the study that we had been doing
for so long a time there on the path of Peter. But I want to
go back to 2 Peter chapter 3. We read that through last week. And I wasn't led to say much
about it. I did make a comment or two,
but it wasn't much said about it. And as I was considering
what to bring next for a Bible study, we have a standalone this
morning. It's not a series. But there was a phrase there
in 2 Peter chapter 3. And I want to go back to that. I want to go back to that and
consider this statement in a greater depth. Would you look with me
at 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 and 9. Peter says, but, beloved,
but. Beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years."
He's talking about those who would come and mock us. Where is your God today? Where
was your God when those poor folks down there in Texas were
slaughtered? I've heard that said on the news. And I don't
blame those who don't know God to say that. I can't blame them
with the sorrow that's going through their hearts. Folks,
you think we have troubles, don't we? We have problems that we
live with. Pauli Mary, poor lady. She's
been dealing with this cough for so long, I can't even imagine
what that's like for her to go through that anymore. Folks who
have lost loved ones, loved ones who have taken their own lives,
loved ones who have been killed by others. My own brother, for
one. Loved ones who have died out
of what would seem to be an accident. Our dear Pastor Gene and his
wife losing one of their sons. I am so thankful I have not had
to deal with that. I've lost my father, but he was
of great age. We have so much, so many worldly
reasons to say, where is our God? You don't need to turn there
with me, but I want to read something for you from the Psalms, just
for just a moment. A man after God's own heart,
a man after God's own heart, cried these words out. My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Do you think he didn't feel that
when he wrote those words? When the Spirit of God inspired
him to write those words? Yes, that's exactly the words
of our Lord and Savior when He hung on that cross and He cried
out, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? If it be Thy
will, take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, Thy will be done.
But David had to feel those. He had to feel that kind of pain. And it's not just the pain of
the things around us on the outside. It's the pain that comes from
within. The pain of doubt. Do you have the pain of doubt? Do you have the pain of weakness,
knowing you can't stop what it is that's going through your
mind? Your imagination is doing things that you shouldn't be
letting it do? Be not ignorant of this one thing.
One day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is
one day. The Lord is not slack. This is verse 9 of 2 Peter chapter
3. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise. As some men count slackness.
Oh, you can't compare our Lord to the way we think, can we?
Our Lord's ways are so far above ours, we have no understanding
of its depth. Our Lord is not slack, but long-suffering. To who? To the world? No. To us-ward. You and I. all of his children,
all of those for whom he shed his blood on that cross, he is
long suffering, that every one of those, every one of the usward
should come to him. What does it say after that?
Not willing that any should perish, but that all, all of the usward
should come to repentance. To think that our Lord, the Lord
of all glory, the very creator of this universe, the one who
put me in my mother's womb. The very one who said, let it
be, and the worlds were there. We talk about a miracle. The
miracle of God's creation, putting the stars in place. This is the
power of God. The power of God of taking his
son right out of death's hands and conquering death, setting
him on the right hand of the throne on high. To think that he would think
on a worm, on a worm as I. Folks, that's beyond my ability
to comprehend. I understand why the Lord says,
Esau have I hated. What I don't understand is why
he didn't say that same phrase to John Reeves. You think Jacob was a this or
a that? I make Jacob look like an angel. People say, oh, you clean up
real well. You got that suit and tie on. You look nice. My
wife loves the way I look. Folks, I'm so thankful that you
can't see the inside of what's in this body. Why would he who creates everything
look upon me? Why would he consider me an usward? Well, I can tell you this, it's
not because of anything that's in this flesh. It's not because
of anything that's in this mind. It's not because of anything
that I've done. It's not because of anything that I've walked.
There's only one reason God would look upon us in a way that would
be favorable to us, and that's through His Son, the Lord Jesus.
This is the grace of God that we see our Savior as our everything. What do you mean, John? What
do you mean the Lord looks upon you? He looks upon me and all
of His children. If you belong to the Lord Jesus
Christ, He looks upon you just like this. Now, I want to do
something. I'm going to ask you, if you
would close your eyes for just a moment, And I want to read
a scripture for you from Song of Solomon. I want to read a
scripture of a conversation between the king and his bride. Folks, that's what we are. We're
the bride of Christ. Our Lord and Savior is the king. Listen to these words. It says
in Song of Solomon chapter 1 verses 8 through 17, if thou know not,
O thou fairest among women, if thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock.
and feed thy kids, thy she-goats, beside the shepherd's tents."
Don't take your flock's way out there. Come and eat the good
grass right next to my tent. Stay close to me. You are so
fair to me. Come close to me and stay. Come
to the good grass. I have compared thee, it says,
O my love. I have compared thee to a company
of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Can you imagine that? Think of
it for just a moment. The horses of the Pharaoh, do
you think they were some nags that you would see out here on
the side of the highway with big hunchback on them? You know
that's not the case. I'm not a big horse fan. But
I tell you, I see the beauty in that horse, Black Beauty.
