My text for this evening is very
brief. You'll find it in the last line
of Isaiah chapter one and verse 20. Isaiah chapter one and verse
20. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it. God has spoken. That's the title
of my message. God has spoken, but nobody much
seems to care. The brilliant, well-trained intellectual
doesn't care that God has spoken. He wants proof. He wants to tickle
his brain. He wants to follow science. He
wants to follow his logic. He patterns everything after
what he considers just his own good sense. God has spoken. The unbeliever, the rebel doesn't
care. He answers to nobody. He's his
own master. He does his own thing. He insists
on having his own way. God has spoken. The religious
fellow doesn't much care, neither the liberal nor the conservative.
He just follows the trend and the traditions set before him.
And he hears the traditions, and he follows those things that
are given generation after generation, from father to son and mother
to daughter, generation after generation, without regard to
what God has said in his word. God has spoken. The charismatic,
the Pentecostalist doesn't care. He only wants to know what he
can feel, what the preacher says he has seen, what visions he's
had, what experience he's had. God has spoken. I wonder if you
and I will pay any attention. God has spoken. The mouth of
the Lord has spoken it. The sermon that Isaiah preached
was not his, but the Lord's. The people heard Isaiah's voice,
but it was God who spoke. The lips that delivered the message
were Isaiah's lips, but the word spoken and the message delivered
were God's. The prophet of God spoke with
boldness, confidence, dogmatism, and authority because he knew
the message he preached was indeed the very word of God. He spoke with confidence. He
spoke with dogmatism. He spoke with unflinching authority
because he understood what he was preaching was the very word
of God. I try my best to do what I can
to help preachers, especially young men who are beginning this
work of preaching the gospel. I make it my business never to
come into the pulpit here or elsewhere and offer my opinion
about what a text means. I don't come and discuss with
you what I've studied and my ideas, it may mean this, it may
mean that, it may mean the other. I leave those things in the study
until I am thoroughly convinced that God has taught me what a
passage says, I won't attempt to tell you what it says. That
man who preaches God's word knowing that what he is preaching is
what God has said, what God has written in his book and inscribed
on his heart, that man and that man alone can preach with authority
and dogmatism. What did Isaiah preach to those
who heard his voice? In this first chapter, he clearly
declared man's utter and total depravity. He said the mouth
of the Lord spoken it. Your children who are corruptors. Dumber than the ox and dumber
than the ass because you don't know how you live. You don't
worship the God who feeds you and sustains you. He declared
God's unconditional election of grace, saying the Lord has
left us a very small remnant. Otherwise, we would have just
been like Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed in our lasciviousness
and ungodliness. And he declared the utter uselessness. the utter uselessness of religion
without the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Religion, the practice
of religion, no matter how orthodox, the practice of religion, no
matter how precisely it is ordered after the pattern of Holy Scripture,
the mere practice of religion is damning and not saving. Religion without Christ is nothing
but the exercise of idolatry in the name of God. You must
know God in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle or
the prophet here declares the utter impossibility of self-salvation. He said, you make your hands
clean. You clean up your ways. You put away your sins. You straighten
out your life. You can't do that. You perform
righteousness and everything's all right. You put away sin and
everything's all right, but you can't do that. And then he declares
the free grace of God to sinners, helpless, poor, needy sinners
in Jesus Christ the Lord. He said, you come to me. You
listen to me. You reason with me. And though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." And when he
had finished preaching, when he had delivered his message,
he said this last word in verse 20, the mouth of the Lord had
spoken it. He had delivered the burden of
the word of the Lord. He had delivered his soul in
delivering the burden of the word of the Lord. Having done
his work, he laid this terrible weight of responsibility upon
the hearts of those who heard him. The mouth of the Lord has
spoken it. Now it is your responsibility
and mine. to hear God's word, to believe
God's word, and to obey God's word in every detail of faith
and life. It is your responsibility and
my responsibility to hear what God says in this book, to obey
what God says in this book, to believe what God says in this
book. It is our responsibility to do
so. Now that said, this text, the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it, does five things. It declares
the infallibility of Holy Scripture. Second, it gives authority to
the gospel we preach. Third, it is the basis of our
appeal to sinners to trust the Lord Jesus. And fourth, it sets
forth the urgency of our message. And then last, the mouth of the
Lord has spoken it, is the very foundation of our faith. First,
understand this. Our text, the mouth of the Lord
has spoken it, declares the infallibility of Holy Scripture. It assures
us that this book, this book, this book right here, what you
hold in your hand is the very word of God. Now I know there's
lots of debate about inspiration and so forth and folks looking
for all kinds of modern translations, but God has graciously preserved
his word in every generation for his people in their language. The New Testament was written
in what is called Koine Greek. not classical Greek, not the
classical language, but the common language of everyday people.
