Those copies are yours. You can keep those. Those hymns
are wonderful. God-honoring. I can't abide with
a hymn that just kind of gives you a good tune. It's got to
have a message. It's got to have a message. I
hope that the Lord bless those to you. Those are gospel messages.
That's gospel message right there, isn't it? It's just amazing. I'm thankful
for these hymn writers. Now's the time for the meat.
Now's the time for what we want. I won't be fed, David. I won't
be fed. David Edmondson, a faithful pastor,
man, God, God has called that wonderful congregation. We love
them so dearly, and I'm so thankful for them. Won't you come up here
and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to us? One of these is yours, you get
to pick first. So. Well, let me say in the beginning
what an honor and privilege it is to be here and what a beautiful
facility. So thankful for the Lord that
he's provided this for you. Did you come to Louisville in
2007 or 2008 2008 August? from Houston, Texas, and the
same year, this Kentucky boy moved to Texas. Now you would
think the logical thing would be for Fred to stay there right
close to Houston in New Caney, Texas, and maybe a Kentucky boy
from Western Kentucky come here, but that's not the way God does
things. So, You're here, and I went to Texas, and I was there
five and a half years. And Kentucky is so sweet that
I had to come back. So I'm back in Madisonville now,
and greetings from the folks there in Madisonville. And again,
I want to say what a privilege it is to be here and what a privilege
it is to be preaching with these two dear friends of mine, Brother
Gabe and Brother Clay. I know you probably can't tell
by looking, but I am the oldest preacher here this weekend. But they are my seniors in so
many ways, and I'm so thankful for both of you men. It's called Sovereign Grace. Our church in Madisonville, Kentucky,
has been broadcasting a radio program there for Several years
now, we started on a country music station in March of 2015. And I thought not long ago that
it might be profitable to start broadcasting our program on a,
quote, Christian radio station. And the reason was that I knew
that our gospel message would be a considerable contrast to
the other messages of the other broadcasters. So, not long ago,
I inquired about a 15-minute time slot, and the station manager
requested to hear a copy of our program beforehand. So I accommodated
him by taking a copy of a CD down. By the way, Brother Gabe
does our intro on that program. And after I took the CD down
there, I guess a week or so passed and never heard from him. So
I called, and I knew something was up, just knew it. So I called
him, I told him who I was, and the first thing out of his mouth
was, is we're not interested in you broadcasting on our station. And of course I asked, why? And
his response was, well, in your intro and in your ending, you
mentioned the words sovereign grace. And not only once, but
twice. Do you remember doing that? Yes. You mentioned Sovereign
Grace twice. And he didn't like that. It turns out that this radio
station, quote, Christian radio station, is the extension of
a local freewill church, and the station manager is the pastor
of that church. And this church and this pastor
believes that sinners have a free will in the matter of their salvation.
This man knew that for us to say sovereign grace was to say
that we don't believe that man has a free will. Men and women's
will is in bondage to their sin. We will not come to Christ that
we might have life. So I asked this man a very simple,
direct question. Is there any grace freely bestowed
upon a dead sinner that is not sovereign grace? Is there any
other kind of grace but grace that is sovereign? He gave no
answer, just mockingly chuckled. Tonight I want to talk to you
about the subject of sovereign grace And it's in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nowhere else. Sovereign grace. My text tonight is in Joshua
chapter 2, but before turning there, please turn first with
me to Romans chapter 5, if you would please. Romans chapter
5. Let's begin reading in verse
18. Romans 5, verse 18. Paul here writing to the church
at Rome says, or writes in verse 18, therefore, as by the offense
of one, and that being Adam, judgment came upon all men to
condemnation because of Adam's transgression and his disobedience. Judgment and condemnation came
upon all men, every one of us. Paul continues by saying, even
so, or regardless of that, by the righteousness of one, that
being the Lord Jesus Christ, the free gift. Don't you love
those two words? Free gift. The free gift came
upon all men under justification, that being all believers. And
it's called sovereign grace. Verse 19, for as by one man's
disobedience, Adam, many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one, Jesus Christ, shall many be made righteous. Moreover,
the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. I just love that, don't you?
God gave us the law in order to reveal our sin to us. The
law was never given to us to try to keep in order to be saved.
It was given to expose our sin and our inability to keep it.
