalm 115? He said, not unto
us. And then he repeats it. Not unto
us. Not unto him that willeth. Not
unto him that runneth. No, no, no. but unto thy name
give glory." Why? He said, for thy mercy and thy
truth's sake. That's God's glory. He has mercy
on whom he will have mercy. Our God's in the heavens. He's
done whatsoever He has pleased. God has the right. He's got the
right to do whatever He pleases. Is that your God? Well, who else can confirm these
things from the scripture? It's as though Paul says, well
if you insist, won't you ask old Pharaoh? Why don't you ask
Pharaoh if these things be so? Pharaoh, does God have the right
to do what he pleases to do? Verse 17. For the scripture sayeth, again
God sayeth, unto Pharaoh even for this same purpose have I
raised thee up. Why? That I might show my power
in thee. And that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Now can you picture Pharaoh,
he's sitting on the throne of Egyptian power and he's ruling
and he's reigning over God's people. Isn't he? He's Pharaoh. Build this for me. I'm Pharaoh and they built it. How did Pharaoh reach such heights
of power? Who put Pharaoh on the throne? Who gave him all this power? God did. Didn't He? God has the right to give and
to take away. That's what Job said. Job lost
everything he had in a matter of a day. The scripture says,
when you read it, it's amazing. He said, as soon as one man came
and finished talking, here came another one, telling me he lost
his children, all his life. He lost everything. What did
he say? You remember what he said? The
Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. That's God. Is that your God? God said, even for this same
purpose I've raised thee up, what purpose that I might show
my power. He might show all the world that
He, as God, has the right to do what He will. He has the right
to kill and to make alive. He has the right to bring down
to the grave and raise up from the dead. He has the right to
make poor and make rich. He has the right to bring the
mighty Pharaoh down into the dust. and at the same time he
has the right to lift the beggar out of the dunghill and set him
among princes. God has the right. The pillars
of the earth are the Lord's and he has set the world upon them. The Lord raised up Pharaoh. The
Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. The Lord destroyed Pharaoh. Why? God tells us right there
in verse 17, so that His name and the testimony of Him might
be declared where? Throughout all the earth. You
remember when Joshua sent the spies out into Jericho and they
just accidentally wound up in Rahab's house, didn't they? No,
no, no. That's what folks might tell
you. Rahab was lucky and so were they. No, no, no. And Rahab, she knew some things,
didn't she? How did she know? You remember
what she said? She said, we've heard. We've
heard how your God dried up the Red Sea. We heard. You read it sometime in Joshua.
I believe it's chapter 2. We've heard. We heard what your
God did to those two kings. We heard. Verse 18, Therefore he hath mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hearteneth. And with that conclusion, friends,
the heathen still rage, and people imagine vain things. Paul anticipates again their
opposition to God's right as God. In verse 19 he says, Thou
wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Again, Preacher Paul, you say
God loves whom He wills. You say God loves one and hates
another. You say God has mercy on some
and He passes others by. You preach that He gives some
new hearts and hardens the hearts of others. You claim that it's
God's prerogative. You say that God has the right
to do so. If He does, then tell me why
does He and how could He find fault with anyone for who has
resisted His will." If God has the right to do whatever
He pleases, whenever He pleases, wherever He pleases, to whomever
He pleases, then how can He find fault? And why does He find fault? People still ask that question. I've had men tell me, you're
God's my devil. You better get ready to deal
with the devil then. What's Paul's answer? You know
what Paul said? He said it without saying it.
He said, God has a right not to answer that. God has a right
not to answer that. He's God. He has the right not
to answer. Verse 20, Nay, but, O man, who
art thou that replies against God? Who and what are you? God need
not give you an account. You don't have to explain His
actions to you. Who are you to question God?
Shall the thing formed So the thing formed. Say to him that
formed it, why hast thou made me thus? I recently read a story about
a man in his thirties, maybe older, old enough to know better,
but he murdered his wealthy father. You may have seen this in the
news. Because his father cut back on his allowance and quit
paying for his luxury apartment. His father was wealthy. And when
asked why he did such a thing, his answer was, in so many words,
it was his fault. He made me that way. He took
away from me what he'd always given me. It's his fault. Friends, we live in a world,
oh my, we live in a world where so many men and women think that
they're entitled entitled to something, entitled to everything. And it's really, it's nothing
new. It's been going on ever since sin entered into this world. We saw it in Cain, didn't we?
