All right, this morning I want
us to stay right there in Psalm 135 just for a moment because
the message that I've prepared, the one that I believe the Lord
has stirred me to preach and inspired me to preach to you
this morning, comes from basically one verse in that Psalm, verse
six. I've entitled the message, Whatsoever pleases the Lord. Whatsoever pleases the Lord. And what I want to talk to you
about is just that subject. Several months ago I was reading
some articles and I came across this outline. It's not original
with me, that's okay, but I took this outline and I've been working
on it for several several weeks just to see how the Lord would
guide me through his word in dealing with this subject. But
this Psalm here, Psalm 135, speaks much about the sovereignty of
God. The truth of God's absolute sovereignty
over all things in this universe. It's so much revealed in the
Bible. This is the God of the Bible.
And I know people get frustrated, they get angry, they get confused
when you deal with subjects like this many times because the mind of man just cannot grasp
and get his mind around these things to a point to where they
can come down on our level, how God is in control. I tell you
what, I personally, and I hope most of you, if not all, that
you take some real comfort in the fact that God is sovereign,
that he is in control. I heard a preacher say on television
a couple of years ago, he said, he made it, he said it like this,
he said, you know, there are a lot of Christians who believe
that God is in control, but he's not. And if I believed that,
I'll tell you what, I would just be in a mess. I don't know about
you, if I believed that God wasn't in control, that he was not sovereign,
I'd be in a mess. Just walking through this world,
to me that's the vanity of vanities that Ecclesiastes speaks of.
But let me, I wanna read you, before I read that verse in Psalm
135, I wanna read you a passage that's been close to my heart
for a long time in Isaiah 46. Now hold, if you wanna follow
along, turn to Isaiah 46 and hold your finger there at Psalm
135 and we'll come back to it. But verse nine. And through the
prophet Isaiah, here's how the Lord speaks to reveal himself
to Israel. In Isaiah 46 and verse 9, he
says, remember the former things of old. Now that's history, isn't
it? He says, for I am God and there
is none else. I am God and there is none like
me. God is setting himself apart
as the unique, only God. And he says in verse 10, here's
the first thing he says here. Declaring the end from the beginning. Now do you realize the power
of that phrase? Declaring the end from the beginning.
No one can declare the end from the beginning but God. And I
always say it this way when I go to this verse because I can tell
you right, see we, we can declare the beginning from the end In
other words, I can tell you how the day started this morning,
but I can't tell you how it's going to end up. Because I don't
know the future, I don't determine the future. But God, He's not
in the business of declaring the beginning from the end. Now
most people believe that. They believe God, you know, I've
even heard preachers say, well God has limited Himself. God
cannot limit Himself. God is God. He is who He is and
He can't be anything less. God cannot make himself less
than God. Chew on that one for a while.
He just can't do it. He's God. But to declare the
end from the beginning, that's God's sovereignty. That's predestination. That's the issues of a God who
works all things after the determinate counsel of his own will. That's
what the scripture says. And he says in verse 10, from
ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel. Now the things that are not yet
done, here's how God describes them. They are my counsel, he
says. You know what a counsel is? If men have a counsel, they get
together and they have a meeting of the minds. Well this is God's
counsel, this is his mind. This is his wisdom. And he says
the things that are not yet done, they are his counsel and they
shall stand. He's not waiting on you to do
anything on this issue. He's not, as I've said before,
I read this when I started studying through the book of Job, but
there was one fellow, I'm telling you, you wouldn't believe some
of the junk that's out there, but this one fellow, he represents
God, he says God is like a cosmic chess player. And he's made his
move. Now he's waiting on you to make
your move, and then he'll make his counter move. Now my question
is, is that the God of this book? The answer is no. He said, my
counsel shall stand. And he says, I will do all my
pleasure. Now that's the reason I chose
this verse to kind of go along with what we're saying in Psalm
135. Whatsoever God, whatsoever pleases the Lord. He said, I'll
do all my pleasure. What does that mean? It means
I'll do what I want to do. That's what God says. And then he gives
a prophecy here. I won't go into all the details
of this prophecy. Verse 11, calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel, from a
far country, he's talking about a foreign ruler who will deliver
Israel from a future captivity there. And it did happen. And he says, yea, I have spoken
it, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed it, I will also
do it. Now, you know, that, I mean,
that's set in stone, that's what the Bible teaches, you know,
people who want to argue with that, they've got one big problem,
and that's the Bible. That's their problem. People
who want to argue with that. All right? Well, somebody says,
well, now, here's man's reasoning now. Now, this is the way we
think. You know, well, if that's so, then we're just robots and
we're not responsible or accountable for anything. Oh, no. Oh, no. That's not what the Bible, you've
got a problem, too. And it's the same thing, the
Bible. Because the Bible says, look on, look at verse 12 of
this saying. He says, hearken unto me. Now,
you hear me, you're responsible to hear God. I'm responsible
to hear God. And who isn't? You stout-hearted.
