Got you some water right there
if you need it. Thank you, pastor. I want to ask, is this too loud
for me? Am I going to be, is this, are
y'all comfortable? I mean, I may get a little louder
than I am right now. OK. I don't want to bust. OK. Very good. Very good. OK. It's so good to be with you. I appreciate your pastor. asking me to come here. I'm home.
I'm home. I'm originally from West Virginia. My mother still lives here. My
younger brother back there, sitting with her. And let's see. Mike, he's in West Virginia now,
but you're not originally from West Virginia. Marvin is, too. Where's Marvin? There he is. So is he. But I'm originally
from West Virginia. So I'm home. I feel very much
blessed to be here. And thank you, Sovereign Grace
Chapel. I know you've worked and sacrificed
to do this. This is just beautiful. This
is lovely. This is lovely. Such a nice view
behind us here with the trees and so forth. But I thank you
all so very much for having me. Let me get a sip of this before
I begin. Pray for me. I want to begin
by reading a couple of lines from a hymn that Moose Parts
wrote in 1996 for the conference in Danville, Kentucky, where
Brother Don Fortner pastors. And I was there for 20 years
before I went to Alabama. I've been in Alabama for four
years. But Brother Moose wrote this to sing at the conference. It would have been probably more
appropriate last night, but be that as it may. The title of
it was, We Have Gathered in This Chapel. We have gathered in this
chapel, having come from far and near. We are weary from our
travel. Some good news we long to hear. So to him who is our preacher,
we would make this one request. Prove yourself to be the teacher
of the one who will give us rest. Tell us not of self-salvation. Through an act of man's free
will, it will bring no consolation, having heard we're hungry still.
Oh, we long to see the glory of our God in Jesus' face. Tell
us now that blessed story of his free and sovereign grace. May God enable me to do that
this morning, and Brother Mike as well. I asked David last night,
if he wouldn't mind reading the verses that he did a moment ago
here in Exodus chapter 15. The song Moses sang led the children
of Israel in singing does exactly what the hymn I just read to
you of brother Moose does. It exalts the sovereign grace
of God. It exalts his mercy. in verses 30 and 31 of the previous
chapter, you have summed up what they were singing about. This
is why they sang the song that they did. Look at verse 30 of
chapter 14. Thus the Lord saved Israel that
day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord
and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. And then they
sang that song of praise to their God. This great work of salvation
which followed their redemption. Deliverance must follow redemption. Everyone Christ redeemed, he
will call in time to himself. They'll experience his grace
and mercy, and he'll keep them. He'll keep them. He'll preserve
them. His sheep will never be plucked out of his hand, not
one. And they'll all be brought to
glory when we read in Revelation that they sing the song of Moses
and of the Lamb. They give praise to that one
from whom they received all the mercy and all the grace. God gets all the glory. God gets
all the glory in salvation because salvation is all his doing. It's all his work and it's a
great work. Yes, the great work of God's
salvation includes both redemption and calling. He led forth the
people, look at verse 13 again in Exodus 15. Thou and thy mercy
has led forth the people which thou has redeemed. Pharaoh and
his great army weren't redeemed. That's why they drowned in the
Red Sea under the wrath of God. Oh, but the children of Israel,
they had been redeemed before this. Look, if you will, back
in chapter 11, back in chapter 11 of Exodus. They had already
been redeemed by blood, and that's why God brought them through
the Red Sea. They'd been paid for. Jesus Christ
is going to have everything He paid for, everything and everyone. Here in chapter 11, you have
The record of that, look at verse 6 of Exodus 11. This is Moses
speaking to the children of Israel. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall it be like it anymore. But, don't you like that? But God, but against any of the
children of Israel, shall not a dog move his tongue. You mean to tell me God controls
the barking of a dog? Amen. Yes, he does. God controls
everything, everything. Against, or rather, shall not
a dog move his tongue against man or beast. That you may know,
oh Mike, God help us to know that you may know how that the
Lord had put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Now look over in chapter 12,
verse 12. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt,
I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague
shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of
Egypt. Oh, Father, You have led forth
the people that you have redeemed. And this song that David read
to us, this psalm of praise, is their response to God's marvelous
mercy. God's mercy and God's grace experienced
by every worthless, needy, helpless, What preacher, was it Scott that
used to say, dead dog sinner, everyone that experiences God's
great mercy and grace, they give him the glory. Such undeserved
mercy, such unmerited favor demands a response, does it not? They saw this great work that
God did on their behalf. And they stood in holy wonder
at that. My, they said, what a God. What a God. And Moses said, let's
sing a song to him. Everybody join in. Let's sing
praises to our great and glorious God. The subject of the song? The subject of my message is
The Wonders of God's Great Mercy. And the title is Worth Singing
About. Worth Singing About. Let me read
something to you. I know at least one fellow is
going to recognize this, perhaps more than just him. I want to read this to you. The
title of it is the recovery of the gospel. And this dear faithful
man wrote, the most humbling and challenging thing we face
in this day, the great concern of our hearts, ought to be a
recovery of the gospel of God's glory. I'm convinced that what
men today call the gospel is not the gospel at all, but is
the preaching of another gospel, another Jesus, and another spirit. Man, that's serious. That's serious. That being the case, it's no wonder that there's no
marvel no standing in holy awe of another gospel and another
God and another salvation. That doesn't produce what they
sang about at the Red Sea. This dear brother went on to
write, today's gospel emphasizes what men should do for God rather
than what God must do for men. I don't know how long ago this
was written. Don't know how long ago it was written. My friend,
he wrote, salvation is not something you do for God, or something
you do for yourself, or something that the preacher does for you.
