Every Believer's Testimony

Q: What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

The Bible reveals God's mercy as the grounds for our salvation and restoration, encouraging us to approach Him boldly for help. God's mercy is a central theme in Scripture, particularly in how it relates to His covenant people. In Psalm 80, we see that David appeals to God's tender mercies as the basis for seeking restoration. This mercy is not a vague notion but is deeply rooted in God's past actions towards His people, assuring us that He is responsive to our cries. As believers, we are encouraged by God's previous acts of mercy, knowing they provide a solid foundation for our hope and trust in His grace amidst our trials, exemplifying His faithfulness.

Q: How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for salvation?

Christ's sacrifice is sufficient because it fulfills the entirety of God's law and provides a perfect means of redemption for His people. The sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice is an essential doctrine in Reformed theology, emphasized throughout the New Testament. By His death, Jesus satisfied divine justice and fulfilled the law, offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the sacrificial system pointed to this fulfillment, highlighting that the blood of bulls and goats was inadequate for eternal redemption. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, bore the sins of His people, providing a means for them to be declared righteous before God. This completed work on the cross assures the believer that they stand accepted in Christ, and there remains no further sacrifice needed.

Q: Why is being in Christ essential for salvation?

Being in Christ is essential because it is through Him that we are reconciled to God and justified by faith. The distinction of being 'in Christ' is foundational to understanding the believer's position before God. In the New Testament, it is expressed that only those united with Christ through faith can have a right standing with God. This union signifies that Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers, allowing them to be seen as perfectly righteous in the eyes of God. Without being in Christ, individuals are still under condemnation and the guilt of sin; however, being united with Him through faith places them in the realm of grace, where God's favor abounds. Thus, the doctrine emphasizes that salvation is found exclusively in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Q: How does prayer relate to a believer's need for restoration?

Prayer is vital for believers as it reflects their dependence on God's mercy for restoration and strength. For the believer, prayer is not merely a ritual but an expression of need and dependence on God. In Psalm 80, we find David's fervent pleas for restoration, highlighting the continual need believers have to return to God's grace. This psalm illustrates the believer's journey of acknowledging their failures and their need for spiritual reviving. Prayer, therefore, is the channel through which believers express their trust in God's promised restoration, making pleas for His presence and intervention in their lives. The act of calling out for restoration underscores the truth that believers are often prone to wander and need to be turned back to the shepherd of their souls.

