Faith of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ's faith?

The Bible shows Christ's faith in God, especially evident in Psalm 16, where He expresses complete trust in God's protection and guidance. Psalm 16 vividly illustrates Christ's faith, particularly in His prayer for preservation and His acknowledgment of God as His Lord. Christ's faith is not merely a historical concept but a profound representation of reliance on God amid approaching sufferings and trials. He set the Lord before Him, demonstrating unwavering confidence that He would not be moved, showcasing both His humanity and divine nature. This example of faith is meant to encourage believers to trust in God in similar ways, especially during times of trial and tribulation.

Q: How do we know that Christ's resurrection is true?

Christ's resurrection is affirmed in Scripture, notably in Acts 2, where Peter references Psalm 16 to assert that Jesus was raised and did not see corruption. The truth of Christ's resurrection is firmly rooted in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament. In Acts 2, Peter cites Psalm 16, relaying that David foresaw Christ’s resurrection, emphasizing that Christ's body experienced no decay. This declaration is the cornerstone of Christian faith; it confirms not just the historical event itself but the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. Additionally, Christ's resurrection is pivotal for believers, assuring us of our own future resurrection and the ultimate defeat of death, thus reinforcing the truth of His perfect work.

Q: Why is Christ's humility important for Christians?

Christ's humility is crucial as it exemplifies true faith, showing that even He recognized His dependence on God and not on His own righteousness. In Psalm 16, Christ humbly declares, 'My goodness extendeth not to thee,' highlighting that even in His perfection, He did not rely on His own merits. This humility is foundational for Christian faith, teaching believers that righteousness before God is not derived from our actions but solely from Christ’s sacrifice. By recognizing our limitations and the sufficiency of God's grace, we cultivate a heart of true faith, which brings us closer to God’s design for our lives. Humility leads to reliance on God's grace and the understanding that it is through Christ alone that we are justified.

Q: What does 'preservation in Christ' mean for believers?

Preservation in Christ means that believers are kept secure in their faith and salvation, just as Christ prayed for God's protection. The concept of preservation in Christ underscores the assurance that believers are guarded by God throughout their lives. As Jesus prayed in Psalm 16, 'Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust,' it reflects the reality for Christians that their security is found in Christ’s intercession and the faithfulness of God. This preservation means that no trial or hardship can separate us from God's love, and we are sustained by His grace even amid life's challenges. We are called to rest in this promise, actively trusting that God's will for us is good, and He will sustain us through every season.

