If you'd like to follow along,
I'm going to be in Psalms number 111. 111th Psalm. I'm going to begin reading in
verse 4. He hath made his wonderful works
to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. He hath given meat unto them
that fear him. He will ever be mindful of his
covenant. He hath showed his people the
power of his words that he may give them the heritage of the
heathen. The works of his hands are verity
and judgment. All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever
and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever. Now, before we get into this psalm,
I got some other things to tell you. All around us today, we're surrounded
by it. You will hear about God, or about
who people call God, let me put it that way. because however,
the great majority of those around us and the vast, vast majority
of those on television or radio, what you hear about is an impotent
God, a powerless God, a God who is waiting for you to help him
do his work. That's not the God of the Bible.
You will hear of a spirit who's willing, but not willing enough
to override your will. That's not the Holy Spirit of
the Bible. And finally, you'll hear of a Christ who wants to
save, but he's got to wait for you to make the first move. You've
got to take the first step, and he'll meet you there. That's
not the Christ of the Bible. No matter what anyone says, that's
not him. It's not the God of the Bible,
it's not the Holy Spirit of the Bible, it's not the Christ of
the Bible. Now, Psalms 111, when we get to it, you'll see is a
psalm full of works. It's a psalm of works. It's also
a psalm of grace. And here's the thing, those works
are not yours. They're not yours, they're not
mine, they're not anybody else's. They're God's works. And it's God's grace who gives
those works to us. His grace and his works are without
beginning and without end. And here's the thing, I wanna
go into first, before we get into his works, the God of the
Bible is not impotent, powerless, unwilling, or anything like that. And he is not waiting on you
or me or anyone else to do his work, ever. Ever. What I wanna start with, I wanna
give you an example here. Here's the question. Do you know
how God is praised in heaven? In heaven. You don't have to
turn there, I'm gonna read it. This is Revelation 19 and verse
six. And I heard, as it were the voice
of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, alleluia, alleluia, for
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. That's the God of the Bible.
That's the Lamb of God. It goes on to tell us in the
next verse, I'm not gonna go into it, that's Jesus Christ. The
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. It says what? Hallelujah. You
know what hallelujah translates as? Transliteration as they say. Praise ye Yah. Praise ye Yahweh. Praise the
God, the Lord. The Lord God, omnipotent reigneth. Why should we praise the Curios
Theos, that's what it is, the Lord God? Because the Lord God,
omnipotent, reigneth. He reigns. Now, omnipotent in
English, the definition is all powerful. All potent is what
it is. All potency. The transliteration
of that means and from the Hebrew, from the Greek, and it's taken
from a Hebrew word, all ruling. Man, that's something. You understand,
a lot of people wanna talk about God. Like I said, we're surrounded
by them. There's churches on every corner. There's three or
four here within a half a mile, within a mile. There may be five
or 10. How many times are they gonna
preach about God ruling? omnipotently ruling. This is what it says. For the
Lord God all ruling, what? Rules. He reigns. He reigns and he rules. What?
Present tense. Right now. Oh, I like that, I
do. Praise him. Now here's the thing. You wanna call it a exercise
in biblical logic? We can. If God has all power,
if God is all ruling, how much is left for you? Absolutely none. Absolutely none. You understand,
I was listening to Henry Mahan on the way up here, he said,
let's not get upset with second causes. God's the first cause. And you're to take whatever God
does to you with thankfulness. It may be unpleasant for you.
I know things have been unpleasant for me at times. But I'm to thank
God for them. And that's the truth. Why? Because
the Lord God omnipotent reigns. He's in control. We're not. Any control we think we might
have is at best illusion. We think we're in control of
some things. We'd like to be in control of our children. And
that ain't ever happened. At most, and at best, it is barely
controlled chaos. That's what children are. I know
because I was one. And I was uncontrolled chaos
for the most of it. But this is the thing. The Lord
God omnipotent reigneth even then. Still does now. Praise him. Why? He is the God of all power. That's my title, Paul. The God
of all power. And there is none other. And
here's the thing, I wanna make plain. There is no other power. No other power. He has all power,
we have none. He has all power, nobody has
any. What's it say? He reigns and
he rules over all. Going back up to Psalms 103 verse
19. Psalms 103 verse 19. The Lord
hath prepared his throne in the heavens and, what? His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels
that excel and strengthen, that do his commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Blessed ye the Lord, all ye his
hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord,
what? All his works. In places of his
dominion. Well, that's all. Bless the Lord,
oh my soul. The Old Testament and the New
Testament agree. Agree. Just as we sang here,
what was it? Oh yeah. His kingdom is glorious,
he rules over all. I like to think we mean that.