Aren't you glad for that? Let's open our Bibles together
to Psalm 98. Psalm 98. Oh, sing unto the Lord
a new song. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. Old things are passed away, all
things become new, and all things are of God, who has reconciled
us to himself. This gospel is fresh, isn't it?
It's new when we first hear it, and the Lord continues to make
it new every time we hear it. For he hath done marvelous things. He gets all the praise and all
the glory. He's done it. His right hand and His holy arm
have gotten Him the victory. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
right hand man and He got the victory. He got the victory over
sin. He got the victory over Satan.
He got the victory over death. And He got it for His people. The Lord hath made known His
salvation. His righteousness hath he openly
showed in the sight of the heathen. The Lord Jesus Christ himself,
the righteousness of God, did not this in a corner. He came
into this world and manifested his glory for all men to see.
He came into his own. His own received him not. But
as many as those who did receive him to them, God gave the power
to become the sons of God. redeemed his mercy and his truth
toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have
seen the salvation of our God. God has a people of every nation,
every tribe, every kindred, and every people all over the world.
And this gospel is the same, isn't it? It doesn't matter where
you're coming from or where you live or what your experience
is, it's still the same. Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all the earth. Make a loud noise and rejoice
and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp
and with the harp and the voice of a psalm, with trumpets and
sound of cornet. Make a joyful noise before the
Lord, the King. Let the sea roar in the fullness
thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. Let the floods
clap their hands. Let the hills be joyful together
before the Lord. For he cometh to judge the earth. With righteousness shall he judge
the world and the people with equity." With equity. He's going to measure all men
by his standard of righteousness. And either they pass or fail.
The only ones that are going to pass that standard are those
who are found not having their own righteousness, but that righteousness
which is by the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. To
be found in Him. That's the only way to pass the
judgment of God, is to be in Christ. We had good services Sunday night in Sarasota. I hope in time everybody here
will have the opportunity to go over on Sunday and experience
that. It's a rare thing for God to
raise up a church. And the brethren over there are
committed to the work. And so I'm thankful for you. I know they appreciate your prayers
and any encouragement you can give them will be well received. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father, what a great joy and what great
hope we have in knowing that the God-man, the man who is at
your right hand, the Lord Jesus Christ has gotten the victory. That he's established a righteousness
for his people that is pleasing and acceptable in thy sight.
Lord we ask now that you would cause us to delight in him. We pray that you would turn us
Lord, we pray that you would Let your light shine in our hearts
and that we would delight ourselves in the Lord. We thank you for our brethren
in Sarasota and we ask Lord for your hand of mercy to be upon
that ministry and that you would call out your lost sheep and
establish a witness for Christ there. We pray it in Christ's
name. Amen. Wouldn't that be amazing? If
the Lord was pleased to cause his blessing to fall on even
me. We're going to be in Psalm 80 tonight. And I've titled this message
Every Believer's Testimony. I know in religion men love to
have testimonial services. Testimonies always start out
with an eye. They always start out with man's
experience and things he's done. What we have in Psalm 80 is every
believer's experience. Every believer. And the title
of this hymn, or this psalm, is where I get the title of the
message from. If you'll notice the small print
at the beginning of the psalm, it says, to the chief musician
upon Shoshan. Now Shoshan translated means
lily. And it's a picture of the church. And then he says, Im eduth, which
means testimony. And so the title of this is the
testimony of the lily. Those who are in Christ are as
much a part of the lily of the valley as he is. And this is
the believers testimony. This is our experience. three
times in this psalm, David prays for the Lord to turn him. Turn
me, O Lord, and I shall be turned. Every believer's experience is
that he's in constant need of being turned. Every believer's
testimony is that he truly is a perpetual backslider. That he has visions of grace and then finds
himself losing sight of Christ so quickly and so this song is
the believers prayer for restoration and I thought you know this is
this very similar Psalm 51 and be a very good prayer to end
one's day with Lord Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that
leadest Joseph like a flock, thou that dwellest between the
cherubims. Lord, would you be pleased to
let your blessings fall on even me? Would you be pleased to shine
the light of your grace from heaven? and to smile upon me
in spite of me the believers appeal to the Lord
for his salvation is based on a few things that we see in the
first couple of verses of this psalm what is the grounds upon
which we can approach the throne of grace and ask the Lord to
have mercy on us and the first thing we see here is that his
tender mercies are the grounds upon which we approach him. David
