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. I would like those of you who
are seeing and hearing my voice, if you have a Bible, follow along
in the Scripture. Let's see what God's Word says,
what He says in His Word. Take down the references for
later if you don't have a Bible, just to check these verses to
see what they're saying. For now, I want you to be turning
to 1 Samuel 2. 1 Samuel 2, beginning in verse
6. I'm going to say a few things,
but while you're turning, let me continue. There are some today,
when you talk to them about Scripture, they think or may even say that
God was one way in the Old Testament and another way in the New Testament.
But God Himself tells us in His Word that He does not change.
In Malachi 3, in verse 6, we read, For I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. But you might say, that as in
the Old Testament, he is not changed once Christ came. But
let's read James 1 and verse 17. Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. With
whom is no variableness, this means that God does not change. It says neither shadow of turning.
There's not even just a little bit of him changing that would
cast a shadow. So if God does not change, and
we see this in both the Old and the New Testament, it testifies
that he does not change in both of these passages we just read.
So since he does not change, he has been who he says he is
forever. God is eternal. Scripture also
teaches us that God is sovereign, meaning this, that He has control
over all things and does as He pleases. If God does not change,
and He doesn't, as we have seen, then He has always been and always
will be sovereign. We read in the following passage.
In Deuteronomy 4 and verse 39, we read that He is God of heaven
and the God of earth, and there is none else. We also read in
Exodus 15 and verse 18, it says this, the Lord shall reign forever
and ever. But now let's read our text to
see what God's word says about who God is. First Samuel 2, beginning
in verse 6. The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh
rich. He bringeth low, and lifteth
up. He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the
beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to
make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of
the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them.
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall
be silent in darkness. For by strength shall no man
prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall he thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth, and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt
the horn of his anointed. Someone might say, but that isn't
the Old Testament, and he is not like that anymore. But we
read in the following passages. In Acts chapter 17, beginning
in verse 24. God that made the world and all
things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worshipped
with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth
to all life and breath in all things, and hath made of one
blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation." So He is in absolute control
of all things, even now. But again in 1 Timothy 6 and
verse 15, which in His times He will show, who is the blessed
and only potentate, the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be
honor and power everlasting. Amen. So we know God is sovereign
because He tells us He is in His word. What else does God
tell us in His Word? His Word also tells us that all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. He
breathed by His Spirit into these men who wrote down words exactly
as they were led by the Spirit of God. Here's what it says exactly
in His Word in 2 Timothy 3 and 16 concerning that. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness. So since God is sovereign and
He changes not, and His scripture is breathed by Him, then we should
be finding out what God says in His Word. Since He does not
change, His Word does not change, because it comes from Him who
never changes and who is eternal. So I said my title was God Shalls. I want to look at a few shalls
from God's Word to see what God says shall be. First, the fall
of man, the beginning of his fall. We read in God's word that
in the beginning he created all things. This includes the creation
of man and woman. After he created them, he told
Adam this in Genesis 2 and verse 17. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. So here we have
a shall of God. It is in the negative, you might
say, but this is a shall of God, and it is certain. In the beginning,
man had one commandment. This one man, Adam, was told
by God not to eat of the fruit of this tree. But what else does
God say here? For in the day. This is not an if, but a for. God was not saying to Adam, if
you eat of it. He was telling Adam that he would
eat of this fruit, and the very day that he would do this, he
would surely die. He says, for in the day that
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. So we read and we
know Adam ate of it, We know from scripture that Adam did
not physically die. We know that. He went on with
even they had children. But God said he would die in
that day and God does not change and God does not lie. So how
did he die? He died spiritually. We know
from scripture that he who worships God must worship him in spirit
and in truth. You can check to see what Christ
says in John 4 and verse 24 concerning that. So Adam died, and Eve also
in that day, and was unable to worship God. But that was Adam,
you might say, not me. Let's look further at scripture
to see what God says about who died that day. What is the scope
of Adam's fall? In Romans 12 and verse 5, we
read this. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world. That was Adam. And death by sin. This was Adam. And so, death
passed upon all men for that all have sinned. My friends,
everyone born of Adam is born dead in trespasses and in sins. You cannot escape that. Everything
brings forth of its own kind. Adam and Eve were both dead in
sin because of Adam's one transgression, and in doing so, he passed it
on to us. That is what God's word says.
