Remember that. 2 Samuel 23, now. 2 Samuel 23. I hope God will give grace to
me to preach this. I hope he'll give you grace to
hear it. If he will, you're going to go
out of here with a blessing. 2 Samuel 23, read verse 5. This is my text. Although my house be not so with
God. David had problems at home. His wives and his children, he
had troubles. He said, Although my house be
not so with God. Yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For this is all my
salvation, and all my desire, although we make it not to grow." You know what the word covenant
means? It means a contract. It's what I mean. It means a. A testament, that's what Old
Testament, New Testament covenant means a contract, a will. Will and testament contract.
Do you know anything about this everlasting covenant David's
talking about? Everlasting covenant, do you? Isaiah 55 and Acts chapter 13
both talk about the sure mercies of David. That's what he's talking
about here. That's what we read in Psalm
89. Do you know anything about the sure mercies of David, everlasting
covenant? Well, I'm here to tell you, if
you are saved, or if you're going to be saved, It will all be according
to this covenant, completely according to this covenant, this
contract. It's on your head. I could go
into great detail about explaining various covenants in the Bible,
but I'm not going to. All I want to do this morning
is declare unto you the covenant. All right, we could get bogged
down and miss the covenant, the only true covenant that matters.
Right to the point now. Every human being that has been
saved or will be saved is saved. When I say saved, I mean saved
from the wrath of God, from the judgment, certain judgment of
God and condemnation. They are saved or will be saved
because of a covenant God made, a will, a testament, a contract
God Almighty made. It's not a contract He made with
us. It's concerning us, but it's
not He didn't make it with us. We weren't around when this contract
was made. It's not a contract or a covenant
that's conditional. Listen to me now. It's not an
agreement that God makes with us that he will meet certain,
he will, he will do certain things if we meet certain conditions
or requirements. Now this is the heart of what
These heretics are preaching today. This is the heart of all
error. Listen to me. Everything is being
preached today is along this line. They're saying if you do
something, God will do something, right? They're saying if you
believe, God will save you. If you remain faithful, God will
be faithful. Isn't that what's being preached
today? Huh? Everybody, the exception of a
few. If you quit this or that, turn
over a new leaf, and get right with God now, God will do that. He, God, will save you. God will
do that. If you don't fall now, if you keep on keeping on, then
God will keep on keeping on. He'll reward you. That is a covenant
of works. That is an agreement of works,
isn't it? God says, if you do this, I'll do that. That's a
conditional covenant. You do your part, God will do
his. That sounds like partners to
me, doesn't it? Salvation is a partnership. Is
that what the scripture says? Part God, part man. Is that salvation? No. You know, if something, Joe,
if something's a partnership, you get equal shares, don't you?
Huh? Don't you share everything equally?
What about the glory? You'd have to share the glory,
wouldn't you? Well, God chose, yeah, God did his part, but I
did mine. So we're going to share the glory
together. I'm going to have a little crown. He'll have a big crown.
Isn't that what's being preached today? Huh? I'm not lying. I ain't lying. They're lying. That is a lie. There's no truth
in any of that. First of all, God says, I'll
not share my glory with another. No glory. Secondly, he says man
is dead in trespasses and sins, doesn't he? Huh? He can't do anything. What can
a man do to get to God? God's got to come to him. I'm
not stretching it, telling it like it is. God says man is dead
and trespasses unseen. He can't call, he can't repent,
he can't believe, he can't obey unless God does something first. Thirdly, God says, by what? By grace are you saved. It's
a gift. Not of works. It's a gift. A free gift. You don't earn this
in any way, shape, form or fact. It's not a reward. It's a gift. It's not merit. It's a gift.
It's not if you meet certain conditions. It's a gift. Unconditioned. It's a free, you don't do anything
to get the gift either. It's a sovereign. He discriminates. He decides who gets it. Gift. Salvation is by grace. Men and
women just learn the term grace. It means gift. Gift! Doesn't it? Not works. Gift. It's grace, it's works. Which
is it, Henry? It's grace. Gift. And he gives it to whomsoever
he will. And he says, it's by grace through
faith, doesn't it? Ah, there you are, preacher.
