What a day. Thank you, Ruth,
again. Will you turn back with me to
Ephesians chapter 1? the title of this message is,
In the Right Place. In the Right Place. I'll tell you the text for that
in a moment, if you haven't already guessed it, and you probably
have. But first, I want to remind you
of a record, a story, in Exodus chapter 33, where Moses besought God to show
him his glory. Now that's some request. That's
some request. That's pretty bold, eh? A sinful
man, that's what Moses was, just like you, just like me. But he
asked God, show me your glory. But before he did, we read that
God said to Moses, I'll do this because you found grace in my
sight. The ground on which Moses stood
is the ground on which every sinner stands before God Almighty
accepted, and that is in Jesus Christ. And God answered Moses
in this way, behold, behold, God said, There is a place by
me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to
pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a
cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass
by. There is a place by me." At God's
right hand, that is a place of honor. A place of approval. A place of authority. That is
the place that is most pleasing to God. Not just anybody can
sit there. That place that God has reserved
for one who perfectly obeyed God. That's the only one who
can sit down at His right hand. Perfectly honored God. perfectly please God in every
possible way, in every thought that ever entered his mind, in
every deed, in his speech, in his conduct, in every way and
all the time. All the time. To sit at God's
right hand requires the man's perfection. That's exactly right. Perfection. Now, I'll tell you
what. That leaves me out. And it leaves
you out, too. It leaves us all out. Is that
place, then, never to be occupied? Oh, no. Oh, no. Look again, if
you will, here in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 20. which wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him, Christ, at his own
right hand into heavenly places far above all principality, and
power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Psalm
110. Perhaps Paul had that in mind
when he penned those words we just read. Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, Set
thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power." You won't find them willing. but by your
mighty power they'll become willing. In the beauties of holiness,
from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord has sworn and will not
repent. Thou art the priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall
strike through kings in the day of his wrath." Oh, but wait. Of course, that place at God's
right hand is reserved only for one and one only, the Lord Jesus
Christ. But wait. Jesus Christ sits there. He sits at the right hand of
God as the representative of his people. Now that's good news. Look again here in Ephesians
1 verse 22. and hath put all things under his feet, and gave
him to be the head over all things to his church, which is his body,
the fullness of him that filleth all in all." Paul tells us in
Hebrews 9 verse 24, For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God."
Now when we consider who Jesus Christ is, And we remember that
God spoke these words concerning only one individual. He never
said this about anyone else. Concerning Jesus Christ, he said,
this is my beloved son. This is, in whom I am well pleased. But I didn't read the entire
verse there. In Hebrews 9 and 24, Jesus Christ
now appears in the presence of God for us. For us. So then, to be in the right place
with God is to be in the only place where God Almighty has
ever, ever accepted a sinner. I don't mean since New Testament
times. From the beginning of time, from
the creation of the first man, God has never, ever accepted
any sinner except through the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 6, did
you guess that as being my text? Accepted in to be loved. That's to be in the right place. God told Moses, there is a place
by me. where I can show you my glory,
the cleft of the rock. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Hmm. Christ, our Advocate, our
Mediator, our Intercessor, Jesus Christ represents us at the right
hand of God and He is everything that we will ever need in life,
in death, in eternity. Old Cop Lady put it this way. I suspect he was thinking of
that passage from Exodus 36. Rock of Ages, craft for me. Oh,
let me hide myself in thee. Let the water in the blood from
thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Cleanse
me from its guilt and power. While I draw this fleeting breath,
I think I should repeat that. We need to hear that often, don't
we? We need to be reminded of that.
while we draw this fleeting breath. That's not your last moments
on a death bed. That's right now. That's happening
right now. While we draw this fleeting breath,
when my eyelids close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne, oh, rock of ages. Rock of ages
cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Yes, God says, there
is a place by me. Isaiah 2 and 10, enter into the
rock and hide thee in the dust for fear of the Lord and the
glory of his majesty. Accepted into the beloved in
the right place. That means, that means, if I'm
in Christ, God will have to first reject Christ before he rejects
me. That's right. That's exactly
right. God must first refuse Christ
before he gets to me. So my standing, my standing,
my place before God does not depend on me. My soul, aren't
you glad that's true? It depends on him. It depends
on my representative. It depends on that one who stands
and sits on the right hand of God Almighty. It depends on Him. Jesus Christ has to answer for
me. Oh, I can lie down and sleep
at night with that sweet, sweet, sweet thought. I believe that
being the case, I believe I'm safe. I believe I'm safe. I believe I'm in good hands.