That is a magnificent animal, is it not? You can see the muscle
tones in it. You know that that's what the
pharaoh had with something, probably five or six of those, if not
more. I compare you, my Lord says,
to the wonderful horses. Those beautiful animals that
Pharaoh has pulling his chariot. Pulling the golden rib around
the chariot, all covered in gold. The fancy wardrobe that he has
on. I compare thee, O my love, to
a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. He says next, he says,
thy cheeks are comely. with rows of jewels, thy neck
with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of
gold and studs of silver. Why, the king senteth at his
table my spark, and art senteth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved
unto me. Oh, your beauty, your smell,
to sit at your table, for you to sit at my table. This is what
our Lord is saying to you and I right now. We look upon the worm that God
looks upon His Son and sees the beauty of His Son when He looks
at you, and you, and you, and all of you. He looks at us. I swear to you, He looks at us
with love. Does that grab a hold of you?
Because we could be just like Esau running around out there
thinking that we're something, couldn't we? We could be just
like Cain bringing what we think is the right thing to our Lord,
couldn't we? That's the miry pit that our
Lord pulled us out of. and giving life to dead flesh. My beloved is unto me a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Enghedi. Big ol' luscious
bundle of green grapes. Thou art fair, my love. Behold,
thou art fair. Thou hast dove's eyes, behold,
thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant." Can you see the Lord
speaking with you in those words? Folks, our Savior has loved us
from the foundation of all creation. He has loved us so that He was
manifest in the likeness of man, in the likeness of flesh, God
became a man, but not just any man. No. He was perfect. He was perfect in every way.
Everything our Savior did pleased the Father. Everything you and I do in this
flesh does not. But we have a substitute who
has done it for us. He came to do his Father's will,
and that's exactly what he did. The 100% God, the 100% man, and
the 100% God in one body came to do his Father's will, and
that's exactly what he did. He did it perfectly. He accomplished
all that was needed for the people of God, the usward people, those
that he calls my people. Everything we needed to spend
an eternity with Him, praising His holy name, has been provided
for us by our Great Shepherd. Now, turn over to Mark, if you
would, chapter 2. Turn over to Mark, chapter 2, for
just a minute. It amazes me sometimes. I thought
for sure this would be done in 10 minutes. Over in Mark chapter 2, our Lord
not only thinks upon us, He exercises His power for us. We sang that
song, It Took America. It took the power of God to create
all that is. But it took the power of God
to bring righteousness, salvation to His people, not just in part,
but all of His power. It took the power of love and
the power of grace. Are you with me in Mark chapter
2? Look at verses 1 if you would. And again, He entered into Capernaum
after some days and was noised, and He was in the house. And
straightaway many gathered together in so much that there was no
room to receive them. No, not so much as about a door.
And he preached the word unto them. Did you notice that? He
preached the word. How are you going to call upon
him whom you've never heard? Oh, to see how our Lord Jesus
Christ, the greatest preacher that ever walked this earth,
preached the same message that all of his preachers preach,
and that is the word of Christ. He preached the word unto them,
and they come unto him, verse 3, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was born of four. And when they could not come
nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof, and
there he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the
bed wherein the sick and the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven. Our Lord's about to show us about
what power, the power of God is. But there were certain, verse
6, but there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning
in their hearts, why does this man, why does this simple man
who sits there in front of us, this one who is the carpenter,
the carpenter's son, why does he speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? God sat right before them and
they could not see Him. You couldn't see that the miracles
I did were miracles of God Himself,
because you are not My sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep
hear My voice. Isn't that what the Lord said
to those unbelieving Jews? Continuing on, Verse eight, and
immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned
within themselves, he said unto them, why reason ye? Why reason
ye these things in your hearts? Whether it be easier to say to
the sick and the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say,
arise and take up thy bed. And here comes the power of God
that we're talking about, but that ye may know. that the son
of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to the
sick and the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy
bed, and go thy way into thine own house." Catch this. Catch this. This is the power
of God. And immediately He arose up and
took the bed and went forth before them all, insomuch that they
were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw it
on this fashion." Now, look with me over at Ephesians chapter
1, please. Ephesians chapter 1. We're talking about the usward,
the power of God towards usward. The Apostle Paul brings out the
gospel of God's sovereign grace, expressing all things in Christ
in verses 3 through 10. But I want you to look over at
verses 17, 18, and 19 with me, if you would. He says that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in what? In what you've read in a book?
in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, verse 18, that ye may know what is the
hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to who? Us. You and I. The miracle of the new birth
is to the usward. Those who were chosen in Christ
before the world was created. Those for whom the scripture
says, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And those
that come to me I will in no wise cast out. The greatness of his power to
usward who believe. Do you believe? according to the working of his
mighty power." Now, what exceeding power God exercises upon those
that he loves. One more, if you would, please.
