Good morning. Good morning. Good
morning. Good to be in North Carolina. Good to be in Bethel Baptist
Church. I've known about this ministry here for a long time.
Ever since Pastor Henry Mahan came here back in the early 80s,
and he came here preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Lord blessed that message and blessed you folks through
him. And when he came back, he gave us a report of the ministry here
and it's always encouraging when you hear places here and there
where they're interested in the gospel of God concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's always a great encouragement. to believers, to hear of other
believers. The Lord does have a sheep. He
does have a chosen. He does have an elect. And they're
His. And in due time, He will cross
their path with the gospel and He'll call them out by His grace. I want you to turn in your Bible
this morning to Psalm 135. Psalm 135. There's a very familiar passage
here, I know you've read it and heard it many times, down in
verse 6 of Psalm 135, verse 6. It describes the great character
of our God, our God and Savior. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, and in the earth, in the seas,
and all deep places. That tells us that our God that
we worship is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. He's the
sovereign Lord over all creatures. His dominion is absolute over
all men, all things, all events, everywhere, all the time. He
has all power in heaven and in earth. Do you know what that
means? That means no one else has any power but Him. The powers
that be, the Lord gives that. The powers that be are ordained
of God. He has all dominion and all power. Let's go back to verse 1 and
we'll come back to verse 6. In just a minute, let's read
down to verse 6 from verse 1. Praise ye the Lord. Well, hallelujah. That's what that means. Praise
ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord. Now, He's worthy of all honor
and glory. I don't know if you folks remember
years ago that crazy religious TV show, PTL. Remember that? And it's just, you know, it's
a praise the Lord club. And it was just absolute nonsense,
wasn't it? Now we know now, back in maybe
in those days before the Lord was pleased to reveal the Gospel
unto us, we didn't know much about the name of the Lord. But
praise ye, look what it says, the name. The name of Jehovah. The name of Jehovah. Now His
name declares who He is. You remember from Isaiah 9, 6,
"'For unto us a child is born, a son is given. Government shall
be upon his shoulders. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.'" I always
use with great caution that word, wonderful, because it's His name. I'm hesitant to use the word
for anything else like, have a wonderful day. And we say those
things all the time, but I use that word with great caution
because it's one of the names of our Lord. Those are all capital
letters. His name is wonderful. He is a wonderful, mighty, almighty
God. His name. I think of a couple
of other scriptures. Remember in Acts chapter 4? No
other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be
saved. No other name. Salvation is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is in a person, isn't
it? Christ is salvation. Simeon picked
up the little child. He was 40 days old when he picked
him up. He wasn't 8 days old. 40 days old when he picked him
up. And he said, Lord, let me die now in peace. Mine eyes have
seen Thy salvation. Salvation is in Christ. Not in
the church. Not in the Baptist. Not in experience.
Salvation is in Christ. His name is above every name.
