going to be in Psalms 115 Psalm 115 I want to read the
first three verses Not unto us O Lord not unto us
But unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. John Newton said this, or at
least wrote it. I'm sure he said it. How unspeakably
wonderful to know that all our concerns are held in hands that
bled for us. I like that. I like that. That is wonderful. Now, Psalms
115 starts this way. The Lord gives glory unto his
name. Not unto you. Not unto you. He gives glory unto his name
for his mercy and his truth, his truth. And I like the way
the psalmist put it. Not unto us, not unto us. Here's
my point. Like that mention of give your
heart to Jesus. You don't want God to talk about
you. You want the Father to be looking
at the Son, not at you. You want the father to see the
son when he looks at you. Oh, I want to make this clear
before I start. In my flesh and in your flesh
dwells no good thing. And that includes your own rotten
heart. Now, but I also have to point
out this. His grace and by his truth We
know someone and we know some things Some things so today my
title is three questions about God, that's my title Three questions
about God. I'm gonna ask them and by God's
grace in his word From Psalms 115. I'm gonna answer them Question one, where is your God? Where is your God? Now, my first
point about this question is pay very close attention to who's
asking this question. What does it say? Wherefore should
the heathen say, where is now their God? This is the question
of the heathen. You understand? A believer should
never have to ask this question. A believer should never ask this
question. And I don't know that I've ever heard one ask this
question. What's my point here? Well, I'm gonna tell you something.
The heathen are mean. They're mean. This is actually
meant as an insult. That's the way it was said. This
is said as an accusation. It wasn't, oh, where is your
God? No, it was, where's your God?
Where is your God? I know where mine is. He's going
to tell us a little later. I know where mine is. This is
said as an insult. The Jews don't have a God. You
know why? Because we can't see him. We
can't see him. What this really is, though,
is really is a confession of who the heathen really are. The heathen are those who do
not know the Lord. The Lord, that's the definition.
And I'm gonna tell you right now, I thought about going into
this and I thought I might as well. This is just as true today
as it is in Old Testament times. Just as true today. Because I'm
gonna tell you something, believers today are surrounded by the heathen. And I'm gonna be mean here, myself. Even though those heathen may
use the name of Christ, they call themselves Christian. Or
other things. Believers are surrounded by the
heathen. I'm not just talking about idols that are still around
today. What is it, Brahma, Shiva, and
that elephant head guy, Ganesha, the Hindus? But this also includes,
this also includes crosses, crucifixes, rosaries, paintings, statues. Those statues used to be called
graven images. Oh my. cradles, manger scenes. Even what Walter likes to call
plastic Jesus or concrete Jesus in your yard. Even just a plain
wooden cross worn around your neck or a little silver cross. Those are no better. Those are
no better than the images of Dagon or Bale. There's no difference,
I'm gonna tell you something. People don't understand it, people
won't like it. I understand that, but here's
the question. Well, no, sorry, first before
that, here's the statement. I have seen them bow and kneel
before those statues. I grew up around that stuff.
I grew up around it. I've seen them kiss the feet
of them of a statue on television. You know, they may ask you, where's
your God? Where's your God? Well, I can
tell you, he's not on your shelf. That's right. He's not on your
wall. He's not in your little alcove, and he's not in your
prayer garden. And, you wanna get real mean? He's not around your neck. You
understand, I've seen baseball players. Henry talked about that
years ago. They take that cross out, they
kiss it, they put it under, and then they point it upstairs.
You understand? They touch, they handle these
things like a lucky charm. And that's the way they feel
about it. But oh, I'm gonna tell you something, our God's not
on your shelf. Our God's not around your neck. Our God is
in the heaven. My he is in the heavens because
here's the thing the God of the Bible is on his throne He's on
his throne Excuse me. He's on his throne And I'm gonna
tell you something. He's high and he's lifted up. Oh I like that you understand
some may set a great store about the Ten Commandments and But
there's one of those commandments they have a tendency to ignore.
Thou shalt not make any graven image. Of anything. Of anything. But I'm gonna tell you something.