Why? Well, we'll see here in just
a moment, to bring us to Christ, to bring us to Christ. Paul said,
I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust,
except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. And when God
gave the law, it exposed our sin and our sin abounded. And it was revealed to be plenteous
and numerous and overflowing. So much so that sin is what we
are. But where that sin abounded,
God's grace in Christ did much more abound. And it's called
sovereign grace. Verse 21, that as sin hath reigned
unto death, even so might grace reign. You know, it's sovereign
grace that reigns. Through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now friends, the wages of sin
is death. That's what the law reveals to
us. The soul that sins, it shall
die. God will by no means, under no
circumstance, clear the guilty. Why? Because His holy justice
will not allow it. But in spite of that, God's grace
reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. Where does sin abound? Well,
it abounds in all of us. Look back at verse 12. It says,
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death
by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. But the gospel, the good news
for sinners is that the grace of God reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life. How? Well, we just read it in
verse 21, by Jesus Christ our Lord. It always comes back to
that. It always comes back to the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what sovereign grace is. It's super abounding grace. Super abounding grace. And that's
what we have in the story before us tonight in Joshua chapter
2. Turn there with me if you would.
Now when I say Joshua chapter 2, many of you already know the
woman of whom this story is about. Our story concerns a woman, a
harlot, one who is a wonderful and amazing trophy of God's free
and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this woman
lives in a city that is marked for destruction. You and I live
in this world, and this world without Christ is marked for
destruction. But before the world was ever
created, before time as we know it ever began, God determined
to save this poor soul according to the grace of God, and it's
called sovereign grace. That's the only kind of grace
that will save a dead sinner. Sovereign grace. This woman is
said by many Bible scholars to have been an innkeeper, and I
suppose that she was. She kept strangers in her home.
But we're told in verse 1 here of Joshua 2 that the two spies
that Joshua sent to Jericho came to a harlot's house. named Rahab,
and lodged there. Rahab was a harlot. Her house was a harlot's house.
And that's the thing that I love about the scriptures. No effort
is made to hide what she was. None at all. Matter of fact,
in Proverbs chapter 7, Solomon, the wise man, wrote about the
devices of the harlot, and he said the harlot's house is the
way to hell. going down to the chambers of
death. But hear me when I tell you,
not this harlot. No, not this harlot. She's an
object of God's sovereign grace. And that's, as I said, the beauty
of God's Word. It never attempts to cover the
kind of people that God saves. Christ came into the world to
save sinners. Sinners. And in the scriptures,
Noah's drunkenness is exposed. Abraham's shortcomings are revealed.
Lot, Jacob, Samson, Solomon are all seen as they really are.
David, the apple of God's eye, was an adulterer and a murderer. And it's the same with Christ's
apostles. Thomas doubted the Lord Jesus.
Philip didn't find Christ's Word to be sufficient. He said, Show
us the Father, that it sufficeth us. Peter denied his master. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus. They all ran and forsook him. But other than Judas, God saved
them all in spite of them. Aren't you glad? That's what
sovereign grace is. God's saving us in spite of us.
Now in our self-righteous way of thinking, the term harlot
and saint don't go together. Religion would prefer that we
call Rahab a reformed harlot or one that had changed and turned
over a new leaf. And then they, modern day religion,
would say that she became a better person and God saved her because
of that. Now those of you that have been
saved by sovereign grace know that's not so. No, sir, not at
all. And that reminds me of that passage
in 1 Timothy 1 where Paul referred to himself. Speaking of himself,
he called himself a blasphemer, a persecutor, one who was injurious. God showed him mercy in spite
of what he was, and God loved him regardless of what he himself
professed to be. Aren't you glad that God saved
sinners? regardless of what we are, in
spite of what we are. Even when we know what we are
and confess what we are, God saves us by His sovereign grace. And you know what Paul's testimony
was right after that? He said, I obtained mercy. I obtained mercy. It wasn't mercy
earned or merited. It was mercy that God freely
gave him. And that's my testimony, and
that's your testimony. And I, with Paul, obtained the
grace and mercy, this grace and mercy, and it's called sovereign
grace. If any of us obtain mercy, that'll
be how. That'll be how. Now she may be
Rahab the harlot, but in the eyes of God, she's Saint Rahab. She's Rahab, the child of God. She's Rahab's, God's chosen believer. God will not have us to forget
that she was a sinner saved by the sovereign grace of God because
most every time she's mentioned in the scriptures she's mentioned
as Rahab the harlot. And because of that, it could
never be said that she was not the object of God's sovereign
grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews chapter 11, that great
chapter of God's great hall of faith, we call it, it is said
of Rahab there in verse 31, "'By faith, the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not.'" Because she believed. That's
why she didn't perish. She believed. And that's the
only thing that will keep us from perishing, believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ. She believed when she had received
the spies with peace. And then in James chapter 2,
stay with me on this, verse 25, James asked this question. He
said, likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by
works when she had received the messengers and sent them out
another way? And immediately, you're going
to ask, well, how was Rahab or any sinner justified by their
works? Well, our so-called works do
not justify us. Any work we do, though, is the
effect and the result of our justification in Christ Jesus. If justification came by a work
of ours, it would frustrate the grace of God. And it would make
void the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Good works never goes
before justification. The perfect work of Christ is
the cause, and it's the fruit, and it's the effect of us being
justified. Any good work that we do is proof
that God saved us by his sovereign grace in Christ and has given
us life, and it certainly proved that concerning Rahab. She knew these messengers, these
spies, were of God. Her receiving them and sending
them out another way, the scripture says, was proof of that. James called the spies messengers. That word messenger, as you well
know, means shepherds or pastors. That's what the spies picture
in our text. They were messengers of God.
