Well, I hope you listen to the Roof Song and you listen to Brother Mark Medley, because that's the message. You're dismissed, you can all go home. If you turn in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes, and it wasn't your fault, but you do sing so sweet. All right.

God now accepteth thy works. All of God's elect are accepted in the Lord Jesus Christ, his son. All chosen by God and his son, redeemed by his blood, called by his gospel preached, and born again of his Holy Spirit. are made wise, righteous, and holy in Christ Jesus. And because of our union with the Holy One, Christ Jesus, He has made us fit for heaven right now. There is nothing, if you drop dead right now, this body goes. He's made you fit for heaven in His Son. Judgment is done. He's made us one. Made us all one in Christ. Ephesians 2, verse 8, he tells us we are saved by grace, God's free sovereign grace, through faith in Christ Jesus.

And it's not by our works. Not by our works. God forbid. And in verse 10, he tells us For we are His workmanship. We're His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, that new man. This flesh profits nothing. Unto good work, unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in. This was done before God created the world. When he made us, when he chose us in Christ and made him our surety, that lamb slain before the foundation of the world, is accomplished when Christ came, God manifested in flesh, and suffered and died on that cross, shed his blood to redeem us.

And then in his Time of love that he's ordained for each and every one of us. He reveals this to us. He reveals it through his gospel being preached. Yet scripture tells us that all, we all will be judged according to our works. Matthew 16, 27. For the son of man shall come in glory of his father with his angels and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Revelations 20, 12, 13 tells us that also. You've heard that many times. To many, this is a terrifying thought.

And it should be if you are counting on your works, you shouldn't be terrified. But God says to his people, in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 7, go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works. If it wasn't in there, there's no way I would say that. But it's not talking about our works, is it? It's not talking about natural man's works. Now these words, they're not for everyone.

They are only for those works whose works are in God's hand. God's elect people that God has shown grace, love, and mercy to, those he made wise and he made righteous in his Son. By the finished works of the Lord Jesus Christ, look in verse one of chapter nine. For all this, Mrs. Solomon, Lord, May Solomon wise for all this I considered in my heart, even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

Look here at the example of two rich men. God made Solomon rich. Made him more ways than one, right? But in Luke 12, verse 16, God gave us the parable of the rich of a rich man. And the Lord Jesus Christ said that man, that man said to his soul, soul, Thou has much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But he gloried in himself and what he had done.

And God called that man a fool. For he was not made, it says, for he was not made rich toward God. He didn't know God. Now look at Solomon says over in just over here in verse eight or chapter eight, verse 15 of Ecclesiastes. Then I commended Mirth, this is Solomon, because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and be merry. For that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun."

Who made the difference between these two men? What richness are we talking about? One of your favorites, who makes the difference? It's God. It's Christ that makes the difference. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory that makes the difference. Not us. He's speaking to his elect in Christ Jesus, those whose righteousness and wisdom and works are in the hand of God. Christ has made us rich. God has made us rich in him. So if God now accepts my works, I can eat and drink and be merry for God now accepts me totally in his son. Christ is either all or he's nothing to you.

Not my works, not my righteousness, not my wisdom. I rest in Christ and his righteousness and his notorious works of redemption and his wisdom. God has made the way to be just and to be the justifier of the ungodly. So, in its context, let's go to chapter eight, Ecclesiastes verse 15, and let's read.

Again, then I commend in mirth because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. All we have, everything we have, everything is from God's hand. All things are his. All three things were created by him, for him, to him, for his purpose and his providence. For his purpose to be done.

In verse 16, when I applied mine heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done upon the earth, for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes. Here he says he, With his wisdom, he didn't get any sleep, thinking on this, wondering about it. But look here at verse 17.

Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun, because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it. Yea, further, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it. You're not gonna find out the works of God with your fleshly wisdom. God make you wise, and we still have a problem with his prophets, don't we? We don't know why God does the things that he does, but by faith that he gives us, we believe what Romans 8 says, that all things do work together. for the good of them that love God according to His purpose, the call according to His purpose.

He says whatever He does, whatever He does is gonna be for your good. Persecution, turmoil, giving you a steak for dinner. He does it for your good and for His glory. He does it. It's in God's hands. It's God's providence. It's God's purpose. And all that God tells us about this eating, drinking, and being merry, and about His works, these works are His works, and they're the works of redemption. That's why He created the world and everything in it. to fulfill His purpose, His will. And He sent His Son to accomplish it on the cross at Calvary. He redeemed you with His blood. He came, God manifest in the flesh. God came down. Consider that, consider that. He came down in the flesh without sin. to save his people, to suffer and die.