Salvation is of the Lord. Which part? Every part. Every
part. It's all of the Lord. And the
man who wrote that article was Paul's daddy, dear brother Henry
Mahan. And is that not so, Mike? That
is the burden of my heart, that this dark religious generation,
oh, that God would be pleased in our day to make bare His holy
arm and show them who He is. Because until he does, people
are going to keep believing in that pipsqueak they call Jesus,
that imposter, and they're going to keep making decisions for
him. And they'll never sing a song
like this. Oh, God, you're wonderful. God,
you're mighty. God does none like you. Oh, I
long to see that in our day. God's great work of salvation
required the sending of his son into this world. It required,
as we read in Hebrews 2, it behooved him in bringing many sons to
glory to make the captain, the glorious captain of their salvation
perfect through suffering. Because his brethren were flesh
and blood, he himself likewise took hold of the same, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God." My soul, what a wonder is that? God Almighty, God Almighty
took on himself the form of a servant. He was in the world, Jesus Christ,
and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He was made flesh, Bruce. No wonder Paul said, great is
the mystery of godliness. Without controversy, Paul said,
this is not up for a vote. We're not going to sit around
and discuss this. He said, it's without controversy. What we should do is just bow
down before it and say, hallelujah, what a savior. Without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now that demands a response from
every sinner redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. He
was made flesh, ponder that. And then this, he was made sin. He became what he never was,
man. And what he still is, the God-man
in glory, our glorious high priest, and then he was made sin. That
is why we read it a moment ago. God says, when I see, oh, I find
comfort in this. I can lay my head on this sweet
pillow of everlasting consolation no matter how hard the winds
blow. It can't touch this. I may lay
down, Pastor, with the tears streaming down my cheeks and
wetting my pillow. I've done it, and I'll probably
do it again. But it doesn't change this. God says, Larry, Chris,
when I see the blood, Not your works, not your will, not your
worth. No, Larry Criss, when I see the
blood of my darling son, I'm gonna pass over you. Oh, no wonder
they sing, who is like unto thee, oh Lord, verse 11. Who is like
thee, oh Lord, among the gods. Is that your concept of God?
Does your concept of God produce this? Who is like unto thee,
O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee? Glorious, glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. That's the God with whom we have
to do. Another hymn writer put it this
way. I quote hymns a good bit because
they help me express what I just find difficulty in trying to
express. And when I think, God help us think about it right
now, and when I think that God his son not sparing sent him
to die, pastor, I scarce can take it in that on the cross my burden gladly bearing, he
bled and died not to make something possible. He bled and died not
in a mere attempt to do something, oh no. He bled and died to take
away my sin and glory to his name. He got the job done, didn't
he, Mike? That's why he cried, it's finished,
it's finished. And God says, yes it is, my son,
it's finished. And when I see the blood, I'll
pass over you. I just now am remembering. A
dear brother in the church that I pastored for a few years, I
was his pastor. Your wife's grandfather, Walter,
Penny's grandfather. Dear brother Waldo, when we would
observe the Lord's table and I would call on Waldo to pray,
I'll never forget it. I loved it. He'd say, Father,
thank you for the blood of Christ. Thank you for that blood. We
feast on it. Father, you feast on it. And
we're both satisfied. Both satisfied. Oh, glory to
his name. He bled and died to take away
my sin. That's worth singing about. That's
worth singing about. That's worth preaching. That's
worth hearing. That's worth living for. And
that's worth dying for. Jesus paid it all. And Jesus
earned it all. And Jesus deserves every ounce
that this sinner can give him of praise and dedication. He
bought me with a price, Paul. I'm his. I'm his. Oh, God, make
me faithful to my glorious Redeemer. I was visiting my son in Kentucky. I drove down here Thursday, and
I preached in Danville Tuesday night. We're brother-dom pastors. But I was staying with my son,
who doesn't live too far away, and I babysat his two daughters,
my two granddaughters. One's 10, the other's 7. Laurel
and Allie. Allison, I call her Allie. But
every time I looked, the 10-year-old Laura was taking my picture,
taking my picture, snapping my picture. You know, I know the camera don't
lie. I wish it did, but it don't. But anyway, I said, Laura, let
me see what you've done. She showed me the picture. I
was sitting on the couch. I said, man, I need to go on a diet. And Allie, the seven-year-old,
looked at me, said, Pawpaw, what's that? What's a diet? I said, honey, I need to lose
weight. Don't you think Pawpaw needs
to lose weight? She said, no, Pawpaw, you're perfect. She's
my favorite. Listen to this. Listen to this.