You might think that you are working a work for God, but scripture
tells us we are dead in our sin. As we are born into this world,
we are dead to God, seeing that he must be worshiped in spirit
and in truth. Then any work you do is iniquity
against God. Scripture confirms this to us.
His Word tells us that even our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags in God's sight. In Isaiah 64 6 it says this,
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. And we all do fade as a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. See what Scripture says? Any
righteousness that we think we have are filthy, bloody rags
in God's sight. That's the meaning of that passage.
They're called in this passage, our iniquities. These are not
a good thing. Our iniquities have taken us
away from God. So much so that we hate God. We do not seek God and we do
not know God. So what are the consequences
of this fall? This fall resulting in us being
dead in trespasses and inner sin and our righteousness being
iniquity before the sovereign, never changing God. What are
the results of this sin, this fall? In Romans 6, 23, we read
this. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. This death is for eternity, if
it is all you ever have. Forever separated from God, having
no communion with Him, you were born guilty before God, having
committed a capital crime against Him. God is eternal, so He must
be eternally satisfied. Our death never satisfies Him. Why is this so? Because God is
holy. So let's look at God and how
holy is He, Him being sovereign and never changing. God is holy. He cannot look upon iniquity.
Since we know from Scripture we have iniquity because even
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in God's sight, those righteousnesses
being iniquity as we have already read. Hear what God says about
Himself through the prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1 and verse 13. And this is Habakkuk talking
with God. Habakkuk 113, thou art of pure
eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore, lookest thou upon
them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the
wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he. God
does not change, and he will never look upon iniquity. If he sees iniquity, it will
be consumed and condemned. He is holy, holy, holy. Scripture tells us God Almighty
is holy, holy, holy. In Isaiah 6 it tells us this,
starting in verse 1. In the year the king Uzziah died,
I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,
and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims,
each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face,
with twain he covered his feet, And with twain he did fly. And
one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And the post of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the voice was filled with
smoke. What does such holiness cause them that are enabled to
see God as he is, being holy, holy, holy? In verse six, keep
reading. Then said I, this is Isaiah speaking. Woe is me, for I am undone, because
I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. How many times do we see in Scripture
when someone really finds out who God is and that He is holy,
holy, holy, that they fall down to the ground in the dust on
their faces in fear and trembling? We read this in Scripture several
places. When men and women come to see
God for who He really is, they fall on their face in the dust.
If this is not what God does to you in your heart, then you
have not really seen God. You have seen a figment of your
imagination. If this is not you, then you
are like Scripture confirms. You have no fear of God before
your eyes. This is not a safe place to be
with such a holy God who is a consuming fire, who does not look upon
iniquity but will destroy those who are such. So if God is holy
and I am so sinful and have no way to get to God to worship
Him, how was there any hope of ever being able to commune with
God and to truly worship Him? God bethinked. He made a way. His way was sending His only
begotten Son to be the propitiation for His people. He is our atonement,
but even more than that, He's our substitute. He is the atoning
victim. God's wrath was poured out on
Him in my place and in your place if you're His people. This leads
me to another shall in God's Word. We are told in Matthew
chapter 1 and verse 21, it says this, And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall." This
is a shall from God. The one that never changes. The
one that has absolute sovereign control over all things. This
is sure. What does it say? and she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. Christ was prophesied before
of old to come as the Messiah. This one that came down, born
of a virgin, God in the flesh, was testified to come in the
Old Testament as that one who would bear our iniquity. God
proclaimed to Adam and Eve that He would bruise the head of the
serpent, and He did. He crushed the head of the serpent
in His death, burial, and ascension to the right hand of God. He
did this, as this scripture tells us, for His people and His people
only. He is pictured in type in the
Old Testament as taking away sin. This Messiah is the one
in the Old Testament that was typified in all those sacrifices. Those sacrifices which could
not and did not take away one sin. Typified the one sacrifice
that can and did take away those sins. Hebrews 10 tells us this. For the law, having a shadow
of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year
continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would
they not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshipers,
once purged, should have no more conscience of sins. But in those
sacrifices there is remembrance again made of sin every year. For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. So we see in God's
Word, God Himself tells us that those sacrifices could never
take away sin. So what can and did take away
His people's sins? Keep reading in verse 5, Hebrews
10 and verse 5. Wherefore, when He cometh into
the world, He saith, Sacrifice an offering thou wouldest not. But a body hast thou prepared
me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin, thou wouldst
not. Neither has pleasure therein
which are offered by the law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do
Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
He may establish the second. By the witch will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. He always pleased the Father,
and His sacrifice on the cross was a sweet-smelling savor unto
Him. Scripture says, God the Father
is pleased with His Son, Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 1 and verse
17, we read this. For He received from God the
Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him
from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. So God the Father is pleased
with the Son. So how far did this satisfaction
go? And how much did it accomplish?