Now, let's go back to verse one in chapter nine. For all this I consider it in my heart, even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. As we said before, God's people are in his hands, and it's all of God. He chose you from eternity, and all is for his good and his glory. Jacob is God's elect. He loved Jacob. We're his Jacobs, and everything's gonna work for our good and his glory.

Philippians 1.6 tells us, being confident of this very thing, That He, which begun a good work in you from eternity, He will perform it until the end. How far is eternity? Huh? How far is eternity? All the days of our lives, He's going to perform a good work in us. We're His workmanship.

First Corinthians 1.30 says, but of him are ye in Christ.

These are all who God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification. He's declared us holy, set us apart. We're set apart for him, for his glory, for his use and our redemption. We glory in the Lord. Saints of God, we groan, we desire, and we wait on Christ to gather us all unto himself from that day, to be with him in glory forever without sin, without sin. This world is not our home. We are not our own because Christ bought us with his own blood. We totally, totally belong to God. Christ justified us, and Christ sanctified us. That was water and blood that poured from his side. He washed us. He robed us in his righteousness. He cleansed us with his blood, because we're filthy.

He came, God, manifest in the flesh to do the will of God, and he saved his people. From their sins, he's a successful savior. God loved Jacob, and he hated Esau. There's what God tells us about his love and his hate, and that's all we need to know. He chose a people to love out of Adam's sinful, fallen, ruined race. Ecclesiastes 9, let's go on reading verse 2.

All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked, and to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifices not. As is the good, so is the sinner. And he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath, this is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all, Yea, also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live.

And after that, they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living, there is hope. For the living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward. For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love and their hatred and their envy is now perished. Neither have they anymore a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. We see the wicked prosper. We see the righteous suffer. The providence of God. We don't understand all the providence of God. We don't understand the love of God fully. We don't understand the hatred of God fully.

It's his providence. It's his purpose. And it's for his glory. And it's for our good. Now look at verse seven again. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy. and drank thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works." Again, he is talking about God's work, his work of redemption for his elect people, his free and sovereign grace, and his son, his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is hid to the unregenerated and is hid to those that are not his, to the wicked. but he has revealed it to his called elect in the gospel being preached. That's the means he uses.

First John 2.20 says, but ye have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things. We know Christ is all in salvation. That's about all we do know. So let's look, let's break this verse down. This is our text. And let's look at the peace and the assurance that God gives us.

First, go thy way. Jesus says in John 14, six, I am the way, the truth, the life, And no man cometh unto the Father but by me. This is all from God's hand. He made the way to be just and justify the ungodly, because he sent his son to take away our sins. We have peace with God through the shed blood of Christ, our righteousness. And he is our only acceptance to God.

God made a covenant with himself. He made a covenant with his son. And we go in Jeremiah 31. In verse 33, and this is, but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel with his elect after those days saith the Lord. I will put my law in their inward parts and right in their hearts and will be their God And they shall be my people. You don't have a choice in this. God said, I will be your God. And you shall be my people. Oh, isn't that wonderful? We can't mess it up. Because we would. Everything we touch, we pollute.

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, no, the Lord. For they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. That's how far God's Son, blood, has put away your sin. God the Father, He remembered them no more. They're forgiven. He suffered that wrath. He paid that price.

And God cannot lie. And God cannot change. God has a purpose. And Christ fulfilled it. He fulfilled it. He saved his people from their sins. For the glory of the Father. And it is for Christ's sake. Christ is the way and God keeps us. We're his prized possession. We're his bought possession from the blood of his son. He gave his son for us. He's going to keep you in the way. He's going to keep you in Christ. You've been there from eternity. He keeps us looking to Christ by that faith that he gives us.

His love constrains us and he chastens us. He teaches us. We're taught by God. We're not under the law anymore. We're under grace. We're taught of God. God has predestinated us to be his adopted children. You're a child of God. A child of the king, the most high king is your father, your heavenly father. Christ. He conforms us to the image of his son. We predestinated to do that. We have his righteousness, we have his nature. We have his wisdom. He's holy. God said, you be holy. I'm holy, you be holy. He makes His abode in us.

Working in us, the Holy Spirit working in us, Christ is the way of those He has made righteous, wise in Him. Look in Isaiah 35, eight. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring man, though fools shall not err therein. This is all God's work. You see, that is all God's work.

There is nothing for us to do. There's nothing left to do. We don't merit this in any way, and we don't add to this in any way, and we don't take nothing away from it. We don't touch it with our polluted hands. It's God's work. We're in His hand. And we certainly don't deserve it. We don't deserve it. That's called grace, and that's called the unmerited favor of God. That's called mercy. We deserve justice. We don't want that. We want mercy. Mercy's not merited. Mercy's a gift. We want mercy.