They were messengers of Joshua. That's the New Testament name
for Joshua is Jesus. Jehovah shall save. Messengers
of God. What was their message? It's
no doubt the same message as your pastors. No doubt the same
gospel message that you'll hear from Gabe and hear from Clay. The wrath of God is coming. God
is angry with the wicked every day. God's going to destroy his
enemies. And the most important issue
that will ever face you in this life is in a question. What think ye of Christ? What think ye of the Lord Jesus?
What do you think of God the Son? Now Rahab, like Abraham,
believed God and it was counted unto her for righteousness. It
was imputed, it was charged unto her for righteousness. Now, Abraham
just didn't believe that there was a God. And Abraham just didn't
believe some things about God. The scripture says Abraham believed
God. Abraham believed God. He believed
what God said. What God says in this book. What
this man and this man and this man and anyone else that preaches
the true gospel says from God's word. And I'm certain that Rahab
heard about Israel's God through the many messengers and strangers
that stayed in her house. I can just see them around the
dinner table. They would say, Ms. Rahab, did
you hear what happened in Egypt? God said plague after plague
after plague, and he delivered Israel from the mighty Pharaoh.
in casual conversation. You just know they asked her,
did you hear what happened at the Red Sea? Why, God divided
the waters and the people of God passed on dry ground and
God removed His sovereign hand and the waters came to and drowned
the whole army of Pharaoh. Did you hear that? Have you heard
that? is they sat on the wall that
could not fall. That's what it was. Rahab's house
was on a wall that could not fall. When they sat there on
that wall, They must have, with fear and trembling, asked Rahab,
did you hear what Israel's God did to those two kings, Sihon
and Og? Why, he utterly destroyed them.
These people had been in Egyptian bondage for hundreds of years.
They weren't warriors. They weren't fighters. They knew
that for these two kings to be defeated so easily, it had to
be God that did it. So Rahab's reaction with the
spies, these messengers, proved that she truly believed what
she had heard about Israel's God. Now let me pause for a second
and ask you, do you believe what you've heard? Do you believe
what you've heard about this God, this God of the Bible, this
God with whom we have to do? And what she did for those spies
is the evidence that she was justified. My dad used to use
the term a lot, he used it a lot, but he'd use the term good folks,
good folks. So and so in his family, they're
good folks, they're good folks. It was a term of endearment that
he used, they're good folks. But the people of God are not
saved because they're good folks. They consider themselves to be
wretched. They consider themselves to be
less than the least. And the one thing that I suppose
Fred and I might disagree about is who's the chief of sinners? He would say that it was him
and I would say that it was me. Christ didn't come into the world
to save good folks. He came into the world to save
sinners. And aren't you glad that he did?
And because they're depraved sinners, only a sovereign God
could save them. Only a sovereign God could save
them, and that's why it's called Sovereign Grace. Rahab married
a man named Salmon and gave birth to Boaz, who was the kinsman-redeemer. Boaz married Ruth, and to her
was born Obed. And Obed was the father of Jesse,
and Jesse was the father of David. And Rahab is in the genealogy
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now she wasn't a child of Abraham
by birth. No, much, much better. She was
a child of God by adoption. And in verse 9, look at it here
with me. Rahab said, I know I know that
the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen
upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of
you." Yes, dear friends, Rahab had heard some things, and Rahab
believed the things that she heard. Do you? Do you? Verse 10. But we've heard how
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when you
came out of Egypt, and what He did unto the two kings of the
Amorites that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og,
whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these
things, our hearts didn't melt. Has the Lord melted your heart?