That's what Paul told those fearful sailors on that stormy sea that
night when the ship was about to break up. He said, don't be
afraid. Don't be afraid. The angel of
God stood by me tonight. He told me it's going to be well
with me and all of you. And he said, I believe God. I believe God that it shall be
exactly as he told me. I believe I'm safe in his mighty
hands. Ephesians 2 and 5, even when
we were dead in sins, had he quickened us together with Christ,
by grace you are saved, and have raised us up together and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You remember
when Brother Rupert Reidenbach would preach here each year at
our conference until his health prevented him, but he would often
sing the song, I suspect by request, In the Beloved. In the Beloved. Oh, that's a great message, isn't
it? That song is such a great message, such a scriptural, such
a Christ-honoring, God-exalting message, such a comfort to believers. In the Beloved. Accepted am I,
risen, ascended, and seated on high. That's what we just read.
Saved from all sin through His infinite grace, with the redeemed
ones afforded a place. In the Beloved, God's marvelous
grace, caused me to dwell in this wonderful place. God sees
my Savior, and then He sees me. In the Beloved, accepted and
free. Please note. that this being
accepted, being in the right place, is God's doing. It's not yours. You can't put
yourself in Christ. Only God can do that, and He
has. As we read in Psalm 118 concerning
that prophecy, I know that it speaks of David historically,
but prophetically it speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. It makes
the promise that God would exalt his son after his son would be
refused, would be said it not, by the builders. The builders. Imagine that. The builders. Who were they? The Pharisees?
The high priest? The religious hierarchy? the
builders. And it's the same today. I remember
hearing Brother Henry Mahan preach and he said, you know who it
is that keeps the gospel out of most churches today? It's
the builders, Aaron. It's the pastors. It's the pastors. You go into the average church,
the average Baptist church, and preach from a text like this.
It's not of him that willeth. And Paul is talking about salvation
there. And he says salvation is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. It's not up to your will. It's
up to God's will. And you know what the builders
will say? We can't stand that. We just can't stop, can't tolerate
that. You've got to go. Oh, even though
the builders refused his son, God says the stone which the
builders refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. Who
else could do it? And he said, it's marvelous.
It's a marvel. It's a wonder to consider, a
marvel to behold, and it's marvelous in our eyes. This is the day
which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Yes, God's Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, isn't he a marvelous Savior? Isn't he a marvelous
Savior? And oh, doesn't he bring a marvelous
salvation? What a work of grace that must
be that brings a self-righteous Pharisee like Saul of Tarsus
who made it his life's goal to erase from the face of the earth
the very name of Jesus of Nazareth and to put in prison and death
everyone who believed or professed faith in that name. Who is able
to make that sinner bow down in the dust." This is what we read of Saul.
This is almost the first introduction we have of Saul other than at
the stoning of Stephen. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went into the high
priest, breathing, breathing. It was a way of life to him.
You've heard the expression, the man, the woman, they can't
open their mouth. They can't speak a sentence without
curse words. Saul cursed Jesus of Nazareth
with every breath. He went to the high priest and
desired letters, authority, to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, didn't matter to Saul, he might bring them bound to
Jerusalem. I ask you again, who can stop
this madman? Who can stop this madman? Who is strong enough, who is
brave enough to make Saul of Tarsus cease his murderous rampage? Who would even dare to attempt
such a thing, would you? Would you? Here's the answer. Here's the answer as to who can
do this. Who is this that cometh from Eden, with dyed garments
from Basra? This that is glorious in his
apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength. I that speak
in righteousness, mighty to say, Saul of Tarsus is about to meet
his match. And as he journeyed, Saul, he
came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him
a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And
he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus.
Can you imagine the utter horror that grips Saul's heart when
he realized he's not the imposter that I thought he was. He's not
that deceiver. He's not that huckster. He's
who he claimed to be. He's the Lord of Lords. He's
the mighty God. He's the Prince of Peace. Oh,
Lord, he said, what will you have me to do? I am Jesus whom
thou persecutest. Fearing and trembling and astonished,
he asked the question, What do you want me to do? He knew without
a doubt he was bowing in the dust before King Jesus. King Jesus. Who would have thought
that Saul of Tarsus was one of those that God had made accepted
and to be loved? Who would have ever thought that?
