Good morning. I'm so thankful
for worship. So thankful for an opportunity
to sing in a congregation of people who are of light, precious
faith, and enjoy the congregational singing together. I enjoyed the
reading of the scripture. wherever Ben is. Thank you. And
I enjoyed that song, too. Thank you. I pray that our Lord
might truly be glorified today and every time we gather in His
name. I'm very, very grateful to have
been here this weekend and very grateful for all of your effort.
Thank you for all the food and all the hospitality. So, so thankful. Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. And I want
to tell you that this message, this morning, is for believers. I would like to make, before
we even get into it, I just want to make that very clear. This
message is for believers, and I pray that we are all believers. I mean that. I want every soul
in this room, no matter how old or how young, to be a believer. And if we have never been believers
to this point, I pray honestly that the Lord today would make
all of us to be believers. For a believer who has been made
to know that he or she is an absolute, utter sinner before
God, And the only hope of forgiveness
that he or she has is if God the Father chose to save him
or her. And God the Son died to redeem
him or her. And God the Spirit has effectually
called him or her back to the fellowship of God. for the soul
that believes that it was God's will, God's work, and God's way. That's what a believer believes.
We're talking about being a believer. It was God's will. Salvation
was God's will. And it was God's work and it
was God's way. For a believer who truly believes
the words that have proceeded out of the mouth of God. God Almighty, the Sovereign God. For that person, there is no
greater comfort than hearing and trusting these words of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that He is actually speaking these words
to me. Alright? Directly to me. Being
able to believe in my heart. He is saying this to me. Look
with me if you would at the end of verse 20. The very end of
the book of Matthew. Our Lord said, I am with you
always. Even unto the end of the world. Amen. Lord God Almighty, speak that
to our hearts. I pray the Lord might speak to
our hearts today. What comfort that honestly brings. What peace that brings to the
heart. What peace, because God's people
know that in their flesh, according to their own desire and their
own will, this is what they said to Him. And this is sad. This is heartbreaking, but this
is true. God's people know. Believers
know this. That in their own will and in
their own desire, they said to Him, I'm not with You. In their flesh, they said, I reject You. All men and women by nature.
Once they hear of the true and living God, and I'm not talking
about the little G God that men and women have made up in their
mind who does what they want them to do. I'm talking about
the God who is God. The God who kills, makes alive,
wounds, heals, heals, chooses one, not another. The God who
raises up if He wants to abase. I'm talking about God. Man by nature says, I don't want
that God. No, no, that's not my God. I
reject that God. I reject you. Man by nature,
the flesh, says, I despise you. How hard is that? I don't even like telling you
this. But we know it's so. We know
it so. I condemn myself. Isaiah 53 says,
He was despised and rejected of me and you. We hid, as it
were, our faces from Him. The flesh says, I'm at enmity
with you. I'm an enemy of you. I choose darkness over you. That's
what the flesh says. Men love darkness rather than
light. Light came into the world. What did men want? I'll take
darkness. I'll literally choose damnation over you. I choose torment and absolute
destruction over you. And I'm talking about God's children.
All men, all flesh is grass. Man in His sinful flesh cried
to Him, leave me alone, leave me alone. But God, who is so rich in mercy, for
His great love wherewith He loved us, in spite of our feelings
toward Him, even when we were dead in that sin, this is what
He cried, I'm not going to do it. Leave me alone. Leave me
alone. I reject you. I don't want anything
to do with you. Leave me alone. He cried, I'm
not going to do it. This is not your will be done,
it's my will be done. That's what he cried. It's not
thy will be done, it's my will be done, and this is my will.
Alright? This is my will. I will receive
you to myself. I will be near to you. I will
love you and I'll be your friend. I will shine the glorious countenance
of my face on you. I'll bring the light of truth
to you. I'll put a love in your heart
for it. I'll save you from all of your
damnation and all of your destruction. I'll deliver you from all of
your torment and all of your wrath to every single one of
God's people." This is what he cries to them. I am with you
always, even until the end of the world. I just cannot imagine a more
comforting thing to hear than that. That is a child of God's greatest
desire, to be with Christ. After he's conquered, after,
like that Gadarean man, after God sits us down, clothes us
in his righteousness and puts us in our right mind, that Gadarean
said, please let me get in the ship with you. Our greatest desire, after He
does that for us, after we hear Him say, I'm with you always,
our greatest desire is to say, Amen, I want to be with you.
I just want to be with you. Isn't that it? If we get to the
heart of this, isn't that it? We just want to be with you.
That's an amazing work. That's an amazing change. When the Father draws a sinner
to Christ, nobody can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father
draws that sinner to Christ. And when the Father draws that
sinner to Christ, He causes that sinner to fall in love with Him. That's the draw. That literally
is the draw. God's people fall in love with
a person. They don't just come to a knowledge
of election. They do have that knowledge.
