The prophet Samuel exhorted the children of Israel
to do this. I want to read this verse to
you. He said to them, only fear the Lord and serve him in truth
with all your heart. And this is the reason he gives
them for doing so. For consider how great things
he has done for you. I pray that God would enable
us to do that now. Consider what great things the
Lord has done for you. One of my favorite hymns of the
hundreds that our good friend Mr. Fortner has written is entitled,
My Soul Consider. And it deals with that very subject.
As Samuel told the children of Israel, Serve God with all your
heart, for consider what great things he has done for you. Don
wrote, my soul consider this great thought, the wondrous works
which God has wrought, his works from all eternity, my God has
done them all for me. Man, that's something, that's
something. redeemed by blood, preserved
by power until that great appointed hour. When God in mercy came
to me, he gave me life and set me free. My soul consider. My God has never, never failed.
His grace and power have prevailed. That's what Bobby just sang about.
My heart, my soul, my life he holds. My sovereign grace within
his fold. And so, my God, I'll praise your
name, exalt your grace, and spread your fame. Eternal, sovereign,
loving grace, compel my heart to sing your praise. Is there anything more marvelous,
more wondrous to consider than God's great work of grace that
brings salvation? Anything at all? Is there anything
that even comes close to that? Is there anything that's a greater
miracle than that? Or that reveals God's glory any
more than that? His great purpose of grace, which
He purposed in Christ Jesus. Look again at verse 30. But of
Him, that is God. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. but of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption." Dear brother Scott Richardson used to say,
God put all of his eggs in one basket. That certainly applies
to this text of scripture, doesn't it? That's exactly what it tells
us. And God put us, his redeemed,
his chosen, put us in that basket as well with the Lord Jesus Christ,
one for all. One for all. Having the Lord
Jesus Christ, we have all that's mentioned in this text. William
Jay, you may not have heard of him. He was a contemporary of
John Newton. Everyone's heard of John Newton. But after John Newton died, William
Jay was visiting the church where Newton had pastored. And he left
the church and went to the parsonage where Newton lived. And he went
up into the attic where John Newton had his study. And on
the wall above Newton's desk in very large letters were printed
these words of scripture. Let me read them to you. And thou shall remember that
thou was a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God
redeemed thee. John Newton wanted to never forget
that. And after he died, after he died, there was a plaque put on the
place where he was buried that he had inscribed himself or had
inscribed before he died. And this is how it reads. It's
still there today. He wrote his own epitaph. Once
an infidel in Libertine, John Newton, once an infidel, a servant
of slaves in Africa, was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the gospel
which he had long labored to destroy. And John Newton said
to himself, don't ever, ever forget it. Remember, you were
a bond slave in Egypt and God redeemed you. Is it any wonder
that he didn't write amazing grace? Amazing grace. Think about it, child of God.
Is not that grace, the grace of God in Christ Jesus, is it
not a most amazing thing? Is there anything more amazing
that he should bestow that grace on you, my soul consider this
great thought, that God in his mercy should come to you of all
people and you would become a recipient, a partaker of the rich grace
of God that's in Christ Jesus. Today, we'll conclude our service
by observing the Lord's Supper. And he, when he instituted that
blessed ordinance, told his disciples, do this as often as you do it
in remembrance of me. The reason you're doing this
is to remember me. It is not a sacrament. That is,
it does not confer grace. Oh, but it reminds us of that
one. It represents that one by whom
grace came to us. Remember me, he said. This is
my blood. Oh, my soul, consider this great
thought. This is my blood, which is shed
for you. I lay down my life for you, for
you. Do this, he said, in remembrance
of me until I come. Look, if you will, with me at
verse 30 again. This is our text. One for all. One for all. All these blessed
things mentioned in our text Paul tells us our hours, made
hours by God in the Lord Jesus Christ. First, where we are. Where we are. And then what we
have. And who gave it to us. First,
where the child of God is. Paul says, you are in Christ
Jesus. Think about that. My soul, consider. My soul, consider. You may be
in a state of heavy heartedness at this very moment, but you're
in Christ Jesus. You may be going through a difficult
time, but you're in Christ Jesus. Oh, what a blessing. Is there
a better place to be? Is there a better place to be?
Is there a more secure place to be than in Christ Jesus? Is there a safer place to be?
