I hope that I can be of encouragement
to you as you seek to establish God's witness in this place.
And I hope you will feel free to call on me anytime. I can
be of any help in any way, whatever. The Lord has in his good providence
allowed us as a congregation in Danville to establish seven
or eight gospel churches around the world in the 35 years we've
been together. And they've all begun just as
you have, gathering in a place like this. Most of them are watching
our videos. I'll be going just a little while
next month back to Mount of Money, North Ireland. A congregation
there has been meeting together for 12 years every Sunday, watching
videos of the messages. I preach at home. Worshipping
our God, praying God might be pleased to send them a pastor.
I grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. I've been going for over 15 years. The very same thing. So you pray
for those assemblies as well as for yourselves. And pray that
God will give you a man, a pastor after his own heart to feed you
with knowledge and understanding. And set your hearts to this work.
wholly, completely sold out to it, locked, stocked, and barreled.
Honor God and God will honor you. Let's turn again this morning
to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15. The Lord God has saved his people
Israel after 400 years of bondage. bringing his chosen, the seed
of Abraham, out of Egypt by his high hand and distressed at arm. He saved his people by his sovereign
purpose. He saved them according to his
own covenant promise. He saved them by blood, the blood
of the Paschal Lamb portraying our Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice
for us. And he saved them by power, the
power of his stretched out arm as he brought Israel across the
Red Sea and drowned Pharaoh and his armies in the sea, portraying
the accomplishment of grace in us by God the Holy Spirit. We read in the last two verses
of chapter 14, Exodus chapter 14 and verse 30. Thus the Lord saved Israel that
day out of the hand of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore and Israel saw the great work which the
Lord did upon the Egyptians and the people feared the Lord and
believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Now in chapter 15 Israel
is standing on the Canaan side of the Red Sea And Moses leads
the whole congregation of the Lord in the first hymn ever recorded
in history. Exodus 15 is the first hymn ever
recorded in history, the first hymn given to us in scripture. Try to get the picture. Here
are well over a million people, probably millions of people,
have come out of Egypt. They're standing on the glory
side of the Red Sea. And Moses lines out for him. You younger folks won't know
anything about that. It was common in days gone by,
especially in rural country places, for the song leader to line out
of him. He'd say, amazing grace, how
sweet the sound. And then folks would sing in
response. And then he'd get the next line, and they'd sing in
response. Well, Moses is lining out for him. And as he does,
the whole congregation sings with him this song of redemption
and grace that they had just experienced. Look at verse 1.
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the
Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath
triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation. He is my God. I will praise him. I will prepare him in habitation.
My Father is God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man
of war. The Lord is his name. Pharaoh's
chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea. His chosen
captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have
covered them. They sank into the bottom as
a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become
glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine
excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee.
Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
and with the blast of thy nostrils the waters gathered together.
The flood stood upright as in heap, and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied
upon them. I will draw my sword, and my
hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind,
the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty
waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchest
out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy
hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast
guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people
shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the
inhabitants of Palestine. Then the Dukes of Edom shall
be amazed. The mighty men of Moab trembling
shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon
them. By the greatness of thine arm
they shall be as still as a stone. Till thy people pass over, O
Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased. Thou
shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine
inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee
to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established. The Lord shall reign for ever
and ever. for the horse of Pharaoh went
with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea and the
Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them but the
children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea
and when Moses had finished leading the children of Israel in his
song Miriam and the women of Zion took up their tambourines
and danced as they repeated the chorus verse 20 And Miriam the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and
all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing
ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his
rider hath he thrown into the sea. Now this song obviously
is of immense importance, a tremendous spiritual instruction because
portions of it are repeated throughout the scriptures. David spoke of
it often. Isaiah used some of the exact
same words to speak praise to the triune God. And we're told
in Revelation chapter 15 that this is one song that all the
ransomed of God shall sing in the New Jerusalem to the praise
of our God for his great salvation. It is God's intention from the
day that Moses gave this song down to the hour when the flames
of God's fiery wrath shall lick up all things on this earth that
the heavens themselves being dissolved everything shall speak
forth the praise of God in the saving of his people everything
will proclaim sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously
I can't tell you how often I have read this song and repeated it
in my own heart whenever the Lord God has been pleased to
deliver me from some difficulty. When Satan, I thought was about
to crush me, surely Christ, the captain of our salvation, our
mighty man of war, arose and cast Pharaoh and his chariots
into the sea. And the Lord has triumphed gloriously
over and over and over again. I've seen the Lord God stop his
enemies opposing the cause of him in this world, of his son
in this world, of his church in this world and triumph gloriously
by the might of his power and his stretched out arm. Now, this
morning, I want us to focus our attention on just one verse in
this great, great song. Look at verse 11. Here Moses
calls our attention to the fact that in saving his people the
Lord God sets himself apart from all creatures and shows himself
to be God alone. God shows himself in the saving
of his people to be God alone. The title of my message is the
solitariness of God. The solitariness of God. Our
Lord Jesus declares this is life eternal that they might know
thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Now
if you want to get some fearful sense of how horribly deceived
the whole religious world around us is just ask people you know
to tell you about God. Just ask them to tell you about
God and you will find them reaching for ways to give examples of
God and His work because the world which is singing amazing
grace and reading the Bible and quoting scripture all around
us has no knowledge of God as God. That which men think of
as God, that which men devote themselves to as God, that which
men serve as God is nothing but a religious figment of man's
dark, depraved, idolatrous imagination. It is a God that man has made
for himself, that he uses like a good luck charm when he's in
trouble. But not a God to be worshipped, adored, trusted. Not a God to whom you can safely,
confidently commit everything. He who is our God, He alone is
God and shows himself to be God alone. Turn over to Micah chapter
7. Micah the 7th chapter. We'll
see this. Micah speaks very much the way
Moses does about the Lord God in his solitary character as
God and showing himself to be God in the saving of his people.
Micah chapter 7 verse 18. Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity, that passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever,
because he delighteth in mercy He will turn again. He will have
compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities
and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou will perform the truth to
Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which thou has sworn unto our fathers
from the days of old. We know that God is great in
wisdom, wondrous in power and abundant in mercy. But in these
degenerate days of religious perversion, most people have
no knowledge of God's being. They know nothing at all about
the nature of God, the attributes of God. We sometimes use that
word attributes. It's a word that's not really
understood much. God's attributes are not just
things that represent him. God's attributes are things essential
to his being as God. Now understand this. Every attribute
of God's being is essential to his being as God. Take away any
attribute and you destroy God altogether. You and I have attributes
that change with age and experience. Hopefully they change for the
better. We have certain attributes and the attributes they change
or be completely taken away and they won't change the fact that
we are who we are. God's attributes are all absolutely
essential to his being as God. So to deny his holiness is to
deny that he is God. To deny his justice is to deny
that he is God. To deny his mercy, love, and
grace is to deny that he is God. To deny his sovereignty is to
deny that he is God. God is here spoken of by Moses
in his solitariness as God. It is the solitary excellence
of God that inspires reverence for him, faith in him, and obedience
to him. Our God is incomprehensibly infinitely
great in all his glorious being. Let me call your attention to
four or five things here, maybe six things concerning God in
his character. Number one, God is eternal. God is eternal. Now we use that
word and we use it a lot And we call on folks to live for
eternity. We ask of God to give us grace
to set our hearts upon eternity, down on things of time. But eternity
is something we just can't get our hands around. We can't get our minds around
eternity. We can't fathom what eternity is. No beginning. No process. No time. No end. Now. Now. The Lord God describes himself
like this, I am he who is, who was, and who is to come. God
eternal. He revealed himself to Moses
with this name. Tell the children of Israel,
I am has sent me unto you. The Lord God Almighty is our
great eternal God. So that there was a time before
time when God dwelt alone in his ineffable glory as God. No
heavens for his throne to be placed in. No earth for his footstool. No angels, no men, no creatures. God dwelt alone in his ineffable
glory as God from everlasting. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. God alone is eternal. God alone is eternal. Man's not eternal. Matter is
not eternal. God alone is eternal. All that God is is eternal. All that God does is eternal. We see things in time and God
works out things on this stage called earth and creation to
reveal his glory to us in time. But God's eternal. He speaks
of us as being justified and sanctified and glorified and
justified from eternity. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world accepted in the
beloved from eternity so that all God's bounteous grace that
we experience in time was done at once in eternity before ever
the world was Christ is spoken of as the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world now Carl that's just a little bit more
than you not comprehend But is it fact? It is fact. God is eternal. Second, it must be stated, and
stated emphatically, that there is one God, only one God. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord. There is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. Because there is
one God, Our allegiance is due to him alone. Because there is
one God, our affections are to be directed to him alone. Because
there is one God, all who know, trust, and worship him are one
in him. One in Christ. This one eternal
God being the eternal God is immutable. He says to his people,
I am the Lord, I change not. What a wonderful word from God.
