What would it be worth to you
this morning? To know that the living God, the eternal, almighty, unchangeable
God looks upon you with an unbroken affection, one that's never ceased One that's never been questioned,
one that's never been in doubt, but an unbroken affection. I'm not talking about a love
for humanity or an affection for all men that we somehow try
to fit into the way religion sets it before the people. I'm
talking about a love for you, for you, as if there was no one
else in the world. A love for you, personally and
individually. You know, when the Lord would
set forth His election before the people in Romans chapter
9, and He said, I did it through
these two children that before they was ever born, before they
ever did any good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto them, the elder
shall serve the younger as it is written. Now listen to this.
Jacob have I loved. Huh? Jacob, one person, one person,
brought it down to one individual. Jacob have I loved all my son. What would that be worth to you? I can say from experience that
when we're sick or in trouble, it's a great comfort to have
someone with you that you know loves you. It's a comfort. What would it be worth to you
this morning to know that the living God loves you, will never
leave you or forsake you, and never cast you out? All right. Here's the second thing I want
to ask you. Add this to it. What would it mean to you this
morning, those of you who are seriously ill, those of you who
are suffering under heavy burden, going through fiery trials, being
drawn away by strong temptations. What would it mean to you to
know that the omnipotent God, the God of all grace and mercy,
has His ear open to your cry? Huh? Listen to this. This is Psalm
3415. Listen to this. The eyes of the Lord are open
upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry. His eyes, he's got his eyes fixed
on his righteous and his ears is tuned for their cry. Those of you who have children,
you remember, When they were just tiny babies, I'm telling
you, your wife had bionic hearing, didn't she? If that baby, I don't
care, if it hiccuped and she was three rooms away, she could
hear it because her ears were tuned to that child. She could
hear. God's ears are always open to
the righteous. Are you filled with a sense of
your sin? Overwhelmed with guilt and doubt
and fear? Acutely aware of your depravity
and the rebellion of your fallen nature? What would it mean to
you to know that you have a Heavenly Father that loves you and has
His ear open to your cry? Thirdly, What would it be worth
to you right now, right now, to know that God, who is before
all things, who knows all things, who owns all things, and who
has all things at His disposal, would spare nothing to secure
your joy and your peace and the security of your eternal soul? What would that be worth? He
that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Now, you can't give all things
unless all things are yours to give. But all things are His
to give. And He's already given us the
greatest thing to prove to us that he'll spare nothing. He'll
spare nothing. All right. Fourthly, what would
it mean to you to find out, to discover that the eternal God
of glory has predestinated you to be his son and to be full
heir, an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ? has appropriated and actively
engaged in everything needed to bring this to pass. And then let me ask you this,
what would it be worth to you to know, not to wonder about
it, not to wonder if it might be possible, what would it be
worth to you to know that there is an effectual God honoring
propitiation for your sins. For your sins. A way for your
sins to be put away which does not compromise the holy character
of God. Justly put your sins away. My friend, that's exactly what
every believer has. in Christ. That's what he has. I invite you this morning to
turn with me to Psalm chapter 4. This is a Psalm of David, Psalm
chapter 4. David was a man who knew troubles. He had troubles within, and troubles
without. David was a man who had enemies. Some he could see. Some he couldn't
see. He had enemies in the world.
He had enemies within him. He had enemies in his own household. And David was a sinful man. He was a man subject to passions
and lusts, and he was a man whose sinful desires led him to commit
adultery, murder, and betrayal, just to mention a few. Yet this man who knew such troubles,
this man who had so great enemies all around him and in him, He
wrote this verse of scripture here in Psalm chapter 4, verse
8. I will both lay me down in peace
and sleep, for thou, Lord, only that is alone makest me to dwell in safety. Huh? What's that worth? Oh, preacher, you don't know
my troubles. Maybe I don't. But I've got many
examples far worse than you in the Scriptures. And I'm told
plainly in the Scriptures what's in the heart of every man. Doesn't
he tell us that? We apply that to everybody else.
We like sometimes I'll mention something, everybody in the room
will turn around and look at somebody back in the back as if I wasn't
talking to them. We're plainly told what's in
the heart of it, evil thoughts. Nobody's exempt from that. Evil
thoughts, murderers, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemy. I'll preach you, I'm not a murderer.
