Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
2. While you're turning, let me
ask you a question that I already know the answer
to. Have you ever sat and daydreamed about having astonishing riches? You hear about people like Elon
Musk. I guess he's the richest guy in the world. I don't know.
And you sometimes think to yourself, What would I do if I had that
much money? What would I do if I had those kind of riches? You'd
be what they call set for life. But I have news for most of you
sitting here today, you're not just set for life, you're set
for eternity. I want to talk to you today about
the riches of God. Ephesians chapter 2, we'll read
the first 13 verses. And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation. in times past in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus on two good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. Wherefore, remember that ye being
in time past, Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world. But now, in Christ
Jesus, ye who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. There are many places in the
scriptures They talk about God being rich. They talk about the
riches of God. And nowhere is it ever implied
that that means God has a lot of money. The scriptures tell
us that God owns a cattle on a thousand hills. But He has
no need of money. We need money to buy things that
we need. Shelter, food, clothing, and
things that we want. That list is endless. And the fact that God has no
money, it's a true statement. He has no need of anything. If he needed anything, he would
simply will it into existence. The American Indians used to
say that the sovereign, or I should say the being they worshipped,
he wasn't a sovereign being, they said he was the one who
creates by thinking, and that's a pretty good description. And
in the beginning, God simply said, let there be and there
was. Now, our God, our sovereign God that we worship has need
of nothing. The pathetic little God that
many in this world worship, He needs your money to get done
what He needs to get done. He needs your hands and feet.
He needs your voice. But the sovereign God that we
worship needs nothing. Our God calls Things that we
hold dear, precious metals, they say. Precious metals, silver
and gold. And Peter, he calls those corruptible
things. God has no need of any of that.
The thing that men hold dearest, those precious metals, gold,
God calls it pavement. Something to walk on. So how
can we, being finite beings, understand an infinite God? The
answer to that is we can't. But let's look at some of the
numerous references to God's goodness. In the scriptures,
when they talk about God's riches, they speak of the riches of His
grace, the riches of His wisdom, the riches of His mercy, the
riches of His forbearance, the riches of His long-suffering,
the riches of His goodness, the riches of His glory, and best
of all, the unsearchable riches of Christ. First, let's look
at the riches of His goodness. Turn with me to Romans. Chapter
2, Romans chapter 2. We'll be looking at quite a few
scripture references today. Romans chapter 2, verses 3 and
4. And thinkest thou this, O man,
that judges them that do such things, and do the same, that
thou shalt escape the judgment of God, or despisest thou the
riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." When God is bringing a sinner
to the place of repentance, he shows that sinner his goodness
in many ways that he's been gracious to him. The scriptures tell us
that judgment never, ever leads to repentance. It only hardens
men's hearts against God. But this verse tells us that
God's goodness leads us to repentance. In Exodus 34, verse 6 tells us
that the Lord has abundant goodness and truth. Zechariah 9, verses
16 and 17 say, And the Lord their God shall save them in that day
as the flock of his people. For they shall be as the stones
of a crown lifted up as an instant upon the land. For how great
is his goodness and how great is his beauty. Psalm 33 verse
5 tells us that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Now, in order for the earth to
be full of his goodness, he would have to have abundant goodness,
and he does. He would have to be rich in goodness,
and He is. Next, let's look at the riches
of His long-suffering. This same verse in Romans 2 speaks
of this, the riches of His long-suffering. This is such a comfort to me,
and I trust to you, as we pray for those that we love, our children,
our grandchildren, others of our family, that we love that
have not bowed the knee to Christ, Webster's Dictionary defines
long-suffering as this, patiently enduring lasting offense and
insult. Lasting offense and insult, what
a perfect description of our manner of life before we came
to Christ, before God brought us to Christ. God was simply
someone that we blamed when things went wrong. Have you ever noticed
lost men and women who have no regard whatsoever for the things
of Christ, for God. When things go wrong, they say
things like, I don't know why God's doing this to me. I don't
know how a loving God could let this happen. They simply use God as a scapegoat
when things go wrong. And before the Lord brought us
to the knowledge of Christ, The name of Christ and God were to
most of us, shamefully, just something we used to curse by.
