I am so thankful to be here. I'm thankful I want to be here.
That the Lord would give me a heart to come and to be with his people. What a joy. I want you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Psalms, chapter
24. Psalm 24. I'm going to be honest with you. I remember something Brother
Henry Mahan said one time. He said, God's people are not
looking for a message. You can sit down and write out
a doctrinally sound message. But what they want is they want
to hear the message of the hour. I wanna hear what God has to
say right now. You know, there's a big difference.
A big difference. I wanna know what, and I have
truly, honestly, I've asked, I've asked the Lord, Lord, help
me. Help me when I'm with this precious
group of people. Help me stir my heart. I need to know. I want to know. What do you want me to say? It's
not that we don't have enough material. There's a lot of material here.
There are 66 books. But where? Where? But Scott Richardson said something
one time, and it was concerning all of the trials. That God's
people are providentially permitted, allowed, blessed to endure. If you be without chastisement,
it's because you're not His. Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth
and scourgeth every son that He receiveth. But these trials
and these tribulations, they're grievous for the moment. This
is a tough time, isn't it? These are trying times. But Brother
Scott said this, who's running this show anyway? That sounds
like Scott, doesn't it? Who's running this show? Psalm 24. Listen to this. The earth is the Lord's. The earth was formed and is maintained
by the Lord. He owns it. He's the master of
it. He made it, John 1, 3, all things
were made by Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. Genesis 1.1, this is where these
precious scriptures begin. In the beginning, God. God created the heaven and the
earth. So the Lord made it. God Almighty made it. But listen
to this. He owns it. as it being the gift
from Jehovah to His precious Son, the Messiah. John 3.35,
the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His
hands. All things are the Lord's by
creation, by gift. He owns it. And they were given
to him that he might direct all things for the absolute surety
of his glory and the salvation of his elect. The earth is the
Lord's and the fullness thereof. Not only did he form this earth,
but everything that's in it is his. Just look around. Just look around. How much belongs
to the Lord? All of it. All of it. Oh, I understand you might have
a little piece of paper that says you own this little plot
of land, or you own that vehicle, or you own this, that, or the
other. We're just using it for just
a little while. We won't be using it long. And
when the Lord's done with loaning it, it's gonna burn up. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. The world, the world, the habitable
regions is what it means, and they that dwell therein. I mean,
there's certain places in this world where Men can live, and
there's certain places where they can't live. But it's still the Lord's. And
there's a reason for it. The Lord has a people in this
world. And they're His people, according
to His everlasting covenant of grace, the vessels of His mercy,
because he's chosen to have mercy and compassion upon a people
that he's chosen, and they're scattered all over the place.
He's dispersed them, he's placed them exactly where he wants them
to be. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 32.
Deuteronomy 32. It often has, I've made mention,
it always amazed me that there's many places in this world where
you can drive. I'll drive back to Fairmont,
Lord willing, after the services today, and I'll pass many, many
places, many, many areas through Kentucky and then into West Virginia,
where the Lord has been pleased to not raise up a place But then
you'll come to a place like Danville, Kentucky, or Katy, West Virginia,
and then you'll have a people. There's a group of people there,
and there's a number of them. God put them together. And I
think, how did they, you know, when I know the answer to this,
it's just hypothetical, just talking. Think to yourself, how
could it be but for the grace of God that all those people How could this many believers? I'm not talking about people
that are just going to churches. I'm talking about how could it be
that this many believers were all in one spot? How could that
be? Well, here it is right here.
