Second Samuel 22. Second Samuel
22, 42 and 43. They looked, but there was none
to save, even unto the Lord. But he answered them not. Then
did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I did stamp
them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad."
David's speaking of his enemies. He's talked this whole song about
how the Lord saved him. It began, the Lord has saved
me from all my enemies but the enemies themselves had none to
save them. None to save. This is clearly
describing how that the Lord took sides with David. And so there was none to save
those who were against him. If God is for you who can be
against you? This, no doubt, has reference
to the enemies of God's people at times. In the Old Testament,
they would capture the ark and try to make it work for them.
You remember how we saw in 1 Samuel some of that. So it was some
kind of a good luck charm. Everybody heard about the ark
and how the God miraculously fought and won victories for
his people through his people and so this was probably had
to do with that when it says they looked under the Lord they
thought the ark was some kind of a genie's lamp or something
you know it was going to do something for them but all it brought to
them was death Or they may have called on God as they did their
other gods, you know, all at the same time. A lot of people
like to do that. There'll be all kinds of different things
just to make sure they covered all their bases, you know. I
suspect there was some that called on the Lord among others. That's not calling on the Lord.
That's just blasphemy, that's what they did. And this one verse
reminds us, verse 42, and verse 43 shows the result of calling on the Lord in vain.
And that's the title of the message, Looking Unto the Lord. They looked,
but there was none to say. They looked to the Lord. But
they looked in vain. The title is Looking Unto the
Lord in Vain. It reminds us that there is a
way to look to God and a way not to. Now we preach look and
live. It's a simple gospel, isn't it?
We preach as ambassadors of Christ. We preach, look unto me. God
says, look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth,
for I'm God, and there's none else. There's none to save besides
him. There's no God like him, a just
God and a savior. But there is an understanding,
well taught in the scripture, that what this look is that results
in salvation. And it's also well taught in
scripture that there is a look, a calling on God, even a faith
that God will not regard. And one thing we need to establish
right up front is that if God won't save you, then there's
none to help you. There's none. It doesn't matter where you look
if you're not looking to Christ. When, um, when the scripture
was read tonight, it made me think Jason of Old Simon saying,
Lord to whom shall we go? The Lord in effect said thou
shalt go out free. Are you going with them? Go on.
No, I love my master. I'm not going anywhere. Where
would I go? There's nobody else. So if God Salvation's of the Lord. If he won't save you, just like
our text says, there's none to save. When the blasphemous so-called
priests of this world have absolved people of their sins, you know,
like they do, all they want to, the question will remain, has
God absolved you of your sins or not? If you trusted that priest's
ability to deal with your sins, you will die in your sins, and
so will he. When the religious so-called
soul winners, that there are so many of these days have called
you to come down an aisle and make a decision for the Lord
Jesus and pronounce that you've gotten saved, you know. We had
this many get saved today. When you've accepted Jesus as
your personal savior, maybe more than once. I've seen people do
it several times. The question will remain, has
God accepted you? You see, that's the issue. God's
not up for acceptance, you are. And if you trust your decision
or you're out walking or you're getting saved experience, you
will perish without help. As those in our text did. As
Jonah said in Jonah 2.9, salvation is of the Lord. Think about that
now in regard to our text. Who's gonna save you if he don't?
Salvation is of the Lord, this Lord, this one. Not just any
Jesus you hear of. As you know, the disciples said
there are many false Christs already. Back then there were.
