David began that song with, How
long will thou forget me, O Lord? Forever? And he ends, I will
sing to the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Would you turn back to Ephesians
chapter four? There are not three more important
words in the Bible than these three words, for Christ's sake. There is the reason for salvation,
for Christ's sake. Here is the only true motive
for obedience, for Christ's sake, not for hope of reward, not for
fear of loss or punishment, but for Christ's sake. That's everything in our salvation.
That's everything in our motive. Now this is one of my favorite
verses of scripture and here's why. When I look within, which
I shouldn't do, neither should you. But when I do look within,
I cannot find one reason as to why God would forgive me. Not
one. And I'm not talking about the
way I was before I was converted. I'm talking about right now,
when I look within. But that's the wrong place to
look in the first place, isn't it? Here we find the only reason
needed for God to forgive me, for Christ's sake. Not in response to me, not in
response to my confession of sin, not in response to my sorrow
or my desire to do better. Here's the only reason that's
needed. Christ's sake. Paul says, Be ye kind one to
another. That means gracious, easy, mild,
approachable, not harsh, Not having a higher standard for
you than I have for myself. Well, it's easy to do that, isn't
it? I'm a lot easier on myself than
I am anybody else. Tenderhearted. That means compassionate,
sympathetic, empathetic. Forgiving one another. Being sinful, there will always
be reasons why we need to be forgiven. And we need to forgive. How? Even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. For Christ's sake, there's no
more important phrase than that. Now, let me speak for a few moments
upon, for Christ's sake. God made the universe for Christ's
sake. That was his reason, for Christ's
sake. The glorious truth of his predestination
before time began was for Christ's sake. Whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate that he might be the firstborn. The Lord Jesus might be the firstborn
among many brethren. That's the reason for predestination.
That Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. God's gonna
have a bunch of sons just like the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
is the reason for election. We're chosen in him and the elect
are his bride given to him as the gift of his father. Providence is for Christ's sake. You see everything that happens
here, everything, you can't leave out anything. Everything that
happens here is for his glory. And ultimately it's gonna turn
out that way. Might not see it, The salvation of the sinner is
for Christ's sake. Turn with me for a moment to
Psalm 106, verse 6, We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. When's the last time you and
I confessed our sin before God like that? Not sugarcoating it,
but speaking as it is. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They were a spiritually stupid
people. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies. They were an ungrateful people.
But provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea, they were
provoking to God. Nevertheless, he saved them. for his name's sake. That's the only reason needed.
That he might make his mighty power known. He saved them. Them who were by their own confession
wicked. Them who were spiritually stupid. And I'm not talking about a lack
of IQ when I say that. They were ungrateful. They were
provoking. He saved them for His name's
sake. That He might make His mighty
power known. You see, God's power, His mighty
power is known in salvation of His people. I love that scripture,
power belongeth unto the Lord. You know, he's the only one who
has power. Anything me or you have is borrowed. It's His, Him
enabler, He only has power in and of Himself. And how His power
is demonstrated in the salvation of a sinner. When He shows His
authority in choosing one to be saved, and saved they must
be. The power of Christ in putting away their sin and making it
to not be so that I have no sin. I stand before God without guilt.
