Go back with me if you would
to Psalm 126. We have a brother who pastors
in Rock Valley, Iowa, named Joe Terrell. And he tells the story of when
the Lord opened his eyes to the truth. He was born in West Virginia
and he went to college, I believe it was in Huntington. He told
me this story, I believe it was in Huntington. But a man said
to him, when you get to Huntington, drive over to Ashland, Kentucky
and listen to a man preach named Henry Mahan. So Joe did. He went a few times over the
course of that first semester. And then he went home at the
end of the semester and ran into that guy. And the guy said, did
you ever go hear Mayhem? And Joe said, yeah, I did. And
the guy said, what'd you think? He said, it was all right. So he went back to school the
next semester. Went quite a few times over the course of that
second semester to hear Henry. He went home at the end of the
semester, he ran into that guy, and the guy said, are you still
going to hear Mayhem? Joe said, yeah, I went quite
a few times over this last semester. I went many times. And the guy
said, well, what do you think? He said, well, he repeats himself
a lot. Okay. Joe went back to school,
and he started attending 13th Street on a regular basis. At
the end of the semester, he went home, he ran into that guy, and
he told that guy, I sit full-time under Henry Mahan now. Guy said,
really? What do you think? He said, well,
he repeats himself a lot, and I'm starting to get it. That's a good story, isn't it? I tell you that because if our
Lord is willing, by His grace, I'm going to preach the exact
same message to you tonight that I preached all day last Sunday
and the Wednesday before that and the Sunday before that and
the Wednesday and the Sunday and the Wednesday and the Sunday. We only have One message. We only have one message. While everybody is advertising
something new. We've got something new. Come
into this place. We've got something new. We only
have the old pads here. We only have the one message
of the gospel. The gospel is a one message gospel. You know that. It is a one message
gospel. And here it is. Psalm 126 verse
3 says, The Lord hath done great things for us. whereof we are glad. That's the gospel. That is the message. That is
the good news. The Lord hath done great things
for us. And we're glad. That's the message. When you get to that and, the
only thing that goes after the and is we're glad. That's it. The gospel, the true gospel is
all about what He has done for us. There are so many opinions
out there. There are so many opinions out
there. There's so much arguing. There's
so much, well, I think it's this way, and I think it's that way. We do not have an opinion on
the Gospel. We do not have an opinion on
the Word of God. God has said what He said, and
we say, Amen. We're glad. We are glad the gospel
is all about what he has done for us. Not what we're going
to do for him. While so many people are, are
trying to motivate others. What are you going to do for
him? What are you going to do for him? That's a fine question.
I'd love to ascribe my all to him, but that's not the gospel
has nothing to do with the gospel. The gospel is all about what
He has done for us. The message of man having to
do something for God. And that's what when you go to
a place and they start in on, now this is what you have to
do for God. The message of man having to do something for God
is no gospel at all. What that means is it's not good
news at all. The gospel means good news. It's
not good news at all. The reason is because I can't
do anything for myself, much less for God. The whole reason
He came is because I couldn't do anything for myself. I couldn't
fix myself. So that message is not only no
gospel at all, it's actually a message of lies. The man who
says you need to do this for God, that's a message of lies.
A false message of lies. And preaching a message like
that only does two things. When you preach a message of
what we must do for God, it only does two things. Number one,
it brings God down too low. And it brings man up too high. That's the only thing it does. The reality is, God is higher
than the heavens. I mean, He's higher than the
heavens. People say, well, He's standing at your door knocking.
No, He's not. He's higher than the heavens. Man is lower than the dirt. So
what could man possibly do for God? The answer is nothing, absolutely
nothing, nothing. What can a man do for God? Nothing. God needs nothing. If a man says now he needs you,
he wants you, God needs nothing. God means self-sufficient, self-sustaining,
in need of nothing. God doesn't need our praise,
nothing. God needs nothing, man needs
everything. Man has nothing to give. Man
can do nothing, and God can do everything, all things. So the truth to declare is, The
Lord hath done great things for us. That's the message. How great
things the Lord has done for us. That's what the Lord told
that Gadarene man. Some of us just love that story
of that Gadarene. This poor man lived in the tombs. That's where he lived, in the
tombs. He was possessed by those evil
spirits. He was constantly cutting himself. He just sat there cutting himself
and cutting himself. He could not be bound by chains. They'd put chains on him and
he'd break through them. The Lord came and conquered him. That's what he does every single
time. You know what that's called?
