Thank you, Bill. It's an honor
for me to be here. He mentioned how blessing it
was to you to have me, but it's a blessing to me to be here.
I appreciate you inviting me. It's always a joy. As I often
say, I was in this church for 30 years, 30 years. Been in Silicon
now for 14 years. It'll be 14 years next month. That's 34 years already,
is it? My soul. Time just flies by. Can't stop it. Don't want to
stop it. Let it, the faster it goes, the
sooner I'll be in glory with our Redeemer. But it's a, on
behalf of my wife and myself, it's a joy to be with you. I
appreciate the Hansons keeping us up. They always make us feel
right at home. If you don't feel at home there,
there's something wrong with you. It's not their fault. but it's
been a joy. Would you turn with me tonight
to Galatians? Galatians chapter two. We'll
read three verses in that chapter. Galatians chapter two. I want to speak, if God enables
me to do it, on this subject. Our never-failing Savior. How does that sound? Our never-failing
Savior. Jesus Christ has never failed
in anything He put His hand to. He's never failed one time. And He never will. He never will. Our never-failing Savior. We'll
read those three verses in a moment. But I want to share with you
a few verses of a hymn that Brother Moose Parks wrote. Brother Daniel
Parks Moose he is. And I believe he wrote it for
a conference here in 1996. He asked that for those who would
be preaching, he would make a request. And included in that was this.
Moose wrote, 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."
When I read that, I thought, well, it wasn't too likely with
Don being pastor that you would hear a message about free will,
especially with him riding shotgun right behind you. And thank God
that that's so. But Moose said, 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. Tell us of the Christ,
Lord Jesus, who has died for God's elect, his blood ransoms
and releases them from sin and its effect. Every one, every
one for whom he suffered shall be saved and justified. And at
last they shall be ushered into heaven to be his bride. I like that. I like the sound
of that. Don't you? Because If Jesus Christ,
if Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be, Philip, if you've seen
me, you've seen the Father. He told his enemies, though they
gnashed their teeth at it, I am God. I am God in flesh, God before
Abraham was, that one in whom you boast and claim as your As
your forefather, he rejoiced to see my day, and he leaped
at it. He leaped at it and was glad. Before Abraham was, I am,
the eternal, everlasting God. Jesus Christ, that one of whom
it was prophesied, he shall be the Prince of Peace, the mighty
God, the everlasting Father of his government. There shall be
no end. If he is who he claimed to be,
if we didn't even know, if we didn't know what he came here
to do, knowing who he is, he must succeed at whatever he came
here to do. He must succeed whatever the
mission of the Son of Man is, was. If he was indeed what he
claimed to be, then he must succeed. Failure would be impossible.
If he doesn't, if he doesn't do what he came here to do, he's
an imposter and a failure. And that just can't be. That
just can't be. Let me read a few verses to you.
We're working our way to the text. But this is in Acts chapter
1. Our Lord, for the very last time,
leads his sheep up to Mount Olivet. And while they beheld, Jesus
Christ was taken up. Up. Up. How high? Above everything. And everybody,
as Rex just read, given a name above every name. And while they
beheld this and looked steadfastly toward heaven, these two angels
kind of shook them out of their stupor. Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? I like these words. This same
Jesus, This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into
heaven. He's coming again, not another, but this same Jesus,
the triumphant savior of his people. He's coming just like
he went. He left personally. He left visibly. He left gloriously and entered
into the kingdom of God. and the glory he had with the
Father before the world began. And just as our Lord went back
triumphantly into heaven, he shall so return as that one,
as that one, that mighty victor, who by himself purged our sins,
got the job done, and after doing so was exalted by God as the
Prince and the Savior that he is. In those times gone by, ages
gone by, when kings and kingdoms and so forth, when a king was
threatened by an enemy, he would sign his prince, his son, to
defend the kingdom. And after the son failed to return
after a while, a week went by, no return. A month goes by, he
doesn't come back. And after a while, the subject
would begin to assume, rightly so, he must have been defeated. The reason he's not returned
is because he was defeated. He's fallen on the battlefield.
God raised his son up above all because he was not defeated. He was not defeated. He is now
risen. Isn't that a comforting thought?