I change not. Because I do not change, I don't
change myself and I can't be changed by you. Because I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. The only thing
that keeps us, the only thing that sustains us, The only thing
that holds us in his grace is his grace. God doesn't change. The eternal one God, the Lord
our God is that one who rightly deserves and must have all faith
and confidence and devotion. He's the creator of all things,
the possessor of all things, the ruler of all things, and
the disposer of all things. I know people get upset and they
don't like the declaration of God being sovereign and having
control of everything all the time, even me. But the fact is you belong to
God. And God can and will do with you exactly as He pleases. Exactly as he is purposed from
everlasting and that's only right. Our Savior said is it not lawful
for me to do with mine own what I will? Every man claims that
right. We get upset when Uncle Sam comes
and starts passing laws taking possession of our property. You've
got that new house over there in your garden and I didn't ask
you but I guarantee you there's some rules and regulations about
things you can't do there. How come? It's my property. I
don't like it. I don't need it, but that's the way it is. Because
you and I really don't own anything. We just pay rent on it and live
there for a while. That's all. That's all. God possesses everything. It is right for him to rule everything. It is right for him to dispose
of everything. It is right for him to control
the very thoughts and actions of men and devils exactly as
he will. Here's the third thing. God is
spirit. God is spirit. Turn over to John
chapter 4. John the fourth chapter. Our
Lord Jesus had gone down through Samaria because he must needs
go through Samaria. There was a Samaritan harlot
down there for whom the time of love had come and the Lord
Jesus went to meet her to reveal himself to her. And as he's talking
to her, this Samaritan woman, she's a harlot. She's had five
husbands and she's shacked up with a fellow now. She's just
a harlot, that's all. She's a harlot. But she's a religious
harlot. And she starts arguing with the
Son of God about faith and worship. And she said, we know, we worship
over here and you Jews, you worship over there. And the Lord Jesus
sums up his conversation with this Samaritan woman like this.
He says, God, verse 24, is a spirit. If you don't mind doing so, take
your pen or something, either mark through that little word
A or just write on the margin where it doesn't belong there.
The text reads like this, God is spirit. God is spirit. Pure, incomprehensible, infinite
spirit. And they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth. Now understand this about
God. God frequently reveals himself
in the word in anthropomorphic terms. I just had to say that
so you'd know I knew something. That word simply means God represents
himself in human language. He uses anthropomorphic terms
to describe not his being, but his work. The scripture speaks
about the ears of the Lord. We read about the arm of the
Lord, the hand of the Lord, the feet of the Lord, the heart of
the Lord, the mind of the Lord. But all those things are just
human terms by which the Lord God accommodates our puny brains
so that we get some understanding of what he's doing in this world.
God doesn't have a body. God can't be seen. God is spirit. And if you worship God, you must
worship Him in spirit and in truth. That's the reason in the
Old Testament scriptures, the Lord God gave specific law requiring
that the people who come and worship Him make no images, no
likeness of Him, so that we worship Him in spirit. We worship Him
in spirit. In our church building at home,
we have a very modest building, a very simple building. Some
of you have been there. But we don't have stained glass. Not
because we can't afford it, of course we probably couldn't,
I've never checked into it, but we don't want it. We don't have
any crosses. We did buy some pews from another
church and they got plus signs on the end of them. Some of them
think that's a cross, that's just a plus sign, because everything with us is
a plus. We don't have religious representation of any kind. No
steeple on the building. No crosses, no images of Jesus,
no pictures, no angels, none of that stuff. How do you know
who God is? God's spirit. And we worship
him in spirit and in truth. And the use of all those religious
symbols is idolatry. God strictly prohibits it. We
are the circumcision, Paul said, who worship God in spirit. and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. True worship and service must
be spiritual heart worship. Worship that comes from our spirits
by the spirit of God to God who is spirit. So that we don't crave,
we don't desire, and we will not have any of those carnal
things that men use by which they represent God. That's not
really an idol, why don't you throw it away then? Why don't
you just get rid of it? Throw that thing away. Well,
I couldn't do that. That's because you worship it.
