Good morning. Good morning. Good
to be here. Good to be here. Thank you, Grace
Baptist Church, especially you ladies. Todd, I know what side
of the bread my butter is spread on. Thank you, ladies. Like Don said, I was here 20
years. I know something about the work,
the sacrifice, the generosity, the labor that's involved. in
preparing for these meetings and during, so thank you very
much. Thank you, my pastor, for inviting me back. I preached
at places before and never got invited back. I'm looking around to see if
any of you fellows are responding. I don't think so. Don keeps asking
me to come by, and it's an honor. It's an honor. He mentioned last
night, and it rang a bell with me when he was a young man. That's
about a long time. But preaching with, was it Henry
Mahan, and Scott, and was it Jack? Jack. And felt like an
Arab in Israel. I felt that way when I, felt
exactly that way when I preached with him somewhere, because I
thought he was so much older than me. But anyway, I love him and his
dear wife and been such a blessing, such a blessing to me over the
years. Would you turn with me to Psalm 115? Psalm 115. Brother Moose Parks wrote a hymn. I think it was in 95, 1995, if
I'm not mistaken, but I'd like to begin just by reading the
first two verses of that hymn. Moose wrote, we have gathered
in this chapel, having come from far and near. We are weary from
our travel. Some good news we long to hear.
So to him who is our preacher, We would make this one request. Prove yourself to be the teacher
of the one who'll give us rest. Let's make that a prayer. Tell
us not of self-salvation. That's not good news. Tell us
not of self-salvation through an act of man's free will. It
will bring no consolation, having heard we're hungry still. Oh,
we long to see the glory. of our God in Jesus' face, tell
us now that blessed story of His free and sovereign grace. Would you pray for me? Would
you pray for me that God would enable me to do that? The word
Psalm means praise. It means praise. And that's what
the Psalms are. Largest book in the Bible, all
the Psalms. are songs of praise to God. Who else would they sing such
praises to? Do you know the song? Can you name this tune? Verse one, this is every saved
sinner's song. There's no two ways about it.
Verse one, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." Do you
know that song? Does it find a echo of response
in your heart? And you say, amen, that's so.
And I'm glad it's so. Let it be so. One of my father's
favorite expressions to me growing up, on more than one occasion,
and he had good reason to say so, do so, he would say to me,
son, I'll bet I can change your tongue. That was a bet I never won. He sure could. If this truth of this verse is
not your song. I hope and pray that God will
be pleased to change your tune this morning. He can do it. And only He can do it. Only He
can do it. Notice in this one verse, it's
an epitome of a believer's song. There is not a word about man's
work. is pushed aside, not unto us. Not a word about man's worth,
about man's will. Salvation doesn't come that way. Did you know that? Salvation
doesn't come that way. The religion that says it does
is a man-made religion. It honors man. That's why it
talks so much about man. And it's even dependent on man
for its success. They confess that. Unashamedly
confess that. It's up to you. That's not good
news. That is not good news. If that
is so, nobody's going to be saved. Nobody will be saved. Its view
of man is wrong. It's way too high. And as a result
of that, at the same time it must be a consequence of that,
its view of God is too low. Much, much too low. Making God
much less than He is. Look here in this psalm, verse
3. But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Thank God for another one of
those blessed buts we have in God's word. But God, whether
the heathen like it or not, our God's in the heavens. Regardless
of what they say about their dumb idols, the work of their
own hands, but God Our God, the true God, the only God, is in
the heavens doing, as always, whatsoever he hath pleased. And
as I said, that other religion always makes salvation depend
on something man does. I heard it all my life. Sadly,
it's still being told everywhere. You do your part. You make the
first move. and God will do His. But here, in our text and throughout
the Word of God, we're told repeatedly salvation is determined by God's
will, Christ's work, and the worth of our matchless Redeemer. God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven
you. Ooh, I like the sound of that.
For Christ's sake? What will God Almighty not do
for Christ's sake? Oh, now that's a blanket I can
wrap up in. Free will gives me no comfort,
gives me no hope. I'll be honest with you and I
hope you know it. Free will, there's no such critter. No such
thing. Oh, but God's will, the worth
of his matchless son being the foundation on which he justifies
this guilty sinner. Oh, that gives, oh, what hope.
