shall be the counselor, the mighty
prince of peace, of all earth's kingdoms conqueror, whose reign
shall never cease." You're about to see how that goes. perfectly
with the message. It wasn't until in the middle
of the study for our Bible study that I noticed that my Bible
study went right along perfectly with the message also. In fact,
there's going to be several scriptures I'm going to refer to, but listen
to the scriptures that we just read for scripture reading. "...lifted
up their voice, the floods lifted up their voice, the Lord on high
is mightier than the noise of many waters." Our God rules over the waters. He says to your and my hearts,
to the waves that bang on the side of our ships, our little
ship going through the sea of life, He says, peace be still. Oh, how I pray that our Lord
does that for you this morning. Last week, Actually, I'd like
to ask you to turn, if you would, to the 17th chapter of John. And I'd like to once again bring
a message of peace. And may it please the
Lord that brings peace to the hearts of His people. A particular
rest to the souls of His elect. A message that the Lord of all
glory would take and apply that peace to the hearts of His people
and conviction to those who are yet still lost. Last week we
considered man's nature. Man's true nature, a nature of
keeping busy, always looking to what comes next. Never able,
never really able to sit back and have a rest. We're finishing
up one of the smaller projects in our renovation next door. It's almost there. It's almost
there. But as soon as that one's done,
there's another part to start next. We patched the roof. with a wonderful man who volunteered
to come by and help me patch it. But there's another project
right around the corner. I had to change the water faucet
in the men's room and now I've got to change some stuff in the
ladies room in the hall. So there's always something to
do. And I bet you, I'll bet you each and every one of you are
sitting there going, yeah, I got that same stuff in my place.
Yeah, we got, oh man, I got to get out there and cut those weeds
that are growing up. I got to do this. It's in our
nature. It's our nature. Find something
to do, even if it's to get up like our dear brother Gene Harmon
and go out and sit on the porch and watch the cars go by. What
have I got to do today? I get to go out there and watch those
cars go by today. Oh yes, we all have things to do. We're
never really able to accept true rest. We also considered and presented
to ourselves the fact that we are helpless, that we are bankrupt,
a fact of inability. There are some things that we
just cannot do anything about. Cancer. Seems like this virus, there's
really nothing you can do about that either. Those who had both
shots are still sick with it. Have them go to the hospital.
I'm going to pray for Shirley's brother who is now home, by the
way, and getting better each day. Things that we can't even do
anything about. But even worse, we are bankrupt and we have no
inability to do anything in spiritual matters. In fact, we are in darkness. We come into this world in darkness.
Dark as a grave. You ever been to a place where
you can put your hand in front of your face and you can't see it at
all? Then the light comes on and there's your hand. That's
what spiritual matters are to you and I before the Lord does
a work in the hearts of His people. It's like having leprosy. Leprosy
was a disease that's pretty much eradicated from the world today.
I've heard that there are some cases that have returned, but
it's just here and there. But at one time, it was quite
rampant in the world. See, there's always been viruses
and some kind of sickness that has been rampant in the world.
That's never going to go away. The world that we walk on is
cursed. When Adam sinned, the Lord cursed everything of creation. It's all going to burn up. Moral
cannot put on immortality. We're dead and trespassed into
sin, and being filled with our sin, like leprosy, covering every
inch of our soul, every thought, even the point that we will not
come to the Most High. Even to the point that His ways
are an offense to our very being. We all understand, as people
who have been given sight to see the truth of God, that there
was a day that we were blind and we said, I will not have
that God, the true God of Scriptures, rule over this man. Even though
He did. And He does. In John 5, verse 39-40, we read
this, "...Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me, and ye will
not come to Me that ye might have life." There is none, it
says in Romans 3.11, that understand it. There is none that seeketh
after God. I got into a little bit of a discussion with a friend
of mine that had been asking questions, knowing that I'm a
pastor. He played golf with me. I love him dearly. He's a wonderful
man. But he is wrong when it comes
to spiritual matters. When he said something to me
about it being the choice, I had to say something. I said, no,
it's not our choice. Our choice would condemn us to
hell. If left to ourselves, we would
be going down that path of destruction to what we deserve, what we have
earned, the wrath to come, God's judgment on sin. And I told him, I said, it's
not our decision. There are none that seeketh after
Him. That's God's Word, not mine.
You want to argue with it? Go argue with your Creator. The
declaration is this, there is none that understand it, there
is none that seeketh after God, and then in Romans 8 verse 7
we read this, because the carnal mind is in the teeth... enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can
be. Neither indeed can be. All mankind, folks, are born
into sin. The fall of Adam. It threw all
of mankind into condemnation. Sin is our very nature. We're
not sinners because we sin. We sin because we're sinners. Did your mom and dad teach you
to lie? Did they ever come to you and say, did you do this?