Alright brethren, let's turn
back to Psalm 16. Psalm 16. Let's begin reading in verse 8. I have
set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and
my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to seek corruption. Now, this is Christ speaking
through David here in Psalm 16. We know that because Acts 2,
Peter tells us that on the day of Pentecost. Let me read this
to you. In Acts 2 and verse 25 he said,
David speaketh concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for He's on my right hand that I should not be moved.
He's quoting the psalm we just read. And he said, David seeing
this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. And
then again in Acts 13, the apostle Paul says, he said in another
psalm, thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption.
He's speaking of this psalm we're reading. He says, For David,
after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep
and was laid unto his fathers, and he saw corruption. But he
whom God raised again saw no corruption. Be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. So we see that this psalm, Psalm
16, David is writing the psalm, but the Holy Spirit of God has
moved David to pen the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. What
this psalm is showing us is we're seeing Christ's faith in God. We're seeing Christ's faith in
God as He viewed His approaching sufferings on the cross, as He
viewed His victory over death and the grave, and as He viewed
His exaltation to the right hand of God. We see Christ's faith
viewing these things. Alright? Let's go back to the
beginning of the psalm now, to verse 1. First thing we see here
is Christ's prayer of faith. His prayer of faith. He says,
Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. Preserve me
means guard me, like a bodyguard. Guard me. Now God is called in
Job 7 the preserver of men. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as
God the Son, is the preserver of men. But when God the Son
took human flesh, He took the form of a servant. And when He
took the form of a servant, as the servant of God, as a man,
as the mediator and representative of His people, Christ needed
to be kept from the power of evil, just like we do. He needed
to be kept. He needed to be preserved. And
so he prays, Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust. Christ had God's promise. He
had His word. Look over at Isaiah 49. You remember we were here not
too long ago in our Isaiah series. And in Isaiah 49, look there
in verse 8. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable
time have I heard Thee, And in the day of salvation have I helped
thee, and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages, that thou mayest say to the prisoners,
Go forth. To them that are in darkness, show yourselves. They
shall feed in the ways, and their pastors shall be in all high
places. That's God the Father speaking to Christ. He said,
I will preserve you. Now, just as Christ had God's
word, we have God's word. Us sitting right here, we have
God's Word. Psalm 910, he says, They that know thy name will
put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken
them that seek thee. And then again in 1 Peter 2,
speaking of Christ, it says, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be confounded. You will not be ashamed for believing
on him. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will not be ashamed for
doing so. Nobody that's ever believed on
Christ has ever been confounded or has ever been ashamed of doing
so. Why is that? It's because God is faithful.
He's faithful to the believer who puts all his trust in God. You see, when Christ prayed here,
He prayed something that God our Father will not refuse. He
said, Preserve me, O God, because in Thee do I put my trust. God won't refuse that. Come to
Him saying, in thee do I put my trust. That's why I'm asking
you to preserve me because I put my trust in you. Not in your
works, not in anything you've done, not in anything or any
other person, only in Him. He can be trusted above our nearest
and dearest loved ones. Brother Ravi just read that passage
there in Psalm 2710. When my father and my mother
forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. He's trustworthy. He's trustworthy. And this prayer
that Christ prayed is His prayer for His people because His people
were in Him when He prayed this prayer. It's the same as He prayed
in John 17, 11 when He said, Holy Father, through Thine own
name, Keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given
Me that they may be one as We are. Him praying on behalf of
His people as well when He prayed on behalf of Himself. And so
when God preserved Christ, He preserved His people because
His people were in Christ. That's what we read about in
Jude 1. Sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus
Christ and called. Now that's the prayer of faith.
That's Christ's prayer of faith. Preserve me, O God, for in Thee
do I put my trust. Alright? Secondly, let's see
the confidence of Christ's faith. Here's the confidence of His
faith. Verse 2. O my soul, O my soul, thou hast
said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord. Now the confidence of
faith is in the innermost part. It's in the innermost part. It's
in the heart that God's created anew in you and I. Now many say