What warmth, what security. For Christ's sake, how does that
sound to you? Do you rejoice in that? Do you
say amen to that? Are you careful, careful, I read
this, I don't remember where, but an old writer said, be careful
not to pay rent to the wrong landlord. Not unto us, not unto
us. But declare, there was nothing
in us that could merit esteem, or give the creator delight.
T'was even so, father, we ever must sing, for so it seemed good
in thy sight. Then give all the glory to his
holy name, to him all the glory belongs. Be yours the high pleasure
to sound forth his fame, and crown him in each of your songs. And all the songs from the hearts
of believers has this blessed tune, this blessed theme. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory. all our crowns must be cast at
the feet of him that sits upon the throne. That's the proper
place for them. John was caught up to heaven,
and he said he saw a throne in heaven, and one, one sat upon
the throne. And we thankfully give all the
glory to the one from whom we received all the grace. It's not man's will, but God's. We ascribe salvation not to free
will, but to God's free grace. Is that not so? In John 6, you're
familiar with it, a multitude of people that had
been fed by the miracle of the loaves and fishes, after our
Lord departed that place, And they realized he had gone. They
followed him. They followed him. They crossed
the sea. The next day, they hunted until
they found him. They sought him and found him.
And our Lord looked at him. You remember what he said? Among
other things, he said, no man can come to me. They thought
they had. I imagine they were shocked. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him." And they got offended,
got mad, got puffed up. You mean to tell me, they said,
they thought, you mean to tell me we did all this for nothing?
Are you kidding me? I've had people say that. You
telling me I don't have a reward waiting for me in heaven? I'm
not going to get a bigger mansion or an extra star in my crown?
You mean I'm doing all this for nothing? Yeah, you sure are.
You sure are. And when they heard that, they
walked away. The Lord had also said, all that
the Father giveth me, now those really do come to me. The others
that got angry, offended, walked away because they'd only come
with their feet. That's what multitudes of sinners
are told. Tomorrow they'll be told coming
to Christ is something you do with your feet. Well, Christ
told these people, no it's not. You can't really come to me unless
God draws you to me. But he said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh unto me,
I will in no wise cast out. I like that. For he saith to
Moses, Paul wrote, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then, so then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth. There's that song again. Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but it's of God that showeth
mercy. Unto thy name give glory, for
thy matchless mercy. How familiar are we with this
text? For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. There's that tune again. Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, Your faith is a gift of God,
oh yes, unto thy name give glory. In other words, as I think Brother
Don mentioned last night, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is
of the Lord. That's what Jonah learned, didn't
he? When he found himself in the belly of that great fish,
now Jonah was willing to come out of there There's no question
about that, but it would take someone else's will greater than
Jonah to bring him out of there. Behold, a greater than Jonah
is here. Jonah said, my will got me in
here, but God's will gonna have to get me out. And he cupped
his hands together and cried, salvation's of the Lord. Mike,
that was an Armenian whale. You know he was. That whale's
theology was man's free will. Because when Jonah and his belly,
that fish's belly, began to say, salvations of the Lord, it just
left a bad taste in that whale's mouth, and he spit him out. Can't
stand that. Spit him out. That happens. Preach the gospel for a first
time in a church, Oak Hill Free Will Baptist Church. That's a
long story. Preach the glorious gospel of
the blessed God. Mike, I thought they loved me.
I talked to the people up there, Bruce. They spit me out. I mean, they spit me so far,
they didn't want to see or hear from me ever again. But glory
to God, I landed. I landed at a place where a servant
of God stood and preached to me what I needed to hear, the
glorious gospel of the blessed God. I'm glad them people spit
me out. Salvation is of the Lord. Oh,
not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. Think about this. This will surely elicit the cry
from our hearts of the words in our text. Consider Don again
last night, I believe, read this, but the word was made flesh,
my soul. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he likewise, himself, the Lord
Jesus Christ, God, took part of the saying that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the
devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham,
took hold of the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God, the
very expression of God, the express image of God. And that Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us, John said, and we beheld His
glory, the only begotten of the Father, full, always full, never
anything but full of grace and truth. Wow! Wow! My soul, have you ever gotten
a handle on that? No, you haven't. I haven't either. God in flesh, God Almighty became
a man? Wow. In order to save his people from
their sins. Now think about this. My soul,
what a wonder, what a marvel. came down to man. But the Son
of God who was made flesh did so in order to be made sin. Try that on. See Him hanging on the cross.