God required a blood sacrifice, but Cain didn't care. And what
did he do? He thought he was special. He
brought an offering of the best that he had. the best work of
his own hands, thinking he deserved and merited God's favor by something
he did. And God rejected it. A blood sacrifice is required.
Blood sacrifice. He didn't think it was fair. He didn't think it was fair.
And even afterwards, in mercy and in long-suffering, God asked
him, He said, why are you so angry? Why are you frowning so? Why has your countenance fallen
so? He said, if you do well, if you
do as I require, you shall be accepted. God has a right to require, doesn't
He? He has a right to require what
He wills from His creation. But Cain went away angry. He
thought he deserved better than that. Oh, we live in an entitled
world. Men are entitled to this, entitled
to that. But what happened to Cain? God
left him alone. He left him to himself. That's the most horrific, terrifying
thought to me that God would leave us to ourselves. Lord,
don't leave us to ourselves. Don't leave me to myself. But
God left Cain to himself. God has the right to do that.
He's got the right to leave men to themselves. Oh, don't leave me to myself.
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it? Why hast
thou made me thus? To illustrate God's right to
do what he will, Paul reminds us of when he took Jeremiah down
to the potter's house in Jeremiah chapter 18. I love that passage
of scripture, don't you? But Paul here says, hath not
the potter power over the clay and of the same lump to make,
verse 21, one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Hath
not the potter power over the clay? Because he had the power to make
one vessel into honor and another one into dishonor. God told Jeremiah, he said, arise,
let's go down to the potter's house. And he said, there I'll
cause thee to hear my words. And Jeremiah did what God said.
And he went down to the potter's house. And what did he see? The
first thing he saw was the potter doing the work on the wheel. The potter was doing the work
on the wheel. He saw the potter forming and fashioning the clay. Isn't that right? Was the clay forming and fashioning
itself? That's what Minotelia is going
on today. That's what you do. Well, you
straighten up and you fly right. Maybe you can be saved that way. And the vessel that he made of
clay, it says, was marred in the hand of the potter. So he
made another vessel. And then the Word of God says
this. I love this. It says, It seemed good to the
potter to make it. It seemed good to the potter
to make it. That's how he made it. It seemed good to him. Had
not the potter the right? That's our question, isn't it?
Does God have the right? Does not the potter have the
right? Does not the potter have power
over the clay? If he so chooses, can he not
make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? Yes, he
can. He's the sovereign potter and he has the right as God. to do as it seems good for Him
to do. God asked you and I this question
as He asked Jeremiah. He says, Can I not do with you? God's asking you this question.
Can I not do with you as this potter? Behold, as the
clay is in the potter's hands, so are you in mine." It's God's sovereign right to
do what He will with His own. Is that your God? You remember the parable in Matthew
chapter 20 of the Lord of the Vineyard. He went out to hire
some laborers. He went out at six o'clock in
the morning, and he hired some laborers, and they agreed upon
what he'd pay them for a day's work. It was a penny. They agreed
on their pay. They shook hands, and then about
nine o'clock, the master of the vineyard saw other standing idle
in the marketplace, and he hired them also, and he said this to
them. He said, whatever is right, I'll give you." He's going to
do what's right. Whatever's right, I'll give you. Then at noon, and then again
at three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. Then at about
five o'clock, just about an hour before quitting time, he hired
others. And he told them also the same
thing. He said, whatever is right, that you will receive. Do you
hear that? whatever is right, that you will
receive." And at the end of the day, the Lord of the Vineyard
called forth those that He had hired, and He gave the last ones
that He hired, the ones that came in at five o'clock, He gave
them a penny. It seemed right for Him to do
so. It was His penny. It's His money. But when the ones that he hired
first came, the scripture says they supposed, got a lot of folks
supposing today, don't they? A lot of folks supposing today.
That they should have received more. But they too received a
penny and they murmured against the good men of the house. We're entitled to more. We're
entitled to more. I found their response very interesting. You look at it sometime, Matthew
20. They said, those that worked
one hour, they said, you have made them equal to us. You've made them equal to us.
