If you would, open your Bibles
with me to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter three. I
bring you greetings from our brethren in Danville. We had
such a good service, a good time with the folks there last Sunday.
Brother Eric is preaching there this morning, so we want to remember
him in prayer. I would sure like to thank the
man who put this new handrail in. I can't seem to find anybody
to take credit for it, But boy, it's beautiful. It's much safer
and prettier, and we sure appreciate that. All right, Philippians
chapter three, we'll read the first 15 verses. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. To write the same things to you.
To me, indeed, it's not grievous, but for you it's safe. Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision, the
mutilators, those who would put some some measure of the law
on you. For we are the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I am more. Circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew
of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee, Concerning zeal,
persecuting the church. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those I count a loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I
count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of
all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ
and be found in him. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect,
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forth under those things which
are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us, therefore, as many as
be perfect, mature, be thus minded. And if in anything ye be otherwise
minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Let's stand together
as Shawn leads us in singing our call to worship. As on the cross of Christ I thought,
it seemed I heard one cry. Is all this nothing in your eyes? Who you this day pass by? Is not such suffering greater
than that which you've seen before? And was there ever any man who
grieved or suffered more? I looked again, and what I saw
I cannot fully tell. It seemed within his very bones
there raged the fire of hell. What caused you grief, I ask
the man, what crimes could you have done? That God, Jehovah,
struck you down and left you all alone. His answer cut my
heart like steel and left me void of breath. It is for your
sins this pain I feel, for you I go to death. Your soul before my Father's
throne could find no place to hide. This is the way God can
be just and you be justified. Jehovah's mercies never fail,
each morning they are new. Great in His faithfulness and
love, therefore we're not consumed. Jehovah, God in Christ, the Son
shall all my portion be. My soul shall therefore wait
for Him and live eternally. If you would, please turn in
your red hymnal to song number 228, My Faith Has Found a Resting
Place. My faith has found a resting
place, not in device nor creed. I trust the Ever-Living One,
His wounds for me shall bleed. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. Enough for me that Jesus saves,
this ends my fear and doubt. A simple soul, I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. My heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God. Salvation by my Savior's name,
salvation through His blood. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. My great physician heals the
sick, the lost he came to save. For me his precious blood he
shed, for me his life he gave. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. ? It is enough that Jesus died
and that he died for me ? If you would please open your Bibles
to 2nd Timothy chapter 1. Pastor has asked that we read
a portion of 2 Timothy chapter 1 this morning. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, according to the promise of life which
is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace,
mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from
my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee in my prayers night and day. Greatly desiring to see
thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy
when I call to remembrance the unfamed faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother, Lois, and thy mother, Eunice,
and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in
remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in
thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given
us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began, but now is made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher
of the Gentiles. For the witchcause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Splendor
in there. Let's bow together in prayer,
please. Our great God and holy Heavenly Father, we come to Thee
this morning only through the blood and righteousness of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer will be found in Him,
dressed in His righteousness, Father. We have nothing we can
offer in ourselves. We just stand in Christ. I'm
thankful for the lesson this morning with your compassion
towards sinners your grace, so thankful for your free and sovereign
grace to sinners. I ask that you be with frank
as he stands to preach to us this morning. Cause us to not be taken up with
the things that we need to do in our homes or in our jobs in
the days and weeks ahead, but cause us to focus on the message
prepared and let us truly to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ in this hour. Show us more of Him and His salvation,
how great He is and how little and small and insignificant we
are. Show us our need of Him each and every day. Cause us
to know that we can do nothing without You in our lives. That everything that we have
is a gift of Your hand and we're dependent on You. Pray for Eric
in this time also. Be with him and other men that
stand to preach your gospel this morning. Let the gospel run well
this morning in each place you've sent it. Pray for those that
are still going through difficult times and trouble and trials.
