Thank you. Thank you for having
me. It's been delightful. Been delightful. Will you turn
back to 2 Timothy 2? I've dropped a note that I wanted
to make sure that was going to remind me of a few things. 2
Timothy 2. Thank you, Mark, for reading
it. And again, thank you for having
myself and Robin. It's been so delightful to worship
with you again. and to spend time with you. As
Lindsey mentioned briefly, we've had a good time in the back already,
the men. I miss that, have fond memories
of meeting back there for scripture reading and prayer and fellowship. The little flock in Sylacauga
that I pastor, and some of them are probably watching, this is
live stream, probably watching the service tonight, But they
wanted me to let you know that you're in their prayers and in
their hearts. We're praying that God will be
pleased to send you a pastor that'll preach that same glorious
gospel that concerns God's son that your previous pastor so
faithfully did for so many years. I don't know You can take this for whatever
you feel like it's worth. But my advice would be, don't
get in a hurry. Wait on the Lord. Just seek the
Lord. And I believe if you do that,
he'll be pleased to bring a man to you. And it's my prayer that
he'll do it. So here in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, I'm sorry, don't turn.
2 Timothy. With all the uncertainty there
seems to be in the world, there always has been, but it's especially
so in our generation. It seems like we're bombarded
with bad news on a daily basis. It is so sweet, so good to read
this sweet, blessed promise In verse 19, look at it again, would
you? Verse 19 of 2 Timothy 2, nevertheless,
nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let every one
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Nevertheless, in the immediate
context As Brother Mark read, Paul spoke about some false teachers
that were troubling believers concerning the resurrection,
that it was past. There was no future resurrection
of God's people. Perhaps they thought it was only
a spiritual resurrection, the new birth, regeneration. Whatever it might have been,
Hymenaeus and Thalidus were troubling the church. But regardless of
what they taught, Paul says it doesn't change this, nevertheless,
nevertheless. It doesn't alter, affect this
glorious foundation, God's foundation. It stands sure, it stands sure. And for you personally, whatever
you might perceive the text with in your personal experience, Whether it be sorrow, trials,
heartache, nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure. The title of my message, you'll
recognize this as being borrowed from the old hymn, How Firm a
Foundation. Did just a little bit of research
today, Lindsay, and learned what I didn't know. They don't know
who wrote that hymn. On page 268 of your hymn book,
there's just a big K. And when it was printed, that's
all they had to go by. They really don't know. And when
it was published in a book of hymns, really don't know who
wrote it. Great old hymn. But regardless
of who wrote it, God knows those that are His, doesn't He? God
knows, He knows His sheep. How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word. What more can He say than to
you He hath said, to you who to Jesus for refuge have fled? What a firm foundation. We learn
by that. This is just another example
of what we read throughout God's Word. If a believer's relationship,
and I find this so comforting, if my relationship to God was
determined by or dependent upon anything other than my relationship
to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, there would be no reason, no
comfort for this sweet nevertheless or any other. The success of
God's salvation is not dependent upon the sinner, but upon the
Savior. We shall never perish, not because
of anything in us, but because we're in the hands of the Great
Shepherd. And he said, no one can pluck
them out. Oh, Great Shepherd of the sheep.
Lindsay, Sunday morning, read Psalm 73. Psalm 73, verse 22, we have this
confession of a believer. Now, if you just read the first
half of the Psalm, you might doubt, could this be a believer?