And I'm ashamed to say that even now I don't reverence the name
of Christ like I should. And of course, most of us are
familiar with that verse, or those verses, I should say, in
2 Peter. Turn there with me. 2 Peter. Talking about God's long-suffering,
the riches of His long-suffering. 2 Peter 3, verses 8 and 9. This is a very
familiar text. But beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, that one day with the Lord as a thousand years,
in a thousand years as one day, but the Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. Now many read that and they say,
see that says that God wants everyone to be saved. But what
so many don't realize is when they read these New Testament
letters, they were written to believers. And when it says God
is long suffering to us word, Peter is referring to God's elect
and not to everyone in general, but to God's elect. And if God
wanted everyone to be saved, they certainly would be that
the scriptures do not teach that. Next, in the same verse, Paul
also mentions the riches of God's forbearance. The riches of God's
forbearance. The word forbearance means tolerance
and restraint in the face of provocation. John Bunyan described this perfectly
in his definition of sin. Many, I'm sure, have heard this
before, but it is by far the best definition of sin that I
have ever heard, ever read. Bunyan said, sin is the dare
of God's justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer of his patience,
the slight of his power, and the contempt of his love. But
God still exercises tolerance and restraint in the face of
that provocation. Marvelous thing indeed. And this
is a perfect way to describe how God deals with lost sinners.
He could have just as easily have dealt with us as he promises
to deal with lost men and women in Proverbs chapter 1. I read
this a while back. Turn there with me, please. I
hope I don't wear you out in turning to all these scriptures,
but I want you to, as our pastor used to say, I want you to see
this. Proverbs chapter 1, as I said
when I read this a while back, this to me is one of the most
solemn warnings in the Word of God, that God will not be mocked,
that God will not be mocked, and then men at some point decide
it's time to get saved and turn to God. Proverbs chapter 1, let's begin
reading in verse 22. How long, ye simple ones, will
ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold,
I will pour out my spirit upon you. I will make known my words
unto you. Because I have called, and ye
have refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye have said it not, all
my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I will also laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh at desolation and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then shall
they call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me
early, but they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of
my counsel and despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they
eat of the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their
own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil." When that verse states that when
fear cometh upon man, it does not state that they'll be a little
bit afraid. What that is describing is a
terror and a horror that no man on this earth has ever known.
When he realizes that the sovereign God of this universe, in whose
face he has spit his entire life, is about to render a judgment more terrible than a human mind
can imagine. And you know what? God could
have just as easily dealt with us that same way, but He's rich
in mercy. We'll see that later. Thank God
for His mercy and His long-suffering. Turn with me now back to Romans.
Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9, we're going to look at the riches of
His glory. Keep in mind we're looking at
the riches of God. Romans chapter 9, verses 21 through
23, says, Hath not the power over the clay of the same lump
to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What
if God, willing to show His wrath and to make known His power,
endures, with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction, that He might make known the riches of His glory
on the vessels of mercy which He had aforeprepared unto glory? The riches of His glory. In Exodus 33, Verse 17, God Himself
describes His glory. He says, verse 17 says, And the
Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing that thou hast
spoken, for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I have known
thee by name. And he, Moses, said, I beseech
thee, show me thy glory. And he, God, said, I will make
all my goodness to pass before thee. And I will proclaim the
name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. And I will show mercy to whom
I will show mercy. And our God, by His own description,
is here describing the salvation of His people, the elect. I will
make my goodness to pass before thee. God shows us His goodness. We've already seen that, that
His goodness leads us to repentance. And then He proclaims through
a preacher His name and the glory of His name, in which we see
the greatness and majesty, and here's the best part, He bestows
that mercy on whom He will. It's not the sinner's choosing.
It's entirely on the part of the sovereign God. The riches of His glory. Psalm
19 verse 1 talks about God's glory being shown to us in the
night sky. It says, the heavens declare
the glory of God and the firmament show us His handiwork. Now in
order to understand the greatness of an individual, we generally
look at their accomplishments, what they've accomplished in
life. Mankind, I have to admit, has
done some impressive things. I recently saw a documentary
on the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam,
and it's astonishing that a human being and a group of human beings
can build such things. that they can find cures for
diseases, that they can write great works of literature. But
our God created a universe out of nothing that mankind, with all its great
telescopes and satellites, has yet to find the edges of. I did
a little research on this. A light year, the speed of light,
if I remember right, is 186,000 miles per second. That means
in one second it goes around the Earth almost seven or eight
times, if you can imagine it. It's beyond my ability to grasp. The observable universe, scientists
tell us, is somewhere between 93 billion and 7 trillion light
years. Considering that a light year
is around six trillion miles. We're talking about a fairly
large area. And our God, you have to remember,
created this out of nothing. Scientists tell us that matter
cannot be created or destroyed, and yet God created this universe
out of nothing. And you say, well, that's impossible.