Give them grace and compassion at this time. Pray for friends
or family members or children, father, that it be your will
that you Reveal Christ to them and call them through the preaching
of the gospel and save them by your grace. So we leave this place after
the worship service. Be with us, guide us and direct
us each day. Leave us not alone. Keep us anchored
on Christ and increase our faith in him. These things we ask in
praying Christ. Amen. Day by day and with each passing
moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father's wise
bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart
is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what he deems best. Lovingly it's part of pain and
pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. Every day the Lord himself is
near me, with a special mercy for each hour. All my cares he
fame would bear and cheer me, he whose name is Counselor and
Power. The protection of his child and
treasure is a charge that on himself he lay. As thy days thy strength shall
be in measure, this the pledge to me he made. Help me then in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord. That I lose not faith's sweet
consolation, Offer me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and
trouble meeting, Ere to take us from our Father's hand. One by one, the days, the moments
fleeting, Till I reach the promised land. If you would, open your Bibles
now with me back to 2 Timothy 1. A passage Brother Wayne just
read for us. I titled the message this morning,
Blessed Assurance. I think this is something that
every child of God is interested in. Enjoying assurance of our
salvation. And you know we should. A believer
can and we should enjoy the assurance of salvation. The salvation of
God's elect is a thing that is absolutely sure and certain. It cannot fail. So we always
have assurance of salvation, don't we? But we don't always
enjoy it to its fullest. And it's because of our sin nature
caused us to doubt and to fear. But still yet a believer can
and we should be able to enjoy the assurance of salvation in
our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have to wait until
we get to heaven to finally enjoy assurance of our salvation. And
I know folks are looking for assurance. Everybody wants assurance.
You know, it's like the old country song, looking for love in all
the wrong places. If you want assurance, don't be looking for
it in all the wrong places now. Assurance of salvation can never
be found in what we do or what we don't do. If you're looking
for assurance and you're looking at yourself, you're going to
be sorely disappointed. Assurance of salvation cannot
come from our outward morality and our outward religious persona,
you know, that we show folks. Assurance of salvation can only
come by knowing Christ, by looking to Christ, by looking to him
for everything that you need, and by resting in Christ. The
more you're working, trying to improve your salvation, the less
assurance you'll have. If you'll rest, just rest in
Christ. That's assurance and peace. And
there are four key words in our text this morning that tell us
this. My text is verse 12, for the
which cause? I also suffer these things. Nevertheless,
I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day. Now the first word here that
tells us where assurance is found and how to enjoy it is know. The blessed assurance of salvation. There's some knowledge involved
in this thing. Salvation is a hard work, but now there's some knowledge
involved in this thing. But this blessed assurance doesn't
come from knowing the right doctrine, or knowing the right creed, or
knowing the right way to act. Assurance comes from knowing
Christ. Paul says, I know whom I have
believed. He didn't say, I know what I
believe. I know whom I have believed. Knowing Christ, that's life eternal. Now, if you have eternal life,
it's eternal life. That's sure, isn't it? I can't
think of a more sure thing. If we have eternal life, we can
enjoy this assurance of salvation. Knowing Christ is looking to
Christ, looking to Him and seeing that He is all it takes to save
you. It's looking to Him. Look and
live. Look to Him and see. He's everything that it takes
to save you. Now, if you know Christ, this is what you know.
You know this. You don't need anything else
but Him. He's all that you need. Now, if in Christ, if you have
everything that God requires for salvation, everything that
requires of you, you have in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you
ought to have full assurance of salvation, shouldn't you?
You ought to be able to enjoy this assurance. Having everything,
lacking nothing, that's about sure as it gets. But if we have
everything, we ought to be able to enjoy that assurance of salvation. Knowing Christ. It's not just
knowing his name. There's a lot of names that I
know, people, you know, famous people or whatever, presidents,
whoever, people I know, I know their name, but I don't know
them. Knowing Christ is experiencing Christ in the heart. It's Christ
dwelling in you. That's the hope of the Lord.