God is their Lord. They say God is their Lord with
the lips. But to say it from the heart,
that's a different thing. He's saying here, he's saying
this from the heart. The Lord when He walked this
earth spoke of some men and He said, well did Isaiah prophesy
of you? He said, this people draw, they
honor me with their lips, but their hearts far from me. It's
easy to say with the lips, He's my Lord. What about in the trial? What about when when things are
going awry? What about when you're pressed
down beyond measure? But Christ said, O my soul, thou
hast said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord. O my soul. He believed in his heart, in
his heart. The confidence of faith gives
all allegiance to God and owns him as my Lord. my master, my
God, my help, my support, my all. We read it again, O my soul,
thou hast said unto the Lord, capital L-O-R-D, thou hast said
unto God, unto Jehovah, thou art my lowercase L-O-R-D, thou
art my master, my Lord. As the mediator, made under the
law, made of a woman, made under the law, He came to serve Jehovah.
And as He served Jehovah, as our representative and substitute,
as the representative and substitute of His people, the Lord Jesus
Christ looked to God, His Father, as His master, as His Lord. That's
how He served Him, from the heart. He said, Oh my soul, thou art
my Lord. Now we've not believed, no man
has believed on Christ until He's our Lord. A lot of people
want a Savior, nobody wants a Lord. To have a Lord means we bow to
Him. He has the governing rule of
our life. What He says, goes. That's what
it is to have a Lord. Christ said, O my soul, thou
hast said unto the Lord, thou art my Lord. Now that's the confidence
of Christ's faith. He's looking to the Father to
be His master, His supporter, His governor, His help, His everything. Alright, so that's his confidence.
Now that's the same for us. We have to look to Christ. He
said without me you can do nothing. We depend upon Him to govern
us. We depend upon Him to provide
for us. We depend upon Him to support
us. We depend upon Him to carry us. He is the Lord, our Master,
our Governor, our Sovereign. Alright? Thirdly, we see the
humility of Christ's faith. Now this is important. Look at
the last part of verse 2 there. He says, My goodness extendeth
not to thee. My goodness extendeth not to
thee. Now remember, this is the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is the God-man. This is
the faithful servant of God the Father. You see His modesty here. He says, My goodness extendeth
not to thee. Speaking to God His Father. I
listen to folks talk about their faith, religious folks, and they're
just walking around crowing about their faith and boasting about
their faith and what all they've done for God as if they're doing
something for God and helping God out in what they're doing
for Him. Of all the sons of Adam, of all the sons of Adam, there
is none that doeth good. That's what the scripture says.
There's none that doeth good. But Christ is the one. He's the
one and the only one who's full of goodness. Nothing but goodness
in Him. And yet He says, My goodness
extendeth not to thee. True faith's not proud. True
faith is humble. It's not proud. But here's the
truth of the matter. The work our Lord Jesus Christ
did added nothing to God. It added nothing to God. God
would have remained glorious had He never even made this world
and never saved one sinner out of it. He would have remained
the same. We learn about the attributes
of God. We learn about the character
of God by looking at the Lord Jesus Christ. We see God in Him. But all of that and everything
our Lord Jesus Christ did added nothing to the Lord God. It added
nothing to Him. Listen to Job 22. Can a man be
profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto
himself? Listen to Job 35.6. If thou sinnest,
what doest thou against him? When Adam sinned and plunged
all mankind into deadness, did that affect God in him? He didn't
change God one bit. If you sin, what doest thou against
him? Or if thy transgressions be multiplied,
what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest
thou him? What receiveth he of thine hand?
Thy wickedness may hurt a man, as thou art, and thy righteousness
may profit the son of man, but it doesn't do anything to God.
He's God. He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't
ask you. He's above everybody and everything. He's God. Christ's goodness extended
not to God. But here's the good news. Christ's
goodness does extend to His people. Look here in verse 2. My goodness
extendeth not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth,
and to the excellent in whom is all my delight. Christ's people
are His saints. That's who His people are. They're
His saints. They were sanctified set apart
by God the Father when He chose them in Christ before the foundation
of the world. They were sanctified and perfected
by God the Son, by Christ Jesus, for by one offering He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. and they're sanctified, made
holy by the Spirit of God, effectually working in them to purge their
conscience from dead works to serve the true and living God,
and He purges us through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Everything is from Christ to us. Everything it extends to
