Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Isaiah chapter 45. Isaiah chapter 45. I'd like to look
at verse 22. Isaiah 45, 22. The Spirit of God moved upon
the prophet Isaiah to pen these words, look unto me and be you
saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there's none
else. Almighty God in this passage
of scripture commands something that man by nature cannot do,
but must do, to be saved before God. We are
commanded to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from
our sins. Now, that word, look, Now when we first read that word,
we form immediately a mental understanding of it. But the
word means regard, turn unto, trust. You know, if I were to
say I looked and I saw everyone sitting in this congregation,
you'd understand what I meant. you know, some eyes, and I'm
looking at you. I'm looking at you. But that's
not what the word means. It means to regard. If I were to say, Glenda looks
to me for safety, for comfort, for companionship, that word
means regard. Regard me as. Look. And a lot of people, while the
Lord Jesus Christ was upon this earth, physically looked at Him
and died in their sins. They saw Him, but they didn't
know Him. They didn't trust Him. They weren't
saved. Why? Because they did not behold His
glory of being God in flesh, coming to this world, as the
only hope of salvation before God. They did not regard Him
to be the Savior of sinners. They looked at Him and saw Him,
but did not know Him. They regarded Him as a man. And in their opinion, many of
them regard Him as a heathen. a blasphemer, one that made himself
to be God and therefore worthy of death. Look, regard, trust,
turn to, but here's the problem. Man, Fred just read this in the
scriptures here, man born in Adam disobeyed God and therefore
He cannot spiritually look. He cannot spiritually regard. You tell a man unregenerated
by the grace of God. Tell him, look to Christ for
life. And I'm telling you, until the
Spirit of God moves upon him, he can't do it. He just can't
do it. He cannot. Do it. Why? He is dead. Listen to Jeremiah
13.23. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that
are accustomed, that are taught to do evil. Taught by an old
nature. Taught by a lying devil. now because of the fall in Adam.
Can the Ethiopian, can the leper, can... No, and man by nature
cannot change his nature to look upon the Lord and trust Him.
It's just impossible. Who then can be saved? With man
it's impossible. Possible. And here's the lie
that's being told. Men are telling men, you can.
that you can exercise your free will. You don't have a free will. Exercise faith. You don't have
faith. And they're lying. But the Lord commands, look unto
Me. Turn unto Me, He says. And be ye saved. You know what that's saying?
Don't look to any other. Don't look to yourself. Don't
believe upon your works. Don't believe upon your self-righteousness. Look, regard, me. Because in Him alone is pardon. In Him alone the Father is well
pleased. In Him alone is righteousness
and forgiveness. He's the only mediator. between God and men. He's the
only advocate who is worthy to plead his own merit before God
Almighty. The only Redeemer. He is God's
appointed and accepted Lamb. Sacrifice for sin. Moses was
told that people were out in the desert and they were being
bitten by these fiery serpents and they were dying. God told
Moses, you take a piece of brass and form it into a snake, into
a picture type of what was biting them was sin. That's what was
biting, that's a picture there. You make this snake and put it
up on a pole and lift it up. Everybody that looks, they'll
live. That was a picture, that was
a shadow. That was a visual picture. of what the Lord is saying here,
look unto Me. Look unto Me who has made sin,
who took away the guilt of His people. So here's what we're
commanded to do. Look unto the Lord and be saved. Now I want to look at about three
things this morning. All that do that have been by
the grace of God. Here's what it's going to take.
It's going to take, and I'm going to give these points right here.
These are evidences of those that have truly looked unto the
Lord. That have truly trusted and turned
to. Because everybody and their brother
that's going to an assembly is telling people that I've done
that. I've done that. I want to know
something. Have I done that? Have I truly
done that? Have I looked to the Lord? Have I turned to the Lord? Here's
the first thing I know that those that have truly turned to Him
realize. They know that they must regard
Him, look to Him, turn to Him by faith. Hebrews 11.6, now listen to this,
but without faith, now let me explain something before I go
any farther. Without faith, without looking to the object of my faith,
faith does not save. Faith does not save. Faith does not save. Christ saves. The object of my faith is who
saves. For without faith, without looking
to the object of my faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, it is impossible
to please Him, to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is. What do you mean? That He exists?
