If you have a Bible close by
and you'd like to follow along with me, you can turn to Psalm
46. Psalm 46. I'd like to read this
blessed passage of Scripture. The Holy Spirit says, under the
hand and the pen of a man, is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble. Therefore will not, we fear,
though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof,
see law. There is a river the streams,
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacle of the Most High." God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall
help her. And that right early, the heathen
raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, and the
earth melted. The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works
of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He
maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh
the bow, cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot
in the fire. Be still, and know that I am
God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Let's pray together. Our Father, this afternoon we come before
You knowing that it is by your indescribable
grace and mercy that we are here. Lord, we realize that though
our hearts are heavy, they are. Lord, we know that you are our
hope. You are our strength. Father,
I pray that it is what is done today might be honoring unto
our blessed Savior. Lord, I pray that You might be
exalted, that, Lord, Your people might be comforted. I pray for
this family. I pray for Mike. I pray You would help him, the kids, friends. Lord, help
us today to worship Forgive us where we failed you. Thank you
again for your kindness to us, for Christ's sake. Amen. Last time I saw Vivian, she was right here, sitting under the sound of the
gospel of God's grace. She was walking out, right back
there right behind Charlie Brown, hugged my neck, thanked me for
the message, told me she appreciated me, loved me, and I told her
the same. You stand right there, Mike. I'm glad I can remember that.
I'm glad I could say, last time I saw somebody, they were sitting
listening to the gospel, the power of God unto salvation. Mike, for your wife, all of these
that I've read. Mike, Laura, Gene, Humphrey,
family, family. It's one thing. We're here. We're
here for a memorial service. I'm confident of this. Based
on Vivian's reaction to me, based on the way Every time I saw her,
this was her demeanor. That was her attitude toward
me. She said, I appreciate what you're
preaching. And I told her I was glad. I was thankful. Thankful, number
one, that the Lord would give me a heart to preach it. Glad
that she would express to me I don't hesitate to say this,
if I would have asked her, would you want me to preach anything
other than what you're hearing me preach, her answer would have
been no. But one thing that we ought to
consider from her passing, this life is temporary. I didn't
have any idea it would be the last time I'd see her. James 4, 13-15 says, Go to now,
ye that say. Today or tomorrow we will go
into such a city and continue there a year, and buy and sell
and gain. For as ye know not what shall
be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor
that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For
what ye ought to say is if the Lord will. We shall live and
do this or that. I've done a lot of thinking over
about the last week concerning this service. And as I thought, seeking our
Lord's direction, seeking His mind for guidance and help, I
was providentially drawn to 2 Corinthians This is what that Scripture says. Why we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. Everything that we look at with
this natural eye, everything that you hear with this natural
ear, Everything that you can touch, everything you can feel
is going to perish. It's not going to be here. 2 Peter 3.10 says, But the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. Temporary things. Just things
and mess and stuff. Things that all of us, I mean
all of us, starting in this pulpit right here. Things that all of
us get so taken up with. Boy, I tell you what, there's
not an innocent person sitting in this congregation today when
it comes to that. We're all like that. We have trials, we have physical
needs, we have persecutions, and they're grievous for the
moment, but they're temporary. It's just fading. But the things that are eternal,
the things that the natural eye and the natural ear cannot look
at, feel right now, Things that are only known and believed and
respected by a new heart in regenerating grace. That's what I want us
to talk about for just a moment. Eternal things. I know this, and I know this
because I have God's Word on it. Every one of us is going
to stand before God. That's what 2 Corinthians 5.10
says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that every one may receive the things done in his body according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Boy, that's an arresting statement.
That's a serious passage of Scripture. All Scripture is serious. Boy,
I tell you, you read one like that and you think, things whether they be good or
bad. Now, I know this concerning any
good that I personally could perform before God Almighty.
I'm talking about good now. Now, let me just qualify what
I just said. Now, when I say good, This is
what I'm talking about as far as before God Almighty that God
will accept, that God's pleased with. Good. Here's what it is. Absolutely holy. Perfect. Perfect. I'm talking about as holy as
God Almighty is holy. And that's what I'm talking about
good. Psalm 14, 2 and 3. Knowing with
that thought, the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children
of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek
God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Not one. Now, this eternal thing, my standing
before God Almighty, this is one thing that I do know since
the Scriptures reveal that I cannot do one good thing before God. God looked and God saw. You know, when somebody tells
you there's a little good in all men, don't believe them.