us. And look there, He says, Christ's
people are the excellent. It means His nobles, His noblemen,
His noblemen. True noblemen, true princes are
Christ's people. They're Christ's people. We've
been made kings and priests under God by what Christ has done.
We're princes in all the earth, as Psalm 45, 16 said. We're robed in Christ's righteousness. You are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should
show forth the praises of Him who's called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light. We're heirs of the kingdom of
God. Now that, His goodness does extend
to us. And look here, Christ says, In
whom is all my delight. In whom is all my delight. I
wonder how much delight Christ has. He says His people are all
His delight. When He's spoken of as wisdom
in Proverbs 8, 29, it says, When He appointed the foundations
of the earth, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and
I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. This is Christ
our wisdom. I was before God and I was daily
His delight. And He said, Rejoicing in the
habitable parts of His earth, and My delights were with the
sons of men. Why? Why was His delights with
the sons of men? Not with all the sons of men,
but with that multitude that God chose and gave to Him before
He made the world, His delights were toward them because He entered
into surety, ship, engagement to be their Savior, to be their
Redeemer, to come forth and purge them of their sins by His offering
on Calvary's tree. So His delights were with His
people from the very beginning. Listen to Isaiah 43, verse 4
says, Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable,
and I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life. In Isaiah 62, verse 4 he says,
Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, neither shall thy land
any more be termed desolate. But thou shalt be called Hephzibah,
and thy land Beulah. What does that mean? The Lord
delighteth in thee. and thy land shall be married.
That's what it means. The Lord delights in you. You'll
be married to Him. He came as our great husband
and laid down His life for His bride. And because He did that,
He's made us as righteous as He is and He will one day present
us to the Father as a chaste virgin without spot and without
wrinkle, without blemish. No way anybody can accuse us
of anything. Not because of anything we've
done, but because of everything He's done. A child of God can
say, like it says in the Song of Solomon, I am my Beloved's
and His desire is toward me. If Christ's people mean this
much to Christ, they ought to mean that much to us too. This
is how much His people mean to Him. They ought to mean that
much to us too. This is what John said, Hereby perceive we
the love of God, because He laid down His life for us, and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath
this world's good, and seeth his brother half-kneed, and shutteth
up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of
God in him? My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Listen
to this song by Isaac Watts. I often have my heart and tongue
confessed how empty and how poor I am. My praise can never make
thee blessed, nor add new glories to thy name. Yet, Lord, thy saints
on earth may reap some profit by the good we do. These are
the company I keep. These are the choicest friends
I know. Let others choose the songs of
mirth to give a relish to their wine. I love the men of heavenly
mirth whose thoughts and language are divine. We ought to love
one another. That's how much Christ's people
mean to Him. Alright, fourthly, let's look
here now. We see Christ's faith is jealous for God to receive
all the glory. Jealous for God to receive all
the glory. Look at verse 4. Their sorrows
shall be multiplied that hasten after another God. Their drink
offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names
into my lips. The same Lord Jesus Christ who
delights in His people, the same one we just read about who said
His people are His delight, that same one is against those who
worship other gods. He is against those who worship
other gods. He says their sorrows shall be
multiplied. You think about it. made to sorrow
by their leaders. Remember how Pharaoh took away
the straw and all and made them to where they had to go out and
gather their own straw to make bricks? Religious leaders put
heavy burdens upon their people. They load them down. They force
them to make many sacrifices. And that causes much sorrow.
Sorrow upon sorrow. They teach them to withhold food
and drink from their bodies. And that causes them to sorrow.
They force them to be up and doing all the time. That causes
much sorrow. And then there's sorrows from
God because they don't have any peace in their conscience. They
got no peace in their heart. They're under the wrath of God.
Anybody outside of Christ is under the wrath of God. And they
have that stinging conscience and knowing that for all they're
doing and all they're running and all they're sacrificing,
they're still not accepted of God. True religion is full of
comfort. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.
But false religion is full of sorrow and rigor by Pharaoh and
his taskmasters. That's what it's all about. You've
got to keep them enslaved to keep them serving, to keep them