But that's not the draw. I know a lot of people who believe
in election and have missed Christ. When the Father draws a sinner
to Christ, that sinner falls so in love with Him. Do you know
or remember what it felt like, what it feels like to fall in
love? I fell in love with somebody
right here in this town. Right here in this building.
On that pew. You remember what it feels like
to fall? We're still in love, but I remember what it felt like
to fall in love. You can't stop thinking about
the person. You just can't focus on what you need to focus on
because you can't stop thinking. And you don't know at first if
they feel exactly the same way you do. So you can't eat, your
stomach hurts, your heart hurts. Isn't that right? And then you
find out that person does feel the same way that you do. And
then you can't do anything because you're tired all the time. You're
staying up too late. You can't go home. You just want
one more kiss. I used to think, man, they're
going to get so mad at me. I need to go home. But the thing is that I just
wanted to be with her. That's the draw. When the father
draws a sinner to Christ, that's what happens. She says to him, this is the
bride's union with the heavenly husband, she says to him, you
have ravished my heart. And he says to her, all that
I am and have, I give to you. He says, I'll love you forever. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. I'm with you always, even to
the end of the world. Now, if we are sinners saved
by the free gift of God, with no hope in ourselves, and all
of our hope in the blood of the one who loved us and gave himself
to redeem us, Then I want us to read a few scriptures together. We're going to go through a few
verses, and I want us to find some comfort in seeing and knowing
that He is with us always. He's with us always. He always
has been. He always will be. He is right
now. He is right now, even unto the
end of the world. Turn with me first to Psalm 23. Psalm 23 verse 1 says, The Lord
is my shepherd I shall not want. Doesn't that bring comfort to
your heart? Don't you want a shepherd to pin you in? Just keep a watchful
eye over you, feed you, protect you. The Lord is my shepherd I shall
not want. Verse 2 says, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still
waters, the green pastures, the still waters of His Word. Verse
3 says, He restoreth my soul in Him. He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His namesake. It's His righteousness for His
namesake. Now David said in verse 4, Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil. And this is the reason why. It's
because you're with me. He said, I'm with you. Thou art with me. He said, even
though death is all around me, and even though I have to walk
through that dark valley myself, He said, I'll fear no evil. I
won't fear any evil. For thou art with me. He said,
that's my comfort in that. You're with me. For true believers
on Christ, who have been caused to sincerely cast their all on
Him, as we watch our dear loved ones, our dear brethren, go through
the valley of death, And as we go through it ourselves, we can take comfort in knowing
that the Lord Jesus Christ is with us in that moment. He said,
I'll come get you and receive you to myself. We passed through spiritual death
with Him on the cross of Calvary. We passed through the valley
of death, spiritual death with the Lord Jesus Christ on the
cross of Calvary. And when it's our turn to go
through this physical, whatever it is, He'll be with us. He'll
be with us. Isaiah 43, 2, the Lord said,
When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. Through the rivers, they shall
not overflow you. Doesn't it bring so much comfort
to you to know when that moment comes, the Lord is going to be
with us. As long as He's there, there's
going to be nothing to fear, there's going to be no sting,
there's no pain, no sorrow. That moment is joy, peace, comfort,
happiness. He's with us in death. Alright,
turn with me over to Psalm 139. Psalm 139, verse 13. It says, For thou hast possessed
my reins, thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise
thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are
thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was
not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously
raw in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my
substance, yet being unperfect. And in that book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there
was none of them." All right, now look at verse 17. "'How precious
also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of
them? If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. You think about his thoughts
toward his people. You have somebody you love. How
often do you think about that person? We have a beach that
we like to go to very much in North Carolina. And we were there
in July. And I was sitting on the beach
thinking about this verse of scripture. And I reached down
and I grabbed some sand. And I didn't get a big handful.
I just, you know, got a palm full and I got a broken shell.
I had a sharp point on it. And I had it in my mind I was
going to count the sand in my hand. I immediately realized
this is not going to happen. Sand is much smaller than you
think it is. So I got a little pinch, like a pinch of salt,
and just put a little pinch right there. And I stopped counting
at a thousand. And then I dumped all that sand
back out and I looked at all that sand. David said, if I could
count your thoughts toward me, it's more in number than the
sand. And then he said in verse 18,
the end of it, he said, when I awake, I'm still with thee. I'm still with you. There's a good illustration right
there. Cry out to the Lord. He'll come. He's with you. I
want you to be with me. Please come down here and be
with me. It's true. Cry out to Him. And don't stop crying. Every morning when we wake up,
He's still with us. We wake up thinking, I ruined
yesterday. Guess what? I'm going to ruin
today, too. He's still with me. He's still with me. Great is
His faithfulness. So pitiful is mine. Great is
His faithfulness. Go with me over to Lamentations
3. I don't hear any crying anymore. Only peace and happiness and
joy. Lamentations 3 verse 21. This I recall to my mind, therefore
have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. because his compassions fail
not. They are new every single morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul, therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord. Our Lord is with us, not only
in death, but He's with us in life. Every morning. Every day that we're living on
this earth. Go over to Isaiah 41. Isaiah 41. Verse 10, Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. When can we cling to that promise? Right now. Fear not. I'm with you. Don't be dismayed. I'm your God. He said, I will
strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. That's
Jesus Christ. Behold, all they that were incensed
against thee shall be ashamed and confounded. They shall be
as nothing. And they that strive with thee
shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt
not find them, even them that contended with thee. They that
war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught.
