Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. Verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which
he had promised to for by his prophets in the holy scriptures,
concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh, and declared, and I purposefully
omitted the words that were in italics in the first verse, as
I will here, and declared the Son of God with power according
to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.
Let's pray together. Our Father, how thankful we are
this evening. that we have the privilege to
be able to meet together as brethren with the full assurance that
we are in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask you,
bless the preaching of your Word. We ask that you would comfort
your people. those that you have everlastingly
loved. And we ask this for Christ's
sake. Amen. be called a servant of Christ. He said, I was called an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God. When we say that we preach
the gospel, and I understand that everybody
that stands in a pulpit says, we're preaching the gospel. What do we mean? Well, the way
that you know what we mean when we say anything is what does
the Scripture say? I may have an opinion. What has
God an opinion? What sayeth the Scriptures? That
is the first, that's the last authority. And to be honest with
you, it doesn't really matter what you or I have to say apart
from that. It just doesn't matter. Because
I promise you this, in the last day, what do you think is going to
stand? Heaven and earth is going to pass away. The Lord said,
My Word will never pass away. Separated under the gospel. Gospel means the good tidings,
the good news, the good message. It's the proclamation, as I've
said before. The gospel is not an offer. It's
not offering you anything. We proclaim the good tidings
of life, pardon, mercy, peace, before God Almighty in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. God's preachers proclaim Christ
the gospel. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publish peace,
that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation,
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. This is what we love
to preach. God reigns. God's in control. That's what I love. I love to
preach the gospel. The gospel is the announcement,
the announcement, the proclamation, the setting forth of that which Almighty God has
purpose to do. before the foundation of the
world concerning the salvation of a people that He has everlastingly
loved, that He chose according to His own will and purpose,
not in anything that He saw in them that was worthy for that
choosing. There is none good, no, not one. The gospel. What is it to preach
the gospel? Well, let's say this. First of
all, according to this scripture right here, it is the gospel
of God. Paul said, a servant of Jesus
Christ called an apostle separated unto the gospel of God. This
wasn't made up by man. How could it have ever entered
into the heart of man, into a dead, spiritually dead sinner, of how
God Almighty could be just and justify a sinner? How could a
man, a dead man? This is the gospel of God. God
Almighty is the author of the gospel. He is the one who separates
men unto it. God calls preachers to preach
the gospel. And I'll tell you this, when
God calls a man to preach the gospel, they preach the gospel
of God. And it's consistent with these
scriptures. He is the one who blesses it by His Spirit. He
is the one. who sets forth the comfort to
his people through preachers, all that he's everlastingly loved.
It's the gospel of God. Secondly, this gospel is concerning
his Son. Someone may say, I'm going to
teach you, I'm going to preach you a good moral lesson, We're
going to talk about this, and we're going to talk about that,
and I'm going to straighten you out. If the message is not concerning
the glory of Almighty God in the person of His blessed Son,
how God Almighty has been pleased in Christ to save a people by
Him, through Him, for His honor If it's not concerning Christ,
it's not the gospel. It may be a true moral statement,
but it's not the gospel. I gave an example here that's
true. I can tell you this. In the days of Noah, Noah built
a boat. Noah, his wife, his three sons,
their wives. to all kinds of animals, got
on that boat and it rained. And the water came up 40 days
and 40 nights. It came up and it rained. And
Noah and his wife and sons and flocks of animals were saved
in that boat. Anything wrong with that story?
No. It's true. Not the gospel. It's not the gospel. That boat was a picture. That
boat was Christ. Noah and all that was in that
boat were those placed inside that boat, that picture of Christ. That rain that came down set
forth the wrath of God that fell upon all men who in themselves
were no good. There was nothing in them that
was good. And God rained out judgment upon
them. But they were in the ark. They
were in Christ. They were protected. He bore
the brunt in their stead. That's the gospel. A man can take Scriptures and rest. Use these Scriptures. The Lord told some Pharisees.