Well, whether it was David or whether it was Esau, it was a
believer as we learn on down in the Psalm. And after he explains
the nature of his temptation, here's a believer that has experienced
the riches of God's grace being envious of people who only have
the world's riches and don't know God. The psalmist said,
I was envious of them. Imagine that. And is it any wonder
when God delivers him from that temptation that he makes this
confession in verse 22 of that psalm? So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee. My God, I've acted no better
than a beast before you by such behavior and unfaithfulness. Have you ever been there? Yes,
you have. And so have I, if not indeed,
at least in thought, acted as a beast before my faithful God. There is not one of God's people
that hasn't done the same has not had that experience. But
the psalmist didn't stop there, did he, Jim? Jimmy? I'm as a
beast before thee, but here's another sweet nevertheless, in
verse 23. Nevertheless, I am, the psalmist
wrote. Not that I was, but I'm no longer
a child of God. I've gone too far. I've crossed
the line. God's had enough of me. Oh no,
nevertheless. I am continually with thee. I was no less a child of God
when I was envious at the wicked than I am now after he's recovered
me from my temptation. I am continually with thee. He'll never let me go. Thou is
holding me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. That tells me again
that my standing before God is not because of me, but in spite
of me. And I find that comforting, don't
you? Nothing has changed, the psalmist says. Nevertheless,
I am continually before thee. Look in chapter one, and we have
another of these sweet nevertheless. Paul in chapter 1 here of 2 Timothy. He says in verse 11, Whereunto
I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of
the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer
these things, these bonds, this imprisonment, this waiting to
be beheaded most likely. His last words to his beloved
son in the faith, Timothy. I suffer because of these things,
because of the preaching of the gospel. Nevertheless, nevertheless,
I'm not ashamed. Paul says, oh, Timothy, don't
you be ashamed either. It's a worthy cause. Oh, to spend
your life proclaiming that glorious gospel. of the blessed God, whether
it cost me my life or not. Nevertheless, Timothy, I'm not
ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day." Now look again at our text at verse 19 of chapter
2. There are two things. First,
you have this abiding, eternal foundation. The foundation of
God stands sure. And then you have the inscription
stamped upon that foundation. The Lord knows them that are
His. The foundation and the seal.
The foundation first of God standeth sure. Note, it is God's foundation. That pretty well settles it,
doesn't it? That pretty well sums it up.
That's all the reason we need to know that it must stand sure,
whatever it is. If it's God that's laid it, it
has to be sure. We read in Psalm 102 verse 25
concerning the natural creation of old, has thou laid the foundation
of the earth? And the heavens are the work
of thy hands, God's hands, in the beginning, God, period. And the same is true about this
foundation in our text, and it is this, Isaiah 28, 16, Therefore,
thus saith the Lord, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tribe stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste." Just calm down. My eldest son is back there,
Larry Dale, and his oldest daughter, my granddaughter, Harley, was
just a little tyke. Y'all remember Harley. Some of
y'all remember Harley. She's grown up now, made me a
great-grandfather. But once when she was at the
house, oh, man, she wasn't big as anything, and was into something. And I said, Harley, don't do
that. She ignored me. I said, Harley, don't do that.
And she ignored me. So I got out of my chair and
started toward her. And she said, now, Pawpaw, let's
just all calm down. Let's don't make haste, we read.
God says, he that believeth shall not make haste. Just calm down. 1 Corinthians 3 and 11 identifies
that foundation again. For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." That's the
foundation of our text. That's the foundation God has
laid. That's the foundation of a sinner's hope. The foundation
of God is His eternal purpose of grace. that he committed into
the hands of that one who alone was worthy to carry it out, to
fulfill it, the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that not what he himself said
in answer to Peter's confession? Thou art the Christ, Peter said.
