Well, good evening. I invite
your attention to Psalm 98, the 98th Psalm. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song,
for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm
have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation. His righteousness He has openly
shown, revealed. in the sight of the nations,
or the Gentiles, the heathens. He has remembered His mercy and
His faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God. If God be pleased,
I'd like to speak on that first verse And we'll just title this
message, God Has Done Marvelous Things. My wife, Sandy, and I have been
blessed with two adorable, lovely, lovable and loving children.
And from their infancy, We have endeavored to obey the exhortation
and to embrace the promise of Proverb 22, verse 6. Train up
a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will
not depart from it. And we have endeavored with both
of our children to raise them up. And it has been our prayer
that God would permit us to see our children in the truth. From their earliest days, we
prayed with them and for them daily. We ascertained that they were
dutifully raised under the gospel. My wife homeschooled our children,
and she taught them scriptures. We catechized them daily, had
scripture reading with them, gathered them around our knees
on a daily basis, taught them, prayed with them. I began preaching to my son,
the firstborn, the first day he came home from hospital. After
his birth, he's in his crib, and my children heard my messages
before anyone else did. And I'd go to the crib when they
were wee infants I'd tell them of Jesus Christ. And I'd preach my messages to
my children in their cribs. You may say, well, they never
understood a word you said. You're probably right. But then
again, I'm not smart enough to know when they would begin to
understand, and I just assumed it would be better to start too
early than too late. So I did. I preached to them
in the crib. They were taught and catechized.
The first hymn we taught our children, I think it's number
34 in your hymnal, immortal, invisible, God only wise, in
light, inaccessible, hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most
glorious, the ancient of days, almighty, victorious, thy great
name we praise. So that's a difficult hymn. Our
children learned every word of that hymn and knew what it meant,
and we catechized them with it. And then we taught them to sing,
Come Thou Almighty King, help me Thy name to sing. They learned
of the necessity to believe in Jesus Christ and to confess Him
in baptism. In 1984, my family came home
from the mission field for a few months. My son was six years
of age, and we attended a conference
in Ashland, Kentucky. And for the first time in his
life, he saw an indoor baptism. All the other baptisms he had
seen had been in the sea. And we were sitting toward the
back of a congregation, He stood on a pew and watched with fascination
this baptism being conducted. And a few days later we were
traveling across the state of Florida and this little six-year-old
boy was standing behind the driver's seat as was the want of my children
looking out the front window and my son with So very somberly
just said, Pa, it sure is hard getting old. I said, son, you're
six years old. What do you know about getting
old? Well, he said, you have to be baptized. Well, I could
have reeled him on in. Would have been the cruelest
thing I ever could have done for him. But I told my son, he
was concerned about it, at least had some religious inkling of
a thought, even at the tender age of six. But I talked with
him briefly and I said, son, I want you to do this. I want
you to pray that God would reveal Christ to you. Always pray that
prayer that God would reveal Christ to you. His interest in spiritual things
waned shortly after that. I'm delighted that neither of
my children became, our children became outright profligates. But any interest they might have
had in spiritual things waned greatly as they grew older. By
the time my son was in high school, he had no interest at all in
the gospel. But we did require him. and his
sister to attend the worship services of the church. We did
require them to have a respect for the gospel in the home and
to be where the gospel was being heard as long as they lived under
our roof. And then my son announced that
he was going off to college in Orlando, Florida, 850 miles away. And by this time, he had no interest
in the gospel. And it was with very heavy heart
that we said goodbye, knowing that he had no intention of ever
again darkening the church door or to hear the gospel. On Friday, July 23rd, 1999, 11
p.m., My telephone rang. Telephone calls at 11 p.m. are
usually not good news. Good news will usually wait till
morning. A call very late at night is
usually bad news and I wondered what this could be and I picked
it up and it was my son on the other end. He said, Pa, do you
have a minute? I said, yes, when my son calls,
and particularly at 11 p.m., I have a minute and whatever
other time you need. What's on your mind? He said,
I'm lost. This was not the first time that
my son had telephoned to say he was lost. The first time was
right after he got his driver's license and was driving for the
first time. And he was not far from the house. But in fact, he was in Jeffersonville.
