I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 27. Psalm 27. I'd like to look at one verse.
of Scripture this morning, verse 1. And you know, I was reading this
passage, and I thought to myself, how many times, you may have never had it happen,
I don't know, but I'm sure you have. If you haven't actually
had it happen, I'm promising you the people's thought it about
you. But it's amazing how many times
someone would hear what we believe. They'll hear that with an ear
that's not attuned to what we're hearing. and would ask themselves
this, what do you believe? What do you believe? What's the
basis of your hope? What's the bottom line? Where does the rubber meet the
road on this? Where does the paddle meet the
water? I mean, just sum it up. Tell me what you believe. And it's amazing to me how the
entire life of a believer, spiritual life of a believer, the total
explanation of his hope, that which he would desire to set
forth in words to one that would ask him, what is your One of these days, we're going
to stand before God. This is going to be soon. I'm
relatively speaking. One day, very, very shortly,
we're going to stand before God. And in that day, what is your hope? What is your
hope? You think, well, I've sat under
the gospel. Some of us here have been listening
to the gospel 20, 30, 40, 50 years plus. Sum it up. Sum it up. Tell me right now. Tell me what
your hope is right now. This verse of Scripture, I believe,
sums up everything that a believer believes. Let's read it. Psalm
27. Here it is. is my light and my salvation. Who shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? That verse of Scripture. I know
that the Lord takes circumstances, takes our life. He orders all
of our steps. I know this. I know that the
steps of a good man ordered by the Lord, predestinated, God
bears that out. God's people are walking exactly
the way that the Lord has eternally ordained that they walk. Nothing
happens by accident. In every situation, every step,
every event, every circumstance, whatever it is, Almighty God
has ordered it, ordained it. And all things work together
for good. I do know that there are some things
that we go through that are grievous. And they are grievous. There
are some things, I know some of you right here that are going
through some tough times here. Lately, the past, it happened
again. But every one of them. No matter
what it is, no matter what circumstances it is, I'm telling you that Almighty
God ordained that, purposed it. Show yourself. Show you Him. Cause you to see your need, His
sufficiency. that David was going through
everything we go through, the Spirit of God blessed us that.
David, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, came to a conclusion
here. I'm sure that it was a time in
David's life when he realized the darkness of his knowledge
of what God was doing. He was in a dire strait. Providence was ordering his lot. He saw all around. I don't know. Did he reflect back upon when
he dealt with Goliath? How about when Saul was chasing
him? I don't know. But I can tell
you this, whatever it was, the Spirit of God blessed that situation
to cause David to pen these words, cause him to see his need. Now, in this verse, there's three
things that David and every believer reveals concerning the Lord and
His personableness. This is what David concluded.
This is whatever believer. What's your hope? Here's my hope
right here. The Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation. And the Lord is my strength. Three things that I was not born
with a knowledge of. I didn't know that. It came forth from my mother's
womb in darkness. Unbelief. And then he concluded
from those blessed truths of who the Lord was to him, his
unwavering security. Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall
I be afraid? In all three of those descriptions
of who the Lord was to David, David found all of his hope. This is it. This is all of it.
I want you to notice now that Brother Neal just adequately
brought out. He didn't say anything about
what David had done. He didn't mention about an aisle
that he walked down. He didn't talk about a profession
that he made. Let me tell you something. Belief. Belief is the effect. of what
God Almighty has already done in a believer. God Almighty,
in sovereign grace, does something for a sinner that that sinner
wasn't even considering. Wasn't even thinking about it. Almighty God comes in power,
grace, mercy, compassion, He gives a man a new heart. Gives
him life. Gives him faith. And that man
is made willing to bow, and he wants to. Not a robot. He's doing
now what he wants to do. He's a human being with a new
life. New love. New eyes. New ears. I never heard that
before, but I love that message now. He says, My life, my salvation, my strength. Now, I know this. I read over
this again this morning. Going over these notes, I jotted
this down. I said this, you know, one could
remove the word, my, from that verse, and that verse would still
be true. But I wouldn't have any hope
in it. Let me ask you this. Is the Lord light? Is the Lord salvation? Is the
Lord strength? Yeah, but here's the question.
