Well, it's good to see everybody
tonight. Let's turn in our Bibles to 1
Corinthians 3. I really want to start with two
passages. I want to begin, first of all,
right here in 1 Corinthians 3. Paul says in verse 21, let no
man glory in men. Let no man glory in men. There's a lot of ways we can
glory in man. We can glory in man by exalting
men too highly. We can glory in men by being
afraid of men. We can glory in men by trying
to be like men. We can glory in men by being
discontented because of men. Many more ways we can glory in
men. But Scripture says, let no man
glory in men. Talk about believers. Let no
believer glory in a man. Why? For all things are yours. All things are yours. The man
that you may be glorying in, God gave him. God gave him. Whether it's to use him in a
positive way to minister to you or the Lord's used him in a negative
way to minister to you. And not only that man, They were
saying, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, and I'm of Cephas. And Paul says,
all things are yours, whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. These ministers God's given,
they're all yours. Every man that is an enemy is
yours. God gave him to minister to you. Now he's not ministering the
gospel to you, but God's using him that opposes you to minister
to you, just like he's using his preacher who preaches the
gospel to minister to you. And if God has sent you a preacher,
That's something to be thankful for. If God used friends, if
he used family to bring you under the gospel and he sent his preacher
and he preached the gospel to you, be thankful for every one
of those men that God used to bring you to hear the unsearchable
riches of Christ. They're all yours. God used them
all for you. He used them all for you. But
Paul says, but not only are the ministers yours, He expands this
thing of all things are yours. He says, the world is yours. Or whether you're talking about
life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. And you're Christ's, and Christ
is God's. Now he's talking to His elect. He's talking to those Christ's
redeemed. He's talking to those who have been born of the Spirit
of God. He's talking to men and women who believe the Lord Jesus. That He's all our righteousness
and all our salvation. Him alone. Now, the Scripture
is clear. Those that don't believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, they can't take this promise for themselves.
Because Scripture says they're without the Lord. And to be without
the Lord is to be without salvation. Now, they may be God's elect,
but as far as anybody knows, at the moment, we don't know.
And they can't take this promise for themselves. But we're talking
about you that believe, you that trust the Lord. All things are
yours. All things are yours. And you're
Christ's, and Christ is God's. And then turn with me to 2 Corinthians
4, and look at verse 15. All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace... He's
saying that all things are for your sakes and God's bestowing
abundant grace on you. all the time, so that that abundant
grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory
of God. Now let's put these things together,
these two verses together, and let's think about what the Scripture,
what Christ through the Spirit is saying to us. All things are
yours. That means everything God has
created, all things present, all things to come, death, life,
every minister God's using, they are all yours. You're Christ,
and Christ is God's. And then he's saying here that
everything that's coming to pass in this world is for your sakes. All things are for your sakes. And it's all through the abundant
grace of God. It's God administering grace
to us abundantly. And it's for this purpose, so
that we might glory in the Lord, that we might glorify God, thank
Him and glorify Him for what He's done for us. Not murmur
against Him. Not complain about the ministers
he's using or whether they're, you know, when he's using somebody
that's opposed us in the world and it's hurt your feelings and
what have you. Not to murmur against them. But
see how God's ministering grace to you using that. All things
are yours. All things are for your sakes
is to bring you to see the grace of God to you so that you thank
God and you glorify God for what He's done. So I want to look at really these
three things. I want to look at the all things
that are yours and look at how all things are for your sakes.
And then secondly, see that it's all by God's abundant grace Everything
is God's abundant grace. And then lastly, see the end
purpose for which God's working everything, why He's giving you
all things. And that end purpose is that
the thanksgiving of many might redound to the glory of God,
that we might thank God and give Him the glory. That's the purpose.
So we'll see these three things. Now let's begin with all things. All things are for the sake of
God's people. All things are yours and all
things are for your sake. Men will say, well, I used to
love how Brother Don would say this, you know, men will say,
you can't take that too far. And he'd say, you just take it
as far as you can take it. That's what it means. All things
are yours. You think about it. He included
life and death. That's everything. And everything
in between. That includes everything. All
things are yours. And all things are for your sakes.
All things are for your sakes. Let's go back to eternity. Let's
go back before God made the world. In eternity, Brother Robbie just
read it. In eternity, God entered covenant
with God. God entered covenant with God.
God the Father and God the Son entered covenant to save and
elect people that God chose by His grace. And you know what
they did? God ordered it. And it was sure. Because He didn't leave anything
in our hands. Christ agreed to fulfill it all.