To be stout-hearted means to be proud and self-righteous.
That describes an unbeliever. You stout-hearted that are far
from righteousness. The Bible says we need righteousness
in order to be accepted before God, to be saved, to go to heaven.
But he says you're far from it. Now, as I say, you've heard me
say this a lot of times, don't get the accept me syndrome here
today. Don't say accept me. This ain't
talking about me, no, it's talking about all of us by nature, isn't
it? Well, how are we gonna get righteousness?
Well, look here, verse 13, I bring near my righteousness. Now, what
is God's righteousness? That's Christ. He is God's righteousness. His name is, twice in the book
of Jeremiah, he's called Jehovah Sidcanu. That means the Lord,
my righteousness. Jeremiah 23 and Jeremiah 33.
He is the one who brings in, what is righteousness? It's the
entire merit of his obedience unto death on the cross to satisfy
the justice of God. So God says, I bring near my
righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall
not tarry. In other words, it's here. And
he says, and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel, my glory. Now I believe he's talking about
spiritual Israel there, but I won't get into all that. Now that's
a sovereign God. Now go back to Psalm 135. Listen
to this, this is God's pleasure. What pleases God. And all of
this, God is on the throne. He's on a throne of absolute
universal dominion, directing, controlling, ruling, regulating
all things after his wise and eternal counsel. I can't tell
you how it all, every detail works out, and you can't tell
me, and that's not the issue now. When we talk about God, we're
talking about God. who works all things after the
counsel of his own will. Ephesians 1 and verse 11. But
here's what our text says in verse 6. Whatsoever the Lord
pleased, it says, that did he in heaven and in earth and in
the seas and all deep places, everywhere. That's just a symbolic
way of saying everywhere. Whatever God pleased to do here,
there, and everywhere, that's what he did. That's what he said. His pleasure, his desire, his
counsel, his will has never been and never will be thwarted or
hindered. I can't explain all that to you,
you can't explain it to me, but that's what this book that I've
got on this pulpit says. And the one you've got in front
of you, that's what it says. And it's not, in this issue now,
it's not a matter of understanding and explanation. You know what
it is? It's a matter of submission. God is God and I am who I am. I told you the story about the
old guy. He really wasn't a believer, but out of all his religious
studies, he said he'd come to know two things for sure. He
said there is a God and I ain't him. And that's a good thing to realize.
But not just that there is a God, but the God, the God of this
book. What do the scriptures teach
concerning the pleasure of the Lord? Now here's where we need
to be taught from the Word of God. Now he says here in verse six,
he says, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven
and earth and seas and all the deep places. My concern is what
pleases the Lord. Now that's where we need to camp
right there. We don't need to start trying
to figure out the sovereignty of God and the responsibility
of man and how God works all things. We know that he does
because the Bible says he does. If you believe the Bible, that's
what you're gonna have to believe. And so I just want people to
realize that when they deny those things, they're denying the Bible.
But here's the thing, here's where we need to camp, and here's
where we need to understand, what pleases the Lord? Does he
tell us anything about that? What do the scriptures teach
concerning the pleasure of the Lord? Well, it teaches us that
the pleasure of the Lord is the product of his counsel, as I
said, his wisdom, his purpose, his will. It teaches us that
the pleasure of the Lord cannot be hindered or stopped. We read
that in Isaiah 46. There are other scriptures we
could go to. There's so many things to consider in this matter
of what pleases God. But here's what I'm concerned
with. For example, what pleases God in salvation? You see, the
issue in salvation is not what pleases me. and not what pleases
you. It's really, it begins and centers
around and ends on what pleases God. Because if it doesn't please
God, it doesn't matter if it pleases me. Do you understand
that? It doesn't matter if it pleases,
if it doesn't please God now, And then here's the thing, here's
what I want. And it takes the work of the
Holy Spirit to want this. If it pleases God, I want it
to please me. And then what pleases God in
life? We talk about the Christian life.