Deuteronomy chapter 32. Deuteronomy 32, verse 79. Remember the days of old. Consider
the years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he will show
thee thy elders. They will teach thee. When the
Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, and he separated
the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according
to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion
is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. How? How is it? The Lord put
them there. He put them in. The earth is
the Lord's. And the fullness thereof, the
world. And all they that dwell therein. There's a people. God's got a people. They're His. They're His people, number one,
by gift from His Father. They're the Lord's people. They're His by purchase. He bought
them, paid for them with their own precious blood, and they're
His by conquest, by His Holy Spirit. In the day of God's power,
the Spirit of God crosses their path. And the Lord, in mercy
and compassion, when the time of love has arrived for that
particular vessel of His mercy, God just removes a heart of stone
and He gives them a heart of flesh, gives them a new spirit,
makes them willing. In the day of His power, they're
His. And these people, They now come
to the Lord in their heart, they come because they want to. And what was the purpose? What's
the purpose of all this? Well, hold your place in Psalm,
but turn over to Colossians 1. What's the purpose? You that
know the Lord, what's the purpose of you being in this place this
morning, willingly hearing the gospel of God's free and sovereign
grace? What's the purpose of it? Colossians
chapter 1, verse 16 to 18, here's the purpose. For by Him were
all things created. that are in heaven, that are
in earth, visible, invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or power, all things were created by Him
and for Him, and He's before all things, and by Him all things
consist, and He is the head of the body, the church, who is
the beginning, the firstborn among the dead, now listen to
this, that, or in order that. in all things He might have the
preeminence. You didn't know Him. You're the Lord's in mercy and
compassion. He made you. He bought you. He conquered you. And He did
all of that that He might have the preeminence, the honor. that all honor and glory and
praise might be unto him. He's the Lord, you're the Lord.
Back in Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and all they that dwell therein. Verse two, for he hath
founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. He made everything, he owns everything,
and he settled everything by power. He brought the land out
of the sea and he told the sea that listens to his voice. You
remember when disciples were out on the boat, you know this,
and the storm was raging, the Lord's asleep in the back of
the boat, and they woke him up. And they said, Lord, you care
that we perish? He stood up, and he spoke to
that wind, and he said, peace, be still. And I read that and said, it
was a great calm. And I just thought, you know
what? If scripture says it was a great calm, it wasn't a ripple.
I mean a great calm. Peace, be still. And they said,
what? The manner of man is this, that even the wind and the waves
obey. They obey. Who is that? I'll
tell you. He's the owner. He's the maker.
This is his. All of this is his. He speaks
and it is. And when he speaks in verse 2,
he founded upon the seas, he established it upon the floods,
upon the rivers. That's it. And this is the authority
that holds you in place. Look at Job. I don't want to
have you turning a few pages, but look at Job 38. How much
authority does he have over all of this that he has created?
Job 38, verse 8 to 11. The scripture says, or who shut
up the sea with doors when it break forth, as if it had issued
out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment
thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and break up for
it my decree place, and set the bars and doors, and I said, here
the two shalt thou come, but no farther. Here shall thy proud
waves be stayed. You ever go to the ocean, you
ever notice that just there's a place, those waves just keep
coming in, but there's a stopping point. There's habitable land
and there's the ocean. Why does it do that? Because
God said, this is where you stop. This is where I say stop. He
had founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. And here we are, vessels of His
mercy, but children born in Adam who have fallen. In sin, we fell in Adam, but
not only have we fallen in Adam, sinners by imputation from Adam's
guilt, we're sinners by practice, we're sinners by choice, the
Lord's. He who answers for us, we need
one that will answer for us before God. So, where do we go? Well, we go to Him that owns
it. Again, as Brother Scott says, who's running this show? Who can I have that can answer
for me? Here's the question. I've sinned
before God. Who shall answer for this fallen
creature of Adam? Look at verse 3. Who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy
place? Here's what I need. I need an
advocate. The earth is the Lord's. He owns
it. He made it. He orders it, establishes
it. He speaks and it is. But I'm
a fallen creature. I need one to answer for me before
him who owns everything, who does with everything as he will,
one who is just and holy, the one who by no means will clear
the guilty. I'm going to have to answer to
the owner. I'm going to have to answer to
the boss. Who's going to answer for me?