And so that was for our sakes. That God made a covenant with
God to save us before He made anything. Before He made anything,
He entered into covenant with Himself to save us. And He didn't
leave anything in our hand. He ordered it all and made it
sure. Look at 2 Samuel 23.5. 2 Samuel 23.5. I hope tonight,
I hope that if we're coming here, or anybody that's hearing this,
that's troubled about their life, They're looking back over their
life and they're disgruntled about something, or they're troubled
about something, or you're looking at your life right now and something's
got you troubled, or you're worried about tomorrow. I hope the Lord
will bless this Word to you and me and just make us see all things
are yours. And whatever God's bringing to
pass, it's for your sake. It's for your sake. That will
make us walk out of here tonight with some wind in our sails and
be able to go through tomorrow and lay our head down tonight
and know all is well. Look here. Look here, 2 Samuel
23 verse 5. This is what David said at the
end of his life. If you ask David what he learned
through his whole life, this is what he learned right here.
He said, ìAlthough my house be not so with God, yet he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things, in all
things, and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my desire,
although He make it not to grow." God put all things concerning
salvation and concerning providence, concerning all, concerning the
creation of the world in which He worked out our redemption.
God put all things in the hand of our Mediator. That's why it's
ordered in sure. God the Father trusted the work
of salvation to His Son. He trusted all of it to Him.
Look over at Matthew 11. Matthew chapter 11. Is it alright
if we turn to some Scripture tonight? I want you to help us stay focused
and it's Thursday, you work today, you're probably tired. This will
help us stay focused. And we just need to see these
things in the Word. Matthew 11 verse 27. This is
what Christ said. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Son but
the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son,
and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Christ said,
My Father delivered all things concerning the salvation of My
people. He delivered all things into
My hand. He delivered all God's elect
into His hand. And He delivered all things concerning
our salvation into the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
glory is at stake here. Christ came to glorify the Father.
He came to glorify His own name. They're one. Do you think there's
any possibility He's going to fail? No. He won't fail. He won't fail. All the works
involved in our salvation, God delivered it into Christ's hand.
All the promises of this everlasting covenant, God put it in the hand
of His Son. All the elect themselves were
delivered to Christ Jesus for Christ to redeem us. by His blood,
for Christ to call us through the Spirit, through the Gospel,
for Christ to grow us in faith and grace and love through this
Gospel, for Christ to keep us, and for Christ to deliver us
to the Father perfect. by what Christ has done for us,
by His righteousness and by His holiness and by His grace. That's
what all things were delivered into my hand, Christ said, to
save my people. All things in salvation. God trusted Him to accomplish
the redemption of His people. God's law has got to be honored
God's laws got to be fulfilled, all the prophets have to be fulfilled.
Think of what God's honor that's at stake in the prophets being
fulfilled. The Lord spoke it through the
prophets and gave His promise of what Christ would perform.
Now if Christ don't come forth and perform what the Father promised,
that makes God a liar. Do you see how important what
all the Father entrusted into His hand? He entrusted fulfilling
the prophets. He entrusted for Him to fulfill
all righteousness so that God could receive His sinful fallen
people and receive us in a way that's just in accordance with
His holiness. He entrusted the Lord Jesus Christ
to reveal all the mysteries of grace to us into our hearts to
give us new hearts, make us a new creation and teach us the mysteries
of God's grace and to load us with the unsearchable
riches, to make us see that all the riches and treasures of wisdom
are all in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God's Son, who He'll have
glorified. And God did all this to glorify
His Son and to glorify Himself. He gave it all into Christ's
hand. What does the Scripture say was put into our hands? Search them. Nothing. He didn't put anything in our
hands. It's all in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. All things. All things. Why did He do this? Go to Colossians 1. because it
pleased the Father that His Son have all preeminence. And the
way He pleased for that to be is for His Son to be all the
fullness. Colossians 1.18, He said He's
the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell,
and have it made peace through the blood of His cross by Him
to reconcile all things unto Himself." And you know where
he says things right there. He's talking about His people.