there. Otherwise they won't stay there.
Have you ever heard somebody walk away from a place like this
and say, well I'm not walking away from anything, what do you
have? We've got nothing that religion has. We've got nothing
that vain free will works religion has. But what we have, the carnal
man can't see. He can't see it. He has no idea
what we have. Look at there, he says, they
hasten after another God. Look at Romans 10. Romans 10. They hasten after another God.
They have a lot of zeal. There is no doubt about that.
Here's what the Apostle Paul said about all that zeal. Verse
2, I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge. You know, free will works religion
has got a lot more zeal, a lot more zeal often than God's people
do. They manifest it outwardly a
lot more than God's people do. God's people are, they're steadfast,
they're steady, they're consistent. Folks in religion, they go in
a lot of zeal and then they drop off. They go in a lot of zeal
and then they drop off. But all of that zeal, Paul says,
is not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness. This is the key. This is not
that they have faith, but it's just in the wrong direction.
It's not that they're saved, but they're just a little off
the mark. They're lost. They're ignorant
of God's righteousness. Going about to establish their
own righteousness. And have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Who's the righteousness of God?
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
they believe in. but only to everyone that believes
it. That's why you see so many men still running to the law
and trying to earn a righteousness for themselves. They don't believe
Christ is the end of the law. They don't believe that. Moses
described the righteousness which is of the law. Here it is, the
man which doeth those things shall live by them. Do all the
law and you'll have life. Do all the law and God will receive
you. Don't break it in one iota. Don't just be zealous for it
and mean well. Do it. That's what he said. Do
it. Keep the whole law. But the righteousness which is
of faith speaks on this wise. Look at verse 8. What saith it?
The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That
is the Word of faith which we preach. We preach faith. We preach
faith. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. See, there's
no doing involved. Believing in the heart. unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the Scripture says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. They won't be ashamed to call
on him. They won't be ashamed to confess him. And they won't
be confounded and ashamed because they have confessed him. He'll
keep on. Christ is the Great High Priest and He stands between
God and His people. He stands between God and anybody
that wants to come to God. He stands between them. And there's
no way to God but by Christ Jesus. And so when those come to God
who are not in Christ and they're offering something to God other
than Christ, He says, verse 4, their drink offerings of blood
will I not offer, nor take up their name into my lips. When
God's people come to Christ and we fall on our face and we confess
our sin to Him and that we need grace and mercy from Him, the
Lord Jesus Christ offers Himself to God on our behalf. And God
receives His child because of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you
let a man come with some other offering of his own making and
his own doing and Christ says, their drink offerings of blood
will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. Christ
will gladly represent the weakest of His sheep. Those that just
barely have any faith whatsoever, but they believe Him. They believe
Him. They're full of unbelief and
wavering, but they believe Him. He said, I know them. I know my sheep. I know them.
But here He says, You let a man come in his own name. You let
a man come boasting of what he's done. You let a man come trusting
in himself. He said, I won't even make intercession
for him. I won't even take his name on
my lips. That's true. That's what God says. Christ
is not in the midst of so-called churches who are saying that
God must wait on the sinner to let God save them. How dare you say such a thing?
How dare I not? It's about time somebody did.
Is there no such thing as a Pharisee in our day? Is there no such
thing as false religion in our day? You would think we're all
going after the same God and all worshiping the same God.
Wherever sinners are being told their will is free to choose
or resist, Christ is not in that. He's not in it. Where the lie
is told that God loves everybody and Christ died for everybody,
Christ is not at all involved in that idolatry. Not at all.
Jeremiah 23, 31. Behold, I am against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, he saith. Behold, I am against them that
prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and
cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet
I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not
profit this people at all, saith the Lord. But to hear people
talk, that was in days gone by. We don't have anything like that
today. Everybody is so sweet and so sincere. No, the problem
is men think they were saved under that garbage. That's the
problem. Let me tell you something. True repentance and true faith