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? I need one to answer. I need a ransom. I need one that
will be able to stand before God, to ascend to the hill of
the Lord, to the dwelling place of God. Here's an amazing thought. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord, or who shall stand Actually, it's in His own merit. Who shall be able to stand before
God Almighty and answer for me in His own merit? Who but the
Lord Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners. Who? I need Him. who has, the scripture says in
verse 4, that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not
lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Do you
know who I need to answer before God for me? I need for God. I need for God to answer to God. Again, Brother Scott used to
say, God's gonna have to do something for himself before he's gonna
be able to do anything for me. God himself. I need him who has
clean hands. Now, of man, there's none good,
no, not one. So you take man born in Adam
and just eliminate any hope, any hope. You that are listening
here or you that are listening on YouTube, listen to me. Man
that is born of woman, man that is born in Adam, he is a helpless
sinner and rebel against God. There's none good, not one. I need one to stand before him
who is the owner the maker, the sustainer. I need one to stand
before God before me who has clean hands, that is blameless,
innocent, guiltless. I need one who can say by God
to him, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. of
the Lord Jesus Christ, only of Him can it be said He knew personally. No sin. Free from any act of
sin. Only of Him can it be said that
He has clean hands and a pure heart. A heart that can be examined by God Himself and declared innocent. No guilt. No blame. He who was made sin knew no sin. He knew no sin personally. He was made sin. What does that
mean? It means he was made sin. He was made sin. Try to qualify that. I don't
want to try to talk around it. As Brother Scott, I think I told
you one time, Brother Scott told me, he said, don't you ever tiptoe
through the tulips and try to eliminate any of the glory of
what the Lord Jesus Christ did at Calvary. When he hung on that
cross, And listen to this, as simply as I could say it, He
was made sin for us, His people. He who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Who do I need to
stand before God? He who has clean hands, a pure
heart, who has not lifted up His soul unto vanity. who has not advanced or extolled
himself. He said, I do only always those
things that please the Father. I need him who humbled himself
and made himself of no reputation. He who never lifted up himself
seeking his own will apart from his father's. I can't even enter
into the depth of the humility. I can declare it. He humbled
himself. What does that mean? It means more than I can ever
describe. I don't know. But I can tell
you what the scripture says about him. He is the one who has clean
hands, a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul under
vanity, nor swore deceitfully. He who only spoke, did the truth
for the love of the truth, for the glory of the truth. He who
is the truth, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who
shall stand in his own merit in the holy place? No one but
he who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is
in heaven. There's one who owns everything,
who demands holiness, righteousness. I'm a sinner. I need some help. Who's going to answer for me? He who has clean hands, pure
heart, not lifted up his soul. Verse 5 says, he shall receive
the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of
his salvation. Here's the blessing. He shall
receive the blessing from the Lord. I just quoted it a while
ago. Blessed of the Lord in his baptism,
blessed of the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. Here's the
blessing of the Lord. Who could it be said except the
Lord of glory that God would speak from heaven? Do you think
there's anyone here that we have this spoken from heaven concerning
any of us. And I've said, this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased. You hear him, don't look at me. I can tell you just enough about
myself to just confirm to you. In myself there dwelleth no good
thing. I am what I am by the grace of
God. Oh, wretched man that I am. You
that know it, can you not find some agreement in that? Being
found only in the Lord can we be blessed. He shall receive
the blessing of the Lord. And righteousness from the God
of his salvation Let me tell you just very quickly concerning
my righteousness and honestly concerning yours. Here it is. Filthy rags. That's all we have. Filthy rags. Truly in Christ
only is there no sin, no guile, no trickery, no deceitfulness,
no decoy. But found in him for his people,
found in him for his people, only in him can it be said of
any of his people like it was of Nathanael. Behold, an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile. There's an owner. He made everything. He owns everything. And we're
sinners. And we need one to answer for
us. one with clean hands, pure heart, not lifted up his soul
to vanity, sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing
and all found in him. He is righteousness and all in
him are righteous. Verse six, there is a generation
of people. This is the generation of them
that seek him. That seek thy face when it says,
O Jacob, Oh, God of those who are Jacob's. Oh, the blessing
to be referred to as a Jacob. What believer I think about when
the Lord was wrestling with Jacob. And the Lord expressed to him,
he said, let me go. The day's starting to break.