He's referring to us. to reconcile all His people to
Himself. That's right. And He says, whether
they be things in the earth or things in heaven, whether they're
His. Those saints that are already with Him now, you know who reconciled
them? Christ did. And you that are
here now in the earth, you know who reconciled you to God? Christ
did. All fullness is in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, God the Father and His Son
are one in this work. They're one in this work. So
whatever Christ accomplished, the Father accomplished. 2 Corinthians
5.18 says, All things are of God who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ. See, He trusted it all into the
hands of the Son, but whatever the Son accomplished, the Father
accomplished in Him. It's all of God. God the Father,
God the Son, Christ our Mediator. And when the Holy Spirit calls
us to faith in Christ, you know what He gives you? When He calls
you to faith in Christ, you know what He gives you? He gives you
all things. Listen to this, 2 Peter 1.3,
it says, "...according as His divine power hath given unto
us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the
knowledge of Christ that hath called us to glory and virtue."
He didn't leave anything out. He gave you all things necessary. Everything necessary. And when
He calls you, and really gives you eyes to see Him and know
Him. And you know this is so. You
that know Him know this is so. This was so when He first called
you and gave you faith to behold Him. But also, as a believer,
when you're going through your life and you become bitter and
you become downcast and something has you distracted, and it's
like you, like Peter, when he looked at the waves, he starts
sinking down. and you can't be satisfied. If
it's done for you this way, that doesn't please you. If it's done
for you that way, that don't please you. And you're just in
a place where you can't be pleased, you can't be satisfied. I'm going
to tell you something, if you're a child of God, God's doing that
to you. He's not going to let you be
satisfied in this world or with this world. But every time, that
first time He did it and every time thereafter, when He turns
you and He just speaks or He just shines the light, He just
makes you know in your heart and hear His voice and His gospel
and read it in His Word and He makes you see Christ and see
that you have all things in Christ. When He does that, you hear Him
declare to you. This is what Christ said at that
parable of the marriage supper of the Lamb. He tells you, He
says, Behold, all things are ready. It's all done. It's all done. And when He makes
you see He has done everything, it's all ready. There's an inheritance
ready, waiting for you, prepared for you, and He's bringing you
to that, and He's teaching you what you need to know before
you get there. When it makes you see what Christ
has done and He's done it for you, that's when we stop our
mouth and we think, why am I murmuring? Why am I complaining? Why am
I saying these things? Why am I feeling this way? Why
am I not content with what my Heavenly Father, my Savior, has
put in my hand? He's given me somebody that taught
me the gospel. I ought to love them. I ought
to show them with all the love I can. What have you given me? They gave me eternal life. The
Lord used them to preach eternal life to me and through them gave
me eternal life. Oh, I ought to be thankful. And whatever else situation we're
in, the Lord puts you there. He's given you all things. And
Christ makes you see all is ready, all is done, all is finished.
There's no need to murmur, no need to complain. It's all done. Right now, child of God, all
things that are coming to pass in your life. Go over to Romans
8. I know you know it. We need to see it. Romans 8.
Everything that's coming to pass in your life right now is coming
to pass Exactly. For you, you, your children
of God, is coming to pass. For you, exactly as God would
have it come to pass. Romans 8.28, And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to His purpose. Do you know that? Do we know that? Do we murmur too much for people
that know that? Do we worry too much for people
that know that so? I do. I do. I worry too much
for somebody that God has taught that He's working all things
together for my good. And He's doing it according to
His eternal purpose. Because whom He did foreknow,
then He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son. And whom He did predestinate,
then He also called. And whom He called, then He also
justified. And who He justified, then He
also glorified. It's done, brethren. It's done
in Christ. And for that to be so, I worry
way too much. And I complain way too much.
And I've discontented way too much. Can you say that? Is that
true with you? Or am I just the only one? We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. You know, when the doctor prescribes
medicine, usually that medicine is made up of a lot of different
medicines. not just one medicine. It is
a lot of different compounds put together, mixed together
to make that medicine. Now if you had any one of those
compounds and you had too much of it, it would probably kill
you. But when they are all mixed together in just the right amount,
it makes medicine that will cure you. God's making all things work
together for our good. Just like mixing the medicine
together. He's working all things together for our good. He's not
working things separately. There's nothing happening to
you that's not happening to your brethren. He's not working things
separately. He's working them all together.