Because you think there's something fantastic about it. It's idolatry. It's just idolatry. So don't
use it. Don't incorporate it in the worship
of God. We worship God in the spirit. I have often wondered,
at home we observe the Lord's table every Sunday night. And
I have often wondered why did the Lord Jesus in this age of
spiritual worship give us the carnal elements of bread and
wine by which to remember him. Why did he do that? He said,
eat this bread, drink this wine, as often as you do it, and remember
to me. Why those carnal emblems? And I got the answer last year
by the Marvin Stoniker who pastors Katie Badger's church in Fairmont,
West Virginia, where Scott Richardson was pastor for 50, 50 some years. Scott came in one day just before
he died and reached his pocket and Handed him a bottle and said,
I will give you something to remember me by and handed him
a pocket knife. And Marvin said, Brother Scotch, you think I need
a pocket knife to remember you? He said, Marvin, take the knife
and you'll remember me. And Marvin pulled that knife
out while we were having dinner one night and he said, you know,
every time I pull that knife out, I can't help but remember
him. Our Lord Jesus gave us the bread
and wine Symbols of his body and his blood so that every time
we take the bread and wine We can't help but to remember him
Worshipping him in spirits Sincerely as God alone and we worship him
in truth According as he's revealed himself in this book fourth turn
to first John chapter 5 and verse 7 first John chapter 5 and verse
7 God is a tri-unity. We worship one God in the trinity,
or tri-unity, of his sacred persons. We don't have three gods, but
one God who subsists in three distinct persons, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, and these three persons, equal in all things,
are one God. Now, you may have noticed that
I don't use a modern translation. And that's by choice. Because
there's not a modern translation out there anywhere comparable
to the King James translation. Folks want to use a modern translation,
that's alright. I don't use one by choice. Because
there's none that are better than this translation given to
us and preserved for us by our God. Now, let me tell you why.
Did you ever notice the little ETH endings? ETH on verbs. That's a linear tense. I bet
none of you young people ever studied linear tense when you're
studying grammar in school. That's because we don't have
it in modern English. It was peculiar to Elizabethan
English. The ETH ending does not mean
something that's continual. It's something that begins and
just goes on. It has a beginning, but it just
goes on. The scriptures never say, he that believes. Folks
spoke about it. How do you know you were saved?
I remember when I believed. The scriptures don't talk about
that. The scripture says he that believeth. What I did yesterday
doesn't matter. I believe him. I believe him.
The words thee, T-H-E-E, thine, T-H-I-N-E, ye and you have a
specific reason. Every time in scripture You see
the word thee, t-h-e-e, thou, t-h-o-u, thine, t-h-i-n-e, it's
singular. You can't get that if you translate
it to you. You don't know whether it's singular or plural. So that's
just part of the lesson for you with Greek. With the New Testament. I was in England a few years
ago and an old man, somebody was discussing modern translations.
He said, yes, I think it's a good thing. I understand that next
year in the colleges and the universities, they're going to
come out with a modern English translation of Shakespeare. And
folks were just shocked. What? Well, that would destroy
Shakespeare. He said, you got my point. You
got my point. Now let me tell you something
else about modern translations. Every modern translation since
the revised version in the middle 1800s. Every modern translation
either omits or has a footnote that says it ought to be omitted.
1 John chapter 5 and verse 7. Look at it. This is the one verse
in scripture. The one verse in scripture that
clearly states the teaching of Holy Scripture throughout the
66 books about the Trinity. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost. And these three are one. Now all the modern translations
say I'll be there. But you know nobody ever thought that until
the Arians came out denying the Trinity and denying the Godhead
of our Savior. Not delirious that anybody ever
dreamed of reading this out. God is Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost revealed in all his fullness in the God-man Christ Jesus. In him, in that man, Jesus Christ
dwells all the fullness of the God-head fatherly. Now this is
what it means. In him dwelleth All that God
is, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in a body seated yonder in glory. So that that man who is our Savior
is himself not just the revelation of God, he is God in the flesh,
the embodiment of God. And the only way Ken you can
know God who's a spirit is in that man. Oh we know it. You can't talk to a spirit. Well
you might but you've been smoking something or drinking something
you ought to have. Or you've got screws loose. One or the
other. No you don't talk to a spirit. And spirit doesn't talk to you.
