If you would, turn to Psalms
106. 106. I'm just gonna read one verse. Verse eight of Psalm
106. Nevertheless, he saved them his name's sake That he might
make his mighty power to be known Now I'm starting this sermon
with a single verse of scripture on purpose Because My looking
at this sermon started was a question with a question and And I believe
this verse answers that question quite admirably. The subject I was thinking of
is, why are men saved? Now, that is not a new subject.
In fact, it is a very, very, very old subject, why men are saved. It actually
started the official time Why men are saved, that question
started, God only knows when is the answer. And I mean that
literally, God only knows when. The only thing we know about
it is we are told in the scripture that we were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. So the why had to be answered
before the foundation of the world. Now, man thinks he knows the
answer to this question, why men are saved. Man's wrong, but
man thinks he knows, the religious man. They think this is a no-brainer. Don't you know, God loves everyone,
and that's why men are saved. Now, God's love definitely has
something to do with it, certainly does. God loves his people, the
scripture's clear on that. But that's not a reason why to
save anyone, just to be clear on it, is not what the world
thinks of as love. Because God has told us he is
not capricious. He has a purpose and a plan and
a stated will of his own. He is in the heavens and he hath
done whatsoever he hath pleased. Why men are saved shows the reason
for the plan and the purpose. We've been told in the New Testament,
again, we've been told God does everything for a reason. There's a purpose, there's a
plan, there is a why. But now in this scripture, when
I got to looking at it, you actually see three things. You see how
men and women are saved. You see why men and women are
saved. And then you see the purpose
that men and women are saved. All in this one little single
verse. And it starts with this word. And I have, I'm going to
bore you to death with this word. Because I fell in love with this
one word at the beginning. Walter and I talked about it
on the phone yesterday. We talked for two hours and we talked about
this for probably about an hour of it. And that word is that
first word of this verse, nevertheless. I am convinced, fully convinced
of this. This is one of the most gracious
words in the Bible. Because this represents here
a sea change from what the psalmist has been talking. The reason
I read this one verse is because I'm going to back up to verse
six and seven here. But I wanted to read this one
verse first. What you're changing from in verse six, it says, we
have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity, we
have done wickedly. Then verse nine, verse seven,
our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt, they remembered
not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea,
even the Red Sea. But that next word, all that
condemnation, all that, all that admission of guilt, which is
a marvelous, glorious, gracious thing. This next word comes,
it says what? Nevertheless, nevertheless, I
like that. The psalmist says we sin just
like our fathers. We've done wicked just like our
father, at the Red Sea, coming out of Egypt. Where were they
at? They were in between the Red
Sea. There was a fire behind them separating Pharaoh's army.
But what did Moses tell him while they were standing there? In
between the sea and the fire and Pharaoh's army behind them,
what did Moses tell him? Tell these people. He told them
to stand still and what? See the salvation of God. Why? Nevertheless, nevertheless,
I love that word, I do. Because I understand, and the
psalmist is clear. Yes, there is none that understandeth. Even says that in verse seven.
I also know the results of not understanding. The results of
not understanding is there's none that seeketh after God.
That's the results. And you'll see that all around
us today. Oh, they might be seeking Jesus. They might call him Jesus. They
might call him the Lord Jesus. They might call him the Lord
Jesus Christ. But the world, the religious
world in particular, is not seeking after this Jesus Christ. This is a messianic psalm. This
is a messianic psalm. How is it a messianic psalm?
Nevertheless, nevertheless. I love that word, I do. I'm gonna
say it so much, you're gonna get sick of it. Because that's where this word
comes. We've sinned, we've done wickedly. We did just like our daddies.
We did everything our fathers did. They killed the prophets.
Christ told them one time, you just testified that your father
killed the prophets. You know, that's not a good thing.
Nevertheless, nevertheless. There's good things coming after
this word. After this word, excuse me. The
psalmist writes the bad stuff, the true nature of man, but then
he writes the true glorious grace of God beginning with this one
word. Nevertheless, nevertheless. I love that. You're a sinner,
nevertheless. You've done wickedly. Nevertheless, how can you get any better than
that? I mean, seriously, your righteousnesses are as filthy
rags. Nevertheless, nevertheless, you
don't understand. You don't understand. You don't
seek after God. You are all gone out of the way. You ain't even close to the way.
