John, thank you, bud. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 59, Psalm
59. I'd like to look at one verse
of scripture, Psalm 59, verse one. It's amazing how the Lord providentially
draws the hearts of His people together to want to hear what
God has to say. Everything of this world is passing
away, and we need some hope. We need some
comfort. We're dying creatures, creatures
of dust. The older we get, the more we
realize that. I pray that God almighty is pleased
to bless his word to the hearts of his people, and that truly
we might be made to know again. And I say again, because we're
forgetful. We forget. I've entitled this
message, A Cry for Deliverance. Deliverance. Psalm 59, verse
one, deliver me from mine enemies. Oh my God, defend me from them
that rise up against me. Now, God's people are pressed
within with doubt, from without with adversity, and they know something about
their spiritual plight. The more they hear of the gospel
of God's grace, the more they see of themselves, the older
they get, the more they realize something. But, though they have
some light, some spiritual light of the battle that is raging
within and without, still, they know this. I'm ignorant. I'm an ignorant creature. I don't
really know. Scripture speaks of world and this battle that's
going on. You know, we know so little.
We know so, so little. The cry of this world, peace,
peace. That's being made by false prophets. But who can tell? Who can tell us God's elect of
peace other than the Lord? Only God Almighty can instruct
us concerning peace. I want some peace. I know that
I'm gonna leave this place. I know that. And I need to know,
I need to know something that's substantial. I want to know. The believer sees the inconsistency
of his own heart. He knows something. I don't know how inconsistent
I really am. And therefore, he cries, truly,
deliver me from mine enemies. Now, here we're made to know
that which the regenerate is sure. We're made to know something.
Brethren, we've got some enemies. Now, if the psalmist was moved
to say, deliver me from mine enemies, well then I know we've
got some enemies. I know that, I know they are,
but who are they? Deliver me from my enemies. Well,
I know this, first of all. I know that Satan is my enemy. I know that. I want you to hold
your place right there and turn to 1 Peter 5, 1 Peter 5, verse
8. 1 Peter 5, 8. The scripture says, 1 Peter 5,
8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Be sober, be discreet, that's
what it's saying. Be discreet and watchful. Somebody said, well, I've never
seen the devil. I've heard about him. I've heard, you know. The scripture
says that there is a devil and warns us. Be discreet. Be discreet. I'll say a little
bit more about what I'm about to tell you right now. Be discreet.
You be discreet about what you hear. Be discreet about where you go,
what you do. Be vigilant. Give strict attention
to. Be sober, be vigilant. Be cautious, be cautious. Be awake, that's what it means.
You know, we don't think a thing in the world about going out
to drive. and come up to an intersection. And if you got any sense at all,
you're going to look. Coming up to a stop light, stop
sign or something, four-way stop, whatever. There's a sign out
there. I'm going to look. Well, I've got the right of way.
They got that lane right there. They got the stop sign. I'm gonna
look. Why? Because somebody may not
be watching. Be vigilant. Here, God's people
are warned. Be vigilant. Be cautious. Be sober. You know, Satan has
a roaring line, seeketh whom he may devour. He's ignorant. I know this. He's not omniscient. He's not God. Only God Almighty
knows all things. And I know that Satan is not
omniscient, but he destroys or desires to destroy mankind because
found within mankind, he knows this. God's got an elect. He's
going to try to destroy everything that God loves. He's not going
to do it, but he's going to desire to do it. Be vigilant, be sober,
watchful, because Satan has a roaring lion seeketh whom he may devour. In every nation, kindred, tribe,
and tongue, every place, there's an elect. God's got an elect
people. How do I know that? Because the
Spirit of God says so through the scriptures. I know that Satan
is our enemy. Deliver me from my enemies. Deliver me from Satan's power. Second thing. I know we've got
an enemy in this world, and it's false religion. False religion. Oh, what an enemy. You know,
it's not until somebody's called out of the darkness of false
religion. That's when they know that's
a lie. That's a lie. I want you to turn
with me to Galatians chapter 1. Galatians 1. Hold your place
in Psalm. Galatians chapter one, Galatians
one, verse six to nine. I want you to listen to this
warning. Galatians one, verse six to nine. The scripture declares the inspiration
of God's spirit. I marvel, verse six, Galatians
one, six. I marvel that you so soon removed
from him that called you into the gospel of Christ unto another
gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an
angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now.
