Before we begin, I want to make
a couple of announcements. I talked with Dale, I mean Chris
and Ruth Wachey. That's the couple that's got
the family and the panhandle here. We're planning to be here
today, and I spoke with Ruth yesterday, and Chris's brother,
Dale. told her that I would mention
before. He's in, I think, Baltimore,
but he's in a very bad state, and I'm almost positive. It has to do with his liver,
and I think it's cancer. And he's just not well. And so they asked if I would
mention that. Every time you think of of that
family. Dale is his name. And also continue
to remember Dale Simpson's son. I haven't spoken with Dale in
the last couple of weeks, but his son's name is Aaron. And
he's also going through some treatments. Remember these that the Lord
has providentially brought to this point. for the good of His
people and for His glory. And then we have our Bible conference
that will be coming up this weekend of 10th, 11th, 12th of April. And Brother Greg Elmquist from
Apopka, Florida, will be with us. As you remember, Brother
Henry, I'd asked Brother Henry for years to come. And I told
him, I said, as long as you feel like coming, you come. You know,
well, he wrote me a letter and said, I just can't come anymore. I just can't travel like I used
to. So I've just left it just with Brother Greg for right now.
But I'm going to say this. I'll wait and see how things
fall out, how the Lord orders things concerning some that will
read and comment before Brother Greg. So we'll just wait and
see. But for right now, just for the official announcement,
it'll be Brother Greg Elmquist here with us. So be remembering
him. And then on the 28th, that's
this coming Saturday, We want to have a time of work day, men
and women, that's everybody, whoever can be here, make a special
effort to be here, men and women, from 9 to 12. Now we'll have
it from 9 to 12 and we'll just cut it off at 12. Plans have been made already
for the fellowship hall. for that afternoon, and so therefore
we won't do anything in the fellowship hall. It'll be right here in
this building, and then whatever is not done, we'll just plan
on the following Tuesday, which I'd have to add it up real fast,
but whatever that is, if it's this coming Saturday, it's the
following Tuesday. We'll just see. Once we all get
here, we'll talk about it, and we'll just wrap up. We want to
try to get the building squared away, so this coming Saturday.
28th. Nine men and women. Everybody
that could show up and we'll try to get together and do what
we can. OK? All right. Let's take our Bibles and turn
to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20. Let's read the first two verses
of Revelation 20. And I saw an angel come down
from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great
chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon,
that old serpent which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years. Our Father, this morning we come
before You and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
would You bless the Word to the comfort of Your people? And Lord,
we pray that You would cause us to truly hear. We ask You Because we can ask
no other. Bless this Word. O Father, bless
it by Your Spirit and cause us to enter in to the rejoicing
of our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is in His name
we pray, Amen. I pray that today that this is not going to be
a day where we have just come together and heard a message
that is doctrinally true, but a message that is not blessed to our heart. I pray
that this is not that day. The Scripture says you have not because you ask
not. Now, we've dealt with that a
little bit. I pray that today that Almighty God, according
to His purpose and will, slays us by the convicting power
of His Holy Spirit and absolutely brings us in the dust before
Him. I pray that starting in the pulpit, that Almighty God bring us down
in our laxed, non-caring attitude. I'm serious. I'm serious. I pray that every one of us might have truly a sickening,
gut-wrenching hatred of ourself. I pray that Almighty God might
cause us to realize how the silliness of our attitudes
and, oh, how I know something about what I'm talking about. I have found myself so complacent. As long as I hear
something that's doctrinally true, well, that was a good message. But has Almighty God taken that
message and set my heart afire with the realization of my need
of Christ? I pray that starting with me,
and I pray for every one of you, that the cares of this world
would be no longer that which steals my heart away, things
that just don't matter, stuff. I pray that starting right
here, things that are more important than the worship of God, I pray
He remove them. I pray He takes them away. I
pray that Almighty God might be pleased to destroy, starting
in me, that which has been something that causes me to be
preoccupied. I pray that God take it away. I pray remove it. I pray destroy
it. I'm serious. I pray that today that God might
save one of His own, some of His own. I pray that God saves
somebody today. I pray He saves somebody. I know
He's going to save His own. I pray that Almighty God might
be pleased to bless this message. and truthfully that we might
say it's been good to be in the house of the Lord. I've got some bad news. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. There's none righteous No, not
one. No unrighteousness shall inherit
the kingdom of God. Of yourself, you can do nothing. But I've got some good news. God Almighty has purpose to save