You ever got angry at your brother without a cause? That's to be
guilty of murder. And I know something of the testimony
of God concerning fallen humanity. He loves darkness rather than
light. He walks in the vanity of his
mind. He will not receive the love
of the truth that he might be saved. He drinks iniquity, Job
said, like water. And at his best state, David
said, is altogether vanity. He's so evil that his mind is
said to be enmity against God. It's hostile toward God. Hostility. And his inmost desire is revealed
in Romans 1. not to retain God in his knowledge. He don't even want God in his
thoughts. Well, preacher, how can such
a creature ever hope to lay down in peace and sleep? Most of them
lay down to sleep in ignorance, but here David's talking about
a conscious, peaceful rest. Here's where David found his
rest. For thou, Lord, only, that is, thou, Lord, alone, makest
me dwell in safety. If you're here this morning and
have some interest in these five questions I just asked, I've
got five answers for you. Five scriptural declarations
that if you rightly understand, will allow you to enter into
the sweet rest which is in our Savior, Jesus Christ. How can a vile, depraved, troubled
sinner lay down his head and sleep? Knowing where he's at
in this present evil world, knowing what he is, a child of wrath,
even as others. Knowing how he is, the good that
I would, I do not, and the evil that I would not, that I do. Knowing the sinner's sure end,
the soul that sinneth shall surely die. How can such a one in such
a place with such a nature lay down in peace and sleep, are
you interested? Boy, I tell you, he got my attention
when I looked at it. First of all, because the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ loved us, blessed us,
and made provision for us before the world began. He alone, now
I want you to think about that. Got nothing to do with you and
your works. David said, he alone makes me to dwell in safety.
Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1. I quote this scripture all
the time, but we need to read it every now and then. Ephesians chapter 1, look down
here in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according
to the good pleasure of His will." Now God's not our Father here
in the sense that He's the Creator of all things. I used to have
some friends who belong to a certain denomination. I won't name the
name of it. But when they prayed, they prayed
Father God. And what they meant by that was
the universal fatherhood of God, that He's the Father of all men. Now, God is the Father of creation
in the sense that He's the creator of it. But this is not what He's
talking about here. Here, he's talking about a father
whose son is before him. That's what he's talking about
here. God's not our father in the sense that he's the creator
of all things, but in the sense that he is the father of his
only begotten son, and we have received this adoption through
him. He's the firstborn, the scripture
said, among many brethren. He is the head of the body of
the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. Adam is the first of his race,
and as such, he's the federal head of all mankind. But as Adam
was, so shall his offspring be. In Adam all die. By one man,
sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed
upon all men, for that all sinned. Adam fell. By this man, Adam's
sin entered, and death passed. By this one man's offense, Romans
5.17, death reigned. By the offense of this man, Adam's
judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Romans 5.18. By
this man's disobedience, all of his offspring were made sinners.
Romans 5 verse 19. And according to Romans 5 verse
21, this sin which was passed upon all men, and which all men
give evidence of, has reigned unto death. It's reigned unto
death. It's totally 100% out of your
control and or your ability to stop it, to cease from it, or
to bring it to an end. Can't do it. Can't do it. I know lots of people. Lots of
people. Had one come into church one
Wednesday night or Tuesday night, whatever night we were meeting
on at the time. You may remember. Got there early,
come in. He was about half drunk when
he got there. And he had all planned out what
he was going to do. I'm going to stop this. I'm going
to do that. It's beyond your ability to stop. One sinner. Generating another
sinner, and he in turn another, and another, and another. The
curse of God, according to the scripture, the curse of God is
upon this world. All around you. Upon this world,
upon every man. And the evidence is that light
came into the world and men loved darkness rather than light. Well,
what kind of people did that? That's some little sect over
there in the Middle East. No, no. This has to do with there
was a sample of all humanity there at the death of Christ
and at the judgment of Christ. And according to Acts chapter
4, they all came together. They were all together in it.
Nobody had the other one's arm twisted to do it. They were all
in it. And that's what Christ said, this is the condemnation,
this is the judgment, this is the curse. Light came into the
world and men despised it. And the thing of it is, is there
was nothing in him to despise. There was nothing in him. He
went about his whole life doing nothing but good. He gave to
anybody who came to him and asked, he gave. He gave. They came to him sick, and he
healed them. They came before him dead, and
he raised them. They came before him filthy,
and he cleansed them. He gave and gave and gave. There was nothing in him. He
was perfect goodness, perfect love, perfect kindness. He was kind. Oh, my soul, how
kind he was. He was kind. And men despised
him. They despised him. The curse of God is upon this
world. Men love darkness rather than
light, and all the fullness of the Godhead embodied in him,
perfectly holy, perfectly just, he never did an unjust thing. Danny's a lawyer, and I bet in
all your time going up there, You never met a man who was perfectly
just. Perfectly just. This man was
just. He was just. He was perfectly righteous. Not
even an evil thought ever entered his mind. We don't even know
what that is. I can't even envision what that
must be. giving all that he had. He said
the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests, but the
Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head. He didn't own a home.