begins by saying give ear O shepherd of Israel In another place, David said,
the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want for anything. His rod and his staff, they comfort
me. David knew what it was to be
a shepherd. He knew what it was to put his life on the line for
the protection of his sheep. By his own testimony he fought
a bear and a lion in order to protect the life of his sheep. What a picture of our Good Shepherd. What a picture of His mercies
He has towards His children. He leaves the ninety and nine,
He goes after the one. He has such compassion for His
sheep. and such commitment to protect
them and provide for them in every way and so the ground upon
which we are encouraged to approach the Lord for our salvation and
for our need is his tender mercy to believe that he's yeah we
sing that hymn Savior like a shepherd lead us Much we need thy tender
care, In thy pleasant pastures feed us, For our use thy folds
prepare. We are thine, do thou befriend
us, Be the guardian of our way, Keep thy flock from sin. Defend us. Seek us. Seek us, Lord, when we go astray. Lord, be my shepherd. Be my shepherd. Leave me beside the still waters.
Prepare for me a table in the presence of my enemies. Lord,
anoint my head with oil. Be my shepherd." And he is. He's revealed himself in his
word as the shepherd of his sheep. He said, I know my sheep. They
hear my voice and they follow after me. I'll provide for them. So if you have a need to be turned,
if you have a need to be saved, the grounds upon which you're
encouraged to come before the Lord for that turning and for
that salvation is nothing less than His compassion and tender
mercies toward His sheep. Secondly, We see that we're encouraged
to come and seek his mercies based on his past mercies. Based on his past mercies. If
you've ever known the mercy of God, if his face has ever shined
upon you, if he's ever spoken to you, and he didn't do that
in vain. that's an experience that that
that we can draw from that's one that we can know that the
Lord's been faithful in the past and what he's done in the past
he's going to continue in the future he doesn't start something
that he doesn't finish and so what does David say here give
ear Lord hear me hear my cry Lord I'm just a I'm just a bleeding
sheep can you imagine the Lord not hearing the bleeding cry
of his sheep He does. Lord give ear as the good shepherd,
the good shepherd of Israel. Now he's not everybody's shepherd,
is he? He's the shepherd of Israel.
If the Lord is everybody's shepherd, then he's nobody's shepherd.
And I'm thankful that this tender mercy that he has and this past
experiences of his mercies are particular. that they're not
just a general offer of love and compassion for all men, that
they're directed very particularly towards his people, towards Israel. Prince, thou that leadest Joseph like
a flock, Joseph was led of God through
many trials in order to become the one who would hold the keys
to the storehouse and provide for the children of Israel when
they came to Egypt. Through all of his trials and
troubles, through prison, through false accusations, Joseph was
led of God and protected and provided for, wasn't he? The
children of Israel in Egypt would have been known as the descendants
of Joseph. They were known as the descendants
of Joseph. And so when the Lord says, thou that leadest Joseph
like a flock, he's referring to what God did in delivering
the children of Joseph out of Egypt. Lord, you've delivered
me from the taskmasters of the law. The curse of the law has
been satisfied. I believe that. I believe that
what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's cross was He satisfied
your justice and fulfilled the entire law of God. That He is
the end of the law. Lord, you've delivered me from
that. I've been brought out from underneath that requirement of
the law that I wasn't able to meet. You've led Joseph out. Thou that dwellest between the
cherubims. In this first verse we have three
good reasons for us to cry out to God. The first one is His
tender mercies. The second one is His past mercies. And the third one is His effectual
grace. His accomplished work of salvation.
Thou that inhabitest between the cherubim. Now what was between
the cherubim? The mercy seat was, wasn't it?
that hammered out sheet of gold that sat there on top of the
Ark of the Covenant that was protected by those winged cherubim. And the Lord told Moses, Aaron's
to take the blood and he's to go into the holies of holies
and put that blood on the mercy seat and here I will meet with
you. And when Aaron went in and made
that sacrifice, what happened? The Shekinah glory of God came.
And he put away their sins through that shed blood. That ark, that
mercy seat, that blood was all a picture of Christ, wasn't it? It was all a picture of Christ.
What was inside the ark? The tablets of the law were inside
the ark, weren't they? Aaron's rod that budded was inside
the ark and a jar or an ofar of manna Was inside the ark those
three items were inside the ark Reminding us and representing
for us the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our prophet
He's the bread of life that brought the Word of God as he brought
himself as the Word of God He's our priest represented by Aaron's
rod and he's our king the one who established the law and then
the one who fulfilled the law and he put over top of those
those three items a mercy seat protected by cherubim and the
blood of that sacrificial lamb was to be put on that mercy seat
and God said that's where I'll meet you right there and that's
exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did When he bowed his head on
Calvary's cross, when he shed his precious blood before God,