It was written deliberately for that purpose. God gave his word
in the language of the people. And you have in your lap, in
your hand, God's Word. I don't mean this contains the
Word of God, and if you sift through the rubble, you can find
some nuggets here and there. I mean what you have in your
hand is the very Word of God, inspired, inerrant, infallible. The mouth of the Lord has spoken
it. Let's look at two passages in
this regard. 1 Timothy, or 2 Timothy, rather, chapter 3. 2 Timothy,
chapter 3. All scripture, the Old Testament
and the New, is one book. It is the infallible, inerrant
record and revelation of that which has been spoken by the
mouth of the Lord. Look here, 2 Timothy 3.16. All
scripture, all scripture, beginning in Genesis, going right through
Revelation, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. The word inspiration means breathed
out, breathed out by God. It's profitable. The whole book
is profitable for doctrine. That's for teaching, for instruction,
for reproof, to reprove our behavior, to reprove our conduct, to reprove
our thinking, to reprove our error. for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, in the righteousness of God in
Jesus Christ the Lord, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works, that the man of God may be made
complete and grown up Completely furnished in the entirety of
his being unto all good works look at 2nd Peter chapter 2 chapter
1 2nd Peter chapter 1 let's begin back up at verse 16 I want you
to see the context in what in which the passage is found 2nd
Peter chapter 1 verse 16 The Apostle Peter is speaking Now
remember, Peter, James, and John had been with the Lord Jesus
on the Mount of Transfiguration. Wouldn't you like to have seen
that? You ever think about that? Those
three men saw the Lord Jesus transfigured before their face,
giving them a revelation of the glorified body of Christ before
ever he died. They saw him standing on the
Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah. And they heard
Moses and Elijah speaking to him about the death he would
accomplish at Jerusalem. Wow, what a word. Man, if I could
have a vision like that, I believe I'd take care of things. How
about you? If I could just have, if I had some kind of vision
like that, that would give credibility to everything. Now listen to
what Peter says about it. We have not followed cunningly
devised fables. cunningly devised fables. I told
you this morning about a man, self-appointed prophet. He had
his picture, I forgot which magazine it was, one of the national magazines,
Time or Newsweek, one of them. He's preaching in 1946, and the
light kindly made a funny image over his head, and he advertised
it as being the pillar of fire God sent to the children of Israel
over his head. And I said, oh, we've not followed cunningly
devised fables. No, no, we're not telling you
fairy tales. when we made known unto you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. John said, we saw and heard and
handled the word of life. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the
Father honor and glory. When there came such a voice
to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. And this force which came from
heaven, we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. Now
that's something else. Now, hold on now. Pick your Bible
up again. Got it in your hand? Now listen
to what Peter says. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. Merle Hart, you've got something
in your hand more certain than the vision and revelation Peter,
James, and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. Wow. You see, a fellow could be deceived
by what he thought he saw. A fellow can be deceived by what
he thinks he experiences. A fellow is often deceived by
what he feels. But we have here a more sure
word of prophecy. where unto ye do well that you
take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until
the day dawn and the day star arise in this dark place right
here in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy
of scripture is of any private interpretation. It is not to
be isolated from everything else in Scripture or anything else
from Scripture. And it is not interpreted just
by your private opinion of things. For the prophecy, the word of
God, came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. This book,
this volume of Holy Scripture, by virtue of its very existence,
is the greatest miracle in the world. My great-grandfather died
when I was just a boy. If I were to see him rise up
from the dead, that fact would not be so miraculous as the existence
of this book. The greatest miracle in the world
is the book you hold in your hand, the word of God. Now try
to grasp just a little of what was required to give us this
book. The book was written in three languages, Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek. It was written by 40 different
people. People who lived on separate
continents over a period of 1,500 to 1,600 years, and most of them
never knew each other. never talked to each other, never
heard of one another. Parts of it written in palaces,
parts of it in prisons. Parts written by well-educated
people, other parts written by shepherds, farmers, and fishermen. It was written by some during
times of war, pestilence, and danger, and others during times
of ecstatic joy. Those who wrote the words of
the book were taken from virtually every walk of life. princes and
judges, kings and prophets, prime ministers and herdsmen, scribes
and fishermen, all from different walks of life. And yet, in spite
of all the varying circumstances, conditions, and workmen, all
the ages of time required for the writing of the book, this
book is the production as it stands by God the Holy Spirit
is one book. One volume of inspiration. It's perfectly one in all its
parts. It's free of all error, free
of all contradiction. The more I think about the fact,
the more amazing it appears. Running through the book is a
scarlet cord that binds everything together. the reoccurring, constant,
perfect message of scripture. Redemption through the blood
of God's darling son. All these men conspiring together. No, they didn't. No, they didn't.