Verse 13 says, For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right
hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. So much compassion in that. So
much tenderness. Verse 14, He said, Fear not thou
worm, Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord,
in thy redeemer, your God and your Savior, the Holy One of
Israel. The Lord is with us in all of
our affliction. All of our affliction. We're
going to have to endure affliction in this life. But he said, while
you do, I will sit right beside you and I will hold your hand. And I will whisper into your
ear, fear not, I'm with you. I'm doing this. He said, the
whole time you're going through it, I'll sit right there and
I'll say to yourself, this is me. It is I. Be not afraid. This is for your good. This is for the furtherance of
my gospel. This is for the purpose of calling
out my sheep. I'll never leave. I promise you'll be happy. Fear not. In every affliction,
in every trial that we go through, He is with us. He is with us. Even in those moments that we
don't know He's there. Even when we think He is so far
away from us. At all times, in all moments,
He's with us. He said, I am with you always. Always. And He says, if you want
to know that that is so, you can hear My voice in My Word. If you want to hear His voice,
open His Word. Just open His Word. To every
sinner in need of his or her Savior, Christ says, because
you're Mine, I'm with you always. Now, look with me at Luke 23. Verse 33 says, And when they were come to the
place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and
the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots, And the
people stood beholding, and the rulers also with them derided
him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself, if he be
Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked
him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou
be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription
also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and
Hebrew, This is the King of the Jews. And one of the malefactors
which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save
thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we
receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done
nothing amiss, without any cause of his own, only because of his
love and his grace and his heart of mercy that he had for us. He made himself to be with us on the cross of Calvary. He united
Himself with us in the feeling of all of our infirmities, all of our griefs, all of our
sorrow, all of our sin before God. He was with us in bearing
all of our judgment. Just like, don't you love the
story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? I just love that story so much.
Thought, I'm going to have my will and my way. That's what
I'm about to do. But the king's heart was in the
hand of the Lord. And the Lord told that man, bind
my beloved. Heat the furnace seven times
hotter. Slay your own soldiers in the process. Throw them in
there. And don't you know, And when
Nebuchadnezzar looked in, he said, didn't we throw three men
in here? I said, four. Don't you know
the Lord was telling those three men the whole time? I said, okay,
I'm here. And Nebuchadnezzar said, they're
walking around. And he said, the fourth one looks
just like Jesus Christ. How did he know what Jesus Christ
looked like? The Son of God, he said. The Lord revealed Himself
to Nebuchadnezzar. And He said, their God is God,
pull them out. He was with them in the bearing
of that judgment, in the fiery furnace. God was with His people
as they endured the fire of the judgment of God. And because
He was, they have no hurt. No hurt. Their garments are spotless. They don't even have the smell
of that judgment. All they have is that sweet-smelling
savor of Christ. That's all they have. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is with His people in death. He's with them in life. He's with them in affliction
and trial. And He's with His people in judgment.
And therefore, This thief on the cross right here in Luke
23, he said in verse 42, he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. He said, because I was with you
in all of that. He said, I'll be with you. And because of that, you're going
to be with me. In John 17, he said, Father,
I was with them. That's in his prayer. He said,
I was with them. And he said, because of that,
my desire is that they might be with me where I am. I was with them where they are,
so I want them to be with me where I am. I cannot think of
a greater comfort for any child of God to hear than our Lord
is with us always, even unto the end of the world. And when
the end of this world comes, and it's coming, when the end of this world comes,
It's only the beginning of our being with Him. He's going to
be with us until the end of the world comes. And at that moment,
that's going to be the beginning of our being with Him. You say,
it sounds like the same thing. It is. It is. But He said, I'm going to be
with you all the way till your end, and then you're going to
be with me till my end, and there's not one. All eternity. I pray that the
Lord would make us to be believers. Really, on who this God is, how
much we desperately need Him. And the only salvation He provided,
and I pray then He'll comfort our hearts by causing us to trust
He's with me. He's with me to the end of the
world. Amen.