Our hearts didn't melt, neither did there remain any more courage
in any man. It'll blow the bragging right
out of your sail and your wind. I'm telling you, Will. And because
of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and
in earth beneath. He's God. He's a sovereign God. He does what He will in the armies
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay
His hand and say unto Him, what doest thou? He's the God who
does all things by the counsel of His own will. And He works
all things together for the good of them that love Him, the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is a sovereign God and His
grace is sovereign grace. Now let me throw this in. Another interesting observation
is that when the presence of the two spies was discovered,
Rahab hid them and she lied about where they were. Is it a sin
to lie? Of course it is. And this is
not mentioned to teach us that lying is okay. And there'll be
some harling preacher that'll prove that point somehow. But
this teaches that God makes use of men and women's sinfulness
to accomplish his sovereign will. That's right. He certainly does. God works all things after the
counsel of his own will and purpose, Ephesians 111. Luke tells us
in Acts chapter 4 that of their own will and hatred for Christ,
Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Jews and the Gentiles, were gathered
together against the Lord Jesus Christ. To do what? To do whatsoever
God's hand and God's counsel determined for to be done. That's
why. God uses the wicked hands and the wicked will of men to
accomplish his sovereign purpose, and it's called sovereign grace. Rahab lied and saved the spies,
but it was not her lie that worked the righteousness of God. Only the work of Christ can do
that. However, Rahab's sin did accomplish God's grand design
and His divine and sovereign providence. And it's just amazing
to me that that's what a sovereign God can do. He can do anything. He can do everything. And He's
the God with whom we have to do. And from her confession to
the spies, we see that she believed God and she bowed to His greatness. As I looked at this again, she
heard, she believed, and she sought mercy. She heard, she believed, and
she sought mercy. That's every believer's story.
That's your story. That's my story. Rahab, as I
said, lived in a doomed world, but she sought to be delivered,
and she sought to be delivered one way, by the way of sovereign
mercy and grace. And a picture of the gospel is
seeing how the Lord preserved the lives of the spies by keeping
her promise to them. She let down from her rooftop. She let them down by what? A
scarlet cord. Oh, you know where I'm going
with that. There's no doubt as to what that scarlet cord pictures
and typifies. It was that same scarlet cord
that the one that saved the spies that hung in the window of the
harlot's house and later saved her when Israel came to destroy
Jericho. Like the blood on the doorpost
and lintels of the house of Israel in Goshen, those who remained
in the house with the scarlet cord were safe. Look at the words
of the spies in verse 18. When we come into the land, thou
shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou
didst let us down by. And thou shalt bring thy father
and thy mother and thy brethren and all thy father's household
home unto thee. And it shall be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his
blood shall be on his head. and we will be guiltless. And
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall
be on our head, if any hand be upon him." Now, in other words,
and this so beautifully represents the preaching of the gospel,
stay in the house. Stay in the house. Now, I love
the story of Rahab the harlot because In so many ways, I am
Braham Hart. He beautifully displays the sovereignty
of God and the salvation of needy and undeserving sinners by the
scarlet blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God shows us our spiritual
condition and the conditions of certain men and women found
throughout the scriptures. I am that blind beggar by the
wayside begging for mercy. And I must receive my sight to
see who it is that bestows this sovereign mercy and grace upon
me. And I'm that lame and impotent
man by the pool of Bethesda, laying there. Pool of Bethesda, the house of
mercy. And I cannot lift myself up into the angel-stirred waters
and heal myself. Can't do it. I'm that dead man
that the Lord Jesus Christ raised at the city gate of Nain. I was
dead in trespasses and sin until Christ gave me life. I'm that
man full of leprosy, full of leprosy, who the Lord can heal
only if He will. You remember what He said? Lord,
I know you can, but will you? And the Lord said, I will. I
will. And He always will. He's never
turned down a needy soul. Not once. You can't find it in
the Scriptures. No. Anyone that comes to Him
crying for mercy receives mercy. I'm that man with the withered
hand who cannot work or do anything for himself. That's me. Christ
must do for me what God requires of me. And I'm That woman with
the issue of blood. My issue of blood is a disease
called sin. If I can just touch the hem of
his garment, God enable me just to touch the hem of your garment
and I'll be made whole. And I'm that deaf and dumb man
that threw himself into the fire and into the deep waters causing
myself great harm and pain. Most of my afflictions in this
life are caused by me. I'm that possessed man that lived
among the tombs that needed divine deliverance. And by God's sovereign
grace, I got it. and I am Rahab the harlot. I've sold myself out to my lovers
of sin, and unless God do for me what he did for her and provide
me with that scarlet blood of Christ, that scarlet cord of
Christ's blood, I will forever perish in my sin. My only hope,
friends, of redemption is that my Hosea My Hosea, the Lord Jesus
Christ, purchased me as I stand on the slave block of sin and
make me his own, as Hosea did Gomer. That's the only hope I
have. And my dear friends, that can
only be accomplished by God's grace and the Lord Jesus Christ,
and it's called sovereign grace. In verse 20, the spies said,
And if thou utter this our business, then we'll be quit of thine oath,
which thou hast made us to swear. And look what she said. According
unto your words, so be it. So be it. I believe it. So be it. Amen. Amen. Do you see what she did
next? As soon as those men departed,
she hung that scarlet line in the window. I've pictured this
so many times in my mind's eye. No sooner than they got out the
door, Rahab hung that scarlet cord in her window. The Word
of God says she bound it. How tight do you think she bound
it? Huh? I bet she knotted it and pulled
it tight and I bet she double knotted it. and pulled it tight
as she could with each knot. And these men did not tell her
when they would return. They didn't even know themselves.
