Go back with me to Psalm 106. Psalm 106, and let's read verse
8 again. Nevertheless, He saved them for
His name's sake. that he might make his mighty
power to be known. Sometimes you read a verse of
scripture and it just grabs you. Just something about that verse
you just immediately you just see it. You see the gospel. You
see the outline. You see the message. That's it.
That's what happened to me with this verse. I have four points. The Savior, the Saved, the reason for the
salvation, and the summary of it all in one word. The Savior,
the Saved, the reason for the salvation, and the summary of
it all in one word. Point number one. Verse eight
says, Nevertheless, He saved them. Who is He? I love simple messages. Simple outlines. Who is He? This chapter is telling the story. We just read the whole chapter.
It's telling the story of Moses leading the children of Israel
out of Egypt. out into the wilderness for 40
years and everything that happened out there. But Moses is not the
one that saved them. It mentioned Aaron. Aaron is
not the one that saved them. The prophets did not save them. The apostles did not save them. Matthew 1.21 says, Call his name
Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sins. He is Christ Jesus, our Lord. He is the one who saved them.
Somebody will say, well, he wasn't even born yet. God saved them. Amen. That's right. He wasn't even born yet. God
saved them. Before Abraham was, I am. In the beginning was the Word. The
Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word was
made flesh. God saved them. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. That is blessed news to my heart. Any man includes me. If any man,
by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. He said, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but
by me. He said, I am the good shepherd,
and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I lay
down my life to save them, to save them. Turn with me over
to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews 9 verse 11 says, But
Christ, being come an high priest of good things to come, by a
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Now look at verse 25. Nor yet
that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others. For then
must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world.
But now, once in the end of the world, hath He appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that
look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. Now look at chapter 10, verse
10. By the witch will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can
never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And every sinner who is plunged
beneath that flood will lose all his guilty stains. Who is
the Savior? The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
Savior. Alright, now this is what He
Himself said. These are His words. He said,
I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge. And my judgment is just. Because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father, which has sent me." He said, I and
my Father are one. He said, if you have seen me,
you have seen the Father. To say that God the Son is the
Savior is to say that God the Father is the Savior. They are one. When God the Father looked at
us, In His Son, our time was the time of love. He loved us. God the Father looked at us in
His Son and He loved us for God the Father so loved this world,
He is the one who gave His only begotten Son. The love of the
Father toward His people. It was the Father who chose us
in Christ. It was the Father who laid our
sins on Christ. The Father did that. It is the
Father who welcomes the prodigal back home. So to say the Son is the Savior
is to say the Father is the Savior. Their work is one. They are one.
Their work is one. Perfect communion. Now turn with
me, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians 1 verse 13 says, In
whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed,
you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. God's Holy
Spirit is the one who puts the seal on the sinner. It's God's
Spirit that seals the sinner. When the gospel comes, and faith
comes, and the Spirit causes that sinner to believe, To say
He saved them is to say Father, Son, and Spirit, the entire Godhead. The entire Godhead. These three
are one. The Spirit will not seal without
the blood of Christ. And Christ will not pour one
drop of His blood without the choice of the Father. Will not
do it. They are one. The Godhead. He. Three in one. He saved them. All of the Godhead took part
in saving their people. Alright, now go back with me
to Psalm 106. Point number two. Verse 8 says,
He saved them. Who are them? Who are the saved? Well, it's
not naturally who you'd think it would be. It's not who the flesh would
naturally assume it would be. He tells us who it is right here
in verse 6. If you look back to verse 6,
it says, We have sinned. The saved are a sinful people. A very sinful people. It says
we have sinned with our fathers. Yes, our fathers did. But so
have we. We have sinned with our fathers.
We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. That's who God saved. That's
who God chose to have mercy on. That's who God chose to have
mercy on. When he looked down on his people,
he saw a wicked, sinful people, and he said, I choose to have
mercy on them. Verse seven says, our fathers
understood not thy wonders in Egypt. The saved are an ignorant
people. They understand not sinful, ignorant. Verse seven says they remembered
not the multitude of thy mercies. They are an ungrateful people. We were reading through the through
the chapter just a moment ago, taught everything he did for
them, and it says they they forgot. Verse seven, it goes on to say,
but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. There are
rebellious people, sinful, ignorant, ungrateful, rebellious. That's
who God chose to save. That's who God chose to put his
love on. That ought to be the greatest
news we've ever heard in our life. That's what we are. That's what
we are. There is salvation for the sinful. Redemption is for the ignorant.
Forgiveness is for the ungrateful. And there's mercy for the rebellious.
Listen to this. One man wrote this. I adore this. This is a poem or a song. It says, Are not his mercies
rich and free? Then say, my soul, why not for
thee? Our Lord died upon the tree. Then why, my soul, why not for
Thee? When I was a young person, I
used to hear these things. I grew up hearing these things.
And I knew that God chose a people. I knew He had an elect. I knew
God didn't save anybody. I mean everybody. I knew that.