And there are now. Salvations of the Lord. The Lord
purposed salvation. Second Thessalonians 2.13, Paul
said to the church at Thessalonica, we are bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. We thank
God for you because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
The Lord performed salvation. First John 14, hearing his love,
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be, not to offer propitiation, to be the sin offering for our
sins. Titus 2.14, he gave himself for
us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. That's why he gave
himself. Not to make salvation available
to you, he did it to redeem you from your iniquity. If he died
for you, that's why he died. And purifying to himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. He did that. He purposed it,
he performed it. The Lord applies salvation. Paul
wrote in Galatians 115, when it pleased God, he separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace and revealed
his son in me. He saved us on Calvary, but he
brought salvation home to my heart in time, in my time, in
my lifetime. He revealed his son unto me,
in me, that I might preach him among the heathen. The Holy Spirit
of God reveals Christ to a sinner and in a sinner, and he does
so by the preaching of the gospel. John 6.63, it is the spirit that
quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. God the spirit gives
life to sinners. Your flesh is not gonna help
you in that. Just as these had none to help in our text. The
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, they are life. The Lord perpetuates salvation. To perpetuate means to preserve
or make perpetual. In other words, when he saves,
it's an ongoing work, isn't it? He finishes it. He means to preserve
us and cause salvation to continue in us. Simon wrote in 1 Peter
1.5, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Well, I thought you said we're
saved already, Chris. We are, and we're going to be saved again,
too. Same salvation but we're going to experience it like we
haven't yet. But until then we're kept by
the power of God unto the time that we enter into his very presence.
God saved me in eternity. We read that. He's chosen you
from the beginning to salvation. We read where he saved us on
Calvary. He gave himself for us. And he
perpetuates it, being confident of this very thing, we say, that
he which hath begun a good work in you shall perform it. What's
that? The work of salvation. He'll
perform it. He will perfect it. He will finish
it. He will complete it until the
day of Jesus Christ. And then it will be complete.
And then the Lord perfects salvation. I simply mean by that that God
will cause us soon to fully experience all of the benefits of his cross.
We are perfect in Christ now and soon we will be perfect in
our very experience and being. Paul wrote in Romans 8.30 that
whom he justified, them he also glorified. He justified us with
his precious blood and he was raised again for our justification. but he also glorified, and that's
what we long for. There remaineth still a rest
unto the people of God. We desire, we say with Paul,
I'm in a straight betwixt two having a desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is far better. And notice that the perfecting
of salvation in the sense of our experience in glory now, I'm talking about
glorification. We experience salvation when
He gives us life and we see Christ and trust Him, believe on Him,
fall in love with Him. And we say, I'm saved, He saved
me. But when we are like Him, because we see Him as He is,
notice the way Paul describes that experience of being perfectly
saved in our being, our actual being. We're perfect when we
come into his presence. He described it this way, to
be with Christ, to be with Christ. That's what's better, to be with
Christ. Salvation, now I don't want us to get the idea that
something was left undone on Calvary. Salvation was perfect
there. I just simply mean that there
remains a rest, there remains an experiencing of that for us
in his presence when we're glorified and made just like him. I'm not
like him yet, but I will be. And that was done on Calvary. But he defines that as being
with Christ. All of the things that we mentioned
about salvation being of the Lord are true in Christ. Think about this. Salvation's
purposed by God? In eternity? How? Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. Paul said, I thank God for you,
because he hath from the beginning chosen you. How did he choose
you? In Christ, he put you in his
Son. Before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love. God performed salvation? How? Well, that's a simple one, isn't
it? They all are. Hebrews 13 12 where for Jesus
also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood Suffered
without the gate He performed it. He accomplished Salvation
of Calvary Christ did we were chosen in Christ and Christ gave
himself for us. How does God apply his saving
power to us? By causing it to by bringing
us to Christ John 6 44 I think it is was a couple places
in John chapter 6. It says you can't come to me
unless my father Draw you well have you come to Christ? It's
because the father drew you to Christ. Where'd he draw you to? That's your experience of salvation
in the giving of life How does God apply His saving
power to us? Well, He revealed His Son in
me. That's what Paul said where we read a minute ago. What is
the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation? He takes the things
of Christ and reveals them to us. How does God keep us? How are we kept by His power?
Listen, looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher of our
faith. It's all Christ, isn't it? Salvation's of the Lord and
salvation's a person. If we can learn those two things,
we'll be saved and we'll be able to rest too. The author and finisher of our
faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. And as we saw,
the perfecting of salvation, as far as our glorification is
concerned, is to be with Him and to be like Him. That's what
it is. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is. Salvation is of the Lord, and
salvation is a person. Now what does any of that have
to do with you? Well, first of all, you're not
going to get any glory. Is that alright? You're not going
to get any. Not any. Paul plainly declares
in Romans chapter 3, all through that, that salvation is of God's
free grace. We are justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a sin offering. Now, he asked this
question then in verse 27 of that chapter, where is boasting
then? Where is boasting then? It's excluded. It's excluded
by what law of works? Nay, by the law of faith. And secondly, what does all this
have to do with you? If salvation is of the Lord,
and salvation is a person, then this matter of salvation is very
simple. That kind of boils it all down,
doesn't it? Think about that with me. Who you are, what you
are, what you've done, what you will do, none of that matters.