Let me go. Jacob said, I won't let you go
unless you bless me. And let me just tell you the
blessing of being a Jacob. Number one, God loved Jacob. God loved Jacob. All the Jacobs,
those made to admit what they are, Jacob the supplanter, Jacob the
chief, Jacob the liar, the conniver. Every Jacob made to be a Jacob. You're a blessed person. I know
what this world says. There's a little good in all
of you. You know what? Every Jacob in
this congregation this morning, it's what they're going to say.
That ain't me. You just don't know me. Well, I may not know
every detail, but I got a pretty good idea, because you're just
like I am. You're just like me. This is the generation of them
that seek Him. This is the ones that call upon
the Lord, that seek thy face, O God. If you've got a margin,
you'll see that word right where it says, O Jacob, O God of Jacob. This is the ones that seek the
Lord. If anybody can talk about seeking the Lord and I gave the
Lord my heart, I did this. Let me tell you who's going to
seek the Lord. Those made willing in the day of God's power to
seek the Lord. Cast themselves upon Him. Those
are the seekers. And for all that He's everlastingly
loved. He's come into this world and
He lived for them and died for them. In the time of love, as
I said a while ago, his spirit gathers them out of darkness,
calls them to himself. And he called upon the God of
Jacob. And he cried out, Lord, be merciful
to me, a sinner. I need some help. I need him who made all the stains
and rules and reigns. I need for God to do something
for me. Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Well, I tell you
what, the end result's gonna happen. Look at verse seven.
Lift up your heads, verse seven, O ye gates, and be ye lifted
up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come
in. The king of glory who, again,
I'm just going back. I'm just telling you that this
is where we're living right now. This is where we are. We're living
in his world. We're living by his good pleasure.
We're breathing his air, and we're eating his food. And we're
wearing his clothes. And we're driving around in his
vehicles. And we're drinking his water. and enjoy His beauty. We've got life in us and it's
His. He's given us time to be here. It won't be long. It's just a
vapor. But I'm telling you, we're here
by His good pleasure. And there's coming an end to
it. And when it's over, we're going to stand before God And
we've got one hope, that the God of Jacob has made me to be
a Jacob. To cry unto him, you lift up
your heads, O ye gates, and be lift up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. He who is worthy to ascend. He who is worthy to stand in
the very presence of Jehovah in His own merit. He who never
sinned in word and thought and deed. He who is blessed of God
and all found in Him in electing grace, in redeeming grace, in
regenerating grace. All that the Father has ever
known and loved in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, in
Him. Again, I'm gonna quote Brother Scott one more time here. And
where God put Him, that's where God kept Him. Chosen in Him for the foundation
of the world. And when He died, we were in
Him. That's a great mystery. That's
a great mystery. When He died, Paul said, I was
crucified with him, I was in him. When he was buried, we're
buried with him. When he rose, we rose with him.
Mysteriously, ascended with him. In him, ever in him. When he ascended from the Mount
of Olives. You men of Galilee, why stand
you gazing in this same Jesus? You open the gates. You open
the gates, the King of Glory is coming in. Having finished
the work and all found in Him, verse 8, who is this King of
Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. You
opened the gates to him who defeated by his own obedience to the law,
his sacrifice at Calvary, he who defeated every foe of his
people, Satan's sin, this world, and finished the work of their
redemption. He who is answered for, God is
their substitute. I've just got to make this, I'm
going to wrap this up. I think about this at substitute.