Knowing Christ is experiencing the grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Knowing the definition of grace
is a whole lot different than experiencing it, isn't it? It's
experiencing that. If your hope of glory is all
found in Christ, if your hope of glory is all found in God's
grace, then you should enjoy assurance of salvation, because
that's where it's found. And knowing Christ is to cherish
Christ, to cherish Him, to love Christ so much that not only
do you not need anything else, you don't want anything else
because you cherish Him. If all you have is Christ, and
by that I mean that none of your hope is based on any of your
works, but that all you have, the only hope you have is Christ,
then you should enjoy assurance of salvation because it's found
in Him. It's safe and secure in Him.
Knowing Christ, is to have a constant dependence on Christ. Constantly
depending on Him. And you know what? That doesn't
change. No matter how long you know Christ, no matter how long
you've been trusting Him, that never changes. A constant dependent
on Christ. That's what Paul told the church
at Philippi, the passage I read to open the service. Paul knew
Christ. He said, I know Him. But oh,
he said that I may know Him. I may know Him better. that I
may, so that I may depend more fully on him. Not having my own
righteousness, which is of law, but that which is through faith.
Faith and dependence on Christ. It's a constant dependence. And
there are a lot of things I know. There's a lot of things that
you know. There's a lot of spiritual things that we know. But everything
that I know completely depends on who I know. See, I know there'll
be righteousness. There's a religious word for
you and people talk about righteousness. This is what I know. I know that
righteousness is all in Christ and none of it's in me. You know
how I know that? Because I know Christ. I know
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. I know that forgiveness
of sin is all found in the precious blood of Christ. His blood can
cleanse from all sin. You know how I know that? I know
Christ. I know His perfect holiness, His perfect righteousness, His
precious blood. I know that because I know Him.
I know this. This is not just a doctrinal
saying to me. I know that all of God's elect
shall be saved. I know that. I know that. I know
none of them can perish. I know that. You know why I know
that? Because I know Christ. He cannot
fail. He can't fail. He's going to
save his people. And I know this, that Christ, the great shepherd
of the sheep, he will keep all his sheep. He will. I know if
I'm one of his sheep, I'm not going to wander off the cliff
and fall into hell and perish. I know that. You know how I know
that? Because I know Christ, the shepherd
of the sheep. See, any religious thing that
I think I know that does not come from knowing Christ is not
true. But anything that I know, because
I know Christ, it has to be true. And that's where assurance is
found, it's knowing Christ, knowing Him. All right, the second word
that tells us where assurance is found, how assurance is to
be enjoyed, is believed. Paul says, I know whom I have
believed. And this word believed, it means
to trust Him. So this believing that we're
talking about here, this saving faith, this believing Christ,
so I have assurance of salvation. It's not believing the right
doctrines, the doctrines of grace. Now when I say that, please understand,
I'm not minimizing the importance of doctrine. I want to be, have
sound doctrinal preaching. Doctrine is very important because
those doctrines teach us who Christ is. But I tell you, as
long as I can remember, I've always been a Calvinist. I mean,
I didn't know, I wasn't saved. I didn't know Christ. I could
have no assurance in that. Assurance doesn't come from believing
the right doctrines. True facts, salvation and assurance
come from believing a person, a whom, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you believe him. If you would
have assurance for your soul, assurance for your heart, believe
him. Believe Christ, rest in him.
And God's elect, that's what they do. Whenever God introduces
Himself to them, this is what they'll do. They'll believe on
Christ. They believe Him. And it's not
just they don't just, they do believe on Christ. They believe
in Him. They believe in His name. They believe on His name. But
it's not just believing on Christ. It's believing Christ. It's believing
Him. They believe Christ. You know
why? Because they know Him. They know Him. To know Christ
is to love Christ. To know Christ is to believe
Him. And if you know Christ, you have to believe Him. If you
know Him, you'll trust Him. You know He's trustworthy. You
know His character. You know who He is. You'll trust Him.
If you know Christ, this is what you believe. You believe He'll
do exactly what He said He'd do. He's going to save His people
from their sins. If you believe Christ, you'll
trust Him. You'll trust Him personally to be everything your soul needs.