The reason they ask this question is the heathen don't know where
God is. They do not know where he is.
He's in the heavens. Matter of fact, David said he's
in the deeps. He's in the sea. He's everywhere, but he's in
the heavens. Well, wait a minute, excuse me.
And he's in the heavens, not but, and. But here's the other
part. The Lord is in every one of his
people. He is. Examine yourselves whether
ye be in the faith. This is 2 Corinthians 13 five. Prove to your own selves, prove
your own selves, know ye not your own selves how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates. The heathen don't
know where he is. The heathen don't know. God's
people do not need and should not want statues. or necklaces, or even a big wooden
cross around your neck or anywhere else. Earl used to say it's like
carrying around a little replica of an electric chair. That's what it was. The crucifix, he's not there anymore, folks. He is seated at the right hand
of the majesty on high. He's not on a cross anymore. And I thank God for the cross of Jesus
Christ. But he's not there. That's not
who I worship. That's not who I'm looking to.
I'm looking to the one on the right hand of the majesty on
high. I'm looking to the one who's seated and waiting, expecting
his enemies to be made his footstool. God's people have his Holy Spirit
within them, and they know he's on the right hand of Father. Now, is that clear? Well, wait
a minute, not to the heathen, not to the heathen, but it is
clear to God's people. You understand? He's not in a
manger, this is that time of year. He's not in a manger. Yes, he did come into this world
and thank God for it because it meant our salvation was come. That fellow that held him, Simeon,
and was there to be circumcised, I said, Lord, thank you. I have
seen your salvation. He was holding, what, an eight-day-old
infant or whatever? He was holding a young, he didn't
see that. He saw the salvation of God's
people right there. Oh, my. And that's what the heathen
don't see. Second question. Now these two
questions are pretty easy because you expect them. What is God
doing? What is your God doing? Now this
is a question, to be honest, right now, not many people are
asking. And there's a reason for that.
Most people have no idea what God is doing. And the sad part
is most people don't care. Most people don't care. This
is not a question that bothers most people, even religious people.
Because I'm gonna tell you, sometimes I think they believe they know
the answer, even though they may be wrong. Let me be honest with you people.
Let me be honest with you. I can tell you what bothers most
people who do have a question about what God does. who do have
a question about it. It's not a deep, dark secret,
but most people don't really understand what they're doing
because most people are not concerned with what God is doing. They
are more interested in what God is not doing. Why isn't God doing
what I want? That's what concerns them. That's
what concerns them. Why is not God not doing what
I want him to do? That's what men want, heathen
included. I want more money. I want more success. I want more
stuff. I want more stuff. Or, and I'll
go this way. I want this person saved or that
person saved and I want them saved now. You understand? Waiting on the Lord is not something
people do. They're more concerned with what
God's not doing than what He is doing. And the psalmist tells
us here what God is doing. He is doing whatever He pleases
to do. You understand, it's not up to
the heathen or it's not even up to us as believers to tell
God what to do. God does as He pleases. He hath
done whatsoever he is pleased. Psalm 135 puts it this way. Verse six, whatsoever the Lord
please, that did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas and
all deep places. That's what it says. Whatever
he does, Walter preached it last week. Whatever he does that pleases
him is what? Good. It's good. And not only that, it is good
for those who love him. All things work together for
good to them that love God. And I wrote me down a note here,
Walter, that thing I sent you. John Newton put it this way,
everything is needful that he sins. Everything is needful that
he sins. And nothing is needful that he
withholds. Ain't that good? If you know God, that won't bother
you. Matter of fact, if you know God, you'll like that. You might
have some joy in that. You understand, I don't understand
everything that's going on, and thank God for that sometimes.