Salvation in no other name. Now think of all those seven
names of Jehovah, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Sid Canu, Jehovah Rapha,
Jehovah Siloam. All them different names that
describe the character of our God. Now think of one other scripture
when we talk about the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's who we worship. We worship
him as God. Is he God? Absolutely. The Lord
said you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I think of this scripture
as well about the name of the Lord. Philippians chapter 2. Remember God has given him a
name which is above every name that at that name Every knee
is going to bow. Every tongue is going to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. His name. Now, praise His name. Who He is. Who He is, the only
place that you will truly worship is at the throne of the Almighty
God. He demands worship. He demands surrender and submission
to His glorious person. Now, notice in the last part
of verse 1, O you servants, servants, servants, now, A lot of people
might look at that word servants in a demeaning way. For example,
a rich man who has a mansion, he would have his servants with
him. And you would think, well, you know, that's a low title. But now let me tell you something. In Isaiah chapter 42 verse 1,
where we read for the first time in the Word of God the word elect,
Now it's not the first time it's taught, but the first time where
that word elect is mentioned in Isaiah 42.1, Behold my servant,
mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. Who's he talking
about there? He's talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. Behold my servant, my elect. Now the Lord Jesus Christ
used that title to himself, the servant of the Lord. And it goes
back to that bond slave who serves his master out of love. The Apostle
Paul, how many times will we read in the epistles? When he
called himself the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
being a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, my friend, is a high
title. I told the man at the church
where I've been for a number of years, when I die, you put
that on my tombstone, a servant of the Lord. That's a good title. It's a high title. It's a title
that the Lord takes to himself. You servant of the Lord. Serve
him. Serve him. Well, we can't get
people to serve the Lord down at the church there, Happy Valley,
down there at the church. Everybody's happy, but nobody's
interested in serving the Lord. We gotta beat up on them and
browbeat them and promise them these rewards and all that. We
can't get anybody to serve the Lord. That's not true with his
people. His people delight to serve the
Lord. What a privilege! What a privilege
to serve the Lord, our God, and to honor Him. How are the Lord's
people motivated to serve the Lord? Why are you here today,
serving the Lord, worshiping the Lord? Why are you here? Well,
you know, it's Sunday and I just gotta go. My neighbors, if they
see my car over there parked, they think, well, he's backslid. You know, we serve the Lord out
of love and gratitude. We don't serve the Lord out of
fear of punishment or promise of reward. We serve the Lord
because we love Him. Is that right? Remember that
scripture in 2 Corinthians 5? where it says, the love of Christ
constrains us. It constrains us. We love. We
love His Word. We love His people. We love one
another. We're taught in Scripture that,
by this shall all men know that you're my disciples, that you
love one another. That's a good evidence of having
a new heart, having a new nature that's given in regenerating
grace. You servant of the Lord serve him look verse 2 you that
stand Stand in the house of the Lord in the court to the house
of the Lord You that stand in the house of the Lord now, what
does that mean? What does that mean? Yeah, I
tell you what it means Means to be in his family To stand
in the house of the Lord is to be adopted by His grace, called
by His love, made a new creature in Christ Jesus, and He has put
us in the body of Christ, in the house of the Lord, in the
family of the Lord. Remember 1st John 3 behold what
manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we we Should
be called sons of God. Oh Just think of it sinners saved
by grace Called sons of God put in the family of the Lord Jesus
Christ and How did you get in Christ? Well, some folks say,
you know, I walked the aisle, I shook the preacher's hand,
I prayed that prayer, and the preacher said, I was saved. Really? Some people say, well, you know,
we got into baptistry, and they say that by water baptism, that
we're put in the body of Christ. That's tommyrot. That's foolishness.
How does a sinner put in Christ? I'll give you a scripture answer.
1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. But of Him are you in Christ,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. But of Him are you in Christ. How did you get in Him? I didn't
do anything. He did it all. He chose me. He called me. Redeemed me saved
me and made me a new creature in Christ now We're in the house
of the Lord. We're in his family. We're in
his household In his household and then he says this in verse
3 again, he says You think about that now? When we know his name
and that we have the privilege of serving Him and He's adopted
us by His love and put us in the family of God. What are you
going to say? Look at verse 3. Again, he says,
praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Now this is,
this is not that religious nonsense that goes on. Everybody, every,
you know, everybody. This is in the heart. This is
worship in the heart before God. Praise the Lord. Now look at verse three. The
Lord is, He's good. He's good. Who else is good? There is none good, no, not one. Well, I have a good neighbor. And I do as far as the standard
of being a good neighbor. But my friend, when we talk about
things that are really, truly, and only good, there is none
good but God. There's none good but Him. Praise the Lord for the Lord
is good. The Lord is light. The Lord is
love. The Lord is eternal. You could
do a whole study on the Lord is our Savior. The Lord is good. Everything
about Him is good. His word is good. His salvation
is good. I like that word good. We had
some good food last night. But everything about the Lord
Jesus Christ and the gospel of God concerning Christ, we have
to say with the psalmist here, the Lord is good. Sing praises
unto His name. His name is pleasant. His name is pleasant Everything
about him is pleasant. He is all together. You remember
the study from the song of Solomon's? He is all together Lovely to
you who believe he is precious his name Sing praises unto his
name who he is for the Lord hath look at verse 4 the Lord hath
chosen Jacob unto himself. Now why didn't he choose Esau?