He'll trust Him to be all your wisdom, your righteousness, your
sanctification, and your redemption. If you believe Christ, you're
going to trust Him. You're going to trust Him to save you, and
you're going to trust Him to bring you from here to there,
from here to glory, and to present you faultless before His Father
in glory. You believe that, don't you?
If you believe Christ, you do. Well, then I'll let us take a
deep breath and enjoy full assurance of salvation. He's going to do
it all and He can't fail. If you believe Christ, you trust
Him. You trust Him so you don't feel like you have to do something
to make your salvation more secure or make God happier with you.
You just don't feel like you have to do any of that because
you believe Christ. You believe it's all in Him.
If you believe Christ, this is what it comes down to. You don't
believe you've got to add to Him. If you believe Christ, you know
He's perfect and you're perfect in Him. then you don't have to
add to them. And if we have to rely on any
of our works for salvation, before regeneration or after, if we've
got to rely on any of our works to get saved or to keep our salvation,
we will never find assurance for our souls. Never. Because
our works will never be good enough and we'll know it if we're
honest with ourselves at all. Somebody thinks that their works
are good enough to make God happy with them is either lying or
they're delusional. If we're honest with ourselves,
we'll know our works can't do anything to make God happy with
us. But if we trust Christ, we have everything that we need.
And that is the full assurance of salvation, because this is
what we know. He cannot fail. He's perfect. The father always accepts perfection. Now this thing of believing,
if we're going to have, if we're going to be saved, if we're going
to have this assurance of salvation, we must believe Christ. And this
is worth saying. I say to each of you, me and
you, you must believe Christ. You must believe. Nobody else
can do it for you. You must believe. Look at John
chapter eight. Hang with me here. I'm, I'm,
Just starting to make a point, hang with me. If we would be
saved, you would be saved, you must believe Christ. If I would
be saved, I must believe Christ. Look what our Lord says here
in John 8 verse 24. I said therefore unto you that
you should die in your sins. For if you believe not that I
am, you shall die in your sins. The reason people die in their
sin is they don't believe Christ, that's why. It's not God, it's
not because God didn't elect them. It's not, it's because
that's what the Lord says. You're going to die in your sins
because you do not believe on, do not believe Christ. You see
what the Lord is saying here is you must believe. If you would
be saved, if you would have this blessed assurance, you must believe. But here's the problem. Now that's
a true statement, but here's the problem. By nature, we cannot
believe. We have a sin nature that cannot
and will not believe. No matter what we do, we cannot
make ourselves believe. We can't decide to believe on
Christ because our nature is not capable of it. Look over
a page or two at John chapter 10. In verse 26, the Savior says, but
you believe not because you're not of my sheep, as I said unto
you. It's not that you're not my sheep
because you don't believe. No, you don't believe because
you're not my sheep. You don't believe because you have a nature
that will not and cannot believe Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. Now the sheep, God's elect, they
will believe on Christ. Salvation's of the Lord. Faith
is a gift that God gives to his elect. He gives it to all of
his sheep. That's why they believe. So if we would be saying the
Holy Spirit must give us faith. He's got to give us this gift
of faith. Yes. You must believe on Christ, but
you will not and you cannot until God, the Holy Spirit gives you
faith. And this is why the elect believe. This is why the sheep
believe because God gives them faith. And when he gives them
faith, what do they do? They believe Christ. They look
to him and they follow him. Verse 27. My sheep hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me. Why did that happen? I give
unto them eternal life. and they shall never perish.
Neither should any man pluck them out of my hand." See, we
enjoy assurance of salvation simply by believing Christ, by
believing He's enough, by believing that He's all. The writer to
the Hebrews said in chapter four, verse three, for we which have
believed do enter into rest. Why do we enter into rest? Why
do we not keep working, trying to make God happy with us? Because
we believe. We believe that Christ is enough. That's the only way you can rest
is if you believe somebody finished the work. Somebody did something
you can't do, they finished the work. Well, I believe Christ.
He finished it. All righteousness, all salvation
is in Him. Then we can rest and quit working,
trying to make ourselves more saved. Because we believe Christ.