when the sword of God's justice pierced his side, he was putting
his blood on that mercy seat, satisfying the demands of the
law, establishing himself as our prophet, and as our priest,
and as our king, and God said, that's where I'm gonna meet with
you. Based on what grounds do we have to call out to God for
our help, for our turning, for our salvation. What are the grounds?
It's his tender mercies, it's his past mercies, and it's the
effectual, accomplished, redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ
on Calvary's cross for his people. That's reasoned for coming isn't
it? We can approach the throne of
grace with boldness if we believe that. Turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 4. Look at verse 14. seeing then that
we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens he's
ascended back to the right hand of the majesty on high hasn't
he and he took with him the word of God did not return void he
took with him the names of those for whom he lived and died and
presented them perfect before God seeing them that we have this
great high priest that is passed into the heavens Jesus the son
of God let us hold fast our profession what is our profession that he
is our salvation he is our profession isn't he his work is our work
his accomplishments are our accomplishments his death is our death his resurrection
is our resurrection his ascension is our ascension The Lord Jesus
Christ himself is our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. I don't know what that means.
I don't know what that means. I know the Lord Jesus Christ
didn't experience temptations the way we experience temptation. You and I have never been tempted
one time that we didn't sin in our temptations. I know he was assaulted by Satan
at every turn in ways that you and I have never been assaulted.
I know that he experienced sin when he became sin on Calvary's
cross and experienced the forsaking of God and the judgment of God
as a result of that sin. Beyond that, I don't know what
it means that he was tempted in all ways that we are. and yet he himself was without
sin that's the important thing is without sin let us therefore here's what
here's what David was talking about over there in Psalm 80
Let us therefore come boldly. That doesn't mean with a cocky
attitude, it means with confidence. It means with confidence. Believing
that our God is a tender loving shepherd of his sheep. Believing
that he has been faithful in the past to deliver us from Egypt
and that he didn't bring us out of Egypt in order to leave us
in the wilderness. He's going to bring us faithfully
all the way into the promised land, isn't he? and believing
that what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's cross in shedding
his blood was sufficient to provide God's mercy and the putting away
of our sin. Come boldly, come with confidence
to what? The throne of grace that you
might, what? Obtain mercy and find grace to
help in your time of need. Now here's the question you and
I have to ask. Are we needy? Are we needy? If you belong to the Lord, you
know you are. You know you are. You know your sin is so real. This world that we live in is
so contrary to everything that we believe. We're left with nothing to do
but cry out. Give ear, O shepherd of Israel,
thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, thou that dwellest between
the cherubim. Lord, would you shine forth,
would you shed your light on us? The greatest dread that a
child of God has is the potential withdrawal of God's presence. And the greatest joy that we
have is the prospect of his return. The hope that he'll be faithful
to hear the cries of his children. and that he will shine forth
that he will open the windows of heaven that he will speak
to our hearts and that he will make himself known to us and
confirm to us once again what he's accomplished in putting
away our sin look at verse 2 this is every
believer's testimony in the darkest hour of despair the light our
shepherds countenance is all we need. Did you hear that? Do you believe that? Do you believe
that in the assaults of Satan and the power of your own sin
and all the trials and troubles that we experience in this world
that if the Lord is pleased to shine the light of His countenance
in our hearts, in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it
will be okay. That's what we need. That's who
we need. And He is all we need. He's all we need. We're always
looking for our circumstances to change, aren't we? Thinking,
well, if our circumstances changed, I'd be better off. And what the
Lord's saying here is that my countenance is what you need.
My presence is what you need. Look at verse 2 of Psalm 80. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and
Manasseh, Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph and
Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob all three representing
the children of Rachel the favored wife of Jacob and picturing the
church the church These three tribes, when they were in the
wilderness for those 40 years, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin,
were the three tribes that followed right behind the Ark of the Covenant
when they traveled, when they moved from place to place. that's
the picture here he says before Ephraim Lord you led Ephraim
you read Benjamin you led Manasseh with the Ark of the Covenant
there there's Christ leading his people leading his church
Lord you led them through the wilderness Lord we're calling
upon you now to stir up thy strength stir up thy strength come and
save us Lord, we're such in need of being saved. That's your greatest need, isn't