You're the Messiah. Nobody else is. You're the Messiah. You're the anointed one. You're
that one that we read about in the Old Testament, that Moses
and the prophets and the Psalms talk about. You're God's anointed,
the Son of the Living God. And you remember the Lord's answer
to Peter, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah. Is that your confession? Is that your confession? Can
you say from your heart, Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living
God. Oh, as we read by the apostle,
I know whom I have believed. Oh, if you can say that. You're
a blessed man. You're a blessed man. And that's
exactly what our Lord said to Peter. Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, thou art
Peter, and upon this rock the truth of what you just said,
Peter, concerning who I am, upon myself. Upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." Oh, how firm a foundation! The foundation of God doesn't
rest on man's decisions, man's religious rituals, upon man's
Mighty? No, it's not mighty. Man's so-called
free will? No, it rests upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. All those other things I mentioned,
they've been tried and they fail. But concerning the Son of God,
the Lord God Himself said concerning His Son, Look at Him. Take a
good look now. I'm telling you, He shall not
fail. How firm a foundation. The faith,
which is the faith of God's effect. According to God's Word, it's
the operation of God. God performs that miracle in
the heart of a sinner. He gives them the gift of faith
in His dear Son. Christ the author, the finisher,
and the object of faith. immovable as a foundation laid
by God. Therefore, it must stand sure. It must stand sure. Supported
by the power of God and the intercession of Jesus Christ Himself, it can
never be overthrown. Never be overthrown. False teachers
are not. trials or not, true God-given
faith stands sure, secure, because of the object of faith, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh, behold, John was such a good
preacher, wasn't he? The Baptist, whether it was to
his two remaining disciples, whether it was to the religious
elite, Whether it was to the multitudes, His message was always
the same. Behold the Lamb of God. There He is, God's Lamb. Behold Him. In Matthew 24, our
Lord told His disciples, for there shall arise false Christ.
and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders,
insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Thank God, Rex, it's impossible to deceive one of God's elect.
Faith is God's gift, God's operation, and God's gifts and calling are
without repentance. That is, God doesn't repent of
them. He doesn't take them back. What
a great comfort for us that the unbelief of men cannot make the
promise of God of none effect. Is that not so? All the attacks
which the powers of darkness have made upon the doctrine of
Christ haven't shaken it, not at all. It stands firm and weathers
all the storms which have ever been raised against it, ignorant
men down through the ages from time to time. usually fellows with great swelling titles,
doctors. Don told us about a fellow named
Twiddley and he got a doctorate degree and he was known as Dr.
Twiddley Dee Dee. But they have come along and
claimed to have proven that Jesus Christ is not truly God. Not,
he was a good man. He was a good man. He was a great
prophet and teacher, example. But God? And here is his response to that. I am the Lord. Regardless. Isaiah 45, here's his answer. I am the Lord and there is none
else. There is no God beside me. Say what you will. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and
from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and
there is none else. I form light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things."
What a God! What a God! substitutionary atonement of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Just can't believe that. Yes, he was a good man, but to
say that he took the sins of his people upon himself? Oh no,
these wise acres say. That just can't be. That's not
possible. How can one bear the sins of
another? And here is God's answer to that. Nevertheless, God had made him
to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. Rhetoric, logic may look good
in appearance, but they do nothing in reality. I remember reading
about Rolf Barnard, and as you probably know, he was the president
of an atheist club when he was in college. He was the ringleader. They said that he would lecture
on the non-existence of God during the day and he said he would
pray to that God at night before he went to bed to have mercy
on his soul and not send him to hell. So much for man's rhetoric. The orator's thunder has not
shaken the unchangeable truth of God. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God stands sure. I've ran across this little poem
somewhere years ago, and I saved it. It's called The Anvil of
God's Word. Last eve, I paused beside the
blacksmith's door and heard the anvil ring the clear chime. Then looking in, I saw upon the
floor old hammers worn with the beating years of time. How many
anvils have you had, said I, to wear and batter all these
hammers so? Just one, said he, And then with
twinkling eye, the anvil wears the hammers out, you know. And
so I thought the anvil of God's word, for ages skeptic blows
have beat upon. Yet though the noise of falling
blows was heard, the anvil is unharmed. but all the hammers
are gone. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my word shall not pass away. So shall my word, God says, be
that which goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not. It shall not. It never has and
it never will. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish. I like that. It shall accomplish
that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto
I send it." Oh, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us find
comfort in this foundation of God. He still has a church in
this world. And while the floods and the
winds have beaten down on every house, And that house has fallen
which wasn't built upon this rock. The house of God stands
because of the foundation upon which it rests. The foundation
of God's eternal decree and therefore it must be most sure. Paul speaks
of that again in chapter 1 of his epistle. Here's God's purpose
of grace in his son. who hath saved us and called
us with the holy calling, verse 9, not according to our works,
but according to his own purpose. Anybody that has a problem with
that has got a problem. It's not according to my works.