He said, you search the Scriptures. And in them, you think you have
life. You're reading Scriptures. But He said, these are they that
testify of Me. They didn't see Him. And they
weren't preaching Christ. They were preaching words out
of the Scriptures. Men are standing in pulpits preaching
out of this Bible right here and never see Christ. This is
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah the Savior. That's what
you said last night, the Anointed Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
concerning verse 3 in Romans 1, His Son, Jesus Christ, which
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared
the Son of God with power. The Lord Jesus Christ. substitute,
our Savior. Paul said it like this concerning
the preaching of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 1, 2, For I determined
not to know, not to give attention to anything among you, save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. Paul said, I'm not going to preach
anything but Christ and Him crucified. That's it. Now, let me ask you
something. Does that mean that the only
thing that Paul preached was the day of the crucifixion? All
he preached about was the actual day in which the Lord was actually
nailed to the cross. Is that what Paul was preaching?
Is that what he meant when he said Christ and Him crucified?
Listen, to preach Christ and Him crucified, is to go and to
preach the whole counsel of God concerning His Son. Let me tell
you where Christ and Him crucified starts. Before the foundation
of the world, Almighty God chose the people I was talking about
a few minutes ago in Christ, considered them in Christ, chose
them, eternally loved them, set His affection on them, chose
them, considered them in Christ to be holy without blame. In Him, secure the Lord Jesus
Christ, the surety of the sheep who ever covenanted, I will answer
for them. Christ and Him crucified started
eternally with Almighty God. In time, Christ and Him crucified. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world, born of a virgin, made of woman, made under the
law, came into this world and lived before Almighty God in
absolute obedience. God's Lamb. This is Christ and
Him crucified. He who knew no sin was made sin. I've said before, upon that cross, there was our substitute, made
sin, the holy, spotless Lamb of God who lived before God in
absolute obedience and came and laid down His life, made what
we are by nature sin, and God Almighty dealt with Him in absolute
justice. Christ in Him crucified is to
preach the totality of who He is, what He's done, where He
is now. The obedient one. Not the day
of the crucifixion only. It's to preach Christ. It's concerning His Son. To preach
Christ in Him crucified is to say that All that he represented,
all that he lived for, all that he died for, every eye was dotted
of the law. Every key was crossed for them.
When he obeyed, all of his people chosen in him. And were God chosen,
Brother Scott? You said it is true. Where God
put them, that's where God kept them. And Greg, when he obeyed,
I obeyed. Have I ever obeyed the law of
God perfectly? In Him I have. In Him I have. When He obeyed, I obeyed. When
He walked, I walked. When He died, I died. Paul said,
I was crucified with Him under the judgment of Almighty God,
my substitute. He lived. Christ. is the end of the law for righteousness.
Let me ask you this. How much more do I have to do
to establish righteousness, obedience? Can I say it like that? Does
that make it easier to understand? Obedience, perfect obedience,
righteousness. How much more do I have to do
to establish righteousness before God that will answer, that will
stand, and God Almighty will look upon me and say, well done. How much more do I have to do?
Nothing. Nothing. Do you think I'm going to add
to what He has done for me? Don't you even think that you're
going to put your filthy hands on what He's done And you're
going to establish anything that's going to add to His work, His
obedience. Christ is the end of the law. Here's the distance from that
wall to this wall. Start walking. All right. Keep
walking. Keep walking. Now, when you get
to this, that's the end of it. That's as far as you go. You
have satisfied the distance right there. He's the end of the law
for righteousness. to everyone that God Almighty
gives faith to believe Him. How do you know that He lived
for me? How do I know I believe God? The end of the law. How about
my sanctification? That's holiness. He of God is
made unto us. Holiness. Sanctification. What am I going to do What can
I do? What did Abraham do? Abraham believed God. He believed
God. He believed God Almighty. What
is it to preach the Gospel? It's to preach Him who is satisfied
God Almighty. the gospel. He was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh. He came into this world. The Word was made flesh, but
He was declared to be the Son of God. The God-Man, Almighty
God, came into this world, and I'm telling you, His eternal
dignity was concealed in the likeness of sinful flesh. And here was the man, the man
Christ Jesus, the God man who walked before God, a man, satisfied
God. One man, one man has satisfied
God. And I'm telling you, he's not
sitting in this room here openly where I can see him. One man
did. And I'm telling you, You don't preach the law to God's
people to straighten them out. Well, how do you keep them in
line? I don't. How am I going to keep them in
