God's Mighty Work

Q: What does the Bible say about the difference between the old and new covenants?

The Bible states that the new covenant is more glorious than the old, as it reveals the finished work of Jesus Christ for salvation. In 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, Paul highlights the distinction between the old covenant, which was a ministration of death and condemnation, and the new covenant, which is a ministration of life, righteousness, and the Spirit. The old covenant served its purpose by pointing to Christ but has been fulfilled in Him, leading to the glorious new covenant that offers true hope and salvation. This shift emphasizes the work of Christ, who satisfied the law's demands on behalf of sinners, removing the veil that covered the hearts of those who believe.

Q: How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

Scripture teaches that salvation is entirely by grace, as it is a gift from God, not based on our works. The doctrine of grace emphasizes that salvation is a sovereign act of God where sinners are justified solely based on the merits of Christ and not on any works or decisions on their part. Paul, for instance, reiterates in his letters that redemption is freely given, not earned, declaring that God’s grace is sufficient, covering our sins and making us righteous in His sight. This truth is central to Reformed theology, which maintains that even the faith to believe is itself a gift from God. Thus, salvation by grace alone is affirmed throughout Scripture as the foundation of the Christian faith.

Q: Why is the ministry of the gospel significant for Christians?

The ministry of the gospel is crucial as it declares the truth of God’s justifying grace through Christ, transforming lives. The gospel ministry is significant for Christians because it is the means through which God communicates His saving grace to the elect. Paul emphasizes that through this ministry, believers are called to preach the good news, which is the declaration of Christ’s death and resurrection, securing redemption for sinners. This ministry brings illumination and transformation, enabling us to see the glory of God and ultimately glorifying Him as we share the message of hope found in Jesus. As agents of this ministry, Christians are tasked with proclaiming this life-giving truth, which is essential for both their own faith and the evangelization of the world.

Q: How does God blind the minds of the lost?

God blinds the minds of the lost through Satan, who obscures the truth of the gospel from them. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul explains that the god of this world, referring to Satan, blinds the minds of those who do not believe. This blinding is not the root cause of their lost condition but rather a consequence that exacerbates their natural state of unbelief. God, in His sovereign will, allows this blinding to occur as part of His divine plan, ultimately pointing to the necessity of His grace to illuminate the hearts of the chosen. This dual action of God’s sovereignty and man’s will highlights the depths of human depravity and the need for divine intervention for anyone to come to faith.

Q: What is the importance of the glory of God in the gospel?

The glory of God in the gospel reveals His righteousness and grace through Jesus Christ, which is central to salvation. The glory of God is fundamental to understanding the gospel, as it encapsulates His character and redemptive plans for humanity. In revealing His glory, the gospel demonstrates God’s holiness and righteousness, validating His just nature as He justifies sinners through Christ. Furthermore, this glory is made manifest in the person of Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection embody the ultimate expression of grace and truth. Therefore, recognizing and reflecting on God’s glory transforms believers, encouraging them to live in a manner that glorifies Him and showcases His grace to the world.