Through faith. There, you must believe. What
is faith? Is that a word? Yeah, God'll
save you by his grace, but you must believe. Can't. Diana can't. That's a gift, too. Isn't it? No man can come unto
the Father. come unto me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him." Faith's a gift. That is not of
yourself. Why? Because you'd boast of that,
wouldn't you? And that's what men are doing.
If they say, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, and then
when it comes time to, it says they're going to stand right
before God Almighty and say, Well, I believed. I did do that. I did make my decision for Jesus.
It's a gift. Even that's a gift. We ascribe,
God's people ascribe everything to grace. Even repentance. Say a man's got to repent. It's
the goodness of God that leads him to repentance. It's all of
grace, isn't it? It's all of grace. All of grace. The only thing we have earned,
what does the scripture say we have earned? The wages we have
earned? Death. The gift, the grace of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, my, my, my. Through a covenant God made with
Christ. See, he's the one that earned
something, John Davis. He's the one that earned something.
And we get what's coming to him. A covenant God made with his
Son. Not with Moses, not with Abraham,
not with David, not with you and me. An agreement, a contract,
a will and a testament made by God with His Son before anybody
was ever around. It's called an everlasting covenant
of which Christ is called the surety. I just love the sound
of these things. He's called the surety. He's called the mediator. He's called the head, covenant
head. Another term, executor of the
will. Now, let me ask you, what good
news, if gospel means good news and heretics are so-called preaching
this today, calling it gospel, saying, if you do this, God will
do that. If you take the first step, God
will meet you halfway. If you just believe, God will
do this or that. If you keep faithful and so forth.
What good news is there in that? If you do this, God will do that.
What good news is there in that? What if I went to the VA hospital
this morning, and here's a fellow sitting in a wheelchair. He's
had his a spinal injury, and he is a quadriplegic. He can't
move. He can't get out of that chair.
He's been in it for years. What good news is there if I
go to that fellow and say, Buddy, I've got good news for you. Oh,
I've got good news for you. Listen to this. Now listen, if
you'll take the first step, I'll meet you, I'll help you
the rest of the way. Isn't that good news? Not to
him, buddy. He can't move. He can't take
the first one. Or better yet, go down to the
graveyard. This is what Scripture says. Go down to the graveyard
and talk to a grave down there. If you'll just call, just ask
me. Just call on me. You don't have
to move. All you've got to do is call.
Call now and I'll help you out of there. Come on! Got good news! He can't even call. He's dead,
isn't he? Man is dead in trespass and sin. Here's the good news. Christ
comes to the grave and says, come on out of there. Picks him
up, breathes life into him and says, now call, Lord. Have mercy. You see, these things are impossible,
right? A quadriplegic can't walk, can
he? With God it's possible. Christ showed I can do that,
too. He said, which is greater? Tell a man to get up and walk
out of a wheelchair or tell a dead man to rise, a spiritually dead
man, to walk with God? Which is greater? He says, I'll
do both. I'll show you. I've got the power to do both.
With man, it's impossible, isn't it? But with God, all things
are possible. With God, all things are possible.
With God, you know, a blind man can't make himself see. A deaf
man can't make himself hear. A lame man can't make himself
walk. A dead man can't make himself live again. But with God, all
things are possible. He who made the eye to see can
make a man, a flesh and blood man, see God. Not with these
eyes. I mean, see Christ just as really
as if he was standing right in front of you. Have you? Oh, yeah,
I've seen him. I've seen his face. Well, tell
me what he looks like. Have you got time? We'll go from
Genesis 1 on through, and I'll tell you what he looks like.
I've seen his face just as really, more really. Henry, more really than your
face. Your face is changing every day. change in every day. He never
changes. I see his face just as really
he who made the eye to see can make the inner eye of face see
him. He blinds the rest but gives
eyes and they say, don't you see? And they say, I see. And
they try to think, don't you see? They say, I don't see. They're
blind. But God made them to see. And
he who made the ear to hear, these ears, can make People spiritually
hear his voice. He never speaks out loud, though,
Terry. God never speaks out loud to anybody. And a man's lying
if he says that God has. He doesn't anymore. God used
to speak out loud to the fathers by the prophet, but now in these
last days has spoken unto us by his Son, by his Word. But
he speak, I've heard him speak just as really as if he was standing
right here beside us and said, Paul, now this is for you. Just
as if he called my name. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of your acceptation. Jesus Christ died for you, Paul.