He didn't own a pillow. Giving all that he had and all
that he knew to the hungry, sick, demon-possessed sinners, he lived
out his days going about doing good. And this world, religious
and heathen alike, took this perfect man beat Him to a bloody
pulp, nailed Him to a cross, and laughed at Him, and mocked
Him while He died. I tell you, if God had not loved
us and made provision for us in His Son, we'd all burn together
in eternal hell, every one of us. And God would be just in
doing it. Listen to this scripture. This
is in 2 Timothy 1, verse 9. I quote it to you all the time.
God hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. How can a vile, sinful creature
like myself lay down in peace and sleep? Because the Eternal Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ made provision for that sinner. He loved him
and He made provision for him in His soul. All right? No matter how much trouble I
have, no matter even if death is imminent, I can lay down in
peaceful sleep because Jesus Christ my Savior and Redeemer
has accomplished the salvation of my soul. It's done. I don't know. There's so many
sayings that He had on the cross. There's messages and books written
about the sayings that our Lord said on the cross. But I tell
you, the one that penetrates this heart and makes me to feel
with joy and peace is this. It is finished. Isn't that what
He said? It's finished. It's done. It's over. My salvation has been
accomplished if I'm one of His. It's been accomplished. It's
already done. He's already taken possession of my inheritance
and glory. He's already seated in the house
of God. Beloved, there's nothing you
can do about your sin except confess it, repent over it, and
ask forgiveness for it. That's all you can do with it.
You can't undo it. What's done is done. You can't
change it. You can't make it disappear,
and you can't get God to overlook it. You can't do nothing with
your sin. Sin must be paid for. And listen,
the all-seeing eye of God misses nothing. Are you a vile sinner
in your eyes? How must you appear before God? Hebrews chapter 4 verse 13 says,
neither is there any creature that's not manifest in his sight,
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do. He tells us in that same chapter
that he discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Oh,
my son. You can lie to me and convince
me. I've been lied to and convinced
many times about that. But you can't lie to him. He discerns the thoughts and
intents of the heart. To look on a woman and lust after
her is to commit adultery already in your heart. To be angry at
your brother is to be guilty of murder. Covetousness, which
is idolatry. That's what it is. Truth is, and this is God's testimony
of man, that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
is only evil continually. His nature is like the sea foaming
up its filth. Every time a wave hits, the foam
comes up. He's like volcanic mud pit just
boiling continually, just boiling. And Paul said this about himself. This is not Paul in the beginning. This is Paul down the road a
little bit. Listen to what he said. Oh, wretched
man that I used to be. That ain't what he said. He said,
oh, wretched man that I am. Right now. Right now. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And he gives answer. He said,
I thank God through my Lord Jesus Christ. How does he do that? He has fully accomplished the
redemption of your soul. That's how he does it. Jesus Christ is the propitiation
for our sins. I want you to turn with me to
the first general epistle of John. First John. And I want you to read a few
verses with me here in chapter 2. First John chapter 2. Beginning with verse 1. Now he
just dealt in the last three verses of chapter 1, he deals
with this thing of sin. You say you have no sin, the
truth's not in you. You say you have not sinned,
you make God a liar. The only thing left is to confess
your sins. And if we confess it to him,
he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse
us. All right. Now watch this. First John 2
verse 1. My little children, these things
write I unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, I always
thought that word if ought to be when. Don't you? We're going to sin. If any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, someone to represent
us before Him, Jesus Christ the righteous. Now listen to this. He is the propitiation, the mercy
seat, the way of atonement for our sins. And not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world. anywhere, at any time, in any
place who comes to God through His Son, Jesus Christ, can know
that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for sins. And He's the only propitiation
for sins. In Romans chapter 3, having proved
both Jews and Gentiles to be under sin, No possibility of
gaining a righteousness by our works or making atonement for
our sins. He sums the whole thing up saying,
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And then he speaks these words
of comfort beginning with verse 24. Being justified freely by
His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, both Old
Testament and new. And he does this to declare right
now his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus. I'll tell you how an old vile
sinner can lay down and sleep. He knows his redemption has been
accomplished. And I tell you, until you know
that, you're not going to be able to sleep unless it's the
sleep of a lie. Unless it's the sleep of a lie.