Good news. Good news, this crazy man living
out there in the tombs, doing nothing but harm to myself, possessed
by who knows what, he came and conquered me. He didn't beg me
or convince me or invite me. He came and conquered me. And
He conquers every single one of His people. He comes to them
by His Spirit, through His Word, and the Word of God pierces the
soul and it conquers the sinner. He conquered him and He healed
him. He got rid of all those evil
spirits. They went into a herd of swine
and they ran into the ocean. And then the Lord clothed that
man. He was naked. He was running around naked.
The Lord clothed that man. And I guess there must have been
just a change of clothes sitting right there. No. He took his
own clothes and clothed that man. And then he sat that man
down and it says he put him in his right mind. He was a lunatic.
And he put him in his right mind. Now every bit of those physical
things represent what the Lord did for him spiritually in salvation. The Lord conquered him. The Lord
healed him by ridding him of sin. And that's what he does
for us. He rid all of his people of sin. And then he clothed that man
in his righteousness. Men and women are trying to go
out and do enough good deeds for God to be happy. It'll never
happen. Man can't do anything to make
God happy. Here's what it's going to take
to make God happy. God himself is going to have to take his
own good deeds and wrap man in them. And then man's going to
say, here I stand in your good deeds. And God the Father will
say, well done. That's what has to happen. So
he clothed him in his own righteousness and he sat him down. What that means is he stopped
working. People get on fire for Jesus,
and they want to go to work, and they're working on a building
for their Lord, and they're working and working and working and working
and working, and when God comes, He says, sit down. I finished
the work. The work is done. And he put
that man in his right mind. That's the right mind of repentance. Repentance means a change of
mind. A sinner all of a sudden goes
from, I thought salvation was in my hands, to salvation's in
your hands. I thought I had to rid myself
of all these sins. You rid me of all these sins.
I thought the work was just now starting. The work is over. That's a brand new mind, a changed
mind, this right mind. Well, when it came time for the
Lord to leave, he was getting back in a ship. He came over
just for that one man. And he got back in a ship and
that man went running after him, crying, don't leave without me.
I want to go with you. I want to be with you. Let me
follow you and stay with you. And the Lord said, no, I want
you to go back to your house. All your family, all your friends,
everybody that knows what kind of a lunatic you were. You go
back to your house and you tell all your family how great things
the Lord has done for you. You think he did that? That's the message he was sent
with. That's the message we're sent with. That's the message
every child of God is sent with. Every true preacher of the gospel
will preach. The Lord has done great things
for us. That's our message. It is an
ordered and sure, finished, accomplished message. It says in verse three,
the Lord hath done, not will do. Not trying to do. He is not planning
on doing anything. People say He has a wonderful
plan for your life. No, He does not. All of His purposes
were ordered before the foundation of the world. Known unto God
are all His works from the beginning. And concerning His dead people
that He brings back to life, it's God which works in them
to will and do. So it's all His work. And they
were all finished before this world was ever created. So He's
not planning to do anything. Everything is done. It's done. It's absolutely done. We're just announcing that it's
done and waiting on Him to return. That's it. That's all we're doing
in life. The Lord hath done. Now, if we are His people, If
we belong to him, what has he done for us? What are these works? What has the Lord done for us?