God has the right to do that. God has the right. They said,
we bore the burden in the heat of the day. You're doing us wrong. You're doing us wrong. We deserve
more. That's unfair. That's unfair. And the master told them, he
said, friend, I'm not doing you any wrong. I'm not doing you
any wrong. Did you not agree with me for
a penny? Take your pay and go. You know what comes to my mind?
Lord, Lord, haven't we done? Haven't we? Haven't we? Haven't
we? Take your pay and go. Get what
you deserve. God has the right to do so. But he said these words. You
know them well. Is it not lawful? Is it not right? for me to do what I will with
mine own. It's His. He can do what He wants
to with it. And men say, that's not fair. Yes, it is. It's His. And it's lawful for Him to do
what He will with His own. He has the right to do what He
wills with what belongs to Him. Is there unrighteousness with
God? Paul said, God forbid, God forbid. God has the right because
God is right. I heard Brother Todd saying a
message recently. He said, God doesn't do something
because it's right. It's right because God does it.
Isn't that right? God is right. God has the right. So let me ask you in closing,
how just and right is God? So much so that He cannot and
He will not by any means clear the guilty. He's too right. He cannot clear the guilt. His
own holy justice will not allow him to do so. He must punish
sin. He's bound by his own strict
justice. There's nothing, absolutely nothing
unrighteous about God. Because of that he's bound by
his own unbending law and strict justice and therefore the soul
that sinneth it shall die god is right god is just but
thank god he's also justifier he's justifier oh my he's a just
god and a savior That's our gospel, isn't it? How can God be both just and
justifier? Well, only one way. He died the
just for the unjust. God did. It was God that died. I remember Brother Cody Groover
telling me one time that a young girl there in Mexico came to
him and said that she wanted to be baptized. Being a young
girl that she was, he asked her, I thought very wisely, he said,
why do you want to be baptized? And she said this, because I've
seen that Jesus Christ is God. Man, what an answer. Put her in the water right now,
she's seen something. Don't you wish everybody could
see that? Jesus Christ is God. How can
He be both just and justifier? Well, you know how. Those of
you that know Him do. He that knew no sin was made
to be sin. Made to be sin. Made sin. To be is italicized. That's not
even in the Bible. Made sin. His people, those that
He loves, those that He showed mercy on, those that He has compassion
on. By the sacrifice of Himself,
He took His people's sin upon Himself and He died the horrific,
shameful death of the cross that I should have died, that you
should have died. Now let me ask you a question. I'd like to ask every unbelieving
skeptic that Paul addresses in Romans chapter 9. Is that fair? Is that fair? He died just for
the unjust. Is that fair? Friends, fair has
nothing to do with it. Fair doesn't have It doesn't
have to be fair, what men call fair. We don't know anything
about fair, but God has to be just. God has to be right. He has to be. He's God. To those of you who are yet without
Christ, I ask you, does God have the
right to do what He wills with you? It's a very, very important question. I hope you ask yourself that
question. Does God have the right to do what He wills with you? Well, as God, He's always had
that right. And as a man, the God-man, He
earned that right. And in the end, there will only
be two kinds of people. The saved who said to God, Thy
will be done. And the lost to whom God said,
Thy will be done. Well, have I answered that question? Does God have the right? If not,
let me answer it right now. Yes, God has the right. God is right. Okay, great. Thank
you. I like to be shut up to a God
who is absolutely sovereign in my salvation. That's the only message that
makes me to be a mercy beggar. I love that. Do you have your
Bibles open to that passage that David just preached from? Look
at verse 23, that he might make known the riches of his glory
on the vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory.
Who maketh thee to differ? What do you have that you have
not received? And I find great hope in knowing
that He's never turned away a mercy beggar. Never. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He saves every one of them. And
He saves only sinners. Tomorrow morning, 10 o'clock,
we'll start on time, and Todd Nyberg will be bringing the first
message in the morning. And so look forward to that,
and look forward to you being here. If you'll stand with me
right now, Tom is going to come and lead us. Number 44 in the hardbacked tendril,
number 44.