Remember the scripture from Romans 9? Jacob have I loved? Esau hath I hated." The Lord
chose Jacob unto Himself. The Lord is sovereign in His
electing love, in His electing grace, in His calling. The Lord
is absolutely sovereign. He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy. The Lord hath chosen unto Himself
Jacob and Israel. Now, talking about the same person,
Jacob, you remember what his name means? Cheat and supplanter.
That's what we are by nature, right? But the Lord made him
into Israel, a prince, a prince with God. My name is Jacob. You remember that scripture in
Isaiah? Thou worm, Jacob. We all, by nature, have that
Jacob, sinful, rotten, cheating nature. But the Lord, by His
grace, has made us kings and priests unto our God Israel. for his peculiar treasure. His people are peculiar. They are a purchased people.
Remember the scripture said you're bought with a price, therefore
glorify him. The Lord hath chosen. Does he
have the right? Absolutely. When did he choose
his people unto salvation? Well, the scriptures teach us
that he was a election of love that from the beginning God had
chosen his people unto salvation. Behold what manner of love. Now,
for I know that the Lord is not only is He good, but the Lord,
I love this word too, He's great. Great. Great. How great is our
God? Try to describe him. He's beyond
description. He is great. He's great in every
aspect of his person, every aspect of his works. The psalmist says
in another psalm that his works are great works. You remember
from Hebrews 2, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation. His salvation is great, is it
not? And His salvation is eternal. The Lord saves His people with
an everlasting salvation. The Lord is great and the Lord
is above all. You see that? All gods. Small g. The Lord is above all. Remember in Isaiah, over and
over and over again in the book of Isaiah, he says, I am the
Lord. Remember? I am the Lord. Beside me there is no other. I'm the only just God and Savior. Beside me there is none. You see, He is the great God
and He's the Lord above all. Don't you love that? He's Lord
over all. The Lord doeth according to His
will in the army of heaven, among the habitants of this earth,
and none can stay His hand, saying to Him, Lord God Almighty, what
doest thou? The Lord is above all. All power, He said, is given
to me in heaven and earth. All power, all authority, all
power. Now, having said that, whatsoever
the Lord please, whatsoever the Lord please, that's what He did. In heaven, earth, seas, and all
deep places. He said, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. Now, I want to look at a few
places here on this statement. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, seas, and all deep places. Now,
this question. What did it please the Lord to
do? What did it please the Lord to
do? Okay, let's turn and look at these references. First of
all, 1 Samuel 12. 1 Samuel 12. What did it please the Lord to
do? Well, let's see what the Word of God has to say. 1 Samuel
chapter 12, verse 22. For the Lord will not forsake
His people for His great namesake, His namesake, because it had
pleased the Lord to make you His people. It pleased the Lord to make you
His people. The Lord our God in sovereign
mercy has chosen a multitude of guilty sinners from the beginning
and determined to save them in the Lord Jesus Christ and call
them by His unconditional election. The Lord said many times. I don't
know how any man, I'll get to that in just a minute, in John
6 verse 37, I don't know how any man can read the Word of
God and say that the Bible does not teach that God sovereignly
elected a people unto salvation. Behold what manner of love the
Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called The sons
of God? Beloved, now are we sons of God. And it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but when He shall appear, we shall be like Him. God hath chosen a people unto
salvation. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. God hath from the beginning chosen
a people unto salvation. Electing and election is found
in the Word of God numerous times. For man to say that the Bible
doesn't teach what we call the Bible doctrine of election, the
man just shows himself to be an ignorant man and ignorant
of the Word of God and ignorant of the God that chooses according
to his own purpose and grace. So what did it please the Lord
to do? Pleased Him to choose a people. Secondly, let's find
another reference here. Turn to Isaiah. Isaiah 53. We can all find that
one quickly, can't we? Isaiah 53. Talk about the Lord's
substitutionary work. Verse 10, Isaiah 53, 10. Secondly,
what did it please the Lord to do? Yet it pleased the Lord to
bruise Him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper." I love that word prosper. Prosper in his hand. It pleased
the Lord. to lay the sin of God's people.