is not switching doctrines. It's switching gods. Mark that
down. That's true. True religion, true
repentance, true faith is not changing doctrine. is changing
gods. The Apostle Paul in Philippians
3, he said all of that stuff that I was in, I count it dumb. He didn't say I was saved in
it. And then I came to the doctrines of grace. He said no, I repented
by God's grace. And I count all that that's behind
me, dumb. Have I become your enemy because
I'm telling you the truth? Have I? You need to be told the
truth. We need to be told the truth.
True faith has its part, has its portion, nowhere else but
in God. And Christ says, I'll take them
up, I'll offer them to God, I'll make intercession for them, but
He said those that come with their blood offerings, and their
drink offerings, and their offering, He said in one place, it's the
same as killing a man. A man coming in his own offering,
in his own will, in his own power, in his own intellect, in his
own understanding. He said, you might as well be
killing a man as killing a bullock or killing a lamb. He said, enough
with vain oblations. Look at verse 5. He says, The
Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest
my lot. You see, This is Christ. He's the faithful one. And this
is what true faith says. True faith says my part and my
portion is nowhere else but God. The Lord is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my life. It's
not one denomination's doctrine and another denomination's doctrine
and this doctrine and that doctrine. It's Christ. It's God that maintains
our lot. He's our portion. In the Levites,
they were priests, but they didn't have any portion. They didn't
have any inheritance. They didn't have any part with
the people of the land. You know why? The Lord was their
portion. He was their portion. And so
our Lord Jesus delighted that the Father was on His side, that
the Father would maintain His right against all the wrongs
of men and reserve His elect for Him as His lot and His reward
forever. What is your reward? What is
your inheritance? What are you looking for? What
are we looking for? What do we want? We want Christ. We want Him. He's our reward.
He's our portion. He supplies all our necessities
now and He will forever. And everything this world can
give you, everything you can accumulate in this world, one
of these days it'll be lost. It will be lost. It don't matter
what it is. But everything that God gives,
everything Christ gives, He gives of Himself. And Christ gives
us more than the devil or this world combined could ever give
to us. He gives us an eternal inheritance with Him. With Him. By the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, We have an inheritance, incorruptible
and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Christ said this, and we
say this with Christ, the lions are fallen unto me in pleasant
places, yea, I have a goodly heritage. We have a goodly heritage. Now there's a difference, a big
difference in that confidence being all in Christ and confidence
being in some vain oblation and some vain understanding and some
vain wisdom we came to. He's our portion. He's our inheritance. Alright, here's the fifth thing.
Christ's faith looked to God his Father for counsel. Verse 7. I will bless the Lord
who hath given me counsel. Look at John chapter 12. Now
the Lord Jesus Christ, His name is Wonderful, Counselor, the
Mighty God. So what's He talking about here
when He says, The Lord has given me counsel. Look at John 12 and
look at verse 49. John 12 verse 49. I have not spoken of myself. But the Father which sent me,
He gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should
speak. And I know that His commandment
is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. This is what
He's talking about by counsel. Our Redeemer went to His Father
for direction. He went to His Father and when
He received it, He blessed Him for giving Him counsel. For giving
Him counsel. Now brethren, by His grace, by
His grace, we follow Christ and we cease from trusting in our
understanding. How many times have you looked
into this book and saw something and said, I just can't understand
that. I just can't get my head around
that. Well, if we could understand everything about God, wouldn't
God be a lot smaller than us? Wouldn't we be bigger than God
if we could understand everything there is to know about God? So,
we can't understand everything there is to know about God. We're
not to look to our vain understanding, we're to look to God. We're to
bring everything to this book and lay it down at this book
and if it don't line up with this book, throw it away. Just
throw it away. I just said that to you about
Christ not being in the midst of vain religion. He said, I
will give you pastors after my own heart which shall feed you
with knowledge and understanding. That's what God said. That's
what He said. is telling a man that Christ
died for everybody and God loves everybody and He really wants
to save everybody but He just can't because sinners won't let
Him. Is that food? Is that understanding? Is that
truth? Well then, according to the Scripture,
God didn't send that pastor. He said, I'm going to give you
pastors after my own heart which shall feed you with knowledge
and understanding. See, I'm saying to you, Take
it to the Word of God and if it doesn't line up with what
