Thank you, Joy. Would you open
your Bibles with me to Psalm 19? Psalm 19. Wayne and Anne Neal, who are
as faithful to our fellowship as anybody in our fellowship,
notice in the bulletin, today's Wayne's birthday and he's homesick
today. So I'm sure he would be encouraged
to hear from you if you get a chance to give him a call. Psalm 19,
verse 1. The heavens declare the glory
of God. And the firmament showeth his
handiwork. We look at creation. We have
to conclude that there's a creator. All the order of it is so perfect. How could it just come to have
been without the hand of God? It shows his handiwork. We'll read some more from that
in a moment. Tom's going to come and lead us in the hymn on the
back of your bulletin. Would you stand please? You still have your Bibles open
to Psalm 19, verse 2. Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night showeth knowledge. There's never a time. Creation in all of nature is
a commentary that God's given to His people on Scripture. We see these illustrations of
His glory in his handiwork. Therefore, there is no speech
nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone
out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to
run a race. Every morning that sun comes
up, we're to be reminded that the strong man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, raised in power from the grave. His
going forth is from the end of the heavens and his circuit unto
the end of it and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. We look at creation and we're
awed at his handiwork. But we see it as a means to an
end, a revelation of who he is. The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart. And the commandments of the Lord,
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Commandments, statutes, testimony,
law are all adjectives used to describe the whole of Scripture. This is God's Word that He uses
to reveal Himself to us. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than
gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey on the
honeycomb." Oh, the prophet said, he gave me his word, I ate it,
it was sweet to my taste. I swallowed it and it was bitter
to my belly, because the belly is a picture of the flesh, and
the word of God afflicts the flesh, but rightly so, and good
for us that it does. Moreover, by them is thy servant
warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand
his errors? Who understands the fullness
of their sin? I had somebody tell me recently
how ashamed they were of things they had done in their past life,
and I said to them, those things are a lot worse than you think
they are. They're a lot worse than you think they are. who can understand his errors. Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from
presumptuous sins. Lord, don't let me presume upon
your grace. Let them not have dominion over
me. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6 that sin shall not have dominion
over you, for you are not under the law, but you are under grace.
If you go under the law, sin is going to have dominion. Under
grace, its power is broken. Then shall I be upright, and
I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Sin not
having dominion over us doesn't mean we don't sin. If we say
that we have no sin, we make him a liar and the truth's not
in us. Sin not having dominion over us means that we're not
under its curse. We're not under its power. We're
innocent before God, under grace. Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord,
my strength and my Redeemer." If our worship is to find acceptance
before God, it'll have to be done in the truth of the gospel,
of God's free grace, in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it'll have to be done in
the power of His Spirit. Might He be pleased to enable
us to that end right now, right now. Let's pray together. Our glorious Heavenly Father,
we ask that the meditations of our heart would be set on things
above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We pray, Lord, that the words
of our lips would be true and faithful, as it is your word. We ask, Lord, that your Holy
Spirit would enable us now to worship you in spirit and in
truth, that we would rejoice in Christ Jesus. and that you
would take away all our confidence in the flesh. For it's in Christ's
name we ask it. Amen. If you're like me, you're not often satisfied with what you
have. Always wanting more, aren't we?
Let me ask you, what is it that you have an abundant supply of? Not a sufficient supply, an abundant
supply. More than you can possibly ever
use. What is it that you have that's
in such abundance that there would be no possible way for
you to deplete it? You could not exhaust
it. It is in such an excessive amount
that it's beyond anything you would ever need. An abundant
supply. Most of us have a sufficient
supply of things, although we're not satisfied with that sufficiency.
We're always wanting more. But God's Word has told us about
some things that He has given to His people in an abundant
supply. An abundant supply. A supply
beyond their ability to exhaust. A supply beyond their ability
to ever use. And I want us to look at some
passages of scripture this morning that speak to this abundance. The first one is in Ephesians
chapter three. Would you turn with me there?
