Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. Alright if you'd like to follow
along I'm gonna be in Psalms number 91 the 91st Psalm I Want to begin reading in verse
14 Because he has set his love upon
me Therefore will I deliver him I will set him on high because
he hath known my name. He shall call upon me and I will
answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor
him. With long life will I satisfy
him and show him my salvation. All right. Got a quote here from Charles
Spurgeon that I thought was pretty good. The law is for the self-righteous
to humble their pride. The gospel is for the lost to
remove their despair. That's pretty good, that's pretty
good. Because here it is, this is what the world doesn't understand,
what most people who like the law don't understand. It takes
the power of God to make the self-righteous know that they
are lost. There is no grace without Jesus
Christ. There is no salvation without
grace. There is no mercy without grace. And all of God's grace is in
Jesus Christ. And he came to save sinners. Now, here in Psalms 91, we have
a messianic psalm. Now I looked at some commentators,
They speak of this psalm as God speaking to believers Indirectly at best This is a
psalm about the Son of God who was to come and This is a psalm
and this is my title God's promises to Christ God's promises to Christ
Because this is a psalm of the promises of the Father to the
Son, Jesus Christ. And I'll just be plain about
that. Well, look at verse one. He that
dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. There's only one person that's
ever been in the secret places. What? Of the Most High. That's
Jesus Christ. He was with the Father from the beginning. That's what
it says. From the beginning. Oh, I like
that. And it goes on throughout this,
but I'm just starting in verse 14 because I've gotta limit it
somehow. But there's a lot here in this psalm. But it starts
with this. Because he has set his love upon
me. This is God speaking. I don't
know who wrote this psalm. It doesn't say, nobody knows,
and I'm gonna tell you this, it doesn't matter because it's
true. It's true. It's the word of God. But here
it is, because he has said his love upon me. Now, I can tell
you this for certain. This is not God speaking about
you. This is not God speaking about
me. Or any other person that has ever lived except one, only
one. Because let's be very clear,
neither you nor I nor any other man or woman alive except one
has set their love upon God. We won't do it. Not as we are
naturally born, we will not do it. The one man did, Christ Jesus
the Lord. He's the only one who set his
love upon God freely, freely. You know how I can say that?
Because no man knows God unless Christ has revealed it to him.
No man knows the Father. I'm gonna quote that a little
later on, too, as a matter of fact. No one has set their love
upon God except Jesus Christ. Now, I will say this. Believers
do love God. Believers do love Christ, and
believers love the brethren. That was his commandment to us.
Believe me and love your brethren. That was his commandment from
Christ. But here's the thing, God set his love upon his only
begotten well-beloved son, Jesus, the God-man, the Messiah, the
Christ, and he set his love upon the Father. He's the only one
who could do that. The only one capable of doing
that. No one else is capable. What
does it say? Jesus Christ set his love upon
us. The Father chose us in the Beloved,
in the Son, in love. in love. And Jesus Christ loves
God with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul, and all his
strength. Now we love Christ, we love God,
and we love his people, but that is only because he first loved
us. I'm sorry, that's just the way
it is. The love of God is not in the natural man. And let's be perfectly honest,
even as a believer, the love of God's not in your flesh. In
your flesh dwelleth no good thing. And the love of God is good.
The love of God is great. The love of God is wondrous.
But it's not in the natural man. It's a spiritual thing given
to us by God's Holy Spirit. but Jesus Christ set his love
upon the father, and the father loves the son. Because he has
set his love upon me, then it says this, therefore will I deliver
him. I will deliver him. Flat statement,
flat statement. But I had to look at this in
a couple of different ways. We can understand according to
the scriptures, right? While our Lord Jesus Christ was
on this earth, during his ministry, preaching the absolute truth
of God, not one word misspoken, no guile in his mouth, no deception. Every word he spoke was true.
They repeatedly tried to kill him. It's in the scriptures,
it's in the gospel, you can look it up. I won't go into it in
too much detail, but they tried to kill him several times. And
every time except the last time, he walked out of the midst. He
was unharmed. God said it. Because he set his
love on me, I'll deliver him. I will deliver him. And he was
delivered by God those times, what? Because. My hour hath not
yet come. Now, this is the other thought
of therefore will I deliver him because when it was his hour,
when it came to that hour, Peter put it this way. Acts two and
verse 23, him being delivered By the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain him. Slain. Yes, Jesus Christ was
delivered by God into wicked hands. You think about it. He was delivered
from wicked hands while he was doing his ministry, and then
he was delivered unto wicked hands. Because they'd been trying
to kill him for three years, or three and a half years. Oh,
that's the thing. Both of these are true, and both
of these are right. Because he said it, for this
hour came I into this world. for this express purpose of God. And what's it? Him being delivered. And that's what the Psalm says.
