Psalm 138, title of the message, I Will
Praise and Worship God. Worship is something we do on
purpose. We do this on purpose. God's
children purposely worship and praise God for who He is and
for what He has done for them, for us. We praise Him for choosing
us. Election does not make me mad. If it had, I would not be here.
We praise Him for redeeming us, dying for us. Shedding His blood,
God Almighty came from glory, took upon Him flesh, and died
in my place and in the place of every one of His children.
We thank Him for it. We praise Him for it. We worship
Him for it. And we praise Him and worship
Him for regenerating us, giving us a new heart. Are you not glad
that God gave you a heart to love Him? Because we would not
love Him. There was a time not one person
in this room loved God. Not one person in this room loved
Jesus Christ. He had to give me and you a new
heart. in order for us to love Him and
to worship Him and to praise Him. And there's no place I would
rather be than here tonight doing this. This is on purpose. We gather here on purpose. We
sing His praises on purpose. And we worship Him on purpose.
Now it says here, it's a Psalm of David, And the first two verses,
he says, I will, I will. I will praise thee with my whole
heart. Heart worship, not lip service. The Lord said to those Pharisees,
you honor me, you worship me with your lips, but your heart
is far from me. If there's no heart in our worship,
there's no worship. There's no worship. WORSHIP IS
NOT SOME DEAD FORMALITY WE GO THROUGH. YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS
IF YOU WORSHIP SOMEBODY. WHAT'S THE OLD SAYING? YOU WORSHIP
THE GROUND THEY WALK ON. WE WORSHIP HIM. IT'S NOT SOME
DEAD FORMALITY WE GO THROUGH. IT'S WITH OUR WHOLE HEART. IT'S WITH OUR AFFECTIONS. WE
WORSHIP GOD WITH In knowledge, because we have a knowledge of
God, you can't worship someone you don't know. But with our
affections also. Peter, do you love me? Peter
said, Lord, you know all things. You know I love you. You know
that. Without affection, there's no
worship. We love him above all. We love Him supremely, not like
we ought to. I know that. We're not going
to brag on our love at all. But you know the fact that we
love God, and this is something you need to think about, the
fact that we love God, the fact that I love God is evidence that
He loved me first. And that the love of God is shed
abroad in my heart. That thrilled my soul when I
began to think of that. The very fact that I love God
is evidence He loved me first. And His love is shed abroad in
my heart. That's evidence of salvation. That's evidence of
the Spirit of God in me and in you. And as I said, we worship
God on purpose. And we worship Him with our affections.
Half-hearted, listen, half-hearted worship is lukewarm. What did
God say about lukewarm over there? He said to those Laodiceans,
you're neither hot or cold, you're lukewarm. I'm gonna spew you
out of my mouth. He said, I would that you were hot or cold, one
or the other, but not lukewarm. You know, lukewarm is indifferent.
That's what lukewarm is, just totally indifferent. It don't
matter. God hates that. He hates that. We worship Him and we worship
Him on purpose. We prepare our hearts to worship
Him. There ought to be preparation
of heart to worship God when we come here and not just expect
it just to happen. There is a preparation in worship.
We meditate upon Him, read His Word and call upon Him and ask
Him to give us a spirit of worship, enable us to worship Him. And
we worship Him, listen, in spirit and in truth. And then listen to what He says
here. And He says here, I will praise
thee with my whole heart, before the gods will I sing praise unto
thee. Before the gods, little g, little
g, little gods. David purposed in his heart to
praise God before the idols of men, before the magistrates,
just like our Lord when He was before Pilate. He gave God the
glory. You have no power over me except
to be given you from above. You know, giving God the glory
through His name is a form of worship. And David here, here's what he's
saying to it. I refuse to be silent. And I put this in here or politically
correct. I'm going to be biblically correct.
I'm not going to be politically correct. I'm going to be biblically
correct. But I'm not going to be silent
when a false god and a false religion is around and I'm not
going to let them outdo me in worship. If they're going to
preach man's free will, I'm going to preach God's will even louder,
God's sovereign will. If they're going to preach man's
free will, I'm going to preach election even louder. I'm not
going to hold back. That's what he's saying. I'm
not going to be silent in their presence. I'm gonna sing praises
right in their presence unto the Lord, unto God. You know,
we have a tendency, because I know this by experience, we have a
tendency to be quiet. False religion doesn't, do they?