Well, it is for human beings. You have to have something to
start with. Everything that we have ever
needed, God has provided on this planet. Everything that mankind
will ever need. And they tell us that matter,
as I said before, cannot be destroyed, cannot be created, not even a
nuclear explosion. Things simply undergo what they
call a chemical change. Every drop of water on earth
has always been here. Every human being and everything
that has ever been on earth is still here. Tim James once said,
I heard Tim say that the water that you drink is the same water
that Adam drank, and that's true. The thing that has been is that
which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be
done. and there is no new thing under
the sun. Is there anything whereof it
may be said, see, this is new? It hath already been of old time,
which was before." That's from Proverbs. And there are many
ways in which this text can be interpreted, but one thing it's
telling us is that nothing that we see is new. That new car that
you just bought, It's not really new, it's just made out of stuff
that's thousands, if not millions of years old. It's just been
rearranged in a different form. Now I say all this to say this,
that God is the only one who has ever created anything new. And He displays His glory in
that creation. But the promise of God is that
one day we shall indeed see His glory in all its splendor, for
Christ prayed in John 17.24, Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. Why? That they
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest
me before the foundation of the world. Let's turn back to Ephesians
chapter 2, the first text that we read. of God's grace, the riches of
His grace. Verse 4 tells us, But God, who
is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
For by grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together, made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the
ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. When we read about
God's grace being exceeding, it tells us that it's extreme,
extraordinary, more than sufficient, and measureless. And that text
tells us that our God one day is going to show us the exceeding
riches of His glory. And I'm not sure what all that
means, but I'm convinced that in eternity, We will come to
understand just how good and how gracious our God had been
in giving us the gift of faith in Christ. And don't miss the
three words in that verse, the last three, through Christ Jesus. Everything that we have in this
life and everything that we will have in the life which is to
come, we receive because of the sacrifice and the finished work
of Christ, literally everything. John 1.14 tells us that Christ
is full of grace and truth. Romans 3.24 tells us that we
are freely justified by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. Romans 5.17 refers to abundance
of grace, and verse 20 speaks of abounding grace. Romans 11.5
talks about the election of grace. Ephesians 1.7, speaking of Christ,
says, "...in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of His grace." In 2 Corinthians
12.9, the Lord tells us that His grace is sufficient for whatever
trials He sends our way. I remember reading about John
Bunyan, spending 12 years in Bedford prison, And all he had
to do was just simply say, I won't preach the gospel anymore. Think
back what you were doing 12 years ago. That would have been, what,
2010? 12 years, Bunyan sat in Bedford
Jail, and it wasn't like the jails we have nowadays. It wasn't
air-conditioned and quite pleasant. And as I said, all he had to
do was quit preaching the gospel. And Bunyan made this statement
about God's grace being sufficient. He said that at times, God's
grace and comfort were so overwhelming that, quote, if it were lawful,
I would have prayed for greater trouble for the greater comfort's
sake, end of quote. And I have to admit, I have no
idea, no idea whatsoever what that means. I've never needed
that kind of grace. But I'm sure that if that day
in my life ever comes, and it probably will, that God's grace
will indeed be sufficient. Next, let's look at the riches
of his wisdom. Paul writes in Romans 11.33,
oh, the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge
of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past
finding out. Now, wisdom is the ability to
judge what is true or right. And there's two types of wisdom.