See, believing Christ, that lets us enjoy this blessed assurance.
All right, now the third word that tells us Where assurance
is found and how it's enjoyed is persuaded. Paul said, I know
whom I have believed. I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded
of this, that he's able. I'm persuaded of it. And the
word persuaded means induced by words to believe. Believers
are induced to believe. They're made to believe. I want
to preach in such a way that I compel you to believe Christ,
to compel you to look to Him. Believers are induced to believe
by hearing the words of the gospel, by hearing of Christ. Faith cometh
by hearing, hearing of Christ. How can you believe on Christ?
How can you know him? How can you believe on him if
somebody doesn't tell you who he is? We use words to tell folks
who Christ is by hearing the gospel. That's the means that
God uses to give faith to his elect. Faith cometh by hearing.
And if God will ever let us know Christ, if He'll introduce Himself
to us and let us know Christ, I can tell you this, we'll be
persuaded to believe Him. Nobody's begging you to believe
Him. You'll be persuaded to believe Him. You just won't be able to
help it. Part of this word persuaded, it means induced by words to
believe, but it also has to do with obedience, to obey God. Well, what is the commandment
of God that we're to obey? Aren't you glad it's not the
law? Aren't you glad it's not the Ten Commandments? Aren't
you glad you don't have to keep all those things and pretend you're
perfect and try to pretend everybody else, you know, you have assurance?
It's not the law. The commandment of God is this.
Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just believe Christ.
That is the commandment of God. And if we're persuaded, we're
convinced that Christ is salvation. Oh, we'll believe it. We'll obey
God and we'll believe Christ. And Paul says here, I'm persuaded.
I'm persuaded of something. See, everything is all connects
to Christ. I'm persuaded. I'm not persuaded of the doctrine.
I'm not persuaded of this. I'm persuaded that he, he is
able. He is able to do what? Anything. He's able to do anything and
everything he said he'd do. He's able to do it. Christ is
able to say. He said he came to seek and to
say. that which was lost. And I'm
persuaded he's got the power to do it. I'm persuaded he's
gonna do it. He's got the power and the love
to do it. Christ is able. He's able to make his people,
they're born dead in sin, they're filthy, they're vile, they're
wretched, but Christ is able to make his people holy, pure,
spotless, to make them whole. He said that's what He came to
do, by His obedience to the law for them, to make them righteous
in His obedience. I'm persuaded He's able. Christ
is able to make His people see Him and to believe on Him. And I'm persuaded. Not only am
I persuaded He's able, I'm persuaded He's gonna do it. Some of you,
I know, I know you, I know, don't believe. You just don't believe
Christ. You just can't see it, can you?
You just can't see it. And I'm like the apostle here. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed.
Nevertheless, I'm not confounded. Nevertheless, I'm not discouraged.
That's why I keep standing up here as best I can every week
preaching Christ to you, because I'm persuaded he's able. I'm
persuaded he's able to make you see. And if you see it, You'll
rest in it. It's the gift of faith that he
gives. He's able. Christ is able. He's able to save his people
and to keep them saved. I'm persuaded of that because
of the power of his grace. It's like the kinsman redeemer
in the Old Testament. Like old brother Boaz. I like
Boaz, don't you? He's the kinsman redeemer. At
Kinsman Redeemer, there's a couple qualifications he had to have.
He had to be willing to redeem. He had to be willing to do it.
He also had to be able to do it. There's a lot of things I'm
willing to do I can't do. Kinsman Redeemer had to be willing
and he had to be able to redeem. Well, this is what the believers
persuaded of. Aren't you persuaded that Christ
is willing to redeem? He's more willing to save than
you are to be saved. He's willing to redeem, isn't
he? That's the very reason he was made flesh. That's why he
came into flesh, to save his people who were in the flesh.