I mean it, and I think you do too. But I wonder how many places
can sing that song and not mean a word about it. You understand,
God reigns over all. He hath prepared his throne. That's in Psalms in the Old Testament,
and it's already in the past tense. He's had a throne. He has his throne. He always
shall have his throne. But that was in the past tense.
Our Lord has always had a throne. This is because the Lord God
Almighty has always reigned. He has always reigned, you understand?
There is no one outside of his rule. His kingdom's over all. And if it's a kingdom, it's got
a king. And that king is our Lord Jesus
Christ. He was king before he came here. He was king while he was here,
and he was king when he left. And he's still king now. and
his kingdom rules over all, because he rules over all. As a matter
of fact, you look at that, the Lord half prepared his throne,
that's in the past tense, and you look and see, and his kingdom
rules over all, that's in the present tense. And it still is
in the present tense. Right now, he rules over all. Jesus Christ told us himself,
that God had given him, the Father had given him power over all
flesh. Over all flesh. Understand, no
one has ever been outside of the rule and reign of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Not Lucifer, not Satan. Read the book of Job. God gave
Satan instructions and he never stepped a foot beyond them. Oh my, well here's the other
thing, and not you, and not me. No one is, no one is outside
of the reign of Jesus Christ, the rule of Jesus Christ, not
one. Matthew 28 and verse 18 says
this, and Jesus came, this is after
the resurrection, and Jesus came and spake unto them, his disciples,
saying, All power, all power, all power is given, what? Unto me. Where? In heaven and in earth. Oh my. Jesus Christ said this
himself. All power is given unto me. And
he also told us in John 17 before he was crucified, he had power
over all flesh be given to him. Oh my. Then what does he say? Verse 19. Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Now, what did Jesus say? He says, all power is given unto
me. Then he says, go and teach. Go and teach. Now, you might
say, teach what? And I would correct you and say,
no, it's teach who? But when you're teaching who, you're gonna
teach what? But here's the thing, teach this. Jesus Christ has
all power. He has all power. We have none. That's the way it is. And that's,
he told us, it's told in his scripture. When you were without
strength, Christ died for the ungodly. for the ungodly. So not only do we not have any
power, we're ungodly and without power. But praise God, we have
a Lord and Savior who saves his people from their sins. Oh, teach
this, Jesus Christ has all power. Preach this, proclaim this, and
praise him. Praise him, just like he's praised
in heaven. because Jesus Christ is God manifest
in the flesh. And Jesus Christ is the God of
all power, period. Period. He has power over all flesh and
all power in heaven and earth. That's a lot of power. No, it's not. It's all power.
You understand? I mean, you understand? There's
no power left over for you, me, or anybody else. What about kings? What about presidents? Senators? Congressmen? What about Vladimir
Putin? We're going to make this timely. Ah, here's the thing. The king's heart. is in the Lord's
hands. He turns it. Withersoever he
will. And that goes for presidents,
and Vladimir Putin included, and everybody else. Ask Pharaoh about where his heart
was. Oh, he hardened his heart, and
his heart was hardened for him. and it was turned with us whoever
the Lord will. He was gonna let the Israelis go a couple of times,
the Israelites, he was gonna let them go. Then what happened? His heart got hardened and he
didn't. Oh my. You think God was ignorant? He sent Moses there. Christ's kingdom rules over all
and Christ the king rules over all. He is the God of all power. Now, let's get back to Psalms
111. And look at the works of the God of all power. Just gonna go through these kinda
quickly here. Verse two. I love this. Well, verse one.
Praise ye the Lord, I'll praise the Lord with my whole heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Verse
two. The works of the Lord are great.
Great. And here's the thing. Sought
out of all them that have pleasure therein. You understand? The works of
the Lord are great. But not many people seek them
out. Not many people want to know the God of all power. They
don't wanna know the God of the Bible. They don't wanna know
the Christ of the Bible. They don't wanna know the Holy
Spirit of the Bible. You don't understand why? I'll
tell you exactly why, because I know why I've heard them talk.