God says, forget it. Because Christ is going to be
the standard of righteousness by which we are going to be measured
in that day. We're going to be brought before
Him and any man that's coming with his vain thoughts and his
doings and all his vanity is going to have to match up to
Christ. He's the righteousness that excels.
He's the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes
and the Pharisees. And He said, except you have a righteousness
that exceeds theirs, you can in no way enter into the kingdom
of God. And He is that righteousness. Our Redeemer, when He walked
this earth, He shows us what it is to be a faithful child
of God. He trusted the Father. He took
counsel from the Father. He could have made himself a
reputation, could he not? Was he not God, equal with God? Yet he took the form of a servant.
And he made himself of no reputation. And he got his word from the
Father. And when he got his word from the Father, he walked in
the counsel the Father gave him. That's how he walked. He trusted
the Father. So, That's what we do. We walk. We trust Him. We look
to Him. And we lean not to our own understanding. We trust Him. We follow Him.
And then we have His guidance in the heart. Look at verse 7.
He says, My reigns also instruct me in the night seasons. In the
night seasons. Someone said this. They said,
Wise men see more with their eyes shut by night than fools
can see by day with their eyes open. Wise men see more with
their eyes shut by night than fools can see by day with their
eyes open. Sinners choose the night to revel
in their sins. But the believer finds the night
seasons to be quiet time when we hear that soft, still voice
of our Redeemer speaking to our heart. Remember He said, Thine
ears shall hear a voice behind thee saying, This is the way,
walk ye in it. When you turn to the right hand
and when you turn to the left. How many times do we see Christ
leaving the crowds and leaving all the people and going off
somewhere by Himself alone to pray? This is what he's showing
us, brethren. Quiet time is good time. We,
for some reason nowadays, we cannot have quiet time. We have to have a gadget going
all the time. Something bringing information,
useless information into our brain constantly. And you know
what that does? It makes you to where you can't
hardly stand to be in quiet time. You can't hardly stand to turn
it all off and not be looking at all of it. People get anxious
when they can't check their email and all that. Quiet times, good
time. That's a good time to get along
with God and to seek His counsel and to seek His faith and to
walk after Him. Alright, here's the sixth thing. Christ's faith looked to God
His Father even in the most severe trial. Now he's going to Calvary
and he says in verse 8, I've set the Lord always before me
because He is at my right hand and I shall not be moved. In
Acts 2.25 it words it this way, I foresaw the Lord always before
my face. Here he says, I've set the Lord
always before me. Acts 2.25 says, I foresaw the
Lord always before my face for He's on my right hand that I
should not be moved. When His time was come to go
to the cross, whenever the Lord's time was come to go to the cross,
our Lord Jesus didn't set the Roman guards before His face.
He set the Father before His face. He didn't set the scourging
before His face. He set the Lord God before His
face. He didn't set the cruel cross
before His face. He set the Lord before His face.
That's what He says there. I've set the Lord always before
me. And because He's at my right
hand, I shall not be moved. So by faith, Christ knew He should
never be moved from accomplishing the redemption of His people.
He trusted in the power of God at his right hand. Now brethren,
we ought to learn from this. When a trial comes, instead of
setting the waves before our face, instead of setting all
the difficulties before our face, instead of setting all the, oh
there's no way we can do that before our face, set God before
our face. Set Christ before our face. This
One who has all power in heaven and earth. This One we've been
reading about in Ephesians 1 who has all things put under His
feet and who is the head over all things to His church, the
fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Put Him before our
face. Set Him before your face and
rely upon Him entirely. Look at Isaiah 50. Isaiah 50. We were in this not too long
ago and this came to mind too. Verse 6, I gave my back to the
smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I
hid not my face from shame and spitting, because, that's what
for means, because the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall
I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He's
near that justifies me, who will contend with me? Let us stand
together. Who's my adversary? Let him come
near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help
me. Who is he that shall condemn
me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment. The moth shall
eat them up. This is what confidence he had
because he set the Father before his face. Now here's his word
to us who fear God and obey his voice. Look here, verse 10. Who
is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice
of his servant? Who is there here that fears