Therefore I will deliver him. He delivered him from those people
that tried to stone him, and he delivered him into the hands
that wanted to crucify him. Oh my. How's this possible? Well, Isaiah 53 10 says it this
way. Yet it pleased the Lord, to bruise
him. To bruise him. He hath put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall see his
seed. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. God delivered
him to be bruised. And to be put to grief. He grieved. He shall see his seed. I like
that part. He was delivered to wicked hands
for a purpose. The purpose of God. The purpose
of the Father's will. For this hour came I into this
world. What? To be bruised and to be
put to grief. To be crucified and slain. Oh, I don't know. I still remember
David told me years ago, David McCollum, that I can't remember
his name now, it saved my neck. Some idiot TV preacher said,
if I'd have been there, I'd have stopped that crucifixion. Oh
no, you wouldn't. And if you tried, you'd be dead.
Because you understand, this was by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, and for this hour, Christ came into
the world. God delivered him to wicked hands.
Oh, he did. Oh, and you by wicked hands have
crucified and slain. The Lord of glory, the one perfect
man on this earth. He was numbered with the malefactors. I still like that word, malefactors.
He had one thief on one hand, another thief on the other hand
when he was crucified. He was up there with two criminals,
and they were treating him just like he was a criminal. He'd
already been beaten, he'd already been scourged, and they nailed
his hands to that tree, to that cross member. For this cause, this hour, came
I into the world. Oh, my. Oh, without his sacrifice,
we have nothing. We have absolutely nothing. We
have death. We already had death before.
Oh, but now, but now, by his offering, what? When thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. Oh, I like that. He shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. What did he say? Therefore, what? Will I deliver him. God delivered him to be bruised
and put to grief. He was delivered to wicked hands
for a purpose. They bruised and killed the son. And here's the thing, they meant
it for evil, but God meant it for good. That don't make it
any less evil. Doesn't make it a bit less evil,
but God meant it for good. God meant it for good. God delivered
him, what? To prolong his days and to prosper. Wow, I like that. The pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his nail-pierced hand. Oh my. What's it say? We sang it last
week. God moves in mysterious ways. What? His wonders to perform. Oh, I like that. God delivered
him, and then it says this. I will set him on high, on high. Oh, I like that too. Because
he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.
I will set him on high. Even more than delivering. I'll
deliver him. Will I? I will. Will I deliver
him? I will deliver him. I'll set
him on high, though. Even more than delivering, I'm
gonna set him on high, Acts 2 and 24. After that one, we just read,
that one that you crucified and slain by wicked hands, what's
he say? Whom God hath raised up. whom God has raised up, having
loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of it. Oh, I like that. I'll set him
on high. The father delivered him to wicked
hands and then raised him up. Raised him up. Oh, I like that. You know why he raised him up?
Because while he was up there hanging, he said these three
words. It is finished. And it was. And it still is. And it ever shall be. Christ
said it. It's true whether anybody believes
it or not. Thank God I believe it. But it
doesn't matter on my belief. It's still finished. It's finished. Oh, the Father delivered him.
And God raised him up because it was not possible that death
could hold, who? The King of Glory. Oh, death
couldn't hold the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It's not
possible. Death cannot hold life. And Jesus Christ is the way,
the truth, and the life. He had life in and of himself
and death couldn't hold him. Oh. The only reason death got a hold
of him was he willingly laid down his life for the sheep. Not for the goats, not for the
cows, not for the camels, for his sheep, for his sheep. Oh,
I like that. The father delivered him and
God raised him up. And only that, not only that,
excuse me, God set him on high, God set him on high. Jesus ascended
after his resurrection and when his time and when his work was
done with the disciples after being raised from the dead, and
they saw him, they talked with him, he ate fish with them on
the side of the sea after they caught him. Oh, I like that. But after that, when he was done,
it says, Hebrews 1 and 3 says this, who being the brightness
of his glory and the express image of his person, talking
about God, upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had, past tense, by himself, no help from us, purged our sins. What'd he do? He sat down. Where? On the right hand of the
majesty on high. I will set him on high. I will
set him on high. I did read a little bit of what
John Gill said about that. He says, we're set on high in
Christ, which is true. We're in Christ and he's on high,
but that's not the point here. The point here is God says, I'm
gonna set him on high. Why? Because he had what? Set his love upon me, therefore
I'll deliver him. And that was deliver him to life
and deliver him to death and raise him from the dead. I'll
set him on high. Oh, I like that. And he sat down
on the right hand of the majesty on high. Believers are in Christ. And it is he, though, that is
high and lifted up. Oh, I like that. Jesus Christ
is high and lifted up. He is set on high, seated at
the right hand of the Father. I will set him on high. And you
know what? He still is. He still is. Oh, I like that. He ever liveth
to make intercession for us. For us. I'll set him on high,
and here it is, it says this, because he has known my name. Because he has known my name.