All of these men writing as they were moved by God, the Holy Ghost,
giving us this perfect volume of inspiration. I can't begin
to describe this as well as A.W. Pink did. Listen to this quote.
Pink said, imagine 40 persons of different nationalities, possessing
varying degrees of musical culture, visiting the organ of some great
cathedral at long intervals of time, and without any collusion
whatever, striking 66 different notes. They just come in, strike
a note. Here comes another one, strikes
a note. Here comes another one, strikes a note. 66 different
notes, stricken over a period of more than 1,500 years by 40
different men. And when you get done, they have
produced the greatest masterpiece of music the world had ever known.
That's nothing compared to this book. Here is the word of God. written by men, moved by God
the Holy Ghost to write his word in perfect harmony with one another. No contradiction, no error of
any kind. I know people use the Bible for
lots of things. This is not a book about history,
but when it speaks of history, it speaks with perfect accuracy.
It is not a book about science, but when it speaks of scientific
matters, it speaks with complete accuracy. This is not a book
about religious dogma. This is a book about redemption,
grace, and salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord. There's only
one possible sane explanation for the existence of this book.
Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Spirit of God. This blessed book has the unique
dignity in this regard. This book alone is the Word of
God. This book alone, I have written
good many books. God's allowed me to do that.
I've written them specifically for your benefit. Everything
I've ever written, I've written as your pastor for your benefit.
If others use it, that's fine. But weigh everything I have written
and any other man has written in the light of this book. Don't
ever weigh this book in the light of what I've written or any other
man has written. This book alone is the Word of
God. It is alone infallibly inspired,
written by men who penned their words as they were moved by the
Spirit of God. Now, I don't know how to state
this as it ought to be stated. Verbal plenary inspiration means
this. God took human instruments and
calls them to write the exact letters informing the words he
would have them to use in the book. And yet their personality
is demonstrated in everything they wrote. So that when you
read John's writings, That's obvious, John wrote that. You
read Paul's writings, even if he didn't put his own signature
to the letter, that's obvious, Paul wrote that. They had distinct
personality in their writings. I often have folks say to me,
I can almost hear you preaching when I read what you write, because
you write just like you preach. That's the way things are, unless
you're pretending something. But these men wrote with their
personality and wrote their own thoughts. But as they did, they
wrote, having God the Holy Spirit dictate to them. I know that's
not commonly accepted in our day. God the Holy Spirit dictated
the very words he would have them to write so that we have
in this book a book authored by God. This book alone has truth,
total truth for its matter. This book alone is able to make
you wise unto salvation, for it reveals the person, the work,
and the glory of God's darling son. Jesus Christ is the word,
the living word, of whom the written word speaks. In fact,
if you could read it in its original language, there are two different
words used for word that are translated word. One is the word
logos. It refers, unless I am mistaken,
in every place to Christ the living word. The other is the
word rabah. It refers in every place to the
written word. This is the word which by the
gospel is preached unto you. The word of our God shall stay
in forever. The opinions of men come and
go. Science, as they call it, varies from age to age. Philosophies
change year by year. But that which God has spoken
in his word is immutable, unalterable, fixed forever. He's the Lord,
supremely good. His mercy is forever sure. His truth, which always firmly
stood, to endless ages shall endure. I've been told many times
that my doctrine is out of date, that I need to get more learned,
more advanced views. And my response is this, and
it's been my response since the first time I heard that suggestion
when I was 19 years old. When God's truth changes, I'll
change. When God updates his word, I'll
update my message. Until then, God helping me, my
doctrine and my message will not be altered for anybody anywhere. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye
in the old ways and see and ask for the old paths where is the
good way and walk therein and you shall find rest for your
soul. Only as you seek and find and
walk in the old way of divine revelation will you find rest
for your souls. I'll tell you something else.