Is He my light? My salvation? My strength? Here's David. Here's what he
said. The Lord is my light. Oh, the miracle of God's grace
and mercy that a man would be able to say that. Now, listen
to me. Mark where you are right there
in Psalm, and I want you to turn over to John 1.9. I want you
to see this. I want you to see this. Look
at the Scriptures. I know a lot of times I said,
I'll just read this to you. I want you to look at this one. Now, listen to me. Listen very
carefully. Before a sinner is converted, he has light. He has light. But it's not the light of the
knowledge of Christ, of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Let
me show you something. You see, when God comes to a
man or woman in saving grace, He finds that sinner in darkness. I want you to look at John 1.9. He was talking about, well, let's
read verse 6. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.
He was not that light. John wasn't that light. But he
was sent to bear witness of that light. Now listen and look at
verse 9. That, that is Christ, was the
true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Man is born with a conscience. There's some light there. He's
born. He knows right from wrong. Now
you look at every false religion, I don't care the extent of it.
It could be the most eloquent, it could be the most beautiful
and building and the most well-dressed people, and it can be the most
low forms of man life that you'll find in the jungles, but there
is conscience in every person. that knows right from wrong. They know that there is an offended
God. I've told you about that, being
down in Mexico, going over there and looking at those temples,
and they sacrifice either warriors, maidens. Their God was offended. Blood was the issue. The heart,
they cut the heart out. It's always cut the heart out.
They know that there needs to be appeasement. They know it. How do they know
it? There's some light there. It's the light of morality. They know right from wrong. They know, they know. Almighty
God has given them a conscience. But if the light that is in you
is darkness, how great is that darkness? Man has got the light
of nature. I mean, it's amazing to me. I watch these shows on the History
Channel and stuff like this, and I mean, how do they figure
all that stuff out? You know, Orion, and they've
got these temples and they're all lined up. They know there's
a light of nature. There's something out there.
The sun. The moon. Worship. There's a knowledge. that there
is a higher being. They've got the light of some
degree of civil things and religion. He knows that there's a God.
Demas knows there's a God. But light. The light of the glory
of God. The light of God's sovereignty. The light of God's will and God's
purpose. The light that Almighty God does
as He willed in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the
earth. The light that God has provided the Lamb. The light
that God saves. The light that God Almighty keeps
and orders and purposes. That light, the light of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Man doesn't have that. He's incapable. of picking himself up by his
own bootstraps. That must be given from above. He must be born again. Light
that reveals God's truth. How would I know? Every man is born with that lie
that you talked about. But let me ask you this. Does
a man, how does a sinner, how does a woman, how do they know
that God is sovereign in creation and providence and salvation?
How does he know that? Christ has revealed it. Christ
has revealed it. No man has seen God at any time. Not the true God. God of a man's
imagination, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the Son has revealed. God
Almighty, the Father, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Light, true light. He is the righteous, just, exact
in all things, no compromise God. God is light. And in Him is no darkness at
all. David said concerning the light,
That I was born with darkness. But here's my hope right here.
He is my light. He is the light of the knowledge
of who God is. The light that gives God all
the honor, all the glory, and all the praise. He's the light
by which I see. He's the light by which I understand.
Any perception of the truth of God, listen to what a man says. And I'm telling you at the point
that he enters himself. If he's any other, than the dust
of this earth, the maggot of this earth. If he's anything
other than the fleeting grass that's cut down, if he's anything
other than the incapable sinner before God, if he's anything
other than that, if he's done anything else in his estimation,
that's not the light of God. The Lord is my light. He's my
illumination. Here's the second thing. David
said, the Lord is my salvation. The Lord is my salvation. I'll
tell you, before a sinner is converted, he sees himself as
his own salvation. Now, you know that's so. Oh,
he'll probably give some token credit to the God, the little
g God of his imagination. Like you said, Neil, that salvation
was offered to him. Offered. God has done all that He can
do. That's what they say. Well, let me ask you this. Brother
Scott told that fellow that little whippersnapper asked me, he said,
do you know the Lord? Scott said, well, if I don't,
what are you going to do about it? The Lord has done all He can
do. Oh, now what are you going to do? Now what are you going
to do? Well, I'm going to A, B, C, D.
Well, I'll tell you this, all of your righteousnesses are as
filthy racks. I made a decision. A decision
to what? Allow God to be God? The Lord
is my salvation. When I say that, when I read
that, here's what it says, salvation is all of grace, and I don't
have any part in it. What part does a sinner have
in salvation? None! None! He is the recipient of the grace
of God. God gave him life. God Almighty
is his life. Salvation accomplished by Him. Here is my salvation. Before
the foundation of the world, Almighty God chose to show mercy
to me. Almighty God knew me before He
ever formed me in the belly. He knew me and loved me. Why? Because He chose to. Gave me to Christ by surety.