line? They that are led by the Spirit of God, they're the sons
of God. Almighty God, the love of Christ
constrains a man. You preach Christ to him. You
preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the gospel of God. And
I'm telling you, God will lead His people. God will take care
of His people. I'm here to comfort. Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Your warfare is over. It's over. The victory is won. Christ is our victor. I mean, Greg told me That's what
he's preaching on tonight. He's our victor. The gospel. It's the gospel of God. It's
the gospel concerning His Son. And then lastly, it's the only
message, this is the only message, that the Spirit of God blesses
to the salvation of God's elect and the comfort of those that
He calls out of darkness. This is the only message. There
is no other message. There is no other man. What else does a believer want
to hear? What else do you want to feed on? We feed on him. Romans 1, 15, Paul says, So as much as in me
is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome
also, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first, And also to the Greek, for therein, in the gospel, therein is the,
you see that word righteousness? Put obedience there. Put obedience
right there. For therein is the obedience
of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just
shall live by faith. They believe God. This message,
the scripture says, is foolishness to the world. But I'm telling
you, this is the greatest message of life that a believer has ever
heard. You mean to tell me that Almighty
God is satisfied by the obedience of my federal head, the Lord
Jesus Christ? That's right. You mean to tell me that God
Almighty requires nothing else from me for righteousness before
Him being found totally in Him. That's right. You mean to tell
me that God accepts me in Him and that there's no condemnation
to me whatsoever. That's right. That's the greatest
message I've ever heard in my life. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
this Gospel. This is the message. And God's
people love to hear it. That's all they'll hear. What
is the Gospel? It's the Gospel of God concerning
His Son, who He is, what He's done, where He is right now. Right now. There's a man in heaven,
Chris, that's answering for me. The man, Christ Jesus. God's
man. There's a man in glory that's
sitting on the throne of God. And he's my husband. He's my
Lord. He has ever answered for me.
What do I do? God's given me a heart to believe
in. Obedience. How's that? You believe
it? Amen. I'm so very thankful that
the Lord Jesus Christ is infinite in His person and in the accomplishment
of His work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have anything
else to say tonight because we heard We heard it all. Thank you, Marvin. Appreciate
that so much. Will you turn with me in your
Bibles to Revelation Chapter 15. Revelation Chapter 15. I pray and hope that the Lord will
be pleased to enable us to believe the Lord Jesus Christ as Our
victor. Christ our victor. That's the title of this message. And apart from him as our victor
then the scripture says that we are condemned to eternal judgment. There are those who are conquerors
in Christ and those who are vessels fitted for destruction. There's
no in between. Now, I'm interested in knowing
what God's word has to say about how to be. A conqueror in Christ. And before we begin, I want to
distinguish the difference between what the scripture teaches and
what's been taught in religion. In that. A conqueror in Christ
is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not talking about
some elite group of Christians who are victorious Christian. You know, you hear about the
victorious Christian life. No, no, we're not. We're not
talking about that at all. Those who are in Christ are victors. Those who are outside of Christ
are under the wrath of God. And It's one way or the other,
and I can prove that to you from God's Word right here in Revelation
chapter 15. If you'll read with me verse
two and John says, I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled
with fire and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and
over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name
stand on the sea of glass. and having the hearts of God
and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God the song of
the lamb saying great and marvelous are thy works Lord God Almighty
just and true are thy ways thou king of the saints. This is all the saints of God
in glory gathered together singing praises to him as their victor. And the scripture says that they
had gotten the victory over the beast. How do we get the victory
over the beast? Is it by our commitment, our
determination? Perhaps if we set up some accountability
groups and hold each other in scrutiny to the law then we can
help each other get the victory. That's what's practiced in religion. Why strength of character and
determination that'll get you there as if this was some sort
of a sporting event. The more you work out and the
harder you practice the better you'll be until finally you get
the victory. Is that what God's word says
about those who sing this song of praise to the lamb who are
called victors? Turn back with me, if you will,
to first John chapter five. I'm interested. What Paul said
in Romans chapter eight and all these things, we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. I want to conquer this battle. I want to be on the Lord's side.