Have you heard his voice? I have. He who made the ear can
make the inner ear hear, just though an inaudible voice. He
who made man to live out of the dust, a creature of the dust,
can these bones live? Doesn't look like it to me. Thou,
Lord, knowest. You know. Watch this, he says. I'm the only one that can do
it. And breathed into Adam and made that vessel of dirt, of
clay that he formed, live, become a man. And this old fellow who
was lying in the gutter in the graveyard of sin, wicked, a maggot,
can turn a maggot into a living, God-seeking, God-calling, studious
son of God. That's the work of God. With
man, it's impossible. But with God, no problem at all. No problem. And it's all, God
does it all for his glory. And this, what I just described
to you, is what God determined to do in a covenant. in an agreement
are you with me. This is what God determined to
do in a company says what's what I did wrote my wife what's what
I do. I'm determined I'm going to make
some people. You know we beheld The angel
beheld the creation of God and gloryed him. This is the most
glorious thing ever. God says, watch this. God determined
to make a heaven and an earth, and he said, that's good, that's
good, that's good, yeah, that's good. Everything God made is
good, that's good. He said, I've saved the best
for last. What's this? It's not just good,
it's great! So great salvation! So great
a creation! Your eyes won't believe it, though
one told you. You won't believe. And all for
his glory. He made a covenant. This is what
he did in a covenant. God swore. You know, God swore. We're not swearing. God did,
though. God swore. He said, some are going to see
my glory. Maggots are going to see God. Some are going to hear
my voice. Not everybody. Some. Some are
going to live with me forever. Who are they? Who are these people
of this covenant? It's what he made this covenant
about, these people, that they would see his glory, they'd hear
his voice, and they would live with him someday forever. He
made an agreement. Who are they? Whosoever will? Well, whoever he makes willing.
Whosoever he makes willing. Whosoever believes, is that who
he made this covenant about? made an agreement long time and
look down through time see who would believe. He's taking that
be him taking credit for something he didn't do in it wouldn't. Besides they're saying today
he can't count on that anyway some try and he thought they
were going to make it but didn't and some. That make it he wasn't
expecting what are you doing here. That's what Jimmy Swagger
did, a new name written. God said, well, I wasn't expecting
you. Well, I better write your name down here and move over
so and so here. Well, I'm sure glad you made
it. Whosoever believes, whoever God gives faith to, according
to that covenant. Whosoever remains faithful, whoever
remains faithful, is that who? Whoever he keeps by his power. In short, whoever God chooses,
elects, he made that covenant concerning, a covenant of grace.
Now turn over to Genesis 6 with me. Genesis chapter 6. It's a
covenant, an agreement concerning their salvation. It's called
an everlasting covenant. David said it's ordered in all
things and it's sure. And all these people, in Revelation
it says their names are written in a book, the Lamb's book. I
just gave it away, didn't I? The Lamb's Book of Life. Their
names are written in a book. It's sealed for all time and
eternity. And these people are in that
covenant. All right? Genesis 6. What about
the covenants that are spoken of throughout the Scripture?
A covenant with Noah here, a covenant with Abraham, a covenant with
Moses. and so on. What about those? There's a key
word here. Look at Genesis 6, verse 17. God says, Behold, I, even I,
do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh. God says, I'm going to destroy
all flesh. God said he's going to, he said
in another place he's going to destroy all flesh again, didn't
he? Didn't he? Teresa, he said here
he's going to destroy them by flood, and in another place he
said he's going to destroy it by fire. He made a covenant and
a sign of this covenant not to destroy flesh with water was
a bow. You know there's a bow over the
throne of heaven? Look that up yourself sometime.
of his covenant. Who's at the throne of heaven?