The devils believe He exists. He that cometh to God must believe
that He is, that He is the wisdom and the righteousness and the
sanctification and the redemption of His people. That's what I
believe. Those that have turned to Him
and see Him and trust Him by God-given faith, They are the
ones that truly look, regard, and trust the Lord. Everyone
that looks unto Him by faith realizes who they are. I know who I am. I am a helpless
sinner. All that have turned to the Lord
realize that they can't do it. That's my point. They trust Him
by faith, by what God has given them. Faith. That's a blessing. To be given
faith to look away from myself. Because let me tell you who I'm
going to look to first by nature. I'm going to look to me. That's
the lie. That's the great lie of Satan. Man by nature is a God-hating,
self-righteous rebel against God. Born with that nature and
it's worthy of nothing but condemnation. Now listen, let me tell you something.
Without faith, trusting Him, I cannot please God. That repentant thief, and you
were talking about, Fred, you were talking about accountability.
Accountability. I was thinking about this scripture
right here. repentant thief on the day of
Christ's crucifixion made this statement to the other thief. And he was taking the blame is
what he was doing. Does not thou fear God seeing
thou art in the same condemnation? And we justly, we receive the
due reward of our deeds. A man that has turned to Christ,
looks to Him, regards Him, knows this, knows this. I deserve to
be put in hell. I deserve it. One that looks
to Christ admits what is. I'm a wretched sinner. That attitude
is the attitude of one that realizes his need to look. Why is this congregation not
filled to overcapacity this morning? I mean there's some gone, there's
some at Donny Bell, I know where they are. There's some that providentially,
I understand it, but there's some that just didn't want to
be here. They just don't want to be here. Why? There's no need
to look. Why? They're not sinners in their
mind. They have no need to turn to
Christ. They have no need to turn from
self. They have no need to turn from their ability. It is a miracle
of God's grace that any sinner would heartfully know and admit
his guilt. Fred, I appreciate the scripture
that the Lord put on your heart. I really do. Boy, it just goes
right like a hand in glove right here. That they would admit their
guilt. Did you eat of the fruit? The woman, the woman that you
gave me, she gave to me, and I did eat. The serpent beguiled
me. It's a miracle that anyone would
say in heart, it's me. I'm my own problem. I'm my problem. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. Those that have turned to Christ
walk through this world with this attitude, number one, of
themselves. I am in myself. I'm guilty. And I have no ability. I have none. Somebody says, oh
yes, you do. And you say, no, I don't. I know what God has to say about
me. Oh, but every vessel of God's
mercy regenerated by God's grace, they're going to truly confess. Lord, thank you. Thank you for
giving me a heart to admit it. Well, what about all those other
things that I've been? I've been in church all my life.
Listen, I grew up and I came up in primaries. Primaries, beginners, primaries,
you know, all the others right on up to, you know, got all the
badges, you know, RAs, and I understand all that, you know. What about
all that stuff? It's dung. It's dung. Well, what about when you, you
know, I counted all but loss, loss, and thank God that God
Almighty would not leave me to myself and let me go to hell. One that has turned to Christ
knows something of himself and he knows the one to whom he's
turned. Secondly, one that has called
upon the Lord, looked to the Lord, they know something of
the God to whom they look. Isaiah, pen the words of the
Spirit of God moving on me. We're in Isaiah 45 verse 42. Look at verse 20, Isaiah 45 20. Assemble yourselves and come.