None of it matters. One thing is needful. And when the Lord said that,
he was saying, Mary hath chosen that good part, that one thing,
she chose that one thing that is meaningful. What was she doing?
She was sitting at the feet of the Lord hearing his word. And you know what his word is?
Salvation is of the Lord and salvation is a person, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And if you want to add a third
point to that, come to me. that you might have life. It's
not complicated. Here's the question now. What
think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? Do you believe on the Son of
God? That was the question in John
chapter nine. David said in our text, God won
the victory for me, but as for my enemies, his and mine, they
looked and there was none to save them. That's because there
is no other savior. But then they looked unto the
Lord and he didn't save them either when they looked unto
him. Why not? Don't we preach, doesn't the
Bible say, look unto the Lord and be ye saved? All the ends
of the earth? Yes. You know what else it says?
It says now. Now. And this is vital now. Now. There are two vital considerations
when it comes to looking unto the Lord. The way that they looked
was a problem too. We talked about that. They captured
the ark and they thought well now this is going to work for
us. You know all the power that the Israelites have had against
us we're going to turn that around on them because we got this ark.
That was just a piece of wood overlaid with gold. Except for
God's presence. But God doesn't bless objects. He blesses people or he don't
at his sovereign pleasure. And he blesses his people. And they wanted to use that ark,
you know, just to accomplish their own purposes. They didn't
see God as holy, as worthy of worship. They didn't desire to
worship him. They saw his ark and his presence
signified by that ark as a way to further their agenda. You
don't look to God that way. And listen, that's most of religion
today. Did you know that? What does
religion want? Well, they just want to go to
heaven when they die. If God can get me there, then hooray
for God. If He can get me a mansion on the hilltop, you know, and
golden streets, and I want to go, there's a song
in the hymn book, I think it's in ours, talking about the mansion
just over the hilltop, I want a gold one that's silver lined.
If God is just your way of getting that, you haven't looked to the
Lord yet, not the right way. Not the right way. It's that
most religion is about what's in it for us. Isn't that right? Salvation to them is just as
fleshly and carnal as the world. They're like the ones who follow
the Lord because of the free food. You remember John 2.23? They followed him because of
the spectacle of his miraculous power. They thought he was putting
on a magic show. He was showing how sinners are saved is what
he was doing by the power of God in Christ, by the word of
God, by the gospel. But listen to John 2.23, now
when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many
believed in his name. Oh boy, that sounds good, doesn't
it? What did I say a while ago? There
is a faith that doesn't save. They believed. They believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself
to them. They committed themselves to
Jesus, I'm sure. Isn't that what religion wants
you to do? Oh, you need to make a decision for Jesus. And people
do. The question is, has he made
a decision for you? Has he decided for you? He did
not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and
needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was
in man. They were following him and they
were saying, oh boy, Jesus is the greatest thing ever. But
he knew why they were saying that. God is to be sought early. Psalm 63, 1, David cried this,
oh God, thou art my God. Early will I seek thee. If God
is your God, you'll seek him early. And listen to what he
said next. My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for
thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. There's one
place to get a drink in this world. They looked and there
was none to save them. You know why? There's just one
Savior. where no water is. That's important
now. As long as there's water for
you in this world, you're not ever coming to Him. You're not
ever coming to Him. Now you can hear in the language
that David used here what the Lord meant to him. He's saying,
I'll die without you. My soul thirsteth for thee like
in a desert, like a starving man in the desert now. I've got
to have Christ or I'm gonna perish. I'll die without you. And notice
this, I didn't have you turn there, but let me remind you
of what I just read. My soul thirsteth for thee, not his blessings,
not his benefits. I need you. That's how you call
on him. And he said, early will I seek
you. That word mean, it didn't mean I'm gonna get up out of
bed, you know, at five o'clock in the morning and seek you.