And he called and said, I'm lost. And he didn't know how to get
home. I helped him to get home that
night, but I knew this time he was not physically lost. He was
lost. He was lost, lost. I said, son, how long you been
lost? He said, all my life, but I did not know it till just now. And I said, son, I've been waiting
years for this telephone call. And my counsel to you now is
the same as it was when at the tender age of six years, you
first expressed a concern regarding spiritual things. Do you remember
what I told you then? He said, yes, you told me to
pray that God would reveal Christ to me. I said, son, that's the
same counsel I'm going to give to you now. Pray that God would
reveal Christ to you. And then I spent considerable
time talking with my son about what Christ is revealed to be
when He is revealed and talked with my son for some time. Then
I told my son, I'd talk with him as long as he wanted me to.
I'd be glad to. But I'd like for him to talk
face to face with a gospel preacher. And I knew of one down there
in Orlando, my dear friend Greg Elmquist. And I told my son before
this time, go visit Greg and hear the gospel. But Greg, my
son had no interest in it. But he did know whom Greg was.
So I gave to my son, Greg Yomka's telephone number, and I said,
call him in the morning. And so Saturday morning, 8 a.m.,
my son begins calling. He got no answer. He called all
day long, got no answer. Until finally, somewhat late
Saturday evening, Greg answered the phone. My son told Greg whom
he was, and he said, told me to call. You said you could give
me some spiritual help. I'm lost. Greg said, D, you've
been unable to get a hold of me today because I've been away
at a wedding and I've got two messages to preach tomorrow and
I'm not ready and I can't talk to you right now. But you come
to the worship service tomorrow and I'll take you to dinner and
whatever time you need, I'll talk with you. My son was livid. He thought, what's more important
than me right now? Here I am on the precipice of
eternity and the only man who can help me just kind of put
me off. My son was mad. Fearing to some catastrophe might
strike him before morning. He nevertheless went to bed He
did that morning the next morning the Lord's Day morning went and
heard Greg preach Greg took my son to dinner and Spent the rest
of the day or good bit of the rest of the day talking with
my son My son called me later that Lord's Day evening and And
he said that he wanted his mother and me to know that he was trusting
Christ for the salvation of his soul. And we rejoiced that God
had revealed his son to our son and that our son was now our
brother. Our many years of prayer for
his salvation had been answered in a glorious manner. And as
I consider That thought, what better text
can there be than this that, oh, sing to the Lord a new song.
He has done marvelous things. Let me share with you some things
I learned in this instance. First, salvation is of Jehovah. Now, God saves no one apart from
hearing the gospel of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You cannot call upon Him in whom
you do not believe, and you cannot believe in Him on whom you've
never heard. You cannot hear without a preacher,
and you can't have a preacher unless God sends him. It is of
necessity that you hear the gospel. And D regularly heard the gospel
when he lived at home. And although he evidenced no
interest in it, I still had hope that God would bless the gospel
to my son's conversion. But I do admit, I had considerable
concern for his soul when he moved away from home, when he
absented himself from hearing the gospel. I felt there was always hope
as long as he was hearing. Hope waned when he no longer
was hearing. However, I had to learn something.