Some of y'all got older since
I was here last. You have your Bibles turned to 2
Corinthians chapter 4. I want to read part of chapter
3 through verse 6 of chapter 4 this morning. God willing. Begin reading with verse 6 of
chapter 3 and read through verse 6 of chapter 4. Paul here declaring
the difference between the two covenants, the old and the new,
declaring the new as more glorious because the new has the record
of the finished work of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Verse
6 of chapter 3 says, ìWho also hath made us able ministers of
the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life.î I need to turn on this microphone. Okay. Sorry about that. Okay. Yeah. I can whisper. But if the ministration of death
written and engraven in stones was glorious, it had a certain
glory to it because it pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, so
that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face
of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was
to be done away? How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious, or more glorious? For if the
ministration of condemnation be glory, much more that the
ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that
which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason
of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we have great plainness
of speech. And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished, but
their minds were blinded. For until this day remaineth
the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which veil is done away in Christ. And even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when
it shall be turned, that is, the heart, to the Lord, the veil
shall be taken away. Now, the Lord is that Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we
all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed under the same image from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore, we have this ministry. As we have received mercy, we
faint not. But a renounce the hidden things
of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling of the
word of God deceitfully, but in manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid from them that are lost,
in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto For we preach not
ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord, and ourselves, your servants,
for Jesus' sake, for or because God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure. in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and
not of us." Now, the ministry which Paul speaks of here in
chapter 4, in verses 1 and 7, is the ministry of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the ministry that declares
that God is just to justify sinners conditioned solely upon the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the gospel ministry. Now,
this ministry that God gave to Paul was the most significant
and important thing in his entire existence. In Acts chapter 28,
he said that he was getting ready to go to Jerusalem, would probably
be bound there, might be put in chains, might be put in jail,
but God had given him the ministry. a ministry to declare the gospel
of Jesus Christ. In 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
11, Paul said, God entrusted me with this gospel, the gospel
of the glorious God. This ministry that God gave Paul
was all to him. In the preceding chapter, he
is shown that this ministry, the gospel ministry, is not of
law but of grace. It's a gospel of grace. It's
a glorious gospel of grace. We saw that the ministry of the
law was described in these terms. It killeth. It's a ministration of death. It's done away with. It's a ministration
of condemnation. It's done away with. It's abolished. I don't know about you, but I
want me some of that, don't you? Don't you want to be under the
law? It's going to kill you, condemn you. It's done away with. No glory in it. Don't you want
that? Me neither. Me neither. That
ministry was done away with on Calvary. by Jesus Christ when
he established the new covenant and set aside the old. We're
not under the law, those who believe the grace of God. The ministry of the gospel, by
contrast and by opposition, is the new covenant and is a ministration
of life, a ministration of the Spirit, a ministration of righteousness,
and a ministration that remains. It's still going on. If you are
seeking to be under the law, you're really trying to do something
with nothing. Judaism is a defunct religion,
not even true to its own writings and to its own teachings. The Chaldeans captured the Ark
of the Covenant 250 years or so before Christ came. It wasn't
behind the curtain. It wasn't behind the veil. So
what was that priest doing all that time, every day of atonement? He was faking it. That's what
he was doing, because it wasn't there. It looked good. He was
going in there with the blood, and he was sprinkling around.
He'd come out, you know, and say, The Lord has reconciled
the Lord for another year. Everything's okay. But there
was no Ark of the Covenant. The Sky of Glory was not there.
It was a mystery. The enemies of God had it. It's
a fake religion. Would you be under the law? You're
under nothing. You're under nothing at all.
What does the law say? Well, to those under the law,
it says you're guilty and shut your mouth. You have nothing
to say. What does the law do? How do
you keep the law? Can you keep the law? Yes and
no. There's only one way to keep
the law. If the Bible is true, when it said the law was added
because of transgression, you're already a transgressor. How can
you keep the law? Die. That's it. And you will. Or you have in
the substitution. That's what the law says. Die. Die. That's what every law says,
isn't it? What is the law? It's a way that