a people. God Almighty has purpose before
the foundation of the world to save a people. And I pray that I'm one of them. I pray that God have mercy on
your soul and on mine. I pray that today that we truly
might see Him. Satan is a true adversary. John in verse 1 says, I saw an
angel come down from heaven. And this angel laid hold on the
devil, the dragon, Satan, and bound him a thousand years. I've
got three questions to consider on this binding because I'm going
to tell you something right now. If Satan is not bound, We have
no hope. Three questions. Number one,
who bound him? Number two, why did he bind him? And number three, how did he
bind him? Who bound him? John says, I saw an angel come down from heaven. is the angel, the messenger,
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is who He is. The Scripture says that He is
the messenger, the angel of God's covenant. Now, God Almighty has everlastingly promised purposed, willed to have a people
with him. Now those people that he has
everlastingly purposed to save, he is going to save them. Now
you know that. This angel came down from heaven,
the Lord Jesus Christ. the Messiah, Christ himself, the God-man. Now, the Scripture says that
he came down from heaven and he did not come into existence. I said this last week. He didn't
come into existence at his birth. He was manifested at His birth. But He didn't come
into existence in His birth. The Scripture says in John 1.1. This is the proof of the eternality
of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1.1. In the beginning, was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was with Him, and He was in
the beginning. He was with God, and He was God. And verse 14 says, And the Word
was made flesh, manifested. came into being. John 17, verse 5 says, And now, O Father,
glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I
had with Thee before the world was. Now listen. The Lord Jesus
Christ has always been He's always been the surety.
He's always been the husband. He's always been the Lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. His coming down was ever the
purpose of the triune God in covenant mercy to redeem His
people. He's always had a people that's
always been a Savior. Always. A Savior before there
was ever a sinner brought into being. A Savior. The angel or the messenger of
God's presence and covenant. That is the word to tell forth
what God had purposed to do. Here's the one. Scripture says
his heel shall be bruised, but he's going to crush Satan's head. And this angel, having the key
of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, the chain is the chain of darkness
in which the demons, the devil, are locked up in, what does that
mean? Chains of darkness. They are locked up, not physical
chains, that's chains of darkness. No hope of redemption. No hope. He came not to redeem fallen
angels. He came to redeem a people a
certain people, a chosen people that God gave Him before the
foundation of the world, and those are the ones He's going
to redeem. And I'll tell you how you'll
know whether or not you're one. You'll believe God. And I'll
tell you this, you'll follow after Him. And it won't be a belief that's
just a manifestation of a lip service either. Lip service that
just gives a lip service an outward manifestation. But the Lord said,
I'll give them a new heart. A new heart. A new will. A new longing. And they'll follow
after Him. My sheep follow Me. He has the key of the bottomless
pit. He got the key. I got a key to
my house. And with that key, I can open
that door. And I tell you, that key sets
forth His power. Power. He has the key. to the bottomless pit, all power
is given unto me of my Father." Now, as God Himself, no power
is given to Him, He is God. But as the God-Man, the Messiah,
all power is given unto him over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. He's got
the key. Here is the federal head of the
body. Let me tell you something. He's got the power to give you a new heart give
you faith, give you life, call you out of darkness by His Spirit
to keep you, He's got the power and He's got the power to leave
you alone. Oh, if God leaves a man alone, if God leaves a man alone, and
lets that man continue to do what he wants to do, you have no hope. That's the most fearful thought.
I cannot, I cannot, I cannot think whenever I hear somebody,
well, so-and-so passed away, so-and-so died. The first thing
that goes through my mind Oh, did he leave this world without
a mediator? He has the key. And the Scripture
says in verse 2, he laid hold on the dragon, laid hold on him and bound him. Boy, there's a
wonderful thought. because I know that Satan walketh
about this earth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." What does it mean, though, to
bind Satan? He laid hold and he bound him
a thousand years. What does that mean? Well, it
means to restrain or to hinder. But hinder from what? Here's
what it is. Satan is bound, restrained, hindered from the Lord Jesus Christ accomplishing
the redemption and the salvation of his people. Satan cannot stop God's purpose. He's all-powerful. The Lord is. All men, and that is including
God's elect, fell and died in Adam, and they are in Adam in
bondage to sin. Here's what that means. You have no ability to do anything
about it. I'll exercise my free will. You
don't have one. I'll come to the Lord whenever
I decide." No, you won't. No man can come except my Father
which has sent me. I'm going to join the church. The church never saved anybody.