The word of God is attended with mighty power. Where the word
of the king is, there is power. And where the word of God, the
king of the universe is, there is omnipotent power. This word
preached by the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to
everyone that believeth. Back in 1 Peter 1, you may still
be a 2nd Peter, look at chapter 1 of 1 Peter. Peter says in verse
18, for as much as you know, you're not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold. You have been ransomed by corruptible
things from your vain, empty, meaningless manner of life, your
conversation received by tradition from your fathers. but with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him
do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave
him glory that your faith and hope might be in God. seeing
you purified your souls and obeying the truth through the spirit
and the unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one
another with a pure heart fervently. Now, what's this? Being born
again, not of corruptible seed. Born again, not of corruptible
seed, not of the seed of the flesh, but of incorruptible,
incorruptible seed by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. He's talking about the written
word. Born again by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever, for all flesh is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever.
Now watch this. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. So that if a man's preaching
the word, If a man's preaching the word, he's preaching the
gospel. If he's not preaching the gospel, he's not preaching
the word, no matter how verbally accurate his words are. If a
man is not preaching the gospel, he is not expounding Holy Scripture. If a man is not preaching the
gospel, he is not declaring the message of Holy Scripture. The
word is by the gospel preached unto you, and this gospel is
the power of God unto salvation. This word by which the gospel
is preached unto you, is the ordained, the divinely ordained
instrument by which God gives life to dead sinners. There is
no salvation apart from the preaching of the word of God. I know folks
over that That interferes with God's sovereignty. God saves
sinners any way he wants to. He could. He could. He could
save sinners by lightning bolts or by visions or by angels tapping
them on the head. He could save sinners by dogs
barking if he wanted to. But God's purpose is the saving
of sinners by the foolishness of preaching. Oh, what a wonder. God has chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. with the word, the written word
of God. This gospel, the word of God,
is that by which God edifies and strengthens and matures his
saints. It is that by which God gives direction to his people.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. If
you want to know what God would have you to do in any given circumstance
or situation or decision, go to the book. And I promise you,
you'll find the answer. If you want to know what God
would have you to do in any circumstance, go to the book and I promise
you, you'll find the answer. The word of God is by the effectual
power of God the Holy Ghost, the cause of our hope and the
source of our comfort. Remember thy word unto thy servant,
upon which thou has caused me to hope. This is my comfort in
my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me. Some of you have had enough experience
to understand David's word. This is my comfort. when nothing
else can comfort. Your Word has quickened me. Your Word has raised me, as it
were, from the dead. Your Word has given me life anew. This is our doctrine of inspiration. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it. That's a declaration of the infallibility
of Holy Scripture. Reverence this book as the word
of God. Read it with prayerful determination
to understand its message. Believe it implicitly. Proclaim
it boldly. Never be embarrassed to do so.