men define Sin. Assign blame and place a sentence
upon a wrongful act. Where there is no law, there
is no transgression. That's what the Bible says. If there was
no law, there would be no transgression. But because of transgression,
the law was added. So the law says to you, die. Sinner, die. It's a ministry of killer. It's
a ministry of condemnation. And that's all it'll ever be.
It's all it'll ever be. Jesus Christ. How did Christ
keep the law? Well, He lived perfectly before
God. Well, if that's the case, and it was, the law had nothing
to do with Him. Isn't that right? The law has
nothing to do with the righteous man. Why? Because the law only
condemns. How did Christ keep the law?
He didn't keep it. As our substitute, He died in
our room instead. And in that moment, the law was
satisfied for us. I'm thankful for His righteous
life. I'm thankful that He was perfect
because He's the Son of God. Nobody knew it. They didn't see His righteousness,
did they? They nailed him to a cross, his brethren didn't
believe him. Do you think they're going to see it in you? Righteousness? No, because nobody can see righteousness. They didn't see it in Christ.
I'm thankful he was the righteous man, the single righteous man. But that righteousness is not
accounted to me. He's accounted to me. God has
made him to be wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is my righteousness. He kept the law by dying in my
room instead. He was punished for my sins on
Calvary's tree. That didn't kill Him. God shut
down the lights when He did that. That didn't kill Him. God poured
out His wrath for my sin upon Him. That didn't kill Him. He
came out on the other side of that and said, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? He is still alive. But after
he had taken that drink and said, I thirst in order to fulfill
the scriptures, then what did he do? He voluntarily did an
act that only one human being has ever done. His death was
an action. He died. And in that moment,
the law was satisfied for every child of God, every one of the
elated. This is the ministry of the gospel.
This is what Paul preaches. The ministry of the gospel is
the ministry that Paul possesses. He says, we have it in dirt pots,
dirt pots. That's what I am. That's what
every preacher of the gospel is, nothing but a dirt pot. We
were talking somewhat about this last night, Clare and I were.
If we understand and appreciate the grace of God and really grab
a hold of what it is, God's preachers have to be the worst of the bunch.
They're not the best of the best and the cream of the crop. They're
the off-scouring of the universe and the scraping of the bottom
of the barrel. Why? Because salvation is by grace.
It's by grace and grace alone. We are dirt pots, earthen vessels.
How come we're called that? We're called that so if people
look at us, they'll say, if God, if that fellow's saved. All the excellency of the glory
belongs to God and not to us. All of it. The carrying out and the accomplishment
of this ministry is entirely dependent upon the mercy of God.
Having this ministry, We pray for mercy. That's what Paul said.
We pray for mercy. That's how it's carried out.
And the gospel is straight shooting. It's straight shooting plain,
unadored language. He said, having this ministry,
we speak plainly. We speak plainly. It's not inventions of men. Not
a church altar, a sinner's prayer, a game-saving, a theological
mumbo-jumbo, or playing fast and loose with the Word of God.
It is not a ministry about the preacher, not my ministry. It's about Jesus Christ delivered
by your servants for his sake. Well, isn't the pastor the leader
of the church? Uh-huh. Doesn't he have to give account
for the souls of those whom he ministers to? Uh-huh. He's given
authority for that. For that. He's also the servant of the
flock. And Paul said he's owned by the flock. That's the pastor. Dirt pots.
Christ's ministry. What is the gospel? Paul says
here, we preach the gospel, and the gospel is heard from some
people. The gospel is God's record of His Son and the glorious salvation
He wrought by the sacrifice of Himself, by the giving of His
own soul as a sacrifice for sin. And the gospel is the report
of Christ, who He is, why He came, what He did, and where
He is now. It is the declaration that God Almighty is just to
justify sinners on the merits of Christ alone and nothing else.
But when God saved you, He said in Romans 3, that's the right
thing to do. It's a righteous act I just did
by saving me. How? Because of God, because
of the Lord Jesus Christ. that made it possible for God
to be just to do so, and declare His righteousness in doing so
by His death. The gospel is good news to some. It's glad tidings that God has
saved His people made them righteous, justified them in Jesus Christ,
sanctified them in Jesus Christ, given them wisdom, knowledge,
and prudence and understanding, bestowed upon them all things
necessary for acceptance in His presence, and has given them
faith to believe that He's done all of that. They trust completely
in what God has done. In fact, it says God has made
them suitable. Meet suitable to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in life. God's made you worthy
for what He's done for you. He made you suitable. You don't
have to back up for this. Bow down for it. It's yours if
you're His child. You're suitable before God. I
know we like to think we're humble, and we try to act humble, and
try to talk humble, you know, but we're not very humble. I
don't know when I'm humble. I know when I say things like,
well, I'm not humble, I really think that's an humble statement. Don't you? Yet if I said I was humble,
then I know I'd be lying. God will humble us by taking
everything about salvation away from us. That's how He does it. Concerning
the gospel, Paul says it's hid from some people. He said if it's hid from anyone,