Other refuge have I none. Is there a safer place to be?
Is this not the only place, the only place that a righteous and
holy God smiles with absolute satisfaction? Is there another
other than his son? Did he not himself say so? This
is my beloved son. When that one who was the eternal
God entered this world, made like unto his brethren,
when he came taking hold of flesh and blood like his brethren that
he might redeem them, God Almighty spoke from heaven. We read in
the scriptures in the Old Testament that Abraham was a friend of
God. My soul, what a blessed thought
that is. Enoch, we are told, walked with
God. David, God said, is a man after
my own heart. Oh my. But never, never concerning
anyone else did God ever speak these words. Not until Jesus
Christ, the God-man, appeared on the scene did the heavens
depart and God spoke and said, this is my beloved Son. There's none like Him. There's
none like Him. In Him, I am well pleased. In Christ is the only place that
God Almighty is perfectly satisfied, forever satisfied. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased." In whom? My soul, consider. My soul, consider. How pleased is God with His Son? How satisfied is God with His
Son? Without limit. Without limit. Without duration. completeness
in Christ Jesus. And Paul says the believer God
has made to be in him. in that one in whom He is well
pleased. Does that mean? Does that mean?
Can I take that to mean? Do I dare take that to mean that
if God is well pleased in His Son and I read that I'm in Christ,
that He's well pleased with me, how could He not be? How could
He not be? If I'm in Christ, then God is
well pleased with me as well. Is this not the one place where
a sinner has completeness? Is this not the only place that
a sinner finds completeness? Because Christ is all. Oh, what
blessed, blessed words. I declare you could preach many,
many messages or attempt to do so on those words in Christ Jesus. What a blessed, blessed hope. Child of God, our text says that
it's a reality. It's a reality. It's not some
religious zealots or product rather of some religious zealots
imagination. I can understand why some that
don't know better would be tempted to think so. I mean, after all,
isn't this just too good to be true? Well, it's good all right,
but it's still true. Blessed, blessed reality. God
put us in his Son. This is what he prayed in John
17. Father, I in you, you in me, and we in them, that they
may be one. This is the place, the only place,
where sinners are not condemned. And they'll never be condemned.
Paul said in Romans 8 and verse 1, And I think it's profitable
to ignore the chapter break there. Ignore the chapter break from
Romans 7 to Romans 8. Paul has just said, oh wretched
man that I am. Paul has confessed that everything
he does, everything he thinks, his very best thoughts, As a
believer, as an apostle, as a preacher of God's glorious gospel, he
said, everything I do or think is tainted with sin. Oh, wretched
man that I am. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are aware. Paul could never say that when
he was in the religious traditions of his fathers. There is no condemnation
to the world things, especially the religious world, that it
should read to those who are good moral people. Not so, not
so. There is no condemnation to religious
people, that would include just about everybody. No, there is
no condemnation to those who are, and here's that wonderful
expression again, in Christ Jesus. Can you imagine how Noah must
have felt when God's wrath by means of the flood fell on his
generation and our Lord said, They knew not until the flood
came and took them all away. Can you imagine how Noah must
have felt while he was in the ark? Can you imagine how thankful
he must have been for that ark? God, we're told in Genesis chapter
7, let me read a verse or two to you concerning that account. In Genesis chapter 7 verse 1,
and the Lord said unto Noah, unto Noah, Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. And those God loves, he preserves,
he keeps. And the Lord said unto Noah,
come, come thou, and all thine house into the ark, the ark. For thee have I seen righteous
before me in this generation. Verse 7 of the same chapter. And Noah went in and his sons
and his wife and his sons' wives with him into the ark because
of the waters of the flood. Verse 16. And they went in as
God had commanded him and the Lord shut him in. You see the picture. That ark,
that ark is a picture of Christ Jesus. and in Christ Jesus there's
no condemnation. All the wrath, all the wrath
of God demonstrated in that flood fell upon the ark. He beat up
on the ark, but Noah was as safe as he could be. He was with Christ,
his eternal refuge. He said, come into the ark, not
go into the ark, come into the ark, because Christ was there
with him. Oh, how thankful Noah must have
been. for that ark that God himself
had provided that bore him through the storm. Was it enough? Was it enough? Well, we read
this in verse 23 again of Genesis 7 concerning the death of every
living creature. But we read of this, and Noah
only remained alive and they that were with him in the ark. Oh, thank God for Jesus Christ,
our ark and eternal refuge. Again, how thankful, how thankful
do you suppose the children of Israel were that night when God
in absolute justice, I can't recall who said this, some preacher
of the past, said, I want nothing to do with an absolute just God,
not without a mediator. I know I often mention this because
it's often on my mind. And apart from the grace of God,
I have loved ones that are going to be in that multitude that
stand before Him stand before Him, they go right up to the
very judgment bar of God Almighty, trusting their own works. This
is what our Lord taught in Matthew chapter 7. Many in that day shall
say unto me, Lord, did we not do thus and thus and thus? And that's what they're trusting.