I mean, I've worked with them, I've worked out there, and they're
just loud and proud. David said, I'm not gonna be
silent in their presence, not at all. HE WOULD SING PRAISES TO GOD
BEFORE ALL NATIONS, ALL THOSE SURROUNDING NATIONS OF HIM. HE
SAID, I'M GONNA PRAISE GOD RIGHT IN THEIR PRESENCE. THEY'RE GONNA
KNOW WHO I BELIEVE. THEY'RE GONNA KNOW THE ONE I
BELIEVE. THEY'RE GONNA KNOW THE ONE I WORSHIP. THEY'RE GONNA
KNOW THE ONE I SING PRAISES TO. THEY'RE GONNA KNOW IT. THEY'RE
GONNA KNOW IT. HE WOULD NOT LET ANY NATION OUTDO
HIM IN WORSHIP. And then he says in verse 2,
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for
thy lovingkindness and for thy truth, for thou hast magnified
thy word above thy name. First of all here, he mentions
the temple, which is interesting, because the temple wasn't built
when Solomon built the temple. David passed away before that
was built. Here's a prophecy. He knew Solomon was going to
build it because God said he would. He took God at His Word. He took God at His Word, and
He knew that. But listen here, the temple is
mentioned here for a reason. The Holy Temple that is spoken
of here was a type and a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
not talking about looking toward a building that has walls and
foundation. He's talking about something
that represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's what he's talking
about. The temple was the place where
God's presence was manifest. He's not talking about a building.
Jonah was in the belly of the whale, and he says he looked
to the holy temple. He looked to the temple. Well,
he didn't know north, south, east, or west in that belly of
that whale. He's looking to the place where the sacrifice was
offered. He's looking to the place where
the ark was, where the mercy seat was, and where the blood
of atonement was offered. That's what he's looking at.
He's looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our temple. He's the temple of God. Christ
is the temple of God. And we look to the Lord Jesus
Christ. There is where we meet God. There's
the mercy seat. Listen here in Exodus 25, 22. And there I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from
between the two chair rooms, which are upon the ark of the
testimony of all things, which I will give thee in commandment
unto the children of Israel. But there I'll commune with you.
Where? On the mercy seat that's over the ark. What's in that
ark? That broken, that broken table,
that broken law, that broken law. Christ is our mercy seat. Christ is where God meets a sinner,
and a sinner meets God. This is where you can do business
with God. Outside of that, you're in deep, deep trouble. God can't
be dealt with outside of Christ. And that's why He says, I will
look to thy holy temple. He's not talking about a building,
He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. God has established a
place of worship, and that place is in Christ. He's the true temple. Look over in Hebrews 8. Look here in verse 1 and 2. Now of the things which we have
spoken, this is the sum, we have such a high priest who is set
on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens,
a minister of the sanctuary, of the sanctuary, the holy things,
the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, the true tabernacle,
the true temple. He's it. Which the Lord pitched,
and not man. A body hast thou prepared me.
God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. THERE IS
A PLACE WHERE WE MEET TO TRULY WORSHIP GOD. IT CAN BE HERE OR
WE CAN GO OVER TO THE HOUSE OR WE CAN GO TO ANOTHER PLACE. BUT
I TELL YOU WHERE THAT ONE PLACE IS, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE'S THE PLACE WHERE WE WORSHIP.
IN HIM WE WORSHIP GOD. AND WE PRAISE HIM FOR HIS LOVINGKINDNESS. This word also means grace. Don't
we praise him for his grace and truth? Does it not say in John
chapter one that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ? He's the embodiment of it and
it was given to Moses. You know, the law was given to
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He's the embodiment
of grace and truth. And we praise Him and worship
Him for His grace and His loving kindness to us and for that truth. You know,
loving kindness and truth always go together. You know why you
have the truth tonight? Because of God's loving kindness.