Where does now find you? crying at night, lonely, heavy-hearted,
is that where now finds you, oh, child of God, suffering pilgrim,
look up, because right now, at this very moment, Jesus Christ
stands exalted, risen, ascended on high. He now, at this very
moment, appears in the presence of God for us, for his people. and His very presence there assures
us that we're bound to follow Him. He appears in God's presence
for us, and His presence there, with all the implications of
that, is as effectual now as when He first entered glory. It's lost none, lost none. Whenever
you hear, and we hear it on every hand, don't we? Hear it on every
hand. Hear of a Savior who wants to
save sinners. I mean, it's sad, but it's true.
God wants to save everybody, and he would save everybody,
and he's trying to save everybody. Well, then what's the problem?
What's the problem? Why aren't everyone saved? Because
they just won't allow him to do it. Hmm. Whenever you hear
of a savior who wants to save sinners but he can't because
they won't allow him to, that's not the same Jesus the disciples
ascend back to glory. They saw him ascend back. That's
not him. That's an imposter. And I'm afraid. And we all have
loved ones. We all have friends, neighbors,
relations. that I'm afraid most of the professions
of faith today are in that Jesus who can have his way. His will
is subject to man's will. That's an imposter, Rex. Oh. People who buy into that have
bought a limb. And I think the same deadly misconception
of God exists today that existed in Israel of old. And God told
them this, you thought, you thought. Doesn't this sound like it could
have been written today, this moment? You thought that I was
altogether such as one as yourself. You thought I was like you. I'm
not like you. I'm God. I demand perfection. I won't accept it unless it's
perfect. It must be perfect. I remember
when I was young at home and I've told you stories about my
father. He was rather strict. He would have been arrested today.
But I got away with more than what I got punished for. But
he would tell me, Lurie, this is how it is. This is how
it is. I'm not gonna tell you again.
Not gonna tell you again. And he wouldn't tell me to go
stand in the corner. Man, that'd have been a piece
of cake. I'd have been happy to stand in the corner, Sam,
but man, he'd pull off that strap and lay it across my hind end.
Yeah, the corner would have been a great thing to me. And I used
to think to myself, my, so that man's hard to please. What's
the matter with him? He's so hard to please. I tell you what,
did you know what? God Almighty's hard to please.
Did you know that? He doesn't accept just anything.
He won't accept just anything. It must be perfect, that's his
own words, it must be perfect to be accepted. You see, real
sinners, what did old Scott call them? Dead dog sinners or dog
dead sinners, one or the other, but in bad shape. Real sinners,
they're rare, but real sinners need a real Savior, don't they?
Need a real Savior, this never-failing Jesus. Great sinners need a great
Savior. Oh, are you a great sinner? Great
sinner? Oh, here's good news. Jesus Christ
is a great Savior. Remember when the angel was sent
to Mary with this? With these instructions, with
this message, Mary, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall
be great, great, and shall be called the son of the highest.
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father
David, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And
of his kingdom there shall be no end. He shall be great as
that one made like unto his brethren. He'll be great as that everlasting
eternal word by which all things that are made were made and made
flesh and dwelt among us. He'll be great. He shall be great
as that one who's come on this mission to save his people from
their sins. Either he did or he didn't. He
did or he didn't. He shall be great as the only
mediator between God and man, and all Jesus Christ shall be
great. When he's wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace
is upon him, he shall be great. When all we like sheep have gone
astray, we've turned everyone to our own way, and the Lord
lays upon him the iniquity of us all, he shall be great. when
it pleases the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief and
make his soul an offering for sin. And he shall be great when
after doing all that he cries, it is finished. He shall be great
when he shall see his seed and prolong his days and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. When he shall see of
the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And when, oh, glorious,
glorious day, glorious time, blessed prospect, when he, our
never-failing Savior, presents his church without spot or blemish
or any such thing back to God, who first entrusted them into
his hands with these words, Father, does this sound like a failure?
Father, I, oh, but not just me, I and the children, all the children
that you've given me, I lost none. Oh, will he not be great
in our eyes on that blessed morning? Spurgeon said, I have a great
need for Christ. And I have a great Christ for
my need. Oh, don't we, children of God? Now, let's read these
three verses together here in Colossians chapter 2. Colossians
chapter 2, verses 13, 14, and 15. It speaks of our never-failing
Savior and you being dead. If that's the shape that we're
in, we need a mighty Savior, don't we? dead in your sins,
and none circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened, together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, knelling it to the
cross, his cross, and having spoiled," the word there, spoiled,
is disarmed, disarmed, having disarmed principalities and powers,
he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. None
but Christ could put away this handwriting, because none but
Christ was able to satisfy what it demanded, what it required.
