I'll take as my text from Psalm
145 that we read together a moment ago, verse 5. David says, I will
speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous
works. My subject from that text is
this, wonders of grace, wonders of grace. You may think, Larry,
That's a big subject. You might be biting off more
than you can chew. You're exactly right. You're
exactly right. It's bigger. Bigger than I am. Bigger than I'm able to expound
and bigger than you would be able to take in if I were able
to expound it. But let's do, as God enables
us to, like those birds I was watching the other evening on
the lake. I don't know what type they are, but they fly very near
the water, the surface of the water. And then every now and
then they dip down, get a drink I suppose, and then off they
would fly. And I thought, my soul, what
little they take compared to how much is left behind is almost
insignificant, is it? And we're skimming along this
morning on the ocean of God's grace. It's an ocean of grace. And if he'll allow us, we're
going to dip down, if he enables us to do it, and take a drop. And knowing, knowing that there's
still an ocean of raining, of bounding, sufficient grace. Let me read a portion of an article
by our dear friend Henry Mahan. The title of it is The Wonder
of it All. The Wonder of it All. Henry said,
I can appreciate the ability of a botanist to give me the
scientific names of a rose. The origin of it, the various
types of roses, how they grow and so forth. But too often,
those who become overly entangled in these things somehow lose
the most important thing, the beauty, the fragrance of the
rose. Henry said, I hope in our preaching
and teaching and witnessing concerning the gospel of our dear Savior,
we don't become more concerned with the system than with the
sweetness, with the mechanics rather than the mercy. with the
right terminology rather than the right spirit and attitude. You will soon worry my head if
you don't warm my heart. And while I'm eager to learn
more of how and why and when I got to Christ, I would like
to rejoice and enjoy my relationship with Christ. He is my rose of
Sharon, which brightens my life and sends his sweet fragrance
through my soul. One can preach about Christ and
not preach Christ. Just as one can know how God
saved sinners without being a saved sinner. Oh, the wonder of it
all, just to think that Christ loves me. Sinners redeemed with
wonder tale. Christ Jesus has done all things
well. By his great sin atoning blood,
believing we have peace with God. All the wonders of God's
grace. Today we'll observe the Lord's
Supper. And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
5 that even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, of course
referring to that first Passover, which was a type of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Will you turn back to that for
a moment in Exodus chapter 11? Moses is speaking as God commanded
him to do to the children of Israel. concerning this last
plague that he would send upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. In
Exodus chapter 11 verse 4, And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord,
About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. from the
firstborn of Pharaoh that setteth upon his throne, even unto the
firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the meal, and
all the firstborn of the beast. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall be like it any more." But, verse 7, But, but what? But God, but grace, but mercy. Oh, what sweet music. But against
any of the children of Israel should not a dog move his tongue. Against man or beast, that you
may know, that you may know, how that the Lord doth put a
difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Thank God for his
grace. Now chapter 12, for I will pass
through verse 12, I'm sorry, of chapter 12. God says, for
I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast,
and against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment. I am
the Lord and the blood. Christ our Passover. and the
blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are.
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. I will pass over
you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when
I smite the land of Egypt." I can only imagine how thankful Israel must have been that dreadful
night when God Almighty did as he promised, as he said he would
do, in executing judgment. How thankful those in the houses
that were marked with blood must have been. Did they hear the
screams? Did they hear the cry when the death angel passed through
with death all around? I'm sure they did. How thankful they had to be to
hear to hear, to be reminded, when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. Isn't that glorious? Because
God is going to execute judgment again. And everyone who is not
in the house marked with blood. Everyone whose sins have not
been put under the blood of Christ our Passover shall perish. But God says to those in Christ
Jesus, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. There was
only one Passover. There was only one lamb, rather,
that served as a Passover. Just as there was only one ark,
during the flood, and only those who were in the ark were spared. Likewise, only those who were
in the houses marked with the blood of the sacrificed lamb
were passed over. Even so, there is but one mediator
between God and man, and that's the man Christ Jesus. Now with
that in mind, turn with me to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter
8. We'll spend the rest of our time
here. Romans 8, verse 1. Romans 8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. There is. Is. This is no fable. This is not
a fairy tale. This is so. There is. Therefore,
now. Now. Oh, remember where now once
found us. It found us here. At that time,
you were without Christ. Being aliens from the Commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope. Once, that's where now found
us. It perhaps finds some here even this morning in that same
state. Having no hope and without God in the world. But, but, now in Christ Jesus
you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood. Christ our Passover are made
nigh by the blood of Christ now. Just as Paul tells us in Romans
8 and 1. There is therefore now. Think
about it. Now. There is therefore now,
imagine if it read like this, a large sum of money deposited
into your savings account. Hmm, really? That's all some
people will live for. But what is that worth when God
may, as our Lord taught concerning the rich fool, this night, this
night God said to that man who said, I've got so much laid up
I'm going to have to build bigger barns. I mean, the ones I have
are not big enough, Mike. I'm going to have to build bigger
barns to put all my stuff in. And then I'm going to relax.