Well, God says, I'm going to destroy all flesh by fire, too. All right, read on. I'm going
to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life. From under
heaven, everything that is in earth shall die. Verse 18, talking
to Moses, or Noah here. But with thee, with thee, Noah,
everybody but you and your family, everybody but you, is going to
be destroyed. You say, Noah must have been
a special fellow. No, he wasn't. No, he wasn't. Look back at the same chapter. Look back at verse 5. You say, Noah must have been
something special. Well, he was special because God chose him. That's why. There wasn't anything
different, really. There wasn't anything different
about Noah than anybody else. He's an old sinner, just like
the rest of them. There was a time when he was
living in open sin, just like the rest of them, and deserved
to die in that flood. All right, read it. Read it. God saw that the wickedness of
man, not men, man, mankind. Who's that? Noah. Noah's a man,
isn't he? The wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually." Who is he talking about? Noah and
everybody else. Right? You say, I don't believe
that. Read on. And it repented the
Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him
at his heart. Now God is just speaking in our language so we
can understand how much he hates sin. And the Lord said, I will
destroy man. whom I have created." Man, who's
that? Everybody, from the face of the
earth, man, and beast, and creepy thing. Vows that he repented
me that I made. Wish I'd have never made him.
He's speaking so we can understand just how wicked and vile man
is. But, Noah found, what? Grace in the eyes of the Lord. He found grace. He was found
in the covenant of grace. Didn't Paul say, Oh, that I might
be found in him? that I might win Christ and be
found in him," found in that covenant. You say, well, what
about verse 9? Noah, now look at it, verse 9.
These are generations of Noah. Noah was a just man. See, they're
a preacher and a perfect man. Noah walked with God, so that's
why God, no, no, no, no, no. Verse 8 is before verse 9. Noah was what he was by the grace
of God. Noah was, verse 9, because of
verse 8. Noah was a just man. God justified
him by his grace that is in Christ Jesus. Noah was a perfect man,
accepted, perfect, because he was perfect in the Beloved in
Christ. Noah walked with God because
God was gracious to reveal himself to him and make him walk with
God by faith, gave him the faith. Verse 9 is after verse 8, isn't
it, Barbara? Well, look at verse eighteen
now, read on. God says to Noah, but with thee,
look at it now, every word is significant. I've read this a
thousand times, a thousand times, and I've never really seen these
things. He says, with thee will I establish
my covenant. Not a, Dan, did he say a? Did
he say A? Did anybody read A? I will establish
a covenant. No, my covenant. Do you catch
the significance? My covenant, my everlasting one
I've had from the beginning. I've had this covenant all along.
My covenant, the one I made before the world began to save you,
Noah. And he says, I'm going to establish it. I'm going to
confirm it. I'm going to reveal it. I'm going
to make it, I'm going to carry it through in you, Noah. I'm
going to destroy everybody else. But I made a covenant. And he
says, I made a covenant. And I've, it's ordered in all
things and sure. It's an everlasting covenant
to save a people. If he destroyed Noah, the covenant
was a lie, wasn't it? But God says, no, I'm going to
establish my covenant to save a people. With, you know, you're
starting with you. You. Look, read on. I shall establish my covenant.
And read it, John. Thou shalt come into the ark. There's a few smiles in here.
I won't preach to you from here on out. Terry, he said. You are
no good rotten bum, but you found grace in God's eye. Why? Covenant.
He said, I'll establish my covenant with you, and you will come to
Christ. Yeah, you will. All that the
Father gave to Christ will come to Christ. God swore it. Now, buddy, this is going to,
this is, we're going to enter in on shouting ground here in
a minute. Because every one of us in here are sinners, no good,
rotten sinners. We were before God chose us,
we're still that way, and will be. And our salvation is dependent
on the fact that God wants life. And he made this covenant, ordered
in all things, ensured. He says, I'm going to have them,
and they'll be mine. And thou shalt come into the
ark, a vessel of mercy. What was the ark? It was a vessel
of mercy, wasn't it? A haven of rest, a shelter from
the time of storm. What was the ark? That ark was
Christ. Christ. And God said to Noah,
Noah, you and your fellows are going to come in the ship. You're
going to know the fellowship in the ark. This could be called
the ark of the covenant, isn't it? You say, wrong one. No. No,
it's the ark of the covenant, too. That ark is Christ. And if you look, he said, my
covenant, Rick, he said, my covenant, the covenant. If you look at
nearly every time God says covenant in the scriptures, he says, my
covenant. Not a, my, the covenant. The covenant, that covenant,
the everlasting covenant God made with Christ and with his
Holy Spirit. With this vote, Holy Spirit,
covenant of salvation, a covenant of grace to give salvation to