He came into flesh to be their substitute, to be their representative. Oh, he's willing to redeem. There's
no question about that. I'm also persuaded of this. He's
able. He's able to redeem. We're persuaded. You know why a believer's persuaded? The Lord Jesus Christ is able
to redeem. because he's God and he can't
fail to do what he came to do. He's God. His blood is perfect
and precious. I'm persuaded of this. He got
the job done. I'm persuaded of it. And I tell
you a good example of this, this persuasion, being persuaded that
he's able is Abraham. I would just kind of imagine
Abraham living there in his father's house. He's a grown man. He's
married. He's, you know, And sounds like his father was a
rich man, he's living there in the bosom of that great big family,
you know, that's where they had protection and things at that
time, a big family compound or something that they had, you
know. And Abraham was willing to leave all of that, to take
what he could carry on his back, whatever donkeys or whatever
his father gave him, take Sarah and a couple servants and Lot,
his worthless nephew, and walk out into the desert having no
idea where he was going. Why was he willing to do that?
He was persuaded. God was able. He said, Abraham,
you go. I'll show you where you're going.
He was persuaded God would do it. After everything transpired after
that, there came a day God came to Abraham. And we think, well,
wouldn't you like to hear God just audibly speak to you? I
bet it caught Abraham's breath. Eventually God spoke to him.
God said, Abraham, and he said, here am I. And God said, take
your son, your only son, Isaac, take him to a place I'll show
you. And you offer him there as a burnt offering. And Abraham packed up and got
walking. And he was willing to go up on top of that mountain,
him and Isaac alone, and slaughter that son, cut his throat, draw
and quarter his body, and burn it to ashes on an altar. He was
willing to do that. You parents, you wouldn't do
that? Huh? Hmm. I don't know, Alec, you've just
been at this a little while. You wait till she grows. You
just, oh, you wouldn't do that? Abraham was. Why? He was persuaded. God's gonna
keep his promise. The Messiah's coming through
this boy. He thought, I'm gonna kill him. God's gonna raise him
from the dead. He's persuaded. He said, I don't know how. God's
gonna keep his word. God's gonna keep his promise.
Abraham left a wealthy family and he wandered in tents the
whole rest of his life, never on one bit of land except for
his and Sarah's burial plots. You know why Abraham was willing?
He was persuaded that what God had promised, he was able to
perform. Look at Romans chapter four.
That's what Paul tells us here. He was persuaded. Romans chapter four, verse 18, who against hope believed in
hope that he might become the father of many nations. According
to that which was spoken, socialized seed be and be not weak in faith. He considered not his own body
now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness
of Sarah's womb. He staggered not the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he
was able also to perform. Therefore it was imputed to him
for righteousness. Hold your finger there. We'll
come back to Romans in a minute. Look at Hebrews chapter 11. We hold up
Abraham as that example, the father of the faithful. But do
you know every believer will be like Abraham? They're going
to follow the Lord because they're persuaded of Him. They're not
going to leave the gospel because they're persuaded. This is the
only message. This is the only message of God. And you know
why they won't leave? You know why they'll keep following
Him? Because they're persuaded. They're persuaded that Christ
is the only Savior. Look at Hebrews 11 verse 13. These all died in faith. Not
having received the promises, they didn't receive them all
in this life, but having seen them afar off, and they were
persuaded of them, embraced them and confessed that they're strangers
and pilgrims in the earth. They died in faith and they followed
God and they trusted Christ until they died. They just kept following
because they were persuaded. God's going to do what he said
he'd do. God's going to give me the inheritance he said he
would, he would give me. Now here's assurance. You and
I will do the same thing if God saved us. God's the one who saved
us. You and I will do the very same
thing because if God saves you, you're going to be persuaded
Christ is all and you'll follow him. You'll trust him and you
not leave him. It's not because you're so strong. It's not because,
Oh, I'm going to be so strong. No, God's persuaded you that
Christ is all your soul needs and you'll hang on to him. You
have no other hope. Now look back in Hebrew or Romans, excuse
me, Romans chapter eight. Now that's where assurance comes
from. It's by being persuaded that the Lord Jesus Christ is
able. Now here's enjoying that assurance in Christ. Romans chapter
eight, verse 31. What shall we then say to these
things? Of God before us, who can be against us? He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect. It's God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it's written, for
thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep
for the slaughter. May in all these things, we're
more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded,
now this is my persuasion, I am persuaded that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That's that's enjoying. That's
enjoying assurance of salvation. Come what may, doesn't matter.