And he makes us walk in Christ's way. And he makes us to rest in him. That one time sacrifice of himself, that's the sacrifice God chose to please and appease his holy justice that we offended. He did it for us. So behold the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ is the way. He is salvation. Next, eat thy bread with joy. And yes, God provides everything for us. Everything. He feeds us. And then in John 6, 35, Christ says, I am the bread of life. And he that cometh to me shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

God sent manna from heaven to the children of Israel to feed them in the wilderness. Manna from heaven, bread from heaven, picture of Christ. Hebrew says the gospel was preached to them just as it is to us. Manna came from heaven, sent from God. God sent his only son, the bread, the heavenly man. He sent him to save us. Christ is that living bread. He is the word of God. He is the gospel preached, the power of God that feeds our souls. And we feast on him. We feast on Christ. That's all our soul can live on. Without him, we don't have life. And we rest in him and he came in the flesh and it's his perfect obedience to God. His perfect obedience to the law of God as he walked on this earth and obeyed God's law for us and he took that curse away from the law. Being made a curse for us, he died on that tree. He hung on that tree and he died. He suffered and died on that tree.

And he brought in that perfect righteousness. That perfect obedience, perfect righteousness that God imputes to us. His body was broken for us. He bore all our sins, all our guilt, all our shame on that cross. and he bore the wrath of God. God poured out his wrath on him. We go to hell deserving it for eternity and we never pay for one sin. We don't have anything to please God. He, one time, came in the flesh, gave his life, paid your sin debt, My sin debt, your sin debt, every single one that God chose in His Son before the foundation of the world, every one that He gave His Son to die for, He put your sins away in His own body. He bore the wrath of God. All that would take an eternity, He paid for. with his blood, with his sacrifice. God chose him, God anointed him before the foundation of the world to be that sacrifice, that sacrificial lamb, that substitute.

All for the joy that awaited him. He saved us to the othermost. He justified us and he sanctified us. And here's our assurance, he rose again. The third day, and now our life is in Him. He was exalted. He sits right now, right this very minute, on His throne, on the right hand of God. He ever lives to intercede for us. God looks at His Son. Satan accuses us. God looks at his son. He's mine. I paid it. God satisfied. He's not angry anymore. He doesn't charge you with your sin, because he charged it to his son. And his son paid the price. And it's gone. It's gone. His sins are gone. Never be charged with them again.

Drink thy wine with a merry heart. Christ said, drink it. He said, drink ye all of it. For this is my blood of the New Testament, that new covenant, which is shed for many, all that God gave him to die for, for the remission of sins. Matthew 26, 28. Christ is the best wine. He's the sweet wine. His blood was shed to purge away our sins forever. And we drank the wine in remembrance of him. It's one of the ornaments he gave us, wasn't it? He ate his bread, he drank his cup in remembrance of me. We do it in remembrance of who he is and what he has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves.

His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It refreshes our souls. It cleans us. Cleans us. And he gives us peace with God. Fury is not in me. He's not angry with us anymore. God reconciled us. to himself and his son, Jesus Christ. Oh, he redeemed us. He paid that price. That sin debt is fully paid.

Do you see? Do you see that? Ain't no works of yours been mentioned yet, have they? God forbid they won't be. He fulfilled all the law. He fulfilled the covenant of grace. Old books, nothing but about him. Pictures and shadows in the Old Testament. He fulfilled everything. And we are fully covered and immersed in his blood. Because his blood is our life. Eternal. Spiritual, eternal life is in him. If you turn to John 6, verse 53. John 6, 53.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. And I, oh listen, who preserves you? Who keeps you? I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth, dwelleth in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. You hear that? This is that bread which came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat, manna, and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

And then, for God now accepts thy works. Psalms 115, verse one says, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy And for thy truth's sake, Christ gets all the glory. God made sure He does. Whether you want to give it to Him or not, it's not yours to give. God gave it to His Son. He glorified His Father. He glorified His Son. for his finished work of redemption.

Never thank for one moment, child of God, that we have ever done anything, that we can do anything now, or that we ever will do anything to merit the grace, mercy, love, salvation. God's only son. We don't deserve, we don't do anything to merit that. We can't. We can't. It's all in God's hand. Salvation is God's work alone. The triune God. We are recipients of God's free and sovereign grace in his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, isn't that beautiful? In first Corinthians, Chapter six, verse 19. What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God? And ye are not your own, For you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. That's what it says. And in your spirit, which are God's. God's hand. Not yours, ain't God's hand.

Christ has saved you to the uttermost. Or he hadn't saved you at all. If you're not fit for heaven right now, you ain't never gonna be more righteous, and you ain't never gonna be no more holy than you are right now. You ain't never gonna be more saved than you are right now. No, Christ is a successful Savior.