I don't wanna understand everything that's going on, but I know God
does. And it's for my good, and it's his glory. Every single
bit of it. He's done it. I just read it. In all what? In heaven, and in
earth, in the seas, and in all deep places. That's pretty much
everywhere. You understand? It's pretty much
everywhere. What does it say before that? Verse five. For
I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord please, that
did he. That did he. That's what he's
doing. Here it is. If you don't love
God, you don't know where he is and you don't know what he's
doing. And that's just the truth of the matter. Matter of fact,
that's another definition of the heathen. You don't know where
God is and you don't know what he's doing. Oh, but now the third question,
I'm not gonna keep you too long. The third question, who is God? Who is God? That's the last question
of the day for me. Now you might think this is an
easy question. And for some, It is. For others, not so much. Not so much. Matter of fact,
Earl told the story of a fellow at an ordination, his own ordination.
I'll tell this for the people streaming, maybe not heard this,
or this gets out on the TV. This fellow was there to be ordained
as a preacher. And the fellow that was with
Earl asked him a question. Who is Jesus Christ? And it stumped the guy. And he
looked at the fellow that asked the question and said, I don't
know what you mean. And this is a man who's going
to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ? And you can't answer
that question? I'm going to tell you something.
Earl did say that he did not vote for ordination of that fellow. And I believe him. Understand
who is God I can tell you this the heathen don't know they think
they know They'll tell you they know but the heathen do not know
But the psalmist tell us look in verse 9 of Psalms 115 Oh Israel trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield
House of Aaron trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield
Here verse 11 ye that fear the Lord Trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Oh I like that Here's who God
is He is the help and the shield of his people of his people Now
the next part is key, whose help and whose shield? Because let's
be clear, the Lord is not everyone's help. He is not everyone's shield. He laid it out here specifically.
Oh my, what's he say? Oh Israel, oh Israel. Now, you can take that as the
Jews, or you can take that as the congregation of Israel, or
you can take that as the prince with God, Israel, who used to
be named Jacob. Oh, Israel. And then it says,
what? Oh, house of Aaron. That's the priest. That's the
priest. Oh, I like that, I do. But then
this third one hit me. I'm gonna tell you something.
What? Ye that fear the Lord. Folks, that can include us. Matter
of fact, it does include us. Ye that fear the Lord, the house
of Aaron and Israel, the Lord is their help and the Lord is
their shield. How so? Look at verse 12. The Lord has been mindful of
us. I like that. I like that. You
understand, Israel and the house of Aaron and they fear the Lord.
Guess what? That's us. That's one people. That's us. The Lord has been
mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron. And what is it, verse 13? He
will bless them that fear the Lord both. And I love this part,
small and great. You understand? Because I can
fit in there. I can fit in there. Fear the Lord and I'm small.
Small and great. Oh, I like that. That's all of
us. That's all of his people. All of those with a circumcised
heart in the spirit and not in the flesh. All of those who he
has given, what? A circumcised heart and circumcised
ears to hear his truth. Oh, all of those he's given eyes
to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand. Oh, I like that. Circumcised and small and great. Small and great. Here's the thing. Abraham and Moses and you. And you. I like that, I do. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and
you. Isaiah and you believe the same
Lord. Isn't that great? Small and great. I like that. Moses, David, Daniel,
Ruth, and Walter love the same Lord. Know the same Lord. Oh, I like that. And yes, I am
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did Christ say? He said,
Moses wrote of me. And you know what he meant? He
meant that Moses wrote of me. That's exactly what he meant.