I'm persuaded of this. I can't be separated from Christ.
See, enjoying assurance is being able to say sink or swim, I go
to him. Enjoying, enjoying assurance
is saying this. If I'm going to perish, I'm going
to perish at the feet of Christ, begging for mercy. If I'm going
to perish, that's where I'm going to perish. I'm just determined
that. And here's assurance. Nobody
yet has perished at the feet of Christ, begging for mercy.
Not one. And I'm not so special. I'll
be first. I'm persuaded of that. Assurance
is not being persuaded that I'm going to straighten up and fly
right and start sinning less. I can't be persuaded of that.
Because this is what I'm persuaded of. About me, this is what I'm
persuaded of. I'm persuaded of my sinfulness.
That's what I'm persuaded of. Assurance is being persuaded
that the blood of Christ cleanses me from all sin. Not that I'm
going to sin less, but he cleanses me from it. Assurance is not
that I know. I'm going to persevere to the
end because of my own ability, just because of my personal refusal
to look anywhere else. Well, Peter thought that one
day, didn't he? He said, Lord, these other fellows might leave
you, but I won't. No, I'll die with you. There's no assurance
there, was there? Took a teenage girl to run Peter
off. Enjoying assurance is being persuaded
of our inability and His ability. That's enjoying assurance. It's
being persuaded that the Lord's able to keep me from falling
and He'll present me faultless before His presence and glory
before the Father. Enjoying assurance is knowing
I'm secure. Because I know whom I have believed.
I know who's holding me. And no man is able to pluck me
from his hand. Enjoying assurance is this, I'm
persuaded. that the Lord Jesus Christ won't
even lose one that the Father gave him a second, not one, because
he's able. All right, here's the fourth
word. This tells us where assurance
is found and how to enjoy it. It's commitment. Paul says, I
know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. I saw that
word committed, and I thought, I thought about myself. I thought
about my dear wife. I'm committed to her. I love
her. I'm committed to her. I just
don't want to be anywhere else but with her. But that's not
what this word means. It means to deposit the one's
faithful keeping. It means to deposit everything
that's important to you to the care of somebody else. Being
committed to Christ is deposit your soul. to deposit your eternal
soul to Christ's faithful keeping. He'll keep it, because I can.
Just like you take your money, you deposit in the bank, and
you go up to the drive-thru, you put your money in the bank,
they give you a slip, and you drive home, and you never think
about it again. Because you're just sure they're going to keep
it. They'll faithfully keep it safe for you. Commitment to Christ
is depositing your soul to His faithful keeping, and just not
worrying about it, because He's faithful to promise. And you
don't need to help him keep it. Cause you know, he'll keep your
soul secure. So you don't have anything to
worry about. Paul says here that day, Christ will keep your soul
secure to that day, to the day of judgment, to the day of his
coming. Now that's enjoying assurance. Do not fear the judgment. Do
not fear Christ's return. Enjoying assurance is actually
looking forward to Christ's return. It's looking forward to the judgment.
You know why a believer can look forward to the judgment? Christ
made you not guilty. You're not guilty. You have nothing
to fear. Enjoying assurance is looking forward to Christ's return. I know a lot of the world fears
it, but the believer doesn't. I look forward to it. Because
in that day, when we see Him, we'll be made just like He's
going to take us from this place to be with you. A number no man
can number, we'll all see him face to face at the same time.
I try to figure that. I look forward to that. I look
forward to it. No fear. There's nothing to fear
if you trust in Christ. See, commitment to Christ is
committing everything to him. I commit all my sins to him,
to wash away under his precious blood. I commit all my righteousness
to Him. I'm committed. He's got to be
all my righteousness or I won't have it. I commit all my past,
all my present, and all my future to Christ. Take care of Him. I commit all my hope, all of
my life, all of my salvation to Christ. I put it all in Him.