God and obeys the voice of God's servant, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Well, here's what God's servant says. Let him trust in the name
of the Lord and stay upon his God. That's what Christ did. That's what Christ did. That's
the faith of Him. Somebody said this. Look back
at Psalm 16. Somebody said this. When we rely
entirely upon the Lord, by His presence with us, I have this
confidence concerning things without. Verse 8. I shall not
be moved. And I have this cheer within.
Verse 9. Therefore my heart is glad. And
I have this rejoicing in my tongue. My glory rejoices. And I have
this good hope for my dying body. Verse 9. My flesh shall also
rest in hope. That's what we have when we look
to Him. Now verse 10. He says, For thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell. Now our Savior didn't go to the
place of the damned when He died. At His death His soul was committed
to His Father and it was that same day in paradise just like
He told the thief it would be. It means thou wilt not leave
my body in the grave. Verse 10. Neither wilt thou suffer
thine holy one to see corruption. It means his body would not see
decay. Now I didn't ever really think of this till today. It's
evident that Christ thoroughly put away the sin of his people
when he said it is finished. Because in three days, if me
and you go in the grave, you know what's going to happen in
three days? We're going to see decay. His body did not see decay. In three days that His body was
in that grave, His body saw no decay because He put sin away. He did. He did. And He saw no
corruption. Verse 11. Thou wilt show me the
path of life. He's the forerunner. God raised
Him from the dead and He tread a path that nobody's ever tread
before. He tread the path of life. of everlasting life. He's
the firstborn, the first begotten from the dead. Others was raised
before, but never was one raised who brought life and immortality
to life. One who was raised and had dominion
over death. One who was raised who is the
forerunner of his people. He went through the path of life. Our Savior knows now because
He's experienced that death, and He's passed through death,
and He's entered into that life. He knows how, He knows by experience,
how to comfort you and me when our head lays on that dying pillow.
He knows how to comfort us. And He's gone before, but His
people are coming with Him. His people are coming with Him.
Now look at, this is the seventh thing, the last thing. Christ's
faith was not confounded. It wasn't confounded. He said,
anybody that believes on God will not be ashamed. And he believed
him. He went into that cross, he took the sins of his people
upon himself, and he went into that cross and he bore the stroke
of justice from his God. But he trusted God would raise
him from the dead and would set him at his own right hand. And
he was not confounded for trusting the Father. Look at verse 11.
In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore. There in our human nature, He's
filled with the fullness of joy, with a joy unspeakable and full
of glory. And as it is with Christ our
Head, so it shall be with the members of His body. Every one
of them. They're going to all go into
the presence of God. We have His joy now, we have
His gladness in our heart, but then we're going to enter into
the joy of our Lord, into the presence of God, and then everlasting
joy shall be upon our heads forever. Let's read Revelation 21. Go
over there, Revelation 21. Revelation 21, verse 3. I heard
a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be
his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall
be no more death, Neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he
that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for
these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It's done.
I'm Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto
him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I'll be his God
and he shall be my son. But now listen now, but the fearful,
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death. Now, this is what I've been trying
to tell you. I want to show you all this about Christ because
this is what I want you to get. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never be ashamed. You
will never be confounded. You will live with Him for all
eternity. Do you see it? Do you see what
happened with Christ? He trusted His Father. And there
He is. And He is bringing somebody with
Him. He died for a multitude no man could number and He is
bringing them with Him. Has He given you repentance from your
vain religion, from your vain will worship, from your vain
ideas of who He is and made you fall brokenhearted at His feet?
Has He? I pray He will. Amen.

Faith of Christ

What does the Bible say about Christ's faith?

How do we know that Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is Christ's humility important for Christians?

What does 'preservation in Christ' mean for believers?

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Faith of Christ

What does the Bible say about Christ's faith?

How do we know that Christ's resurrection is true?

Why is Christ's humility important for Christians?

What does 'preservation in Christ' mean for believers?

Sermon Transcript

About Clay Curtis

Comments

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