You think you're in the way, but you're on the Broadway that
leads to destruction. You don't even know there is
a narrow way. Nevertheless, nevertheless. Oh my, you lie. Nevertheless,
you're a thief on the cross. Nevertheless, nevertheless, you're
a woman with an issue of blood. Nevertheless, you're a Gentile
woman. who's willing to eat the crumbs
off the master's table. Ooh, that's faith, sorry. Nevertheless, nevertheless, because
nevertheless is a powerful, glorious word right here. You have persecuted
the church and you persecuted Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus. Nevertheless, nevertheless, nevertheless,
And then these three words after that, he saved them. Nevertheless, whatever you have
done, it's not so bad that God can't forgive it. He saved them. That's one way
of saying it, okay? He saved them and he saved them. You can empathize all three words
in that statement, and all three are glorious, gracious, wonderful
words, because it starts with this. God is the Savior. He is a glorious Savior. Why? Nevertheless. It don't matter
what you did. He can save. It don't matter what these people
did. He saved them. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. and I'll get a little ahead of
myself. It doesn't matter what they did afterwards. Because
he tells them that. He tells them that. Guess what? They believed. And then they
didn't. And then they grumbled in the
wilderness, and they mouthed against God. They mumbled against
Moses. You brought us out here to die.
What is the matter with you? You weren't happy on one side
of the Red Sea. You're not happy on the other side of the Red
Sea. Nevertheless, He saved them. I love that. The Bible is clear,
God is the Savior. Men are unclear. Men won't tell
you you gotta help save yourself. They don't say a word about that
in the Psalm here. Not one word about that. Why? Because there's not one word
of truth in the statement that man has to help save himself.
He saved them. I like that, I do. You can't
save yourself, and what? He's made this known to you.
You know you've done wicked. You know you've committed iniquity.
You know you're just as bad as your dads were, as your fathers,
as your mothers, as those that stoned the prophets, as those
that set them on fire. Oh. Nevertheless, nevertheless, he
saved them. He saved them. You believed? Yes. You came? Yes. How is that possible? Nevertheless,
he saved them. This is all you really have to
know from this scripture right here. There's more. You will
come. You will believe. You will hear
his gospel and you will receive it. Why? Because he saves. Because he saves. This is the
point here. Nevertheless, he saved them. It's not up to you and thank
God it's not up to me. It's up to him and him alone. Wherever you were, Whatever you
were doing whatever you were Before he says nevertheless Doesn't
matter Because if he's gonna save you he's gonna save you What does he mean by saved well
in verse 10 he puts it this way and He saved them from the hand
of him that hated them and redeem them, what? From the
hand of the enemy. Salvation means redemption. And redemption means salvation. See? There's a lot of people
talking about, well, there was a sign on the way out of Princeton,
the tomb is empty, let church be full. Well, isn't that nice? The tomb is empty, and that empty
tomb means something. That resurrection means something
now. It means that 2,000 years ago,
he obtained eternal redemption for us. He has redeemed us, what? From the hand of the enemy. He
has saved them from the hand of him that, hated them. If you're one of God's, you're
gonna be hated. You're gonna be hated by Satan,
and you're gonna be hated by his minions, and you're gonna
be hated by Satan's ministers. It's just the way it works. Satan's got ministers. Satan
himself appears as an angel of light. Satan does his best work, human
man used to always say, Satan does his best work from behind
a pulpit. Because that's the best place to spread a lie about
God is from a pulpit. And believe me, television goes
out of its way to prove that to me every time I watch it. Oh my. Salvation is of the Lord. He saved them. He saved them
from those who hate them. Marvel not if the world hates
you, my brother, because it hated him. It hated Christ. It hates the he that saves. They
don't hate their own Jesus. They hate the Jesus of the scriptures. They don't hate the Jesus that
needs their help, that's leaning over the banisters of heaven,
crying, hoping somebody's going to let him have his way. No,
they hate the one that's going to sit on his throne and mock
when their calamity comes. They don't like that. I will
mock when your calamity comes. I will make fun of you. That's
what it means. And don't get me started about
Elijah and them guys talking about that sacrifice down there.
