Well, good evening to everyone.
Let's take our Bible and find 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter
one, thinking about preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And when we go preaching the
gospel, our aim and our goal is to lift up Christ, to lift
him up. The Lord said, if I'd be lifted
up, I'll draw men to me. And that's our aim and our goal
in preaching the gospel is to exalt our blessed Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed, it's a blessing to
be here with you this weekend. And I appreciate this church
and appreciate your dear pastor. we have on the sermon audio ministry
that we've been doing for a number of years. And there are many,
many, many thousands of preachers now on sermon audio. When we
started 12 years ago, there were just a few. And the sermon audio
ministry has been a blessing to many of the Lord's people.
There are not many other preachers I listen to on sermon audio. I'm thankful for the grace preachers
that we have that have been using the sermon audio ministry. It
is a great blessing, I believe. But of all the preachers that
I listen to, usually I find myself listening to just a few. One
of them I always listen to is my pastor and that Brother Henry
Mahan, we put over 4,000 of his sermons there on Sermon Audio,
and the downloads on his ministry is well over a million and a
half sermons, and it's been a blessing to many of the Lord's people.
But of all those on Sermon Audio, I always listen to my pastor,
Henry Mahan, and I also listen to your pastor, Todd Nibert,
and his ministry has been a blessing to me over the years. I can always
count on it, wherever he is preaching in the Word, to skeedaddle, find
his text, and then skeedaddle to the cross. That's what he
does, and that's what God's servants do. They preach Christ and Him
crucified. Now, we have there 2 Timothy,
2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter
1. I want to read beginning at verse
5 and end up in verse 12 or thereabouts. When I call to remembrance the
unfamed faith, that is the genuine faith that is in thee which dwelt
first in your grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice or Eunice,
I'm also persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in
remembrance that you stir up the gift of God which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands Stir up that gift, that precious
gift that God's given. And that could be the gift of
faith, the gift of preaching, the gift of ministering. Verse
7, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but he's
given us the spirit of power. He's given us the spirit of love.
We love him because he first loved us. We love one another. We give one another. He's given
us the spirit of a sound mind, a believing mind, a mind that's
convinced that Christ is everything in salvation. Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. What is the testimony of
our Lord? It is the gospel of God. It is
the testimony of God concerning the person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, don't be ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord, of our Lord Jesus, nor of me, his
prisoner. You know where Paul is when he's
writing these words. He's in Rome and he is in prison. But did you notice in scripture
he never calls himself the prisoner of Rome. He said I'm the prisoner
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wouldn't that be a blessed thing
to be in in captive being a captive of the Lord being in captivity. with him, nor of me his prisoner,
but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according
to the power of God." What power there is in the gospel of God. It's the power of God and the
salvation. The gospel of Christ is. Now,
I love this verse nine. I have to confess this is one
of my favorite verses. I usually quote it somewhere
in my sermon, every sermon I preach. It's God who saved us. Now, if
you're saved, if you're justified, God did it. He justified you. He justifies the ungodly. It's
God who saved us. And then, He calls us. He calls
us with the gospel. calls us with the gospel of God.
That's the means that he has ordained to call out his sheep.
He said, my sheep, they hear my voice. I know them and they
do follow me. And he calls them with a holy
calling. This is that effectual, irresistible call of God, the
Holy Spirit. It's a personal call. It's a
powerful call. It's a high calling. It is a
holy calling because it comes from the Holy God. But watch
this. It's God who saved us. It's God
who called us. But it's not according to our
works. Now, if there's anything as clear
as can be made in the word of God, it is this fact that salvation
is by grace, not by works. Not at all. Not by our works. Not according to our works. But
we can say this. Salvation is according to His
works. Salvation is according to His
obedience. Salvation is according to His
dying for us, not according to our works, but, I love that word,
B-U-T, but according to His own purpose and grace. Notice those two words, purpose,
grace. Every sinner God saves, He saves
on purpose. Purpose. He works all things
after the counsel of His own will and purpose. All things work together for
good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. Purpose. God saves every sinner
He wisely saved according to His purpose, and we know that
His purpose It is an eternal purpose that he purposed in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world according to his purpose
and his grace. His grace. His grace is sovereign
grace. His grace is electing grace. His grace is eternal grace. It is powerful grace. It is fetching
grace. You remember what David said
concerning Mephitisheph? Go down and fetching, fetching,
fetching and bringing. It's fetching grace. One day
the Lord sought you out and called you to himself. And then he said,
this grace and this purpose, which was given us in Christ
Jesus, in Christ Jesus. You see, this is an eternal grace.