I want to be in that congregation of saints in glory that join
their voices together in singing praises to their Christ, to the
Lamb of God. I want to be on the winning side,
don't you? You know, at the end of the day,
that's the only thing that's going to matter. It really, really is. The longer I live in this world,
the more convinced I am of that. I know some of the elder brothers
and sisters here are thinking, well, you don't know anything
yet, and I'm sure I don't. But I did get my first senior
discount this past week. That was a new thing for me and
just reminded me again of truly, truly how fleeting this life
is. It is as a vapor. And there will
come a day, there will come a day when we have a God with whom
we must do. And regardless of what a person's
interest is now in the gospel, In that day. In that day, that
will be their only interest. Their only wish, their only hope.
Is that they? Were on his side. 1 John chapter 5. Verse 4. For whatsoever is born of God
and what is born of God. What is born of God, you remember
from last night? Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born
of God. To have faith from faith to faith,
the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ given to us, to trust him, to
be born of the Spirit, whosoever is born of God over cometh the
world. I'm interested in overcoming
the world. The world stands in judgment of God. And this is
the victory. This is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith. Even our faith. Scripture tells us that the only
hope of getting this victory, the only hope of being an overcomer
of this present evil world in which we live and all the temptations
of the beast that we just read about in Revelation 17 or 15
is faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at verse five in first John, chapter five. Who is he that
overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is
the son of God? In another place, our Lord said,
no, you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the
enemy of God. In another place, he said, no
man can serve two masters. That he will love the one and
hate the other. You cannot serve the world. He
said, Mammon, and I'm going to show you in just a moment. How
Mammon represents all that's in the world, all that's in the
world is represented by Mammon. Cannot serve the world, cannot
serve Mammon and God. Paul said in Colossians chapter
three, if you therefore be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above. Where Christ is at the right
hand of God, set your affections on the things that are above,
set your affections on Christ. not on things of the world. Lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven, not upon the earth. Why? Because those treasures
upon the earth, the thieves break in and steal and moth and rust
corrupt those treasures that are in heaven, in Christ, seated
the right hand of the majesty on high, ever living to make
intercession for us, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our victor. He's our hope of overcoming this
present evil world. Paul said in Ephesians chapter
two, in times past, you walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that worketh now in the children of darkness. But now. God's translated you, he put
you in that arc, put you in Christ, made you more than a conqueror
in the Lord Jesus Christ. So I don't I don't feel that
way, I feel like the world has too much of an influence on me.
Too many times I find myself being attracted to this world.
Well, turn with me to First John, Chapter two. This passage of Scripture May strike your heart with fear
at first, but I pray that the Lord will comfort you. With the truth of who it is that
has overcome the world on your behalf. Look what he says, love,
not the world, verse 15 of First John, Chapter two. Love, not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him.
You know, I the attractions of this world. The attractions of. Pleasure and popularity and power
seem awfully strong sometimes to me. Love, not the world. New things
that are in the world. What is the world? Well, John's
using this word world to describe all men alienated from God and
hostile to the cause of Christ. Everything contrary to grace,
whether it be religious or irreligious, the Antichrist, as he mentioned
several times. That belief system that denies
the Lord Jesus Christ, his glory and salvation and refuses to
bow to his word. Everything under the influence
and dominion of Satan, the prince and the power of the air sums
up the world. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the
love of the father is not in him. In another place. Romans, Chapter 12. The Lord. Brings that first 11 chapters
of Roman, the clearest and most comprehensive declaration of
the gospel that we have all in the word of God. And after having
declared the truth as it is in Christ, he says, I beseech you,
therefore, brethren, in light of all these glorious truths
and accomplishments in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice. wholly acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service, and be not conformed. Don't be pressed
into the mold of this world, but rather be transformed, be
metamorphosized. That's what that word is. Be
changed by the renewing of your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. That's a work of grace. I said
last night that what God commands, God provides. You know, too often
times we read these things and we say, oh. Husbands, love your
wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. How
can I do that? God is constantly commanding
us things that we are absolutely unable to do. And that's where
grace comes in. Love not the world and the things
that are in the world. Oh, Lord, I. Fine. You need a new heart? You need
a new heart? Come to me. I'll take out that
heart of stone. Put in a heart of flesh. People talk about giving their
heart to Jesus. I got news for you. He don't want it. He's got
no interest in it. Your heart is deceitful, the
scripture says. Corrupt beyond description. Every
imagination of the heart is only evil and that Continuously, what's
he going to do with your heart? No, it's not. Lord, I give you
my heart. Why don't you fix it up for me?