I know this much. Whenever Joshua said, that's
when he returned. No man knows the minute, the
hour, or the day, do they? No. She didn't know when Joshua
was coming. No man or woman knows that. But
I wonder how often she checked that scarlet gold. making sure
that it was still hanging there. I'm sure it was at least every
hour, probably every minute. She looked to make sure. Yeah,
it's still there. It's still there. Everything's
going to be all right. Now let me finish by turning you over
a few pages to Joshua chapter 6. And I want to read a couple
of verses here. This is the account of when the
fullness of time for Rahab had come. That's a good way of saying
it, isn't it? Verse 21, Joshua chapter 6. And they, speaking of Joshua
and Israel, utterly destroyed all that was in the city, that
means Jericho, both man and woman, young and old. and ox and sheep
and ass with the edge of the sword." What a picture of God's
divine judgment and justice. But Joshua, did you hear that? But Joshua had said unto the
two men that had spied out the country, go into the harlot's
house. And bring out thence the woman,
and all that she hath, as you swear unto her." Isn't that the
gospel? Isn't that the gospel? How was
Noah saved? He found grace in the eyes of
the Lord, and because of that, he got in the ark, and he stayed
in that ark. How was that manslayer saved
from the avenger of blood? God made a way of escape and
that manslayer, he got into that city of refuge and he stayed
there. How did Rahab, what did Rahab
do in order to be saved? She stayed in the house. She
stayed in the house. Friends, Trust in Christ, keep
your eyes upon that scarlet cord, and stay in the house. And it's
called sovereign grace. May God enable you to do the
same. For God's glory, you're good,
and for Christ's sake. Thank you, brother. Brother Gabe Stoniker is going
to come preach the gospel of Jesus Christ again. Thank you
for that. That song is very, very dear to my heart. I long for his presence. I have his presence. But I long
for his presence. Soon and very soon. He'll be with us and we'll be
with him. Brother Gabe is pastor Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
Kingsport, Tennessee. So happy to see you, brother.
I talk to him all the time. He probably gets sick of me calling.
But I sure enjoy our conversations and rejoice with you now. Come
preach Christ to us, brother. Good evening, everyone. I am
sincerely, and I mean this, it's not just the intro to this, I'm
sincerely honored to be here. I am so humbled that you would
ask me to come. We do talk all the time on the
phone. We're good friends. And we're brothers. I'm just really honored to be
here. I say with Brother David, your building is gorgeous. I
am so glad to be in this house of the Lord. And I'm so glad
to be with God's people. Don't you love being with God's
people? Yes. I have loved the brethren
here for many years. And I'm just so glad to be here.
And I'm so glad to see brethren from all of these locations.
It's just, I can't wait to be in glory with you. I mean that. I mean we're here now, and I'm
glad to be here, and I can't wait to be in glory with you.
And what a privilege. And you know, sovereign grace
is God showing grace to us in spite of us. Well, I pray God
will bless us in spite of us, in spite of this cold, dead vessel
right here. Lord, please meet with us and
bless us and help us. Turn with me, if you would, to
Psalm 135. Psalm 135. And look with me at verse 5. It says, for I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all
gods. David said, I know, and we do
too, don't we? There's no doubt in our minds
is there? David said, I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all
gods. That reminds me of when Moses
said in Deuteronomy 32, their rock is not like our rock. Not at all. Now let me give you the point
of our message. This is the focal point. This
will be our object tonight. Of every great thing that can
be seen, and every great thing that can
be known, and every great thing that can
be done, Christ is greater. Christ is greater. That's the
title of this message. That's the whole point of it.
Christ is greater. The Lord is greater. He's above all gods. He's above
everything. That's all I want us to say.
That's all I want us to see. That's all I want us to enjoy.