It says that over here in verse 6. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. You remember the scripture from
2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, where it says that God had made Him
sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. We see in that verse that blessed
truth of substitution and satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ took all
the sin of God's people to Himself, and He suffered the wrath of
God against our sin, bearing our sin in His own body on the
tree, suffering once the just for the unjust that He might
bring us unto God. He suffered at the hands of God,
didn't He? Now think about this. Do you
think that the work men did at the cross had anything to do
with our salvation? I mean, they drove the nails.
They nailed Him to a tree. They pierced His side. They mocked Him. They did all
these different things to Him. But it was not what wicked men
did there at Calvary to the blessed Savior. It's what God was doing
at the cross. You see the difference? It pleased
the Lord to bruise Him. God planned the cross from all
eternity. The Lord was the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. The Lord planned the cross. The
Lord presided over the cross that day. That's a special day.
That's a special day. The Lord Almighty, God the Father
presided over that. cross that day, the Lord Jesus
Christ being convicted. You remember Pilate said, I have
power over you, I have power to release you, or to crucify
you. The Lord said, you don't have
any power over me. But that which God gives. You see, God was in
charge that day, wasn't he? He never vacated the throne.
God was in charge on that day. This is God's sacrifice to the
Lamb, that died for the sin of God's covenant people. substitution,
satisfaction, and his death was a particular death for a particular
people, a definite atonement, an effectual atonement only for
the elect. Why do you preach that? Why do
you preach that particular definite, a particular redemption and a
definite atonement? Why do you preach that? And why
do you teach that? Because that's what the book
teaches. He laid down his life for the sheep. Call his name
Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sin. Now, did he get it done? Was
his death an attempt to put away sin? It wasn't an attempt was
it? It was an atonement. He put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. So much so that God Almighty
said their sin and their iniquity will I remember No more. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses His people from all their sin. Aren't you glad that you have
a Savior that totally put away your sin, that appeared once
in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself? It pleased the Lord. To deal
with our sin in our substitute who made satisfaction to God's
holy law and justice on the behalf of God's people. God bought the
church with His own blood. Here's the third thing. Find
the book of Colossians. Now chapter 1. We're trying to answer the question,
what did it please the Lord to do? Colossians chapter 1. Look
at verse 19, Colossians chapter 1 verse 19, For it pleased the
Father that in him should all fullness dwell, all the fullness
of the Godhead in Christ, having made peace to the blood of his
cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By him I
say, whether they be things in earth or things in the heaven,
and you that were sometimes alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled unto God. It pleased the Lord
that all the fullness of God should dwell in the Lord Jesus
Christ and that's good news to us because look at chapter 2
Colossians chapter 2 verse 9 for in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him. See, it
pleased the Lord to do that. You're complete in Him, which
is the head and principality of all power. It pleased the
Lord to put all fullness in Him. Every spiritual blessing that
the Lord our God has for His covenant people is found in Christ,
is it not? What does Ephesians chapter 1
verse 3 say? God has blessed us with all spiritual
blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus the Apostle Paul
said flipping three old that I may win Christ and be found
in him Remember from John chapter 1 verse 6 Verse 14 says, The Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,
full of grace and truth. And then it says in that verse
16, Of His fullness have we all received grace for grace. What does that mean, grace for
grace? You see, there's a reason for grace. The reason for grace
is His grace. Grace because of grace. And it's
because of His fullness that we have His grace and that we
are complete in Him. There's another favorite scripture
I like over in Philippians where it says, My God shall supply
all your need, singular need, according to His riches in glory
through the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased God that all the fullness
of salvation, all the fullness of righteousness, all the fullness
of pardon to dwell in the Lord Jesus Christ and we are one with
Him. What's His is ours. Heirs of
God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the
fourth thing. What did it please the Lord to
do? Let's see if we can find now 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look at verse 18. We're trying
to answer that question. What did it please the Lord to
do? Verse 18. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved is
the power of God, the power of God into salvation. It is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For
after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe. The Jews require a sign, the
Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified under
the Jews, the stumbling block, under the Greeks' foolishness,
under them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the
power of God, Christ, the wisdom of God. It pleased God through
the preaching of the gospel to call out His sheep. How did you
learn the gospel? I was sitting out there under
an oak tree one day and boom, a branch hit me and I had a vision.
