Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Psalms, chapter 115. Psalms 115. I'd like to look both services
today, Lord willing, I'll speak from Psalm 115. This first one,
verse 2, and the first half of verse 3, And then Lord willing, the second
message, the second half of verse 3. Three times recorded in the book
of Psalms are these words, Where or wherefore is thy God? Where is your God? First time I found it, Psalm
42 verse 3. The psalmist records my tears
have been my meat or my food day and night. While they continually
say unto me, where is thy God? That is to say the believer in
the Lord Jesus possesses a heart of love and respect and thanksgiving
for the God of all grace. We love Him who first loved us. And a believer hears the disrespectful
comments that are said concerning the God that we love. Not only against himself, but
especially against God. That's what he hears. And the
way that his God, the believer's God, is spoken of causes him
grief. I hear what men say in a jeering
way. They're grieved, not only for
what they hear, but they're grieved for the souls of those that ignorantly
blaspheme. Doesn't it grieve you to hear
someone speak so disrespectfully of the Lord? And it's like they
just find great joy in it. They're just... And a believer,
realizes, but for the grace of God, I'd be saying the same thing.
And the grief is to that point, that when they hear, where is
thy God? Or, where is now thy God? The God that you claim to be
so loving, to his people. That God that you claim is sovereign
in heaven and earth, that chooses, you know, whomsoever he will
show mercy and compassion. The psalmist says, when I hear
that, my tears being spiritually abused by the rebels against
God, that's my food. I read that and I thought, what
grief. is found in the words of the
psalmist. And truly, we are, we are grieved. But I tell you, those words right
there are truly and fully only spoken by the Lord, the God-man
mediator. I was thinking this morning about
this verse of scripture in John 11, 35, and here's the whole
scripture. Jesus wept. And I went back and I read the
context of that scripture right there. And the Lord was at the
tomb of Lazarus, his friend. And he loved. He loved Lazarus
and he loved Martha and Mary. And Lazarus died. You remember
he was sick. The Lord tarried and then he
came and and after Lazarus had died. And he said to those that
were standing there, roll back the stone. Martha spoke up and
she said, Lord, he'd been dead four days and by now he stinketh. As if the Lord didn't know how
long he'd been dead. And here she was calling into
question his sovereignty, his omniscience, his omnipotence. She's talking
to God and she calls into question. And the scripture says in a few
verses, Jesus went You know, those words spoken of the one
who has given us a glimpse truly into the heart of the man of
sorrows. The one made flesh who knew the
fullness and the disrespect of that phrase, where is thy God? He knew what she was thinking.
He was Martha. She loved him. So therefore,
that question right there, where is thy God? We always look and
say, well, you know, the heathens say that. Brethren, we that believe possess
an old man. How many times in the midst of
our troubles, Neil, you was talking about that just then, we're going
through some troubles. And how many times, I'm just
going to be honest with you, I'm speaking here from experience,
to bring into question, where's God now? When I find myself in
the midst of these trials and tribulations, Yes, those blasphemous
thoughts against the God of all grace and mercy grieves the believer,
but the believer recognizes that he has those thoughts too. Second
time I found it, it was in Psalm 79, 10. Wherefore should the
heathen say? What right does the heathen say? Where is their God? Let him be
known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the
blood of the servants which he shed." That question right there,
where is thy God, is a question that deserves punishment. And but for the grace of God,
we would receive it, thanks be unto God, The Lord Jesus has
borne the punishment of his people, borne the guilt of that which
we ourselves even find asking that question. But then, for
this morning, the scripture bears out in verse 2, Psalm 115, Wherefore
should the heathen say, Where is now their God? We as the chosen people of God
often seem as the world beholds God's dealings with us to be
those that are forsaken of the Lord. Now this is a question
here that's asked by those that know not the Lord, and it's asked
even in a disrespectful way toward God's dealings with His people.
as if we've been forsaken of the Lord. The God that we worship,
remember, doesn't always come forth in delivering us from the
trials or chastisements that obviously we need. He doesn't
deliver us according always to the dictates and desires of our
natural thinking. The Lord delivers us as He sees
fit. You know, Paul the Apostle possessed
a thorn in the flesh and besought the Lord thrice for its removal,
only to have the Lord tell him, my grace is sufficient for thee.