That's why we have it. The reason the gospel is here
and has been here for years is because of God's loving kindness
to his people. That's why. It's not because
we're a bunch of good people. It's because of God's loving
kindness. It's just hard to put into words
what I see here in God's loving kindness. When we were spitting
in his face, HIS LOVING-KINDNESS PRESERVED US. HE PRESERVED US. KEPT US. HIS LOVING-KINDNESS. AND TRUTH. YOU SEE THERE'S NO
MERCY WITHOUT TRUTH. AND THERE'S NO LOVING-KINDNESS
WITHOUT TRUTH. GOD DOESN'T SET TRUTH ASIDE. YOU READ THE WHOLE
BIBLE. WHAT DOES IT SAY? FIND ME ONE
GOOD THING. ONE GOOD THING IN THE BIBLE THAT
IT SAYS ABOUT THE FLESH. You ain't gonna find it. You're
not gonna find it. That's why the gospel is so offensive.
That's why, especially in this day, in this day, it says, you know what it tells
us? It tells us the truth. The word of God tells me and
you the truth about ourselves. If God were to pull back His
hand of restraint, it would be sickening what we would do. I'm
not exaggerating, I'm telling you, I'm not exaggerating. It's
the truth. It'd be sickening what we would
do. If He just took away the restraints, He exercises over
the human race. And that's the truth. That's
the truth. Without the truth, no one is
saved. God has never saved anyone by a lie. Now listen, this is
important. God has never saved anyone by
another gospel. When you were under Arminianism,
you believed Arminianism, you were lost. You didn't, now listen, God has
saved you. You didn't go from being an Armenian
to a Calvinist. You went from being lost to being
saved. That's the difference. That's the difference. It's like some man told me one
time, he said, when I heard the God, it just changed my whole
theology. I said, well, you can't change your theology without
changing your God. You had the wrong God. Now this other gospel that's
being preached in different forms, God has never saved anyone under
them. I mean anyone. And I know people,
I know family members who believe another gospel. I told one one time, I said,
you're going to perish. Should I have told him that? Had another man tell me one time,
he said, I believe the Lord's called me to preach. I said,
no, he hasn't. And he looked at me and he said, how can you
say that? How do you know? I said, because
you don't preach the gospel. I said, the gospel you're preaching
is not the gospel and God's not going to call you to preach another
gospel. That's the truth. You want the
truth? And our Lord said this, you shall
know the truth and the truth will what? Make you free. Make
you free. A lie won't set you free. A lie
will keep you blinded until one day you die and you stand before
God and you're going to be mad. You're going to be mad. Because
you thought you was going to heaven and you perished. You're
going to perish under God's wrath. Somebody lied to you. You know
what the Lord said to the Pharisees? You compass sea and land to make
one proselyte. And when you've made that one
proselyte, you know what you've made that one proselyte? He said,
you've made him twofold the child of hell. Twofold. You give somebody a false hope
and a false refuge, you can't talk to them. They're already
fixed up. The Pharisees, Christ said, you
will not come to me that you might have life. They thought
they had life. They didn't come to him for righteousness, they
thought they had righteousness. Paul thought he was the most
righteous person on earth. He found out one day, he's that
old wretched man that I am. You know why he found that out?
God told him the truth. You gotta have the truth, I don't
care how offensive it is. It's not popular, this gospel,
I'm telling you the truth, this gospel is not popular. It's not a popular gospel. Somebody
told Rolf Barter one time, after he got done preaching, he said,
you know, you can catch more flies with honey. He said, I
ain't trying to catch flies, I'm trying to kill sinners. I
ain't trying to catch flies. And listen here, for thou hast
magnified thy word above thy name. You can take God at his
word. You're only as good as your word,
right? The written word, and especially
the reference here is to the promises of God. He has magnified His promises.
Hath He said, and shall He not do it? Is that not our hope? Is that what God has written
here? Now, this is something you learn, I believe, as you
grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. When you're a young
believer, you put too much emphasis on your feelings. But as you
get older, you put a lot more emphasis on the Word of God.
I trust Him. Trusting Him, taking Him at His
Word, is trusting Him. I take God at what He said. He
that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. I take Him at
His Word. He said that. Lord, You said
that. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
saved. Lord, I CALL! I call, I call on your name.