But a man does. God communicates to us by him
who is the word. God in our flesh. God in our
nature. And that man In him resides all
the incomprehensible, infinite God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In him. And as you read the scriptures,
in every aspect of the work of redemption and grace, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are involved. And the scriptures speak plainly
concerning this. In one of my favorite chapters in Ephesians
chapter 1, the Apostle Paul tells us that God the Father chose
us, God the Son redeemed us, God the Holy Spirit called us
and sealed us. All three persons in the Godhead constantly engaged
in the work of our salvation. God the Father created all things
through the Son. God the Spirit moved upon the
face of the waters And God said, let us make man in our image
and after our likeness, looking at Christ Jesus, the man in whose
image Adam was made. And God promised to send his
son, the seated woman, to redeem fallen men from their iniquities. In the New Testament, we see
this over and over again. John the Baptist baptized the
Lord Jesus. And here is God the Son being baptized. God the Father
speaks from heaven. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. And God the Holy
Ghost descending upon Him and abiding on Him in the form of
a dove. Our Savior tells us when we baptize
folks to baptize believing sinners in the name of the Father, of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Because God is the triune Jehovah. Now Pastor, how do you explain
that? I wouldn't make any effort at all to explain that. I've
read everything I can get my hands on in the last 50 years
that's worth reading about the Trinity and I've never read anything
that comes close to this. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word and the
Holy Ghost and these three are one. Alright, here's the fifth
thing. God alone is independent and
self-sufficient. God alone independent and self-sufficient. That means that God is solitary
in his being. He doesn't need anything. He doesn't need anybody. You can't take anything away
from him and you can't give anything to him. He's independent and
self-sufficient. I am just certain if you pay
attention to the streets or the church signs, the marquees out
front of church buildings, you won't drive far in this part
of the world until you see a sign that says, we can't spell church
without you. That's sweet, isn't it? We can't
spell church without you. God's been spelling church for
2000 years before you came along. You don't care for that much.
I don't care for that much. God doesn't need you. God doesn't
need me. God had no one to love so he
created me so he could have someone to share his love with. David
said, My goodness extendeth not unto wicked men, but not to God. You don't contribute anything
to God. God's glory is not increased by our faith and our obedience
to Him. It's revealed, but it's not increased. And God's glory
is not diminished by man's rebellion and unbelief. God Almighty was
under no constraint to create the world, no necessity, and
it couldn't be placed in any. He made the world because it
pleased Him who worketh all things at the counsel of His own will.
And because God is under no constraints, men and women cannot put God
under obligation to anything. God just has to do that. Look
what I've done for him. You don't put God under obligation. Not
the Almighty. And you might as well get this
said as well. You're not going to put God in
a hammer lock forcing him to do something. We get the idea
sometimes what we need to do is gang up on God and pray real
hard and God just has to answer our prayers. If you pray, if
you pray, If you really pray, if I pray, if I really pray,
Carl what we do is we repeat to God what he revealed in our
hearts he's going to do. Everything else is asking it
that you may consume it on your own lust, which is what we usually
do. That's just fact. God acts as
he will always. The preacher should be prayed
by all means. The Lord said he would have mercy on his people
and he said but for this thing I'll be sought. You're going
to have to seek his mercy, but God has mercy on whom he will.
And if you seek him, it's because he sought you. He told David,
he said, there's not going to be a man to fail to sit on your
throne. He said, as long as time shall
stand, one man is going to sit on your throne. Speaking of Christ
Jesus, the Lord, our Redeemer, David's son. And he said, I'm
going to, I'm going to have your son to build my house. You can't
build, I'll have your son to build my house. And we got done,
David said, therefore thy servant founded in his heart to pray
this prayer unto thee. He said, Lord, do what you said
you could do. Do as thou hast said. That's
what prayer is. Prayer found in the heart. It's
not men and women ganging up on God, getting him a hammerlock
and forcing God to do something. A man can give God nothing he
doesn't already possess. I'm trying to make you see God's
solitariness. The God of the Bible is so great
that He's utterly self-sufficient. All that we experience of His
grace and His goodness, we experience because of His sovereign good
pleasure. It pleased the Lord to make you
His people. It pleased the Lord to put all
fullness in His Son. It pleased the Lord to save his
people by the preaching of the word. It pleased the Lord to
give Christ all the glory. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. And we know that God
is totally independent of his creatures. He doesn't need us. Read the 40th chapter of Isaiah.