Well, right here in the text, it says great things. Great things don't turn, but
in Psalm 98 verse one, it says marvelous things. The Lord hath
done marvelous things. Psalm 115 verse 3 says, He hath
done whatsoever He hath pleased. What has He done? Whatever He
has pleased. He does whatever He wants to
do. Isaiah 12 verse 5 says, It's excellent things, known in all
the earth. Mark 7 verse 37 says, He hath
done all things well. Everything He has done, He has
done it well. He has done it gloriously perfect. It's all perfect. We could dwell
forever on all of the gloriously perfect things that the Lord
has done in all the earth. But tonight I just want us to
dwell on the great things that he's done for us, specifically
for us. We're just going to look at,
the message wouldn't end if we looked at all the great things
he's done for us and in glory it won't. But for tonight, for
our time, we'll look at a few things he's done for us. Go with
me to Psalm 66. Psalm 66 verse 16 it says, come and hear all ye that fear
God and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I'll tell you what He's done
for my soul." David said, oh, what He's done for my soul. Our
Lord gets the credit for everything that He does for us. Every physical
thing, every good and perfect thing that we have has come from
Him. The health of our mind, the health
of our bodies, the provisions for ourselves, the provisions
for our loved ones, We thank God for all these things. We
do. I thank God for every single thing that he's given me and
us. But David said greater than those
things, greater than all of those physical things. Let me tell
you what he's done for my soul. infinitely greater than my body
and my bank account, which is how most people measure God's
blessing. Health, wealth and happiness. Oh, we're so healthy right now.
Business is booming and buddy, everybody's happy. God is really
blessing us. David said infinitely greater
than all of that. Let me tell you what He's done
for my soul. My soul. What has He done for
your soul, David? In Psalm 23, He said, He restored
it. And He keeps on restoring it.
He restoreth my soul. In Psalm 30, David said, he brought
up my soul from the grave. He gave life to my dead soul
again. Through my sin, I lost life and
he restored life to my soul. That's why he said in Psalm 103,
turn with me over to Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse 1 says, Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not all His benefits. Forget not all the great things
that He's done for you. What has he done? Verse 3, who
forgiveth all thine iniquities. See if that'll sink in. See if
that will sink in just for a moment. He has forgiven all our sin. He has forgiven all our sin. That's just. That's a great thing. That's a great thing. He has
forgiven all of our sin. How did He forgive our sin? He
took it into His own body. I'm talking about the very things.
Our Lord does not deal in time. He doesn't deal in time. He said, I am. I was, I am, I
am to come. I am. I'm the beginning, I'm
the end at the same moment in time. I am. He doesn't deal in
time. And He took the very deeds that
His people have committed. These things. These things. These things. He took all of
those actual sins into His own body. He made them His very own. All of the sin and all of the
sins, what we are and what we've done. He made all of that, everything
that I am, every sinful thing that I've caused myself to be.
He made it his very own and he bore that burden to Calvary.
Think about if you had to go stand before a judge and make
an account for your own sin. Think about if you had to do
that. If every sin came up and you had to go stand before a
judge, all the past sins, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, however
long it's been. What if all that came up and
you had to go make an account for it? Well, he did. The sorrow of it, the guilt of
it, the shame of it, He made it His very own. He bore
that burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. That's a great thing. That's
a great thing. Verse 3 says, "...who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases." One way or
another, that's a reality, that's not figure of speech. Either
through life or death, He's gonna heal every disease that His people
have ever suffered from. He made it so that in glory sickness
will never touch His people ever again. Cancer touches them and
all these things touch them. And He either heals them of that
in this life or He takes them to be with Him and then cancer
will never touch them ever again. That's a great thing. That is
a great, great thing. Verse 4, "...who redeemeth thy
life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and
tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord executeth
righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made
known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel,
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous
in mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward
them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear Him. He knoweth our frame. He remembereth
that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass,
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind
passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know
it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and
His righteousness unto children's children. To such as keep His
covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them,
the Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom
ruleth over all." What great things! What great things. He has redeemed us. He has crowned
us with loving kindness and tender mercies. He has satisfied us. He has executed righteousness
for us. He has remembered our frame.
