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. For this morning's message, I
would like for you, if you would follow along, to turn to 2 Corinthians
chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, and
I want to read the first six verses of 2 Corinthians chapter
10. The Apostle Paul writes these
words. Now I, Paul myself, beseech you
by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence and
base among you, but being absent and bold toward you. But I beseech
you that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence,
wherewith I think to be bold against some which think of us
as though we walk according to the flesh. For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ,
and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience when
your obedience is fulfilled. I want to try to talk about this
subject this morning. I want to try to preach the gospel
to you with this subject in mind. And listen to me now, hear this.
Here's my title, this is my subject. Conquered. Conquered by Christ's
obedience. To you. To you. You listen to
me this morning. Have you ever been conquered
by Christ's obedience? Have you ever, in hearing the
gospel preached, God Almighty has brought you down to bow to
the feet of Jesus Christ? I know, I know some of you have
probably walked the aisle. I know some of you have probably
prayed the sinner's prayer. I know you may have joined the
church and were baptized. Some of you were probably in
great immoral decadence and you've repented and you changed your
way of living, but that's not the salvation God purposed in
Christ, by Christ, to Christ, and to be subject unto Christ. You see, the salvation that God
Almighty has purposed and is has accomplished by Christ at
Calvary and is accomplishing in time by the preaching of the
gospel is to conquer men and women, boys and girls, black
or white, young or old, rich or poor, male or female, is the
preaching of the gospel will conquer the hearts and minds
of people and bring them into subjection to the obedience of
Jesus Christ. Hear me now. Today's professed
Christianity. Hear me now. Today's professed
Christianity is, at best, historically accurate. It is religiously zealous. It is works-oriented. It is immorality-rejecting. But it is completely devoid of
subjection to Christ's obedience. And again, look at it, verse
five. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought not to obey Christ, but to the obedience of Christ. God conquers men and women by
the power of His Spirit, and through the preaching of the
gospel, God conquers men and women and causes them to bow
in subjection and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, God
is not trying to get you to be a Christian. God is conquering
men and women. God is conquering boys and girls. God is conquering black and white,
rich and poor. God is conquering people to bow
to the authority of His beloved Son. Therefore, God is not in
this business today of educating people into the kingdom. You
do not educate people into the kingdom. They are translated
into the kingdom of God's dear son. They are delivered from
the power of darkness by the power of God. And they are translated
into the kingdom. That means he's the king on the
throne. Into the kingdom of his dear
son. Nope. He is conquering a people. who are lovingly, willingly,
gladly submitting themselves to the obedience of Jesus Christ. Listen what the Apostle Paul
wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi. An astounding passage. Philippians chapter two. Listen
to these verses. Philippians chapter two. I'll
read the first 16 verses. Listen to what Paul writes. If
there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, and there
is, and there is, but the if here, is it really in you? Is
it really in me? If there be any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let
nothing be done through strife or vain that is empty glory,
but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than
themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others." Now look
at it. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. And that's his first emphasis.
But now listen, he's going to talk about the mind of Christ
Jesus. And this is who? Being in the form of God. thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
of things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. You see, God's purpose God's
intent is to bow men and women down to the person and the work
of his son. And he goes on, wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. And here's why. For it is God,
which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
You see, it's not dependent on your will, but it's dependent
upon God working in you, both to will and to do of His good
pleasure, do all things without murmurings and disputings, that
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life,
that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run
in vain, neither labored in vain. You see, Jesus Christ is the
thing, he is the person that God delights in in all of the
universe. God will have his son honored. Those who refuse, those who rebel,
will justly perish under the condemnation of a holy God. And those who are saved, Those
who are being converted by the gospel are being bowed down to
the authority of God's blessed son, the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Hear me now, hear me now. When
God saves anyone, hear what I said. When God saves anyone, God pulls
down their castle. When God saves anyone, God Almighty
pulls down their place of stronghold. And I go back to my text, 2 Corinthians
chapter 10, and listen to what he says. For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Somebody says, I
don't see God doing that much. He's doing it as much as he purposed
to do before the world began. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down, that is this mighty
power of God Almighty, casting down imaginations. and every
high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And someone may say to me, you
may be thinking within yourself, I will never bow to Jesus Christ.