And you said, no, I didn't. Well, who taught you to say that?
Who taught you to do that? It was our nature. Here's what it says in the Old
Testament. You think that's only in the New Testament? Here's
what it says in the Old Testament. Psalms 58.3. The wicked are estranged
from the womb. They go astray as soon as they
be born, speaking lies. Yet there is one. And this is the good news. There
is one who walked this earth that had no wickedness. There
was no guile found in his mouth. He knew no sin. One who walked
perfectly, one who pleased the Father, the spotless Lamb of
God, and that one is the very one praying in these words that
we're going to read right now. Look with me again at John chapter
17. Let's read 1-5 once again. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up His eyes to heaven, and He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee. What hour? What hour is coming?
The hour where our Lord will go to the cross and shed His
blood for our sins. The hour that our sins will be
washed away from the sight of God forever. Every sin that you
have committed today, Every sin that you will commit
from now to the day the Lord takes you out of this world has
been covered by our Lord and Savior. That's the hour that
has come. Verse 2, And as thou hast given
Him, given our Lord and Savior power over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him. Oh, isn't it wonderful? Do you not take joy and praise
for our Lord that some are saved? Does not the mercy of God ring
out to your hearts when you hear that some shall be saved? And this is like eternal, verse
3, that they might know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified thee, he says
in verse 4, on the earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. This morning I bring before you
a finished work part 2. Here is the very one who shall
save his people. The very one who is down praying
to the Father. Do you think the Lord God the
Father hears His Son? They're one. John, of course. God the Father hears every word
for every word is exactly what God the Father would be saying. Oh Father, I have glorified Thee
on the earth. I have finished the work to do.
He's praying for you and I, this One who shall save His people.
He shall save His elect. He shall save all of those for
whom the Father has given Him. Listen to the words of Matthew
1 verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son,
speaking of Mary, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall,
not maybe, not might, but shall save his people. Salvation is
of the Lord. The salvation of God's chosen
people is a finished work. It's done. Mark your text here
in the book of John, chapter 17, and turn with me, if you
will, to the 19th chapter of John. Just a couple of pages
over. To the right. It is a furnished work. It is
done. And I can say that because God Almighty knows exactly what
His Son was going to do. The fact that He gave His Son
a people was on the covenant that His Son would become flesh.
Establish a righteousness for this people and then shed his
own blood for them. And look here at verse 28 if
you would of John chapter 19. Now there was a vessel of vinegar
and they filled a sponge of vinegar upon Hithop and put it to his
mouth. And when Jesus therefore had
received the vinegar, he said, listen to these words, It is
finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Now, I'm going to have you turn...
I'm going to have you... I'm going to have you first turn over to
Hebrews chapter 2, or chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. And I'd like to read a couple
verses here. My desire this morning is to call the people of God,
the people of God who have already been called by His power, by
His Spirit, the people of God who have been given sight to
see the truth, but I want to call God's people who may be
hearing the Gospel for the first time. I don't know where these
recordings are going to go up, I don't know who here truly has
heard the Word of God for the first time preached to their
hearts. So the call goes to both. God's
people awake and God's people asleep. I would call you today
to a day to a rest. If you look here in Hebrews chapter
4, let's begin at verse 2. For unto us was the gospel preached,
as well unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. For we which have believed do enter into a rest, as he said,
as I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall enter into my
rest, although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world." We're talking about a finished work. For he
spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and
God did rest the seventh day from all his work. And in this
place again, if they shall enter into my rest, seeing therefore
it remaineth that some must enter therein, those who have not crossed
that path yet, the ones who have not been brought by God's almighty
Spirit to know the truth of his word, and they whom it was first
preached entered not because of unbelief, Verse 7, And again
he limiteth it a certain day, saying, And David, today, after
so long a time, as it is said, Today, if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that
is entered into his rest, He also hath ceased from his own
works as God did from His. Now, if you would, turn over
to Ephesians chapter 1. Again, my desire is to call the
people of God to rest, to put away our rags of unrighteous
works, to lean on the perfect everlasting arms of our Savior,
our Substitute, To trust our Savior's words. To trust His
grace alone. To have no confidence in the
flesh that you walk in. To trust His love. To trust this
man, the God-man who declares to God the Father, the work of
righteousness, the work of fulfilling His holy law for His people is
finished. Hebrews in chapter 10, you don't
need to turn there, verses 12 through 14, but this man, speaking
of that one I was just speaking of, the God-man, but this man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for the sins forever, sat down
on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting to his enemies
be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Folks, the work's done. God looks
at each and every one of us perfectly. I know that's hard to say. I
know that's hard to see. Especially when you look in that
mirror and you see what's before you in the flesh. But just as Peter, and I brought
this out in Friday Night Bible Study, just as Peter took his
eyes off the Lord while he was walking on water, and he began
to sink, I pause because I want you to
think about that. As Peter began to see, God reached
down and grabbed a hold of him. He will not let us go. The Father is the one who gave
us to him and nobody can pluck them from the Father's hand.