He says the nations, put them all together. All of them. Got them all together. All the
nations of all time. He said they are less than the
small dust of the balance. At least, Scott, we're just about
as insignificant as you can get. You go to the thief's store and
you buy some beans or some corn, plant in your garden, and you
tell them, I want three pails. And they'll weigh it out. I've
never in my life seen anybody say, wait a minute, take your
napkin and wipe the dust out of those scales. Because dust
just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. And all
humanity, heap together before God is less than the small dust
of the balance. A preacher, the way you talk,
there's nothing to man but sin. I hope you got that much out
of what I said. Everything depends on God, you and me. Baby, I pray God will give you
a healthy child. But that child's life is in his
hands, as is yours. Now, everything. And God owes no explanation for
anything he does. We worship him who is God. One last thing. There's only one way you can
know Him. God cannot be known by nature. Read Romans chapters 1 and 2.
Every man by nature, by creation, knows that God is. I know some
folks say they're atheists. They're liars. They hold the
truth in unrighteousness. They suppress it. Push it down.
Say, I don't believe in God. Yes, you do. You're just trying
to convince yourself. They suppress the truth. Because
God has stamped a God consciousness on you from which you cannot
escape. And God has made known his power and has got it in the
creation all around us. You see the world around us. Folks, they believe this stuff
just popped up with some kind of an evolutionary process. And and the mystified by the
fact that you like that whenever you you poor Bible thumpers You
don't know anything you you don't listen to any reason Explain
to me how reasonable it is How reasonable it is to imagine that
this good-looking fellow here Just kindly evolved out of some
slime and can think and talk Explain it to me I actually saw
a fellow do this, Carl Sagan. He was a professor at Cornell
University, an evolutionary scientist, and he was on the Phil Donahue
show one morning years ago. He's dead now, he knows better.
But Donahue was talking to him, and I had turned Donahue on.
I used to like to watch Donahue when I wanted to get my blood
pumping in the mornings. So I turned him on, and he was talking about
evolution. And Donahue said to him, we know,
Mr. Sagan, Everything came from water. But how did the fish develop
legs and start walking to evolve into man? This is what he said. If I'm lying, I'm dying. This
is what he said. He got up out of his chair, little
old bitty skinny fella. He said, well the waters on the
earth began to dry up. Now this is Professor Carl Sagan. Doctor Carl Sagan. Cornell University. That's a muckety muck fella.
He said the water began to dry up and the fish had to flop from
water hole to water hole. And they flopped for three or
four or five billion years until they developed legs and started
walking. And this is what Donnie said, Oh, people believe that stuff and
they're not in nuthouses. They're not in nuthouses. God. is seen in everything you've
made. God is revealed in Christ crucified but you can't know
him except he reveal himself to you. You can argue with folks till
you're blue in the face and all the cows come home and you can't
convince them of anything. When I was in college, I still
got it. I had a hardback Bible. A friend of mine took it, made
it look like one of those old Bible with ridges on it. And
folks used to ask me, why do you carry that hardback Bible?
I said, because there are many around here. I want to knock
them in the head and get them to understand this thing. But you knock them in
the head, they still won't understand it. You can argue and fuss all
you want to. Fuss, argue all you want to.
How many of you have ever convinced anybody to believe God by arguing
and fussing? It never happened. It never happened.
How on earth then can sinners come to know God if they please
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe? As
the gospel of God's grace is preached, the Lord God by the
power of his spirit takes his word and causes the light of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ to shine in your
And you find yourself believing God irresistibly. You just can't help it. If ever
God makes himself known to you. So what do we do? We preach the
gospel. And we ask God, make yourself
known. I pray, Brother Cody Henson preach
it for me at home today. God speak by that young man.
As only you can, and make yourself known. speak by your servants
around the world as they proclaim the gospel of your grace this
day and make yourself known. Men know God only if God is pleased
to reveal himself to men. Now, I leave you with this today. Here is a local assembly, Sovereign
Grace Baptist Church, Nixon, Missouri. And God has trusted to you. Are you listening to me? The
treasure of His grace. To take it to the world. To proclaim
the gospel to this generation with everything you have in you. And watch Him work. Just watch Him work. Just watch
Him work. Watch God do wonders. Watch God do wonders. Making Himself known as God. Amen.