And they leak out on them. They want a God that's dependent
upon them. They want a Christ that's either still a baby in
a crash, in a manger or one that has got to wait on them. And
they want a Holy Spirit that'll make them feel bubbly, wonderfully
good, but not teach them a thing about Christ or God. And what
did Jesus Christ say about the Holy Spirit? He's gonna take
those things of mine and show them to you. What is it? They are sought out of all them
that have pleasure in them. Oh, I like that. What? Praise
ye the Lord. Do you like to hear about the
God of all power? Does that give you joy? Does
that give you a little peace? You understand? I can't affect anything much in
my life, period. I am a, what was it they used
to say? I'm a victim of circumstance.
I have no control. I have no illusions of control
most days. Some days I think I do, but it's
all right. I can delude myself just like anybody else. It's
just the way we are. But here's the thing. Oh, it
does me good to understand that I know he has shown me that his
works are great. His works are great. What is
it? Verse three. His work is honorable
and glorious. His work, the Lord God's work,
the Lord God omnipotent who reigns work, is worthy of all honor. Oh my. It is worthy of all glory. Because here's the thing, all
of his works are great. And all of his works, they're
holy. They're just. They're full of
justice. They're merciful. Ah, the God
of all power can be merciful when his justice has been fulfilled. And not before, not before. God's justice must be answered. Sin has got to be punished. And
it was in his son for his people. Oh, his works are honorable and
glorious. Oh, I like that, I do. Honorable
and glorious. And his righteousness endureth
forever. Oh, when his justice is satisfied
and his mercy and his grace comes to you, his righteousness is
given. and his righteousness endures
forever. There is no end to the righteousness
of God which is in the face of Jesus Christ. Oh, and then, see,
it's his righteousness, Christ's righteousness, that is the righteousness
imparted and the righteousness imputed to every one of his children. Oh, I like that. worthy of all
glory, worthy of all honor. His righteousness never changes.
His works never change. You understand? Why in the world
would you want to change perfection? Well, there's people who do.
There's people who want, you know, they want Christ to be
adaptable. They want him to be available.
They don't want him to be Lord, they don't want him to be omnipotent,
and they don't want him to reign. But you understand, we are so
depraved, we are so rotten in and of ourselves, we don't have
the first inkling of true perfection. We don't know what it is. I do
know this much, by his word, don't mess with it. Don't mess
with, don't even try to mess with Christ's work. Don't mess
with even God's work. They're great, they're honorable,
they're glorious. His righteousness endures forever.
Leave it alone and believe it. Believe him. But people wanna
change things. Oh no, no. I am the Lord, I am
the Lord, and I change not. Because perfection doesn't need
to change. His righteousness endures forever. There's no end to it. And his
righteousness, here's the thing we do need to remember, is the
only righteousness that matters is his righteousness. The righteousness
of Christ. All our righteousness are what?
Filthy rags, that's it, Mac. Filthy rags. And we don't need
to put them on and try and parade around in front of anybody. much
less God. His righteousness is the only
righteousness that matters. Verse four says, and I like this
too, he hath made his wonderful works to be remembered. To be remembered. The Lord is
gracious and full of compassion. I like that. Understand, We are told that
we are forgetting the things that are past. We are told that,
right? But we're also told this. Remember the pit from which you
dig. You understand? There's a balance here, okay?
I do love what Walter said about this one time. He said, remember
the pit from which you dig. Don't go back and get as close
to the edge and look down in there and see what it was like.
Remember it and stay away from it. You understand? It's supposed
to be a lesson. You remember where you came from,
don't go back. Because there were those who
heard our Lord Jesus Christ preach in person. And when they heard
him preach, what? The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The God of all power. Without him, you can't come to
me. No man comes to me except it
be given him of my father. Oh my, what's that? That's the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. That's the God of all power,
save in whom he will. That's the one who has power
over all flesh, what? To give to as many as God gave
him eternal life. That's what he does with the
power over all flesh. Oh, and his works, well, are
to be remembered. Remember that, remember the pit
from which you dig. Remember the dunghill from which
you've been lifted. Don't go back, but remember it. But here's
the other thing. Also remember that table he set
you at now. You understand? That table, he
said, I'm gonna lift the beggar off the dunghill, lift the poor
out of the dust, what? To sit with princes. And that's to sit down and eat. Now he's not gonna leave you
dressed like a beggar. He's gonna put his robe of righteousness
upon you. And you're gonna sit down with
princes. What's it say one day? We're gonna sit down in the kingdom
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And you know what? We will feast
at his table. Right now we're feasting at his
table. He prepares a table for us in
the presence of our enemies. What? All these people we're
surrounded by. All these people in your family that won't have
the Lord God omnipotent to reign. They don't want him. They don't
like him. Oh my. What's it say? Remember who is
responsible for your eating his food now. The one who maketh you to lie
down by the still waters. The one who leads you into green
pasture. The one who restores your soul.