I need to remember that. When I find myself in dire straits
as to my thinking, and I want, humanly speaking, I want to be
out of it. I don't want to go through anything. I don't want
to suffer. That's just the way we are. I don't want to go through.
I want to go through life and just everything's just rosy.
That's just not the way it is. My grace is sufficient for thee. But how easily the unbeliever
ridicules or taunts the faithful. Now listen. Write this down. If the Lord has given us a heart
for Him, a heart for His honor and His glory and His praise,
a heart to take a stand for the gospel of God's grace. This is
what I believe. I raised my Ebenezer right here. Here by Thy grace I've come.
This is where I'm going to stand right here. God's God. I'm telling
you when the Lord calls upon us, to go through trouble, trial,
sickness, infirmity, whatever it is, I'm telling you, be ready
to have from those that believe not, ridicule. Where's your God now? I thought you said He'd never
leave you or never forsake you. Don't you realize you're being
punished? For your disobedience? Oh, but you remember, though
the enemies of God boastfully think that they've triumphed,
whenever they see God's people suffering, may the Lord keep
us during these times and let us not give any occasion to rejoice
or find false comfort. What it does, it gives an unbeliever
false comfort. See, I told you, I told you that's
what you'd go through. And they think to themselves,
I didn't do what you did, so therefore I'm alright. Oh, may
we seek grace that the Lord uphold us and sustain us in our affliction,
remembering that they were sent for our good and for His glory. Well, the psalmist, having heard
the disrespectful words of antagonism from the heathen. He answered
when they asked him, where is now their God? And this is what
the psalmist wrote in verse 3, but our God is in the heavens
and he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Where is their
God? And David writes, our God's in
heaven. He's in his domain. When the temple was dedicated,
Solomon He prayed this in 2 Chronicles 6 30, Then hear thou from heaven
thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according
unto all his ways whose heart thou knowest, for thou only knowest
the hearts of the children of men. Yes, our God is in the heavens. And just think of what's being
said. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. Where is your God? You that say
you love this sovereign God, where is He? This is what our
answer is. Our God is in the heavens. He's
truly, He's God. He's ruling in heaven and earth
and He's not subject. to the fickle realms of men,
His dominion, His will, His purpose that has everlastingly been decreed. He's accomplishing, bringing
it to pass. He who knew the end from the
beginning, He knew what He was going to do. So, where is our
God? He's in heaven right now. Our
great high priest, whoever liveth to make intercession for his
own, declaring his merit before the throne of God on our behalf,
declaring his obedience, death, and our acceptance with God in
him, presenting through the efficacy of His blood and His sacrifice,
the establishment of our peace. Where is God? He's in the heavens,
ruling. That's where He is. He's ruling. But for the comfort of God's
saints, the Scripture reveals something that's very intimate,
very personal. For right now, while we're in
this world. Where is our God? David said
he's in the heavens. But let me tell you something
that the scripture reveals concerning where our God is right now. And I know he's in the heavens. I know he's But listen to this,
Matthew 18, 20. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Now let me tell you something
that's very sweet and very personal and very fulfilling and sufficient. Our God's right here. He's in this place. According to His Word, we behold, in that scripture,
the absolute deity of Christ. He's omnipresent. David said
in Psalm 139.8, If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there.
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. And I'll tell you another thing.
He hears the conversation of His people as a fellowship concerning
Him. Malachi 3.16, Then they that
feared respected the Lord, spake one to another, and the Lord
hearkened. and heard it. And a book of remembrance
was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that
thought upon His name. Where is your God? He's in the
heavens. Where is your God? Right here. He's with us now. And not only
is He right here, but every other place where two or three are
gathered together. in His name. That is, to hear
the gospel of God's grace, the declaration of His character,
and His mercy, and His compassion. He's in the midst of them. They
gather together, and wherever they are, whenever they are,
in more places at the same time, the Lord's there. And shouldn't I be too? Wherever
God is pleased to meet, I want to be there. I want to be in
that place. Where two or three are gathered
together, that's holy ground. That's what he told Moses, take
your shoes off. You're standing on holy ground.