One comes from our day-to-day living. We learn things many
times the hard way. We get advice from people who
have been there, done that. We read, we educate ourselves. But that wisdom simply leads to death and destruction. We read that in Proverbs 14 when
verse 12 tells us, that there is a way which seemeth right
unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. That's
man's wisdom. The second type of wisdom is
the wisdom we find in the scriptures. And in the person of Christ who
is called, in many places in scripture, the wisdom of God. In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 1, verses 24 and 23 both
call Christ the wisdom of God. Colossians 2, 3 tells us that
in Christ are hid all the treasures or all the riches of wisdom and
knowledge. Proverbs 4, verses 5 and 7 advises
us to get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline
from the words of my mouth, Forsake her not, and she shall preserve
thee. Love her, and she shall keep
thee. Wisdom is a principal thing, therefore get wisdom. And with
all getting, get understanding. Proverbs also tells us that it
is better to get wisdom than gold. He that geteth wisdom loveth
his own soul, the scriptures tell us. And as I said a moment
ago, that wisdom is found in the person of Christ. Next, and
this is probably my favorite, let's look at the riches of His
mercy. The riches of His mercy. Back
in Ephesians chapter 2, if you're still there. Verses 1 through 5, let's read
them again. And you hath He quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in times past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
For His great love, wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
are you saved." If someone were to ask me what is the sweetest
word in the English language, my reply, without hesitation,
would be mercy. This is the word that when Christ
was making His way through Jericho, and it said there were a multitude
of people there, He was pushing His way through that crowd on
His way out of town. And you can imagine hundreds
of people hollering, screaming, trying to get His attention.
And in that crowd, He hears faintly a word. And he listens, and he hears
it again, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And the Scriptures tell us Jesus
stood still, called Bartimaeus to him and gave him his sight.
And how does God reveal his mercy to us? By saving the worst of
the worst. Let me ask you a question. If someone were to brutally murder
one of your children, I mean, make a day of it, and
they sent you a video of this so that you could see them, enjoying,
relishing in every attempt to cause unimaginable suffering
to your child. And that person was caught, tried,
and found guilty. And because of a new law, you
could decide how that person died. And I have to admit, And unless God changed my mind,
that person would probably die a very slow, very painful death. But in an astonishing, astonishing
display of mercy, our God chose to save many who had a direct hand in
his son's death. Let me show you this in Acts
chapter 2. Keep in mind, we're talking about
the riches of His mercy. This is, of course, the day of
Pentecost, an account of the day of Pentecost. Acts chapter
2, are you there? Verses 22-24. This is Peter preaching. And ye men of Israel, Hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
beholden of them." Now skip down to verse 32. Acts chapter 2 verse 32. This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this that ye now see and
hear. For David is not ascended into
heaven, but he saith himself, The Lord saith unto my Lord,
Set thou on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool. Pay attention to this next verse.
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that
God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both
Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest
of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as
our Lord God shall call. And with many other words did
he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. that gladly received his word
were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about
3,000 souls. These same Jews who only days
before had cried out, crucify him, crucify him now, cry out,
men and brethren, what shall we do? As the Savior hung between heaven
and earth, We're told that Calvary was somewhat of a hill. And our
Lord was elevated above that hill and had a good view of the
crowd. And Bible scholars tell us that
being Passover, there were probably thousands of people in Jerusalem
at that time. And our Lord, as He hung there
for three hours, looked down on that crowd, into those faces
that were jeering and enjoying watching the spectacle
of His death. And many of those folks, most
of them I would venture to say, He had never met in this life,
and yet He knew them by name. looking into those faces, one by one, for three long hours. Many of those faces were the
people we read about here in Acts chapter 2, when Peter clearly
says that you have crucified and slain. And as Christ looked
into those faces, The same could be said of those men and women
that were said of the rich young ruler. And Jesus, looking on
him, loved him. What astonishing mercy. It's
no wonder the writer of Blessed Redeemer wrote, Father, forgive
them. Thus did he pray, even while his lifeblood flowed fast
away, praying for sinners while in such woe. No one. But Jesus
never loved so. Now can you think of a more grievous,
more repulsive, more heinous sin than killing the very God
of this universe when He came here in human flesh? I can't. So if there's a lost sinner sitting
here today, or listening over the streaming, And you say, Rex,
you don't know the things I've done. I'm beyond redemption. I'm beyond God's reach. No, you're not. If God forgave
and saved thousands that had a hand in his son's death, had
a direct hand in his son's death, then I don't despair for my children,
for your children, or for any man and woman. No one is beyond God's reach
if they are indeed one of God's elect. And as the salvation of
these men was a direct result of Christ's prayer for them when
He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
So our salvation is also a direct result of Christ's prayer for
us. Turn with me, please, to John 17. Back a few pages from
Acts chapter 2. John 17. We know that Christ
never prayed a prayer that was not answered. He prayed for these as He looked
out over the crowd. Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do. And indeed, God forgave them. And in John 17, in verse 9, our
Lord says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. This is Christ praying for us.