Ephesians chapter three at verse 20. Ephesians chapter three at verse
20. Now unto him, that is able to do and it's almost
as if the Lord knew the word abundant wasn't going to be enough
to convince us and so he said exceedingly abundant. The word abundant in the scripture
refers to an inexhaustible source and so the Lord knowing that
we are slow of heart to believe Knowing that he has to repeat
himself over and over again to convince us of things, he said,
I'm able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you could possibly
ask or think. Now that's an abundant amount. More than I can think. I mean,
I can imagine some pretty big things. I can imagine a lot of
things. He said more than you can imagine.
More than you could ever ask. More than you could ever think.
Exceedingly abundantly beyond that. Now notice the last phrase
in that verse. According to the power that worketh
in us. So to enter into this abundance
there has to be a power that works in us. Not just a power
that works on us, not just a power that works outside of us, a power
that works in us. Now that's the power of God in
the new birth. We've got to be born of God.
We've got to be, we've got to know something of the Spirit
of God taking out a heart of flesh and putting in, taking
out a heart of stone and putting in a heart of flesh. We've got
to know something about being born of God. This is not just
a intellectual exercise. This is not just a ceremonial
thing. This is an experiential thing. Nicodemus, you must be born of
God. You must be born again. I would introduce this message
by asking you a simple question. Have you asked God to save you? Have you asked Him to save you?
Say, well, I've always been a Christian. That's too long. That's too long. See, in order to be saved, you
have to be lost, don't you? In order to be made alive, you've
got to be dead. In order to be converted, you've got to be brought
from another place. This matter of the power that
worketh in us is what reveals the exceeding abundance that
God has to supply in the heart, beyond anything that we can ask
or think. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
6. We looked at Hebrews chapter
6 last Sunday. Look with me at verse 17. Wherein God, willing more abundantly. Our God is willing beyond measure,
beyond our ability to ask or think, beyond our imagination,
He is willing. to show unto the heirs of promise. Those are the ones who have the
power of God working in them. Those are the ones who have been
born of the Spirit of God. Those are the ones who have come
to know the Lord Jesus Christ, the heirs of promise. the ones
whom God chose in the covenant of grace before the world began,
the ones that He promised to save, the ones that the Lord
Jesus Christ promised the Father to redeem, the ones that the
Spirit of God promised to regenerate and to make alive. These are
the heirs of promise, and this is who the immutability and the
abundance of God's grace and mercy is for. More than we can
imagine. More than we can ask or think.
More than we could ever exhaust. An abundant supply. God is willing
to show unto the heirs a promise. The immutability of His counsel. The counsel of God cannot be
changed. What God has determined in eternity
past is set. It's set and that's our hope.
I am God and I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. It's the immutability of the
covenant of grace that God established before the world ever began that
gives us hope of our salvation. Let the world hope in the decision
that they make. Let the religious man hope in
his will or in his works. Our hope is in the immutability
of God's promise which he established before the world began. That's
who the abundance of grace and mercy is for. In which it is impossible for
God to lie. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit made a covenant promise with one another
before Adam was ever created. God chose a people. Christ entered
into that covenant with the Father and promised to redeem those
that the Father chose. And the Spirit of God entered
into that covenant promising to regenerate those whom the
Son would redeem. And it's impossible for that
covenant to be changed. You can't do anything to get
into it or get out of it. It's set by God. Here's our hope. Here's our strong consolation,
look what he says. That we might have a strong consolation
who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope that is set
before us. Christ in you is your hope of
glory. What a strong consolation. God
said I'm willing abundantly to show the heirs of my promise.
I'm willing to give them more than they can ask or think. an
excessive amount that they can never possibly exhaust. Now I'm interested in that. What has God said He has provided
in abundance for the heirs of His promise? Well the first one
is found in Romans chapter 5 at verse 20. Romans chapter 5 at
verse 20. the abundance of grace. You cannot exhaust the grace
of God. Oh, I'm so thankful for that.
If I could frustrate the grace of God, if I could fall from
the grace of God, if I could somehow bring the grace of God
to its end, I would have done it. I would have done it but
God says my grace is in abundance to the contrary he says where
sin abounds grace does much more abound look at verse 20 of Romans
chapter 5 moreover the law entered that sin might abound Paul said
when the law came I died sin revived and I died All the law
did was kill me. All the law did was judge me.