Again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be accursed. Do you know
what that says to me? I want to know what God has to
say. I want to know what the scriptures has got to say. How do I know whether I'm hearing
a lie? that everybody is not preaching
the truth. If one man says that this is
how you're saved, you gotta do this. You gotta speak in tongues. If you don't speak in tongues,
you're not saved. This man says this, if you're not baptized,
then you're not saved. This man says this, this man
says that. How do I know what I'm hearing
is so? Because if I'm hearing something
and it's not so, and I die, left in my sins, I know what the end's
gonna be according to the word of God. How do I know? Turn to Ephesians 2. Hold your
place. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. I'm gonna read a passage of scripture
that you've heard and heard and heard. And by the grace of God,
I pray God give us a heart to hear it. Ephesians chapter two,
verse eight. For by grace are you saved through
faith. Now let's grasp hold of these
next few words. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now,
let me ask you this. Does salvation, is it attained? Is it gotten? Is it received? Is it received by anything that
a man born in Adam does? Does a man born in Adam, a woman
born in Adam, a human being, Is salvation attained by something
that you or I do? No. No, and now in case you didn't
hear it, I'm gonna say it again. Is it attained by anything that
you or I do of ourselves? No. For by grace, by the unmerited
favor of God are you saved through faith. God's going to give a
man or woman that he saved something and it's called faith, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Well, I'll tell you what I did.
I've told you this before. I didn't do much. This is the
natural man. I didn't do much, but at least I believed. Therefore,
I would say, no, sir, that's not what scripture says. For
by grace, by the unmerited faith, who makes the decision concerning
salvation, man or God? If you're gonna be honest about
it, who makes the decision? For by grace, God's grace, he's
saved through faith, and not of yourself. Oh, the flesh hates that. It
hates that. This world and its false religion
is our enemy. I've watched over the last few
days, you have too, not very much, I can't hardly go too much
of it. This whole world just all wrapped up right now and
everybody's religious. Everybody gonna get religion,
false religion. False religion works religion. Here's how you know false religion. It makes man's work, man's work
to be the acid test. If it's something that I can
do to be saved, man will do it. If you tell me I gotta walk across
that street right there on my knees, you know, with a religious
symbol in my hand or something like that. If I can do something,
I'll do it. But if I can't do anything, if
I am dependent total upon the mercy of God, the flesh hates
that because the flesh wants some glory out of it. For by
grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. See himself as doing something
good. This world hates salvation by the grace of God. It hates
it. Now if you tell a man, God wants to graciously save you
if you'll give him your heart. If you'll give me a little credit
for something. Let me have a little bit of glory.
I'll go along with you on that one. But if you make me totally
dependent upon God, no. Man by nature hates God's sovereignty. Man wants to be God. Man wants
the honor. Man wants the glory. Man wants
the praise. put me in a position to where
I'm dependent upon God Almighty for salvation, it's going to
take a new heart to believe that. Man without God's regenerating
grace loves this present world. He loves its methods, loves its
false promises, loves its honor because man gets the glory. Tell
me one more time. Tell me one more time. Tell me
one more time how I'm good. Tell me that. Give me something
I can look back on that I've done. I walked down the aisle. I remember
this. I walked down the aisle when
I was nine years old in a big old congregation. They
were giving an invitation. I walked down the aisle. You
know why I walked down the aisle? Because my cousin Larry did it.
Larry went. If Larry's going, I'm going.
So I went down there, shook the preacher's hand, told me what
to say. He said, oh, pray the sinner's
prayer. I said, okay, what is it? He told me what to say and
I said it. He said, now you believe God,
don't you? Well, I'm nine years old. I'm not going to say I don't
believe God. Yeah, I believe God. He said, you're saved. You're
saved. You walk down the aisle and give
me some hope. Not by works of righteousness
that I've done, but according to his mercy, unmerited When
God Almighty saves a man, saves a woman, He saves them according
to His will, His pleasure, His choice, and then He tells them
about it. That's how I know it. That's
how I know it. False man-centered religion,
works of the law, is my enemy. Lord, deliver me from my enemy. Turn with me, hold your place
again, turn to Matthew chapter 7. Here's a, Matthew chapter
7, here's a truthfulness. Here's the Lord giving us Matthew
chapter 7, verse 21. Matthew 7, here's the Lord warning
us. Matthew 7, 21, not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord. You know what that says? There's gonna be a lot of people
saying, Lord, Lord. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in your name, in thy name cast out devils? Thy name done many
wonderful works, then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.