Those are all great things. Verse 20 says, Bless the Lord,
ye His angels that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His
hosts, ye ministers of His that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord,
all His works and all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord,
O my soul. David said, if you sit down and
listen for just a moment, I'll tell you what great things He's
done for my soul. Look at Psalm 111. Psalm 111 verse 1, it says, Praise
ye the Lord, I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, In
the assembly of the upright and in the congregation, the works
of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure
therein. His work is honorable and glorious,
and His righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful
works to be remembered." He wrote them down. He recorded all of His holy works
in His Holy Word. By His Spirit, He has revealed
it to His people. He has written it in their minds
and on the tables of their hearts. Verse 4 says, He hath made His
wonderful works to be remembered. What do we remember about His
works? Verse 4 says, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He hath given meat unto them
that fear Him. He will ever be mindful of His
covenant. God the Father, Son, and Spirit
made a covenant with each other. Alright, this is what keeps salvation
for God's people. Father, Son, and Spirit made
a covenant with each other. The Father said, I will choose some sinners to
save. The son said to the father, if
you choose them, I'll redeem them. I will pay their debt. I'll pay it off. I will set them
free from the curse and the bondage of their sin. If you choose them,
I'll save them. And the spirit said to the son,
if you save them, If you redeem them from their curse, I will
call them back. I will quicken them back to life
again. Back to a living union with us. That is the covenant. It has
nothing to do with man. It's between God, God, and God.
And God will keep His covenant. What a great thing. He said,
I will be ever mindful of my covenant forever. That's a great
thing. Look at Isaiah 44. Isaiah 44
verse 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art My servant. I have formed thee, thou art
My servant. O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten
of Me. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins. Return unto
Me, for I have redeemed thee. Now watch verse 23. It says,
Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it. Shout, ye lower
parts of the earth! Break forth into singing, ye
mountains, O forest, and every tree therein! For the LORD hath
redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. What a great thing. When He made
Himself to be sin for us, who knew no sin, the one who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
When He did that, He redeemed Jacob. Israel. all of His people, all the Lord's
people, and He glorified Himself. That's what Isaiah 53 tells us.
Just a few pages over in Isaiah 53, it says in verse 11, He shall
see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. By His
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for He
shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a
portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the
strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And
he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. The Father said,
Because he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant. Because he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore,
I am going to highly exalt Him, and I'm going to give Him a name
which is above every name, and at the hearing of His name, every
knee is going to bow, and every tongue is going to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." That is a
great thing. That is a great thing that He
has done for us. He has given us a heart to bow
and confess. He's Lord. He is Lord. He is not only the Lord, He is
my Lord. He is my Lord and my God. Now
let's look at our response to what He's done. Okay, we're done. We're closing. Go back to our
text, Psalm 126. Verse 3 says, The Lord, that
is Jesus Christ, Jehovah, God, hath done, finished, accomplished,
settled forever, great things, eternal things, saving things,
undeserved things, for us, for sinners like you
and me. Now here's the response of the
us. Here's how we can tell if we're one of the us. God did
not do all of this for every soul on earth. He did it for
His people. Here's how we can tell if we are His people. This
is how we can know if we are the us. Every soul that the Lord
does these great things for will say, We are glad. Not mad. Which is a very common reaction. When you tell a sinner that he's
a sinner and God had to do this for him or he'd die in his sins.
Not mad. Not offended. Hearing the fact
that there was nothing he could do. Christ had to do it all. Overjoyed every time we hear
it again. Absolutely overjoyed every time
we hear it again. We don't get tired of it. It
doesn't grow dull. Hearing it one more time again,
how great things the Lord has done for us. The gospel is good
news. Good news for guilty sinners.
And when the gospel is preached, the indifferent get sad. They
just don't have time for this. They don't want to hear this.
The indifferent get sad. The self-righteous get mad. But
true sinners get glad. They get so glad. And I sincerely
pray that He might make us that. Glad. The Lord hath done great
things for us. And I pray we might all be able
to say, we're glad. We're so glad. All right, let's
all stand together.