And he also said, Abraham saw my day. Well, not only that,
he was glad. He was glad. Oh, I like that. John 10 and verse 30 says this,
I and my Father are one, are one. And you know, the wonderful thing about that, John 10 and verse 30, because
here's the thing, when did Christ say this? Right after he told
some people they weren't his sheep. That's what he did. He told some that they didn't
believe because they were not of my sheep. That's in John 10
and verse 26. But ye believe not because ye
are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Oh, I like that. And I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Oh my, talk about
help and a shield. Yeah, and they shall never perish. Well, here's a shield. Neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And you want a double
shield? Look at the next verse. Verse
29, my father which gave them me is great. He took up stones
to stone him. Why? Because he told the absolute
unvarnished truth. 1 John 5 and 7 says, for there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. Jesus told us himself that many
were gonna come from the east and from the west and sit down with Abraham and
Isaac and Gentile. Oh, we, believers, believers
from every age, Old Testament and new, shall sit in the kingdom
at the table of the Lord. He is our help and our shield. Oh, I like that. And what's that
mean? That means Jew and Gentile. Bond
and free, old and young, Male and female, small and great. Small and great, I like that,
I do. Our God is in the heavens, he
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. He is their help and
he is their shield. And he has promised and it shall
come to pass. Oh, I like that. In conclusion, Check out, I purposely
didn't read it. Psalms 135, whatsoever the Lord
please that did he in heaven and earth and all the seas and
all the deep places. You know what he said right before
that in verse four? For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure. You people
always have to bring election into stuff, don't you? God's
the one making the choice, not me, folks. He's the one that
wrote the book, I'm just reading it and believing it. And the
heathen won't believe it, not even when they read it. They'll
try to explain it away. You understand, for whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and earth and the seas
and all the deep places, he chose Jacob and Israel. And one place
it tells you this, I made Jacob. and formed Israel. You understand? The usurper and
the prince with God are the same person. They're the same person. And I'm gonna tell you something,
that's us, folks. That's us. Oh, I like that. God's people are both sinner
and saint. We have an old man and we have
a new man. That's why he don't want your old heart, he's gonna
give you a new one. You need a new heart, your old heart cannot
be refabricated. No, we need a new heart and he
gives us one. God's people are both sinner
and saint and what's it say? For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
and Israel. Oh, I like that, I do, I do.
What did John Newton say? How unspeakably wonderful is
it to know all our concerns are held in hands that bled for us. He shed his blood for his people. He's going to have his people
with him, together with him in glory. He's promised. He chose
us because he loved us. In his son, Jesus Christ our
Lord, He chose His people because it pleased Him. It pleased Him. He chose us in His good pleasure,
in His good Son. Oh, I like this. Jesus Christ
is our Lord. And we, by His grace, by His
truth given to us, know Him. We know where he is, we know
what he's doing, and we know who he is. Actually, it's because
we know who he is. He's the one with whom we have
to do. The Father gave him power over
all flesh. That's what it says in John 17.
For what purpose? For what purpose did God the
Father give God the Son power over all flesh? It says this,
that he should give eternal life to as many as the father gave
to him. In his good pleasure, in his
good pleasure. Oh, I like that. So the question
is, where's your God? Where's your God? What is your
God doing? Who is your God? Understand you
can have that little cross around your neck and even be a little
crucifix with a little Jesus on and you can kiss it all you
want. It ain't gonna help you a bit. It's not your help and
that's not your shield. It doesn't work that way. I was
thinking about this on the way up here. What's it saying? I didn't go into this, I wasn't
gonna do it, but the idols are silver and gold, the work of
men's hands. Men's hands, that's verse four
of Psalm 115, right? What's it say? They have mouths,
but they speak not. Eyes they have, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Noses they have, but they smell not. They have hands, but
they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk
not. Neither speak they through their
throat. Yeah. How many times have you ever
heard a preacher get up and say, God's got no hands but your hands? That's a lie. Or maybe his God,
but it's not my God. God's got no feet but your feet.
God's got no mouth but your mouth. That's a lie. Our God is in the
heavens. He has done, is doing, and shall
do whatsoever he hath pleased. And if you don't know that, you
don't know God. And that's just the truth of the matter. So where
is your God? Who is your God? Our Heavenly
Father, we're thankful again for this time and this place.
Thank you. Thank you, Lord, so much for
your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is Lord. whether we know it
or not, whether we believe it or not. He is God manifest in
the flesh, seated in the heavens. And he is expecting his enemies
to be made his footstool. And he is calling out his sheep
by name. And they hear his voice and they
follow him and he gives us eternal life. And thank you, Lord, for
all that you've given to us. Be with Walter as he preaches.
Be with Paul where he's at. Be with all of God's ministers
to preach your truth and have it be received by your people.
In Christ's name we pray.