But in truth before God, you'll never be at peace until you come
to know what I just told you. I can lay down and sleep in perfect
sleep if I can believe that my sins were justly paid for and
God's justice fully satisfied in God my Savior. Thirdly, no
matter what I'm going through, I can lay down and sleep because
I know my Lord sits on the throne, unchallenged, unchallenged in
His sovereignty. ordering all things, arranging
all things, and working all things together for my good and His
glory. Oh, you can sleep when you know
that. Huh? Nothing can come to pass unless
He sends it. Nothing. Satan knew that. When Job came before, he said,
has thou considered my servant Job? Yeah, he said, I've considered
him, but you got him hedged about. Boy, that's the place to be,
too. That's the place to be, hedged about by God. The reason why men are so worried
and scared and in constant doubt is because all their lives they've
been hearing about this man named Jesus Christ and he's been portrayed
as some poor, defeated, frustrated reformer whose hands are tied,
whose will brought to a halt unless we give him permission
to do the work. Well, I wouldn't rest under God
like that either. Huh? My soul, think about who
you're talking about. This is God. This is God. In Matthew 28, 18, our Lord said
to his disciples, now listen to this. I read this to an elder in an
Armenian church one time, and he said, yeah, but that's not
talking about you. You still have a say in the matter. Listen to this. All power in
heaven and earth is given unto me. Who has it? Christ does. If I talk about the will of man,
I'm talking about the will of man. If I talk about storms and winds
and waves, I'm talking about storms and winds and waves. If
I talk about the preservation of the world, I'm talking about
the preservation of all power. Now listen, all power in heaven and earth. is given unto me."
Now you go preach my gospel. Oh, I tell you, I'm so ashamed
of my doubt in His power. Our Lord manifested His power
over demons, death, and disease. They did not come out of it. They came out of it. Was it Peter's wife's mother who was sick with the fever? Those germs and bacteria or whatever
it is had caused the infection and the fever had just about
to go off the map and she was totally indisposed, had to be
carried back, laid in a bed, couldn't do anything. Lord went
back, took her back, fever was gone. He manifested his power over
the elements, the oceans, time and space. They were in the middle
of a raging sea at night. Jesus Christ came walking. I was in the Navy. I know what
it is to see some waves. The catwalk on the aircraft carrier
I was on was rolled back like the lid on a sardine can from
a hurricane that had to ride out. They were out in this little
ship and it was being tossed about and was about ready to
be destroyed and they look and here he is, he's walking on the
water. Not just walking on the water,
he's walking on the storm waters. Walking on the wave, walking
up and down. I can see him walking up and
down them waves. Unconcerned, not a worry in his
eyes. in the middle of a raging sea
at night and Christ entered into that ship and it says, this is
in John 6, 16 through 21. You can prove me whether or not
I'm telling you the truth. Immediately, they hadn't gotten
anywhere. They were out in the middle of
this sea in a raging storm. Hadn't gotten anywhere. Rode
all night. Hadn't gotten anywhere. He walked
into that ship. Wanted him to come in, and he
did. And immediately, it said, when he walked in the ship, they
was at the place they desired to be. They was on the other
side. This power is over time and space
and elements and disease. It's all power. Just let your
mind go as far as it'll go. All power in heaven and earth
is given unto me. It's in His hands. The man who
believes that and loves Him can lay his head down and sleep.
I don't care what comes his way. He can sleep. He can sleep. Paul said to those Colossians,
he said, you be careful. You be careful. Lest somebody
come along with some enticing words and entice you away from
Christ. You stay right where you found
Him. You walk there. You stay there. You keep on right there. until
you wake up in glory. Because in Him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him,
now listen to this, who is the head of all principality and
power. It said when He ascended and
sat down with the Father, that he sits there expecting till
his enemies be made his foe. I'll never forget that surgeon. Lady that operated on my wife
called us into her office and said she's not going to survive
more than 12 months. More than 12 months. That's four
years ago. The oncologist staked his reputation
that her hair would never grow back. She lost her hair from
the radiation. He said, I'll stake my reputation
that hair will never grow back. Within three months, it had covered
the scars. But they said these things based
on their limited knowledge, not knowing who sits on the throne. You ain't going anywhere until
he's ready. Until he's ready. Not all the demons in hell going
to move you or hurt you or do anything to you until he's ready. You know anything about that?
You know him, sits on the throne? Fourthly, we who believe dwell in safety
because we have a great high priest who's ascended unto the
Father and ever liveth to make intercession for us. There's not even a possibility.