Lord, I need a new heart. I need you to take out this heart
of stone, this cold, lifeless heart. Give me a living, beating,
warm heart of grace and love. Enable me to live by your spirit.
Cause me to be led by the law of grace, the law of the spirit,
the law of love. There's freedom there. John describes this world that
we are not to love in verse 16. This is very important now. Follow
me on this. Verse 16, he says, for all that
is in the world. All that is in the world. He's
going to tell us everything he's going to summarize for us. This
is the Holy Spirit of God giving to his people a description of
this world in order that they might be aware of the tactics
of the prince of the power of the air who's using this world
as a source of of temptation for us and cause us to see that
the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome the world for us. All that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh. Now, that's. The desire for pleasure. Lust of the flesh, you know what
that is, we don't have to describe that. That desire of the flesh
that would disobey God in order to gratify its own personal needs. The loss of the eyes. So what's
that? That's the desire for the approval
of men that's lusting after the attention of men. That's what
it is. The lust of the eyes is desiring
the praise of men over the praise of God and compromising the things
of God in order to get the approval of a man. Now, who hasn't done
that? The lust of the flesh is pleasure. The lust of the eyes is popularity. And finally, he says, and the
pride of life. Pride. Power. Desire for control. And I said
to you a while ago that mammon is used to describe the world.
Why is mammon a summary of the entire world system? The Lord
said the love of money is the root of all evil. Why? Because
it's money that purchases for us popularity. Pleasure and power. The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes and the pride of life are purchased with money
and men who love the world sacrifice all in order to achieve those
great ends. Say, well, I find these I find
these things it work in me. Yeah, they're the result of the
fall. If you go back to the garden,
You'll find that Satan tempted Eve with the exact same three
temptations. He's got the same arsenal of
weapons that he had at the very beginning. He hasn't changed
his tactics. He knows that men are so deceived
and easily deceived that he can just keep using the same thing
he used on Eve. When Eve was tempted by the serpent
in the garden. What did she see? She saw that the tree that was
forbidden was good for food. Lust of the flesh. The belly
is used all throughout the scripture as a picture of the flesh. Men
who feed their bellies. The belly is that it's just a
symbol of of all the all the pleasures and desires of the
flesh and the tree in the garden was seen by Eve as good for food,
pleasing to the taste, satisfying the belly. What else did she
say she saw that it was pleasant to the eyes? It was pleasant
to the eyes. Oh, it was appealing to. To the
eye of man, it was a beautiful thing, the loss of the flesh,
the loss of the eyes. And what else did she say? Desired
to make one wise, good for food, pleasant to the eyes and desired
to make one wise. Eat of this fruit, Eve, you'll
have all the power that man can achieve. You'll be like God. You see, the truth is, if we
trace back our. Our enticements by the world. Every time the world's ever enticed
us to sin, every time Satan's ever gotten a foothold in our
lives, every time we've found ourselves loving the world and
the things that are in the world, it has something to do with the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life
has something to do with pleasure. with popularity and with power. Now travel with me for just a
moment, if you will, to Matthew chapter four. We won't necessarily
have to go there. You know the story. You know
the story. The Lord Jesus Christ announces
himself. And he has the approval of the
voice of the father and the descending of the dove at his baptism. He
inaugurates his public ministry as the Christ. The savior of
Israel and the scripture says immediately, immediately he was
driven into the wilderness. For 40 days, that flood lasted
40 days, the Lord Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days. In the wilderness,
40 days, and in his weakest hour, in his weakest moment, he accomplished
for us What we could not do for ourselves in the perfect environment
of the Garden of Eden. Satan came to him. In that hour. You remember what Satan said? Satan approached the Lord Jesus
Christ. He did. Satan didn't send one
of his minions like we have to contend with oftentimes. Satan
himself came. Lucifer confronted the Lord Jesus
Christ, the prince of evil, the father of lies. The power of
the air face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ in his weakest
hour, in his weakest moment. He said, if thou be the Christ.