the power of God the Holy Spirit in creating a new heart in me
that was not there before. And He creates it. And I'm enabled
to believe the same power that was used in raising Christ from
the dead is used in giving a dead sinner spiritual life. Nevertheless,
in spite of them, He saved them for His name's sake. That He might make His mighty
power known. His power to love, his power
to forgive, his power to create life. Listen to this scripture
from Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 22 and verse 32. Therefore say
unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord, I do not this
for your sakes, O house of Israel. but for mine holy name's sake,
which you profaned among the heathen, whether you went. Not
for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord, be it known unto you,
be ashamed and confounded for your ways. Now he's talking about
all these glorious things he's gonna do for them, and he lets
them know, I'm not doing this for your sake. I'm not doing
this in response to some merit or some goodness in you, not
at all. I'm doing this for my sake. Turn to Isaiah 43. We looked
at this in Sunday school not too long ago. Verse 22. Well, let's start in
verse 21. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise,
but thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob. Thou hast been weary
of me. O Israel, you've become tired
of me. You've not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt
offerings. Neither has thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have
not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee
with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money,
neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices. But
thou hast made me to serve with thy sins. Thou hast wearied me
with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth
out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember
thy sins. Now God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Because, he says, because of
my relationship with him, The Lord Jesus Christ, God for Christ's
sake, the one who is my fellow, the one who is my well-beloved,
the one whom I delight in, mine elect and whom my soul is well-pleased,
the Lord Jesus Christ for Christ's sake. Because of your relationship
with him, you're united to him, you belong to him, you're in
him. Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are
all of one for the which cause he's not ashamed to call them
brethren. Because of my view of Christ, because you being
in him, God for Christ's sake, because of the righteousness
he worked out as our covenant head, I love it when he said
to John the Baptist, thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Now what that means is this,
when Jesus Christ fulfilled all righteousness, so did John the
Baptist, and so did Todd Nyberg, and so did every believer to
ever live. We all fulfilled in Christ, we
fulfilled all righteousness. His righteousness is our personal
righteousness before God. because of the shedding of His
blood and the satisfaction His blood made. I love to think about
this. How satisfied was God with what His Son did? How infinitely
satisfied was God with what His Son did? That's the same place
me and you would find satisfaction in what God finds satisfaction
in. The perfect sacrifice of His
Son where He put away sin. God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven us. Not will forgive, but hath forgiven. Believer, your sins are all forgiven
sins. All of them have been forgiven.
This forgiveness is continuous. This forgiveness is free. There's nothing you do to get
God to respond to you, so he'll do this. This forgiveness is
full. All sins are forgiven. This forgiveness
is eternal. It's something that you had before
time began and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
That's why it's so sure. This is not just something that was
accomplished in time, but it was accomplished in eternity.
And it's a divine forgiveness. Now, what do I mean by that?
A divine forgiveness. Have I ever done you wrong? Don't
answer me. I'm trying to make a point. Have I ever done you wrong? Well, if I have, you remember.
You may have forgiven me, but you remember. You remember the
pain of it. You remember, you remember. The only way you would forget
that is if you just went senile or something like that. You just
lost the ability. It wouldn't be because you choose
to forget it, because you know that that's the right thing to
do. If you forget it, it's because
you forgot. I forget stuff all the time. It's not because I've
got a bad memory. I can't remember conversations
that took place. There's all kinds of stuff I
can't remember. I'm terrible about it. But here's the thing about
the Lord's forgiveness that's so much different than ours. When I stand in glory before
my Redeemer, He's not going to remember. He's not going to say,
I remember what you did. I remember what you were like. I remember no, their sins and
iniquities, I will remember no more. And there's a reason for
that. It's not because of his forgetfulness. It's because there's
nothing there to remember. He so affectionately put away
my sin, that when he looks at me, he's going to look at someone
who has never sinned, who has kept God's law perfectly. That's how he forgives. Now that is divine forgiveness. I will be propitious to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities, I will
remember no more. God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Would you turn with me to Jeremiah
chapter 50? I'd like you to look at this. Verse 20, Jeremiah chapter 50,
verse 20. In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall
be none. And the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found. Now, if there was anything to
find, God would find them. Amen? There is none to find. That's how powerful the blood
of Christ is. God is gonna look you over and
there'll be nothing but that which is pleasing in his sight. Now, beloved, anything less than
that doesn't do me any good. You know, I remember hearing
a preacher talking about how a believer will be judged for
his actions here on earth. And he said, I remember he made
the statement, but it won't bother you. And I thought, it'd bother
me. It'd bother me a whole lot. I don't want anything to do with
anything like that. But there won't be anything to
judge me for. That's why believers aren't gonna
be judged according to their works on earth. It's all perfect.
It's all righteous. It's all without sin. That's
what the Bible calls justification. Now, we looked at this last week,
but I got to look at it again because it illustrates this so
much how God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Turn to 2 Samuel
9. Now, David is speaking at this
time from the position of power. He is the most powerful man in
all the earth at this time. Everybody's afraid of David.