All the law did was reveal what I am, a lawbreaker, a criminal before God. That's what the law did. But, the more sin abounded in my heart,
The more the searchlight of the gospel revealed to me what I
am, the more I grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the more sin abounds in me. I'm not getting better,
I'm getting worse. Progressive sanctification is
not true. It's not true. people who think
they're getting better, and religious organizations that set up hierarchies
of holier-than-thou men and women who have somehow achieved some
level of... No, it's just the opposite. It's
just the opposite. Paul made this conclusion at
the end of his life. He said, I am the chief of all
sinners. the chief of all sinners. That's
the only conclusion I can come to. Why? Because over the years
as he grew in grace and the knowledge of Christ, sin abounded. But where sin abounds, look at
the rest of that verse, grace does much more abound. It super
abounds sin. You can't frustrate grace. You
can't put the light of grace out. You can't stop grace. Why? Because God has provided
it exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. More
than we can use. More than we can exhaust. That's
what grace is. That's the kind of grace I need. If you could exhaust grace, you
would. If you can leave the gospel,
you will. You will. We looked at that in
Hebrews chapter 10, Wednesday night. If you can fall from grace,
you will fall from grace. But if you're the heir of his
promise, you can't do it. Why? Because it's exceedingly
abundantly above what you could ever ask or think. And the more
sin abounds, the more grace does much more abound. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 15
says, For all things are for your sake, that the abundance
of grace through thanksgiving may abound to the glory of God. Everything is for you in order
that the abundance The inexhaustible source of grace might abound
through your thanksgiving. When God makes His grace abounding
above our sin, above all that we could ask or think, above
our ability to exhaust it or to frustrate it, what do we become? Thankful. Thankful. And that verse says, and it's
to the glory of God. He gets all the glory. He gets
all the praise. First Timothy chapter 1 verse
14 says, And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding
abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This grace that's exceedingly
abundant above all that we could ask or think, a grace that you
can't exhaust, a grace that's beyond your ability to frustrate
or to use, a grace that is powerful enough to save the chief of all
sinners is to be found in Christ Jesus through faith, through
faith. trusting in, relying on, resting
in, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as your only hope of salvation. Isaiah chapter 55 verse 7. God says, not only is my grace
abundant, abundant. What do you have in abundance? Now you've got more of it than
you could possibly use. We've got sufficient stuff, I
know that. God provides. I've never seen
the righteous forsaken nor their seed begging bread. The Lord's
going to provide for His children. We've got sufficient. But who
of us would say, well, I've got more. There's no possible way
I could use everything I've got. No possible way I could spend
it all. Well, there is something. It's not physical. It's better
than that. But it's in superabundance. And
it's pardon. Pardon. You know, always amuses me at
the end of every presidential term. You know, they have these
presidential pardons. I guess it's their last-ditch
effort to win some, you know, some political favor and get
some points. I don't know. It's kind of like
the ceremonial pardon of the turkey, you know, at Thanksgiving.
They're all going to end up on somebody's plate eventually anyway.
You know, it's just silly the way men pardon one another. I want to be pardoned by God.
If God pardons me, I'm not going to end up on anybody's plate.
And I don't owe anybody, I mean, I'm not going to be indebted
to another man in some sort of political favor. I'm going to
be brought to my knees in worship of Him if He pardons me. Isaiah chapter 55 verse 7, Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Now let's just stop right there a moment. There is a way that
seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death. What is
the way that seems right unto man? The way that seems right
unto man is that God would favor me with pardon if I'm sincere
enough in my confession. If I'm dedicated enough in my
religious activity, I can earn God's pardon. I can prove to
him that I really mean it. Let the wicked forsake that way. That's not the way of God. My
ways are not your ways. and let the unrighteous man forsake
his thoughts." What is the thoughts of an unrighteous man? The thoughts
of an unrighteous man is that his righteousness somehow contributes
to the pardon of his sin. He doesn't know that all of his
righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God. He doesn't know
that the things that he's proud of are evil before God. He doesn't know that. He doesn't
know he's a sinner. Let the unrighteous man forsake
those thoughts. Oh, might God give us a repentant
heart. Repentance is a changed mind. People say, well, you need to
repent of that sin, and you do. God's people hate their sin.