Not according to God's Word does not. Some men may say, well,
it's a little good in all men. By whose standard? This eternal thing must be considered. I don't want to stand before
God Almighty based on what I've done. I can't. Why? Because the Scripture reveals
that all of my righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Boy, this paints a pretty bleak
picture when you consider a man standing before God. I mean,
for me, all y'all look pretty good. Really. But I'm not the one, you're not
the one before who we're going to stand. Listen, I've got some
hope for you. I've got some hope for me. If
there's any hope whatsoever for me to hear from the judge of
this universe, the judge of all things, if there's any hope for
me to hear Him say to me, I'll be the scapegoat here. You just
listen in while I talk to myself. If there's any hope for me to
hear Him say, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. If there's any
hope for me, it's going to be because God Almighty has done
something for me that I could not do for myself. God Himself
is going to have to do something. It will be because according
to His everlasting purpose to show mercy to this sinner, and
that's what I am. Some might say, well, what's
your estimation of yourself, Marvin? Well, here it is. according to God's Word and according
to my conscience and according to what I know is so. I've never done one thing that
God Almighty would look at and say, well done. No, I agree with the Apostle
Paul, O wretched man that I am. If God Almighty is going to show
mercy To me, I know this. I've got a problem with sin. I've got a problem. The Scripture says I was conceived
in it. I came forth from my mother's
womb speaking lies. This is God's Word. God told
us this. I know that I am a sinner by
birth, by choice, by practice. Is there any hope for me? Is
there any hope for anybody? Here's the good news. The good news is that Almighty
God, according to His infinite wisdom and purpose, mercy, compassion,
has dealt with sin in His blessed Son. Now, this is what God has
to say. I'm not going to give you my
opinion because what's my opinion worth? I've got one whose opinion
matters. That's it. And what else anybody
else says, it just fades into nothingness. It just doesn't
matter. Here's what the Word of God says
concerning what God has done. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians
1, verse 4, and he's speaking to the saints that are at Ephesus,
the faithful in Christ Jesus. It says, According as He hath
chosen us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the
world that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. So here's what I know. God Almighty
has been pleased to show mercy. What does that Scripture right
there mean? He's chosen us in Him. Have you ever heard this passage
of Scripture? For God so loved the world. that He gave His only
begotten Son. Do you know what the word world
means? The arrangement. The order. The
order. God Almighty loved the order
of man. I'm looking at a bunch of men
and women that comes out of an order called humans. Humanity. There's an order of
fish, order of birds, order of four-footed beasts, order of
angels. An angel and a man are not the
same order. A bird is not the same order as a four-footed beast.
It's orders. But God, look up the word, world. God so loved the arrangement
of man. He loved mankind. He loved this order. And knowing
what we are in ourselves, I know what God says concerning what
we did. In the garden, God told Adam,
you can eat of all of the trees, but of just one. One tree. Don't eat of that fruit. And
the day you eat of that fruit, you're going to die. And you
know what happened, don't you? He ate of it. And what happened?