God doesn't need my help. God doesn't need your help. God
does not need anyone's help or assistance. Salvation is of Jehovah. From beginning to end and all
throughout, salvation is of Jehovah. He does not need the assistance
of anyone to find his lost ones and save them. He who found that
prodigal son, who had departed his father's house and absented
himself from hearing the gospel, found my son also. He found my
son. He is the God who says, I was
found by those who did not seek me. I was made manifest to those
who did not ask for me. My son had tried his best to
get as far away from God as he could. You cannot do it. Because salvation is of Jehovah. He might use some words spoken
tonight, ten years down the road. Whoever preached the salt of
Tarsus on the road to Damascus, there was no gospel preacher
there. There was just a short time earlier at the stoning of
Stephen. God takes a word and puts it
in a heart and waters it when He's ready and brings it to fruit
in His own good time because salvation is of Jehovah. Second I learned God answers
the prayers of believers for the salvation of their children
Jesus during the days of his earthly ministry was Approached
on various occasions by parents concerned for the salvation of
their children He never turned a concerned parent away He said
to them if you can believe All things are possible to him who
believes. This promise was true to the believing father who prayed
his son be delivered from the evil spirit that tried to destroy
the son by casting him into the fire and the water. He believed
and the Lord delivered him. And this is likewise true to
me for my son was delivered from an evil spirit, the spirit of
Antichrist and the spirit of error. A spirit that endeavored
to have my son destroyed in the lake of fire. Jesus' promise was also true
to the believing father who prayed that his dead daughter be restored
to life. This is likewise true to me.
My son was dead. Dead in trespasses and sins. But is now quickened from spiritual
death into eternal life. All things are possible to him
who believes. The Lord did it for my son. I'm
still praying for my daughter. She has no interest. In her late 20s, and yet, the
Lord used the gospel preached to my son in his own good time.
I pray he'll do so for my daughter too. because God answers the
prayers of believers for the salvation of their children if
they believe all things are possible. Third, consider this. God reveals
Christ to all who pray for that revelation. Son, pray that God
reveal Christ to you. I told him often, And on that night, in 1999, when
I hung up my last counsel to my son, being, seek the Lord while he may be
found, and pray that God reveal Christ to you, I dropped to my
knees. I remembered an old prophet in
2 Kings chapter 6, a prophet whose life was being
sought by a certain enemy king. A prophet who's in a city of
Dothan and it is surrounded by the enemy. And a prophet who decides to
walk out of the city and his young man with him says, Sir,
do you not see? We are surrounded by the enemy
and they've come for you and we're surrounded. And the old
man of God said, well, they that are for us are more than they
that are against us. Sir, I don't see anyone for us. I see everyone against us. And
the old man of God, Elisha, prayed and said, Lord, I pray open his
eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes
of the young man, and he saw. I prayed that prayer that night.
Lord, open the eyes of this young man that he may see. And the
present prayers are answered. For it is the God who commanded
light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts One
of the most remarkable things about that verse is this. It
does not say God has shone into our hearts. It says God has shined
in our hearts. God takes residence in the heart
and there He shines. It is the God who has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God revealed Christ to D, and
D saw in Christ's face all he needed for salvation, including
redemption, and forgiveness, and justification, and sanctification,
and glorification. My son had such little interest
in spiritual things before that time that he would have said,
he has no form or comeliness. And when I see Him, there is
no beauty that I should desire Him. But now that Christ is revealed
to a death-deserving sinner, because God has revealed Christ,
because God has answered the prayer to reveal His Son, my
son would now say of Him, yes, He is altogether lovely. This
is my beloved, and this is my friend. God reveals Christ when
we earnestly seek that revelation. Reveals Christ in all His glory. Fourth, consider this. God finishes
every work He begins. When my son at first realized
his need of Christ, he became quite upset. In fact, my son's
word is livid. He says, we talked about it this
past weekend. He says, I was livid when that
preacher did not consider me the most important thing at the
moment. Put me off. My son was livid. when the gospel preacher would
not meet with him immediately. He feared some catastrophe might
befall him before he received the assurance of his salvation. But this could not be. This could
not be. God finishes every work He begins. He who has begun a good work
in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ this
divine fisher of men brings to shore every soul he catches in
his gospel net I've seen fishers with nets in the Caribbean I've
seen a net that was stretched from this point on the land out
in the harbor all the way across the harbor and bringing it back
in the land And I've seen this net with lead weights on the
bottom to take one end of the net down and floats on the other
end to keep it up. And they start pulling this net
in. Lead keeping it on the bottom, floats keeping it at the top,
and bringing all the fish in. But occasionally, you'll find
a flying fish can get across. Some bottom dweller may be able
to get underneath. There may be a hole in the net.