Trust in His faithful care. And we enjoy assurance. when
we just lean entirely on Christ. We commit everything to Him.
In closing, let me give you this little example. Last week, after
I preached in Danville, my wife and I went to visit some family
on the 5th, Monday. We went out on Jan's uncle's
boat. We went down there and got in that boat. And I just
enjoyed that ride so much. A bunch of the family was there.
And you know why I enjoyed it? Because I committed my safety
to that boat. It was a big lake. I don't know
how deep it was. I never worried about it because
I committed my safety to the seaworthiness of that boat. I
didn't try to swim alongside the boat. You know, maybe if
I get out of the boat and kind of hang on and swim, it'll be easier
for the boat to go where it's going. No, I didn't do that.
I just relaxed on the boat. I enjoyed the scenery. I enjoyed
the conversation. I'd use my hands to reach out
and try to paddle that boat. If I paddle, maybe we'll save
some gas. We won't run out of gas in Middle
Lake. I didn't worry about that. I just committed my safety to
get where we're going and get back to the power of that engine. Our cousin was driving that boat.
I didn't tell him how to go, where to go. There was all these
coves and places. I didn't know where to turn.
He did. I just committed it to him. Get me where we're going. We're
going to go out and get a hamburger. Come back. I didn't know where
this place was. I had no idea. He took that boat
and parallel parked it up against this pier. I mean, better I do
a car. I don't know how he did that.
I didn't have to. I just committed it to him, and he did fine. I
trusted him to know the best places to go and how to get back
home. I enjoyed the ride, and I enjoyed
the company. That's committing all to Christ. As hard as it is sometimes, it's
enjoying the ride. Really, it's trusting Christ
to know the best place to go, the best time to get there. It's trusting, it's just committing
it to Him. It's enjoying the presence, His presence, enjoying
the company on the ride, enjoying the presence of the Savior. Can you do that at night when
you're broken hearted, your pillow's wet with tears, your body's wracked
with pain? You can enjoy his presence. Yeah,
you can. You enjoy the presence of the people God sends our way
on this journey. We can just enjoy it. Oh, may
the Lord be pleased to cause us to enjoy assurance of salvation
in Christ. See, if He saved us, that salvation
is secure, isn't it? I mean, there's no doubt about
it. Well, then we may as well enjoy it. We may as well be sure
of it, haven't we? And enjoy it. And we will, if
we know whom. We believe Him. We believe Him.
We trust Him. And we commit our all to Him.
All right. Oh, God bless that to your heart.
That's about good. Our Father, oh, how we thank
You for salvation. in our Lord Jesus Christ. How
we thank you for Christ, our righteousness, our wisdom, our
righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. How we thank
you for your mercy and your grace that would save such vile, guilty
sinners such as we are. Father, how we thank you. And
how we thank you that you and your compassion and tenderness
to your people give us assurance, calmness of that salvation in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, help us to enjoy it.
cause us to fret and worry less, cause us to quit trying to help
out and just commit our all to Christ, to believe Him, to trust
Him, to rest in Him, to look to Him and rest in Him. Father, for your glory, would
you get glory to your name in saving your people, calling them
out by the preaching of your gospel, by convincing them to
come to Christ. And would you get glory to your
name by keeping, preserving your people and cause us in the midst
of this vile, sinful world and these wretched bodies of flesh
to enjoy the full assurance of salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's got to be your doing. You
got to be the one to get the glory from it. Father, would
you show us your glory? It's in the precious name of
our Lord Jesus Christ. For his sake we pray. Sean, come
lead us in a song. If you would please stand and
turn to song number 255, Blessed Assurance. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of
God. Born of His Spirit, washed in
His blood. This is my story. Angels descending, ring from
above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love This is my story, this
is my song Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my
Savior all the day long. Perfect submission. All is at rest. I in my Savior
am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking
above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my
story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long.