Second, the mouth of the Lord has spoken it, gives authority
to the gospel we preach. The word of Isaiah the prophet
is nothing. The word of Paul the apostle
is nothing. The word of Peter, James, or
John is nothing. The word of Don Fortner is nothing. But like Isaiah and Paul and
Peter and James and John, I come to you in the name of God with
the word of God. And Mark Henson, if God has given
me his word for you this hour, that's something. That's something. I come to you with thus saith
the Lord. Therefore, I stand before you
with fear and trembling, not fear and trembling of you, but
fear and trembling lest I should mar God's message for any reason. God let me do nothing for fear
of man or favor of man. God's servant must declare God's
word as it is. Some years ago, I was preaching
down in Florida, and the pastor, I was shocked when he said this
to me. He said, you wouldn't preach that message, what I just
finished preaching, at First Baptist Church, would you? I
said, do what? Hey, you wouldn't preach at First
Baptist Church here, would you? As I tell you what, you get the
appointment and tell the folks I'll pay my way and I'll preach
it tomorrow night. What? Would not preach it somewhere? Of course I would. Doesn't matter
who's listening. Doesn't matter what congregation
it is. Doesn't matter who's in the congregation. I preach to
you with plainness and simplicity, lest I alter the impact of God's
message. So when I'm preaching, I make
it my determination that you can't possibly misunderstand
what I say unless you just want to. I preach with utter simplicity,
with determined bluntness and clarity, with dogmatism. One of the men said to my wife
the other night, he wasn't complaining, he was just a little shocked.
He'd never heard such, he said, he admits words when he preaches,
doesn't he? No, you can't. Not if you speak for God. Now,
if I'm speaking like a politician, that's another story. If I'm
speaking to try to win your favor, that's another story. If I'm
here to try to win friends and influence people, that's another
story. Bobby Estes, I'm sent here of God to give you his word. And no matter what you do with
it, that's my responsibility. You understand that? The gospel
preacher declares God's word, and he must preach with absolute
fidelity, lest he be found guilty of treason against God. Oh, God, give me fidelity to
you, to your word, and to your people. But because I preach
to you that which God has spoken, I preach with utmost boldness
and confidence. If I spoke my own words, I might
speak modestly, apologetically, and timidly. But if I have God's
word to deliver, I must bow to no authority but the authority
of God's throne. Not to denominational authority,
not to religious authority, not to civil authority, not to your
authority, only to God's authority. John Bunyan spent 12 years in
Bedford prison. Do you know what it would have
required for him to be released at any time, Merle? At any time. All he had to do was agree not
to preach within 12 miles of Bedford. That's all he had to
do. You can go 13 miles, 12 miles
and one-tenth outside, you'll be fine. But just sign this paper
saying you won't preach within 12 miles of Bedford. He said,
moss will grow over my eyes before I agree not to preach where God's
put me. It's called fidelity to God. I don't preach the gospel by
your permission. Ask for your patience or seek
your approval. I grant I am in the opinion of
most extremely dogmatic, but faithfulness demands dogmatism. Faithfulness demands dogmatism. Just in case you didn't get it,
faithfulness demands dogmatism when the mouth of the Lord has
spoken it. If God has spoken, The controversy is over. There's
no room for human opinion, no room for debate. I know what
God has sent me to preach, and I am heaven bound if I speak
in God's name to preach it. God has sent me to preach the
gospel of his dear son, the Lord Jesus. I say with the apostle
Paul, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. If I don't declare
to men everywhere, every time I preach, ruin by the fall, redemption
by the blood and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. It's my responsibility
to deliver God's message with perseverance and patience. God
will honor his word. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void. It shall accomplish that which
I please. It shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it. I had been fully convinced for
35 years, since first I came to be your pastor, that I'm in
the place where God would have me to be. Every time I had been
asked to consider going somewhere else, pastoring somewhere else,
my response has been, no, I won't consider it. I'd be glad to help
you. But what about this place, that
place, this much larger, much more influential, much more opportunity? I'm in the place of God. And whether God uses me for much
or for little is entirely up to Him. Whether God uses us together
for much or for little is entirely up to Him. But we proclaim God's
word and wait for God to work and do nothing else, do nothing
else. No entertainment, no programs,
no social stuff. If you want that, you can go
across the street, downtown, go to YMCA, join the country
club, whatever you want to do. But it's not going to happen
here. Not on my watch. It's not going to happen here.