And right up to that very moment, they expect God's going to say,
well done, come on in, and they'll hear, depart from me, I never
knew you. Oh yes, how thankful the children
of Israel must have been that night when that righteous God
in strict justice, passed through the land of Egypt, and destroyed
all the firstborn. Except those, except those who
are in those houses, what set them apart? Christ or rather
God said, when I see the blood, when I see, Joe, Man, this sinner
finds comfort in that. When I lie down tonight in my
bed and I look back over this day and I see the sinful pride
that was in this message, I see the sin that was mixed in everything
I've done today, just like every day. And I lie there and I think
if I thought rather that what I did or what I failed to do
determined my relationship with God, my soul, I wouldn't have
a hope. But all my hope lies right here
in the same place. for the same reason that God
said he passed over the children of Israel when judgment fell
all around them. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. Oh, that keeps me warm. That makes me cozy. That gives
me comfort. I'm in Christ Jesus and God accepts
me. God accepts me for His sake. How secure, how secure this sinner
is. How accepted this sinner is.
Who can condemn this sinner? It is God Himself that's justified
me. Glory to His name. When the devil
tempts you to think that you can't be a believer, send him
to God. Send him to God. Go to God. If you dare, Satan, go to God
with your accusations because God said he himself has justified
me. Who is it that can condemn? When I see the blood, wonderful
words, God says to this sinner, when I see the blood, The precious
blood, the sin-atoning blood. When I see the ransom of my dear
son, I will pass over you. Oh, thank God, thank God that
there is a fountain. Judy, or Bobby, you sang about
it. Judy Estes used to sing that
song so much. That blessed, blessed fountain. that blood that reaches deeper
than the stain has gone. Child of God, we ought to lift
up our hearts in adoration and as Samuel told the children of
Israel, consider what great things God has done for you. There is
a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and
sinners, this sinner, plunged beneath that blood, my soul,
look what happens, he emerges without any trace of sin. Glory to his name. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, Peter tells us that in the last
days scoffers and mockers would arise, and they have, they have. Because most people think this
story about God, about heaven, about hell, about judgment, most
people think it's just a fable. Most people think it's just a
fairy tale, just an old wife's tale. Peter said, don't you be
disturbed by that. And the writer here in Hebrews
tells us the same thing. Look at verse 24 here in Hebrews
chapter 12. We've come to Jesus, the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh, for if they escaped not, who refused him that spake
on earth, much more shall they not escape if we turn away from
him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice? God's. Then shook the earth, but now
he hath promised, he has promised, yet once more I shake not the
earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more
signifying the removing of those things that are shaken as of
things that are made. and that includes all man-made
religion, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Things which cannot be shaken? When God Almighty, when God Almighty
makes bare His holy arm, and in ignatiation and just wrath,
He shakes this religious world, just shakes it, Some of you are
very fond of your pets. You've ever seen one of those
little terriers grab a toy, a stuffed animal, and just shake it until
the cotton goes flying, the stuffing goes flying out. God's going
to shake this world. and everything, I mean everything,
everything and everybody that's not in Christ Jesus is going
to drop out into an eternal hell. They'll be removed, but that
which cannot be moved. Our text, or rather the verse
we just read spoke of it, didn't it? That those things which cannot
be shaken may remain. What will not be shaken? What
when God shakes this world and everything drops out, what in
the world could remain? What could not be shaken? Those
who are in Christ Jesus. Oh wrath of God, pass over me. Pass over me. You've been satisfied. You've already poured out your
wrath upon my glorious substitute. You can't demand payment twice. You've already received it. You
can't demand payment again, first at my bleeding surety's hand,
and then again at mine. Is it any wonder that Paul said,
in that day, in that day. Think about it, brothers and
sisters in Christ. Think about it often. There is
a day appointed in which God Almighty will judge this world
in absolute righteousness. Paul said, in that day I want
to be found in Him. Found in Him. I'll be found in
that place of perfect acceptance in the Beloved. In the Beloved. One hymn writer put it like this.