This is an eternal purpose given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. The gospel of God is an eternal
gospel. It has no beginning. It has no
end. But now it was made manifest
by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished
death. How did he abolish death? He
died our death. He bare our sin in his own body
on the tree, wounded for our transgression, bruised for our
iniquities, who has abolished death. by dying in our room and
in our stead for our sin. But thank God he didn't stay
dead. He's levered for our offenses and raised again for our justification,
who has brought life, eternal life, who has brought immortality
to us through the gospel. The gospel is the only gospel
of God. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,
an apostle, a teacher to the Gentiles, appointed a preacher. What is
a gospel preacher? What is a gospel preacher? He
repeats what God has already said. He is one beggar telling
another beggar where bread is found. Where to I'm appointed
a preacher. Paul was an apostle, one who
was sent of God. a teacher, one who was willing
and able to teach others, for the which cause I suffered these
things. Nevertheless, Paul suffered many things for the gospel's
sake, didn't he? Beaten, imprisoned, stoned, whipped,
drug out of the city, dead. Why did he suffer such persecution?
Because he would not compromise the gospel. Would not back down. For the which cause I suffer
these things, nevertheless I'm not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed. This is a good confession of
faith right here. This is a good definition of
faith rather. For I know whom I have believed. It's not necessarily what we
believe, it's who we believe. I would minimize the importance
of true right doctrine. But what is election apart from
Christ the elect? What is redemption apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer? You see, you divorce the person
from the doctrine and you've got nothing. What makes it work
and what makes it beautiful, what makes it powerful is the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's who he is that gives infinite
merit and power and glory to all that he has done. For the
which cause I suffer these things, nevertheless, I'm not ashamed
for I know whom I have believed. And being a believer, you're
persuaded. You see that word persuaded.
You're persuaded that He is able. That He is able to keep that
which I've committed unto Him against that day. Saving faith
is persuaded that He is able. Not that we're able, but that
He is able. He's the able Savior, the willing
Savior. He's able to keep that which
I've committed unto Him against that day. What part of salvation have you
committed unto the Lord Jesus Christ? Part of it? Some of it? Most of it? My friend,
true saving faith that given of God is fully, completely persuaded
and totally has committed everything in salvation to the Lord Jesus
Christ completely and only in him do we have confidence. I'm persuaded that he is able. I'm persuaded that he is able. Now, I know a little bit about
what we are by nature, being totally depraved sinners. And I know that we have no ability
in our flesh whatsoever. No man can come to me except
the Father which sent me draw him. We have no ability, no ability
at all to please God, to satisfy God, to produce righteousness.
But I'm glad of this. He is able. He is the able, willing
Savior. He is able to do all things. Now that's the subject that I
want to talk about this evening. Our Lord is a able and willing
Savior. I'm persuaded that He is able
to keep everything in saving grace, in sovereign mercy, and
give that to His people. He's able to perform all things
for us. Hold fast the form of sound word
which thou hast heard of me in faith and in love, which is in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is the willing, able,
powerful Savior. We know that He has all glory,
all dominion in heaven and in earth, and we have absolutely
all confidence in Him, and we have no confidence in ourselves,
none whatsoever. We are the true Israel which
worship God in the Spirit, that rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
we have no confidence, no confidence in the flesh, none whatsoever. Now, you remember the story of
the kinsman-redeemer in the book of Ruth. You remember the story
of Boaz, Boaz who had the willingness, the ability, and he was near
kin to Ruth and Naomi. Boaz, we know, is a personal
type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that kinsman redeemer.
To be a kinsman redeemer, you had to be near kin. You had to
be willing to redeem. You had to be able to redeem.