it? It's for the Lord to save you. You don't have any greater
need. Perpetual backsliders. All we
need is the Lord's favor. No matter how fierce our foes,
no matter how dire our circumstances, no matter how wicked our sin,
no matter how strong our captivity, whatever our need is, His presence
is the answer to that. His presence is the answer to
that. Here's our cry. Lord, stir up
thy strength and save us. That's what I need. I need for
you to demonstrate your power and your ability in my life. Lord, I have none. Look at the
next verse. Turn us again? Again? Again? Oh, the accuser of the brethren
would have us to think that God is all together as we are ourselves,
wouldn't he? And he would say to us, you don't
think God's going to hear that prayer again, do you? How many
times have you asked the Lord to turn you again? How many times
will the Lord turn his children? again I'll tell you I may tell
you he'll turn again and again and again and again because we're
always in need of being turned aren't we we just he turns us
and before we know it we we've looked away or turn us again
just turn us again I never tire of asking the Lord to turn you
again and don't believe for a moment that he gets tired of turning
his children that he somehow gonna roll his eyes and James
put it like this he said every good and perfect gift comes from
our father above with whom there is no shadow of turning in other
words he he doesn't despise showing his grace toward his children
He never rolls his eyes. He never says what we say, what
we would say. We would never put up with somebody
asking us to forgive them as many times as we have to ask
the Lord to forgive us. We just wouldn't do it. We'd
be done with them. You wouldn't put up with anybody
like you, would you? And yet he never tires. He's
always that loving Father. Always there. Always ready. Always
lavishing us with kisses. Always ready to put a robe of
righteousness on us. To put shoes on our feet and
a ring on our finger and kill the fatted calf and rejoice over
our return. Lord, turn us again. We're just
always there, aren't we? We're just always there. the awareness, we loathe ourselves,
don't we? The presence of sin that's in
our lives, the desire that we have to be without sin and to
be like Him, and we just, we just can't, Paul put it like
this in Romans chapter 7, he said, to will is ever present
with me, but how to perform that which is good, I just find not,
I can't, I can't achieve it, oh wretched man that I am. Lord,
turn me again, turn me again. He never tires. He never rolls
his eyes. He never has a shadow of turning. He never despises his children. I don't care a thousand times
a day, Lord turn me again, again, and again, and again. Three times in this psalm, David
prays this prayer, turn me, turn us again, oh God. Lord, you're the only one that
can do it. You're my only hope. Aren't you glad that our God
is not like us? You know, we look Sunday at his
immutability. truth is the term immutability
can only apply to God it's one of his characteristics it's his
attribute and it's like holiness and righteousness and sovereignty
it's absolute it doesn't apply to anything else this pulpit
right here as inanimate as it is the molecules in this pulpit
are moving right now and you let this pulpit stand here long
enough and it'll turn to dust Why? Because it's not immutable.
Rocks are not immutable. You and I certainly aren't immutable,
are we? Everything in this world is going
from order to disorder and everything in creation is changing. God's the only one that doesn't
change. And he said that's the only reason
that we're not consumed. Only reason we're not consumed.
I change not. I am the Lord and I change not.
Therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. I've established
a covenant. I've shown forth my grace and
my mercy. I've put away your sin. I've
saved you and nothing can change that. You can't add to it or
take away from it. So just keep coming. Just keep coming. Come again. Lord turn me again.
Turn me again. and cause thy face to shine.
Lord, if you would just cause your face to shine, all would
be well. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that your greatest need is not to have your circumstances changed,
but to have God Almighty make himself known to you? Speak peace
to your heart. confirm His grace and His mercy
to you. Assure you that your sins have
been put away once and for all. Make His loving kindnesses known
to you, to wrap His arms around you and receive you and show
His grace and mercy toward you. what that's everything that's
that's everything that's what David's saying Lord if you'll
just turn me and if you'll just shine your light in my heart
that's what I need if you'll do that look at the
last part of verse 3 Lord if you'll do that we'll be saved
we'll be saved We make salvation to be so much
less than that when we think that if my circumstances were
different I would be delivered from this trouble whatever it
might be We we just we diminish the whole truth of what being
saved is Being saved is knowing God It's being in fellowship
with him you remember what the Lord said in John 17 verse 4
and this is life eternal that they might know thee the only
true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent this is this is
real life this is the truth This is every believer's testimony
and this would be a great way to end a day. Just to open up
the scriptures and pray this to the Lord. Lord, turn me again. Lord, I've looked away from you
so much today. I've been caught up in my circumstances
and in this world and in my own sin. Lord Shine, I know you're merciful. I know you're a good shepherd
to your sheep. I know that you've delivered