I'm gonna tell you something, Jesus Christ knows the Father
like we never will. And I'm talking about in hereafter.
You understand? Now I hope, I believe, I'm not
gonna be as dumb up there as I am down here. And I shall know
as I am known. But still, The father and the
son have a relationship that we can't touch. The son knows
the father in ways we never will. Oh my. We'll know him better. Right now, we're looking through
a glass darkly. You're kinda peeking and looking
and we go through this book and we try to find out what God is
saying to us at any particular time. But then it says we're
going to see face to face. And we're going to see more.
And we're going to know more. And I'm hoping to goodness this
brain is going to work more, work better. I'd be happy with
that. Oh, I like that. What does he say? Because he
has known my name, because he has known God's honor, authority,
and character, Jesus Christ called him father while he was on this
earth. I come to do, who? My father's
will. I come to do my father's will.
Oh, I like that too. Jesus Christ knew the father. Now, Luke 10 and verse 22 says this.
All things, this is Christ speaking, all things are delivered to me
of my father, my father. And no man knoweth who the son
is but the father, but the father. And who the father is, but the
son. Ah, but here it is, he didn't
leave us out. He didn't leave us out, there's more. And he
to whom the son will reveal him. You understand, it's not that
the father is hid from us, it's just that we're too blind to
see. The problem's not with God. You understand, the problem's
never with the light, with Jesus Christ. The problem is our eyes
are blind. Or we put blinders on them. There
are people who willingly limit their scope. They don't read,
they don't study, they don't come and hear the gospel preached.
And they wonder why they don't grow in grace and knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, anyway, because he has
known my name, I like that. Because he has known my name,
Jesus Christ knows the father and who the father is and Jesus
Christ reveals the father to those that the father gave to
him. I like that. And I can tell you
this, no man knows either the Father or the Son. No man truly knows God except
by revelation. And that's what it says. Actually,
that's what Christ said. Christ said. I had to turn to
it because I didn't mark it. I didn't write it down. And I
didn't want to misread it. Here it is. When Jesus came to
the coast of Caesarea Philippi, this is Matthew 16 and verse
13, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? And they said, some say that
thou art John the Baptist, which seems kind of strange because
John the Baptist was around, but anyway. Some, Elias, and
the others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto
them, but whom say ye that I am? Talking to his disciples. Simon
Peter answered. Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Understand. The natural man understands not
the things of the Spirit of God. And I'm gonna tell you this,
knowledge of Jesus Christ is of the Spirit of God. It's not natural. It's not natural. Neither can he know them, for
they are spiritually, spiritually understood. Neither can he know them. The
natural man cannot. What's it say? No man knoweth
who the Son, but the Father, and who the Father is, but the
Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And Jesus Christ
is revealing himself to those that the Father gave to him.
He's revealing himself to his sheep. He's calling them by name. And they follow. They follow. You know why? Because they'll
hear. When Jesus Christ speaks to you,
you will hear. I guarantee it. I'll have to
guarantee the Bible does. Christ does. Oh, no man knows
the son except it be given unto him by the father. The son knows
the father and the father knows the son. That's the thing. The
father knows the son and the son knows the father. Because
he has known my name. I like that. Then verse 15, he
shall call upon me and I will answer him. Now you understand,
most people don't think that's strange. Well God answers all
prayers. No he doesn't. No he doesn't. You know the Israelites were
in Egypt for about 400 years. He didn't answer their prayers
for 400 years. And then when he did answer their prayers,
they didn't like it. Oh, that's the other part people
wanna leave out. You understand? Sometimes the
answer is no for a good reason. Oh. Sometimes, y'all might not believe
this, folks. Sometimes we ask Amiss is the
way the scripture says it. Ye ask amiss. What's that mean? You ask for the wrong thing.
You ask for it at the wrong time, and you ask for the wrong thing.