The Spirit of God will convict them, and the Lord's gonna deal
with that. But if repentance means that
you've stopped something altogether, you're just fooling yourself
if you think you've ever repented of anything. You're fooling yourself if you
think you've ever repented of anything. What sin have you ever
stopped in your heart? God's looking at the heart. The miracle of repentance is
that God changes our mind and our thoughts as to how it is
He pardons sinners. That's repentance. See, there
was a time when we were under the dominion of sin and we thought
that we could earn God's pardon. But He's brought us to forsake
that thought. He's brought us to give up on
that way. He's worked a grace of repentance
in our hearts and He's caused us to realize that it's only
through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's
cross that God's satisfied. The only way my sins can be pardoned
is for Christ to be struck by the rod of Moses. let the wicked
forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him
return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our
God for he will abundantly pardon." Abundantly pardon. Stories told about a nobleman
who had offended King James II in England, and was brought before
the king, and the king very sternly and arrogantly said to this nobleman,
you know it's in my power to pardon you. And the nobleman,
knowing the cruel nature of King James, said, it's in your power,
but it's not in your nature. Not only is it in our God's power
to pardon His children, but it's in His nature. He delights in
showing mercy. He receives His children. He
pardons them abundantly. He gives them repentance. He
causes them to forsake their way. and to give up on their
unrighteous thoughts he turns them to Christ and then he puts
all their sin under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and
remembers them no more and there's an abundance that
comes in abundance you see that in Isaiah 55 verse 7 I will abundantly
pardon them in other words I just keep pardoning them You can't
frustrate the pardon of God. We frustrate one another's pardoning
all the time, don't we? And truth is that if you had
anybody in your life, I don't care who it is, I don't care
if it's your own children, if you had anybody in your life
beg of you pardon as much as you have begged of God pardon,
you'd have given up on them by now. You'd have said, they don't
mean it. They're insincere. It's just
words. And you wouldn't believe them
next time they came to you. God's not that way. God's not that way. He abundantly
pardons. He has an excess of pardon that
you cannot exhaust. He never rolls his eyes towards
his children. He never says to his elect, ah,
you don't mean it. No, he delights. You can't exhaust
his pardon. Come, just like you are right
now, all of your sin, all of your evil ways, and all of your
wicked thoughts, come. He has abundant pardon. That's the kind of God I need.
And if you're a sinner, it's the kind of God you need. He has abundant grace. He has
abundant pardon. Look at Psalm 36 verse 8. I love this verse. Let me, before we read this verse,
let me ask you a question. Are you satisfied with Christ? Are you satisfied with Him? God
is. God's completely satisfied. He's
not satisfied with you. He's not satisfied with me, but
He is completely satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah
chapter 53, He's satisfied. He's seen the travail of His
soul and He is satisfied. And if God's revealed to you
the abundance of His grace and His pardon, you're satisfied
too. You're abundantly satisfied.