This is the result of this great work of grace, this marvelous
mercy that God does on everyone that's redeemed, everyone that's
called. When he found us, Ezekiel says,
we were like that infant, that newborn baby cast out into the
field to die. Now that's how the scriptures
represent us by nature, dead, dead. Preachers in the morning
tell sinners all over this state and country, take the first step
to God. If you'll take the first step,
God will take the rest. And the scripture says, man,
you're dead. You're dead. None I pity thee
to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion on thee. But thou was cast out in the
open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou
was born. And that's where I would still
be but, but God. When I passed by thee, and I
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, this is Ezekiel 16, I
said unto thee when thou wast in thine own blood, live. I said
unto thee when thou wast in thine own blood, live. And the rest
of the chapter, or rather the next 14 verses. Tell what God did. I, I, I, I, I, I. What did the sinner do? Nothing.
Nothing. You look at it. I covered you. I spread my skirt over you. I came to where you were. I said
live. I gave you life. And I dressed
you up. I decked you out. And here's
the result of it. and thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect. That's what Allie told Paul,
Paul, you're perfect. No, I'm not. Oh, but in the righteousness
of God's dear son, I'm as holy as the Holy One. That's worth
singing about. That's worth singing about, isn't
it? Thank God for his amazing grace. How great thou art. Oh my God, how great thou art. Let me read you, I told you I
use hymns a lot. Complete atonement thou has made. and to the utmost farthing paid
whatever thy people owed. How then can wrath on me take
place if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled with thy blood?
If thou hast my discharge procured, and freely in my room endured
the hold of wrath divine, payment God cannot twice demand, first
at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again at mine. Bless
God, he won't. He won't. That sounds a little
different, doesn't it? These good old hymns. Sounds
a little different than something like this. Me and Jesus got our
own thing going. Me and Jesus got it all worked
out. Me and Jesus got our own thing going. We don't need anybody
to tell us what it's all about. That's not the same God Moses
sang about, is it? That's that imposter. That's
that one, and it's heartbreaking to see multitudes following. This song at the Red Sea contains
not a single word, not one word about man's work Man's worth
or man's will, not a word. It's all about God's work, and
God's word, and God's will. Oh, who is like unto thee, O
Lord, among the God? This song praises the mighty
God. Look at verse one again. I will
sing unto thee, O Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. Well, I thought God tries to
triumph. No, no, no, no. God doesn't try
anything. God does. He triumphed gloriously. He always does. And look how
it ends. Verse 18, the Lord shall reign
forever and ever. That's why everything in between
is so. Because God Almighty that rules
in heaven and earth, that has his way in the whirlwind. God omnipotent reigns forever
and ever. That's what gives sinners hope. The Lord Jesus Christ saves to
the uttermost all that come unto God by him. In Psalm 50, God Almighty laid this accusation,
no, that's not a right word, this truth against the children
of Israel. He said, you thought that I,
God, was altogether like yourselves. That's the root of your problem.
You thought that I was like you. And that's what this other Jesus is today. He's like us. He's
just like us. What? He's my little buddy. He's like that jack in my car.
If I need it, I'll use it, like my spare tire. If I need him,
I'll use him. Jesus, I can accept Jesus. He's my far escape out of hell.