We're standing on holy ground right here. Not that carpet,
not those benches right there, but in the presence of Almighty
God. So the heathen will ask, where
is thy God? The believer will answer, our
God's in the heavens. And our God is right here with
us, right now, in His blessed company. But let me tell you
something else, where our God is. Our God is in the scriptures. When Christ in the Word is preached, He said, my sheep hear my voice. Now, do you know, now I'm just
a man. And you know why you can hear
my voice right now? Because I'm right here. Because
this is where I am. And while he's in the midst of
his people, where two or three are gathered together in his
name to hear the gospel, remember something. Paul the Apostle said,
we're ambassadors for Christ. We beseech you in Christ's stead. God Almighty has been pleased
to use the voice of a man preaching. I'm just a voice. I'm just a
voice, but God has been pleased to bless that message of His
gospel, and His voice is the one that His people hear. I didn't
come up with these words. I am a repeater. That's all a
preacher is called to do. Repeat what God has said. These men stand up and what do
they do? They read what God has to say. Listen to Hebrews 4.12. For the
Word of God, not Marvin's words, not my comments,
the Word of God is quick. That is, it's living. It has
vital power in itself that speaks to the souls. Not the intellect
or the desire for more wisdom to elevate me, but it speaks
to the soul. It's quick and it's powerful.
That is, it's efficacious. It gets the job done. It's sufficient. and sharper than any two-edged
sword. It cuts not only in the flesh,
but it cuts in the very heart, the soul of a man, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints
and marrow. I've got an animal spirit about
me that makes this body move. It's an animal spirit. But I've got an immortal soul.
And the word of God that is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged
sword is able to distinguish between my animal spirit and
my eternal soul. and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. The Word of God. God's Word preached
in the power of the Holy Spirit knows not only my thoughts, but
what I intend, the intentions of my heart. That's powerful. God's Word. Where is I, God? He's in the heavens. He's with
us. And He's in His Word. He's in
His Scriptures. You're saying that those, that's
just black ink on white paper. Well, I'll tell you one thing.
Those black words on white paper, when they're preached in the
power of the Holy Spirit, they're alive. They're lively. We can't separate the person
of the Lord from His Word. His Word goes forth, His power
goes forth, and it never returns unto Him void. It always accomplishes
the purpose for which it was sent. It always does. Always. You say, well, I don't know.
I don't know if it was any effect today. Oh, the Word of God had
its effect. What happened? Whatever God intended.
What's it going to do? It's not going to return to Him
void. I tell you that. He said, is not my word like a fire? As
a fire saith the Lord, like a hammer that breaketh a rock in pieces.
What's it going to do? It's going to do whatever He's
pleased. Whatever He's pleased. This message is going to come
up again one day. It's going to come up in judgment. What's going to happen? It's
going to be to the praise of the glory of His grace and mercy.
And Almighty God sending it in power. and regenerating His sheep
and calling them to Himself, or it's going to come up again
one day in judgment. It's going to say on March the
11th, 2018. You heard. You heard. Where's your God? He's in the
Word that we preach. The Word of His Gospel. That
gospel of which we're not ashamed. It's the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth. To the Jew first, also to the
Greek. And next, scripture declares he's in the thoughts of his people
because he's in their heart. Listen to this scripture. Psalm
94, 19. In the multitude of my thoughts
within me, Thy comforts delight my soul. Now that word, thoughts,
in the multitude of my thoughts, it's more than just our natural
thinking. That particular word spoken of
is actually the perplexing, the distressing, and the disquieting
thoughts of God's people. What do you mean? Those thoughts
that we have, we hear the gospel. We believe the Lord, we trust
Him, but let me ask you this, as John Newton wrote in that
song we often sing, am I His or am I not? Have you ever found
yourself, you that believe, I know you have. You know we make our
calling in election sure. Have you ever found yourself
struggling? Struggling with the presence
of sin, causing us to have thoughts. I'm talking about perplexing
thoughts, distressing thoughts, disquieting thoughts. Struggling
with this thought. Lord, you saved others. Don't pass me by. Lord, don't
let this be a head knowledge. I can tell you this. I'm convinced
of the doctrinal foundation of the gospel. I believe that a
man's totally depraved. I know that. I know I know it
here. And I know that the scripture bears out, that God has elected
a people. But here's what I want to know.