Why don't you satisfy your hunger? Gratify the desires of your flesh. Turn that stone into bread. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as
our victor, as the only one who is able ever been able to destroy
the works of the devil. That's what John said he came
to do. He came to destroy the works of the devil. The Lord
Jesus Christ said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceed is out of the mouth of God. And the Lord got the victory
over that trial over that temptation. Satan tried his second weapon
that he had in his arsenal. He said, I'll tell you, he took
him as a matter of fact, the scripture says he took him. To
the pinnacle of the temple, now the pinnacle of the temple wasn't
a steeple on top of a building, it was the southeast corner of
the temple wall that surrounded the temple in Jerusalem. Below
that temple, below that wall, 200 feet down was the Kidron
Valley and in the Kidron Valley was the marketplace for Jerusalem. And all the people were gathered
there doing their business, and it was the entrance into the
eastern gate into the city of Jerusalem. Throngs of crowds
of people, and there they are standing on the top corner of
that temple wall. And Satan says to the Lord Jesus
Christ, cast yourself down. For you have the promise of God
that the angels will catch you, and you'll not so much as dash
your foot against the stone. You've come and announced yourself
to be the Messiah, the Christ. What better way to earn and to
achieve the popularity of man and to convince all those people
that you are who you said you were? Cast yourself down. The Lord Jesus said, Thou shalt
not tempt the Lord thy God. I'm not going to do it your way.
I came to get the victory over you, Satan. Turn with me to 1
John chapter 5. I'm sorry, I thought 1 John chapter
5 was that passage I wanted you to see about the Lord Jesus Christ
coming to get the victory over Satan, but it's there in 1 John. That's what he came to do. And so Satan takes the Lord Jesus
Christ up on a mountain. And he says to the Lord, bow
down and worship me and I'll give you all these kingdoms I'll
allow you to exercise your power in the world. Well, first of
all, it wasn't his to give. The Lord Jesus is sovereign. He is Lord over the living and
the dead. You know that, don't you? You don't make him Lord. People talk about, well, you
need to make Jesus Lord of your life. No, I have something to
tell you right now. Without any equivocation whatsoever,
the Lord Jesus Christ reigns sovereign over your life. right
this very minute whether you like it or not. And He will have
His way with you. And He'll do with you whatsoever
He wills. And whatever He does will be
right. And when we come to believe that,
when we come to believe that He's sovereignly controlling
our lives, then and only then will we bow before Him and plead
His mercy. He's omnipotent. He reigned sovereign
over the armies of heaven, the inhabitants of the earth. No
man can stay his hand. No man can say unto him, what
doest thou? He hath done whatsoever he wills. Whatsoever he wills. He already has all the power. No, he wasn't tempted by Satan's. Temptation. Bow down and worship
me, said no. Man shall worship the Lord God
and him only shall he serve. What is the world made up of
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of
life? Pleasure, popularity and power. What did Satan tempt Eve
with in the garden? Eat of that fruit. It's good
for you food. It's good for your food. It's
pleasant to the eyes and it's desired to make one wise. You'll
have power. You see what you and I were not
able to do in the garden. Under the best of circumstances,
under the easiest of trials, the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
for us in the best of in the worst of circumstances. He's our victor. He's our victor. Only as we are enabled by the
grace of God to look to the Lord Jesus Christ As our righteousness
before God, as the one who destroyed the works of the devil. Conquered
sin and the grave and death and became our victor for us only
as we're able to look down. Can we have any power of grace
in our lives? You see, it's not a matter of
determination. It's not a matter of commitment.