In fact, what's happening to you and what's troubling you
God's working that in you for your brethren. And what's troubling
them or comforting them, He's working that for you. He's working
all these things in our lives together for our good. Good things
are worked with bad things. Sad things are worked with happy
things. Temporal things are worked with spiritual things. All things
are worked together by God for our good. All of them. God knows
exactly how and when to mix together all the different experiences
that we experience so that it's for our good. He knows just how
to do it and when to do it, and He controls it all. The good
God works is to make us see that our life is Christ. That's what
the good is for. It's to make you see your life
is Christ. Your life is not in this world. Your life is not
in things you can see. And the things that you can see
are not lasting things. It's the things that you can't
see. They are the things that are forever. He said in 2 Corinthians
4, if you still have it marked, 2 Corinthians 4.18. He said, "...while
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
This is that this affliction we're suffering is for a moment,
He's working it for us to bring us into a far more exceeding
way of eternal glory. And He's saying right now even,
He's showing us that these things that we're looking at, that we
can see with these eyes, they're not real. They're not lasting. Most of the things we fret about
and worry about and get so upset if we lose them are not even
lasting things. You're going to lose them anyway.
You're going to lose them when you take your last breath or
when Christ returns. So why do we fret if we lose
them now? God gave them. God takes them
away. But he said, but that's not the
lasting thing. What he's making us remember
is the things that are lasting are eternal. They're eternal. And so here's why he's doing
it all. Go back there to chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians. And I know
we've looked at this just the other day. Here's why He's doing it. He's
doing it so, whether it's affliction or it's comfort, whatever it
is He's working for you right now, He's doing it so you can
talk to your brethren about it and they, by the witness of the
Gospel, will experience from our Lord His consolation for
them. That's why He's doing it. Look
here. For 2 Corinthians 1, 3, blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God
of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the
comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as
the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation abounds
by Christ, whether we be afflicted It's for your consolation and
salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings
which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted. It's for your
consolation and salvation. You see that? Whether we're afflicted
or comforted, it's for the consolation and salvation of God's people.
You know, every one of us, I think, would probably say, I want to
be a comfort to my brethren. I want to be used of God. I look at somebody that's a mentor
of mine and I think, I want to be used like God used them. You
ladies look at some faithful pastor's wife or somebody and
think, I want to be used like God used them. Well, you know
how you're going to be used like God used them? He's going to
bring you through hills and valleys and curves and happy, and sad,
and good, and bad, and all of these things to bring you to
a place where you can tell your brethren how the Lord, how His
grace was sufficient for you, how He had His arms underneath
you the whole time, how He kept you in the faith, how He provided
for you, and through that word, He'll comfort you. I mean, he'll
comfort that brother or sister you're talking to. So if we're
going to be used to the Lord like that, like that mentor we
look to, or that sister we look to, that's a mentor to us, if
we're going to be used like them, we're going to have to go through
some trouble. We're gonna have to go through some heart-wrenching
trouble. And so the Lord, whether we're
afflicted or we're comforted, it's for the sake of being able
to tell another brother or sister what the Lord's done for us.
Somebody is looking to you as their mentor like you're looking
to that older person. You comfort them like the older
person's comfort you. That's why the Lord's working
these things for us. That's why He's working them.
I'm just about out of time, but let me hurriedly tell you this
second thing. All of this is by God's grace.
It's all according to His abundance of grace. All things God gives,
He gives to His people in abundance. God doesn't do anything halfway.
He doesn't. He gives in abundance. In abundance. Abundant life. The Lord Jesus
said in John 10.10, I am come that they might have life and
that they might have it more abundantly. Abundant supply of
all our need. Philippians 4.19, My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Hadn't He abundantly supplied
all your needs? Abundant entrance? Do you need
abundant entrance? What's that? 2 Peter 1.11 says,
An entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Abundant
in this entrance. What about abundant satisfaction? Listen, Psalm 36, verse 8. Thou
shalt be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house,
and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Are you abundantly satisfied with the Lord Jesus? I think I am. I think I'm abundantly
satisfied with Him. I know I have a lot of unbelief,
and I know there's a lot of things wherein I'm not satisfied. And
I shouldn't be. I shouldn't feel that way. Because in Christ, by His grace,
He has given me everything in abundance. And all this is by
God's abundant grace. I showed you all these abundant
things because I wanted you to see it's all by His abundant
grace. You can turn there, but I'm in
a hurry. But listen to Romans 5.20. Where sin abounded, grace
did what? Much more abound. that as sin has reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. And you know what God's able
to do? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9, 8, God is able to make all
grace abound toward you, that you always, having sufficiency
in all things, may abound to every good work. That doesn't
mean you're going to always be driving around in a Mercedes. That doesn't mean that you're
going to ever do that. That doesn't mean that, you know,
things might be tight. That's not what abundant grace
is. Abundant grace is not abundance
of things. Abundant grace is abundant entrance
to behold the Lord Jesus who has given you abundant salvation. That's abundant grace. And He'll
provide everything you need to be able to do whatever work it
is He has you to do in this life. That's His promise. He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us what? All things. All things. Whatever you need. Do you think that God that gave
His only begotten Son, do you think He'll spare giving you
whatever earthly provision you need? Of course He won't. He won't spare. He'll give you
whatever you need. He didn't spare His only begotten
Son. He will not hold back from you any lesser blessing that
you need. What do we murmur about most? It's not needs that we're murmuring
about. Whatever we need, God either
provides it, or this book's lying. Either God has provided all our
need, or God's a liar. Which one is it? He's provided
all our need. So what do we murmur about? What
is it we complain about? I'll tell you what I complain
about. Not what I need. I complain about what I want
that I don't have. And you know what that is? That's
covetousness. That's unbelief. That's sin. That's murmuring against God. God's provided me all things
that I need. And He has you too. I can say
that without reservation. I know that's so. I know it is. Well, here's the end purpose
for which God's given us everything. Look back there at 2 Corinthians
4, and look at verse 15 again. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 15. Why does He do all this for us?