which Jesus and the chosen race subsist of bond of sovereign
grace, that hell, with its infernal train, shall never dissolve,
nor reign entwine. This is one marriage that God
hath joined together, that no man shall put asunder, Christ
our glorious bridegroom and his blessed bride. I am his and he
is mine forever. God said to the son, will you
take this bride, this fallen bride, this simple bride, will
you take her to be your own in that everlasting covenant of
grace? And Christ said, oh I will, I will. The Father said, will
you do everything necessary? In the fullness of time, I will
send you. Will you live for her, die for her, arise for her, intercede
for her, and bring her back to me without a spot or blemish
or any such thing? And our glorious bridegroom said,
oh yes, Father, I will. I will. And bless God, he did. This sacred tie forbids their
fears, for all he is and has is theirs. With him their head
they stand or fall, their life, their surety, their all. I like those old hymns. That's
what the scripture says. With him their head they stand
or fall. Some of you may have noticed.
They drove by the house up until maybe a week or so ago. that
my mailbox kept doing this. Just kept doing this. Did anybody
notice that? I wasn't sure that type of mailbox. I wasn't sure how it was in the
ground anyway, but I thought I'd better do something. On the
day that I decided to, I thought I'll wait till the mailman runs
and then I'll fix that thing. He opened the box, put a letter
in, and that thing hit the ground. I said, well, it's time. I went
and got, I saw what was required, so I went and got a new timber
and some concrete mix and got out there and put that thing
together, let it set up, and the next morning I slid that
mailbox down over it and screwed it to the post and, man, I shook
that thing, Louie, and I said, man, I did a good job. I did a good job. That thing's
going to last a long time. A little car can come along and
jump the curb and bump that thing and down it'll go. Down it'll
go. But the work of our Lord God
is never going to fail. Never going to fall. God who
had begun a good work in you will complete it. will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. Resting upon this foundation,
we shall never be moved. Shall never be moved. God will
shake this world, but we that are in Christ Jesus shall never
be moved. His work shall endure forever. That's where we are. And now briefly consider what
we have in Christ Jesus. Paul mentions four blessed pearls
here in our text in verse 30 of 1 Corinthians 1. Four things. And in these four things, these
four blessed pearls, everything that God requires, everything
that He demands, everything that a sinner needs, we have. All that it takes to bring this
sinner before God without a spot or a wrinkle, without fault. These are scriptural terms. Without
fault, blameless, blameless before the throne of God. Christ of
God is made unto us wisdom. Wisdom. All the wisdom, all the
wisdom of the body is in his glorious head, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Only he can answer all the claims
of a holy God. He alone can solve this otherwise
impossible dilemma. Impossible. That is this. How can a man be just with God? Let all the wise men All the
philosophers Paul made mention of here in the chapter, all the
smart folks, let them answer that. Tell me, doctor of theology,
how can I be just with God? Tell me, sir, how can I be just
with God? And all the answers that this
religious world gives. And God says, filthy rags. Do this, they say. Do that. Learn this. Get catechized, confirmed,
homogenized. Do all this. Still it will not
give that soul peace with God. I need to know. Before I can
have peace with God, this has got to be settled. How can I
be just with God? Solomon, what a wise man he was,
excuse me. what a wise man Solomon was. But he could never answer this
question, could he? How can a man be just with God? No, for the answer to that, behold,
the answer himself said, Behold, a greater than Solomon is here
in Christ Jesus is all the wisdom of the Godhead. He answers this
question, how can a man be just with God? He answered that question. Listen to this. Mercy and truth
are met together. Where did they meet in Christ
Jesus? Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where did that happen? On Calvary. On Calvary. He answers that question. Oh my soul, consider, Samuel
said, what great things he has done for you. Who was the recipient
of God's true wisdom? That Pharisee or the publican
that our Lord spoke of in Luke 18 who went up into a temple
to pray? My soul, listen to them pray. How smart is that Pharisee? Boy, he's a wise fellow. Listen
to everything he knows. Listen to all that he's got going
for him. Listen as he opens his mouth
and tells us what he's trusting. He knows how to dot every i.