Every time I hear that the substitute, it's got to, you've got to realize,
I had a dear friend of mine make a statement one time. He said,
wasn't a substitute, you know, if you know anything about football,
you know, if somebody gets hurt, you know, one of the linebackers,
you know, gets hurt, hurts his leg or something like that, he
comes out and another one goes in. And see, that substitute,
well that's not substitution, that's not what this is talking
about. Substitution is to become that one, to be made them. The best example I can think
of, I've said it before, it's the best one I can think of,
I'll use it again. If my mama murdered somebody, was convicted,
sentenced to die. On the day of her execution,
if I was to say, well, I love my mama, and so you take her
out and let me, I'll sit in that electric chair, and I'll die,
because somebody's got to die. And they pull the switch. Somebody
said, boy, I'm telling you, didn't he love his mama? But the only
problem is, here's his mama. She's the one that did it. So
that wasn't substitution, but if I could become my mother,
if I could become my mother, actually come, and she'd be made
me, and my mother in me. That's as simple as I could say. To him who was lived for, died
for, was made sin. Who is this king of glory? the
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. You opened
the gates to him who was made his people and made an open show
of his enemies. You opened the gates for now
he's triumphed over all of his enemies. Now who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's land? God has justified him. Listen,
he who owns everything, who made everything, who demands righteousness,
and he who has clean hands and pure heart, never lifted up his
heart to vanity, has answered and put away all of my guilt. Romans 8 going now, there is
therefore now no condemnation to them which be in Christ Jesus. The presence of sin, still there.
But I'm telling you, even that body of death is gonna be delivered
very soon from us. Verse nine and 10, lift up your
heads, O ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting
doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King
of glory? He's the Lord of his people.
the Lord of Hosts. He is the King of Glory. You
open the gates to Him. Those gates that were closed
because of sin by one man's disobedience, now in Him, you open them up. Enter in. Oh you beloved, my
father. Enter into the kingdom that was
prepared for you from the foundation door. Now I've got in closing,
I've got two verses of scripture that I'm going to read. It's
found in Psalm 27, you just turn over one page. I'm going to read
these two and I'm speaking, I'm speaking not only to the saints
in Danville, Kentucky, But I'm speaking to all God's
people who are going through some trials and some tribulations. We're living in this world, and
we all know, we all know that all the things that have transpired
have come to pass. The Lord has ordered these things,
and we know that. Now I'm just, I want to just,
in closing, I just want to speak, and I pray speak to your heart. Listen, there's nothing that
has happened that has not been eternally ordained of God. The
Lord established these things, the Lord ordained these things,
and the Lord brought them to pass. He worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will. But in the midst of that, while
we're walking through them, They're trying. They're tough. And not a day goes by, not a
day goes by that the Lord doesn't bring this congregation right
here in my heart. And I ask, I ask, Lord, have mercy. Lord, remember these
your people. You own everything. You made
everything. You established everything. For
a people of your choosing. And Lord, you've ordered their
steps to come to this point right here. What else can we do but
call on the Lord? What are you going to do? Where
are you going to go? We asked Peter, the group, will you go
away also, Lord? Where are you going to go? Let
me ask you, where are you going to go? Well, what do you do? Knowing that the Lord has ordered
it, established it, brought it to pass. He who owns it, runs
it, establishes it. Look at the last two verses of
Psalm 27. David said, I had fainted. I wouldn't have made it. I wouldn't
have made it. Unless I had believed. Oh, the
preciousness of faith. The preciousness to believe God.
I believe God. I believe God has ordered these
things. I believe this is the will of the Lord. Does it hurt?
Yes, it hurts. Yes, it does. Is it grievous? Yes, it's grievous. No believer
here is going to say, these are just easy times. You're not going
to say that. They're grievous for the moment. I had fainted
unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living. I'd have just given up. I'd have
quit. What do you do? What are you
going to do? Verse 14. on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Wait in patience. Wait by faith. Wait expecting. Wait. Waiting is the, to me, one of
the hardest things I can do. My dad used to say, boy, we're
gonna do something today if it's wrong. I don't want that attitude. Wait on the Lord. Be of good
courage. And He, now listen, He shall
strengthen thine heart. Don't we need that? I need my
heart strengthened. I need Him who is my strength. He shall, just look at that word
again, shall strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Let me give you a promise, and
this is it. That's all I got. He said, I will never leave you. I will never leave you. I'll
never forsake you. We got his word on that. And
let me tell you something. The one who made this world,
established all the fullness thereof, who orders it, rules,
reigns, orders all things after the counsel of his own will,
God himself who came into this world, made himself no reputation,
lived for his people, died for his people, answers for his people
right now. the high priest ever lived to
make intercession for his people, he's not going to leave you.
He's not going to leave you. I pray God bless this to our
heart for his glory and our good.