1 Thessalonians 5, 23, and the very God of peace sanctify you holy. And I pray God, your whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, as faithful as he, that's where our faith looks to, his faithfulness, that calleth you, who will also do it. He's already done it. And he's keeping you and preserving you right now. Once you use these bodies to serve sin and you enjoyed it, you were captive of Satan. You didn't know God, didn't care. Now, in Christ Jesus, we serve the living God. He saved us completely.

That's a dirty piece of paper. Just like those vessels in the temple. Just like a cup. It's just a cup. But when God says, wash it. Sprinkle it with blood. It's mine. It's for my use. It's for my glory. It's over. Because God said it is. You're a vile, filthy sinner. So am I. I'm the chiefest. God says, I set you apart. I purged you with my son's blood. That blood's been sprinkled on you. We are the vessels of honor. God has made us that way.

He makes a new man in us. The flesh is not going to profit anything. And that new man is formed in Christ. That new man is of God. It wasn't there before. He created it in you. That's what he died. That's the one he died for. That's the one that's going to be with him in glory.

Your body holds it. Your body. And he makes his abode. He said, my father and I, we make our abode in you. I'm going to sit in the holy comforter to comfort you and teach you all things. He drove out that strong man. You were a prisoner. And he came and he swept out that old man with his strong and mighty arm, his hand.

And where God makes His abode, there's no sin. Your bodies have been sanctified. Now, they're going to go back to the grave. God accepts us, the whole totality of our life, in His Son, Jesus Christ. Remember, we're His workmanship. Christ is sufficient for me.

Either Christ Did everything for you? Or are you going to hell? Either Christ is your all, and your only acceptance to God, and he's a successful Savior, who is not going to lose one, or are you going to hell? He either did it all, and he did it thoroughly, and he did it perfectly, or it ain't done.

You see how sufficient he is? I can do nothing without him. He tells us that in John 15. He's the true vine. We're the branches. We can do nothing without him. We belong to him. Even the praise of our lips is given to us We can't even praise Him that He doesn't come from hell. Philippians 3, 20 says, for our conversation is in heaven. He's made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ. From whence also we look, we look, He's coming again.

We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, listen here, who will change our vile bodies. His flesh profits nothing. He's gonna change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. See, that new man's, that new man's gonna be with God. And when he comes back again, he's gonna raise us up from the dead. We're gonna be, Soul's gonna be reunited, spirit's gonna be reunited with his body again. But he's gonna change it. Fashion like unto his glorious body, according to our works?

No, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. He is a sovereign God. He's powerful over everything. He created everything. Nothing can be compared to him. It's impossible for man, but nothing is impossible for God.

He made that way to be just and holy and righteous and love a sinner like us. He's the just and the justifier. He's the sanctifier and the sanctifier. It's by grace alone, by Christ alone, by and through. that faith, that God-given faith alone. All blessings, all blessings are ours in Christ Jesus. Our wisdom, our righteousness, our works are in His hands. We believe on Him. We serve Him with our, what does He tell us to do? With all our body, mind, soul, and spirit. They're all His. They're in His hand. Everything that you do, Everything that you've done, everything that happens has been ordained, either he's sovereign or he ain't, people, has been ordained by God before the foundation of the world.

We're just doing our duty. We don't get any glory. I don't get any glory. None at all. I pick up this piece of paper. I can't take glory in that because God gave me the ability to see it, pick it up. He put it there. He made it. Do I get any glory for that? God ordained that.

God accepts you in his son. All of you in his son, his son sanctified you and he justified you. First Corinthians 10 31. So whether therefore you eat or you drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. God says, come to me. He says, believe on me. He demands you, commands you to believe on his son. How do we do it? By the works, by the righteousness, by the wisdom, by the faith. It's all the work of God. And God says he accepts our works. So child of God, go thy way. Christ is the way. Eat thy bread with joy. He is the bread. Christ is the bread, and he's our joy. Drink thy wine with a merry heart. Who gave you a new heart to serve him? And that wine is his blood of the new covenant that purged away your sins, gave you peace with God. For now God accepts thy works. Oh, and they're Christ too. You didn't do them. They're in God's hands. Christ did.

Who makes you willing and able? The day of his power. He does. Do you see that? Isn't that wonderful? We're his fruit. We're his workmanship. We can do nothing without him. And he makes us fruitful. He makes us fruitful in His Son. So we glory in Him. We rest in Him. We rest in His wisdom. We rest in His righteousness alone. We rest in His finished works alone. We can do nothing without Him. It's all in God's hand. We're in God's hand. Amen. Hope that's a blessing to you.