as many as God gave. To his son in that agreement,
a contract. Contract, he said, is ordered
in all things. Ensure you people. If you make
a covenant agreement, so you said that you, uh, you agree
to buy a house. All right, you're going to buy
a house. And you sit down, and there's an agreement. There's
a long agreement. That's the reason they have lawyers,
you know, to do title searches and make sure there's no loopholes
here and there, no stipulations, nothing in there that would loosen
the covenant, that would disinherit the covenant. You want something
that's ordered in all things and sure. And you agree to buy
this house, and you said, I'm going to buy the house and everything
in it, everything in that house, every stitch that's in it. And
they write it all down. It's all in there. It's all in
an agreement. And you sign your name to the dotted line. All
right? It's ordered in all things that's
here, and you sign your name. Now, if there's a problem with
that covenant, you might not get what you paid for, right? Well, God Almighty entered into
a covenant concerning the people. He says, I bought them. They're mine. And he entered
into a covenant and gave them to Christ, and Christ bought
them by his blood, and he wrote all their names down, and God
says, I'm going to get what's coming to me. Now, the covenants that we make,
our agreements might have loopholes in them. Not God's. He's too wise. There are no loopholes
ordered in all things that you're hearing. He's going to have what's
coming to him. Ordered and all things ensure
this reason, David said, This is all my salvation. All my desire. All my desire, the sure mercies
of David, it's the gospel of a covenant God. God's covenant
God, it's the mercies of a covenant God. The sure mercies of David,
ordered in all things and sure. It's all your salvation. If you're
going to be saved, it's all your salvation. That's the reason
your ears ought to be wide open right now. This is all your salvation.
All of it. All your comfort. This is all
your comfort, too. You want some comfort? You're
not going to find it anywhere else but in there. It's all your
peace. with Christ to save a people.
Now here it is. Let me just paraphrase. All right? They've only been twenty-eight
minutes. God the Father. Here's the agreement, the covenant.
We weren't around now. There's just three people involved
in this agreement. Contract. Contract. Behind me. Sealed. Contract. God Almighty said, I'm going
to choose a people. I'm going to elect a people.
Now, unless anybody has any problem with that, God says nobody's
going to be able to number them. That's how good I am, how merciful,
how gracious I am. Nobody's going to be able to
number them. Unless somebody says, well, that's not fair.
He didn't have to do it for anybody. But how great our God is in his
goodness, he says, I'm going to choose a people which no man
can number. I can number And I've got a number,
but no man can number them. And he says, I love them. Well,
I like that, don't you? Ain't none of them worth loving.
Altogether, unlovely, God says, I love them. You know, God had
to make himself love us. You know that? Yeah, I'll say
it again. God had to make himself love
us. I love sovereign love, though unlovely, and I'll give them
to my son. Give them all. I've chosen them.
They're mine. I love them. I love them, and
I'm going to make them lovely. And I'll give them to my son
to save them, because I've got a law that's hanging over their
heads. This law is hanging over their
head, and they're under it. It's a curse to them all. They're
under this curse. They deserve to have it brought
down. But I love them. I'm going to save them. I'll
give them to my son. Son, it's your turn. What are you going to do? Son
says, well, I'll become one of them. It's the only way it could
be done. I'll become one of them. I'll
become a man. Is this old hat to you? Have
I said this so many times? Christ said, I'll become a man.
It's the only way it can be done. Huh? I'll become a man, Christ
said, a substitute for all those elect. And I'll live a life. Now, you've got to understand
what it meant for the Son of God. This is our problem. This is the reason it doesn't
mean more to us. We don't understand what it meant
for the Son of God to come down here and become a worm. It's
more condescension than you and I to go down the heart of New
York City into the ghetto and lie in the gutter for the rest
of our, for thirty-three years. It's more condescension than
that. It's worse than that. I can't describe, I can't, no
man can preach it. It's a great mystery. God, God
was manifest in the flesh. But he, God, Christ said, I'll
become a maggot. I'll become a maggot. I'll become a vile, wretched,
filthy animal." That's what it's like for God. I'll live in that
cesspool of amazing love. How can it be? I'll live in a
sewer for thirty-three years. I'll listen to their sewer talk.
I'll watch their sewer-like way, these sewer rats. Why? I love some of them. I'm going to save them. But they
won't want you. Matter of fact, they'll bite
you, they'll kill you. But I love them. I'm going to
save them. He says, I'll come down here
and I'll let them do all manner of evil to me. I'll let them
kill me. And in killing me, I will die the death they deserve.