Go thy way, God says to Ananias. Go thy way. Don't be afraid. Go find Saul. He's right where
I tell you he'll be because he's a chosen vessel unto me. Oh,
my soul. Saul of Tarsus? Oh, yes. He's
a chosen vessel to me to bear my name before the Gentiles and
kings of the earth and the children of Israel. For I will show him
how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And later,
Paul would write these words concerning himself. that he which
persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith that he wants
labor to destroy and they glorify God in me. Oh, to God be the
glory. great things he had done. Now
Saul joins a multitude of redeemed sinners who bear witness with
him that Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all
that come unto God by him. And he hath put a new song in
my mouth, even praising to our God, and many shall see it in
fear and shall trust in the Lord. This is indeed the Lord's doing. Who else could perform such a
marvel of mercy and such a display of amazing grace? All the decisions
for Jesus in the world and all the altar calls ever given will
never produce this. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. As the Lord told that poor, hopeless,
helpless demoniac after he had cast the demons out, go home
to your friends. Go back home. Tell them what
great things the Lord has done for you and has had compassion. You go and tell all around what
a wonderful Savior you have found. And many a man with a life out
of tune and battered and scarred with sin is auctioned cheap to
the thoughtless crowd much like an old violin. a mess of pottage,
a glass of wine, a game, and he travels on. He is going once. He's going twice. He's going. He's almost gone. He's almost gone. That's what my mother thought.
Every weekend, someone would knock on her door and say, well,
he's gone. He's gone. He's died under the influence
of something or other. He's gone. He's almost gone. Oh, but the Master comes. But the Master comes and the
foolish crowd can never quite understand the worth of a soul
and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's
hand. Ephesians 2 and 4, but God, the
master came, Sam. We were like everyone else, in
darkness, walking the course of this world, children of wrath,
even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were
dead, in trespasses and sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ. By grace you are saved, and have raised us up together
and made us set 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 in Christ Jesus." Made
accepted. That is, accepted by God himself. Jim, how good do you think a
fellow has to be to be accepted by God himself? That's no small
thing. Because God Almighty, contrary
to popular opinion, God Almighty won't accept just anything. When
I was a young boy, and I think I've told you this before, I
remember thinking of my father, my soul is hard to please. And
he'd give me a chore to do and I'd half do it. He'd say, go
back and do it again. Do it right. You're not finished.
And I remember thinking, man, he's hard to please. How much
more is that true of God? Folks don't give that much thought,
do they? Is God hard to please? Will He
be satisfied with my best? Will my works be in sufficient
grounds to stand accepted before God? Listen to how God Himself
answers that question. How good does a man or a woman
have to be to be accepted by God? Listen. And whosoever offereth
a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his
vow, it shall be perfect to be accepted." Perfect. There shall
be no blemish therein. Friends, that's still on the
books. God's not changed His standard. He still demands perfection
and He won't accept anything but perfection. Man thinks it has changed. He
teaches that and we're told on every hand that God accepts us
if we just make a decision for Jesus. If we repeat the sinner's
prayer, really? Really? Is that all God requires? Is it really as easy as A, B,
C to be accepted by God Almighty? No. No, it's not easy. It's far from easy. It's impossible
except for one man. And that's the God-man. That's
the man of God's own hand, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice again,
this text tells us that it's not the sinner that makes himself
acceptable to God, but it's God that makes the sinner acceptable
to Him. He, God, had made us accepted
and to be loved. We never make ourselves acceptable.
We're accepted because God the Father loved us from eternity
in His Son. We were chosen, we read it earlier,
in Christ. We were redeemed by Christ. We
were clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We're accepted in
Christ the Beloved. We're told over and over in this
chapter and through these six chapters again and again, in
Christ, in Him, by Christ, through Christ, for Christ, words of
the same effect, 57 times I think. What about that? Fifty-five times,
rather, in this one book. Chosen in him, verse 4. Predestined
to adoption by Jesus Christ, verse 5. My soul. No wonder John said, Behold,
behold, brothers and sisters, children of God, behold, What
manner of love the Father had bestowed upon us that we should
be called sons of God. If I told you, if you asked me
who my daddy was and I'd say James Chris, never heard of him. I could tell you this about him,
he was hard to please. Never heard, who's he? Oh my soul,
you're looking at a child of the king. A child of the king of heaven.