it's hid from the lost. From them that are lost. There
are three kinds of lost in Scripture. Three kinds of lost in life.
There's lost and oblivious, which makes up the greater part of
humanity. And lost? Have no idea if they're lost.
Going about their jobs, raising their families, doing right,
being good people as far as the world is concerned. Lost as geese
in snowstorms and don't know it. Oblivious to the fact. That's one kind of lost. And
there's a group of people like that referred to in Scripture.
There are those who are lost and aware of it. And that's a
whole different ball game. I've been out in the woods before,
out wandering around, and was actually lost and didn't know
it. You know what I mean? I was just walking around thinking,
you know, I remember putting that tree over my right shoulder
and pointed toward the sun. I can get back to the house.
But somehow the sun moved over here and the tree got gone, and
then I realized I was lost. For a long time I walked around.
Scott Richardson used to tell a story of a man who went hunting
with him. Three or four of them was hunting and it was a snowy
day and they was out hunting. I don't know what they was hunting in the
snow, but I guess they was hunting something up there in West Virginia. And he said this one fellow got
really cold and said, I'm going back to the car. They parked
the car up on the road and went down this draw and crossed a
couple of hills. He said, I'm going, I'm going
back to the car, I'm cold. So he's headed back to the car.
So the other two or three guys stayed out hunting and they was
having a nice day and they started back and they heard this way
off in the distance. God said, What in the world is
that? They kept walking toward it and it kept getting louder
and louder. And it was the guy who had left
them to go back to the car. And he got lost. And he was aware
of it. And when they got it close enough
to hear what he was saying, he said, Where's the car? Where's
the car? That's what it is to be lost,
to be aware of it. And there's another kind of lost here, those
who are lost, and Satan has blinded their minds. That's another kind
of lost, and that's the kind of lost that he's talking about.
The lost here is the same as those that believe not in verse
4 of chapter 4, "...in whom the God of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not." which believe not the gospel."
The wording here is important. Though it is said that Satan
has blinded these folks' minds, he did not make them lost. He
did not make them lost, nor did he make them unbelievers, as
if they were neither before he blinded their minds. Their lost
condition and unbelief are the just inheritance of their birth
in Adam. They are lost and undone, and
unbelievers born that way into this world. However, the blinding
of their minds here transpired at some later time, and according
to the context, their unbelief at that point ceased to be a
general, common, natural condition and became a specific mindset. Remember what he's dealing with
here. Their unbelief now has specifically to do with the gospel. And also, since this passage
begins with the word therefore, The whole scenario has to do
with the two ministrations referred to in this chapter, in chapter
3, the law and the gospel. It is clear then that Satan is
used by God to hide the gospel, but even though he is the God
of this world and the prince of the power of the air, his
power is derived. The Puritans used to call him
God's Because he did exactly what God
told him to do, and still does. Now, he may be used to help you. Do you know that? Satan is one
of those ministering spirits sent forth from God to be ministers
to those that shall be heirs of salvation, according to Hebrews
chapter 1. What does that mean? Well, if
your name is Simon Peter, the Lord may let him sift you like
wheat. Cause you to lie and deny Christ
three times. And you know what? That'll be
good for you. It wasn't Satan's design, but
that'll be good for you, because you'll come out in weak, bitter
tears. And you won't do that again. Isn't that right? God said, Has thou observed my
servant Job? He's a good man. a righteous
man in all that he does. He loves good and hates evil. And Satan says, Well, does it
serve you for nothing? You made him rich. You made him
filthy rich. If you made me filthy rich, I'd
serve you too. God says, He don't serve me for
nothing. Take everything he's got. Take everything he's got, but
don't touch his skin. So God allowed Satan to take
everything Job had. And what Job did? The Lord giveth,
and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. That was good for Job, wasn't
it? That was good for Job. But here Satan said to blind
the mind of them that are lost. But he didn't hide the gospel
from them. Satan don't have that power.
The fact that God says that He's commanded the light to shine
in hearts is an unqualified proclamation that Satan's power is limited
to those to whom the gospel is hid. God's the one that does
the hiding of things. God can hide the gospel from
you. And if He does, then Satan's
going to blind your eyes. And he's going to do it in a
specific way. So you won't think you're blind. You won't think
you're blind. Our Lord preached to a bunch
of people, and John the Baptist preached to the same people.
And here's what they said about John the Baptist preaching. They
said, God, it's so mournful. You just mourn out there. It
ain't made us cry, though. We ain't going to join in that
mess. And they said of Jesus Christ preaching, well, it's
like piping. joyous and happy. He talks about wondrous grace
of God and things. It's just a happy message. But
we're not going to listen to that. And our Lord says, you know what?
Excuse me, fellows, I'm going to pray. And He lifted His eyes