Oh, I'm glad to hear that. I'm thankful for that, that my
salvation is not according to my works, but according to God's
own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began." That's exactly what David was looking
to. And on his deathbed, he said,
God has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and sure. Sure, because it rests upon Christ,
the Rock of Ages. Listen to a few verses from the
Song of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 32. Give ear, O ye heavens,
and I will speak. Hear, O earth, the words of my
mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the
rain. My speech shall distill as the
dew. As the small rain upon the tender
earth, and as the showers upon the grass, because I will publish
the name of the Lord, ascribe ye greatness unto our God. How great thou art! He is the
Rock, the Rock. His work is perfect, for all
His ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity,
just and right is He. Is it not sweetness itself? child
of God, to feel that there's something under your feet, something
real, something solid, something abiding, something substantial. The foundation of God stands
sure. Psalm 46, though the earth is
removed and though the mountains are carried into the midst of
the sea, though the waters thereof roar and are troubled, And though
the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, yet will we
not fear. Why? For the Lord Jehovah changes
not. I like that old hymn. When the
storms of life are raging, stand by me. You know how they can
rage. When this world is tossing me,
Like a ship upon the sea, O thou who rulest wind and water, stand
by me. The foundation of God standeth
sure. God has a grand purpose from
which he has never deviated, not in the least. And his purpose
shall stand. He will do all his pleasure. When we're troubled by matters
that are out of our control, and that's a whole lot of things,
it's a blessed thing just to fall back on the purpose and
providence of Almighty God, and to know that though we may feel
defeated, He cannot be. He cannot be. Our great Savior
shall not fail nor be discouraged, and I'm with Him. I'm with Him. all of his people are with him.
Psalm 76 and 10, we read, surely the wrath of man shall praise
thee, the remainder of wrath shall God withstrain. The good
shall glorify him and even the evil shall be compelled to magnify
the greatness of his justice. With such a foundation of God,
It is only fitting we find this sweet nevertheless as the promise
of God. I love that word, don't you?
Nevertheless, God help me to remember it. God give me faith
to believe it and to grasp it more firmly and to honor my faithful
God by doing so. Larry, never less grace. There
will never be less grace. He giveth. You're looking at
evidence of that. Why I'm standing here now is
because He giveth, and He giveth, and He giveth more grace. No
other reason. Never less mercy, because His
mercies are new every morning. Never less love, for God has
loved us, our Lord prayed even as He had loved His Son. Never
less of Christ, For Christ is all forever, therefore we are
always complete in Him. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God stands sure. The second thing here, it speaks
of the seal. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God stands sure, having this seal, and this is the seal, the
inscription, the Lord knoweth them that are His. In studying
this, one commentator said that among the Jews, seals were used
in buying and selling, so that it might be known what was bought,
who it belonged to, to confirm the purchase and distinguish
it from someone else's. That is sort of what Zachariah
said, is it not? The Lord speaks and says, I will
engrave the graving thereof, says the Lord of Hosts, and I
will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. I read also
that it was a custom among the Egyptians in the Day of the Pharaohs
that they likewise would put their royal stamp impressive
upon any brick that was laid in the foundation of a building
so that everyone would know which particular pharaoh ordered that
to be done. Here is God's royal stamp or
seal of the king of kings. He sets upon this foundation
the great palace of his church, the stamp of his everlasting
love. I have loved thee, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. And as you know, that's more
than just a knowledge or awareness of. When we read that the Lord
knoweth them that are his, he's loved them with an everlasting
love. Never been a time that God didn't
love his people. Never been a time that they weren't
considered to be his own. The Lord hath appeared, the prophet
said, Jeremiah 31, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore,
therefore, I'll just let you go your way. I've loved thee,
therefore, I won't interfere with your will, I'll just stand
by and let you go to hell. Nonsense. I have loved thee with
an everlasting love, therefore, therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore, therefore, The Great Shepherd said, I want them,
Father, with me where I am. I love thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, nothing, nothing past,
nothing in your present, nothing in your future shall ever separate
you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. That's the seal. God's electing
grace in the eternal purpose of His salvation for His people. The Lord knows them that are
His. Never been a time, our Lord said
that, didn't He? I know my sheep. I know my sheep. There will never be a time that
our Lord won't say, I know my sheep. I know them. That is, I love them. I love
them. I watch over them. When your
children were little, you remember saying sometimes when you would
catch them ready to perhaps hurt themselves unknowingly, you'd
say, man, can't let them out of my sight. Can't take my eyes
off of them for a minute. Our great faithful shepherd never
takes his eyes off of us. I know my sheep. The comfortable conclusion of
all this is that God's purpose stands sure. What a comfort that
the Lord knows those that are His. He owns them. He claims them for His own. So
knows them that He will never lose them. Though the professed
faith of some be overthrown, yet the Lord has said to know
the ways of the righteous. None can ever overthrow the faith
of any whom God has chosen. We read it. That's impossible.