I never have to bow to him. He's an imposter. He's an imposter. He's not the Lord of glory. Any
sinner who's never bowed to Jesus Christ is not going to lose a
little crown. He's going to lose his immortal
soul. He doesn't know God. He doesn't
know God. God says he demands every sinner
bows to his son. Bows to his son. Kiss the son
lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is
kindled but a little. They asked David, I think Marvin
referred to this last night, David, where's your God now?
Where's your God now, David? And David said, he's where he's
always been. He's where he's always is. My
God's in the heavens doing whatsoever he is pleased, but since you
brought it up about God, let's talk about your God. Let's talk
about your little peanut God. And David says, he's the work
of your own hands. He's got a mouth, but it does
him no good. He can't speak. He's got eyes, but he can't see.
And here's the problem. This sums it up. They that make
them are like unto them. He's just like you. He can't
help you. He's just like you. You made
him. So is everyone that trusteth in him. Oh, this God they sing
about at the Red Sea. He does all the work in saving
sinners, and He does it all on the grounds of His pure mercy
and grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And
when God brings a sinner to His darling Son, when He brings that
haughty rebel down in the dust, And like the leper, all he can
do is cry, if you will, you can make me clean. And the great
physician of souls reaches out and says, oh, I will. And the
touch of the master's hand makes him clean. That sinner will cry,
who is likened to our Lord among the gods? Who is like him? He's glorious. Glorious, Paul
said. Oh, the depth of the riches of
the knowledge and mercy of God. How unsearchable is his wisdom
and his ways past finding out. Who's known the mind of the Lord? Who has he ever had to ask advice
from? Paul says, O of him and through
him and back to him are all things to whom be glory forever and
ever. Does salvation still require
the mercy of our great God? Are sinners in 2015 still dead
in trespasses and sins? Does their salvation still depend
upon God's mercy and grace? Does it? Then where's the wonder,
Paul? Where's the wonder? Where's the standing in awe like
they did this day and said, oh, what a God? What a God! Oh, how great thou art! Where's
the wonder? Why, with churches everywhere,
and preachers everywhere, and sinners making decisions for
Jesus everywhere, Why do none of those so-called converts respond
with a heart overflowing with adoring gratitude at such undeserved
mercy and unmerited grace? What's wrong? I'll tell you why. I'll tell you what's wrong, and
it's heartbreaking. The reason these so-called conversions don't
produce gratitude, and a bowing down in the dust before our glorious
God and Savior is, they're trusting another Jesus, Mormon. You remember
when the last time our Lord, the great shepherd of the sheep,
led his disciples out to Mount Olivet? He said, fella, go into all the
world and preach the gospel. Terry at Jerusalem till I fill
you with power." And while he was talking to them, while he
was talking, he begins to ascend back to glory right in front
of them. Man, I would have been too, wouldn't
you Bruce? I mean, wow, look. And they just keep watching and
watching until a cloud receives him out of their sight. And they're
just staring. John says, James, did you see
that? Peter, did we just see what we
saw? And two angels says, fellas,
why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, this
same Jesus that's taken up into heaven. This same Jesus is coming
back. He was taken up. How high was
he taken? Higher than everything ever that
ever has been or ever will be. He is so high, highly lifted
up and exalted, that everything is under his feet. God had highly
exalted his son and given him a name above every name that
at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee's gonna bow and every
tongue's gonna confess. that he's the Lord to the glory
of God the Father. Is that the same Jesus you believe
in that saved you? That one that came into this
world for that very purpose? That's why they gave him the
name. Call his name Jesus, he shall save his people from their
sins. That imposter can't do it. That
deceiver that the devil has pushed upon our religious generation
that requires a decision, walking an aisle, signing a card, it's
no wonder nobody stands in holy wonder at that. It doesn't deserve
to be. I mean, what's so wonderful about
trotting up an aisle and shaking a preacher's hand? Do you find
that marvelous? Do you find that astounding?
Make a decision for Jesus. Well, la-dee-da. But I'll tell
you what. I'll tell you what. That imposter
might accept that, but the Lord of Glory doesn't. Oh, no. He
brings sinners to himself. He makes them bow down. Larry, do you want to retract
that? You make them? No, I don't want to retract that.