Romans 8 verse 1 it says, there is therefore now no condemnation. When you look in that mirror
and you see the flesh and the sin of your flesh, there is no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And then
we read in Romans 8, verses 32-35, He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything, it says,
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of God? Folks, salvation is not an offering. God is not placing He's saying,
here, come and get it. Here's your medication on the
side of your ink table next to your bed. Reach over and take
it. That's not what He's saying. He's saying, I have saved you.
I have shed my blood for you. He's sitting on His throne right
now saying, I paid the price for that one. Does it break your heart? With
joy? Salvation is not an offering.
It's a declaration. The only question is who are
the us? Am I one of the us? Could I be? Could I be one? I know I don't
deserve it. I know if I look in that mirror,
I can't see it. But when I look into His Word,
When I look into the Word of Truth and see His love for me,
I think I could be one. And everything He has in His
Word starts to make me birth with joy. Who are they asked
that He shall freely give all things that I just read about
in Romans 8? Are you with me in Ephesians
chapter 1? You know, I gotta say this every time we go to
the scripture. Tom Sawyer, he loved this scripture so much.
He could read scripture five times in one week and read the
same scripture. That's how good this chapter
1 of Ephesians is to a sinner. Who shall be saved? Who are the whosoever that believeth
on him, spoken of in John 3.16. Look at verses 3-4 of Ephesians
chapter 1. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Everything that those
who go to heaven will receive is because of Jesus. Nothing you can do. He's already done it all. It's
a finished work. Verse 4, according. Don't you
love that word according? It means that because of this.
Because of this is what it's about to say. Because as He hath
chosen us in Him, in the Son, Before the foundation of the
world, before any star ever twinkled in the sky, our names were written
in that Book of Life. That's His Word. He says that.
He's the One who tells us that. Are you starting to feel the
peace of our Lord and Savior? Knowing that our God has done
that for us? according as He hath chosen us
in Him, in the Christ the Lord, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame. There is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ." No blame before Him. Oh no, let's stop there at verse
4. for just a moment and ask this
next question. So here we see that those who are the whosoever that believeth
on Him. Those who are the who, the us,
whom He speaks of that He'll give all things freely to. Those
are the elect, the chosen of God. Those who were found in
Christ Jesus, who were put there before the foundation of the
world. How shall they be saved? Now look at verse 5, actually
the end of verse 4. In love. In love, it says. having predestinated us unto
the... Folks, our Lord has loved us
with an everlasting love. That means it was in love that
He predestinated us to be to the adoption of Jesus Christ.
The children of Jesus Christ to Himself. And why? According. There's that word again. According.
Why? Because to the good pleasure
of His will. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. That
goes right along with that, doesn't it? It kind of backs it up and
gets a lot of power behind it. It's the power of God. It's His Word. Verse 6, to the praise of the
glory of His grace. Oh, for grace! How great a debtor! wherein He hath made us, there's
the us, accepted in the Beloved, His Son, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. How shall we know How shall we know if we are the
elect? If we are the chosen? If we are the us? Look at verses 8 through 9. Wherein
he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Folks, Jesus Christ is our wisdom. I'm cringed when people have
asked me questions. You know, I'm an unlearned man.
I haven't been to any super college to learn all the details of how
to study and how to memorize this and that and this and that.
So I cringe when people come to me and ask me questions about
scriptures. Almost every time I'm asked,
I have to say, can I get back to you? God hasn't given me a great memory.