Well, people say, well, I'm just trying to please God. Well, what
pleases God in life? What pleases God in death? what pleases God in eternity.
Paul said this one time, he said, I'm not here to please men. That's
basically what he said. He said, if I do please men,
I'm not the servant of God. In other words, if my preaching
and my leadership as the pastor of the church, if I have in mind
to please all of you all, then I'm a failure. I'm a failure
before I get started. Listen, if I did please everybody,
I'd be a failure. That's true, isn't it? Because
who are we here to please? Please God. And I'm not even
here to please myself. We're in this thing for the glory
of God. So let me give you these things.
Here's the first thing. Now, what pleases the Lord? Whatsoever
pleases the Lord. That's the issue. Number one,
it pleased the Lord to make you his people. Now look back at
Psalm 135, look back up at verse 4. It pleased the Lord to make
you his people. Who is the you there? Is it you? Is it me? Am I included? Well,
alright, let's look at this. He says in verse 4, for the Lord,
notice that the word Lord there is in capitals, that's Jehovah.
What are we talking about here? He's identifying himself in a
particular way here. Don't miss this. That's the Savior. That's God who saves sinners
by His sovereign grace. That's the God who justifies
the ungodly. That's the God of promise. Salvation
is not by works, it's by promise. And where are the promises found? In Christ. All the promises of
God are in Him. Amen. In Him, sure and certain. Yea and amen. In Christ, 2 Corinthians
1.20. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob. Now, who's Jacob? Well, there's
a physical application to the man Jacob and his physical descendants. But we see this as a type in
a picture, but look on. He says, For the Lord hath chosen
Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure. God
chose them. He says, For I know that the
Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. He says, whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and in earth and in
the seas and all deep places. It pleased the Lord to make you
his people. Turn back to 1 Samuel. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 12.
And this is the prophet Samuel here speaking. 1 Samuel chapter
12. And in verse Now Samuel's speaking
to a rebellious people here. And he tells them that. He tells them in this whole passage,
he said, you know, when God saw your rebellion and your unbelief,
but it says in verse 20, he says, 1 Samuel 12 and verse 20, Samuel
said unto the people, fear not, you have done all this wickedness.
You've done wickedly. Now right away, whatever he's
going to say as far as any blessing or goodness from God toward these
people, it is not a matter of merit, is it? It's not a matter
of what they've earned or deserved. He says, yet turn not aside from
following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart,
and turn ye not aside, for then should you go after vain things
which cannot profit nor deliver for their vain. And I want to
tell you something, now that's just exactly what they did. He
says don't do that, that's what they did. And he says in verse
22, for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake. Now here's a rebellious people,
but the Lord wouldn't forsake them. Why? It says for his great
namesake. What is his name? That's his
glory. And it says, because it hath pleased the Lord. There's
the pleasure of the Lord. It's pleased the Lord to make
you his people. Now Israel of old, we think about
Jacob and Israel and the nation. Israel of old, there is a good
picture of God's sovereign electing love and grace to his people,
spiritual Israel, the elect of God. Back then, God passed by
all other nations, and he set his heart upon that one nation,
Israel, didn't he? Now, why did he do that? What
was the reason? Did they earn his favor above
all nations? The answer is no. He says that.
Again, you can read it all through the Old Testament. Did they deserve
his favor? Were they better than the rest?
Were the Israelites any better than the Amalekites and the Amorites
and the Hittites and all the other ites? No. And he tells
them that. Why did he choose them? I'll
tell you why. It was his pleasure. You say,
well, I want a better reason. Well, you take it up with Him. Because He's the one you've got.
I'm not Him and I can't give you a better reason. Christ said
in Matthew chapter 11 concerning eternal... In Israel, He's just
talking about a temporal preservation for a little while. But when
it comes to salvation, he's talking about eternal life, eternal matters,
and the Lord speaking of that in Matthew chapter 11, he said,
I thank thee, O Father, that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and the prudent. That's the stout-hearted, that's
us by nature, but you've revealed it unto babes. He said, for so,
Father, it seemed good in thy sight. That's the answer he gives. They didn't earn it, they didn't
deserve it. If you're saved today, you didn't earn it, you didn't
deserve it. When he, when Isaiah describes the people of Israel,
he says it this way, all sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity. That's all of us by nature. A
stiff-necked and a gainsame people. That's proud and unsubmissive. And yet God said to Israel, he
said, I will not forsake you. Why? Because of his namesake. He set his favor on Israel because
of a covenant that he made with Abraham. And likewise, in eternal
salvation, we do not merit God's everlasting love and grace and
mercy. We don't earn it. God chose spiritual
Israel unconditionally. There was nothing in us to merit
or earn His love. He sent His love on us because
of the eternal covenant of grace made with our surety, the Lord
Jesus Christ, before this world ever began. Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul wrote in Ephesians
1 and verse 3. who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him, in Christ, before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."