Draw near together ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray unto a little g God that cannot say. They pray unto
a little g. Men today would have no problem. I've been in Mexico and I've
seen these little images, these little idols, little things. And they can be out of wood,
and you go to the Mayan ruins, and they'll have these little
statue things. And if you get a real good one,
it'll be maybe stone or something like that, but it's just a little
island. And somebody would say, I'll
tell you one thing, you'll never catch me bowing down to something
like that. I'm not a heathen. They'll look
down at the silliness of those that practice such things, but
let me just ask you, while we're all sitting here, let me just
ask you something. See if we can come a little bit
closer to home and consider if not, if there's not in our, you
know, civilized society, those that are praying unto a God that
cannot save. Let me ask you this. If you've
turned unto the Lord and looked to Christ, you'll know what at
one time you believed. Did you ever find yourself in
the past? Or do you know someone that even
now prays unto a God of a past experience? I was at a convention,
or I was at a big whatever, or there was an experience that
I had. Or there was a decision that
I made years ago because of a false preacher's pressure being put
upon me. And there was a time in my life,
or how about this? I remember, I remember the date. I remember that it was June the
4th. It was 4.30 in the afternoon.
And I remember, I remember hearing that preacher. He was preaching
and I remember they were playing Just As I Am. And I gave my heart
to Jesus and I got down on my knees And I prayed, I prayed
the sinner's prayer. Have you noticed how many times
I've said I, and me, and my, and past? I'm telling you, if you are looking
to something back there, some agreement that you made some exercise of
your will so that when the overflowing scourge comes through, some man
said to you, now you gave your heart to Jesus. You walked down
the aisle. I remember when you walked down
the aisle. I remember he prayed through. I understand he hadn't been living
for the Lord as he should, but I'm telling you, There was a
time, there was a place, there was a date, there was an experience,
there was an exercise, there was a free will, there was something.
And you look into that, I'm telling you that that's a God that cannot
save. A God that doesn't exist. It's a lying promise. The God
of a date and time or an experience is no God at all. If you have
to look back, if you have to look back to a feeling, to a
time, to a place, to have any security with God, you're praying
to a God that cannot save. The God to whom a believer looks
is the God Almighty. says look unto me. Let me ask you this. Are you
looking right now as a needy sinner? Just like you was a needy
sinner if you did look then. The question is not did you look
then. The question is are you looking
now? Now. I'm telling you when the
Lord calls, it won't be what happened back then. I'm going
to tell you it will happen right now and what a man is doing right
now. Look unto me and be you saved. The God to whom we look for salvation
in life is sovereign. You know I looked up what does
the word sovereign, it's not found in the Bible. But God is
described as being sovereign. What does that mean when we say
God is sovereign? Well, here's what it is. Above. Apart. Separated from. Nobody else like Him. Omnipotent. Controller. He is sovereign. The one to whom we look. The one that a believer looks
to. realizes that He's sovereign,
He's sovereign in creation, in the beginning, God created. Created. That is shaped, fashioned,
and listen to this, when He says God created, let me just tell
you what that means. Out of nothing. He created it. I've told you before, I can take
a few tubes of paint, and take a brush, paint a little picture, you know,
a little something. But I didn't create it. I took
something that was already there. I didn't create it. I used what
was there. God Almighty created. Listen to this, Job 26. He stretcheth
out the north above the empty place and hangeth the earth upon
nothing. This earth, it's hung on nothing. Somebody said, well now, it's
just gravity. Oh really? God says it's hanging
on nothing. Hebrews 11.3, Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. The God that we look to, that
we turn to, He's sovereign. Sovereign in creation, sovereign
in providence. I love this. I was going over
these notes and I'm thinking, what a God we serve. Listen to
this. Sovereign in providence, Ephesians
1.11, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, Our destination is determined
beforehand. That's what predestinated means.
You're being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. Have you ever
considered why God is sovereign in providence? In providence. That just means that everything
that's being done, Almighty God is ordering it. There's nothing
that is happening. Nothing that is happening. That
God is not ordering. Why? Why? Well, for the salvation
of His sheep. For the salvation of His sheep.
He's got a people that He's chosen before the foundation of the
world. And the Lord Jesus Christ was given power over all flesh. Who's ordering this? The Lord
Jesus is. He's ordering it. Everything
is ordered. And He's ordering it that He
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.