It's not a matter of grit. It's not a matter of personal
sacrifice. How do we overcome the world
by faith? That's what John said. We don't
just read that. Turn with me to first 2nd Corinthians,
chapter five, 2nd Corinthians, chapter five. I'll change it, 2nd Corinthians,
chapter 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. Verse three. For though we walk in the flesh,
we're in the world, we're not to be of the world, how do we
do that? Well, we don't war after the flesh. We don't put into
practice the wisdom of man. We don't put into practice the
determination of our will or the strength of our commitments
to conquer this battle. That's not how we win it. We
walk in the flesh. We do not war after the flesh,
for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are
mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. How do I
defeat Satan? How do I become a conqueror?
How do I not love the world nor the things that are in the world?
How do I not be manipulated by the temptations of pleasure and
popularity and power? Here it is, look at verse 5.
Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted
itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity
every thought to obey Christ. Is that what
it says? The last phrase in that verse
is extremely important to understanding this truth. Bringing every thought
to the obedience of Christ. You see that? You see that? Only as I look to the obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ, only as I look to Him as my victor,
Only as I see that in him I am righteous and without sin, only
as I see him as my conqueror over that beast, over pleasure,
popularity and power, only as I look to him do I have the grace
to walk in the Spirit. And as soon as I take my eyes
off of the obedience of Christ and start looking to my own obedience,
I'm going to find myself I'm going to find myself. In the hands of the devil tempted
by him, tried by you see that. The Lord Jesus Christ started
his ministry. In the wilderness, in order to
prove that he is our substitute. He is the one and only one that's
able to get the victory for us. He is the one and only one that's
able to present a righteous obedience to the Father on behalf of his
people. He ended his ministry in a garden. It's not by mistake that the
story of man's fall began in a garden and the Lord Jesus Christ
got the victory for that fall in the garden. Eden was a place
of peaceful delight, where Adam walked with God in the cool of
the day. Gethsemane was a place where the last Adam felt in his
very soul the terrors of sin and agonized over the separation
that he would experience on Calvary's cross from the father. In Eden,
Eve conversed with Satan and Adam hid from God. In Gethsemane,
Christ The Lord Jesus sought the face of God in Eden. Adam sinned in Gethsemane. Christ suffered in Eden. Adam fell to the temptations
of the devil in Gethsemane. Christ, the Redeemer, conquered
sin once and for all. When he said, Father. If there
be any way this cup can pass from me, let it be nevertheless. Nevertheless, Not my will, but
thine be done. He came to do the will of the
father and he submitted to the will of the father to the very
end. And what God requires of me and you for us to be in that
heavenly choir singing praises to Christ, what he requires of
us is perfect obedience. God never said to me or you one
time, do your best and I'll be satisfied. I am satisfied with
Christ. That's my beloved son. In him,
I'm well pleased. Hear ye him. He's the only one
that can do for you what you cannot do for yourself and satisfy
my demands for righteousness. In Eden, Adam fell before Satan. In Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus
Christ fell before the Father in faith. and the soldiers fell
before him in fear. In Eden, Adam and Eve were deceived
in the light of day. In Gethsemane, Christ remained
faithful to the Father in the dark of night. In Eden, man lost
his way. In Gethsemane, of all them that
thou hast given me, I have lost none. In Eden, Adam took the
forbidden fruit from the hand of his wife. In Gethsemane, Christ
took the bitter cup from the hand of his father for his wife. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
victor. It is His obedience. You say, well, aren't I supposed
to love not the world? Yes, and the only power to resist
the temptation of Satan is the love of Christ. That's what Paul
said, and that's what he meant when he said it is the love of
Christ that constrains me. It is what he did for me in satisfying
the demands of God. And I'm so often reminded of how
frail and how easily tempted I am to the wiles of the devil.
But, oh, thank God I've got a substitute. Thank God I've got one that defeated
him and that stands as my conqueror and my victor. And in him I'm
free. In Eden, Adam hid himself in
shame when God asked, Where art thou, Adam? In Gethsemane, Christ
boldly showed himself when asked if he was Jesus of Nazareth. In Eden, God sought Adam. In Gethsemane, Christ sought
God. From Eden, Adam was driven. From Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus
Christ was led to Calvary's cross. In Eden, God drew a sword, a
flaming sword to keep man out. In Gethsemane, God sheathed the
sword to show man that the way to God was not in the arm of
flesh, but it was the way of peace as the Lord Jesus Christ
makes peace with God for us through the sacrifice of Himself. Turn with me in your Bibles in
conclusion, in conclusion to this message to 1 Samuel chapter
17. First Samuel Chapter 17. Oh, every Sunday school boy and
girl knows this story. It's been used an innumerable
times. To inspire men to stand up against
the giants of their life. Oh, you hear even their religious
talk about David and Goliath, don't you? You need to believe God like
little David did and stand up against the giants that come
against you. And in faith, you'll defeat them. You'll defeat them and you'll
be like David. No. This story is not about. You
or me. David's not a picture. Of a center
here. David is a picture of none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you that first Samuel
chapter 17. Look with me in verse 8. And
he Goliath stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said
unto them, why are you come out to set your battle in array?