Can I get back to you? And I have to go to the Book
of Wisdom. But that's okay because I know where to go. Right Mike? I know where the truth is. It's
not in some guy who's standing down here in a pulpit talking
to thousands of people saying, won't you come forward? Won't
you accept Jesus? It's not in something of any
man that might say anywhere in any pulpit, it's in the Lord's
Word, Jesus Christ, the Word of God. He is our wisdom. Wherein he hath abounded. abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will
according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. What is this mystery He speaks
of? Look over at verse 17 and 19 of Ephesians chapter 1. That
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ The Father of glory may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and the revelation and the knowledge
of Him. How are you going to call on
somebody you've never heard? How are you going to believe? How
are you going to call upon this One that you've never heard of
unless somebody's standing before you and preaches about Him? I know I'm just flapping around
on top of the water. I know, brother. I know. I know
what I'm saying to you is not deep. And you're right, Brother
Mike. There are some deep nuggets in
the Word of God. But I find that those deep nuggets
are usually revealed to the people of God as they go in in their
own personal study time. The gospel is something that
needs to be preached with simplicity that even a child can understand. That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom, the revelation, and the knowledge of Him, the eyes
of your understanding, being enlightened that ye may know
what is the hope of His calling, and what riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to us-ward who believe. Usward who believe according. There's according again. It's not according to my will. It's not according to my works.
It's not according to my attempt to work out my own salvation. It's according to the working
of His mighty power. If God before us, who could be
against us? He will do a work in the hearts of His people.
Folks, the Lord Jesus, knowing all things, asked Peter this
question, Who do people say that I am? Why do you think the Lord
asked him that? He already knew what the answer
was. It's so that Peter would answer this answer, so you and
I could come in these hundreds, and how many ever years it's
been since Peter walked this earth in that time, a little
over 2,000 years ago, And we would read this and understand
by His revelation of His Spirit, who do the people say that you
are? Well, Peter first answered, some say you're one of the prophets,
Elijah, Jeremiah, whatever. Well, Peter, who do you say that
I am? Oh! The Son of the Living God! Our Creator! Our Savior! That's who you are! Blessed are
you. Blessed are you folks that believe
that and know that in your heart because God the Father has revealed
it unto you. You didn't just get smarter some
day. Trust me, I know about getting smarter. It don't work. God has to reveal these things
to the hearts of dead people. He has to give life to that heart
before it can accept the call. Come! Come unto Me, and we will
come. I ask you this morning, who do you say? And I don't mean
with this mouth. I mean with the heart. Who do you say He is? What think ye of Christ? Go back to our text if you would
please. Our text in John chapter 17. Our subject matter for today
is a finished work. I don't know that I can finish
talking to you about this in today's message only. There could
be a very possibility that it will be a part 3 next week. Look at verses 9 and 10 with
me if you would. We've already covered last week
verses 6 through 8. So look with me at verses 9 and
10. Our Lord is saying, now remember our Lord is praying. It's what
I call the Lord's Prayer, or one of the Lord's Prayers, because
He is the One who is praying for me. He is the One who is
making intercession for His people. He says, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me. Oh, how I want you to have peace
in this life knowing that God is praying for you. And if He's
praying for you, everything is yours. All of time, all of creation
is for you. Including the mess that we think
there is. You want to stop being bothered
by it? Turn the TV off, John! Turn the stupid phone yahoo off,
John! I'm talking to myself because
I know. You want peace? Turn to the Lord
who is the Master of all peace. And pray for them. For them that
thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine,
and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. Our Lord is
glorified in you and I. How can that be? Because for
eternity. Forever. we will praise hallelujah
to our savior for his mercy and grace for us Lazarus you remember I think
it was a week or two back I brought a message and we talked a little
bit about Lazarus the beggar and the rich pharisee
and the rich pharisee was in hell and he saw Lazarus where
Remember where he saw Him? In Abraham's bosom. I thought
about that for a bit today as I was looking through and studying. Abraham's bosom. God Almighty's
bosom. His heart. He was in His heart. We've always been in God's heart.
We just didn't know it. Folks, the more we see this,
the more our Lord brings us to understand this, the more we
see the weaknesses that we have in this flesh and turn to our
Savior, the stronger our peace shall be. Our Lord, the Lord of Glory,
prays for those who are His. All those for whom the Father
hath given Him. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
7 if you would please. You can leave John 17, Hebrews
chapter 7. Excuse me a moment. Again, I pray that the Lord will give
you peace and assurance this day, this day and age when evil
seems to triumph all around us, when wickedness is rampant, when
evil is called good and good is called evil. I tell you folks,
this is the way of the world. It will wax worse and worse.
We have that promise from God. It's in His Word. It will wax worse and worse in
the days to come. Or maybe the peace that you need
is the peace of the heart. Maybe you seek peace from the
battle between your flesh and your spirit. Lord, I believe Help thou my
unbelief. I want you to see this morning,
there's only one place to find true peace. For anything, and
that is looking into the Word of God, the Prince of Peace.