Maybe you're God sleeping. He was making fun of them. because
they were not talking about the Lord in heaven or his Christ
who is now in heaven seated but expecting his enemies to be made
his footstool. Our Lord Jesus has enemies? Oh
yeah, oh yeah. They're everywhere, they're everywhere. is broad, that way is broad,
and many, many, many are on it. And that road leads to destruction. You're gonna end up under Christ's
feet, or you're gonna be bowing on your knees before him. He saved them. Salvation is deliverance
from the enemy, even when the enemy's yourself too. You will not come to me that
you might have life. And you won't naturally. They don't want to tell people
that either. He saved them. You mean he'll bring you against
your will? Not exactly, no. But I'm going to tell you something,
the one that gave you a will can change the will you've got. And I still love that song, he
can make you willing to go, you know. Oh, I'm not willing to
go out of this house. Well, somebody throws a hornet's
nest in here. He'll make you willing to go. You'll be willing
to leave, won't you see? I still remember that. You understand,
people think, oh, you know, my ironclad free will is all. You're,
you're deluded. Just, you know, I got nothing
for you. I'm sorry. Christ said, you will
not come. And he meant what? You will not
come. You lack the capability to come of your own will. But
he certainly has the ability to change your will, to give
life to a daily living, to give understanding to those who don't
understand. He's found of them that sought
him not. Now, I don't hear many Armenian preachers
preaching that sermon. I am found of those that sought
me not. How? Well, he does the finding first.
Then you find him. You understand? The good shepherd
goes out and picks up his sheep, puts it on his shoulder, he carries
it in, brings it into the fold, and guess what? That sheep found
Jesus. That's the way we find him. He picks us up and brings
us in, otherwise we don't even know where we are. He saved them. And he does, he brings in every
one of his sheep. And who is them? Them is his
people. Bad English, but a great statement.
Them is his people. Understand this now. His people
are not good people. His people are not godly people.
The psalmist just said that. Christ came for the ungodly.
He didn't come for the godly. He come for the ungodly. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And there
is a righteousness. That was a wonderful point you
made in that sermon, Walter. I mean, there is a righteousness.
It's filthy rags, but it's a righteousness. And Christ came to call sinners
to repentance. He came for the ungodly. Them
understood not his wonders. That's what it says. That he
performed in Egypt. There were plagues all over Egypt. 10 of them, I think it was. And
the big one, the Passover, death came upon every household where
the blood was not shed and that lamb was not consumed and you
weren't in the house. Death was there for the firstborn.
and yet they get to the Red Sea and they understood not what
happened in Egypt. How depraved are we? Totally. We're totally depraved. Totally
depraved. I've been doing all this reading
in Mark and you look at Mark where it says, and I may do this
next week, I don't know, but you read Mark where they go to
the Mount of Transfiguration. There's Elias and Moses. in Jesus,
and he's transfigured into white. And Peter says, it's good to
be here. And it was. Peter, James, and John went up.
Peter says, it's good to be here. Let's make three tabernacles.
Let's make three temples here. One for you, one for Moses, one
for Elias. You understand? He's standing right there before
the Lord of glory revealed, transfigured into the white, speaking with
Moses and Elias. Peter's right there. He don't
get it. How depraved are we? And he'd
been following Christ. He believed Christ. That's how
bad we are. And guess what? Nevertheless,
nevertheless, nevertheless, he saved him. He saved him. You
understand? Peter, Satan desired that he
might sift you as wheat. And I'll put it in there, because
he didn't at that point. Nevertheless, I prayed for you. I prayed for you. You're gonna
deny me. I was listening to a message,
Walter, talking about warming your hands by the enemy's fire.
That's what Peter did. And he denied him. He denied
Christ three times. What? Nevertheless, nevertheless,
he saved them. Man, that's good stuff. Yes,
they're sinners. Yes, they rebel daily. Yes, we
commit iniquity. Yes, we have done and are doing
wickedness. And yes, we still don't understand.