My heavenly father, all what love he had bestowed upon us
that we should be called the sons of God. Verse six again,
we were accepted in the beloved. Verse seven, here in chapter
one, in whom, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. In whom? Verse 10, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather, God
might gather together in one all things in Christ. All God's
children are in Christ. He's our elder brother. both
which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. It
is the purpose and good pleasure of God to save all of His elect,
and that's exactly what He's doing now. He's saving His own. And when He's finished, He'll
gather them all together, all together in His Son. Gather them
around his throne, and it'll be the boast of King Jesus to
say to his father, here they are, father. This multitude,
that number that you put in my hands before we even created
the world, father, here they are. I present them back to you
without a spot or a blemish or any such thing, and I didn't
lose one. How about that? Accepted in him. Verse 13, in whom we also trusted. Trusted in whom? Not in what? My soul, this religious generation
always talking about what, what, what, what, what. Signs of the
times and blah, blah, blah. Every time a new burger joint
goes up, they say, well, it's the sign of the last day. Paul
says, in whom? Not in what? In whom? And that whom is Jesus Christ.
It's Christ that sinners look to. It's Christ that sinners
believe in. It's Christ that they trust.
It's Christ that's able to keep them from falling and to present
them before the throne of God. Jesus Christ is the one in whom
God makes us accepted and God says what he has joined together,
no man shall ever put asunder. Jesus Christ. When he bowed his
head upon that cross and then raised it and through the darkness
cried out, it is finished. Oh, heaven still reverberates
with that glorious proclamation, that shout of victory. And then
and there, he by himself purged our sins away forever. It's finished. By his own blood,
he then entered one time into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. And God says, to every sinner,
Jesus Christ redeemed. Deliver his soul. Deliver his
soul. He's not going down to the pit.
No, that's one my son shed his blood for. Deliver his soul from
going down to the pit, because I found a ransom. And that ransom
that Jesus Christ offered to God his Father, God says that's
enough. That's enough. I'm satisfied. That's enough. God forbid, is
it any wonder Paul wrote, God forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Brother Rex mentioned
the book of old John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress. I told him
I know that passage where Christian lost his burden almost by heart
there. But after he came up to the cross
and that burden that he had been carrying, that had been weighing
him down, that made him cry out, oh, who's going to deliver me?
And it fell off. Oh, it fell off. Thank God it fell off. And he
said he just began to tumble and tumble and tumble and roll
to the bottom of the hill into the sepulcher. And he said, I've
never seen it again. He said, I began to feel lightsome. I like that. Christian was glad
and lightsome. Oh, so light. Take my yoke upon
you, the master said. It's light. My burden's easy.
Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, Bunyan wrote, and went
on his way singing. Thus far did I come laden with
my sin, nor could I ease the grief that I was in, till I came
hither o'er what a place is this. Must here be the beginning of
all my bliss. Must hear the burden fall from
off my back? Must hear the strings that bound
it to me crack? O blessed cross, blessed sepulcher,
blessed rather be, the man that was there put the shame for me."
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. The wise man wrote that
God's people, every believer, Go thy way, eat thy bread with
joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth
thy works." Oh, that's sweet. Think of that. God accepts you
in Christ Jesus, the beloved, and you can never be unaccepted. We're always in Christ's heart.
Always. Whether we feel it or not. We're
always in His book. The Lamb's book of life. Always
in His hands. We're in the Beloved, for we
are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. That's the right place to be.
In the Beloved. In the Beloved, God's marvelous
grace I may have told you where I pastor in Sylacauga, Alabama,
our piano player. I've told her, because she's
always there before anyone, and she'll be practicing at the piano,
Delilah. And I don't know, you know, it's
been almost 11 years now I've been practicing, singing. I say, Delilah, I'm ready to
sing. She said, what do you mean, with
the congregation? I said, no, a solo. She said,
you'll do it without my playing. Delilah, I've been practicing.
I don't want to hear you. I've heard you lead the congregation.
No, I'm not playing for you. Oh, but what a wonderful song.
In the beloved, God's marvelous grace caused me to dwell in this
wonderful place. God sees my Savior, and then
he sees me. In the beloved, accepted. and for God bless you. God bless
each of you. Thank you for your teachings.