He knows how to cross every t. He gives tithes of all that he
possesses. And he looks down his nose at
that ignorant publican. Look at him. Ignorant. He doesn't know anything. I'm
glad I'm not like him. That publican. in his seven-worded
prayer revealed that he knew more than that Pharisee ever
knew. That publican had been taught
of God. He said, Lord, be merciful, be
propitious. He had his eye to the sacrifice. Through that sacrifice he was
saying, God, be merciful to me. And Jesus Christ himself said,
I tell you, that man, who the smart Pharisee, oh no, no, the
ignorant publican, went home justified. God Almighty says
concerning that publican, he's not guilty. The highest court
of heaven declares he's not guilty. How can that be? Only by being
in Christ Jesus. He's made unto us wisdom and
righteousness. Righteousness. The word is right. Right. Right before God. Right before God. Right with
God. People from time to time would
tell me, and I really didn't care at that time, was lost,
unconcerned, But they told me wrong. They said, you need to
get right with God. Anybody ever tell you that? You
need to get right with God? Well, I found out Christ did
that for me. Christ did that for me. He lived
a perfectly righteous life, died a perfectly righteous death,
and He did that for His people so that now in Him, they're right. They're right. They couldn't
be more right. Right with God. Like my granddaughter
told me, I know I told you the story. But you know grandparents,
they like to brag on their grandchildren. I asked her, Ali, do I need to
lose some weight? She said, no, Paul, Paul, you're
perfect. You're perfect. And God Almighty says, in the
person of His dear Son, we're perfect. Let me read it to you. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty. For it was perfect through my
comeliness which I have put upon you, saith the Lord." That's
why we read in Revelation that they are without fault before
the throne of God. Wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification. Sanctification. Most religious
people think that sanctification is something they do for themselves,
Joe. that they're getting progressively
holier and holier. Oh my soul, I'm afraid not. Our sanctification is this, Christ
in us, being made partakers of the divine nature. His imputed
righteousness gives us our justification, His imparted righteousness, His
own nature. is our hope of glory, and that's
our sanctification. Paul referred to these Corinthians
that he wrote to in the second verse, and they were in pretty
sorry shape, and yet he referred to them as sanctified. If their sanctification depended
upon their works, they wouldn't have any, but it didn't. Just
as our text tells us concerning these other things, our sanctification
is in Christ as well. That new man, John wrote, that
remaineth in you, cannot sin. Cannot sin. The old nature never
gets any better. And the new nature can never
be improved. Cannot sin. And the text tells
us this last pearl on the string, and redemption. Redemption. The word as it's used here means
complete, complete deliverance by a ransom. Complete deliverance. Justice satisfied demands the
deliverance of the sinner. The ransom paid demands that
the one for whom it was given go free. And that's why God says,
I found a ransom, his son. That's what we're going to remember
here in a moment. in the Lord's Supper. Justice
wore itself out on Jesus Christ. Oh, my soul, consider. When God
made Him to be sin for us, justice wore itself out on Jesus Christ
and those for whom He bore the penalty must be set free. All of our sins were put away,
all of them. forever. Oh, have you heard what
Jesus did for me? Have you heard what Jesus did
for me? All my sins, all my sins are all taken away. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for
and there shall be none. It doesn't exist. You can't find
what doesn't exist. And the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found. Why? For I will pardon them whom
I reserve, my soul consider. And who did this? And we're finished. Looking again at the text, who
did all this? Of him, that is God. Are you in Christ Jesus who of
God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption? Who's responsible for this? God
himself. God put us in Christ, chose us
in Christ, redeemed us by Christ, preserves us in Christ, and will
bring us all to glory to be with Christ one day. So what? And I'm not trying to
be cute. So what? So this, verse 31, that
according as it is written, he that glorious, let him glory
in the Lord. Again, Samuel said, fear the
Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. And what better
reason What better motivation could there be than this? For
consider how great things He has done for you. May God enable
us to do that when we observe the Lord's Supper. Amen.