Although there's not a thing wrong with that. But that word
means earnestly and diligently. It doesn't have to do with when,
it has to do with how. There is a when now, we're going
to talk about that in a minute. But there's a how. How do you
look to him? Earnestly and diligently, Solomon,
David's son, wrote in Proverbs 8, 17, speaking in the language
of wisdom, the Lord Jesus Christ, it says this in Proverbs 8, 17,
I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall
find me. Same word, same word, early. So how you seek the Lord now
is key. There's a faith that does not
save, a faith that is born of the flesh, a faith that is not
authored by Christ. He's the author and finisher
of saving faith. Those ones in John 2, it says
they believed on him. But here's the question now,
is he everything to you? I tell you this, if you're starving
and you're in a desert and there's no water, a drink is everything to you. Is he necessary? Is he necessary? Job said, we've considered your
word, Lord, to be more valuable than even our necessary food.
Do you need him that bad? Is he water in the desert? He
said, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.
They'll be filled. If you're hungry after the righteousness
that is found in Christ alone, Christ said, I'll give you some
of it. I'll give you that bread that if you eat thereof you'll
never hunger again. Are you like Jacob at Peniel? I'm not sure I'm saying that
if it's Peniel or Peniel but Jacob came to a place called
Peniel in Genesis chapter 32 and he was in a bad time in a
bad place in his life and he went to be alone and to commune
with God. And it says that an angel came
in the night and wrestled with him. And that word angel just
means messenger. We know from what Jacob said
and from what the angel said, we know who that angel was. We
know who that messenger was. He was the messenger of the covenant,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ wrestled
with Jacob at Peniel. and wrestled all night with him.
And when the day, when it began to break day, the Lord said,
let me go for the day breaks. And you know, you remember what
Jacob said, don't you? I won't let you go. I will not let you. Can you imagine saying to God
Almighty, I will not. He just told you to do something.
You say, I'm not going to do it. Let me ask you this. What's
he going to do, kill you? You're already dead. If he don't
bless you, you're already dead. What's he gonna do? How bad do
you need him? That leper in Matthew chapter five, he wasn't supposed
to approach the Lord Jesus Christ like that. He was supposed to
stay away and cry unclean, unclean and avoid everybody. But he came
up and bowed at his feet and worshiped him. How badly do you
need to be made whole tonight? That's the question. But even in earnestness and diligence,
you might yet be lost. You might look to the Lord earnestly
and diligently and still be lost, but I'll tell you this, if you
don't look to him earnestly and diligently, you will be lost.
Does that make sense? Think about it. Religion says, isn't it time
to try Jesus? No, it is not. If that's your
attitude, Forget it. You've either got to have him
or you don't. It's that simple. You're not gonna give him a shot.
You're gonna come begging or you're not coming. But you might still, listen to
Proverbs 128. Then shall they call upon me, the Lord said in
Proverbs 128, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early. but they shall not find me. Proverbs 128. How can that be? Well, he's talking about a particular
group of people and the answer to the question is very simple.
Look at the context of it. Turn over to Proverbs chapter
one with me and let's look at it. How you look is vital. We've
seen that, haven't we? You got to look to him With longing, you've got to look
early, you've got to call on Him early, diligently and earnestly
as though your life depended on it. You know why? Because
your life depends on it. Your soul depends on it. But look at Proverbs 1.22. There
are going to be some that seek Him early and not find Him. How
come? Look at Proverbs 1.22. How long, you simple ones, will
you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning and fools hate knowledge. He talking about the people that
hate God's word and mock it. They mock at God's word. Turn
you, here's the command, turn you at my reproof. Behold, I
will pour out my spirit upon you. I will make known my words
unto you. You won't be mocking then. That's
the command because I have called and you refused, I have stretched
out my hand and no man regarded, but you have said it not all
my counsel and would none of my reproof. I will also laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh,
when your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind. When distress and anguish cometh
upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me early, but
they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge and did
not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel,
they despised all of my reproof." There's a time for salvation.