me from Egypt. I believe that. Now I need, Lord, for you to
turn me again and save me. Oh, Lord of Hosts. Lord of Hosts. Aren't you glad
He's the Lord of Hosts? Aren't you glad he's not waiting
for you to make him Lord? That God has already made him
to be Lord over the living and over the dead? That he reigns
sovereign? You know, I've noticed in the
news a lot lately with all these conflicts going on between nations
and over there in Ukraine and Russia and different places and
everybody's talking about sovereignty. Sovereignty. they're using that
word very loosely when they talk about nations being sovereign
truth is God says the nations the nations including the United
States of America is a speck of dust on the scale it's a drop
of water in the bucket and it's nothing to God men talking about
sovereign nations there's only one that's sovereign absolutely
sovereign He's the Lord. He's the Lord
of hosts. He reigns over the armies of
heaven and over all the inhabitants of the earth. And no man can
stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? He is Lord. He's God. And God's people love
it that way. Lord, you are able. You're sovereign
over me. You're sovereign over my circumstances.
You're sovereign over my sin. You're sovereign. Lord, you're
the Lord. You're the Lord of hosts. You're
omnipotent. You're God. And you are who and what I need. Oh Lord God of hosts. It's just
so foolish for men to talk about making Jesus Lord. He's God of
hosts. How long without be angry against
the prayer of thy people? What does that mean? I'll tell you what that means.
It means what you know to be true. And that is that there's
enough sin in your prayers to send you to hell. We think about the anger of God
towards disobedience, and it is. But what he's saying here
is, Lord, I can't even pray right. Lord, I can't even pray a prayer
that would be acceptable in your sight, apart from your mercy,
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ taking that prayer and cleaning
it up and making it acceptable to you. Lord, my prayers are
full of sin. I can't give you a concentrated
thought of praise and worship that you're worthy of and that
you're deserving of even when I try to approach you in prayer.
Is that your experience? I just can't get it right. Just
can't get it right. I truly do loathe myself. Unless this is true of you, you
have no need to be turned. Unless this is true of you, you
have no need to be saved, do you? This is every believer's
testimony. This is our life. This is our
experience. This is poor dead dog sinners
coming to God for mercy. Lord, you're the shepherd. You've
delivered me from Egypt. You've led me by the... You shed
your blood on that mercy seat. Lord, my grounds for coming to
you are based upon what you've told me in your word and what
you've proven yourself to do. And I'm just a needy sinner. Just a poor, poor sinner. look at verse 5 thou feedest
them with the bread of tears and give us them tears to drink
in great measure Lord when I think about how unable
I am to worship you and serve you and honor you as I ought what can I do what can I do but
be broken and contrite before you And this is God's work of grace,
isn't it? This is His work of grace in our hearts. Because
this is what He causes. He brings us to the end of ourselves,
doesn't He? He causes us to see that even
our prayers are filled with sin. He causes us to see that we can't
honor Him and be what we ought to be. And so He gives us a broken
and contrite heart, which He will not despise. Why? Because He gave you that heart.
That's what faith is. Faith is not sucking it up and
being strong. Faith is, unless you become like
a little child. This is faith. Verse 6, Thou makest us a strife
unto our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. Part of me is attracted to this
world. Part of me wants to embrace this
world and enjoy this world and there's another part of me that
just is so at odds with this world. Well, I just don't fit in. And
I'm a conflict to myself. I'm a contradiction to myself. my spirit warth against my flesh
and my flesh against my spirit so I cannot be what I would be and and and the world doesn't
understand that they don't understand me that's why I'm so encouraged
by my brethren because they're the only ones that can that can
enter into this conflict with me and and and sympathize with
me in this experience my neighbors don't know anything about it Oh, turn us again, O God. You
see, turn us again. Already we're in need of being
turned again. Lord, we just prayed that. Yep, pray it again. Turn
us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and
if you will, we shall be saved from all these conflicts. From
all these contradictions, from all this sin, from all that Satan
assaults me with, from all the things in this world that are
contrary to your grace and your love, Lord, if you'll turn me,
if you'll turn me and cause me to set my affections on things
above, I'll be turned if you'll do it. Lord, I can't do it. Can't
turn myself. Can't change myself. Lord, you're
going to have to do it. Lord, thou hast brought a vine
out of Egypt and has cast the heathen and planted it. Lord,
when you brought me to Christ, you grafted me in as the branch
into the vine that I might bear fruit and you've been involved
in pruning this branch ever since and it's a painful experience
but Lord, when you planted the vine, I came to know, I came
to know that all the religious opinions that I had before were
wrong. I came to believe that. You cast
out the heathen from my life. You caused me to identify the
idols in my life and you put them to death. now prepares room before it and
it's cause it to take root deep root and it filled the land here's