That's it. Christ is greater. I just want
us to brag on Him for a minute, really, that's all I want to
do, is just brag on Him for a minute. No matter what it is, we're going
to declare that Christ is greater, and He is, He is. The Apostle
Paul asked the question in Romans 3, he said, where is boasting
then? He asked that question, where
is boasting then? He answered that question in
Romans 3. He answered the question in 1
Corinthians 1. He answered the question in Galatians
6. He answered it everywhere in
every way. Where is boasting then? He said,
it's in the Lord. It's in the Lord. He said, if
any man glory, let him glory in the Lord. We're here to worship
the Lord. I'm not here for me, and you're
not here for you. We're here to worship Him. I
was so fed just a minute ago, as soon as He said the word sovereign
grace, I was fed. The Lord fed me. But it was all
unto Him, wasn't it? Honestly, it is for His glory.
Glory is going to be filled with His glory and it's all going
to be unto His glory. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, by God's grace, that's what
we're going to do this evening, and that's all we're going to
do. I don't have a complicated... I'll go ahead and prepare everybody.
I don't have a complicated outline. I don't have points and sub-points
and all of that. I have one point. Christ is greater. That's all I have. Christ is greater. David constantly
said, great is he, and he is greatly to be praised. so greatly. He is worthy to be praised for
His greatness. For His greatness. Look right
here at verse 1. Psalm 185 verse 1 says, Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord. Praise Him Oh ye servants of
the Lord. I can envision Michael the Archangel
crying that one day when we're all in glory and we're all sitting
there at the service just before the pastor stands up. I can envision
Michael the Archangel hollering, praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord. Oh ye servants of the Lord. Praise
Him. And I can envision all of us
with one heart, mind, soul, joy. Hallelujah. Praise you, the Lord. I'm looking forward to doing
that. We're doing it here, but I can't wait for this sin to
be gone. As soon as we're delivered from
the body of this death, and we have the Spirit without measure,
just like our Lord does, I'm looking forward to that. Praise
Him. Praise His name. Praise Him for
who He is. Praise Him for what He has done. Praise Him. Praise Him. Tell of His excellent greatness. Praise Him. Praise Him. Forever
in joyful song. Praise Him for who He is. Who
is He? Who is He? Let's skim a few verses
together. Look with me if you would at
Psalm 113. Psalm 113 verse 4 says, is high above all nations, and
his glory above the heavens, who is like unto the Lord our
God, who dwelleth on high?" He's the one who dwells on high. He's the one who is high above,
and his glory is high above. Who is like him? Who is like
him? Here's the answer. No one. No one. In Isaiah 40, he said,
to whom will you liken me? To whom will you liken me? We
try to understand God. Can a man by searching find out
God? Aren't you so glad? Can a man by searching? We can't
even find out space. I'm enamored with this new telescope.
Can you imagine how much we're not singing? Look with me at Psalm 93. Verse 1 says, The Lord reigneth. It means He's sovereign. He is
clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. Wherewith he hath girded himself. The world also is established
that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of
old. Thou art from everlasting. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their
voice. The floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of
the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure.
Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever. Doesn't matter
what we're talking about, land or sea. The Lord is high and
He is mighty. He's the greatest. He's the greatest. I love how it says His house
is holy. Thank God. Look with me at Psalm 92. Verse 1 says, It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy
name, O Most High." It's a good thing to praise and
to glorify and to lift up thy name, O Most High, O Most High,
the one who holds the highest position. Aren't you so thankful that our
God is the one who holds the highest position? Aren't you
so thankful? I've thought this and I've said
it many times, but what if our adversary held the highest position?
He's not God's adversary because he doesn't hold any position
but what God allows him to have. Aren't you so glad this God of
grace, this God of mercy, aren't you so thankful? Doesn't it give
you so much peace and comfort to know He's the one who holds
the highest position? His name is lifted up to the
highest position. Now I want you to turn somewhere
with me, but we're going to stop in our text along the way. We're
going to Philippians 2, but go back to Psalm 135 along the way
here. Psalm 135, verse 5, again it says, And that our Lord is above all
gods. Do you see how the first Lord
is all capital? Capital O, capital L, capital
O-R-D? That's Jehovah. Father, Son,
and Spirit. Trinity, God. And do you see
how the next one is capital L, lowercase O-R-D? That's Jehovah
in a body. I know that the Lord is great
and that our Lord is above all gods." Who is that exactly? Who is that exactly? Who is Jehovah
in a body? God in a body. Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Philippians chapter
2. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5
says, let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. How could he think it was
not robbery to be equal with God? Because he is God. He's the only one who is allowed
without breaking the holy law of God, to think himself as equal
with the Father and the Spirit. But look at what he did. Verse
7. He made himself of no reputation. We won't even do that. We spend
our lives trying to make a reputation. That's all we want, even more
so than money. And he had all the money. He
had everything. He had all the reputation of
heaven. And He made Himself of no reputation. Can you imagine? Jehovah. God did this. Verse 7, He made
Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. How did he do that? By bearing