See the darkness, symbolic of the darkness His Holy Soul was
then passing through. Wherefore, wherefore art thou
red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine fat? We asked the Son of God. Why? Why do you look this way? And
he replies, because I've trodden the winepress alone, and of the
people there was none with me. Was there ever Was there ever
such loneliness as that? Was there ever? Had anybody ever,
prior to or since then, experienced such loneliness as the Son of
God? Never. Never. He told his disciples
just hours before that took place, Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone. And yet, he said, I am not alone,
because the Father is with me. But then shortly after he spoke
those words, an absolute, just, and holy God demands this concerning
his son. Awake, O sword, against the man
who is my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow. Sayeth the Lord of hosts, smite
the shepherd. Then hear him, the smitten shepherd
While he trods the winepress alone, cry out through that darkness,
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? He's alone. He's alone. Proverbs, I believe it is, speaking
of Christ and the Father from eternity. I was with Him. The Son says, I was with the
Father. I was daily His delight. When He put the stars in the
heavens, I was there. When He laid the foundation of
the earth, I was there. I was always before Him, pleasing
to Him. Never was a time that God the
Father, God the Son, weren't one. And yet, on the cross, He said, God, my God, I'm alone. Where are you, my God? You see
why I say, why I ask? Was there ever such loneliness
as that? Oh, but then, then, because of
that, our glorious, glorious Savior, our substitute, cries,
it is finished. You want to say amen? It won't
hurt my feelings. It is finished. Bless God, it's
finished. The job's done. It's finished. I've done exactly what my father
sent me here to do. Exactly. Nothing left to be done. Nothing
can be added to this. It's finished. I've put away
the sins of my people. It's finished. I brought in an
everlasting righteousness. It's finished. I made an end
to transgression. It's finished. Glory to God. Then and there, by himself, he
purged our sins forever. By himself, he entered in once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And
God says, to every sinner Jesus Christ redeemed, deliver his
soul from going down to the pit, I've found a ransom." And each
ransomed soul says, God forbid that I should glory, saving the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I into the world. They want a glory in their legal
works, let them. As for me, Paul says, God forbid,
I won't do it. I won't do it. By the cross of
Christ is meant the all-sufficient, all-satisfactory sacrifice of
Christ with the whole work of redemption. Brothers and sisters,
would Paul have gloried in a mere attempt at redemption? Of course
not. Or an offer to redeem? A possibility
of redemption? Or an incomplete redemption?
That something from you or I has to be added to to make it work,
to make it effectual? That's just nonsense. That's
not worth glorying in. No, an atonement that doesn't
atone? No. If Christ did no more than that,
there's nothing to glory in, there's no hope, nothing to rest
in, nothing to trust. Oh, but again, hear the captain
of our salvation say, plainly, it is finished. And every believing
redeems sinner Christ, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but
unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. I read this statement. I don't
recall reading it before it was in someone's bulletin, perhaps
one of you brothers. Martin Luther said this. I like
this. He said, when I look at myself,
I don't see how I can be saved. But when I look at Christ, I
don't see how I can be lost. I like that. Another thought. What a miracle, what a marvel,
what mercy and grace of God there is in the salvation of a sinner. What majesty, what power, what
grace. Ask Saul of Tarsus. Man, he was
very religious, he was very zealous, and he was very lost. Imagine being there and seeing
that same man one day stand up and preach the gospel that he
had once labored to destroy. Can you imagine that? Saul, what
happened to you? Are you the same fellow that
came to Damascus with a saddlebag full of warrants to arrest God's
people? And now you're preaching the
gospel of the glory of God? The gospel of Christ? Paul, did
you make a decision? Did you walk down an aisle? No,
Paul said, I'll tell you what. No, no. This is what happened.