I will die under the sentence of God's wrath, his law, so God
can be just. See, they deserve to die. All
these sewer rats deserve to die, and I'll become a sewer rat,
and I'll let God put me, kill me. Stomp on that. Put me out
of his. I'll become all that they are.
I'll become it. And God will see me and see them
and stench in His nostrils and He'll say, I'm going to put you
out of my way forever. And that holy life I live, I
live a holy life for 33 years. It's a sweet smell to God. And
God sees me, oh, what a lovely man. What a lovely man. And I'll
give that to them. I wish I could preach substitution
one time. Christ, what he did. He did it, not me. And God looks
at me and says, oh, you're lovely to me. You did a good job. Well done. Oh, Lord. I'm a maggot. And he looks at Christ and says,
you filthy, rotten, wretched sinner, and kills him. That was
me. The Son agreed to do that. The
Son agreed to do, I'll do that. Will you do that? I'll do it. Oh, my. And he says, and I'll
die, and then I'll rise from the grave, and I'll sit at the
right hand of God, and I'll oversee this whole work. of all judgment
you have committed into my hand, I'll make sure they all get there."
And then the Spirit got in on this. The Holy Spirit in this
covenant said, I'll do a work in them. Christ did that work
for them, you see? Christ did that substitutionary
work for them. The Holy Spirit does this work
of sanctification in them. He creates spiritual life in
them. And it's a it's a mystery, John, it's a mystery. Whereas
once they before they were defiant, like a thief on the cross, sitting
there casting things in and you think you're the son of God,
who in the world do you think you are? Cussing him out with
the rest of a dying man, hanging on a dying, cussing the son of
God all of a sudden. Lord. God turned him just like that,
made him sorry. What was that? It was the wind
blowing. There was a wind blowing that day, you see. There was
a wind blowing that day, the Holy Spirit of God blowing where
it listed. Two things on the cross, wind
hit one of them, passed the other one by. He breathed into that man. Lord!
His eyes were open, his ears were open, he heard, Lord, I'm
sorry. Oh, I'm getting what I deserve.
Just five seconds before that, Henry's saying, What am I doing
here? I don't deserve this. Five seconds later, Oh, I'm getting
what I deserve. Lord! That's the Holy Spirit. That boy was in the covenant.
That thief was in the covenant. He was one of those And the angels, Joe, the angels,
if they'd have known who was in the covenant, they could have
been saying, there's one not going to make it. He's not going
to make it. He's about to die. God says,
don't worry. Oh, look at him, he's expired.
I'm not worried. Watch. I can save him when he's
young, save him when he's old. I can save him In the fullness of his life,
I can save him at the very end of it. Watch this. This is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit says, I'll go down
there and I'll do this work in them. I'll look for all of them.
They've got a mark on them. What's the mark? What's the mark
of Christ? They've got blood on them. He's
looking for that blood. He goes to find them. He's looking
for them. He left the ninety and nine,
a multitude of no man can number, in search of those few sheep.
There's many out there that he's searching for a few sheep, got
blood on them, got blood on them. He said, I'll make them sorry
for their sin. I'll make them repent. I'll get
them to call on God. They'll start calling. Once they
start cussing God, now they'll be praising God, thanking God. I'll make them call for mercy.
I'll make them bow down to Christ. Once before, they all, they'd
mash their thumb and say, Jesus Christ! Now they'll say, Jesus
Christ! Have mercy on me. I'll do it. They'll come to Christ. They'll
believe Him. Once before, they believed it was all in their
hands. In a moment, the twinkling of an eye, I'll make them see
it's all in His hands. And they'll come to Him, and
they'll believe, they'll trust Him as their only hope. I'll
make them willing." Once before they said, My will, My will.
I'll make them, I'll turn that thing around. But they say, Thy
will, Thy will. I'll work a change in them too,
slowly, and make them like us. I'll make them like Christ. Turn back to the 2 Samuel, and
I'll wind this thing up, 2 Samuel. That's the covenant, people.
That's the covenant. Did he ask anybody, anybody to
help out? Huh? Was there anybody around?