And He's always kept me. Always answered for me. Always
stood for me. Almighty God purposed to show
mercy. Chose me, redeemed me, regenerated me, keeps me. Salvation. Why did he choose one over another? He chose to. What is he going
to say? I've said before, man hears that,
argues against it, says, that just doesn't seem fair. Boy,
I'll tell you what, at that point, at that point, you say, well,
I'll tell you what then, fair would be, and Adam all dies.
And Adam all died. This is the Word of God. The
potter has the right. Romans 9. I may have told you this. I had
somebody that's just grilling me here the last few days. He said, I brought up Romans
9. I said, read Romans 9. Go back and read it. Read Romans
9. And I said, tell me what that says. He wrote back and he said,
well, you've got to take Romans 9 and balance it with the rest
of the Scriptures. I wrote him back and I said,
God's not out of balance. There's not a Scripture in God's
Word that won't stand on itself. Almighty God has the right and
has chosen to not allow the order of man to perish. God Almighty
loves the order of man. That's what John 3.16 is saying.
God loved the arrangement. God loved the world. He loved
the world. And man was not going to perish.
Why did Almighty God put Noah and his wife and his three sons
and their wives and those animals? Why did God put them in an ark? He loved the arrangement. He
loved the order of man. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah. And I'm telling you, everybody
that was in that ark with him, here's Noah, a picture of Christ.
It was for Noah's sake. that they were there. Oh, for
His sake. Picture of the blessed Lord Jesus
Christ. God Almighty put Him there. Noah
did not do anything. God Almighty in His eyes, Noah
found grace. That was it. What did Noah do? The Lord looked and every thought
of the imagination of man was evil. Only evil. Only unrighteous
continually. Noah included. But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. I need salvation. I need to be
rescued from the plague of my sin. I need deliverance from
the curse of the law. I'm guilty in myself. I have
no ability to make myself pure before God. When men talk about
their ability and their will and their decision, let me ask
you this. Was it done concerning what you
did, was it done in absolute holiness and purity? Have you ever deviated? Because
whatever you're standing on, better answer and stand up to
the scrutinizing eye of God's law. The soul that sinneth is going
to die. My friend, Almighty God must
be my salvation. It must be. Thirdly, the Lord
is the strength of my life. He's the power of my life. Now, you know, I got to reading
that again. The Lord is the strength of my
life. And this is the verse of Scripture
that came to my mind. And I thought, this is the simplest
way for a believer to set forth that the Lord is his strength.
I love this. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12,
10, for when I am weak, then am I strong. What's the simplest
way to set forth that the Lord is my strength? Is the strength of my life? Is the durability of my life?
Is the foundation of my life? Is the hope of my life? What
is the strength? And do I say that I have life?
What's the strength of it? What's the power of it? What's
the endurance of it? What is it? The Lord is the strength
of my life, because I don't have any. All power in heaven and earth. The Scripture says it belongs
to Him. The Scripture says that the Father has given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life. To who? To as many as thou hast given
Him. All power is His. I don't have
any. And I know it. I know it. Where else is strength found?
If all power. is given unto the Son. Where
else are you going to go? Where else are you going to look? He's the source, the sustainer,
the eternal perseverance of His people. So here's the enlightened
question. Whom shall I fear? If the Lord
is my light, If God Almighty has shined in my heart to give
the knowledge of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the character, in the name, in the person of Christ. If God
Almighty, the Lord, Jehovah, if Jehovah, Father, Son, Spirit
is my life, If Jehovah is my salvation, if Jehovah is the
strength of my life, if God be for me, who can be against me? If Almighty God is the illuminator,
if Almighty God is salvation alone, if Almighty God is strength
and there is none other Who am I afraid of? Myself? Satan? I'm afraid of darkness,
non-belief? God's my light. Damnation and
hell? The Lord is my salvation. My
feeble frame that's not to be trusted? The Lord is my strength. Well, then don't you think you
need to keep yourself? How can I? How can I? The Lord has promised to keep
me. Whom shall I be afraid? The Lord has promised. He said,
I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
No one has the power to snatch me from His hand. That's what
He said. When I look within, all is dark and wild. Unbelief. I don't have any hope within.
Save for Christ, who is my life. But in myself, what do I have?
What do I have? Oh, wretched man, Paul said,
wretched man that I am. There is in me that is in my
flesh. There dwells no good thing. Is this your hope? Is this your
life? Is He your strength? Then, my
friend, you've got a good hope. For Christ's sake.