Yes, by his mighty grace, he forces sinners to bow down. He
doesn't leave them to their will, and thank God he doesn't. If
you're here this morning and you don't know the true God and
Savior Jesus Christ, I pray, and if you've got any sense,
you'll pray, God don't lead me to my will. If you lead me to
my so-called will, I will not, I never will come to you until
you constrain me by your irresistible grace. And when he does, When
he does, then you too will sing, oh my soul. What a God. What a God. How wondrous and
glorious in mercy and grace. Let me wrap this up. Jesus Christ,
that God who became a man and still is, the only Savior for
helpless sinners, The experience of his great grace and mercy
produces what we read in this song. Holy gratitude and wonder
and praise. It does to every sinner that
experiences the true grace of the true Redeemer. John the Baptist
said to the wondering multitudes when they thought, is he the
Messiah? John's something else. Could he be the Messiah? And
John said, wrong, wrong. I'm not the Messiah. But I'll
tell you this, John said, there's one mightier than I. That's what I need, Mike. I need
a savior mightier than I. John said, there's one coming
mightier than I. He's the Lamb of God. And he produces blessed, blessed,
heartfelt gratitude. and every sinner redeemed by
his grace. That's why old Bunyan, when God
saved that slave trader, he sat down and said, got to
do something. Got to do something. Can't get
over it. God saved me. I just can't get
over it. So he dipped his quill in ink
and he wrote, oh, amazing grace. God, forgive me. God, forgive
me. That I can go day in and day
out and week in and week out and never stop and say, oh, thank
you for that amazing grace. Because I was blind. I was blind,
Paul. And now I see I was lost. And
Jesus Christ found me, just like he did that other blind sinner.
Bartimaeus, what are you so happy about? And Bartimaeus would say, well,
listen, I was blind. I sat at the gate of Jericho
day in and day out because I was blind. And I'm poor. I'm a beggar. And I sat there
every day in my rags. depending upon the charity of
someone, if they would just, could you give a poor beggar
something? An alms? And one day he heard,
obviously a multitude of people. And he asked somebody, what's
going on? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth
is passing by. Jesus of Nazareth is passing
by and he had heard of him. And he cried, O Jesus of Nazareth,
Jesus, thou Son of God, rather, have mercy on me. What happened, Bartimaeus? People
told me to shut up. What did you do? I ignored them.
I ignored them. Easy enough for them to say,
be quiet. They can see. I'm blind. Jesus, thou Son of
David, have mercy on me. What happened, Bartimaeus? He
said, you're going to find it's hard to believe. But the Son
of God stood still. And Jesus stood and commanded
him to be brought to him. That's amazing. That's amazing. What do you want, Bartimaeus?
Lord, I just want to receive my sight. And Jesus said, receive
thy sight. Thy faith hath made thee whole
and immediately he received his sight and followed him glorifying
God. Can you just picture that? There
goes Bartimaeus walking in the light. Following he who translated
him out of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son. He's
following the God-man. You reckon he might have been
singing something like this? Not have I gotten, but what I
received. Grace had bestowed it since I
had believed. Boasting excluded, pride I abased. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. Bartimaeus, can I walk with you?
I want to put my arm in yours and follow the Master too. I
want to sing with you. This is my story. To God be the
glory. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. That grace that doeth wonders. What a joy it must have been
that day for Moses standing on the other side of the Red Sea,
seeing Pharaoh and his great, mighty army. Remember, Pharaoh
said, I will, I will, I will. And God said, phew. So what it says, verse, the enemy
said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide. Ooh, ooh, ooh,
God, are you concerned? God said, phew. God did blow, and Pharaoh and
his mighty army and his wheel just drowned in the Red Sea.
But there's the children of Israel. As many, I've read commentators
say, as many as a million, perhaps as many as three million people.
My soul. And not one of them floating. in the Red Sea drowned under
the wrath of God. Why? Because when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. Thou and thy mercy has led forth
the people which thou has redeemed." John said, I saw a great multitude
that no man can number standing before the throne of God and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. the
perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Bold shall I stand in
that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay, while
through thy blood absorbed I am from sin and fear and guilt and
shame. This spotless robe the same appears
when ruined nature sinks in years. No age can change its glorious
hue. The robe of Christ is ever new. Jesus, be endless praise to thee,
whose boundless mercy hath for me. For me a full atonement made,
an everlasting ransom paid. That's worth singing about. God
bless you. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. Larry Criss, that is the God
that saved my soul. And no other. No other. That's the God that saved my
soul. Sent that man right back there
next to the back back there. And I don't say, Joe didn't even
know what he was doing. Other than he knew the God of
glory. And I was back up in the woods in a free will church.
And he sent that man to that church to deliver the gospel
of his son to me. That's amazing. Called me out
of darkness. And then Joe delivered us both out of that place. He wasn't in that place to start
with. God sent him there. Because there was a few sheep
in that place. That's the God that saved my soul.