Depart from me ye that work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, will liken him unto a wise
man which built his house upon a rock. And the rains descended,
and floods came, and winds blew, and beat upon the house, and
it fell not, for it was founded on a rock, the rock, the rock. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, but he that doeth the will of my Father. Now, let
me ask you this. Turn to John 6. What is the will? What is the will of the Father?
He that doeth the will of the Father. Don't leave me hanging
and not tell me what you're talking about. John chapter 6. John chapter
six, verse 39. John chapter six. This is the will of the father.
This is the will of him, I'm sorry. This is the father's will
which has sent me. Of all which he hath given me,
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. This is the Father's will. He that doeth the will of the
Father. He that believes in Christ. He that rests in Christ. That's the will of God. Not my will. His will. Back in Psalm 59, deliver me
from mine enemies. Satan's my enemy. False religion, my enemy. That
religion that tells me, gives me something to do, gives me
a little work to do, pass me on the back. Oh, but I tell you, I got another
enemy. He's the most conniving of them
all. Me, me, me. This is the hardest to recognize
because of pride. You can easily find fault with
Satan. Satan. Oh, I'm telling you, Satan. Oh, I can find fault with false
religion. But this enemy within, this enemy from within, and a
believer knows it to be so. Hold your place again and turn
to Romans 7. Romans 7. Romans 7, verse 14. Romans 7, 14. For we know that
the law is spiritual. I'm carnal, sold unto sin. For that which I do, I allow What I would, that do I. What I hate, what I hate, that I do. That which I do, I allow not. What do you mean, Paul? I don't
understand my own actions. I don't even, I don't even understand
me. So then I do, verse six, for then I do that which I would
not. I consent unto the law that it's
good. Now, then it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. For I know that in me, that is
in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For
the good that I would, I do not. the evil which I would not, that
I do. Let me ask you this, you that
know the Lord, do you not see the struggles within? I am my own worst enemy. Convinced myself that all is
well. God, God, God loves, God loves
everybody. Scripture doesn't say that. God
wants to save everybody if they'll give Him their heart. Scripture
doesn't say that. God wants to save His people
if they'll let Him. Scripture don't say that. Verse 19, for the good that I
would, I do not. But the evil which I would not, I do. I'm telling you, there's
a battle going on. There is a battle going on. If
the Lord doesn't save me, if salvation's left up to me to
maintain it, well, to first procure it, and then maintain it, I'm
gone. I'm gone. Brethren, we are kept. by the power of God through faith.
Faith in him who never fails. I am again my own worst enemy. This old man, that enemy, he's
still here. Hell, I used to be, you know,
before I was saved, I was, you know, this, that, that. God's
people are truly saved by the grace of God, but they know this.
There's an enemy within. He's a traitor. He hates God,
he hates God's people. Are you telling me that there's
an old man in me that hates God? Yes, sir. I'm telling you, he's
there. There's no change in the old
man. All the flesh will tell me I
used to be this, that, and the other. A believer will say, I
still am. I know I am. All these enemies,
they're warring. They're warring against the new
man. Turn with me to Romans 8, verse
7. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter
8, verse 7. I tell you what, we'll read verses
7 to 10, Romans 8, 7 to 10. "'Cause the carnal mind
is enmity against God, for it's not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. But you're not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His.