Nevertheless, they are His. He saved them. He saved them. He didn't save the Egyptians.
He didn't save the Assyrians. He didn't save the Babylonians,
the Persians, the Greeks, or anybody else. He saved his people,
which he created. Israel didn't exist until God
made it. Abraham came out of Earl of the
Chaldees. Isaac wasn't part of Israel. He's a father of them. Israel was Israel. And Egypt
is Egypt. And he saved them, his chosen
people. And we find out here, Why men are saved? Well, I'm
gonna put it in there. Nevertheless, for his namesake. For his namesake. Again, the
Bible's clear and preachers are unclear. That's a real nice way
of saying they lie, if you want to know the truth about some
of it. Some are more unclear than others. Try to be nice. I know, I try to be nice after
I called them liars. I can close the door after the
horse is out, it doesn't matter, I just wanted the door shut. He saves them for his name's
sake. Now, is there any other reason?
No, no, no. No, that's why. That's why. That's
why. That's why he loved them for
his namesake. Whose name have we got now? His. Whose family are we a member
of now if he saved them? His. And why are we there? Well, it ain't because we deserved
it. We're there because of nevertheless. Nevertheless, you're wicked.
Nevertheless, you're wicked. You're iniquity. You're just
like your fathers. Nevertheless, He saved them.
What? For His name's sake. His name means something to Him. It should mean something to us.
It should mean something to us, but His name definitely means
something to Him. And for his namesake, he saves
his people. And that's the only why the scriptures
ever give us. Yes, he loved us. And he loved
us for his namesake. And he only loves us in his son. Let's be clear about that. Well,
the psalmist already has been. He ain't loving us because of
us. Walter said it, and I think there's another wonderful statement.
God didn't purpose to choose a plan. He purposed to choose
a people. And he chose his people for his
name's sake. You understand, he didn't choose
a plan. He didn't choose those, well, I'll choose the ones that
believe me in the future. That's the way he's preached.
I'll choose, I choose the ones that, he chose all the ones that
came to him, Walter. I've heard that. Well, listen. Here's what we did. We sin, we've
committed iniquity, we've done wickedly. Oh boy, choose me. No, no, it's not because of me,
it's not because of you, it's because of his namesake. He has promised to give glory
to his name and he's doing that through you, through his people. Wow, he saved them. Nevertheless,
he saved him. He knew what kind of shape we
were in. He knew what kind of shape we were going to be in.
He knew what kind of shape we would be in if he left us alone.
If the shepherd didn't come and pick us up on his shoulder and
bring us in, we never made it into the fold. We didn't even
know there was a fold. Didn't know it was a sheep. You
don't know your sheep until the shepherd tells you. You'll never
know. And why does he tell you? For
his namesake. To give glory to his name that
he has saved a people for his namesake. So what's that mean? You have
nothing to do with your salvation. Just really when it gets down
to it. There's a lot of results, there's a lot of things you will
do once he changes your will. There's a lot of things you want
to do, but that's not why you are saved. That's a result of
salvation. Nevertheless, he saves for his
namesake. We had and we have, right now,
nothing to recommend us to God. Because even our belief is faulty. I believe, Lord, help thou my
unbelief. That's a valid statement for
a child of God. That's a necessary statement
for a child of God. Nevertheless, nevertheless, he
has saved them for his name's sake. Thirdly here, we have the
purpose that That is a word of purpose that He might make his
his excuse me. He might make his mighty power
to be known That's his purpose That's his purpose God is willing to make his mighty
power known and to some, to some here, okay? Come here after, everybody's
gonna know. Everybody ain't gonna like it,
but everybody's gonna know. But right here, right now, in
this salvation, His salvation that we have been given, we get
to know just a taste of His mighty power. Now I understand the direct context
here is the moving of the children of Israel from Egypt onward. That's the direct context of
making his mighty power known. He parted the Red Sea and they
went through, but you got to remember what Moses said, stand
still and see the salvation of the Lord, of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. He saved them. That's the direct
context. And I understand that, but nevertheless,
I also see the context of God's mighty power being worked in
his people. Just for a second here, look
at Ephesians 1. And I really like this. Ephesians
chapter 1. Verse 19. Well here, I'm gonna back up
just a little bit. Verse 17, that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. You got any wisdom, you got any
revelation, you got any knowledge, it's because God gave it to you.
you know anything about God or Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit
is because God gave it to you. Now, if you don't like that,
that's okay. You're wrong, but it's okay.