You've heard of my conversation in times past. You know how I
lived. In the Jews religion, you know how beyond measure I
persecuted the church of God and I wasted it. And that was
my determination to waste it. And I profited in the Jews religion
above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly
zealous of the tradition of my fathers. But, but, when it pleased
God, oh, lost sinner. God make you hear
this. Make you believe this. Salvation's
not up to you. It's not up to you. It's not
up to your will or your decision or anything about you. It's up
to God. But God Cry out to God, God have
mercy on me, I'm the sinner. But when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, and he
didn't say oh pretty please Saul, no come down rebel, come down
sinner, and he came down. What about old blind Bartimaeus?
Bartimaeus? Martin seen Bartimaeus after
he had, the Lord, the great shepherd had found him. Man, he just,
he just can't behave himself. Bartimaeus, what are you so happy
about? What are you so joyful about?
He said, man, don't you remember
me? I was blind. I'm the same fella that sat every
day of my life at the gate in Jericho begging for somebody
to give me an arm. Just a blind beggar. But I'm
not blind anymore. He would say one day I sat him
there and there was a greater commotion than usual and asked
what it meant. And they told me that Jesus of
Nazareth was passing by. He's the one opened my blinded
eyes. But he said, let me tell you this. When they told me that,
I started to cry out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
on me. Please have mercy on me. Please
don't pass me by. Please, please have mercy on
me. And he would say to you, Bartimaeus
would, you're not going to believe this part. It's almost too good
to believe. But let me tell you what happened
then. Jesus stood still. Oh my soul, Jesus at the voice
of one poor blind beggar, a sinner. stood still. He always does. He always does. For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, have shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and calls us to approach unto thee. If that happens, you'll
never get over it. You'll never get over it. I'm
not at all surprised when I know of people who walked down a church
aisle or made a decision and they soon get over it. Well,
why not? The sooner the better. I mean,
what is marvelous about that? Nothing miraculous about that. That which is of the flesh is
flesh. and it profits nothing. How sad, how sad, isn't it, brethren,
that the mighty operation of our God, the God of all grace,
is reduced to such a dishonoring thing as that. Nonsense. I like what, let me just share
this with you. Just a few days after Charles
Spurgeon had died, a man by the name of Robertson Nicole, I think
is how you pronounce that, but he was an editor and a publisher
that lived in London during Spurgeon's ministry. And just a few days
after Spurgeon died, he wrote this. He said, Mr. Spurgeon always
made salvation a wonderful, a supernatural thing. One through battle and
agony and garments rolled in blood. This great and hard-won
battle was sure. That is, it did not stand in
the creature. It rested absolutely with God. It was not of man, nor of the
will of the flesh. Mr. Spurgeon's hearers, many
of them, had all missed the prizes of life. But God did not choose
them for the reasons that moved man's preference, else their
case was hopeless. Their election was of grace. And as he chose them, he would
keep them. Many a poor girl, with the love
of Christ and goodness in her heart, working her fingers to
the bone for a bare penance that just keeps her alive, with the
temptations of the streets around her and the river beside her,
listened with all her soul when she heard that Christ's sheep
would never perish. Oh, the marvel of God's grace. I love personally, and I'm aware
I used this before, but I love old Bunyan's picture of a sinner
coming home to their savior. In his famous allegory, Pilgrim's
Progress, he says, I dreamed and behold I saw a man clothed
with rags, standing in a certain place with his face from his
house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. Woe is me. God got him lost. That's what happened. You ever
been lost? Spurgeon, I'm sorry, Bunyan wrote, now I saw in my
dream that the highway upon which Christian was to go was fenced
on either side with a wall, and that wall was called salvation.
Up this way, therefore, did burden Christian run, but not without
great difficulty, the cause of the load on his back. Brothers
and sisters in Christ, do you remember that? You remember that,
don't you, Todd? I can't get it off. Donna can't
get it off. They said, come up to the altar,
and I did. But the burden, it wasn't gone. Repeat after me,
and I did, until they got sick of seeing my face. But the burden
was still there. Oh yeah, I remember the bird.
I remember that bird. If I wasn't so fearful of going
to hell at the end of my life, I remember lying in bed at night.