And we know that Boaz is a picture of our Redeemer, the blessed
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And our Lord is near kin unto
us. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. We know that he indeed is a willing
Redeemer, is he not? He said, I came down from heaven
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. He
is the willing Redeemer. He is near kin unto us. And He's
also the able Redeemer. The able Redeemer. The Lord came
to seek and to save that which was lost. We read over here in
1 Timothy, don't turn, let me just read it to you. 1 Timothy
1, 15. This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why He
came. To save sinners, of whom I am
chief. He is the willing Redeemer. He is the able Redeemer, able
to save to the uttermost. We're going to read that in just
a minute. Now, the disciples asked the Lord that question
that day, who then can be saved? You remember what the Lord said?
He said, with men, it is impossible, but not with God. But with God,
all things, all things are possible. Now, I want to consider this
subject, the Lord's willing, willingness to save, and his
ability to save. Now, first of all, let's find,
turn back to Roman chapter four. What is our Lord able to do? We know he is the willing Savior,
the able Savior, the confident Savior, the powerful Savior. What is he willing and able to
do? Let's find Roman chapter four.
Roman chapter 4, look at verse 18, who against hope, believed
in hope that he might become the father of many nations according
to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. Speaking of
Abraham, being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body
now dead when he was about 100 years old, either yet the deadness
of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief. but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised,
he, that is Almighty God, was able to perform. Able to perform. all he promised, therefore it
was imputed to him for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed, but for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again
for our justification. I'm fully persuaded, aren't you,
of all that God had promised He's able to perform all of His
promise. All those exceeding great and
precious promises given of God in the Word, He's able to perform
all those promises made unto us. All the promises of God in
Him, or yes, in Christ, in Him, and amen, and to the glory of
God. We read this in Psalm 57, and
I love this scripture. Psalm 57, he performeth all things
for me. That's what the Lord has done
for us. He's performed all things for us. And then the testimony
of Joshua found in Joshua 23, 14. He said, not one promise
of all that God has promised has failed. Not one, not one. The Lord Jesus Christ has promised,
honored the law of God for us. He said, I didn't come to destroy
the law. I came to honor it. He performed every detail of
that law. He honored every precept of it.
And in his death, he honored the penalty. The penalty of that
law was death. He died according to the scriptures
for our sin. You see, salvation is according
to all that he has done for us, not what we do for him. He performed
all things in honoring the law of God. He established an everlasting
righteousness for us. It says in Isaiah 42, the Lord
is well pleased for His righteousness sake. He will magnify the law
and make it honorable. And we know this, the Lord made
complete atonement for us, as you read earlier, here in His
love. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and that He sent His Son to be the propitiation,
the sacrifice for our sin. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. He has performed all things for
us. Everything I need to stand before
God is provided by Him. Our God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm persuaded that He is able
to perform. He is the performing Savior,
and His performance is perfect before God. His obedience is
perfect before God. His faithfulness is perfect unto
God. He became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. So saving faith is persuaded
that He is able. He is the willing, able, powerful
Savior. Here's the second thing I want
us to look at. Turn back a few pages to Acts chapter 20, talking
about the ability and power of our God. He is able to perform. And then in Acts chapter 20,
Acts chapter 20, Verse 28, take heed, therefore, unto yourselves.
Let's back up one verse. Verse 27, Acts 20, 27. For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves,
to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers,
to feed the church of God, which he had purchased with his own
blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your
own self shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember
that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone,
night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend
you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build
you up and to give you an inheritance We've been made heirs of God
and joined heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ among all them that
are sanctified. For by the one offering hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified." He's able, with
the word of His grace, He is able to build you up. Now this
doesn't mean that He puffs you up. This means that He builds
you up upon that one foundation And that's Christ Himself. He
builds us up upon, you remember the Lord said, I'll build my
church in the gates of hell, shall not prevail against us.
First thing He does, He knocks us down. And then He builds us
up. He's not them of a broken heart.