the sin of his people. It just, it amazes me. I'm in
awe of the fact that he would do this. and to think of him
doing this for his people, everything that I am, I'll just speak on
my own behalf, everything that I am, he made himself to be. He humbled himself. Everything
that I feel guilty about, he bore my guilt. Acts chapter 8 says, He stood
in His humiliation. I'm so humiliated for so many
things in my life. I really am. Thank God He covers
all my sins. Thank God in Christ there is
no condemnation. Holy and without blame. He bore
the sins of His people. He made Himself. He humbled Himself. made himself to be a servant
of God. The father was the first person
to ever trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, this is what
I want you to do. I want you to save those people
and I trust you to do it. And as a servant to his father,
he came and he did the work that his father gave him to do. And
when it was done, he said, Father, I finished it. They're ours. They're purchased. They're redeemed. And it cost him his very own
death, the death of the cross. Verse 9 says, wherefore, that
means because he did that, because he was willing to do that, God
also hath highly exalted him, in giving him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus, can you imagine
whoever announces that name in glory? Michael or whoever it
is. Can you imagine every time you
hear that name? For now all of eternity. At the
name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things
in earth and even everything under the earth. And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That means absolute, sovereign,
controller, ruler, God Almighty. And all that is to the glory. of God the Father. He said, if
you want to honor me, honor my Son. I have lifted Him up. Everything be unto Him. What
is the name of the Most High? Here it is. Jesus of Nazareth. I adore those three words. Jesus
of Nazareth. The Lord Jesus Christ. That is
the sweetest name I know. There's no other name as high
and lifted up. This thought went through my
mind the other day, that God the Father did not give Himself
a name to us, nor God the Spirit. They are God the Father and God
the Spirit. He has highly lifted up and set forth and declared
one name, the name of God. One name. no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. Blessed be the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the most high, the most high. He is the
greatest. He is the highest. Turn with
me to Matthew 12. Matthew 12, verse 38. Then certain of the scribes and
of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from
thee. But he answered and said unto
them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,
and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet
Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now think
about how amazing it was that this man, Jonah, was in the belly
of a whale. That's amazing, isn't it? For
three days and three nights, he was in the belly of a whale
and he lived through it. He was dragged down to the bottom
of the ocean and he lived through it. That's amazing. The fish spit him out and then
he went and started preaching the good news. I don't know if it was every
single person, but this is what the scripture says. It says,
the city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of that one
man. Can you imagine this? I forget
how long it takes to walk across Nineveh, three days or something
like that. Can you imagine walking across
this city as you go preaching the good news of salvation in
the blood, in the scarlet line of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
as you go, men and women, honestly, in sincerity, are literally just
falling to their knees, crying out to God for mercy. Can you
imagine? Crying out to God for mercy. How amazing. How amazing. What
it must have been like to witness that. All right, look at verse
41. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,
and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching
of Jonah. And behold, a greater than Jonah
is here." As great as that was, you think that Jonah as a picture,
as a type, was great? Just look to the one that Jonah
pictured. Just look at what those three days and three nights in
that whale's belly pictured. Look at what his resurrection
out of that fish's belly pictured. Look at what the good news from
that one man, that one man, by himself preached through Nineveh. And just look at what that pictured,
a greater than Jonah's here. Verse 42 says, the queen of the
south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall
condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold, a greater than Solomon's
here. Solomon and all of his wisdom,
all of his riches being the great picture of Christ that he is.
He's a picture of Christ. Even so, the picture does not
come close to the reality of the one that Solomon represents.
Jesus Christ, our Lord. I love the word, our. Our Lord. He said, behold, a greater than
Solomon is here. Solomon was a great king. He
really was. This is the king of kings. At the beginning of
this chapter, some Pharisees were rebuking the Lord for, they
said that He was disgracing their laws and disgracing their holy
days and their holy places and all of that. And look at verse
6, Matthew 12, verse 6. Our Lord said, I say unto you, that in this place is one greater
than the temple. He said, you worship your temple.
You think it's a holy place, full of holiness. He said, the
one standing right in front of you. You know, you think about
men and women standing right in front of Him and think, how
could we be so blind? But for the grace of God, how? He would leave us in our blindness. He said, the temple represents
the one standing right in front of you. You love that temple? I am the temple. He says, I am
the place of worship. I am the sacrifice that all those
sacrifices in the temple represent. I am the ordinance. I am the
holiness. I am the intercession. I am the
priest. I'm the altar, I'm the blood,
I'm the judge, I'm the advocate, I'm all of it. A greater than the temple, greater
than everything, no matter what it is, a greater than everything.