It pleased the Lord. And then he said, it's to the
praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved, in Christ. If you ever, in studying the
scriptures, you stand amazed and say, why did God choose me?
Here's your answer. Because of the good pleasure
of his will. Nothing in you, nothing in me. I tell you, that
really sinks a person down, doesn't it, in his own esteem. But you
know that's the way it should be. Paul spoke to Timothy of God
who has saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. That's
his pleasure, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. It pleased God to make you his
people. Who's the you there? That's sinners saved by the grace
of God in Christ. Sinners washed in the blood of
Christ. Sinners clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Sinners
brought to faith in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It pleased the Lord. Why did it please Him? For His
namesake. Here's the second thing. Turn
to Isaiah 53 and verse 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise
His Son. Now just as it pleased the Lord
to make you His people, you and I could not be His people apart
from God's honor and glory in His justice, in His righteousness,
in His truth. God is not going to save any
sinner without His law and justice being satisfied and honored.
That's why in the Bible It says, without the shedding of blood,
no remission of sins. Why is that? Because the wages
of sin is death. Do you know the only way to take
care of sin is death? There's no other way. There's
no other way to take care of sin but death. James said it. He said, sin when
it is finished brings what? Death. That's in James chapter
1 or 2, I can't remember. But back over in Genesis chapter
2, what'd the Lord tell Adam? He said, in the day that you
eat thereof, you shall surely what? Die. The soul that sinneth
must surely... There's no way to take care of
sin but death. Baptism won't do it. Tears of
remorse and repentance won't do it. Because those things,
as far as the just punishment of sin, do not please God. That's right. You say, well,
preacher, doesn't God want me to be baptized? He commands me
to be baptized. He commands every child of God,
every born-again person to confess Christ in believer's baptism.
But that's not to take care of the issue of sin. And if you
think it is, it doesn't please God. In fact, it denies God.
All these things that God commands us to do, none of them can take
away sin. What can wash away my sins? We
sing it. What is it? Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. So what's God going to be pleased
with in this matter? Well, it pleased the Lord to
bruise him. Look at verse 10 of Isaiah 53.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It satisfied God's justice. How can God be just and justify
the ungodly? How can man be clean? Man that's
born of woman, a sinner, be clean in the sight of God. How can God be pleased and save
a sinful wretch like me? That's the issue, isn't it? Well,
there's gotta be a substitute. There's gotta be a mediator.
There's gotta be a lamb. Abel knew that. Cain didn't.
God was pleased with Abel. Why? Because of the lamb. Because
of the blood. Because of Christ. He wasn't
pleased with Cain. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Christ. And he says, He hath put him
to grief when thou shalt make his so an offering for sin. A propitiation, that means a
satisfaction. It pleases God to satisfy His
justice. And that'll either be in the
eternal damnation and death of sinners who have no hope, or
the death of the Son of God incarnate. He shall see his seed, that's
his children. That's the offspring of his death.
He died, was buried, rose again the third day for our justification.
He shall prolong his days, and look, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper, where? Where does that say? In his hand. Jesus Christ stood as the mediator
of the people that were given him in eternity. And in order
to redeem them and save them, he had to bear up the debt of
our sin. And that's what happened to Calvary
when he was made sin. He is our substitute. He satisfied
God's justice for our sin charged to him. And he made an effectual
atonement for the sin of his covenant people. Let me show
you another verse on this. Turn to Matthew chapter 3. I didn't really see this until
I really started doing some research on this passage. This is back
in verse 13, Matthew 3, 13. This is talking about the baptism
of Christ. And this John the Baptist here
is preaching in verse 13 of Matthew 3. Now listen to this. He says,
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized
of him. But John forbade him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto
him, Suffer it, or allow it to be so now, for thus it becometh
us. Now who's the us there? That's
not talking about him and John the Baptist. I met the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He says, fulfill all righteousness. All right? You see that? And
then John the Baptist suffered him, allowed him. In other words,
John baptized him. You ever ask yourself, why was Jesus Christ
baptized? You know, when a believer is
baptized, what are we doing? We're confessing that when Christ
died, we died. That's why we go down under the
water. And when he was buried, we were buried. And when he arose
again, we come up, when he arose again, we arose, and we're confessing
Christ as our only hope of salvation. Why was he baptized? It was a
picture. It was a lesson. It was a type. Of what? His death, burial, and
resurrection. Because that's how he was going
to fulfill all righteousness. He didn't fulfill all righteousness
by just going down into the water with John the Baptist, but what
he did there, pictured, typified, taught what he was going to do.