Mike, has he elected me? That's what I want to know. I know that He died for His sheep.
Here's what I want to know. Did He die for me? I know that
the Spirit of God irresistibly, all that the Father giveth me,
I rejoice in that. I know I do in my head. But Lord, have you irresistibly
called me? Do I truly believe what I'm preaching? You might say, well, I don't
think it's right for you have perplexing thoughts like that?
Well, I tell you what, if you can take them away from me, I
sure wish you'd tell me how. David said, in the multitude
of my thoughts, my perplexing thoughts, distressing thoughts, thy comforts delight my soul. If the Lord had never truly revealed
Himself to me, if I wouldn't have been taught something of
my depravity, would I think this way? And I'll say as truthfully
as I know how with Mr. Newton, if I've never believed
before. Help me to begin today. Somebody said, well I know I
say because back years ago, And today is the day of salvation.
I can't change yesterday. Did you really believe? I don't
know. But I want to believe right now. I want to have some comfort
right now. Oh, according to the promise
of His Word, those who find themselves struggling, as the psalmist speaks,
and all do. We all struggle. We're continually,
He that cometh, cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. You
know what that's saying? I don't want to put any confidence
in being saved back when I was 17, 27, 37, 47. I want to come
today. I want to come and cast myself
upon the mercy of God today. That's what I want. Lord, I don't
have any comfort in yesterday. Oh, it's to those thoughts, those
perplexing thoughts that David says, Thy comforts delight my
soul. Only the Lord can comfort me
and give me some assurance and speak to my heart through His
Word. That's why I've got to hear this
Word again. Last Sunday wasn't enough. I'm so thankful we had
last Sunday and thankful we had Wednesday. But I need to hear,
I need some manna today. I need to eat today. I want to
eat right now. I need some assurance right now. I need to His comfort to delight
my soul through His Word and the Spirit of God give me some
consolation and create joy through the remembrance of His Word,
Marvin, I will never leave you. I'll never forsake you. And my
heart would say unto Him, Lord, thank You. Thank You. Oh, remembering that He chose
to show mercy, purchased by His blood, redeemed through His sacrifice
at Calvary, regenerated and sealed by His Holy Spirit, I find great
comfort in that. Then lastly, knowing that we
are what we are by the grace of God, we say unto those who
would question the sovereignty of our God, who would question
His love for His own, question His promise to keep us into the
day of salvation, our answer to that question, where is now
your God? Our answer would come from the
Word of God Himself concerning His people. 2 Corinthians 5.19,
to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world, the world
of His people, Jew and Gentile, all out of every nation. I know
the scripture bears out He didn't redeem everybody, I know that.
He said, I laid down my life for the sheep. I know that. Reconciling
the world of his people unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them. If he has not imputed trespasses
to somebody, they're going to be with him. But if he has imputed
trespasses to somebody, there's going to be some in hell. I know
that. And hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. Where is your God? Our God is
in the person of Christ, who is God. He's God. God actually provided himself
a lamb, a ransom, an atonement. He was eternally pleased not
to charge his people. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute. He won't charge him with it.
Am I chargeable? Yeah, I'm chargeable. Have you
sinned? Yep, I've sinned. If I'm alive
this afternoon or tomorrow, I'm going to be doing the same thing.
I cannot not sin. I wish I could, but I can't.
But here's the blessed thought. Where's your God? My God's in
Christ, reconciling me unto the Father. Where is your God? Here's where our God is. He's
in the heavens doing what pleases Him. He's in the midst of his
people as they gather together in his name. He's in the scriptures,
revealing himself to his people and speaking to them as the Holy
Spirit blesses his word to their hearts. He's in the thoughts,
the perplexing thoughts of his people while they're struggling
in this world, comforting them in the midst of their struggle.
And God is in Christ, the fullness of a Godhead body. Where is your
God? Our God's in the heavens. Doing
whatsoever has pleased Him. May the Lord bless this word
to our hearts for Christ's sake. We'll take a few minutes break
and we'll come back and we'll look at verse 3.