Save us such as be of a contrite spirit. He humbles us and then
he lifts us. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord and he will lift you up. He empties us and then
he fills us. He strips us and then he clothes
us. We read this in the word, those
that walk in pride, he is able to abase. He is able to build
you up in Christ. And he does that by cutting out
any false foundation, any false refuge that you might have. He
said, Behold, I lay in Zion for foundation a stone, a tried stone,
a precious cornerstone. He that believeth on him, that
build up on him upon Christ shall never be forced to flee, shall
never be confounded, shall never be ashamed. Our God is able to
make all grace abound toward you. He's able to build you up. in him upon that solid foundation
that we have. God has given us that foundation
stone, that tried stone, who is none other than our blessed
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. What mercy it is to be built
up upon him and to rest upon him and to be one with him, to
be found in him. Now, here's the third thing.
find the book of Ephesians, the book of Ephesians chapter 3,
Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14. I'll go back to verse 11, Ephesians
chapter 3 verse 11. According to the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." I love that statement,
His eternal purpose, which He purposed in the Lord Jesus Christ. "...in whom we have boldness,
we have access with confidence by the faith of Him, His performance,
His faithfulness. Wherefore, I desire that you
faint not at my tribulation for you, which is your glory. For
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to
be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man."
Now, notice when he's praying for the church, he prays for
spiritual blessing, spiritual help. "...that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith, that you may be rooted and grounded
in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth, the length, the depth, the height, and to know the love
of Christ which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with
all the fullness of God. Verse 20, now unto him that is
able. There it is again, unto him that
is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think according
to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. He's able, our God is able
to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. That's a big promise. exceedingly, abundantly. Think of the biggest thing you
can think of to ask God for, and he can do exceeding, abundantly,
above all that we would ask of him. You see, according to this
power, now watch this, according to this power that works in us. Now what's he talking about there?
Turn back to Ephesians chapter one. What is this power that
he works in us? Is it some mystical thing? What
he's talking here about is the power that God gives us in believing
the gospel. That is, God enables us to believe
the gospel. Look at Ephesians chapter 1.
Look at verse 19. What is exceeding greatness of
his power to usward who believe? according to the working of His
mighty power. The only way you will ever truly
believe the gospel and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ is according
to the working of His mighty power that He works in you. Now, what kind of power are we
talking about? Look at the next verse. Which
He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and
set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places, far above
all principality, power, might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to
come." So what kind of power are we talking about? Resurrection
power. What kind of power did it take
to bring the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ out of the
tomb that third day? The power of God. What kind of
power does it take to raise a dead sinner from a spiritual grave
and give him life in Christ? Resurrection power. That's what
happens in regeneration. This thing of making a decision
is not regeneration. regeneration of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth. You hath he quickened,
look at the same page here, Ephesians 2 verse 1, you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and in sin. He quickened us. We were dead in sin. We only
believe the gospel according to the working of his mighty
power. Faith is the sovereign gift of
God. Faith is not of man. Faith comes
from the throne of God into your heart by the power of God as
the gift of God. And when that happens, true saving
faith only looks to rest upon and loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith doesn't look Well,
I'm looking in here to see if I'm saved. Forget it. That'll
just draw you to despair. Saving faith doesn't look in
here. Saving faith looks to Christ. He's the Savior, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation, who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated. Where is he seated? By hand of
God, when He by Himself purged our sin, He sat down on the right
hand of the throne of God. I'm persuaded that He is able
to do above all we ask or think according to that saving power,
saving mercy, regenerating grace that He works in the hearts of
His people to make us. If any man be in Christ, what
is he? He's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things have become
new. Now here's the fourth one. Find
a few pages over. Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three, verse
20. Philippians 3, 20. For our conversation
is in heaven. And that word there, conversation,
can be rightly given citizenship For our citizenship is in heaven,
that is, we're the believers already, we're already there
in Christ, our head, our representative. For our conversation, citizenship
is in heaven from once we look. Also, for the Savior, who is
the Lord Jesus, He is the Savior who saves His people. He is our
Lord Jesus Christ. who shall change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according."
I love that word, according. One of these days, I'm gonna
do a sermon on that word, according. According, as he does the working
according to the working of his power, working whereby he is
able, he is able, there's that word, even to subdue all things
unto himself. Doesn't say some things, most
things. It says he's able to subdue, to conquer all things
unto himself. That is, he is the absolute sovereign
Lord who has absolute authority over all things. He does it according
to his will in the army of heaven and among the heavens of this
earth. and none can stay his hand, or none can say unto him,
Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? He's the absolute God,
God who is God. He said, I am the Lord, and there
is none beside me able even to subdue all things unto himself. Whatsoever the Lord is pleased
to do, that's what our God is able to do. You remember the
heathen came to David, and they said, David, where is your God?