All the countries round about it, they pay taxes to keep him
away from them. I mean, he had political power that Israel had
never seen before. The scripture actually says the
fear of David fell on every nation. Now that's where this man was
coming from at this time. And David said, Is there any
yet that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness
for Jonathan's sake? Back in 1 Samuel 19, if you turn there. No, chapter 20, I'm sorry, chapter
20. Verse 11, and Jonathan said unto
David, come and let us go out into the field. And they went
out, both of them, into the field. And Jonathan said unto David,
O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about Tamar
at any time or the third day, and behold, if there be good
toward David, I then sin not unto thee, and show it to thee,
the Lord do so much and more to Jonathan. But if it please
my father, talking about Saul, who was David's enemy, to do
the evil, Then I will show it thee, and send thee away, and
thou mayest go in peace. And the Lord be with thee, as
he has been with my father. And thou shalt not only while
I yet live show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not,
but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord hath cut
off the enemies of David, everyone from the face of the earth, So
Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, let
the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. And
Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him for
he loved him as he loved his own soul. Now this happened years
and years before 2 Samuel 9. A covenant was made. You're going
to show mercy to my children after I'm gone. David now remembers
that covenant. He doesn't have anybody to fight.
All of his enemies have been defeated and he remembers that
covenant. David said, is there yet any
that's left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness
for Jonathan's sake? And there was the house of Saul,
a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they called him unto
David, the king said unto him, art thou Ziba? And he said, thy
servant is he. And the king said, is there yet any of the house
of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said
unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, but he's lame on his feet. You
see, you can read where he was lame through a fall. His nurse
dropped him and crippled him, and he was lame on both his feet. Now, what can a lame man do for
you? He can't work for you. He can't
fight for you. All he can be is carried. All this man is going to be is
a liability to you. He's not gonna be able to add
anything to your power, to your kingdom. He's lame on both his
feet. And the king said unto him, where
is he? And Ziba said unto the king, behold, he's in the house
of Makar, the son of Amelia of Lodabar. Then King David sent
and fetched him. I love that. Fetching grace. King David sent and fetched him
out of the house of Macher, the son of Amelior of Lodabar. Now
when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was
coming to David, he fell on his face and did reverence. You see,
the custom at that time is you kill everybody in the king's
house that you've taken place. You've taken his place, you're
gonna kill everybody. And as far as Mephibosheth knew, it's
over for me. He's brought me in here to execute
me. I'm of the house of Saul. And he understood that. And David said unto Mephibosheth,
and he answered, behold thy servant. And David said unto him, fear
not. I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's
sake. and will restore unto thee all
the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my
table continually. And he bowed himself and said,
what is thy servant that thou should look upon such a dead
dog as I am? That was his response. Why did
he do it? For Christ's sake. I think of
God the Father saying, is there any left of the house of Adam? that I can show him the kindness
of God for Christ's sake. Yeah, there's a bunch. They're
laying on both their feet. They can't do anything for you.
Well, I'm not doing it because of them. I'm doing it for Jonathan's
sake, for Christ's. 1 John 2, verse 12 says, little
children, your sins are forgiven for his names sake. Now, what a glorious, glorious
thought for Christ's sake. God does what he does for Christ's
sake. He's not looking for anything
out of you. He does what he does for Christ's sake. Now, are you happy about that? I'm happy about that. I wouldn't
want it to be any other way. Now, if you and I would learn
to pray, we would use in our prayer that which has the most
power with God. What has the most power with
God? For Christ's sake. Will you do this for Christ's
sake? That is what has most power with
God. Not will you do this because
I need it, or you do this because I promise I'll do that. If you
do this, I'll stop doing that. No, you pray for Christ's sake. If we would try to come in on
the footing of our own merit, our own resolves, our own promises,
All we would do is insult him. You believe that? Listen to these scriptures. Psalm
25, 11, David says, for thy name's sake, oh Lord, pardon my iniquity,
for it's great. My iniquity is great, but your
name is greater. For thy name's sake. Here's a
powerful argument to God in prayer for thy namesake. Pardon mine
iniquity for it is great. Psalm 79, nine, the psalmist
said, take away our sins for thy namesake. You know, I want
my sins taken away, don't you? I don't, I want them just lifted
off of me. They're not mine anymore. And
psalmist says, take away our sins for thy namesake. Psalm 143, 11, quicken me, O
Lord. Evidently he felt dead. Quicken
me, O Lord, for thy name's sake. Jeremiah 14, 21, do not abhor us for thy name's
sake. I want you to turn to this one.