It took his perfect life and sacrificial death to do that. He said, Lo, when he came into
this world, he said, Lo, to his father, Lo, I come to do thy
will. O God, he taketh away the first
that he might establish the second. In that life of perfect obedience,
he fulfilled every precept of God's holy law. That was necessary
too. Not only did he endure the penalty
of God's broken law, but the precept of that law must be kept
as well. And our Lord did that. And then
in his death, he satisfied the penalty. In his life of perfect
righteousness, in his death of satisfying divine justice, Jesus
Christ, as we just sang, he paid it all. What do I owe? Nothing. Do I have a debt before
God? No more. Jesus Christ paid it
all. When a Roman emperor, this is
what the verses are alluding to, picturing, I'm sure. When
a Roman emperor won a victory and conquered his foes, he would
ride through the streets in an open chariot. And the captive
kings and warriors, stripped of all their armor and their
hands tied behind their back, walked before him, exposed to
public shame and disgrace." That's the picture. Christ has disarmed
all the principalities and powers which were against us. He has
defeated Satan. I get so tired of hearing people
talk about Satan and Christ as though they're equals. You know,
I had a fellow tell me one time, and this man claimed to be a
believer, that the outcome of how things might turn out is
still uncertain because Satan and Christ are still in contact,
we just don't know who's got the upper hand. My, so if I believed
that, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. No, Christ disarmed
all principalities and powers. which was against us. He defeated
Satan. He didn't try to do it. He did
it. Satan is a defeated foe. He's not going to be. He is.
You remember when Christ walked this earth and the demons would
cry out something every now and then? We know who you are. We
know who you are. If you come to torment us before
our time, did it sound like they were his equals? No, he defeated
Satan. He defeated sin. Mmm. My, so
what a load that was. What a load that was. Jesus Christ
bore all the sins of all of his people. He defeated hell. He
defeated death. He made a bold display and public
example of them by his cross. Therefore, that being the case,
we're complete in Christ. He has set the captive free.
We're not in bondage to any law. No, no, no. We're not in bondage
to any law, any ceremony or curse. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us. We sometimes
sing. And what a happy tune it is.
Free from the law, happy condition. Jesus has bled and there is remission. Cursed by the law and bruised
by the fall, grace has redeemed us once for all. Sounds like
Christ did not fail. Is he not the sovereign ruler
over everything? He must be sovereign. Why wouldn't
he be? Why wouldn't he be sovereign? Why wouldn't he rule over everything
and everybody all the time? Why wouldn't he? He's the mighty
God. He said, Father, you've put all
power, you've given me power over all flesh. Not just believing
flesh, unbelievers. All powers in my hands to give
eternal life to as many, not one more, not one less, to as
many as thou hast given me. After all, God the Father himself
said concerning his son, Behold, children of God, behold. Take
another look. Get a fresh glimpse of this just to help you. Behold,
my servant, this is God the Father speaking of his son, whom I uphold,
mine elect, and whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit
upon him. He shall, notice all the shalls
in these verses, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and a smoking flax shall he not quince. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth." And I like this, don't you? You know what
it is, don't you? He shall not fail. Now who in the world could
God Almighty be speaking to or speaking of when he says concerning
that individual, he shall not fail. He's sure not talking about
you. And he's sure not talking about me. He must be talking
about his darling son. He must be talking about the
altogether lovely one. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he has set judgment in the earth and the owl shall wait
for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that
created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth
the earth and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it and the spirit to them that walk therein,
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thy
hand. and will keep thee, and give
thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles,
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and them that sat in darkness out of the prison house. He shall
not fail to open blinded eyes. He shall not fail to speak to
sinners sitting in darkness, Blind, unable to see their need,
unable to see their need of mercy, their need of grace, content
to sit in darkness, loving darkness rather than light until Jesus
Christ comes by and he turns the light on. That's what old
Newton said. I once was blind, blind as a
bat. Oh, but now I see. Remember that
poor man that our Lord healed The Sanhedrin called him on the
carpet and said, we want an explanation. Who did this? And he told them,
oh, now that man's a sinner. He said, well, if he's a sinner,
I don't know. He said, I don't know what you fellas know. Y'all
claim to keep the law, be the teachers, the instructors. Y'all
somebody. Y'all always reminding us you're somebody. Well, I'm
not somebody, but he said, I can tell you this. I once was blind,
but now I'm seeing. And that's all right with me.
I once was blind, but now I see. Jesus Christ shall not fail to
bring prisoners out of the prison, the captivity of their sin and
depravity. Oh, what a mighty God and Savior
He is. He can set the captive free.