The mediator between God and man. the Christ Child, the Messiah,
the High Priest, look to Jesus the Lord. If you desire this
peace, He, our Lord and Savior, must make intercession for you. He must call you to this intercession. It is because He has given you
this desire. The Lord God does not offer faith. Man does not conjure up some
kind of faith. It says in Ephesians 2 verse
8-9, For by grace are you saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest man should boast. Faith is given. It is given with
power of the Almighty Creator, and therefore it is faith that
will be received. I didn't have any choice to believe
God. My choice would have been to
get up and walk out of this church that day and say, that God will
not rule over me. But yet He did rule over me,
and He gave His faith to me as a gift, and I received it because
of Him. And so does everyone else. Are you with me in Hebrews chapter
7? Read with me if you would, beginning at verse 19. For the law made nothing perfect. How many churches are out there
telling you if you would just start following the law, love God with all your heart,
you can do it? No, you can't. For the law made nothing perfect
but the bringing in of a better hope. I can't follow the law,
so I hope on the one who did it. That's the better hope. It's a hope in somebody who can,
who did, and finished the work for me. A better hope by which we will
draw nigh unto God, verse 20, and as much as not without an
oath, he was made priest. Now a priest is one who goes
into the holiest of holies and sprinkles the blood of the offering
on the mercy seat. Our Lord and Savior is the High
Priest. It is His blood that He sheds
on the mercy seat, which is Him. The very day that He died on
the cross, when He gave up that ghost, the veil was ripped wide
open to all who may come. for those priests were made without
an oath." And then I'll get to this, folks. I apologize. I'm
going to go just a little long, not to... Without an oath, but
with this, an oath by Him that said unto Him, The Lord swear
and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament. And they truly were many priests
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.
But this man, this Lord Jesus, this surety, this better testament,
because he continuous ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. All
those other priests were just pictures of the real priest. Wherefore, verse 25, He is able
also to save them to the uttermost. Oh, I love that. I need that. Because my sins are not just
some little one here and there. My sins are great. And no, I'm
not going to share them with anybody. God knows them. And He saves His people to the
uttermost. that come unto Him by Him, seeing
He liveth to make intercession for them. This is talking about
the very prayer that our Lord is praying. I pray for them,
not the world, but for them that Thou hast given Me. For 26, for
such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifices, first his own sins, and then
for the people's. For this he did once, when he
offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests,
which have infirmity, but the word of the oath, which was sent
to the law, maketh The Son who is consecrated forever. Now let's
go on to chapter 8, verses 1 and 2. Now of the things which we
have spoken, this is the sum. All that we've just read there
about the priest, this is the sum of all that. This is the
result of all that. We have such a high priest who
is set on the right hand of God, of the throne, of the majesty
in the heavens. a minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle, the tabernacle of God who lives in the hearts
of His people, which the Lord pitched, and not man. Now look over, if you would,
to chapter 9. We'll just read a couple of verses
there, and I'll wrap it up. Chapter 9, beginning at verse
24. Chapter 9, verse 24, where am
I? For Christ is not entered into the holy places with hands,
which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself. We're talking about a finished
work. Our Lord said it was finished when He was on that cross. But
He's sitting in heaven right now declaring it is finished. For Christ has not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the presence
of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place
every year with blood of the others. For then must he often
have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now, Now, once
in the end of the world, hath He appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of Himself. And it is appointed unto men
once to die, but this is the judgment. So Christ was 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, I want
to do one more thing if you would. Have you got today's bulletin? On the inside page, down on the
bottom left hand corner is an article, a short article. I believe
it was used not too long ago, but this is so good. This is again, as you heard me
say at the beginning of the message, you see how the Lord works all
things out like this? Look how the Lord put this. I
had no idea that this message was going to be brought this
way when the article was put in here. Listen to these thoughts
from Titus 3.5 where our Lord says, Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the
washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
David Edmondson writes these words considering God's message
there. I recently, he wrote, had someone
ask me if I trusted in works. Do you trust in works? David writes, my first reaction
was to say, God forbid. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no. I don't trust in works. But listen to these words. But
I answered it this way. He says, yes. I trust in works, but they are
not my works. They are not my works. I trust
in the work of the Lord Jesus. I trust in Him and what He did
for sinners like me. He did for me what I couldn't
do for myself. He worked out a perfect righteousness
for me. I trust Him and His works alone
for all my salvation. His works are now my works. Is that not good stuff, folks? I sure pray the Lord. You know,
again, I just said this a moment ago, it amazes me how God works
everything out. My wife chose this closing psalm,
and how perfectly it works out with what we just heard. Oh, I pray for me, and you as well,
that it is well with your soul. But if it is, it's only because
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's not anything within
us. It's all within Him.