2 Corinthians 4, verse 15. He says, "...that the abundant grace might,
through the thanksgiving of many, redound..." That means go back
up, to the glory of God that it might redound. He is saying
like grace comes down to you and it works all this for you
and then it redounds back to God in thanksgiving to God, giving
God all the glory. When is the last time you thanked
God? When is the last time? And I tell you this is a good
practice right here. This is a good practice. Next
time that you're complaining about anything, maybe you're
not telling anybody, you're just in your heart, you're thinking
about it and you're mad about something and you're upset because
things aren't going your way and you're just murmuring and
complaining about it. Next time you do it, next time you're right
there, stop and thank God. Thank God for bringing you right
there to that spot and giving you whatever it was that has
caused you so much trouble. Just stop and thank Him. Why? Because He says in 1 Thessalonians
5.18, In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. Well, that means it's God's will
that I thank Him. Yeah, that's what our text says.
That's why He does all this, so we thank Him and give Him
the glory. But brethren, that situation that we're in, where
we're worrying and we're troubled, or the situation we're in where
we're bitter and we're murmuring and we're complaining about it,
that's the will of God for you. And He says, and in everything,
If it's good, of course we should give Him thanks for everything
that's good. Of course we give Him thanks for His Son and righteousness
and holiness and peace and joy and all the things He's given
us in Christ. Of course we give Him thanks
for that. But when you're on your back, shivering with a fever,
miserable, and you can't lift your head up, He brought you
right there too. He gave you that. Life and death. Things present and things to
come. Thank Him for it. Thank Him for it. Why? It's being
worked together with those Wonderful times when we were walking on
our tiptoes and saying how wonderful God was. He's working that time
right there and that thing right there with that other for your
good. Both of them. Ain't that right? We know that's so. We sit right
here, I know it, you know it. But it's hard to do when you're
in it, isn't it? It's hard to do. I said this to you Sunday, I'll
say it again. When we get to the end of our
life, this is what Genesis 24-1 said. This is what's going to
be said of you and me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
This is what's going to be said of everything that was brought
to pass in our life. It says the Lord had blessed
Abraham in what? All things. All things are yours. All things. Father, we thank
You for this Word. We pray, Lord, that You'd be
pleased to bless it to our hearts. Lord, be with Your people that
are troubled. Make us see just how sovereign
and holy You are, Lord, to save. Make us stand together with assurance
in You, knowing all things are ours and You're working all things
for our sake. Make us stand with our brethren.
Make us stand with Christ. Make us help one another by being
there for them to know that we're there. And Lord, for the ones You gave
to preach the gospel to us, we thank You for them. You gave us eternal life through
somebody you used to preach the gospel to us. We thank you for
that. Thank you for them. Lord, we
thank you for the worst troubles that have caused us so much grief
and pain and sorrow. We thank you for them. You're too wise to err. You sent
them for our good and we thank you. Even when we don't know
what they're for, we just know it's to turn us to that which
is unseen so we remember that's the lasting thing. We thank You. We thank You, Lord, for Christ,
our Savior, our Redeemer, for free salvation, free justification. We thank You, Lord, that life,
death, things present, things to come, all the ministries You've
given us, all things are ours. And we thank You that we're Christ's
and that Christ is Yours. Lord, help us know this and remember
it and not forget it. Help us to thank You next time
we murmur. Lord, help us to love you. Forgive
us, Lord, how we do need it, how we need forgiveness. We pray
this for Christ's sake. Amen.