No, sir. No, sir. The Lord reveals the
gospel and teaches the gospel and calls his people with the
preaching of the word. Now, not the preaching of foolishness.
But what some people would call foolishness, the Lord has ordained
a preaching of the Gospel to call out His people. Don't ever
diminish the necessity of preaching the Word. Paul said, I'm determined
not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
When the Apostle Paul, remember, In 2 Timothy 4, when he was in
Rome in a dungeon waiting to be executed for the gospel, he
writes back to young Timothy and he says, Preach the word. Preach the word. Of his own will beget he us with
the word of truth. You see, there is that seed,
the word of God, that the Holy Spirit blesses to the hearts
of God's people. He said, my sheep, they hear
my voice. I know them and they follow me. When Paul talks about election
there in 1 Thessalonians, We said, Brethren, beloved, we know
your election of God. Well, Paul, how'd you know that?
For our gospel came not into you in word only, but it came
in power and with much assurance." You see, you heard the gospel.
Oh, it came through a man. It came through a vessel. But
my friend, it's an earthen vessel that the excellency of the power
may be of God. God speaks through His servant
to the hearts of His people and His sheep, they hear that. And
God uses that word to quicken, to regenerate, to make us new
creatures in the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased God to do it. Now,
that's why gospel preachers and those who preach the gospel of
God and sovereign grace preachers are the most evangelical group
of preachers you'll ever find. They'll go anywhere, anytime,
anybody to preach the gospel. One time God sent one man, Philip,
way down to a desert country to preach to one man. You see, the Lord, it pleased
God through preaching to save and to call out His people. That's
why we've done all this work we've done on Sermon Audio for
the last 12 years with Pastor Mahan's sermon. And we have radio
ministry, internet ministry, bulletin ministry, all these
different things, getting the Word out, getting the truth out,
who God is, who man is, how God saves sinners. He'll bless the
truth to the hearts of His people. Now, let me tell you this. The
Lord never uses lies. the lies of men to teach the
truth, does he? You can't learn the truth of
the gospel through a falsehood, through lies. The truth will
set you free. It's the truth, you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Do you know what
it takes God to reveal God? And that's what happens in regeneration.
He's hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto God. Revealed them unto His babes,
rather. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the
Lord. Now here's the last one. Here's the last one. Turn to
Galatians. Galatians chapter 1. And you
put a marker there in Galatians chapter 1 because the next message
will be brought from Galatians chapter 1. But here's the last
thing, answering that question, what did it please the Lord to
do? Look at verse 15. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Now, when will a sinner be saved? When will a sinner be saved?
Right there is the answer. When it pleases God. And you
know what? What pleases Him, pleases His
people. When it pleased God to reveal
His Son in me. You see, salvation is not by
man's free will. Man's will is not free. Man has
a will, but it's in bondage to his nature. Man's will is always
Downward, selfward, never Godward, and upward. Man's will is in
bondage to his nature. You see, it takes God to reveal
God. Now, thank be unto God for our
great Savior, our God and Savior, who is our great God, who is
good, and thank God and please the Lord Jesus Christ, to save
sinners by His grace. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. His unspeakable gift. This is
a faithful saying. It is, isn't it? Worthy of all
acceptation. That the Lord Jesus Christ, He
came to save sinners. He's not gonna lose one of his
sheep. I quoted earlier, all that the Father gives to me,
they will come to me, and those that come to me, I'll never cast
them out. Now I can rest there. I can rest
in Him. He is our great God. His name's
above every name. Now in your heart, before the
Lord, praise Him. Praise Him. He's worthy of it,
isn't He? Okay. Lord bless his word to
your heart.