You remember the answer? Our God's in the heavens. He
has done whatsoever he had pleaded in heaven, earth, sea, and all
deep places. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what He does. He's able to subdue all things
unto Himself. He's the absolute sovereign God
in creation, created all things by the word of His power. He's
the absolute sovereign God in providence. Those things He has
decreed from eternity, He brings to pass in time according to
His will and to His purpose. We read in Romans 11, 36, of
him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory
both now and forever. You remember the next word? Amen. So be it. I'm persuaded that
he is able to subdue all things unto himself because he's the
sovereign God. He is God who is God in heaven
and in earth, and He is the Eternal One from everlasting to everlasting. Thou art God. He's sovereign
in creation, sovereign in providence, and what's that third one we
always talk about? Somebody help me. Sovereign in salvation, isn't
He? He's sovereign in salvation.
It's no accident that you bumped into the gospel. I've told some
of the folks earlier. Some of you know my story, Chuck
and some of you older ones I've known for so long. But you know,
I grew up out West. I'm from Idaho, the gem state
where they have potatoes out there. But I also lived for a
time in the state of Utah. And I grew up, I grew up in,
I grew up in false religion. I cut my teeth on works religion.
I was raised a Mormon. They teach and preach that salvation
is by what you do, instead of what the Lord has done for us. How do you get a young, barefoot
boy, there in the Rocky Mountains of northern Utah, all the way
down, and in one day, I end up in Ashland, Kentucky,
where one Henry Mahan lives, And God crossed our path. And
God confronted me with the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. How'd all that happen? Well,
I was just lucky, you know. That's one word we ought never
use, is luck. Luck. Lady luck. Three ladies I never mentioned.
Miss Fortune, Lady Luck, and Mother Nature. Those three ladies. You see, God saves sinners by
purpose. By purpose. One day he crossed
my path with the gospel of God. And it wasn't an accident. He
saved sinners on purpose. Somehow, someway, those who were
chosen in that covenant of grace, and those for whom the Lord Jesus
Christ died, somehow, someway, through the preaching of the
gospel, God's going to send the gospel to the doorstep of that
man, and he's going to be confronted with the truth. That's what happens
when God saves a sinner. You've confronted, and not only
that, but you're convicted, you're brought down, and you're convinced
that Christ is everything in salvation. And that brings me
to my fifth one. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 7. Hebrews chapter 7. He is able. Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7, verse 22. Hebrews 7, 22. By so much was
Jesus, the Savior, made a surety of a better testament, a better
covenant. He's the eternal surety. And
I put it this way, before Adam Sin, and before Adam fell, the
Lord Jesus Christ stood as a surety. Before there was a sinner, the
Savior was already there. He was a guarantee, the surety
of our salvation, of that eternal testament of grace, the covenant
of grace, the eternal covenant of grace. We read of it over
here, just stay right there in Ephesians or Hebrews chapter
7. But we read about this covenant
over here in Hebrews 13. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect. Now, by the so much which Jesus
made the surety of a better testament, and they truly were many priests,
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death,
but this man, talking about the God-man mediator, because he
continues forever, he's the order, he's the priest like Melchizedek,
not like Aaron. Because He continues forever,
He has an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, verse 25, and here's
another one of my favorite verses. I quote this almost every time
I bring a message too. Wherefore, He is able to save
them. Now who are these people who
are called them? I want to be one of them. He's able to save them. All that
the Father of the Lord said, all that the Father has given
to me, they will come to me. That's the them. Those chosen
by eternal electing love, eternal electing grace. Wherefore, He
is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing
that He ever liveth to make intercession for them, His people. Such a high priest became us
who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens. Our Savior has all power to save."
All power to save. If He didn't have all power to
save, if He didn't have all power in heaven and earth, because
our state is so dead, Our condition is so vile, if the Lord our God
does not have all power to save, there's no hope for me. You remember
what he prayed in John 17? Father, you've given me power
over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many
as the Father has given to me. He has all power to save. He has all power over all flesh. And He saves His people by His
power, by His power. Call His name Jesus, He shall
save His people from their sin. The Lord came to save His people,
and He is a Savior who saves, and He cannot fail to save His
people. It's already done. At Calvary's
tree, he said, it is finished. He actually justified them when
he died, when he shed his blood, he justified them. Listen to
this scripture. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet for adventure, for a
good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended His
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's able to save His people. And my friend, He did. When He
died, He saved them. He justified them with his blood.