Remember, the God of all power is the God of all grace. And the gracious God loves his
people. Loves his people. What's it say? The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. Verse five, he has given that
meat unto them that fear him. He will ever be mindful of his
covenant. Yeah, it's his covenant. That's step one, okay? You can't
go no farther than this. Don't go anywhere else because
if you don't get this, you're not gonna get anything else. It's
his covenant. It's a covenant made between the father and the
son and the spirit. These three are one. These three
agree in one. These three are one. The God
of all power. He's ever mindful of his covenant. What's it say? When does the father not think? of the work of his beloved son
in the covenant of grace. Come on. He's mindful of his covenant,
you understand? It's up here in his head. He's our head, but in his head,
He's mindful of his covenant. He knows exactly what that covenant
was purposed to do and he is purposely going about and fulfilling
that covenant in his people. Oh my, I like that. He's ever
mindful of his covenant. Verse six, he has showed his
people the power of his works. That's pretty good. that he may
give them the heritage of the heathen. He has showed his people
the power of his works. Understand this. He has never
shown the world the power of his works. You know why? They won't have them. They won't
understand it. And here's the thing. The natural
man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. They're
foolishness to them. It's not that they can't comprehend
them, it's not that you can't explain them, it's not that you
can't read it to them. They're foolishness. They think
you're a fool for believing this. And that's the way people are.
And I have to confess, I was that way. I used to think people
who believed in Jesus were idiots. Now granted, maybe some of them
were, I don't know. You know, because there's a lot
of people go around naming the name, but they don't name the
character. You understand? There's a lot of them going around,
like I said, just when we started, you know, they've got a Christ
who wants to say, but can't. They got a God who has some power,
sometimes, in some situations. This is the God of all power
and his works stand forever. Every single one of his works. Oh my, but he has showed his
people the power of his works. I like that. That he may give
them the heritage of the heathen. He's gonna give us this world.
We are vastly outnumbered at the present moment. I have no
doubt of that. Because there's always been few
there be that find it. That straight gate and that narrow
way, straight as a gate, narrow as a way, and what? Few there
be that find it. But one day, we're gonna have
all of this world in our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I like that. There's gonna be a heaven and
an earth wherein dwells righteousness. His righteousness, His righteousness. Oh, I like that too. Verse seven,
the works of His hands are verity and judgment, truth and judgment. All His commandments are sure. His works, oh, are truth and
judgment. You understand? I don't know
if I can say this. God has no deceptive works. You
understand? People believe the lie, but there's
a father of lies that came out that tempted Eve in the garden
and would tempt us. He's blinded the minds of those
who have not been given life. If our gospel be hid, it's hid
to the lost. All of God's work are truth and
judgment. God cannot tell a lie. Man can, and man does. Matter of fact, let God be true,
and every man a liar. And that includes you and me. Oh my. They stand, verse eight, they
stand fast, what? Forever and ever. And are done in truth and uprightness. Oh, I like that. You know, it's
not that the works of God stand, no. They stand fast. There's
not a possibility of them moving. There's not a possibility of
any of God's work being overturned, undermined, or changed, that's
a good Mason, changed or dodged. There's lots of people think
they can dodge God. Lots of people are idiots. That's all I got
to say about that. You understand? His works stand
forever, stand fast. His works are, as permanent as
he is. You understand? God didn't make
any mistakes. God didn't send Christ to make
up for our messing up in the Old Testament. That's what some
people think. They get this weird, they don't
read the book. And they don't understand the
book. His works His judgment stands
fast forever. Oh my. And here's the thing. The reason they stand fast is because there's no need to
change them. They're as perfect and as holy and as just and as
good as God himself, the God of all power. All of his works
are done, what? In truth and uprightness. What
do you need to change about that? And here, verse nine, he sent
redemption unto his people. And people get mad when you talk
about particular redemption. This is Old Testament, this is
Psalm. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded, what? His
covenant. He covenanted redemption. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. Just a couple of facts, stuff
about redemption. Redemption is a work of God.