I can't help you. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his
calling and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the state, in the saints. Now here it is, verse 19. And
what is the exceeding greatness of His power, what? To us. To usward who believe. This is for believers. We get
to know what's the exceeding greatness of His power to usward
who believe. Now how do we believe? According
to the working of His mighty power. How do you believe God,
Mason? You believe because of His mighty
power. You're a sinner. You've done
wickedly. You do iniquity. It's still in
you, battling back and forth. You try to mortify your members.
But what? Nevertheless, by His mighty power,
you believe. You believe by His mighty power.
I like that, I do. and he has chosen and that is
his purpose here that he might make his mighty power to be known
here, right now. Now he's got more powers that
are going to be revealed later. But you understand what he's saying
here. He saved them. Nevertheless, he saved them. For his namesake, that his mighty
power, what? Will be known. It's not known
to everybody, but it's known to those to whom He has shown
it. And here's the thing. It takes
the power of God for you to believe. Nothing less will do. Nothing
less will do. It takes His mighty power. What? He saves them. We don't save ourselves. No one has ever saved themselves. Christ didn't save himself. He
didn't need saving. We do. But we can't do it. He saved them for his name's
sake that he might make his mighty power to be known. Paul saw the exceeding greatness
of his power toward us. And who's us? Them that believe. Them that believe. Brethren,
we're not talking about elect, we're talking about believers.
Because you may be elect and don't believe, we're not talking
to you yet. You don't know about his mighty
power. None of the unregenerate know about his mighty power.
And we only got a taste. We don't know much, but he has
made it known unto us. Because here's the thing, we sinned with our fathers, committed
iniquity, we've done wickedly, our fathers understood not. We were dead in trespasses and
in sins. Nevertheless, he saved us. That's good stuff, I like that
word, I do. Because here's the answer of the how, the why, and
the purpose. Nevertheless, he saved them,
nevertheless, for his namesake, and nevertheless, that his mighty
power is known right now. And it doesn't get any better
than that. We were talking on the phone yesterday,
and I told Walter, I said, There is that saying, and I do agree
with it, that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed,
and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. I'm gonna
tell you something. Sometimes the Old Testament ain't
concealed all that hard. Because that's what that verse
is saying. Now, like Henry says, it is a lot easier to see when
you look at the Old Testament with New Testament eyes. There's
a truth to that, but I'm gonna tell you something. Salvation
is of the Lord. And the Old Testament says that
plainly. The New Testament just reinforces
it. It shows our salvation as the
person of Jesus Christ. I'll give you a question and
answer before I leave here. There won't be a quiz later.
What does the Lord do for his people? Well, here's the answer. He does it all. He does it all. He does never the less than all. I like that, I do, I like that
word, never the less. Because you can put that anywhere
you want. Jesus Christ put it to the Apostle
Paul on his way to Damascus. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus,
whom thou persecutest. Nevertheless, it's hard for you
to kick against the pricks, ain't it? Oh yeah, you'll kick, you'll
scream, you may yammer, you may vent, you may refuse. But I'm gonna tell you something,
When he saves you, he saves you for his name's sake and that
his mighty power. All of his people are rebels
before he brings them in. That's one reason why we get
along so well afterwards. We've all rebelled in one way
or another and still rebelling just a little bit. Not proud
of it, not wanting it, hating the garment spotted by the flesh.
But, you know, I know I've got a garment spotted by the flesh.
But, nevertheless, he saved us. Amen. Our Heavenly Father, thank
you for this time and this place. Thank you so much for your son,
our Lord, who did redeem us, who has obtained eternal redemption
for us, and who is bringing us to realize the great salvation
which you purposed and planned and have given before the beginning
of the world. Thank you, Lord. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.