I'm going to retire. And I'm going to take my ease.
And I'm going to say to my soul, eat, drink, and be merry, because
thou hast much laid up, much goods laid up for many years.
But God, but God, said, you're a fool, you're a fool. Tonight,
this very night, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee, then who shall those things be? Oh no, Romans
8 and 1 speaks of the true riches. It speaks of the riches of God's
grace in Christ. Oh the wonder of that. The riches
of Christ. His people are made joint heirs
with Him. And there's a treasure in heaven
that can't be lost, that can't decay, that can never be destroyed,
can never even be forfeited by you and I. Believers possess
that right now. Right now. There is therefore
now no condemnation, literally not one condemnation. Nothing for which God Almighty
condemns us. Not now, not ever. How much is
that worth? Oh, my soul. How much is that
worth? How much is the sweet assurance
that I am His and He is mine? How much is that worth? How much
is it worth? to lie down on your bed and know
tonight if my soul is required of me, if this very night God
Almighty ushers me into his August holy presence, there is no condemnation
because I'm in Christ Jesus. How much is that worth? McShane put it this way. He said,
when I hear the wicked call on the rocks and hills to fall,
when I see them start and shrink on the fiery deluge break, then,
Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe. Oh, what is the value? What will
be the value of being in Christ Jesus when the Son of Man shall
come in His glory and all the holy angels with him. And then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him
shall be gathered all nations, that you and me. And he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. How
much will it be worth in that day to be found in him? There you stand. There you stand,
child of God, before that same holy and just God who just said,
depart from me, I never knew you. Now you stand before that
same God. He opens his mouth to speak,
but there are no words concerning the part. It's all, welcome,
welcome. He smiles and says to you, come
ye, blessed of my Father, inherited, keen, and prepared for you from
the foundation of the world. My, so what a wonder that is. What a marvel that is. How can
that be? What makes them to differ? Why
are they not included in that multitude who say, Lord, you
remember us? We did many marvelous things
in your name. We were religious. We went to
the first Baptist church. My granddaddy helped build the
place. I made my decision. You remember us. And he says,
no, I don't. I don't know you. I never knew
you. Depart from me. And then there
stand you and I before that same God. And he says, not to go away,
but enter in. Enter into the joy, the joy of
being with Christ forever. How can that be? Why is that
so? Because you're in Christ Jesus. That's the only reason. There
can be none other. Because you're in Christ Jesus
who was condemned in your place. That's why there's no condemnation
to those who are in him because he was condemned in our place. You see, we have a substitute. We have a substitute. Oh, the
wonder of God's grace. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you on him that is Christ, our Passover. on him
almighty justice fell that must have sunk a world to hell. He
bore it for a chosen race and thus became our hiding place. That's why you have the therefore
in our text. Paul tells us in the previous
chapter what it's there for. Look in chapter 7. Look in chapter
7, verse 4. Wherefore my brethren, Chapter
7, verse 4 of Romans. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you
should be married to another, even to him who is raised from
the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Look at verse 24. Paul cries
out concerning this battle between the old man and the new, between
the new nature and the old, Oh, wretched man that I am, he cries,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And he answers, I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, high king of heaven, my victory
won. There is therefore now no condemnation
because Jesus Christ paid it all. He paid it all. and has
redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse
for us." He died. He died. Just like that which
typified him. That slain lamb whose blood was
applied to the doorpost and the lintel in the houses in Egypt. He died like that lamb. And on
holy and just grounds, God declares now, in light of that, in view
of that, because of that, I will pass over you. It's a matter
of justice. It's a matter of justice. God
sees in the sacrifice of his son In his shed blood, it's true
value. Oh, God sees as you and I can. God sees the true worth. the
true sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, to
put away sin, to satisfy his justice, to actually make an
atonement, to pay in full the ransom price. And seeing that,
God declares, deliver his soul. Deliver their soul from going
down to the pit. I've found a ransom. And God
sees all that as only God can. And he declares, that's enough. That's enough. I'm satisfied. Our Passover lamb, the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, after offering himself without spot to God,
cried, it's done. It is finished. And God Almighty
said, amen. It's done. I'm satisfied. He can never say that concerning
anything else, especially anything your hands have wrought. Oh,
but concerning his son, We read here in Romans 8, therefore there
is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Verse
34, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Sinners redeemed with wonder
tell Christ Jesus has done all things well. Paul in chapter
7 confesses sin remaining in him, sin disturbing, sin vexing,
but never sin reigning again because grace reigns. Never sin
ruining again. Are you still in chapter 8? Look
at verses 3 and 4. Romans 8 verses 3 and 4. For
what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
may liken to his brethren, and for sin condemn sin in the flesh,
that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Turn back
to chapter 3 verse 21. Romans 3 and verse 20. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness which is of God, which is by
the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe,
for there is no difference. God calls the law to the stand,
And it's no longer for the believer a witness for the prosecution.