In verse 20, Christ prays, Neither pray I for these alone, but for
them also which shall believe on me through their word. And in verse 24, he prays, Father, I will they also, whom thou hast
given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world." These are all verses of Christ praying for
his elect, and you can be sure that that prayer will not go
answered. No prayer of Christ ever did. Every prayer that Christ
ever prayed was in direct in alignment with His Father's
will. In 2 Corinthians 1.3, remember
we're still talking about the riches of God's mercy. It tells
us that God is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 1 Peter 1.3 tells us that our
God has abundant mercy. plentiful, sufficient, abounding,
copious amounts of mercy. The Psalms are full of references
to God's mercy. There's an entire Psalm that
each verse concludes, for His mercy endureth forever. David tells us, I trust in the
mercy of God forever and ever. Psalm 89.1 says, I will sing
of the mercy of the Lord forever. Psalm 119.64, The earth, O Lord,
is full of Thy mercy. And Psalm 108 verse 4 tells us
that God's mercy is great above the heavens. And as God delights
in showing mercy to needy sinners. Let's turn over to Micah. Let
me show you something in Micah. This is good stuff. Micah, chapter 7. Remember, we're looking at how
our God delights to show mercy to sinners. Micah, chapter 7,
verses 18 through 20. And who is a God
like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He retaineth
not his anger forever. Why? Because he delighteth in
mercy. He will turn again. He will have
compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities
and not will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou
wilt perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham. which
I was sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." If I can
put that into human terms, our God gets pleasure, He gets joy,
He gets satisfaction, He gets delight out of showing mercy
to needy sinners. What a God we serve. Lastly,
turn with me please back to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 3, we're going to look lastly at the unsearchable
riches of Christ. The unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians chapter 3, verse 1. If ye then be risen with Christ,
Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affections on things
above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.
Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness,
which is idolatry. For which things sake the wrath
of God cometh on the children of disobedience, in which ye
also walked some time when ye lived in them. But now ye also
put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications
out of your mouth. Notice that in verse 3 and 4, Paul tells us that this life
we have is in Christ. Unsearchable riches of Christ.
And Paul in other places speaks of the mystery of Christ. Now,
a mystery is something that requires much study. Paul tells us that
the riches of Christ are unsearchable, meaning they're difficult to
understand or interpret, incapable of being searched into and understood
by inquiry or study, impossible to be explained or accounted
for, obscure, incomprehensible, hidden, mysterious. All of the
riches of the triune God are to be found in one place, in
the person of Christ. Paul tells us in Colossians 2,
verses 2 and 3, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit
together in love and in all riches of the full assurance of understanding
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father
and of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures or all the
riches of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. This tells us that
everything we will ever need in this life, in that life which
is to come, is to be found in that treasure house of Christ. Our Lord told Philip in John
14, 9, he that hath seen me has seen the Father. That means
that you cannot know the true God outside of Christ. And some
would ask, well, then does that not condemn all others who worship
God through any other means or any other intercessor or so-called
prophet? Indeed it does. And then they'll
reply, well, that's just too narrow-minded. You're just judgmental.
That's just not fair. But in John 14, Verse 6, Christ
tells us Himself, No man cometh unto the Father but by Me. No man cometh to the Father but
by Me. Could it be any clearer? Are you going to take the word
of false religion? Or are you going to take the
word of the One who will one day judge this universe in righteousness? I think I'll go with choice number
two. So there you have it, folks. Riches of God. God bestows these riches on whom
He will for reasons known but to Himself. And if you're outside of Christ
today, I would encourage you to come to Him. As our pastor
used to say, come to Christ, but don't move a muscle. And
when you do, you'll be able to share in these
riches. Be as blind Bartimaeus. Cry out, Thou Son of David, have
mercy on me. I'm encouraged to know, as I
said, for my children, for my grandchildren, for others that
I love, and I'm sure you are too, I've never read a place
in the Scriptures When Christ was walking this earth, that
one came to him, beseeching him for mercy for themselves or others,
that that mercy was not granted. So I'll continue to pray, as
I do every day for my children, that God will be merciful. And
I'm encouraged because of his long suffering and the riches
of his goodness towards sinners. I hope the Lord blesses that
to your heart, Jimmy.