He was going to the cross for the sins of his sheep, all whom
the Father had given, and then he was going to die because without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission. See, that's why
it pleased the Lord to bruise him in our stead. and he would
be buried and raised again the third day. And look on, look
at verse 16 there. And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were
opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and lighting upon him. And, lo, a voice from heaven
saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. There's the pleasure of the Lord.
Pictured right there in the baptism of our Savior. The death of Christ. Isn't that something? It pleased
the Lord to bruise his son. The Bible says in Isaiah 42 and
verse 21, the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He
will magnify the law and make it honorable. How's he going
to do that? By bruising his son. Putting his son to death as the
sin bearer and the sin offering of his people. Here's the third
thing. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And this is what we've got to
know now. I mean, you know, people can sit around and wrassle with
these issues of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility till
they're blue in the face. And it's just not, listen, there's
no rationale in the human mind that can grasp these things.
Job said, such things are too high for me. But here's what
we need to be, I want to know what pleases God. That's the
issue. Because that's where my salvation
lies. That's where my hope lies. What pleases God? Well, look
here. Thirdly, it pleased God by the
preaching of the gospel to call out His elect people, the people
who He pleased to choose. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 17. I know this pleases God. He said,
Paul writes here, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to
preach the gospel, the good news of salvation by the grace of
God in Christ. Not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. That's any
human words that takes your mind and your eyes and your heart
away from Christ and Him crucified. Verse 18, for the preaching of
the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness. Is the
preaching of the cross foolishness to you or to me? He says, but
unto them which are saved or which are being saved, it is
the power of God. Is it the power of God to you
and to me? For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of
the wise and will bring down to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For
after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. I've heard preachers say, well,
God could save you any way He wants to. Well, here's how He
wants to do it, right here. How do you know that? What He
says. It pleased God. I've had people try to tell me,
so I was saved without being under the preaching of the gospel.
I was saved out there on a rock, looking out over the ocean. Well,
the Bible says that doesn't please God. How do you know? Because it's not in this book. I need to be under the preaching
of the gospel. I had a fellow tell me down south
one time, he said, well, I don't know if the Lord's gonna save
my children or not. And I said, well, I don't know
either, but I said, I know this, if he does, it's gonna be under
the preaching of the gospel, and that's where I mean to have
him as long as I have any control over the situation. That's the
way I feel about it. Now, after I can't control it,
nothing I can do. But God's in control, isn't he?
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone
that believeth. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. What pleases God. The death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ. The blood and righteousness of
Christ. That's where I learn about who
God is in his justice. That's where I learn about my
sinfulness and depravity. That's where I learn about Christ
as my only hope. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. I don't know if God's gonna give
somebody faith or not, but I know this, it comes by hearing. And
hearing by the word of God. It pleased the Lord. That's what
this book says. Christ said, my sheep hear my
voice and I know them and they follow me. Here's the fourth
thing, turn to Galatians chapter one. It pleased God to call his people
by his grace. Look at Galatians chapter 1 and
look at verse 15 Galatians 1 and verse 15 Paul
writes, but when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me that
I might preach Him among the heathen immediately I conferred
not with flesh and blood. What's Paul saying there? He
said, well when God revealed Christ in me That is, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, when it pleased God to do that, to
bring me, to give me life, that's the new birth now, to give me
life and reveal Christ in me, that is, in my mind, my affections,
my will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He said, I didn't
confer with flesh and blood. In other words, I didn't need
to go get a second opinion. because God's the final authority
here, and it pleased the Lord. The Spirit of God coming into
a sinner does not cease to be God and does not make the man
cease to be man, but he produces divinely, by divine power, in
that man a new life, a new character, a new condition of being, What
the Bible calls a new man, in this sense, a new being in virtue
of the cleansing blood of Christ. He brings that sinner to Christ.