There's a way to look, there's a way to cry unto the Lord, and
there's a time to do it. You notice in that text that
we read there, there was a time there in that text when he's
saying, come to me, turn you at my reproof, hear my words. But then in verse 28, then, you
know what then has to do with? There's before and then there's then.
There's turn you at my reproof. Here, listen, come, bow. And they hated it. They despised
it. They scoffed. They mocked. Then,
here comes the whirlwind. It's over then. It's over. Because
they hated knowledge and would not fear God, they
would none of his counsel. There's a time to come to Christ
and you know when it is, don't you? I've said this enough, I'm
sure you know what I'm talking about. Second Corinthians 6.1,
we then as workers together with him. Paul said, we're ambassadors
of Jesus Christ. We're laborers. We come with
a message from the King. And we beseech you also that
you receive not the grace of God in vain. In other words,
don't listen to the message. We're laborers of what? The gospel,
preaching the gospel. And he's saying, don't receive
that gospel of grace in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee
in a time accepted. Those ones where we just read,
he said, they cried unto me and I'm not going to hear them. They're
going to cry and I'm not going to hear them. When will he hear
you? In a time accepted, I'll hear
you. That's what God says now. And
in the day of salvation, have I comforted thee. Behold, now
is the accepted time. This is not complicated. Behold, now is the day of salvation. How you look, don't try Jesus
now. You're gonna have to come to
the place, God's gonna have to bring you to the place through
the preaching of the gospel where you've got to have him. Where
you're like that woman who pressed through that entire throng and
said, if I could just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made
whole. I've spent everything I have,
and I'm worse than I was when I started. I've got to have Him.
And I'm going to have Him. I'm going to have Him. You've
got to be Jacob who said, I will not let you go until you bless
me. Can't do it. You know, could the Lord have
just cast Jacob off of Him? Said, you won't let me go? We'll
see about that. He could have cast him up, but you know what
he said? His promise is, him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. No wise. It's how you ask, isn't it? It's
how you seek. You'll find me, he said, when
you seek for me with all your heart. All your heart. It's also
when. Agrippa said, almost, Paul. Thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
I don't know if that was mocking or what, but he said, almost. You know what almost saved is?
It's just another way of saying lost. Just another way of saying
lost. And Paul said, I would to God
that you and everyone that hears me today were both almost and
altogether such as I am except these bonds. Listen to what happened when
Paul preached to Felix in Acts 24-24. After certain days, when
Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for
Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. He heard
the gospel from Paul. And as he reasoned, as Paul reasoned
of righteousness and temperance and judgment to come, Felix trembled. and answered, go thy way for
this time. When I have a convenient season,
I will call for thee. And listen, it's not just that
he, you know, that there's a time to be saved and it's now and
he rejected that. He rejected Christ today. Tomorrow,
you know, it might be a different story. There is no tomorrow.
But he didn't know who he was either. Listen to the next verse.
He hoped also, Felix hoped also that money should have been given
him of Paul that he might loose him. Wherefore he sent for him
the oftener and communed with him. The reason he had Paul come
was not to hear the gospel. He thought that Paul was going
to give him money to let him go. That's what people are concerned
about. But the gospel made him tremble,
didn't it? Made him tremble. You know why? Because he knew
it was true. He knew it was true. People don't hate God because
they don't understand who he is. You can't hate somebody you
don't understand. Remember what he said to Agrippa?
We talked about Agrippa. Paul said, I know you believe
Agrippa. I know you do. I know you know what I'm saying
is right. Religious heretics use scripture
like this, like these almost persuaded in a convenient season. Religion likes to use scripture
like that to force people, to scare people into making a profession
of faith so they can count you like merchandise. That's what
they want to do. That's horrible. But the true message is no less
clear. The true message, salvation is
a person. And salvation is now. It's right
now. Christ is salvation now. Tomorrow
He is not salvation. He's not. This all may be over
tomorrow. And I'll tell you what else also
may happen tomorrow. God may say enough. He may say
enough. There is a time for salvation
and there is a time when sinners will call on God and He will
not answer. It's that simple. It's not complicated. And the
scriptures are real clear on that. Jeremiah 11.11 Turn there with me. This is important.