I call for mercy. I call for grace. I call for
forgiveness. I call for pardon. You said call. You said seek and you'll find,
knock and you'll be open. Do you believe Him? I do. And you do too. Some of you do. I know not everybody, you know,
I know not everybody believes. But a good part of you do. And then, listen, He has exalted
His Word above His name. The Word. Who is the Word? The
Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God. Listen to Philippians 2.9, Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted Him. Who's seated at God's right hand?
Who has God magnified at His right hand? The Word, the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Word of God. God has highly exalted Him, giving
Him a name which is above every name, every name. It says over in Revelation 19,
16, And He hath on His vesture and
on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords."
He's exalted His Word above His name. But when we think of His written
Word, now the written Word and the Living Word, the Lord Jesus
Christ, can't be separated. They can't be separated. But
I know this, creation cannot reveal the redemptive glory of
God. The world would not be in the
mess it's in if it did. IF CREATION COULD REVEAL THE
REDEMPTIVE GLORY OF GOD, HUMANITY WOULD NOT BE IN THE MESS IT'S
IN. BUT WHEN HE CAME INTO THE WORLD, THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT."
It didn't even recognize its own Creator, not at all. They didn't know Him and they
still don't. However, in His Word, in His Word here, This
book right here, what a book, what a book we've got. In His Word, God could be known
savingly. God could be known in His mercy.
God could be known in His grace, in His loving kindness, in His
tender mercies. In His Word, it could be known
how God can be a just God and save a wretch like me. in His
Word. Oh my, we can take Him at His
Word. Titus 1.1 Paul a servant of God
and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's
elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness
in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised. God can't lie. God cannot lie. You can take God at His word.
Listen, which God that cannot lie promised before the world
began. Then here's another reason for
praise and worshiping God. In the day when I cried, you
know that word means addressed by name. We don't just cry to
any God out there. Because there is no other God
out there, but there are many who believe that. But in the
day when I cried, thou answered me. Can you believe that? God, as great as He is, can hear
a wiggly maggot like me? It astounds me now. It just astounds
me how highly we think of ourselves. It does. Now, I know psychiatry
would say, you don't need to sit under that kind of preaching,
that's your problem. No, problem is, what was that one we heard
the class saying on TV the other day, I'm great, I'm good, I'm
this, I'm that. I thought, man, no wonder they
be on medication when they get out of school. Seriously, you
know why? Because reality is you're not,
that's reality. IF YOU BRING SOMEBODY UP THAT
THEY'RE GREAT AND THEY'RE GOOD AND THEY'RE STRONG AND THEY'RE
THIS, AND THEN ONE DAY THEY GET OUT INTO THE WORLD AND THEY REALIZE,
SOMEBODY LIED TO ME. SOMEBODY LIED TO ME. IN THE DAY WHEN I CRIED, THOU
ANSWERED ME. GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS IN CHRIST,
AND HE ANSWERS THEM. He answers them. In the day when I cried, I remember, this is years ago,
years ago, we was first married and the boys were just babies.
I had lost my job. And I mean, we were broke. We were broke. I lost my job,
I went from making five and six hundred a week back in 1980,
79, 80, that's money, down to a hundred dollars a week on unemployment. And I mean, it was tough. And
I would pray, and I'd pray, Lord, you know, I was desperate, I
need a job. And as I was praying, the phone
rang. I'm telling you the truth. The phone rang, and I got a job. That's the truth. Now sometimes
it don't always happen like that, but the need was there. I was
desperate and I got a job. Went right back to work. Cast all thy care upon him for
he careth for you. You know there's no care too
small to cast upon God. Your troubles and my troubles
may seem really big, but all my troubles are little to God. All He needs to do is speak and
it's gone, it's over. It's over. God has no trouble. We are told to come boldly to
the throne of grace. That's what it says in Hebrews
4.16. Let us therefore come boldly. You know what it is to come boldly
to the throne of grace? Do you know what it is? It's
not arrogance, it's not cocky, it's just believing. He that cometh to God must believe
that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him. We come boldly, we come believing
that He will hear us and He will answer our prayer. You know God's
going to answer our prayer if it's a sincere prayer. If it's
a sincere prayer from the heart, God's going to answer. I assure
you. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. IN THE DAY WHEN I CRIED, THOU
ANSWERED ME AND STRENGTHENED ME WITH STRENGTH IN MY SOUL."