and He said, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank You
that you have hid these things from the wise and the reproved,
and revealed them unto thee. No man knows me but the Father,
no man knows the Father but me, and whosoever I will reveal him
to." God's the one that hides things. It's the glory of the
Lord, according to Proverbs chapter 25, for God to conceal a thing. For God to conceal a thing. Satan
is used to blind the minds of them from whom God has hid the
gospel, who are lost, and whose unbelief is centered in the rejection
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and rather applying to
the law for justification." Satan's pulpit ministry, and he has one. Satan's pulpit ministry is to
make you believe. that you see when you are actually
blind. That's how He blinds you. How
does Satan blind the mind of these folks? Well, if we believe
religion, religion tells us that he does it in the bars and the
bordellos, the movie shows and the Internet, in the crack houses
and the rock and roll music. The Bible reveals that he does
it with a cover. He does it with the cover. The
word blinded means to put a veil over. Have we read something
about a veil here in this passage of Scripture? Look at chapter
3 and verses 13 through 15. And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, which the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to, to the end that which was abolished. In
the end there is Jesus Christ which abolished it. They couldn't
look to Him. And why did Moses... You know, I know when Charlton
Heston played Moses, you all saw that. He come down from the
mountain, his hair had changed. You notice that? It had swept
back and had turned gray on the side, and he had this glowing
face. And, you know, they said, put a veil over your face. We
can't even look. That ain't what that's talking about. You know
why they couldn't look at Moses? Because he got it. He got it. He had been on the
mountain with the Lord. And the Lord had showed him who
He was. Gave Him these commandments to tell the people. Why did He
give them the laws? Because if you look at the laws,
what He gave there, they were doing, what He condemned there,
they were doing at the bottom of the mountain. I shall have
no other God before me. Let's make us a calf. I shall not have any graven image
of anything. Let's make it out of gold and
call it Jehovah, and that's the wording there in the text. But he understood all that pointed
to something else. You ever wonder why people, when
you start to talk about the gospel of grace, too, when you start
to tell about who God is and how God saves sinners, they get
this blank look on their face? They go, What? And you've got
a veil over your face to them. And the veil is actually over
their heart. They can't get it. And so when Moses came down from
the mountain, began to tell them who God was, killed that lamb
and sprinkled that blood on the books of the law and all the
people, they said, He knows something we don't know. I can't stand
to look at you. And they won't be able to stand
to look at you. They won't. You mean to tell me that going
to church don't have anything to do with your salvation? Uh-huh.
You mean to tell me that praying don't have anything to do with
your salvation? Uh-huh. You mean to tell me that giving
and witnessing and reading my Bible don't have anything to
do with salvation? Uh-huh. That's exactly what I mean. Salvation
will affect your character and conduct. But character and conduct
has nothing to do with your salvation. And religion don't get that.
Why? Satan has blinded their minds.
He's hung a veil over them. But their minds were blinded,
verse 14, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken
away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done
away in Christ. But even to this day when Moses
is read, the veil is upon their heart. The veil is upon their
heart. They hear the words of Moses.
They hear the law and like the law and want to keep the law
and think they do keep the law like Paul did, though he said
everything he did was just dumb before he met Christ. The cover
that Satan puts over the minds of the believers is the ministration
of condemnation, the ministration that killeth. the ministration
of righteousness. His preachers are called what
in 2 Corinthians 11? Ministers of righteousness. His preachers are called ministers
of righteousness. Satan blinds their mind by leading
them into religion that causes them to believe. that they can
be saved by their own merit, that they have self-produced
righteousness, self-manufactured life, and therefore do not believe
that God accepts sinners only because Christ Jesus died for
them in the room instead. Yet Paul said, Who is he that
condemneth? Just look at my life. Did he
say that? Who is he that condemneth? I
belong to Thomas Rood. Sephoia Betts. Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died. Now, if Christ died for everybody,
couldn't everybody say that? Couldn't everybody stand before
God and say, I'm not condemned because Christ died? That's one
of those great verses about particular religion. If Christ died for
you, you're not condemned. That's the only reason you're
not. Christ's righteousness. They
want to mix with their righteousness. That's how Satan works. Oh, yes,
we know Christ died like the Judaizers came to Galatians and
said, well, we know Christ died. We know He did all that work.
He saved us, but you know, you've got to be circumcised. Paul said,
if you're circumcised, what He did to you meant nothing to you.
What He did for you meant nothing to you. Christ's righteousness
with their righteousness. Their salvation is based on their
decision along with God's decision. Thus, those from whom the gospel
is hid are judicially blinded by Satan, covering up the gospel