God didn't save everybody. What I did not know was did He
save me? How can I know if I'm one of
the elect? I believe God has an elect. But how can I know if I'm one
of them? I remember thinking that for so long. Are not His mercies rich and
free? Isn't it so that He's not stingy
with His mercy to all generations? Then say, my soul, why not for
thee? Our Lord died upon the tree.
You look to that and say, my soul, why not for thee? He has
a remnant. He has an elect, but he said
it's according to grace. He said there's going to be a
number which no man can number. Why not me? Why not me? I'm a sinner who needs God's
grace. Why not us? Point number three,
the reason for the salvation. Why would this three times Holy
God, Father, Son, and Spirit, why would He save sinners like
us? Why would He save sinners like
us? What could possibly be the reason that He would save sinners
like us. Verse 8 says in Psalm 106, He
saved them for His name's sake. There was no other reason than
that. There was nothing in us, nothing about us, nothing made
us worthy. Nothing made us attractive to
Him in any way. It was only for His name's sake. Call His name Jesus because that's
who He is. He's the Savior. He is the Savior. God revealed His nature to us. God revealed His own character
to us. He revealed the desire of His
own heart to us in saving us. God is love. He is love. In the choice of the Father,
in the blood of the Son, in the seal of the Spirit, God is love. As long as we have those three
things, we have God's love. Outside of those three things,
there is no love. But in those three things, God
is love, God is grace. God does not just show grace.
God is grace. He is a gracious God. He is. How is he? What is he like? What
is his character like? This is how he is. This is what
he's like. He is slow to wrath. And plenteous in mercy. He saved
sinners because His name declares Him to be the only mediator between
God and sinners. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Verse eight says,
He saved them for His name's sake that He might
make His mighty power to be known. He saved them for his eternal
glory's sake. That's why he saved them. His
name is his glory. Moses said, show me your glory. And he said, here it is. I'll
save. I'll show mercy. This is my glory.
Look with me at Ephesians 1 again. Ephesians 1 verse 4 says, who
gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this
present evil world according to the will of God and our father. That was the father's will. That's
what the father wanted. That was what was in his heart. Verse five says, to whom be glory
forever and ever, amen. Oh, I'm reading Galatians, but
that still applies. Go to Galatians. No, I'm just
kidding, stay in Ephesians. I was loving that. I still do
love that. Who gave himself? All right,
now hold on, I'll get to Ephesians. Ephesians one, verse four says,
according as he hath chosen us in him. Before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame Before
him in love. That is what God the Father chose
for us That we should be holy. He looked upon sinners sinful
wicked rebellious Men and women and said I want them to be holy. I Want them to be holy Verse
5 says, Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. This is what's in His heart.
This is what He wants. He said, To the praise of the
glory of His grace. wherein He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. That's why He did every bit of
it. To the praise of the glory of His grace. To the praise. Look at verse 11. In whom also
we have obtained an inheritance. He's given us this glorious inheritance. Being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel
of His own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory
who first trusted in Christ to the praise of his glory look
across the page at Ephesians 2 verse 4 says but God who is
rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us Even when
we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace
you are saved and Hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus now. Why did he
do that? verse 7 says that in the ages
to come and All right, now here's a glimpse
of heaven. Here's a glimpse of glory. That in the ages to come,
he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. We're going to see that for the
ages to come. We are going to enter into the
riches of his grace and his kindness to us through Christ Jesus. That's why He did it. Look with
me over at Colossians chapter 1. Colossians 1 verse 16 says, For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist. And He is the head of the body,
the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
That in all things, He might have the preeminence. That in all things, He might
have all the glory. He might be number one. First. Preeminence. That's why He did
it. That's why God saved sinners. That's why God saved sinners.
Point number four. The summary of it all in one
word. Go back to the text. Psalm 106. Psalm 106 verse 8 says, Nevertheless... They were so sinful. They were so ignorant, nevertheless. They were so ungrateful, so rebellious, nevertheless. They did not deserve His love,
did not deserve His affection, His favor, nevertheless. They were so weak, so weak in
this flesh, so weak in the flesh, so taken with this world, so
consumed by this world. Nevertheless, they added nothing
to Him. When this great crowd of people,
His elect, when they're all gathered together, This innumerable company
of people, they will add nothing to Him. They add nothing to Him. They
add no glory to Him. They cannot even glory in Him. In themselves, by themselves,
they can't even glorify Him. Nevertheless, They are going to have to keep
coming back. They're going to keep coming back and beg. They're
going to come back to beg. They're going to be begging for
mercy. They're going to be begging for heavenly bread. They are
continual beggars. They just keep coming back and
begging. Every time we pray, we're begging, aren't we? Wouldn't
you love to pray a prayer that only says, thank you? It's almost
like it's not possible for us. We're just beggars and beggars
and beggars. Nevertheless, nevertheless, he
saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty
power to be known. That's glorious news if you're
a sinner. Let's all stand together.