I'll be baptized. To be saved, you'll just get
wet. Salvation is not in baptism. That's a lie. That's a lie. I'm going to straighten up my
life. Salvation is not in reform. I'm going to tell you something.
Salvation is a person. It is a person. Salvation is
not an event. It's not an event. Salvation
is a person. You say, how do you know that?
The Lord said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.
You say, I have eternal life. Then you have Christ. No man cometh to the Father but
by me." Man, by nature, fell in Adam. And here is the bottom line.
Whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin. Oh, but for the objects of God's
mercy, something must happen. When we
fell in Adam, I'm telling you, we fell into the bondage of sin,
the bondage of Satan. Why did Christ have to bind Satan? So that his people would be free. That's the answer. Because of sin, we're in a strong
man's house. Matthew 12, 29. Or else how can
one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except
he first bind the strong man? And then he'll spoil his house.
Now, Satan has set up because of man's fall, because of sin,
because of the bondage of Satan is set up and he maintains an
empire of sin in fallen man. There is a kingdom of darkness
and it's set up in man. He's dead. That's it. A kingdom of death. Now, Satan
attempted this in heaven first. and one-third of the angels were
cast out of heaven. And he came to this earth and did what he couldn't do there. He came to this earth and the Scripture says that he
beguiled Eve, fooled her, and Adam With his
eyes wide open, here's what he did. He knew what he was doing. He knew. And he exercised his
free will. If you want to know what a man
is going to do with his free will, here it is. He'll rebel
against God every time. And any man that disagrees with
what I just said calls God a liar. Not me. He calls God a liar. When a strong man, Luke 11, 21,
armed keepeth his palace, His goods are in peace. That means
His stuff is all settled. But when a stronger than He shall
come upon Him and overcome Him, He taketh from Him all His armor
wherein He trusted and divided His spoils. Satan has set up a kingdom. Let me read something. 1 John.
I'll just read it to you. 1 John 3.8. 1 John 3.8. Again, a new commandment I write
unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the
darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. Man is born dark. Only Christ can set him free. How? Why must the Lord bind Satan? Because his people are in darkness. How did He bind him? How? How does the Lord Jesus Christ
bind Satan, keep Satan from keeping His people? How did He do it? Now, here's the heart of the
Gospel right here. If you want to know how God sets men free,
here it is. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. How does He make His people free
and bind Satan? I'll tell you this, the first
point in our hope is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ was not
bound as we are. There's the first point of hope. For me to have any hope, it's
going to take one that is stronger than me to set me free. I cannot set myself free. Why? Because I'm dead. I cannot impart
life to me. I cannot do that. Why am I dead? Because I'm a servant of sin. Through Adam, generation, generation,
generation, I'm born with a nature, a nature of sin. Therefore, I'm
bound in that sin. And I cannot escape. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the Scripture says, was conceived by the Holy Ghost. And the Scripture says in Luke
135, therefore, speaking to Mary, that holy thing that shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. There was no
sin in Him. So there is no bondage in Him. Holy. Undefiled. separate from sinners. He is
free. And only one that is free can
make me free. No sin found in his life of obedience
to the law, he asked some Pharisees. Which one of you convinces me
of sin? Which one of you can bring forth
proof of immorality in me? men will say concerning the gospel
of God's free grace, men that hold to and believe
in this God-despising, false religious thought that
God is wanting to do something. Listen, if you ever sit, if you're
ever anywhere where there is a message that's being preached,
and it's saying this, God wants to do something for you if you'll
let Him, or if you'll exercise your free will, or He's wanting
to save you if you can, if you'll let Him, please don't ever go
back. Please don't. They're lying to you. They're
lying to you. And I'm telling you, the Scriptures
will back this up. Don't go back. I'll rest my soul that salvation
is all of grace and it has nothing to do with what you've done or
can do. Anybody that tells you That you
have to do something in order to be saved. They are a liar. If that's not the truth, then
salvation is by your works. It's by your acts. It's by your
will. If that's not so, then salvation
is by the works of the flesh. Your obedience, your baptism,
your attendance, your prayers. They're liars. I'm telling you,
and if you leave this world, believe in that, you will never
forget this message right here. You'll go through eternity remembering
what I just said. Which of you convinces me of
sin? Even in his death, there was no rebellion in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I lay down my life.