He can set captives free. His arms not shortened that He
cannot save, His ears not heavy that it cannot hear, He's still
able to save to the uttermost every sinner that comes unto
God by Him. The preacher now, he'll fail.
The priest will fail. Churches will fail. Making decisions
and trotting up eyes will fail, and going through all the religious
nonsense and hoops that they command poor, deceived sinners
to go through, all that's going to fail. But Jesus Christ, He
shall not fail. He said, Behold, as the time
drew near for Him to do what He came into this world to do.
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. He's talking to His disciples.
And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the
Son of Man shall be accomplished. accomplished. For he shall be
delivered unto the Gentiles, and he shall be mocked, and spitefully
entreated, and spitted on, and they shall scourge him and put
him to death. Oh, but that's not all. That's not the end of
the story. And the third day he shall rise
again. Tell me, tell me that my everlasting
salvation doesn't depend on me. Tell me that it depends on that
one who's able to keep me from falling. Tell me of that one
who was given that name which is above every name, that one
before whom every knee shall bow. There's no doubt about it. There's no question about that.
And every tongue confess that he is Lord. Make him Lord, he
is Lord over all. Tell me that the very reason
God commanded that his name be Jesus was because he came to
save his people from their sins. He lived up to his name, didn't
he? He saves all of his people from
all of their sins and he shall not fail. Don't tell me how things
should be done by me. Tell me how it is with him. If
it's well with him, It's well with me. Is that right, Rance? If it's well with Christ, it's
well with me. If the great shepherd's well,
then all the sheep are well too. If the Lord is my shepherd. Oh,
how I sometimes picture David when he wrote that wonderful
psalm, perhaps leaned against a tree and looking out, watching
over his father's sheep, Jesse's sheep being the youngest. And
David said, well, you know, I'm responsible for these sheep.
I watch over these sheep. I provide for the sheep. I've
got the answer to my father for these sheep. I take care of them. I protect them. And then his
thoughts wander to glory. And he thinks, oh, the Lord's
my shepherd. The Lord's my shepherd. He takes
care of me. He protects me. He's got the
answers for me. The Lord's my shepherd. Well,
I don't like a thing, David said. I shall not like anything because
the Lord is my shepherd. Tell me about that one who has
grace to teach my heart to pray. and make my eyes overflow, and
has grace to keep me to this day, and grace that will not
let me go, absolutely refuses to let me go. That's the only
kind of grace that will do me any good. You remember what John
the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos wept about when he saw that scroll
in the right hand of him who sat upon the throne, and no man
was found able to open that scroll, to take it from the hand of him
on the throne, and to open it up. And John began to weep, because
that scroll represents the purposes and the decrees of Almighty God.
There's nobody going to bring them to fruition. And the elder said to John, you
don't have to cry. You don't have to weep anymore,
because the line of the tribe of Judah has prevailed. to open
the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld him
low in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came, he came. When the fullness of the time
was come, Christ came. He came and he took the book. out of the right hand of him
that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vows full
of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and
to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God. past tense, has redeemed us to
God by thine own blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation. Oh, I think we sang this Sunday
morning, didn't we? Guilty, vile, and helpless we,
spotless lamb of God was he, full atonement can it be? Can
it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior. Left
it up was he to die. It is finished was his cry. Now
in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah, what a Savior. I read this, I want to share
it with you. It didn't have a credit as to who wrote it. It was anonymous.
But I ran across it in some bulletin a while back. But it was called
The Incomparable Christ. The names of the past proud statesmen
of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past
scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone.
But the name of this man multiplies more and more. He must increase
and I must decrease. Though time has spread over 2,000
years between the people of this generation and the mockers at
his crucifixion, he still lives. His enemies could not destroy
him and the grave could not hold him. He stands forth upon the
highest pinnacle of heavenly glory. proclaimed of God, acknowledged
by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils as the risen
Christ, Lord and Savior, our never-failing Savior. Several
years ago, I read the transcript of the correspondence of a U.S. Marine pilot in the air in the
Iraqi defense on the ground. Let me share this with you. From
the Iranian air defense, unknown aircraft, you're in Iranian airspace,
identify yourself. The US pilot responded, this
is a United States aircraft, I am not in Iranian airspace,
I'm in Iraqi airspace. From the ground, you are in Iranian
airspace, and if you do not depart our airspace, we will launch
interceptor aircraft. Here's the US pilots reply. This
is a United States Marine Corps F-A-18 fighter jet. You send them on up and I'll
wait. I'll wait. You know what the response from
the ground was, Rex? Nothing. Absolute silence. Listen, children of God. The
captain of our salvation took our sins. all of our sin up to
Mount Calvary, and he made an end of them. So that now for
every believing sinner, the Lord Jesus Christ has answered every
demand, every demand of God's justice so that Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness. So the law no longer thunders
or threatens that sinner for whom Christ died. If when we
were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son,
much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. It
is God that justifies. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Listen, listen. Silence. Silence. Nobody can. Nobody can. It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
maketh intercession for us. Who is he that condemneth? Who
is he that condemneth? Listen. Silence. There's no condemnation. There's
no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. Old Mr. Spurgeon told the story about
running into an elderly friend of his one morning on the street.