And Christ intercedes for us that your faith fail not. And
God hears and answers the prayers of His Son. His promise to Jacob
was this. Genesis chapter 28. Do you remember
this? Genesis 28 and 15, God speaks
to Jacob and the sons of Jacob. And behold, I am with thee, and
will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee. I
will not leave thee. I'm not going to lose you. I'll
hold to your hand. I will not leave thee until I
have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I read this today. It said if God brings you to
it, he will bring you through it. I will not leave thee, though
I have done all that I've determined in that everlasting covenant
of grace to do. He that's begun a good work in
you will complete it, perform to the day of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Mr. Spurgeon said this, when it's
all finished, when everyone who ever shall be called has been
called, and every one of the Lord's elect has been regenerated,
justified, sanctified, and glorified, when the whole of the blood-washed
family of God shall surround the throne above, all the glory
shall be given to the Lord alone. Won't that be a treat? There
will be no jarring note in heaven, no whisper of human merit, no
claim of a reward for good intentions. But every crown shall be cast
at Jesus' feet, and every voice shall join in the inscription,
not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
for thy great salvation which thou hast brought out for us
from the first to the last. To God be the glory. A few years
ago, about two years ago actually, on my mother's 90th birthday, my sisters, rightfully so, said, that's a
special occasion. So they told their five brothers,
we're going to have a surprise birthday for Mom's, a birthday
party for Mom's 90th birthday. Man, I had a sister in Idaho,
a brother in Ohio, I was in Alabama, one in Virginia, but anyway,
they did it. And on the day that we all met,
where we were having this surprise birthday party, we were already
there and had one sister to bring mom. She just thought she was
going out to lunch. But when she came up the stairs
into this pretty large room, probably as large as this, she
saw all of us. And her nine children were standing
in front. She was just overcome, wasn't
she Rob? She just put her hand over her mouth and started to
weep. The look on her face, when she
came up those stairs, walked into that room, and saw all her
children all there, all accounted for. Oh, my soul. Listen to this. Rex read this
in the Bible. He shall see after the build
of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Imagine that. He'll be satisfied
with us. By His knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities."
Oh my soul, when Christ sees me, He'll be satisfied. Because when I awake, I'll be
in His likeness, and I'll be satisfied too. We look at each
other, Bill, imagine that, both satisfied. Oh, and our great,
glorious shepherd says to the Father, I and the children that
you gave me, Father, that you committed into my hands, they're all here. I lost none. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Isaiah chapter 33, I'll bring
this to a close. Verse 17, Thine eyes shall see
the King and His beauty. They shall behold the land that
is very far off. Thine eyes, child of God, shall
see the King and His beauty. And there won't be any tears
to mar your vision. There won't be veiled between,
we'll see Him who loved us and gave Himself for us perfectly
and forever. The King there in His beauty
without a veil is seen. It were a well-spent journey,
those seven deaths between, the land with His fair army on Zion's
mountain stands, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but
on my king of grace. Not at the crown he giveth, but
on his pierced hand. The lamb is all the glory of
Emmanuel's land. Because the foundation of God
standeth sure. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.