I want you to listen to me. Heaven's not necessarily a place
of security. You ever thought about that?
The angels that fell, fell from heaven, did they not? There's no security in heaven
itself. The angels fell from heaven. The security is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We're saved in Him. Isn't that
what He said? He said, don't put no stock in
these things down here. You look up there where the Son
of God lives. You look up there. In Him, you
have security. I know lots of people, they go
around looking for evidences of their election in their works
and things, and I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing,
but I'm just telling you this, you'll never find security until
you find Christ, because that's where your security is. Find
him, lay hold on him, love him, embrace him. Now you're secure. No man can pluck you out of my
hand. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth, and
Christ that died. Listen to this. Yea, rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. You know what he pleads?
He pleads that accomplished redemption. He pleads his blood. He pleads his representation. He pleads the glory of his person
for you. I tell you there's not a scripture
that I love any more than this over in 1 John chapter 1. It
says if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then lastly, we can lay down
in peace and sleep because Jesus Christ is of His own will. the surety of God's everlasting
covenant of grace. If you go to the bank to borrow
money, but your reputation and character are in question, the
only way you're going to get it is with a cosigner. Been there
and done that. I can promise and cry and swear
and put my hand on the Bible and everything else, and that
banker's going to go, mm-mm. You bring your daddy in here
and let him sign the paper. We'll give you the money. If that man signs your agreement
with the body, this is something I learned the hard way. He becomes
fully accountable for the debt. If you come to me and I co-sign
your loan, you could go home and say, I ain't never making
another payment. And there ain't a thing I can
do about it. And the bank ain't even going to call you. They're
going to call me. They're going to call me. And if they want
to, you better think before you sign
one of your kid's notes. I'm telling you the truth. If
that bank wants to, they can demand the whole sum right now
out of you. And you pay it or lose the property. And the kicker to the whole thing
is the house that you sign for, it belongs to him and not you,
even if you pay for it. Co-signers. A contract is only as good as
the surety. Are you listening? David, the
man after God's own heart, spoke these words as his last words. the last thing he uttered before
he went out to meet God. He said, although it be not so
with my house, yet God hath made with me an everlasting covenant. Now watch this. Ordered in all
things and sure. Boy, just knowing a little bit
I know about David, I don't see how I could be sure if it depended
on him even a little bit. What made it so sure? The surety. The surety. Christ is the surety. The blood of Christ is called
in Hebrews 13, 20, the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Unbelieving rebels are deserving of the greatest punishment who
count the blood of the covenant wherewith we are sanctified an
unholy thing. because of his infinite worth
and value and because of his accomplishments as our representative. He's the mediator of a new covenant
that by means of death, now listen to this, that by means of death
for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the old covenant,
that covenant of works, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. That's your surety. That's your
surety. And I tell you, there's not a
man going to inherit glory who's not worthy of it, but he's made
worthy through the surety. God will actually look at His
people in that day and say, well done, thou good and faithful
servant. And I tell you, if you've got any remembrance of this world
at all, you're going to say, faithful? Me? That's what we have in Christ
our surety. Paul so trusted in his surety
that he had these encouraging words to write to young Timothy.
He said, if we believe not, and we're filled with unbelief, aren't
we? Lord, we believe. Help thou our
unbelief. He wrote this to young Timothy.
If we believe not, Yet He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself. Listen to this, 2 Corinthians
5.18, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation,
to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,
not charging their trespasses unto them. He held the surety
responsible. He held Him responsible for their
transgressions, having made them one with Him. And being charged
with their sins, He paid them in full. And I can lay down in
peace with God and sleep Sleep, the sweet sleep of perfect safety,
because the Lord alone, that's the key, He alone makes me to
dwell in safety. And He's the only one who can.
He's the only one who can. Oh, my soul. I listen to men
preach. I listen to men talk. And I listen
to them, and they're talking. All it is is a big cheerleading.
get together and they try to get everybody pumped up as much
as they can so they can get from Sunday to Wednesday. And then
Wednesday night, they do it again. And then Sunday morning, they
do it again. And on and on and on. And after years and years
and years, I met an old fella that I went to church with years
ago, probably 50 years ago at least. And that man said, you
know that old church we used to meet at? He said, I feel go
down there. That man didn't have any more
hope then. than he did way back yonder in
the beginning. What I want you to do and what
I endeavor to do in these messages is to point you to Christ. Point
you to Christ. That's my prayer to God for you.
Bring you to Christ. And make you able to embrace
Him. Oh my soul, if you have Him,
you have it all. Because Christ is all.