With whom took he counsel? Isaiah said, huh? I'll do this
if Joe Parks will let me. Ha, that's a laugh. He that sitteth
in the heavens shall laugh. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. If
he'll let me. Watch this. He's kicking and
bucking tooth and nail against me. Watch this. God says, I'm going to let him. I will. Here's the covenant of
grace. I will, and he shall. I will love them bravely, and
he shall love me. I will do all this for them,
and they'll call on me." You have any problem with sovereignty
and responsibility, huh? You don't have any problem with
responsibility if you see sovereignty. God says, I will, therefore you
shall. What about whosoever will? What
about it? Whosoever will, will. The Spirit and the bread say,
Come. Right? Revelation 22, 17. Right, Ed?
The Spirit and the bread say, Come. Well, who's going to come?
Whosoever will. Whosoever God makes willing,
they'll come. Besides, that's written to the
church, isn't it? He's talking about communion
there, too. He's not talking about salvation,
per se. He's talking about coming in
and out and drinking water. You know, Terry, we can come
in and out freely and drink water, go in and out and find pasture,
huh? If you're thirsty, go find water. A natural man can't. He doesn't
know what water is. That's not written to everybody, whosoever
will. I'll give $5,000 to the first person who will show me
in the Bible where it says, Whosoever will, let him come. He said he
never had to pay that bet, because it says, The Spirit and the bride
say, Come. Let him that is athirst say, Come. And whosoever will,
let him take of the water of life freely. It doesn't say,
Whosoever will, so forth. He says, I'll make them willing.
And this is the covenant, ordered in all things and sure, sure,
sure. And it's all my salvation and
all my desire. It's all my hope, all my peace. All this old sinner's peace is
found in this covenant, people. That's ordered in all things
and sure. All things work together to good
for them that love God, who the called according to his covenant. That's why I'm the only thing
I'm interested in. How about you? What do you all
want to hear this morning? What did you want to hear this
morning? We preach on abortion? Politics? What do you want to
hear? Tell me about that covenant.
Again, I didn't get it the first time. I bet you Adam, I bet you
Adam, after he's sinned, what did he want to hear about? Huh? What did he want to hear about?
Adam, if you'll just live right. Oh, Adam said, I blew that. Don't tell me that. That haunts
me. That curses me. I lie awake at
night thinking, what if I hadn't, if only I hadn't done that. Do
you lie awake at night, you ass son of Adam, and say that? If
only I hadn't sinned. What did Adam want to hear about?
Tell me about that freeze coming. Tell me about that one that's
going to get me out of this mess I got myself in. Tell me about
that again." Well, here it is. Adam's got good news. He's your
covenant head. He said there in 2 Samuel 23,
did you catch it? He said, God has made with me
an everlasting covenant. This is Christ talking here.
Ordered in all things and sure, this is all my salvation. Even
Christ. It's all mine. The Son of God,
the Christian, the believer, says this. It's all my salvation. All my salvation. It's all my
hope. All my peace. And all my desire. It's all I
want to hear. It's all I want to look into. I'm determined
not to know anything about you. So Jesus Christ is crucified.
And look at that. Although he make it not to grow. Did that puzzle you when you
read it? Although he make it not to grow. Now, listen, David
Absalom had died. His wives had Michael, you remember,
she she said, you're didn't you look good dancing before the
ark today? She despised him. He had nothing
but trouble. He'd been pursued most of his
life. He had a few years of peace. That's a picture of the Son of
God. Just a few years intermingled here and there with nothing but
trouble. He had trouble. Behind and before, trouble. But
he said, God hath made with me, although my house be not so with
God. Although my wife doesn't love
him, although my husband doesn't love him, although my children
don't love him, I'm convinced and persuaded I know whom I have
believed. He's made with the Christ I know
and love an everlasting covenant concerning me, ordered in all
things and sure. It's all my salvation and all
my desire. It's really the only thing that
I'm interested in, although he make it not to grow. In other
words, David's saying, right now, I don't see any prospects
of getting out of this trouble on me. I don't see when the Lord's coming. I don't just, I can't see into
the future. It looks like more trouble ahead.
And you look at yourself and you say, I don't see any growth.