Turn over to Psalms. Psalms number 40. Again. We must never forget, folks,
the Psalms are messianic. What that means is that is the
Holy Spirit inspired the writer to write about the Lord, Savior,
Jesus Christ. But he used the tools, the instrument
of men. And in doing so, these ones who
wrote about what Christ would go through had to go through
that exact same thing. They were speaking from the heart.
giving an account of what they were going through, and the Lord
is using that to show pictures of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and
what He would go through. Here in chapter 40, the first
five verses, we read these words, I waited patiently for the Lord,
and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up
also out of the horrible pit and out of the miry clay. Now,
that was after the Lord Jesus died. And he sent me upon a rock,
and that is our Savior, and established my goings. He hath put a new
song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see
it and fear and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man
that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud,
nor such a turn aside as lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy
wonderful works, which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which
are to," to who? Usward. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they are more than can be embraced. When you think of
this phrase, usward, you must come to the conclusion that some
are and some are not. Not them. So who are the us? Am I one of the us-ward? I've been speaking lately with
a person who's been dealing with many, many trials in their lives.
They've been dealing with trials for a long time. Heavy trials. With, in, and without. And what I mean by that, the
world around us is without. within is right here. And the question comes up, am
I saved? I don't know if the Lord has
saved me, John. I have these thoughts in my mind.
I keep bringing these troubles upon myself. I think about that. Look back
upon your life. the life you had before the Lord
opened your eyes to the truth of His Word, before He brought
you into the fold of Jesus Christ and began to reveal His Son in
you. Think back to that. We should
never forget that pit that our Lord drew us out of. Never forget
what we were once before, because if we forget that, then we'll
forget the grace that we're receiving right now. Have you had those kind of trials
before? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I've had trials almost
all my life. I grew up this way. My parents
were this way. Things happened here with my
mom or my dad or a brother or husband. Oh, yeah. I've had plenty of trials for
a long, long time. I'm tired of the trials that
I've been going through. I'm weary. Are you weak and weary? Are you heavy laden? Take upon you the yoke of Christ. Why? Because His yoke is easy. There's nothing for you to do. Believe in the one who's done
it all. Those were trials without that
were shared with me. Were there any trials within?
Did you have any trials within you before the Lord called you
out of that which you once walked in and now you walk in the light
of Christ? Did you have any trials within? Well, not really. I mean, I'm an OK
person. I mean well. Yeah, I get myself
into trouble with the things around me, but within me, I'm
in actually pretty good shape. I'm really not that bad. Not
many trials within, huh? One of the things about being
a Christian, a true Christian, one who has come to know the
Lord Jesus Christ in an experiential way, is that we know that this flesh,
there is nothing good in it. And if you thought you had trials
before, you're still going to have the trials in that world
outside, which is all cursed. And that's why we have trials.
That's why we have death, isn't it not? Because of sin? The curse of sin? That's never
going to go away. People are going to die. People
are going to do things to others that hurt. You're going to step
in it a few times, and it's not going to get any better until
the Lord takes you out of this world. And here's even something
worse. You're going to have trials from
within now. Here's John talking to himself
now. I'm not going to share with you
what it was because I'm embarrassed, but I wasn't even sure if I was going to have
messages for you today. I thought I was going to have to
give you my resignation. I had to spend time this morning
asking the Lord for me to forgive, for Him to forgive me, because I am weak in the flesh. And I doubted. And I allowed
the devil to play his role in this world with my imagination. It bothered me so much that I
slept hardly all last night, and I got up this morning and
I had nothing. 5 o'clock, still nothing. 6 o'clock, nothing. Kathy comes in, are you doing
all right? No, I'm not. I got nothing. And I still don't
know if I have anything for you at 11 o'clock, folks. But the trials don't get any
easier. They get worse. But here's the
joy of that. You say, oh John, you're such
a downer. Yes. When it comes to the flesh,
it's a downer. But I've got a Savior who's already
paid it all for me. And by His grace, I can go to
His feet and lay my sin at His feet and know that He's got it.
lay my troubles at his feet and know that he's got it. Were there any trials within?
No, not really. What about now? Oh yeah, I caught
all kinds of them. That's the key to the yes word,
folks. Now you see the us word turned
to the holy place, the only place that they can turn to. I can't
turn to my family. I love you Kathy, but I can't
turn to my wife. The only thing I can do is go
to her and ask for forgiveness for me being me. But I can turn to my Savior.
Something I never did before. Do you remember when there was
a time when you didn't turn to the Savior and you said, oh,
I got unlucky the other day. Drank too much and ran my car
into a tree. Well, that's unlucky. I was lucky about it, though.
It didn't kill me. You get my point? That was the
way John turned to trials and tribulations before. Oh, what
a bummer. I'm so unlucky. There's so much
stuff going on around me right now. Now I can go to my Savior
in the privacy of my office and say, Lord, I'm sorry. Forgive
me. Forgive me. And I know you have. I know you've forgiven me and
your son because that that I just did, that that I just thought
was laid on him, it brings tears to my eyes because I don't want
to do that to my Lord. I love Him. Because He first
loved me, I want to do what's right. But I don't. The key to the usward is that
now we turn to the only place we can turn to, the Holy One
of God, Christ Jesus our Lord. And we can turn to Him because
He thinks towards usward. Before, there was a time we credited
luck or some other reason. Some other
nonsense, but now we know. We know Him. Listen to these words once again,
will you? 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9, the
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness. but is long suffering to usward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.