You will if God assaults your castle. You will if God Almighty
attacks you in mercy. and grace, and he will break
down your citadel, he will break down your walls, he will break
down your strongholds, he will break down your will, and he
will put within you his will, both the will and to do of his
good pleasure, and you will bow down to the authority of King
Jesus. You see, be it morality, be it
a religious profession, be it a man or woman's own beliefs,
God will conquer those things. And I'm here to tell you this
morning, if God set his love on you in Christ before the world
began, God'll have you. God'll bow you down, and you
can turn that TV off and that dial or hit that button and turn
it off right now, but you won't be able to get away from God.
You might get away from me, you might turn me off, you might
never listen to me again, but God Almighty will have you, and
he'll send somebody to you preaching the gospel, and it will conquer
your soul. You see, God also, every time
he saves, every time he converts by the gospel, he puts men and
women in the dust. what they think because they
think thoughts against who God really is. And that's what he
goes on to say, casting down imaginations and every high thing
that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Listen to what the apostle, or
I'm sorry, what the prophet Isaiah wrote. And if you're following
along, turn to Isaiah chapter 55, and think about what this
says. Isaiah chapter 55, and listen
to what it says. Let me begin just in verse six.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while
he is near. And this is serious, and this
is very serious admonition. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Haul ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake
his way. Why? Because our way is wrong
by nature. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. But then listen to what God says
here. through the prophet Isaiah. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, and my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. You see, God is superior to us. We are but dust and ashes in
this world. We are but by nature rebels against
God, but God has purpose to conquer some rebels. God's purpose to
bring down some rebels. God's purpose to bring down and
bring a man to abase a man before he ever lifts a man up. See,
before God ever makes you alive, God's gonna kill you first, and
I mean that spiritually. Before God ever exalts you with
the glory of Jesus Christ, before you ever believe in him, God's
gonna abase you and put you down first, because our ways are not
his ways. Our thoughts are not his thoughts,
but it's more than that. Listen to what God goes on to
say through the prophet Isaiah. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, you see, the snow from heaven, and
returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring
forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to
the eater. Listen at it now, here it is. So shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto
me void. but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I send it. You see, if God is pleased to
bring the truth to you, just to add the more condemnation
to your rebellion and your unbelief and your ungodliness, then God
will do that by his word. But if God is pleased to show
you mercy and compassion, he will send that same gospel that
same truth, the truth of the glory of the person and work
of Jesus Christ, and he'll bring that message to you in the power
of the Spirit of God. He will convince you of sin.
He will convince you of righteousness. He will convince you of judgment,
and he will knock down your castle walls. He will march in through
King Jesus, and he will put you in the dust, bowing down lovingly
willingly, conscientiously to Jesus Christ the Lord. You see,
all disobedience, all disobedience to who God really is, is actually
ripe fruit for full retaliation against. And this is exactly
what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Somebody says, I don't
like that kind of preaching, neither did I one time. But God
came in and knocked down my castle walls. You may say, well, that
message, I don't like that message. I understand, I didn't like it
one time either. But God Almighty knocked down my castle walls.
And I'm here to tell you that if God Almighty's chosen you
in Christ before the world began, he will march in, knock down
your walls. His weapons will bring you to
bow in obedience in submission to Jesus Christ's obedience.
Listen again, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but mighty through God to the pulling down of a stronghold,
casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity
all to be a captive of the Lord Jesus Christ. I realize that
most people have no idea what I'm talking about. But if God
Almighty ever conquers you, you'll be glad. You'll be glad. Bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ and
having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience. How do you
do that? You just keep preaching the truth. You just keep preaching
the truth. You just keep talking about Jesus
Christ the Lord. You keep talking about what he
accomplished, what he actually did when he came into this world,
when he lived, and when he suffered, and when he died, and when he
was buried, when he rose again, when he ascended back to the
Father's right hand, and he is there now, reigning, reigning
over all the universe, having inner readiness to revenge all
disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. You see, all, again
I say, all disobedience to who God really is is ripe fruit for
full retaliation against. It is to be squashed, squashed
until obedience is complete. Has God squashed your way? Has he squashed your thoughts? Has God Almighty conquered your
soul? I pray he does. But I tell you
this, it's up to Him. He can leave you to yourself.