He said, it's done. It is finished. Now here's the last one I want
us to look at. Find the little book of Jude, right before the
revelation. Just one chapter. Jude, the book
of Jude, and then verse 24. This is another one of my favorite
verses. Now, Verse 24, now unto him that
is able, he is able. You get the idea of what he's
saying here in the word of God? A lot of people have the idea,
well, God wants to, but you won't let him. As if he was not the
almighty God. You know what they've got? They've
got a peanut God. God who is, God is not frustrated
by the puny creature. Come on, who are we talking about
now? We're talking about God who was God, who ruled and reigned
over all things, all creatures, who had all dominion and power. You're no match for Him. The
Lord wants you, He's going to conquer you. He's going to break
you. He's going to put you in the
dust before He raises you. Now to Him that is able to keep
you from falling. and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory. And he does it with exceeding
joy. With exceeding joy. Now unto
him that is able. Well, God has saved me. But you
know, I kind of messed up and I lost my salvation. Now what kind of salvation is
that? That's nothing but tommyrot. That's what Spurgeon called tomfoolery,
tommyrot. God, when he saves his people,
justifies them by his grace. He saves them with an everlasting
salvation. That's what the scriptures teach,
Isaiah 45, 17. You remember in John chapter
10, he said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them. They hear
my voice, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. Oh, by the way, it's eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave to me is
greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my hand. Aren't you glad he's able to
keep us, to keep us from falling? Not only to keep us from falling,
we're kept by the power of God. Not only does He keep us from
falling, saves us with an everlasting salvation, but He presents you. He presents you without fault,
holy, unblameable, unreprovable before the presence of His glory,
and He does it with exceeding joy. Wow, what a Savior we have. He has almighty power to save
us and to keep us by His grace. Now, He saves us with an everlasting
salvation, redeems us with eternal redemption, regenerates us by
His power and His grace and makes us new creatures in Christ. Now
here's the bottom line in this whole thing. Look at verse 25. Jude, verse 25. To the only wise
God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now,
right now, and ever. Amen. Amen. Now here's how you can
tell who is preaching the gospel and who is not. You want the
bottom line in the bottom line the acid test as we'd say of
who is preaching the gospel and who is not. That man who is preaching
the gospel gives all the glory to God in the salvation of sinners. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glory,
let him glory in the Lord. God forbid that we should glory
save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The man who is
not preaching the gospel, he's seeking the glory of himself
and of the sinners. I mean, really, when you think
about it, if God's done all he can do, and the rest is up to
you, and you are the one who really makes this thing work,
then who gets the glory in that scheme? Well, it's not God. It's the sinner who really makes
it work. You see, in that false gospel and false religion, it's
man-centered, man's glory. In the true gospel of God, it's
all about, you remember in Ephesians chapter 1, talking about the
Father choosing us to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Then when it talks about
the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches
of His grace, to the praise of His glory. And then when it talks
about the work of God, the Holy Spirit, who quickens us and seals
us into the day of redemption, it's all to the praise of His
glory, is it not? Now that's what true gospel preaching
does. It causes you to glory in Christ. Worthy is the lamb that was slain
to receive all honor, glory, blessings and power. Both now
and forever. I'm done. I've enjoyed being with you.
I appreciate your pastor inviting me. I've been in Pike County, Kentucky
there at the church at Zebulon. Maybe some of our folks this
evening are watching on Sermon Audio. I hope they are. But I've
been there in Pike County, the little church there in Zebulon
for 24 years. I start my 25th year this year. And the Lord is blessing that
community and blessing us with the gospel. And I invite some
of our folks here from Pike County or here That's the thing about
when you live down there and our young people grow up, they
grow up and they move away. They always come here or some
other city. One of the things I've always
been very thankful about, about this ministry here that the Lord
raised up, when our young children, when they do grow up and get
out of high school and they come down here to the university,
they come down here to the university, get that education. And that's fine, that's good.
But the real education they need is right here, hearing the gospel. And I always have been thankful
that the Lord raised up this ministry and that the young people,
when they come to the university here, can have a place to come
and hear the gospel. Hear the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. and I'm most thankful. Okay,
Lord bless you.