Oh God, have mercy on me. Bunyan wrote, he ran thus till
he came at a place somewhat ascending and upon that place stood a cross
and a little bit low in the bottom, a sepulcher. So I saw in my dream
that just as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders and it
fell from off his back and began to tumble and so continued to
do so until it came to the mouth of the sepulcher and it fell
in and I saw it no more. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for that thy
truth's sake. He went on to write, then Christian
was glad and lightsome. You don't hear that word much
anymore, do you? Lightsome. Just light, that burden's gone.
and say with a merry heart, he had given me rest from my sorrow
and life by his death. Then he stood awhile to look
and wonder, for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the
cross should thus ease him of his burden. He therefore looked
and looked again, even until the springs that were in his
head sent the waters down his cheeks. Then Christian gave three leaps
of joy. Well, why not? And went on singing. Thus far did I come laden with
my sin, nor could I ease the grief that I was in, till I came
hither. Oh, what place is this? Must
here be the beginning of my bliss? Must here be the burden that
fell from my back? Must here be the strains that
bound it to me crack? Oh, blessed cross, blessed sepulcher,
blessed rather be, the man that was there put a shame to me,
for me rather. God forbid that I should glory.
One of my favorite hymns. And probably most of you too.
or William Cowper, Cooper, there is a fountain. There is a fountain. There was a time in his life
that he suffered with depression. And he was committed to an asylum. He had attempted to take his
life. And a relative visited him there, a cousin I think.
to try to talk to him, this man was a believer, the visitor,
to try to speak to Cowper's depression, read the word of God to him.
Cowper afterwards wrote that he burst into tears and said,
this is the first time that I've seen a ray of hope. When the friend had gone, Cowper
opened the Bible, and by the providence of God, his eyes fell
on this verse. Whom God has set forth to be
of propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, And Copper said that account of the redeeming
work of Christ touched his heart and he believed. And then he wrote this, that's
when he wrote the hymn. There is a fountain. Basing it
up on this verse in Zechariah 13 and 1. In that day there shall
be a fountain opened in the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. There is a fountain. drawn, filled with blood, drawn
from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that blood. Lose all. Lose all their guilty
stains. E'er since by faith, oh God, don't let me forget this. E'er since by faith I saw the
stream, thy flowing wounds supplied. Redeeming love has been my theme. and shall be till I die. And
I like the last one especially. Oh dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. When God the Father says to the
returning, stinking, filthy prodigal, Put the best robe on him. Cover that filth up. Bring forth
the best robe, put it on him. Clothe that sinner in the absolute
perfect righteousness of my son. And once God says put the robe
on him, he'll never say take it off. Never. May the righteousness
of God in him. The garments of salvation shall
never wear thin. The robe of righteousness in
which the Lord God has clothed us shall never wax old. The beauty
of our Savior upon us, his own beauty, is a beauty that will
never fade away. Let me close with a last thought. When we have these conferences,
I said we, because I'm here. Anyway, I can't help thinking,
especially Last service tomorrow, and we'll sing. Maybe we'll sing
till we meet again. And I'm sure you do the same
thing. I'm thinking, oh, I wonder. Because I pastored a little flock. My flock, these two front pews
probably take care of everybody. But this is a joyful time. But
I'm thinking, oh, what's it going to be like? What's it going to be like when
all the redeemed All Christ's sheep, the Great Shepherd brings
them all around the throne of His God and our God and His Father
and our Father. And He says, Father, here they
are. Here's everyone I was responsible for. They're all here. Everyone
you gave me that I pledged to be responsible or surety for,
they're all here. and they're without spot, or
blemish, or any such thing. And they sing as it were a new
song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders,
and no man could learn that song, but the hundred and forty and
four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. Do you know that
tune? Salvation to our God which setteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, the same glorious theme,
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. And before I sit down,
I'm asking you, like nobody was here but me and you, will you
be there? Will you be there? Is that your song now? If not, if not, may God in mercy
teach you it by revealing his son to you. And then, I don't
have a doubt about it, you'll sing of mercy great and grace
free. The one who bought us with his
blood now reigns on high the son of God. This fact our every
fear should quell, Christ Jesus has done all things well. And
when to that bright world we rise, and join the anthems of
the skies, above the rest this note shall swell. My Jesus has
done all things well. Not unto us a war, not unto us. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.