Little fishes will go through. You will not bring to shore every
fish you catch in your net. The divine fisher does. Every fish in his net he brings
to shore. This divine husbandman causes
every tree he plants to bear fruit. And he reaps a harvest
of every seed he sows in waters. This divine shepherd brings home
every lost sheep he goes out to seek. Where are you going
shepherd? There's a lost one out there
on the hillside, and I'm going after him. And the old ram looks
at the ewe, and he says, well, get a place ready for the lamb.
Well now, don't you think we just ought to wait until we make
sure he's going to come back with this one, that he can find
it? No, not this shepherd. When he goes looking for a sheep,
consider the sheep found and brought home. He never came home
empty-handed. God will justify and glorify
all whom He calls and He will teach them that they were called
because they were from eternity and in His eternal purpose foreknown
in His sovereign election and predestined to be conformed to
the image of His Son. God who began a work by decree
before the foundation of the world will bring every aspect
of that decree to fruition for all eternity through glorification
of those chosen unto salvation before the foundation of the
world. God finishes every work He begins. In fact, in fact,
having been chosen and predestined, they are considered already glorified. Already. Jesus is both the author and
finisher of our faith. And He finishes every work He
authors. Then, fifth, I learned this. God hears a new song proclaiming
His victory when He does such marvelous things. I have obeyed
this text. Oh, shame to the Lord, a new
song. Why? He has done marvelous things.
How? His right hand, the hand of authority
and power, and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. How do
we know? Read the next two verses. The
Lord Jehovah has made known His salvation. What is His salvation? An old man of God looks at the
infant Jesus and he says, Lord, ye may now let your servant depart
in peace. My eyes have seen your salvation. He has made known His salvation.
What is His salvation? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. His righteousness He has revealed
in the sight of the nations. What is His righteousness? The
same is His salvation. Jesus Christ is Jehovah, our
righteousness. The Lord has made known His salvation. The Lord has made known His righteousness. He has remembered His mercy.
What is His mercy? In Luke chapter 1, there's a
prayer prayed. And it is a prayer of thanksgiving
that God has performed the mercy promised to our fathers. What
is the mercy promised and performed? Jesus Christ. The mercy of God is Jesus Christ. He not only is the Savior, He's
the salvation. He not only is the justifier,
He's the righteousness. He's the mercy. He has remembered His mercy and
His faithfulness. You want to see the faithfulness
of God? Look at Christ. To all the house
of Israel and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation
of our God. My son was 850 miles away and he was as far from Christ
as he could be. For all practical intents and
purposes, he was a world away from me. I couldn't go to help
him if he needed me. But all the ends of the earth
have seen the salvation of our God. God didn't need me there. He didn't need anybody there.
The seed had been planted, and God will bring it to fruition.
And I will sing a new song. I've got a song I want to sing
because my God has done marvelous things and I know He has. My
son, I'm delighted. The Lord's been pleased evidently
to give a burden to my son to preach the gospel. Now he has
a little boy, two years old, 7th of September. I've counseled
my son to tell his son, pray that God reveal Christ to you.
Oh God, our Father, what marvelous things you've done for such hell-deserving
sinners as we are. Now hear our prayer. Be pleased,
we pray, to do marvelous things. We pray for our children. We
have lost children. Lost grandchildren, perhaps some
of us even have lost spouses and lost loved ones. Hear our prayers. Save us, we
pray. To the glory of your son, and
you'll hear us sing a new song of praise to you. For God has
done marvelous things. In the name of Jesus Christ,
we pray. Amen. Pastor?