No. It's a witness for the defense.
It testifies why those in Christ cannot be condemned. The law
says, I condemned Christ in their place. I was satisfied in punishing
Christ in their stead. Therefore, these for whom he
was the substitute, these for whom he suffered, as a matter
of justice, they must go free. They must go free. Brothers and
sisters in Christ, isn't it a marvelous thing that that law that was
once a terror to you and I, is now our friend. It now argues
not why we should not be accepted, but why we must be accepted. God cannot demand payment twice. Oh, how unjust that would be.
You mean to tell me God Almighty punished Jesus Christ for my
sins and then he'll turn around and punish me for those same
sins? Oh, what a What a sorry thought
concerning the just and holy God. It cannot be. Brothers and
sisters in Christ, eat the bread and drink the wine knowing this,
without the shedding of blood is no remission. That is exactly
right. But know this as well, that you
have been redeemed. Oh, I like that. I like that. Because all the time I hear people
talk about Jesus tried to redeem. They don't find that in God's
book. Jesus made redemption possible. What Jesus did on the cross will
be successful if you do something with it in time. No, no, no. Thank God, no. Jesus Christ said,
it is finished. We have been redeemed. Redeemed. Not with silver and gold, but
with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as of a land without
blemish and without spot. And know this, when you eat the
bread and drink the wine, remember, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all sin. Oh, High King of Heaven! My victory
won. He entered in one time into the
presence of God Almighty because he had already obtained eternal
redemption for us. Oh, the wonders of God's grace. How precious. Oh, concerning
the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, how precious is the flow
that makes us white as snow. How precious. Come now, God says,
and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be. I like God's shells, don't you? So much more comforting than
man's maybes and hopesos and perhaps. God says, they shall
be as white as snow, and though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool. Now consider the greatest wonder
of the redeemed, And that is their Redeemer. Their Redeemer. Was that not the name given to
Him? That Son given, that Child born unto us? His name shall
be called Wonderful. Wonderful. John, you made reference
to the Song of Solomon this morning. She's looking for her Beloved.
How should we know him from anybody else? What makes him so special?
Why does he stand out? Oh, you don't understand. If
you see him, if you ever see him, if you really see him, you'll
know why he's so special. There's not a blemish in him.
Oh, he's the lily of the valley. He's perfect and so is our Redeemer. Oh, the most wonderful thing
about our faith is that one in whom we trust, the one in whom
we believe. I was reading the articles your
former pastor wrote and are now, so many of them included in the
book, line up online. He said in this article, I read
this sentence and I said, oh, I'm going to save that and I
did. It will be in next Sunday's bulletin. Brother Tommy wrote,
true God-given faith is not in the work of Jesus Christ, but
in Jesus Christ who did the work. There's a difference. Roger,
I suppose when he got older, knew something of the struggle
that his daddy had sometimes making ends meet. Lester, a lot
of times there was too much month left at the end of the money. He perhaps was thinking about
that when he asked me the other day. He said, Dad, did you ever
think that someday you would live in a house and you wouldn't
have to pay rent or have a house payment like you do now? But
I'll tell you a greater wonder than that. Something I never
dreamed of. You're looking at a man who's in Christ Jesus, who will
never be condemned, who's accepted into beloved. My soul. Now that's a wonder. Now that's
a marvel. Into beloved. God's marvelous
grace calls me to dwell in this wonderful place. God sees my
Savior and then he sees me in the beloved, accepted and free. And that's exactly why there's
no condemnation and never will be. Christ now standing before
God because he obtained eternal redemption for us. He wouldn't
be there otherwise. He wouldn't be there otherwise.