Not only does He hear our prayers and answer them, but He puts
strength in us to endure the trial. You say, I'm not going
to make it. Yes, you are. You know, the Scripture
says, and I realize this now, it says He'll not put on us more
than we can bear, but you know He can enable me to bear everything
He puts on me? Everything. It hit me one day when I was
reading that, because there's some things I felt like it was
more like a bear. But then I realized, no, whatever
He gives me, He'll give me the strength to bear it. He will. Paul said, I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me, but listen to this. As I
said, He'll give us the strength to bear it. And Job 23 6, will
he plead against me with his great power? No, but he would
put strength in me. He'll put strength in me to carry
on, to finish out this pilgrimage, to endure the trial. No trial
will ever do you in, no trial. God doesn't send trials to do
you in, but to conform you to the image of his son, Jesus Christ. Now verse four and five, I don't,
I'm not going to act like I know much about what it's saying,
I don't. But all the kings of the earth, and here he's speaking
of Gentiles, princes, kings, because he says all the kings
of the earth. At that time, it was basically just Israel. Here's
a prophecy of the gospel going out throughout all the world.
And there would be princes and kings saved. Not many mighty,
not many noble, but it doesn't say not any, it just says not
many. But all shall praise Thee, O
Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth. Hear the gospel. I do know this. ALL SHALL PRAISE
HIM SOONER OR LATER." Every knee is going to bow. Every tongue
is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Every king, prince, people in power, EVERY ONE OF
THEM are going to bow and confess He's Lord. But it may mean this
also. Are we not kings and priests
unto God? You know you are kings and priests
unto God. And do we not praise Him and
worship Him when we hear the Gospel, when we hear the words
from His mouth? Hopefully these are not the words
from my mouth, I'm reading the Word of God. This is God speaking
through His Word. And kings and priests all over
this world, out of every tongue, kindred, tribe, and nation under
heaven will worship Him and praise Him. And His Word will be the SOURCE
OF OUR JOY, THE WRITTEN WORD AND THE LIVING WORD. And yea,
verse 5, Yea, they, that is Gentiles, shall sing in the ways of the
LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. Did we not do that
tonight? Are we not singing in the ways
of the LORD? Are we not singing the TRUTH? We're not up here
just singing a bunch of jibber-jabber. We're not just singing contemporary
songs that sound really, really good to the flesh. We're singing praises to God.
Oh, worship the King, all glorious above. The Gentiles who walk in the
ways of the Lord, those who believe the gospel, will glorify Him. He will be glorified in them. And here's another reason to
praise and worship God. Though the Lord be high, oh man,
I cannot touch this. I can't touch this. We know in
part and we preach in part and we really know very little part. Like the Queen of Sheba said,
the half has never yet been told when she saw Solomon in all his
glory. And Solomon just, he just, Small example, I mean just a
small example of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. How high is our God? How high
is God? Job 11 7, Canst thou by searching
find out God? If he doesn't reveal himself,
you're never gonna know him. Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? We won't even find that out throughout
eternity. We will be forever knowing God.
You know that? You know how I know that? Because
everything about God is infinite. It's infinite. So that means
there's no end. There's no end. You can't come
to the end and say, well, I know all there is to know about Him.
No, you don't. I can't comprehend, I can't comprehend
always knowing more and more and more and more throughout
eternity about a person. But God's infinite in everything.
He's infinite. And our God is high, He's high
in His person. Turn over to Isaiah 57. I always think I'm gonna get
this done faster than I do. Isaiah 57, look in verse 15, For thus saith the High and Lofty
One that inhabits, listen, He inhabits eternity, eternity is
in Him, whose name is Holy. I dwell in the high and holy
place. WITH HIM ALSO THAT IS OF A CONTRITE
AND HUMBLE SPIRIT, TO REVIVE THE SPIRIT OF THE HUMBLE AND
TO REVIVE THE HEART OF THE CONTRITE ONES." Because that's what he's
going to talk about here shortly. Because he says here, "...YET
HATH HE RESPECT TO THE LOWLY, THE HIGH AND LOFTY ONES." Do
you know any high and lofty men or women? Do you know any high
and lofty ones that has a bunch of lowly people in their presence?