He died. Not at that moment, not physically,
spiritually. The presence of God Himself was
not with him anymore. Spiritually, he died. But God
loved this order. And if God Almighty would have
left every one of us to ourselves, if He'd leave every one of us
to ourselves just to do whatever we thought was the right thing
to do, every one of us would do just like Adam did. We'd rebel
against God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
God Almighty, the Scripture sets forth, chose, Revelation 4 says,
out of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue, a people. He chose a people that He was
not going to let perish. That's what God has to say. Now, I know what men say, but
I'm telling you what God has to say. And Almighty God, the
Scripture says in Ephesians 1.5, having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will." Predestinated. That means to
determine the destination beforehand. Just what you think it would
mean. Almighty God. And He gave a people to His Son. Now remember, remember who is
saying this. Remember who said this. When
men raised their head in rebellion before God Almighty and said,
I don't believe that. Well, I didn't say this. God said this. The Scripture sets forth that
the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world with all that the
Father had given Him, chosen in Him, before the foundation
of the world, and He lived before them. Now listen, when God the
Father gave a people to His Son, He entrusted their eternal well-being
to the Son, and never looked to His elect again for satisfaction. He looked to one. He looked to
one. He looked to his son as their
surety. And he looked, and this is what
he said, his son who came into this world as the federal head
and representative of all that the Father had given him, here
he was living as their federal head, as their representative. And the Father said, This is
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. You hear Him. He lived before God Almighty
establishing a righteousness that I could not establish. I could not establish it. And
here is my blessed surety living as my representative before God
the Father, and the Father is well pleased with him, and therefore
well pleased with me in him. Apart from him, no, God is a
consuming fire outside of Christ. I had to have a righteousness
that God would accept. Christ earned it. But what about
my sin? What about my sin? What am I
going to do about that? God is a just God. God Almighty
is a just God. He can't just say, well, I'm
just sweeping under rugs. It won't be any big deal. He's
a just God. He's a just God. A just God. The soul that sinneth is going
to die. What about my sin? 2 Corinthians 5.21 says this, He,
the Father, hath made Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, sin for us. He who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. At Calvary, somebody
says, well, he just went to Calvary to pay for everybody's sin so
that he could make salvation possible. Are you telling me that God Almighty,
the Son, went to Calvary and paid everybody's debt? Paid everybody's
debt? Put away everybody's sin. And God Almighty is going to
send some of them to hell that He died for? If He put away my
sin and paid my debt, Then if God sends one man or one woman
to hell, He's not just. You say, well, no, He made it
possible. He made it possible. And then God has done His part
and I must do my part to make it effectual. Then you're telling
me that salvation is by my work. No. No. Salvation is by the grace
of God. And God Almighty saves. He saves
His people. He died. By one offering, He
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. So my question is this. What think ye of Christ? This
is what the Scriptures say. I'll ask you. As I ask myself
in closing, can I have any assurance? Can
I have any hope that I've passed from death to life? Have I got any confidence that
God has done something for me? Any peace in my soul that I've
been justified freely by His grace that the law of God can
look at me and say, no charge. That's what justified means.
When somebody says they're justified. I've used this example before
here with folks. They've heard it before. That's
okay. They'll tolerate me, hopefully. I was living in Tennessee 20
years. And it was a shootout one day. in Brentwood, Tennessee. And
police officers got into a gun battle with some robbers. And in the midst of everything
that was going on, a police officer came onto the scene, didn't know
exactly where everybody was, thought that she did, and pulled
up real close to one of the bandits. And when he saw that police officer,
he started running toward that police officer with his gun drawn.
He was going to execute her. And when he came out from his
hiding place and got out there in the open, all of the other
police officers cut him down and killed him out there in the
street. Well, they brought it before
the judge had an inquiry and everything. And this is why I
was listening to that radio one day. This is what they said. He said that the judge looked
at all the evidence and found that those police officers were
justified. Justified in shooting that bandit. Justified. You know what that
means? The law said there's no charge there. There's no charge. No charge. Can I have any assurance whatsoever
that God's law can look at me and say, no charge. That the Lord Jesus Christ has
put my guilt away. That God Almighty has robed me
in His perfect righteousness. And in Him, I stand before God
justified. There's one evidence. This is
it. This is the only evidence right here. Paul the Apostle
said to a Philippian jailer when he asked him, what's the evidence? And Paul said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. To believe
on Him is to shun everything else that you or I can do. I
mean, I'm not talking about me and the Lord doing something.
I'm not talking about my works added to His works. I'm talking
about believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone. is to count as done, that's what
Philippians 3 says, all things that a man would think that God
apart from His Son is pleased with. This is the gospel. This is man's
situation. Man by nature is a rebel against
God. We're all like that. God's just
and God's going to deal with sin. If God Almighty doesn't
deal with sin in my substitute and punish him, The Father killed
Him. He killed Him. He died. He died. He forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said that. My God, my
God, why have you forsaken Me? Because God would not forsake
His people. And those that Christ has put away their guilt, how
do you know who they are? They believe Him. They trust
Him. And they have no confidence whatsoever in their flesh. This
is the only message that gives God all the glory. This is the
only one. Salvation is of the Lord. If
you can say with a heart, I believe that. And I'm going to tell you
something. God's done something for you.
Because this message is by revelation. A new heart. You've got a good
hope. This is the message that I preached.
I'd be a different passage. Every message. And I never failed. Vivian would
come up to me and she'd say, thank you. Thank you for being
honest with me. I say, I pray the Lord give me
a heart to be honest with myself. For Christ's sake. Amen. Gary, would you come?