Look at Psalm 36 verse 8. They shall be abundantly satisfied
with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink
of the river of thy pleasure. They're not going to go anywhere
else. They know that all their acceptance before God is found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. They've got no place else to
go. And when the Lord says to them, are you going to leave
me also? They say with the disciples, Lord, where should we go? You
alone have the words of eternal life. You've shut us up to the
gospel. Now, not believing God is a choice,
but believing God is not a choice. It's not a choice. If God brings
you to be satisfied with Christ, it's not because you made that
decision. It's not because you made that
choice. It's because God shut you up to Christ. It's because
you had no place else to go. If you've only got one place
to go, that's not a choice. That's not a choice means you
have two or more options, right? God stripped all your options
from you. Lord, we've got no place else
to go. You alone have the words of eternal life and we know and
are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. We're
satisfied. That's what He said. Look, they
shall be abundantly satisfied. That means they've got all their
satisfaction and all their acceptance in the Lord Jesus Christ. They can't exhaust Christ. Can't exhaust
what He's done. Can't frustrate His work. Can't
change it. Can't diminish it. Can't add
to it. David said, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house
of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Oh, I want
to be where God's people come together and where Christ is
preached because He is my satisfaction. He's my satisfaction. God's people don't have to be
manipulated. They don't have to be shamed. They don't have
to be coerced or enticed to come. Why? Because the abundance of
their satisfaction is found in the house of God where Christ
is preached and that's where the river of life flows and that's
where they drink. David said in Psalm 132 verse
15, I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her
poor with bread. If you're poor in spirit, if
God has stripped away all of your righteousness and all of
your riches, and he's made you naked before God, and he's put
a hunger for righteousness in your heart, then this is where
he abundantly feeds his poor with bread. Turn with me to Song
of Solomon, Chapter 5. Song of Solomon, Chapter 5. I am come into my garden." Now
here's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to His bride, His church,
His people. I've come into my garden. This
is the garden. This is the place where the river
flows clear as crystal from the throne of God. This is where
he satisfies abundantly the thirst of his children. This is where
he feeds them with bread. This is where he fellowships
with them. Look what he says, I am come into my garden, my
sister. My spouse, I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I
have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved! You're loved of God." We've been blessed to live in
a time of an abundance of food. I mean, we just, all you gotta
do is look at us and tell, we've got more food than we need. You
know, we just, we just have plenty of it, don't we? That being said, you could exhaust
it. He says here, you can't exhaust
the bread of life. The more you eat, the fatter
you get. And this fatness is a good fatness.
It's a good fatness. John chapter 10, verse 10. We have an abundance of grace, an abundance of pardon, We're abundantly satisfied. Can't diminish the supply. And the Lord said in John chapter
10 verse 10, the thief cometh not but to steal and to kill
and to destroy. Now the thief is that false prophet
who would lead you to believe that you've got something to
do with your salvation. That it's Christ plus your free
will. It's Christ plus your works. It's Christ plus your decision. And that message will only steal
from God His glory and salvation. It'll rob you of your hope. And
it'll kill your soul if you believe it. It'll kill you. But I am come that they might
have life, true life, eternal life, real life, and have it
how much? More abundantly. More abundantly. A life that cannot be exhausted.
A life that will never end, that's why it's called eternal life.
This is life eternal that they might know Thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. I've come that they
might have life and have it abundantly. He is our life. He is our life. I think it's in 1 Chronicles,
there's a verse of scripture that says, Moses lifted up the
rod and smote the rock and the water came out abundantly. Now Moses is a picture of the
law and that rock which followed the children of Israel through
the wilderness, the scripture makes clear, was Christ. And
when Moses smote the rock with the rod, it was foreshadowing
what would happen when God Almighty would smite the Lord Jesus Christ
on Calvary's cross with the rod of the law, condemning Him. Why? Because He bore in His body
the full guilt of the sins of His people. And when God Almighty
found that sin on His Son, He had no choice but to smite Him.
And it pleased the Lord to bruise Christ. As our sin bearer, he
suffered the full wrath of God's judgment. And the water flowed
out abundantly. Those children of Israel would
have died in the wilderness and you and I would die in this world.
This is a dry and thirsty land in which we live. Where are we
going to find hope for our souls in this world? You think you're
in this world just to get more stuff? Just to have a bigger house or
next vacation? That's all most folks are in
here for. Get all you can. Can all you get. Sit on the can. That's life. That's life. No, life comes from the water.
And the water comes from the rock, which was smitten by the
rod of Moses. Christ said, I've come that you
might have life and have it more abundantly. That's real life. That's real life. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Oh, he delights in showing mercy.
You can't exhaust the mercy of God. The resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the mercy of God. God was satisfied
with Christ and withheld from those whom Christ died for all
the wrath and all the judgment that they were deserving of.