This carnal man, that old mind, he hates God. He hates God's ways, he hates
God's truth, he hates God's people, he hates God. Somebody said,
I don't believe God. I don't believe, I don't believe
that I hate God, I'm sorry. I don't believe I hate God. Well,
God says that by nature we do. So let God be true in that every
man's a liar. I need the Lord to keep me. I
need the Lord to sustain me. The weapons of our warfare. We're
in a battle, weapons of warfare. They're not carnal, I was telling
somebody a little while ago. If I was in a battle, you handed
me a gun, well, I'd understand that part of it. Give me a knife,
I can understand, I can use something like that. But this battle that
we're in, the weapons of our warfare are not natural to our
thinking. They're spiritual. Let me tell
you how the battle is waged. Hear what God has to say. Hear the gospel. Listen to the
preaching of the gospel. Listen to the truth of the gospel
of God's grace. This is how the battle is fought. Hear what God has to say. This is my beloved son, whom
I'm well pleased. What did the Lord say next? Hear
ye him. If you want to know the weapons
of our warfare, hear what God has to say. Hear the truth. Hear what the Spirit of God has
moved upon the Lord's people. to rest and to hear. Deliver
me from my enemies. Deliver me from my enemies. Snatch
me. Rescue me from my enemies. Because they're real. The believer knows that he's
got some enemies. Satan, this world, false religion,
himself. are not defeated by carnal means. They're not defeated by getting
better, by turning over a new leaf, you know. Scripture says, back in that
same verse, 59, verse one, oh my God, defend me from them that
rise up against me. I can't defend myself. defend myself. Lord, you defend
me. You defend me. I don't have the
ability. Psalm 73, 26, my flesh and my
heart faileth me, but God is the strength of my heart and
my portion. Lamentations 3, 24, the Lord
is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in I'm
gonna hope in Him. I'm gonna hope in Him. I'll tell
you what just went through my mind. I'll share it with you. I'm gonna hope in Him before
the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself to me. I hoped, I'll tell you about
my profession, faith, nine years old. Well, that wasn't the first
one. I had to go back a few times. I was afraid it didn't take. I went back when I was about
12, 13 years old. Then I got to go down and rededicate,
you know, because I fell away, you know. But it was always something
that I would do. It was always something that
I could look back on and say, well, I remember, you know, September
the 9th, you know, 19 whatever, you know, I gave my heart to
Jesus. I'm looking at a date. I'm looking at a time. I'm looking
at an experience. I'm remembering, I'm remembering
something that I did at a certain point in time, and that's my
hope. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. Come unto me, all ye that labor,
heavy laden, I'll give you rest. You know what a believer's gonna
say? Lord, save me or I'm gonna perish. Lord, you say it. You say it. Come unto me. And Lord, I'm coming the only
way I know how. Somebody said, come to the Lord. Lord, give me faith to come.
Give me faith and forgive me for my weakness of not being
able to understand the depth Somebody say, explain the depth
of coming to Christ. I'm coming the only way I know
how. Looking away from me and looking
to him. Well, if you don't do this, this, and this, I don't
know any other way to come to the Lord but by faith. Lord,
I'm a weak and frail creature. My hope is in you. This is the
cry of a believer. The old man, he can't perceive
He can't perceive the depth of salvation by the grace of God,
kept by the power of God. His old man looks to itself,
looks to its experience. Oh, but that new man, it looks
under God by faith. Lord, I'm weak. Helpless. I think about that
thief on the cross. I don't know if he had ever heard
anything other than what the Lord said that day at Calvary. The Lord was speaking. He was
hanging on a cross with two thieves, one on each side of him. One
of the accounts given in the gospels said that that thief
was railing on the Lord just like the other one. Something by the grace of God
happened. God Almighty obviously opened that thief's heart, gave
him a new heart, gave him a new ear, gave him a new eye to see.
He said to that other thief who was still railing, do you not
fear God? We deserve what we're getting,
you that know it. If God left you to yourself,
would you deserve what you get? Yeah, we know that. This man's
done nothing. Lord, is there any way that when
you enter into your kingdom, Lord, when you enter into your
kingdom, would you remember me? What did he have? He had one
hope, that Almighty God would show mercy. Couldn't look back on his experiences,
didn't have much to look at. Thief, robber. Lord, would you
remember me? All the spiritual enemies that
rise up against God's people, and we have them. And God's people
are brought to a point where they have one hope, Christ. Christ Jesus, the Lord. Deliver me from my enemies, oh
my God. He alone rules in the army of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Scripture says
in Ephesians, Everlastingly, he chose a people in Christ.
And he called them by grace. How did he call them? He calls
them one way, one way, through the preaching of the gospel.
And tell me what the gospel is again. I know I've heard the
word, but tell me again what the gospel, he called them through
the preaching of the gospel. What is it? It's the declaration.
It is the declaration, according to these scriptures, of what
God Almighty has eternally purposed. According to His good pleasure,
He chose a people out of every kindred, tribe, and tongue, nation.
He chose a people, not because of what He saw good in them.
We're all born, just like everybody else, sinners against God. He
chose a people according to His good pleasure. and saved him
by his grace and kept him by his power all
along the journey. Feeds him on his word, on the
person of his son. Saved him by his grace. Let me
tell you this. He told me, he said, I'm never
gonna leave you. I'm not gonna forsake you. Lord, thank you
for that If anybody ever deserved to be forsaken, it's me. It's
me. I can't even keep myself straight
in my mind trying to pray. I'm wandering all over the place, forgetful. Oh, the blessing of
knowing. and him deliver me from my enemies. Oh my God, defend me from them
that rise up against me. I pray that God almighty be pleased
to bless the understanding of his people, the truth, and give
my heart to rest in him. Salvation is by grace, not works. lest any man should boast. Amen.