That's what the whole book of Hebrews is about. Every Old Testament
ordinance, every law, everything that was given to God's people
for worshiping and appeasing God. It's constantly saying throughout
the book of Hebrews, Christ is better. And He is. His gospel is better. Once you get a hold of His gospel,
once He reveals it to you, you will realize, and I will realize,
this is better. Nothing better than this. He is salvation. Christ is greater. No matter who it is, no matter
what they've done, Christ is greater. The Jews said to our
Lord one time, think about this, the Jews said to the Lord one
time, they said, are you greater than our father, Jacob? They said another time, are you
greater than our father, Abraham? The greatness of Christ could
never be told. As I stand here speaking, it's
going through my mind, this can't be told. This can't be told. We're so generous by saying,
you know, that when we get to glory, we'll say, oh, the half
wasn't told. It's not half. It's not half. I don't know what
it is, but it's... I don't even know if you could
call it scratching the surface. I just think we're looking at
it. We're just looking at the top of the ocean. And the greatness
of Christ could just never be told. We're going to spend our
lifetime trying. We're going to try. But wait till you hear the preacher
preach. Christ is greater. He's greater. Go back to Psalm
135. I'll be brief here. Psalm 135, verse 1 says, Praise
ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord.
Praise Him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the
house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise
the Lord, for the Lord is good." Our Lord is good. Our Lord is
so good. His grace has gone out to His
people. He has given. Our Lord is a giver. Our Lord gives and gives and
gives. This great and high and holy
God has given. What has He given? First and
foremost, Himself. He gave Himself to His people. He gave Himself for His people.
He gave His body to bear the sins of His people. He gave His
blood to pay the debt of His people. He gave His life. He gave His place You know where
He's going to set all of His people? With Him. He left His place to come redeem
His people. He gave all that He had to redeem
His particular people back to God, back to Himself. Verse 3
says, sing praises unto His name. Savior, the Savior of sinners,
the Shepherd of sinners. Sing praises to his name, for
it is pleasant." The singing is pleasant, his name is pleasant.
Sing praises unto his name, for it is pleasant. For the Lord
hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. He said, sing praises, you sinful
servants. Because that's who this great
and high and holy God has chosen. Sinners. Sinners. He chose Jacob. Thank God He chose Jacob. Thank God. Can we just get real
for one minute and enter into the fact that He chose Jacob?
Really? This God is amazing. He chose the sinner. He chose
the worst of the worst. We're always saying, why me?
Why me? It's because I was the worst. That's the reason why. He chose sinners. He chose sinners. He chose sinners to take them
off the dunghill and to set them on high with Him. I'm done. I really am done. But
just turn with me one more time to Psalm 113. Give me just one
or two more minutes here. Psalm 113. Verse 1 says, Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the
Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun unto
the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations
and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our
God who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the
things that are in heaven and in earth? He has to humble himself
to behold the things that are in heaven. That means he's above
heaven. Verse 7 says, He raiseth up the
poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill,
that he may set him with princes, even the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to
keep house and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye
the Lord. Oh, sing praise to His high and
holy name for the glorious and gracious and merciful things
that He has done for His people. How glorious. Go back one more
time to Psalm 135. Verse 5 says, I know that the
Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods, and by His
grace we know that too. I started this by saying we know
that, and we do, but it's only by His grace. It's only because
He revealed it to us. We have nothing to glory in.
We have nothing to boast in. We know by His grace that He's
above all gods. Most importantly, the one, this
little self God that my sin makes out of myself. This little idol
right here that I have set up, He is above me, He is above all. His works are above all, His
greatness is above all, His glory is above all. Verse 6 says, Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in earth, in the
seas and all deep places. Why did He choose Jacob? He wanted
to, and He can do whatever He wants to do. Verse 7 says, He
causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He
maketh lightnings for the rain. He bringeth the wind out of His
treasuries. He does all that. Who smote the
firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast? Who sent tokens and
wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon
all his servants? Who smote great nations and slew
mighty kings? We just heard about that. Sion,
king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms
of Canaan, and gave their land for inheritance, inheritance
unto Israel his people." He gave it all to his people. "'Thy name,
O Lord, endureth forever. In thy memorial, O Lord, throughout
all generations. For the Lord will judge his people,
and he will repent himself concerning his servants.'" The idols of
the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They
have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not, neither is there any
breath in their mouths. They that make them are like
unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them." What are their
idols like? They are dead. And those that make them and
trust in them are just like them. So verse 19 says, Bless the Lord,
O house of Israel. Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.
Bless the Lord, O house of Levi. Ye that fear the Lord, bless
the Lord. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. May God enable these hearts to
truly do that. Bless and praise the Lord. Thank
you, brother Fred.