the gospel message this is our experience Lord you you planted
the vine and you caused it to take root and it it spread all
over I mean it it affected every part of my life every part of
my life has been affected by it we just we just looked at
that verse If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things
are all passed away. All things have become new, and
all things are of God. This is all the Lord's work.
Lord, you've done this. The hills were covered with the
shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly
cedars. She sent out her boughs into the sea and her branches
into the river. Lord, when I came to believe the gospel, And when
you shined your face from heaven and taught me the truth, you
planted that vine. It affected every part of my life. And yet, Lord, this vine is under
assault. It's under assault. I want it
to be fruitful. I want it to be fruitful. Lord,
I want the fruits of the Spirit, of love and joy and peace and
long-suffering and temperance and patience. I want those fruits.
Lord, I want fruit that remains. And I want to bear fruit through
the testimony of what you've done for me, and seeing others
come to believe the Gospel. Lord, I want to be fruitful.
And yet, when I look at this vine, and I try to inspect the
fruit, what do I find? Why hast thou broken down her
hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
Lord, my, this vine's being plucked at in every, everywhere I turn. The boar out of the wood doth
waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. Lord, the vine is just not producing
like it ought to and like I want it to. so many enemies that attack this
vine Oh return we beseech thee oh
God of hosts look down from heaven and behold visit this vine Lord
I can't make the vine produce fruit you're gonna have to you're gonna
have to look down from heaven on me you're gonna have to visit
me you're gonna have to demonstrate your grace and your mercy towards
me you're gonna have to exercise your power if there's going to
be any fruit and the vineyard which thy right
hand hath planted and the branch which thou made a strong for
thyself Lord you you did it and yeah it's burned with fire
it's cut down They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Lord, the vine is blighted with
insects. It's not fruitful as it ought
to be. Seems that the fire of trials and troubles and persecutions
have come against it and consumed it. So what do I do? What do I do? commit myself to fertilize the
vine, commit myself to pray more and read my Bible more and be
more devoted to God, I'm gonna fix this problem. No you're not.
No you're not. You're not gonna fix it. Can it be fixed? Yeah. look at verse 17 let thy hand
be upon the man of thy right hand upon the son of man whom
thou made a strong for thyself Lord make Christ to be my all
make him to be the one that I set my affections on that man who's
at your right hand the one that you made strong the one who you
sent in the power of your spirit to accomplish the salvation of
your people Lord let him be the one to strengthen me his strength will be made perfect
in our weakness Lord if you'll do that we won't
go back We won't go back. Lord, I'll go back if you, if
you don't, if you don't save me, if you don't turn me, if
you don't make the man of your right hand strong for me, I'll
go back. If you lead me to myself, Lord,
I'll go back. But if you'll do that for me,
I won't fall away. I won't go back because you'll
keep me. so will not we go back from thee
quicken us and we will call upon thy name the flesh profiteth
nothing it is the spirit that quickeneth Lord quicken us that
word quicken means make alive make alive Lord if you'll quicken
us if you'll make us alive by your spirit then we won't go
back And we will be brought to call upon thy name. Turn us again? Again? Yep. Don't ever stop praying
that prayer. Lord, turn me again. And as soon
as he turns you, you find out, you know, Like our one brother said, after
he heard a message, he said, Pastor, I'm so encouraged and
so thankful for that message. And I figured it'll last about
time I get to the parking lot in my car. Ain't that the way
we are? And so when you get to the parking
lot, oh God, turn me again. Turn me again. We're so prone to wander, aren't
we? We're so quick to look away. turn us again Oh Lord God of
hosts cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved Lord that's
you are what we need I don't need a better job I don't
need more money I don't need a better spouse don't need that
Lord I need you I need you let's pray Our Heavenly Father, we ask that
you would cause us to remember your word that we've read here
tonight, and that you would put it in our hearts often to call
out and cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ, the strong man, our shepherd,
to have mercy upon us and to make himself known to us. Lord,
You are our strength, You are our buckler, You are our strong
shield, You are our high tower. Lord, without You, we can do
nothing. Turn us again, O God. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. In the hardback temple, number
318.

Every Believer's Testimony

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for salvation?

Why is being in Christ essential for salvation?

How does prayer relate to a believer's need for restoration?

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Every Believer's Testimony

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for salvation?

Why is being in Christ essential for salvation?

How does prayer relate to a believer's need for restoration?

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

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