Am not I a Philistine now? Set it out, Goliath. Here's a
picture of all that all that's in the world. All that's in the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride
of life. He's a picture of that beast in Revelation 15. He's
a picture of the devil that tempted Christ. He's a picture of that
one that that sent his his wiles against us and trips us up with
popularity and pleasure and power. That's that's that's Goliath.
This is a this is a battle against Christ and the devil. That's
why this story is in the scriptures. It's not a story about you conquering
your giants. You will conquer your giants,
you understand this story, but not by thinking that you're David.
Look what he says in verse nine, Goliath said in the last part
of verse eight, He said choose you a man from you and let him
come down to me and if he be able to fight with me and to
kill me then will he be your then will we be your service
and if I be prevailed against him and kill him then shall he
be our servants and serve us. And the Philistines said, I defy
the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we might fight. And when Saul and all Israel
heard these words of the Philistines, they were dismayed and greatly
afraid. You see the gospel in this story.
Give me a man, a representative, one man, one man to stand against
me. If he defeats me, then we will
serve him. If I defeat him, then Israel
is our servants. Look at verse 45. That same chapter. Then said David to the Philistines,
Thou comest to me with sword and with a spear and with a shield,
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled this day Will
the Lord deliver thee into my hand and I will smite thee and
take that head from thee and I will give the carcasses to
the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air
and to the wild beasts of the earth and all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. You know the rest of the story. David killed Goliath didn't he? You want to be on God's side.
You want to be on God's side. You want to be a part of that
heavenly host singing praises and hosannas to the lamb. Who
are called the victors. You have to be a part of Israel. Not that national Israel that.
Got their descendants from flesh, but the spiritual Israel. Spiritual
Israel, not circumcised with hands, but circumcised by the
spirit in the heart. Those who look to not David,
the king, but the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their
man who stood against their enemy and conquered him for them. He
got the victory. When he bowed his mighty head
on Calvary's cross, you know, we oftentimes quote. What he
said in his dying words, it is finished and it was finished.
But, you know, that's not the last thing he said. It's not
the last thing he said. He finished the work, he put
away sin, he satisfied the demands of God's justice and righteousness. But you know what the last thing
was, he said. Father, into thine hands I commit my spirit. And he bowed his mighty head
and gave up the ghost. Trusting the Father to the very
last moment of His life. Believing God. Now that's what
God requires. The truth is that you and I,
oh, we shudder to think about how many times we've not believed
God. How many times we've fallen to
the tactics of the devil And we've denied the very truth of
Christ for the pleasure of the flesh, the popularity of man, or for the power of success. Pride. There is one. There is one who stood against
the enemy and he got the victory for his people. Those who look
to him, bow to him, Love Him. Believe Him. Oh, they'll be tripped up. But looking to Christ, they'll
be brought again and again and again. You know, in religion,
men talk about coming to Christ as if it's a one-time event.
This is why Peter said, to whom coming? To whom coming? We don't come to him one time
and think, well, I got saved. That's that's taken care of.
I'm OK now. No, no, no, no. No, the presence of our flesh
and the temptations and wiles of the devil is the very thing
that keeps us coming, keeps us causing the sea. We need a substitute. We need a savior. We need one
who gets the victory every time, every time. And it could stand
before the father. In the full acceptance and pleasure
of God. Represent us. He's our victor. That's good news, isn't it? Good
news to know. God's got one he's satisfied
with. And those that are in him are accepted before God. Accepted
in the beloved. In the beloved.