And he said, how are you, dear sir, my friend? And he said,
oh, I'm pretty good for an old man. And Spurgeon said, well,
I hope your good health will continue for years to come, and
like Moses, You'll go down to your grave with your eye undimmed
and your natural force unabated. The old gentleman said, well,
that's all very fine. But in the first place, Moses didn't
go down to his grave. He went up to his grave. And
in the next place, what is the meaning of what you've been talking
about? Why did not the eye of Moses wax dim? Spurgeon said,
I suppose, sir, he said very meekly, that his natural mode
of life and quiet spirit had helped to preserve his faculties
and made him a vigorous old man. The old gentleman replied, very
likely, but that's not what I'm driving at. What's the meaning,
the spiritual teaching of the whole matter? Is it not just
this? Moses is the law. And what a glorious end of the
law the Lord gave it on the mount of his finished work. How sweetly
its terrors are all laid to sleep with a kiss from God's mouth.
And mark you, the reason why the law no more condemns us is
not because its eyes dim, so that it cannot see our sins,
or because its force is abated with which to curse and punish,
but Christ has taken it up to the mount and gloriously made
an end of it. He disarmed it. He disarmed it. Even so, mercy and truth are
met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. The psalmist said in another
place, Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the Lord. And he inclined
his ear unto me and heard my cry. Imagine that. He heard my cry. Didn't have
to, didn't know it to me. No reason in me why he should,
but he did. That's not all. He not only heard my cry, he
brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the mirey clay, and
set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. And he put a new song
in my mouth. even praising to our God. Many
shall see it in fear and shall trust in the Lord. Oh, do you
know that song? Can you name that tune? He hath
put a new song in my mouth. Every note speaks of the glory
of the King. There's not a single note about
man's will, man's work, or man's worth. Delilah, some of you know
her. Shelby, you do. Delilah Breedlove,
our piano player at church. Her father was the pastor there
years ago, before my time. I didn't know him. Don, Don knew
him. But I told Delilah not long ago, I said, Delilah, I've been
practicing, and I think I'm ready to sing a solo. She said, what
do you think? She said, sing all the solos
you want, but I'm not going to play for you. Why not? Because you can't sing. I said,
come on now, Bill. No, no, you can't sing and I
won't play. Well, one day, one day, pretty soon, it's very soon,
I'm going to sing a perfect song, listen, a perfect song to my
perfect Savior. I've never done that before.
Because then I'm going to cry worthy is the lamb to receive
power and riches and wisdom and strength and honoring glory and
blessing because I'll be singing with an unsinning heart. Huh? O my soul, with an unsinning
heart, blessing and honor and glory and power, be unto him
that setteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and
ever. Salvation to our God which setteth
upon the throne and unto the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Another of our dear members who
went to be with the Lord about a year ago, dear Bobbie Buckner,
when she was still able to sing, She would start emailing me on
Saturday, early on Saturday afternoon, wanting to know my thoughts,
my message, and what song might go along with it. And she just
wouldn't quit. She wouldn't let up. And I'd
say, well, Bobby, just any good song would do. She said, no,
no, what do you think? And more often than not, because
this is one of my favorites, this is an old, old Irish hymn,
I understand, hundreds of years old. Be thou my vision. I said, Bobby, do that. Would
you do that tomorrow? Part of it goes like this. Rich
as I heed not nor man's empty praise, thou mine inheritance
now and always, thou and thou only, first in my heart, high
king of heaven, my treasure thou art. Oh, high king of heaven,
my victory one, May I reach heaven's joy, O bright heaven's sun. Heart
of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, still be
my vision, O ruler of all. Thanks be unto God for our never-failing
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. Good to be with you.