It's not a work of man and God. Man's got nothing to do with
it. The actual redemption, man has nothing to do with it. And that redemption is done in
truth and uprightness. in verity and in judgment and
in justice. Redemption is the work of Christ
Jesus, the God of all power. And here's the thing, this is
a plenteous redemption, an eternal redemption, and it is sent to
his people. Oh, I like that, I like that.
Here's a question for you. If God sends you something, do
you think you're gonna get it? Come on. You think you're gonna
miss? You think God's gonna miss? If
he sends you something, you're gonna have it. And he has sent
redemption to his people. To what? Every single individual
child of God has been redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ. You understand, there's a type
of this in the Old Testament. when God sent Moses into Egypt
to redeem the people out. And they moved out lock, stock,
and barrel. Every single one of them got
out. Now that was a type. In reality, the Lord sent Jesus
Christ to redeem his people. What? From sin, from Satan, and
from the law. And he did. He did. He did. Christ has redeemed us. Once. Once. For all. But once. Oh. And you understand,
redemption is His gracious, glorious, honorable work. It's the work of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the God of all power. He's commanded His covenant forever.
David called it an everlasting covenant. Ordered and sure. Ordered in all things, all things,
and sure. It's an everlasting covenant.
Why? He gives unto his people everlasting
life. Oh, I like that. It's ordered
in all things insure because God is mindful of his covenant. He's mindful of his covenant.
It is forever, everlasting. Holy and reverend is his name. One more thing about God's works
I want to tell you about. The God of all powers works. Known unto God. are all his works
from the beginning, from the beginning. Now where is it else? Where else
will you hear that preached or taught or believed? Known unto God are all his works,
they're honorable, they're glorious, his righteousness forever, they're
wonderful works, they are what? Verity and judgment, truth and
judgment. His commandments are sure. They're
done in truth and uprightness. All of his works are known unto
God from the beginning. Understand, no one has ever surprised
God by anything. Because the God of the Bible
is the God of all power. This is true whether you know
it or not, and it's true whether you like it or not. He is. Jesus Christ does not need our
approval of his mighty power. He doesn't need our permission. The God of all power rules over
all. He rules over you, he rules over
me, and he rules over all. His works are the only works
that matter. You know, I preached that last
week about, what is it, let me look,
so I don't say it wrong. Let's see, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? I said it, not God and not Christ. Who is he that condemneth? Oh,
it's not God and it's not Christ. Because God that justifieth and
it's Christ that died ye rather than is risen again. And he's
ever at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Not God and not
Christ. You understand? And here's the
point. Nobody else matters. Not a person matters other than
God and Christ. Why? Because he is the God of
all power. And if he doesn't condemn you,
you're not condemned. There's a verse here, John Newton
wrote this, and I thought about this. Where is it? By him my prayers acceptance
gain, although with sin defiled. Satan accuses me in vain, and
I am owned a child. Oh, I like that. Understand,
if the God of all power doesn't condemn you, you're not condemned. And if the God of all power is
accepting you in the beloved, in Jesus Christ, You're accepted. You're accepted. No one else
matters. Not one person. Now, all that about God's work,
I'll throw you in something about your work. God will work in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure. That's it. understand Any works
you do that are any value? There it's his work that you
did I Can't take credit for good stuff
Mason. I can't take any credit at all.
I Don't deserve any credit Because I can tell you this right
now it wasn't my idea to stand here It wasn't I got put here,
I was sent here. And I'm here by his grace, by
his power. And you're here by his grace
and by his power. And the God of all power takes
care of his people. He's ever mindful of the covenant
he made with his son concerning us, concerning us. Our Heavenly
Father, we're thankful for this time, this place, and these people,
but thankful most of all for you, Lord. You sent your Son
and have given us all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
and on earth in Christ Jesus. He has given his life for his
sheep. He has resurrected. and ever
liveth to make intercession for those same sheep. Help us, Lord,
to recognize your pasture, your work, your will, and your way
as we go on in this world. Keep us. Keep us, Lord. And we ask this in Christ's name,
amen.