We were chosen in him. What a wonder that is. Turn a
few pages over here in Romans to chapter 11. Chapter 11. Romans
chapter 11. Verses 4 and 5. What sayeth the answer of God
unto him? That is Elijah who thought he
was the only one left. God says, I reserve to myself
7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Even so, even so, Paul makes application of that glorious
truth to the day that he lived in. Even so, at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. Oh, thank God for that. At this
present time also. That's always true. That's always
true. That's why we read in John 4
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, he must needs go through Samaria
because there's a woman there. There's a poor cast out shamed,
sinful woman. She's been passed from man to
man to man and lo and behold Oh, the wonder of God's grace.
That woman is one of the multitude that God Almighty put in the
hands of Jesus Christ before the world was ever created. And
Christ said, I'll be responsible for her. I'll be her surety. He must needs go through some
miracles. That day is the day of love.
And lo and behold, he calls that woman to himself. Yes, because
even at this present time, there's an election of grace. Lo and
behold, he tells his disciples, we go up to Jerusalem. And this
takes place just shortly thereafter, after he spoke these words. And
the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto
the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death. and shall deliver
him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and scourge him,
and shall spit upon him, and they shall kill him. And the
third day he shall rise again." And he says, behold, let's be
going. And there he is, set his face
like a flint. He could not be deterred. I have
a cup, or rather a baptism to be baptized with, and how am
I straightened to it be accomplished? Peter, put up your sword. The
cup which my father had given me, shall I not drink it? And
yet, Mike, on the way to do that, on the way to lay down his life
for us, on the way to bring in an everlasting righteousness,
to put an end to sin, to bear them all away, to be made sin
for His people, that they might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. On His way to do that, He hears
the cry of one poor, blind, discarded beggar, and Jesus Christ stops
dead in His tracks. What a Savior! What a Savior!
He hears the cry of one poor, ragged beggar, Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me. And God Almighty in the flesh
stops dead in his tracks. Why? Because at that present
time also there's a remnant according to the election of grace. Even
more wondrous, he hangs on the cross, accomplishing the redemption
of his people. And even then, even then, A thief,
a guilty thief, who admits he's getting exactly what he deserves,
looks over at him. Oh my, the wonder of God's amazing
grace. He drops into that dying man's
heart the precious gift of faith. And he looks over at that man
on the middle cross, beard plucked out. crown of thorns, beaten
to a pulp, his back lacerated, the spit of the Roman soldiers
still on his face, and he looks through all that by God's grace
and he sees the Son of God, his Savior, and he said, remember
me, Lord, remember me. When you come into thy kingdom,
and the Lord said, verily I say unto you, today, today, Today,
thou shalt be with me in paradise. Oh my soul, what wondrous grace
has wrought, redeemed by Him. Is that not wondrous indeed?
When we take the bread in a moment and the wine, may we remember
the words of our Savior who said that first night that He instituted
it. He said, I laid down my life
for the sheep. He said, this is my blood which is shed for
you. This is my blood which is shed
for you. Really? Really? For me? He loved me. And he gave himself. He gave
all of himself. For me, my soul, what a wonder. Oh, what a wonder of His grace.
But it gets better. It's even more wondrous. Our
great high priest prayed, Father, I will also that those whom you
have given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my
glory. I want them with me. I want them
with me. And they shall see, they shall
see his face without a veil between, without a glass darkly in between. They'll see him perfectly because
they'll view him without seeing. Wow! Without seeing. Oh, perfect vision on the Mount
of Transfiguration The cloud passed, and the disciples were
afraid. Peter, James, and John, and the Lord came and touched
them, said, Arise, don't be afraid. And we're told, when they lifted
up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only." Perfect vision. Perfect vision. His face. I've
never been able to think of a illustration to set forth what that would
be. How to illustrate that? They
shall see his face. This is a feeble, feeble illustration. But I remember years ago, my
big brother, my oldest brother Jim, some of you met him. He
joined the Navy. He came home after basic training
and then he was gone for two years or longer. We never saw
him. He was on a ship all over the world. I always looked up
to him. I always looked up to my big
brother, my older brother. Admired him. I hadn't seen him
for such a long time. One day I was coming home and
one of my sisters came running out and she said, Jimmy's home. Jimmy's home. I said, oh, don't
tease me. He's sitting right in the house.
Jimmy's home. And I went in and there he sat.
There he sat. Soon, soon I'm going home to
my father's house and I'm going to see my elder brother. I'm going to see my Savior, my
Redeemer, Jesus Christ Himself. Oh my soul, what a wonder that
will be. Behold, what manner of love, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us. that we should be called the
sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew
him not. Beloved, now, now, are we the
sons of God? And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. That 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 I rise, and join the anthems in the skies,
among the rest this note shall swell, my Jesus has done all
things well. All the wonders of his grace. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.