Now, the Lord God has purposed that His sheep's going to be
saved. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me. How do we know that? Because
the Lord is sovereign in providence, and He's going to move and order,
and He's going to put this one right over here, and this one's
going to be over here, and this one's going to marry this one, and this one's
going to be this one, and they're going to meet here, and He's
going to get them, He's going to move them under the sound
of the gospel, the means that He's been pleased to call His
sheep out, and to assure that His people are going to be saved.
What is He going to leave it to? Us? Our fickle will, our
dead, impotent will? No. He's sovereign in providence. Which means that he's sovereign
in salvation. He ordained it. I will have mercy
on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So He ordained it. The Lord Jesus
Christ came to this world and procured salvation. Took the debt of His people.
Made sin for them. Obeyed God perfectly. Every point,
every jot, every tittle of the law. Satisfied. In thought, word,
deed. And He imputes that righteousness
to His people. They have no debt before God
and they're holy in Christ. All that we need. All that we
need Thou has provided. That's what you just sang. I
love how the Lord just orders these services. Great is Thy
faithfulness. Oh God, my Savior. Sovereign
in salvation. and then calls them out of darkness
when it pleases Him. They're coming. But I tell you,
we know He's sovereign in creation and providence and salvation. But I tell you there's one other
point. He's sovereign in the revelation of Himself. I want
you to turn to Luke 10. I'm just about done right here.
Luke 10. Luke 10.17. Luke 10.17. He is sovereign in the revelation
of himself. Luke 10, 17 and the 70 returned
again with joy saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto
us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions over all the power
of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding
in this rejoice, notwithstanding in this rejoice, not that spirits
are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are
written in heaven. And then listen to this next
verse. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes,
even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." I'll tell
you something. God is sovereign in the revelation
of himself. We hear these scriptures preached
and we think these are so plain, they're so open, they're so understandable. Yeah, if God's given you a new
heart. But I'm telling you, unless the Lord gives us a new heart,
a heart of understanding, these things are hidden. This is a
hidden thing to the natural man. He can't see it. The Lord God
rejoiced in spirit, and that which made Him rejoice was the
sovereign pleasure of His Father to reveal to undeserving sinners
their need of Christ. And he rejoiced in the Father,
the Father's pleasure to leave hard, unbelieving rebels in their
rebellion. Someone would say, that's a hard
saying. That's a hard saying. Well, let
me ask you this. Who are we to reply against God? What are we going to say to God?
If you know anything, if I know anything, we rejoice in Him who's
been pleased to reveal this to us. And we say, Lord, thank You,
thank You. Lord, is it possible that You
might be pleased? I know You can, if You will,
like that leper. You can, if You will. You can
make me clean. Lord, You can save my kids. You can save my
grandkids, if You will. I'm not in a bargaining position.
Lord, I'm turning to You. I don't have anything to offer.
I'm just asking. I'm just asking. That truth right there is so
deep and so mysterious, and we have no foundation to commit
upon it except to say this, Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in Thy sight. I tell you what a believer will
do. When he hears something like that, an unbeliever, unregenerate,
this is where he's going to get mad. He's going to say, that's
not fair. I'll tell you what a believer
will do. He'll shut his mouth. In his heart, he'll say, Lord,
as you say it is, it is. Lord, you're God. Those that
have turned to the Lord know that today is the day of salvation. This is why. They don't look
in the past. They don't look to themselves.
They don't say, I've looked before. Look, look. This is what I'm
going to say to us all right now. Look unto Him and be you
saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there's none
else. I know this, I'm not. I know I'm not. I know I can't
look to myself. I look to myself, I'm going to
die. But here's the marvel of that statement. That which the
Lord commanded, look unto me and be you saved. It's like that
word that went with power to Thomas and to Matthew, when the
Lord said to Matthew, Follow me. That wasn't a suggestion. That wasn't a request. That was
a command. When He said that baby, He said,
I passed by, I looked upon you, you were dead in your own blood,
and I said to you, live. When He comes to one of the objects
of His mercy, and He says, look unto Me, and be ye saved, That's
not a suggestion. That's a command. And you know
what a believer does? He believes. He looks. And he sees. And the Lord saved
him. Saved him by grace. And he knows
it. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.