Satisfied with what Christ had accomplished. And God says, I
have abundant mercy for you. Abundant mercy. There's no more
guilt. There's no more shame. There's
no more condemnation. Paul concluded Romans chapter
7 by saying, Oh, who will deliver me from this body of death? Oh,
wretched man that I am. And then what did he say? Thanks
be to God. Through Christ Jesus, I am free.
There's therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.
Who can lay any charge to God's elect? It is God that justifieth. There's no charge. The only way
to have a clear conscience is to know that God's satisfied. That His mercy through the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ has put away my sin once and for
all. And it's an abundant mercy. Abundant. Look at Titus chapter 3 verse
5. Titus chapter 3 verse 5, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus chapter
3 verse 5. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done. How are we going to add anything
to that? not by works of righteousness
which we have done, it's not by him that willeth, it's not
of him that runneth, it's not of anything that comes from these
sinful hands. But according to his mercy he
has saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing
of the Holy Spirit which He has shed on us inexhaustibly, abundantly,
abundantly. That's what I need. Do you need
a mercy that you can't exhaust? A mercy that is beyond your ability
to use it all up? Through Jesus Christ our Savior,
there is that mercy. The Lord met with Moses on Mount
Sinai after giving him the law in Exodus chapter 35 at verse
5. He said, my abundant goodness
and truth shall be with you. And our Lord said, Why callest
thou me good? For there is none good but God.
O Lord, cause your goodness to pass before me. Abundant goodness. The abundance
of His goodness is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
abundance of truth. You can't exhaust it. You can't
change it. You can't diminish it. He is
the truth, and He is our goodness before God. You can never plumb
the depths of the truth, and you can never mix error with
the truth. For this cause came I into the
world. For this reason was I born, to bear witness of the truth. They that are of the truth hear
my voice. One last verse. Turn with me
to 1 Chronicles chapter 22. 1 Chronicles chapter 22. David. King David. A picture of the Lord Jesus Christ
clearly. who is called the son of David,
who is called the sweet psalmist of Israel, who is called a man
after God's own heart, who is called a good shepherd, who is
our king, who is also a man of war. The Lord Jesus Christ is
pictured in David as a bloody man who gave his life for his
church. for his people. God did not allow
David to build the tabernacle, which is a picture of the building
of the church. That had to be given to Solomon,
the man of peace. The war had been fought and accomplished. Blood had been shed. God was
satisfied. An abundance of grace and mercy
had been provided. And now all the provisions necessary
were given to Solomon, the man of peace, to build the tabernacle,
the church. Look at 1 Chronicles chapter
22 at verse 5. And David said to Solomon,
My son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built
for the Lord must be exceeding magnificent." Exceeding magnificent. This is
his church. This is what we're here for.
Everything God's done in creation, everything God's done in providence,
everything he's done. He's the Alpha and the Omega
for the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the salvation
of His people. And this church is going to be
exceedingly magnificent. Of fame and of glory throughout
all countries, there's going to come a day when God is going
to parade His church as His trophy wife before all of creation,
and He's going to have everything that He's ever created acknowledge
what He's done. Of fame and of glory throughout
all countries, I will therefore make provision for it, for David
prepared abundantly before his death. Upon this rock I will build my
church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The Lord Jesus Christ prepared abundantly for the building of
his church and his church is going to be built. And it'll
be built on an abundance of grace, an abundance of pardon, an abundance
of satisfaction, an abundance of life, an abundance of goodness
and truth. And I'm thankful that it's abundant.
Because if it wasn't, I would have used it up by now. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we ask now
that you would be pleased to cause us to find in Christ
the abundance of our salvation and everything provided. We thank you for the bread and
for the wine. We thank you for the symbol in which it reminds
us in this memorial of the broken body and the shed blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray now that as we receive
it, that we would receive it in faith, looking from the heart
to Christ. For it's in His name we ask it.
Amen. I'll ask the men if they'll come.
Tom, number 191 in the hardback 10. No, you can just remain seated. 191. I'm sorry.