Turn to Daniel chapter nine. We would all do well to look
at this prayer quite often of Daniels in Daniel chapter nine. And he says in verse 16, oh Lord,
Daniel 9, 16, oh Lord. According to all thy righteousness,
I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from
the city of Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins
and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people
are become a reproach to all there about us. Now, therefore,
O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant in his supplications
and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that's desolate
for the Lord's sake. Oh my God, incline thine ear
and hear, open thine eyes and behold our desolations in the
city which is called by thy name, for we do not present our supplications
before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. Oh Lord, hear, oh Lord, forgive,
oh Lord, hearken and do, oh defer not for thy own sake. That is for Christ's sake. I love what David said in Psalm
23. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. Now here's really our only plea
in prayer for Christ's sake. And I hope for Christ's sake
has power with us. Turn with me for a moment. to
Matthew chapter 10. This really is our motive for
obedience and service for Christ's sake. Verse 37, he that loveth father
or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that loveth
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross
and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth
his life shall lose it. And he that loses his life for
my sake. That's the only reason that's
needed. For my sake, the same shall find it. Turn to Matthew
16. Verse 24, then said Jesus unto
his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself. and take up his cross and follow
me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake." Is there any sacrifice too great
for Christ's sake? Is there anything too much for
Christ's sake? Peter says, Submit yourself to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Be the best citizen. I'm serious. Be the best citizen
for the Lord's sake. Be the best employee for the
Lord's sake. Be the best employer for the
Lord's sake. Be the best parent for the Lord's
sake. Be the best spouse for the Lord's
sake. Be the best friend for the Lord's
sake. Whatsoever you do, do heartily
as unto the Lord and not unto men. I love what Paul said in
Philippians 1 29, for unto you, it's given on the behalf of Christ,
not only to believe, but to suffer for his sake. Would you find
that a great privilege to be allowed? And I know all of us
are chicken out apart from the grace of God. I know that, I
know that. But would you find it a privilege
of grace that you don't deserve to be allowed to suffer for his
sake, to be persecuted because of his gospel? Paul said in Romans
8.36, We are killed all the day long
for thy sake. The Lord said, you should be
hated of all men for my sake. Paul said, we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus, the Lord and ourselves, your servants for
Jesus sake. Now here's the point. Here's
the only reason that's needed. motive for obedience, for the
obedience itself, for Christ's sake. If I'm doing it for any
other reason, it's a wrong reason. For Christ's sake. This is the most powerful thing
there is with God. He forgives you. for Christ's
sake. This is the most powerful thing
there is with any believer. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. You know, there are so many things
you could tell about what people have done for Christ's sake.
I've read of men who have willingly gone into leper colonies to preach
the gospel to the lepers, knowing that they would get that disease
and die of it. They did it for Christ's sake.
They didn't do it for a higher reward in heaven. They didn't
do it to earn some kind of higher position. They did it for Christ's
sake. I think of Mary breaking that
costly alabaster box of ointment upon the Lord and anointing his
body. I can imagine how that room must
have smelled at that time, the odor filled everywhere. And some
men criticized her. I know Judas was the instigator
of it, but some men criticized her for doing that. This could
have been sold for 300 pence and given to the poor. Why is
she doing this? The Lord said, let her alone. She hath wrought a good work
on me. That's what a good work is. As
a matter of fact, that's the only time the Lord ever calls
a work a good work. It was extravagant. It was done just for His glory. It was done for His sake. That's
why she did this. What God does for Christ's sake.
May the Lord cause us, me and you, to do what we do for Christ's
sake. No other reason. And oh, may
we be found in Him. I leave you with this thought. God, for Christ's sake, hath,
hath forgiven you. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you that salvation
is for his sake and for his glory. How we thank you that you made
us see this and rejoice in it. It would not want it to be any
other way. And Lord, we're so sinful, so
selfish, so self-centered that we will not act on such a high,
glorious motive as doing what we do for Christ's sake, except
that you enable us to. And Lord, we ask that you would,
by your Spirit, for Christ's sake, enable us to act, to live
for Christ's sake. In his name we pray, amen. Mac,
would you lead us in closing in?