We have some time left. Look at Jeremiah 11.11 Jeremiah 11, 11, therefore, thus
saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they
shall not be able to escape. And though they shall cry unto
me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah
and inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto
whom they offer incense. but they shall not save them
at all in their time of trouble. You see our text there? They
looked, but there was none to save them. They even cried unto
the Lord. And he said, I'm not gonna hear
you. Isn't that what he just said? I will not hearken unto them.
I'm not gonna hear them. Verse 13, for according to the
number of the cities were thy gods, O Judah, and according
to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have you set up
altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto
Baal. Therefore, pray not thou for
this people. Well, all we can do is pray for
them. They hate God and they've rejected the gospel. All we can
do is pray for them. God said, don't do it. Now that doesn't
mean everybody that's rejected the gospel don't pray for them.
Pray for them. These people right here, God
said don't bother praying for them. Pray not for these people, neither
lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will not hear them, much
less you, for them. I'm not going to hear it. In
the time that they cry unto me for their trouble, it's over
at that point. Well, Chris, you know, when is
that? When is it over? If you have
to ask, you've got a problem. You've got a problem now. How
long is it okay for me not to bow to Christ? Really? Is that
a question? Is that worth asking? How long
can I go on in my rebellion? Do you really need to ask that?
You've got a big problem. The answer is now. Now here God is saying, no hope.
That sounds pretty hopeless to me, doesn't it, you? Don't even
pray for him, don't bother. No hope, but he didn't always
say that. Look back up in verse seven of Jeremiah 11. For I earnestly
protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up
out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and
protesting, saying, obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined
their ear but walked everyone in the imagination of their evil
heart. Therefore, I will bring upon
them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do,
but they did them not." You reject the gospel at your eternal peril. Can anything be clearer in the
word of God? There was a time when he was
saying, listen to me. Do what I say. Come to my son.
Hear my son. Bow to my son. Believe on him. Whosoever believeth on the Lord
Jesus Christ shall be saved. Whosoever cometh unto me shall
never perish, but have everlasting life. There's a time for that.
And then there's a time when he says, don't even bother. Don't
even bother. May God give us faith to look
to Christ now. There's only one place to look,
and there's only one time to do it. What is it that God is saying?
He said, obey my voice. Obey my voice. There he said,
I said to your fathers, and I've said to you, obey my voice. What is his voice saying? What
is he saying to obey? Is he saying keep my law? Of
course not. The whole book of God is about
how that by the works of the law shall no man be justified
in the sight of God. Cain trusted in his works and
God had not regard unto him. Abel brought the more excellent
sacrifice, a lamb, a slain lamb, the blood of an innocent victim,
picturing by faith he offered the Lord Jesus Christ for his
sins. So what is the, God says, obey
my voice. What is his voice saying? Come
now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. What about, Lord,
what are we gonna talk about? Your sins? But we're not gonna talk about
how bad you are. The Lord will reveal that to
you now. But we're not to preach the law. The law's a schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ. Paul said the law is good if
we use it lawfully. And you know how God used the
law? To bring his people to Christ. If we use the law to point to
Christ, then you've used it lawfully. If you use the law to try to
get people to do better. There's a lot of better people
in hell. Did you know that? Hell's full of better people. The Pharisees were better people,
weren't they? And the Lord said to them, you're gonna die in
your sins because you believe not on me. Come now and let us reason together,
saith the Lord. Come when? Come right now. Though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. And
though they be red like crimson, and they shall be his wool. Come now, and let's talk about
how your sins, though deep, though the stain is deep, I'll wash
it white as snow. And sins are washed white only
in the blood of God's Lamb. John said in Revelation, unto
him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Is there any more precious verse
of scripture than that? Think about that tonight when
you're falling asleep. Unto him that loved us and there's
always an and with love isn't it? Love isn't boy I sure do
want, I sure am trying. No, he loved us and he washed
us from our sins in his own blood. That's the definition of love. When Christ is preached, It is
always urgent. It is always vital. It's the saver of life and death.
2 Corinthians 2.16, to one we're the saver of life unto life,
and to the other we're the saver of death unto death. And who
is sufficient for these things? May God give us faith to look
to Christ now. Amen.