In Hebrews 7 and verse 24 it says this, But this man, Jesus
Christ, because he continueth forever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood. This is talking about Jesus Christ
who is God manifest in the flesh. And we continue on in verse 25.
Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost. This word means full or entire. So He saved them entirely or
fully. Who did He save entirely? Those
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. You will never come to God other
than by Jesus Christ the Lord. You will not come to him of your
own free will. Free will is a myth. God tells
us that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in his sight.
God's word is true and he never changes. And he does not lie. So do you think that by your
will you will do the righteous work toward God? God says no. What else does it say of Jesus
Christ and what He accomplished? And keep going in verse 26, Hebrews
7 and verse 26. For such a high priest became
us, Jesus Christ, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. who need, if
not daily, as those high priests, those in the Old Testament, to
offer up sacrifice for his own sins. They offered up sacrifices
for their own sins first, and then for the people's. Then they
offered up sacrifices for the people. For this, he, Christ,
did once when he offered up himself. Christ completed salvation in
its entirety. There's nothing left to do for
salvation. The only thing that is left is
for those who are His to know of His salvation. In other words,
there are some things that take place because of this one salvation. Scripture tells us this. It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. See
this in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 21. 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. One might
ask, this says God will save us through preaching, and you
said salvation was accomplished. Yes, God was satisfied with Christ's
sacrifice, those for whom Christ died. Christ is a sweet-smelling
Savior unto God the Father. But those for whom He died have
to come to know this. If God gives you spiritual life,
and thereby giving you faith by His Spirit, enabling you to
believe when you hear the gospel, you believe to the saving of
your soul. This is God letting you know
about His completed salvation. It is not to secure your salvation,
but to bring you into that salvation. God toward us was satisfied with
the sacrifice of his son. Through the gospel, we can then
have peace with God, knowing he took care of it all. We have seen from scripture that
God is sovereign. God does not change. He has breathed
his word into men who have wrote down exactly what God intended
us to know. We know from Scripture, since
His word was breathed by Him, that all men by nature are dead
in trespasses and in sin. We have earned the wages of sin,
which is death. We know that God sent Christ
to be the substitute for His people, and Christ accomplished
salvation for them, saving them completely. We know that in time,
God sends someone to those for whom He died, so that they might
believe. We must believe. For the scripture
says this, and this Jesus Christ himself says in John 8 and verse
24. He says, I said therefore unto
you, that ye shall die in your sins. For if ye believe not that
I am he, ye shall die in your sins. So you must believe him,
and if you do not, you will die in your sins. God is sovereign
and in control of all things. Those for whom he died, he will
in time send them the gospel and them being given life by
him and bowed down to Jesus Christ will believe that message to
the saving of their souls. They will believe the absolute
sovereign God who does not change and does not lie. Man, as we
are born, are totally separated from God. Not only that, we have
offended God and are in need of salvation. If we have not
offended God, then there would be no need of His mercy, or for
His grace, or for His salvation. But Scripture says we are iniquity. Everything we do is iniquity,
as we are born in Adam, dead in trespasses and in sins. We
do iniquity because that is what we are, dead in trespasses and
in sin. We are a stench in God's nostrils. So then we are in need of his
mercy and of his grace and of his salvation. If you do not
see your need of mercy, grace, and salvation, then I'm not talking
to you. I'm talking to those who have
a need this morning. Christ having provided all that
is needed for the salvation of his people, just believe him. If he died for you, then he will
give you the ability to believe him. This is the record God gave
of his son. That's what this book speaks
about. If there is someone out there
listening to me right now, today is the day of salvation. There
might not be a tomorrow. We have read that God kills and
he makes alive. Today, this hour, or this minute,
God may have you draw your last breath. He may have me draw my
last breath. If you die not knowing him, and
even more than that, him never knowing you, you will ever be
condemned of God in total darkness. If God enables you to believe
by giving you life, he gives you the life to enable you to
believe the record God gave of his son, cry out to Christ for
mercy. If you do this in mercy and grace,
he will and has saved you to the uttermost. Just believe him.