Why? Because we are commissioned of God with his word to preach
his word. And the fact is, in the building
of God's kingdom, nothing is of any value or use except the
preaching of the gospel. Nothing else. Everything else
is wood, hay, and stubble. Everything else. Bill Raleigh,
if you come here and start attending church in Danville because Don's
a nice fella and you like the way Don goes with you fishing
and he spends time with the family and your children like him. They
just kind of like him. And you come here and you get
along fine because the congregation's nice, got friends and buddies
here and your wife gets along fine. That's wonderful. That's
no reason. That's no reason. All those things
used of men to entice people into religion is just wood, hay,
and stubble, and it will be burned, I assure you. It will be burned. I watched lots of men. I watched
lots of men. They start to... preach, and
they believe the gospel, but they get involved in this thing
and that thing, and man, folks, they get attracted. They start
coming, and they get-a lot of folks listen to
them. But nobody in the place knows what the fellow's preaching.
I take you-I take you places all over the world throughout
my life as a believer. where men profess to believe
the gospel of God's grace, but they build a church with wood,
hay, and stubble. And the folks sitting in the
pew don't have any idea what the pastor says he believes.
It's all for the pastor, nothing for the people. It is the shepherd
fleecing the flock, not feeding the flock. It's your responsibility
to hear, to receive, to believe, and to obey God's word. And I
promise you, God will not trifle with folks who trifle with his
word. He will hold you accountable for what you hear. He'll hold
you accountable for what you have opportunity to hear and
choose not to hear. Number three, the mouth of the
Lord has spoken it. is the basis of our appeal to
sinners. I don't appeal to you upon the basis of human reason,
human experience, human learning, or human feeling or emotion. I come to you with the bare record
of Holy Scripture. In the name of God, for your
soul's sake, for the glory of Christ, I present to you the
claims of the sovereign Christ, and demand in God's name that
you bow to the son of God. I know this is totally out of
sync with the religious world around us. The gospel, Lindsay,
is not a means by which we coddle folks who hate God. The gospel is always confrontational. You see, the gospel preacher
is the ambassador of the king, and he's sent to meet the king's
enemies, men who are ardently opposed to King Jesus and his
claims. And the gospel preacher demands
that you bow to Christ. Bow to Christ. If you don't bow,
you will surely perish. This is the record that God's
given. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath to witness in himself. What witness is that? He that
hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. Believe the record God has given
about you. Believe what God says about your
sin. your corruption, your depravity. Believe the record God's given
of his son. Believe what God says about the
glorious person of his son, the God-man, our mediator. Believe
what God says about the accomplishments of his son, redemption accomplished
by his blood. Believe the record God's given
about salvation by his free grace. In other words, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. He that believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, he has everlasting life. Fourth, here's the urgency
of our message. The mouth of the Lord has spoken
it. If you refuse and rebel, you
shall be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it. I don't like to talk about judgment
and hell and everlasting damnation. But if you have the notion that
somehow God is too good to punish sin, you don't know how God speaks
of himself. God is too good not to punish
sin. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness. Therefore, he hates the workers
of iniquity and punishes sin. Punishes sin in such a way that
he either eradicates it by the sacrifice of his son in whom
he punished the sins of his people, or he eliminates its influence,
casting the wicked forever in hell as a constant, everlasting
memorial to his justice and truth, lest his creation be cast into
utter chaos. Your righteousness won't save
you from the wrath of God. Your good works won't prevent
God's judgment. You have none. Religious activity
can't save you from the sword of justice. God Almighty has
never failed, not once in the record of this book, has God
failed to execute threatened judgment and justice upon a people. Not once, and he won't today. There is a day coming called
the resurrection and the day of judgment in which the books
will be opened and every man will be judged by God out of
the books according to that which is written. Each one receiving
justly his due, either receiving everlasting salvation, justly
receiving it by the sacrifice of God's Son, or justly receiving
everlasting damnation. refusing to hear God's word. You draw the sword of justice
into your own bosom and drink damnation to your soul. Hear,
believe, and obey that which the mouth of the Lord has spoken. One last thing. The mouth of
the Lord has spoken it. This and this alone is the foundation
of our faith. God has spoken redemption, forgiveness,
salvation, righteousness, faithfulness, preservation, goodness, and mercy,
eternal life in heaven's glory. And he's spoken this word of
promise. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Will you hear
him? God has spoken. Will you believe
him? God has spoken. Will you obey
his voice or will you refuse and rebel and justly draw the
sword of God's wrath into your soul forever? Oh, God help you
to hear. to believe and to obey his word. God has spoken. May he speak
to you. Amen.