Who? For the sheep. I come to do thy
will, O Lord. If this cup may pass from me,
nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. I pray God bless this to our
hearts. You know what I'm sitting here thinking about, Carl, right
now? I have no ability to be able to say it any differently
than I'm saying it. I don't know how to say it. If
the Spirit of God blesses this, God will open up a heart. I'm
saying all I know to say. I pray I'm saying it honorably. He was made sin. Appointed. Made. Became. He was made sin that His people might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. The righteousness of God. How
holy do you have to be as holy as God to be in heaven? As holy as God and only in Christ
is a man holy. and say, I'm doing the best I
can, you'll perish. Here is what the Father trusted
him and entrusted him to do, the redemption of his people.
He lived a life of obedience. A man by nature could not obey
because he was dead. As the federal head of his people,
Satan is bound because they have a representative that God Almighty
accepts, and them in Him. Satan says, I got you because
you are disobedient. Not in Christ, I am not. I got you, you are mine, because
you disobey God. And you're going to have to suffer
the penalty of God's law. No, I'm not. Not apart from my
substitute. Paul says, I've crucified with
Him. And there is now, therefore,
no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. Why? has no power to hold God's people. They have obeyed the law of God
perfectly in Christ. They have suffered the penalty
of God's law in Christ. They have lived obediently, and
they suffered the penalty for what they were in Adam. And there's
nothing else. We're free. Free. At Calvary, he spoiled principalities
and powers and made an open show of them, triumphing over them. I don't want to talk about what
I can do, and neither does a believer. Not a believer. A believer doesn't
want to tell you what he's done for God because he ain't done
anything. Satan's hold upon us. Sin was
made to be his. The penalty of the law, he bore
it. The Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, has
ever stood in the mind and will and purpose of Almighty God that
bound Satan. God first trusted in him. I'm telling you, that everlasting
covenant, it never started. The Son, Christ Jesus, the surety of the
sheep. has ever stood as the covenant
in the redemption of His people. And the Father says, I justify
them. Based upon His covenant, He trusted Christ. Now you think
about that. Someone says, how long has Satan
been bound? They said, well, he was bound.
Satan was bound after Christ died on the cross
2,000 years ago. Well, what hope then did Noah
have? How did God keep Satan from holding Noah? and Abraham
and Isaac, Jacob. How long has Satan been bound
in Christ? He's always been bound. God's
people have always been secured in Christ. He came into this world, the
Lord Jesus Christ did, 2,000 years ago and openly manifested. what God Almighty had always
seen. He trusted His Son. Exodus 12 verse 3, When I see
the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you. That was in Exodus. When did
God see the blood? Blessed God, He always saw it.
It was always there. God saw that the wickedness of
man way back yonder was continual evil. Every thought, imagination
of man was wicked. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Why? Because God always saw the
blood. He always saw it. Last verse, 1 John 5, verse 18,
And we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not. Not that new nature. That new
nature doesn't sin. But he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself. That is, by faith through the
power of God. God gives a man faith. And God
keeps that man through that faith. And I'm going to tell you something,
that's your faith. That's your faith. What did he
tell the woman with the issue of blood? She came, if I could
touch the hem of his garment, I'll be whole. And he said, your
faith. Where'd she get it? He gave it
to her. Your faith. have made you whole. He that
is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth
him not." Satan is bound in his ability
to keep God Almighty from saving his people. Oh, we're born in
this world, I'm telling you, with a wicked kingdom. set up
in our heart, a wicked house. But if God Almighty has purposed
to save you, He comes in, binds that strong man that He's always
bound, spoils his goods, sets up by a new heart, new will,
new mind. that which sinneth not." That's
the truth. That's the truth. That's a message
that honors God. That's a message that doesn't
give man any honor, any glory, any praise at all. Paul said,
I am what I am by the grace of God. May the Lord bless this
message to our hearts and cause us to see Him And as the two
on the road to Emmaus said, did not our heart burn as He opened
unto us the Scriptures? Amen.