He can just give you a good job, give you a nice spouse, give
you nice children. have a nice home, have plenty
of food in your belly, have plenty of clothes on your back. He gives
you nice vacations every year, and you go on thinking, oh, I'm
really blessed, and God just leaves you to yourself. He'll
leave your castle wall standing, and you will perish in your rebellion
against him. But if he's pleased to bow you
down, he will bow you down. All disobedience will be squashed
by God, when God is pleased to squash it. Here is salvation. Here is salvation. You hear what
I'm saying? Here is salvation. God, by the preaching of his
gospel, he smashes everything we see as important to us, and
he bows us to the vital necessity of his son's obedience. My last
passage, Psalm chapter two. If you're still with me, turn
to Psalm chapter two, and I want you to read along if you have
your Bible. Psalm chapter two, and listen
to what the psalmist writes in this chapter. What an amazing
passage. Psalm chapter two. Here's what is written in the
second Psalm. Psalm chapter two, I will read
the whole chapter. Why do the heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain
thing. The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed. That's the Christ of God. And
against his anointed, that's Jesus of Nazareth. and against
his anointed saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast
away their cords from us. We will not have this man reign
over us, is what they're saying. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. Do you see that? This is God,
folks. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. Well, I'll never bow, and maybe
you won't, but you've not touched God. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Listen to me. This is a fearful
thing for me to have to say, but it's true. God Almighty will
mock when your calamity comes, according to Proverbs chapter
one. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have
them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath and vex them in his swordish pleasure. You want
your way? You want your thoughts? God may
give that to you, but you ain't got God over a barrel. You don't
have God around the neck. God Almighty controls you. Yet,
he goes on in verse six. Yet I have set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The
Lord has said unto me, thou art my son. This is the father speaking
to the son. This is God the father speaking
to God the son. I will declare the decree. The
Lord has said unto me, thou art my son. This day have I begotten
thee. Ask of me, I like that, ask of
me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. You
will not stop God when he's pleased to conquer someone. Thou shalt
break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the
earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and
with rejoicing, and with trembling. Kiss the sun. And this, I am
told in the Hebrew, is not a kiss, especially like Judas gave him
a kiss upon the cheek. This is to kiss His feet when
you bow down before Him. This is to kiss His feet. This
is to adore Him. It is to worship Him. It is to
believe Him. It is to serve Him. Kiss the
Son. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the
way when His wrath is kindled. But a little blessed are all
they that put their trust in Him. So again, I ask you this. Here is the salvation. Here's
the salvation. God, by the preaching of his
gospel, he smashes everything that we see as important to us,
and he bows us to the vital necessity of his son's obedience. Have
you ever been there? Have you ever been there? You
see, again, let me, I cannot emphasize this too much because
there is so much contrary to it being said in our day and
age, on the radio, on TV, on the internet. God is not trying
to get anyone to be a Christian. God is not up in heaven wringing
his hands, waiting for someone to let him have his way. The
great king of Israel, David, said this, our God is in the
heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. So again, I say, God is not trying
to get you to be a Christian. God is conquering men and women,
young or old, black or white, rich or poor. God Almighty is
conquering people. He has conquered them to specifically
bow down in faith, in love to the authority of his beloved
son. Therefore, God is not in this thing today of just trying
to educate you into the kingdom. I'm not here trying to teach
you certain doctrines. I am here declaring unto you
that Jesus Christ is Lord. that Jesus Christ accomplished
salvation when he died on that cross for the people for whom
he died on that cross. God Almighty is sending forth
his spirit and his gospel into the world and he, by the preaching
of that gospel, is conquering men and women and bowing them
down to kiss the feet of his beloved son. This book is clear. As Paul says, I'll read it to
you one last time. For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
Every thought to the obedience of Christ you see a saved person
a person that's truly been regenerated by the Spirit of God and Converted
by the gospel of God their heart and minds are constantly thinking
about who Jesus Christ is What Jesus Christ accomplished when
he came into this world? where he is now and what he is
doing on behalf of his people and But let me tell you, God
is also going to one day put all of humanity under the feet
of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ will have his honor
and glory magnified by God the Father throughout all the world
because Jesus Christ is the only real important thing to God the
Father in this world. So again I say, here's salvation.
God, by the preaching of his gospel, he is smashing to pieces
everything that fallen man holds most dear. He's smashing to pieces
our owl walkings, our religiousness, our zeal, our works-oriented
religion, our morality, Do not rest in your own morality. Your
morality nor my morality is fit for the presence of God Almighty.
Only Christ is. And only those who are accepted
in the Lord Jesus Christ will be accepted by God the Father.
So again I say, have you been conquered by Christ's obedience?
That's the question. Have you been conquered by Christ's
obedience? Has God brought his truth to
you in such a way that it's bowed you down to the authority of
Jesus Christ? I do pray that that is so. Now,
let me give you a reminder. On this same TV station, WVVACW,
every Sunday at 12 noon, you can hear a portion of one of
our recorded Sunday morning messages. And I would encourage you to
tune in and listen to one of those messages.