Does that make sense? Although he
doesn't make his thing grow ripe, I don't see any progress in myself. I don't see it." What do you hope, David? An everlasting
covenant. That no matter how sinful, God
said, it doesn't matter how sinful they are, I've chosen them. I'm
going to choose them. I'll love them and give them to Christ.
And then they live a life, and they're living there, and God
says, I don't care how sinful they are right now, they're actually
sinful, they're in Christ. And no matter how many times,
how sinful they get in the future. Yeah, take the tape where you
want to. I don't care who hears it. Reformed
and all. I don't care how sinful they
get down. David had come through the most sinful time of his life.
He was through. He was through. His ministry
was over. The greatest temptation and trial
in his life, he'd just come through. He's not making it to grow. It
don't seem like I've grown in it. You older people, it doesn't
seem like you've made much progress in the spiritual life, have you? No matter how simple they are,
a sixty-year-old sinner, seventy-year-old sinner, you'd think you'd learn
by now, wouldn't you? They're just sinners. And God
says, I'll save them. They're mine. Why? Covenant. Covenant. I made an agreement. God says, I'll be mindful of
my covenant. Because I'm the Lord, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed." And in closing, we're going to sing that song
in a minute that you just sung. Joe, he said, you've got this
written down twice, 272. You'll be turning there, 272.
He said, you've got this written down twice. I said, I know it. I know it. He said, well, that's
fine if you know it. I said, yeah, they're going to
sing it before the message, and then after the message, they're
going to sing it. His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the overwhelming flood of what? Sin, trials, temptation. What's going to support you?
God hath made with me an everlasting covenant. He swears it. You know God swears
it? He doesn't swear it on a stack of Bibles. He just needs one, his word. It says men swear by, barely
men swear by the greater. You go into the courtroom and
you say, do you swear to God? Do you swear to tell the whole
truth and nothing but the truth so help you God? Men swear by
the greater, by God, an oath for confirmation to them, an
end of all strife. You swear? I say, I swear, I
swear to God. Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of the promise, show you? God says,
I'll swear. God says, the Holy Spirit says,
raise your right hand, Lord. And he raises his right hand.
He says, I swear, I'll save who's he swear on? He can swear by
no greater but himself. He can't lie. And by two immutable things,
his word, thy word is settled, O Lord, and I wish somebody would
get some comfort here this morning. You say, but I'm a sinner. Got
nothing to do with it. But the covenant does. The fact
that you know you're a sinner It means you're in the covenant. If you weren't, you wouldn't
care. Now, get some peace. But that's a force you can take.
Huh? Sinner. The thing that constantly
brings us down is our sin, our niggler sin, as ever before me.
What are we going to do? Same thing you did in the beginning.
Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Same thing you did
in the beginning. Nothing! And watch God do everything. But I'm a sinner. He came to
save sinners. That's the only right you've
got to be saved. The fact that you're a sinner. Two immutable
things, it's impossible for God to lie. His oath, His covenants. What's the second one? Oath and
covenant are one and the same. Right? What's the second thing?
Somebody willing to sell it? Blood. You ever become blood
brothers with a friend of yours back in your boys? I did, you
know. I didn't actually real cut myself,
you know, just might have scratched myself on a briar. And you know,
you lay off blood brothers. He poured out his blood. He said,
what do I have to do to tell you? Huh? How do I have to prove
it? He despaired not his own son. poured out his soul unto death.
He said, I swear, you're mine, Barbara Ross, you're mine. I'll
prove it. There's my son, you see him? I'll slit his throat. That was it. Do you believe? What else did God
tell you? What more can He say to you? than he had said. His oath that he could swear
by no greater, swore by himself, two immutable things, his oath,
his blood, impossible for God to lie, that we might have a
strong consolation. Who had fled for refuge to lay
hold on the hope set before. It's a good hope. Why? His oath is coming. John, does
that help you any? That give you any comfort? It
did me. All right, Joe, come up here.
See if we can't sing this now. Dressed in his righteousness
alone, faultless to stand before the throne. Is that more than
doctrine to you now? On Christ the solid rock I stand. around the same thing you said
the same thing. I hope with fear of nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
faith, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ's law is progress,
and all other ground is shaking sand. All other ground is sinking
sand. He is of His covenant come, Support
me in the hand and foot, In all around my soul He'll fight, He
is all my hope and faith. On Christ's solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Thank you and your descendants.