And that takes place in regeneration and conversion. We're born dead
in sin. God gives us life when it pleases
him. And it takes place under the preaching of the gospel.
James said we're begotten again by the word of truth. It takes
place when the Holy Spirit empowers that word to bring us to conviction,
the conviction of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
When will a man be saved? The only scriptural answer is,
is this, when it pleases God. And I'll tell you what, when
it pleases God and He reveals His Son in us, it'll please us
too. Here's the fifth thing. Turn
to Colossians chapter 1. It pleased God Colossians chapter
1, it pleased God to put all spiritual blessings in Christ. You want spiritual blessings?
Well, every one of them, all of them, are in Christ. Look
at Colossians chapter 1 and verse 19. He says, for it pleased the
Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Over in Colossians
2 and verse 9, across the page there, For in him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him which
is the head of all principality and power. It's only in Jesus
Christ that we find the fullness of redemption. It's only in the
Lord Jesus Christ that we find the fullness of forgiveness.
It's only in Jesus Christ that we find the fullness of righteousness
and reconciliation. And we stand perfectly complete
and accepted before a holy God in Christ. Meeting all of his
demands and requirements in Christ. You want to live the abundant
life? Live in Christ. You want the full gospel? Live
in Christ. That right? Because that's the
only way. Now let me turn you to one more
verse and I'll close. Turn to Hebrews 11. Now here's the question I want
to conclude with. Do I desire to please God? Do you desire to please God?
Look at Hebrews chapter 11. Now the Bible says, in the flesh,
this is Romans chapter 8, but you turn to Hebrews 11. In Romans
chapter 8, the Bible says, in the flesh, no man can please
the Lord. Is that right? What is it to be in the flesh?
It's an unbeliever. It's to be without Christ. It's
to be without faith in Him. It's to be without our sins washed
in His blood and clothed in His righteousness. It's to be a rebel
like Israel of old, stiff-necked. Uncircumcised in heart and ear.
Do I want to please God? Do you want to please God? Well,
look at verse 6 of Hebrews 11. It says here, but without faith. Now, I want you to understand
something about faith here in this chapter. You read the whole
chapter. Faith, most people when they talk about having faith,
believing, doing, they're more concerned with their act of believing
or their intensity in believing or their sincerity in believing
than they are with the object of faith. And I know that may
sound strange, but now listen, now certainly we should be concerned
with things of, am I sincere? Am I dedicated? I mean, those
are things we need to be concerned with, certainly. But the issue
of faith here is not how much do you believe, how much I believe,
it's in whom do you believe? that's the issue because you
see your faith, my faith my believing is never good enough to please
God in the way of righteousness and holiness but I want to tell
you something our faith in Christ He is enough this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased so when it says but without faith
Think about it this way. Without believing in Christ,
without looking to Christ, without resting in Christ for all salvation,
all forgiveness, all righteousness, all eternal life and glory, without
Christ, it's impossible to please God. And then he says, for he that
cometh to God. Are you going to come to God? How can a sinner
come to God? Well, look at this. He says,
for he that cometh to God must believe that God is. Now that
phrase there, in the context here, is not just simply saying
that if you come to God, you've got to believe that God exists.
The devils believe, they know God exists, but he's talking
about coming to God. For what? Well, like Enoch did,
like Abel did, like the rest of these fellas did, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and David, and Moses, and he goes on down
through there. How'd they come to God? It's calling upon the
name of the Lord. Do you know how to call upon
the name of the Lord? The Bible teaches us. It goes all the way
back to Genesis chapter 3, but the first time that phrase is
used, called upon the name of the Lord, is in Genesis 12, talking
about Abraham. And you know what he did before
he called upon the name of the Lord? He built an altar. To do what? To sacrifice a lamb. How did
Abel call upon the name of the Lord? He brought the blood of
the Lamb. That's how you call upon the
name of the Lord. So what this is saying is, without faith it's
impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God for salvation,
for forgiveness, for life, for righteousness, must believe that
God is. That God is who He says He is. He's the God who saves sinners
by grace. call upon his name through Christ,
the Lamb, and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him. He'll reward you, not for your works and your efforts and
your dedication, because that's not, listen, if that's true,
then you're a mercenary. You're a hireling. That's salvation
by work. He'll reward you because all
reward is in Christ. It pleased the Lord to place
all spiritual blessings in Christ. Do I want to please the Lord?
Do you want to please the Lord? Well, that's the only way. And
that is in Christ. Alright.