They don't call me when the high and lofty here in Fayetteville
doesn't. They don't call me and invite
me over to a party, which I'm glad, but they don't. They got to run with the upper
crust. That's what they got to run with,
but not God. God looks at the lowly. He looks
at the lowly. Like Boaz, Boaz the Prince. And here comes Ruth. Here comes
Ruth. Poor, poor, poor as dirt. And Boaz takes her and just loves
her up. Just loves her up. You don't ever see that in reverse,
do you? You don't see a high, lofty woman take a low man. But here is a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ taking a poor wretch like me and you and making
us His own. The body of Christ is made up
of a baby cast out into the field, polluted in its own blood. And
he put his skirt over and said, the time is love. And I said
to you, live. Live. And your comeliness and
your renown is of me. It's of me. My, my, my. He has respect to
the lowly. Look in Isaiah 66, and I'm going
to hurry along here. Isaiah 66, looking here in verse one and
two. For thus saith the Lord, that heaven is my throne, earth
is my footstool. Where is the house that ye build
unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things
hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith
the Lord. But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor,
and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word. This is
the man who has my attention. This is the man who has my ear.
David said, you read it in Psalm 86, I think it was 86 or 89. David said, I'm poor. He's a
king. He knew his spiritual poverty.
He knew it. And though I walk in the midst
of trouble, well, but let me say, I'm missing something here.
But the proud, he knoweth afar off. You know how he knows them?
He knoweth them afar off as his enemies. I don't want to be an
enemy of God. I don't want to die an enemy
of God. None are so low that his grace cannot reach and none
are so high that he is impressed by them. Now, in verse seven,
though I walk in the midst of trouble, and boy, do we ever,
Do we ever? Thou wilt. It's not that maybe,
or it's not a, there's not a question mark here. Thou wilt revive,
quicken me, restore me. You know, our Lord, I thought
of our Lord in the garden. I thought of Him when He was in trouble.
He was strengthened. Thought of Him on the cross,
then in resurrection, and now He's seated at God's right hand.
Man is born of a woman's few days full of trouble, and the
older you get, the more you'll learn. That's so. But what we
have in verse 7 is sustaining grace and reviving grace continually. And he says, Yet the Lord will
revive me, he'll put strength in me to pilgrim on. By his grace I'll continue. And
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine
enemies, and thy right hand shall save me." Who's at God's right
hand? The Lord Jesus Christ. He shall save me. And last of
all, the Lord will PERFECT, He'll FINISH COMPLETE. THAT WHICH CONCERNETH
ME, THY MERCY, O LORD." Just take that word, ENDURETH, out. It was added by the translator,
just like in the latter Psalm, when we read it, every verse
said, THE MERCY OF THE LORD ENDURETH FOREVER. Really, you can take
that word, ENDURETH, out, because what it's saying is, THY MERCY
FOREVER, FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY. HIS MERCY HAS BEEN ON ME FROM
ETERNITY TO ETERNITY. JUST LIKE HIS EVERLASTING LOVE
HAS BEEN ON ME FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY. He'll perfect that which concerns
me because His mercy is forever. He won't forsake me because of
His mercy. Forsake not the works of thine
own hand. Christ has perfected me by His work, His life, His
death, His resurrection. He's perfected me and He won't
give up on me. Philippians 1.6, being confident
in this very thing that He which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The Lord perfected that which
concerns me. Our Lord in His life walked this
earth, produced a perfect righteousness for every one of His children.
He died on the cross to satisfy God's justice, rose from the
grave He was delivered for our offenses, rose again for our
justification. Seated at God's right hand, making
intercession for us. Right now, even while we're about
half asleep, He's interceding for us. You must believe that.
Even when I stand here and preach, my mind starts to wander. You
wouldn't think that, would you? But I have to rest my mind even
preaching. But the Lord prays for us. Peter,
I prayed for you. that your faith fail not. You're
going out there tomorrow to face the world. The Lord said, I prayed
for you that your faith fail not, because if He doesn't, your
faith will fail. You'll deny Him. So would I. I will praise and worship God
on purpose by God's grace, by God's grace. We'll do that until
He comes and gets us. All right.