with another righteousness. And that righteousness is this
ministration of condemnation. It's keeping the law, or what
people think it is. So we come to verse 6. That's
some introduction, wasn't it? And in verse 6, we see the glory
and the power of God in the revelation of the gospel. The gospel here is said to be
light, which is understanding, which reveals the glory of God
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want us to consider
four things quickly. First, this light comes by sovereign
will. for God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness. Now, there are some commands
that God gives that men cannot and will not obey apart from
the grace of God in their hearts. In fact, all of them are that
way. God commands all men to believe and to repent, and no
man can save by a work of grace. God requires these things, and
He gives these things, and that's how you get them. There are some
commands, however, that men can neither obey or disobey because
men have nothing to do with their inception, with their practice,
with their accomplishment or their consummation. God's will,
His purpose is going to be done. He commands certain things to
take place, and they're going to happen, and you don't have
anything to do with it. In the will of God's sovereignty,
man is not a player. He's not an actor. He's acted
upon. He's acted upon. He's acted upon
without any application to his will or permission. It might
look like he's doing something. Might look like man is doing
something. You ever seen a flower follow
the sun? You ever seen that? Amazing,
isn't it? You think, that flower's got
some smarts. It's following the sun to get
its vitamin D and its nutrients. But it's not following anything.
You know what it's doing? It's bowing. In the stem of the flower, you
have these cells. They're sensitive to light and
heat. And in the dark or in the shade,
they're always elongated. They're the longest place. But
soon as light hits them, the light side, they begin to shrink.
And the flower bends. The shady side elongates and
bends it more. And you say, that flower's bending
before the sun. That flower's not doing anything.
It's being acted upon. And it responds. And how does
it respond? It goes down. It bows. It does. What are you? Flowers
of the field that fade away. Grass of the field that fades
away. When God commands the light to shine, He gives His elect
photosensitive and heliosensitive cells spiritually. And He acts
upon them. And it looks like they're bowing
to God. It looks like they're coming
to God. But they're not acting. They're
being acted upon. The Son of Righteousness has
arisen. The day stars have arisen in our eyes and bent us toward
God. God said, He commands the light
to shine out of darkness. He commands the light to shine.
Men want to put God in handcuffs and say they got the key. That's
not the God of Scripture. God said one day, while you were
in your darkness, just like when this world was in darkness in
the first creation, He said, Light, show up there. And you knew. You knew. What did you know? You knew it
all. Light was that Word of God implanted
in the hearts of God's people. And then when some crazy old
jack-legged nobody, no education, no smarts stood up, told you
about what Jesus Christ has done, you didn't say, Well, I think
I'll go home and think about that. God shined a light in your heart.
I've been waiting for that all my life. That's what I've been
looking for. That makes sense to me, even
though it don't make any sense to the rest of the world. God
commanded the light by His sovereign will to shine, and it shines,
and nothing can stop it. Satan can't cover that light,
and the law can't touch that light. God commanded the light
to shine out of darkness. The light comes on the wings
of mercy. God commanded the light to shine
out of darkness. That's us. Our Lord said to a
very religious man one time, you know, light is coming to
this world, and men love darkness more than light, because their
deeds are evil. They love darkness. They live
in darkness. Who's he talking to? He's talking to Nicodemus.
What did Nicodemus do? Come to him by night. Our Lord
used a natural thing to teach him a spiritual lesson. Darkness. This is on the wings of sovereign,
free mercy. This is merciful light. God hath
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and our darkness
was great. And what a blessed, sovereign
mercy for God to send some dirt pot to pour out the light of
the gospel to us, bound in the tomb of death, wrapped in Egyptian
darkness, blacker than a thousand midnights down in a cypress swamp.
But mercy was on our trail, and light was on a predetermined
course to a precise target. It would not be denied. We as
preachers, like the man of old, take a bow and a venture and
throw it and shoot it in the air. We don't know who it's going
to hit. We just hope it hits somebody. But the gospel arrow
is a guided missile. And it'll smite you between the
breastplate. It'll kill you and make you alive.
I don't know where I'm shooting this morning. I'm just shooting
out here. Just letting her rip. I don't know where it's going.
I'll tell you what, if you're one of God's, and it's your time,
you're going to get stuck in your heart by a guided missile
from God Almighty Himself. The hymn is wrote, ìLong my imprisoned
spirit lay, fast bowed in sin and natureís night. Thine eye
diffused a quickening ray. I awoke, my guns in flame with
light. My chains fell off, my heart
was free. I rose, went forth and followed
Thee.î Thirdly, this light is irresistible. God hath commanded the light
to shine in our hearts. And it hath shined in our hearts. It was not offered, proffered,
presented as an available commodity, held up for some man's approval.
It hath shined. God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. Chambliss wrote this as one of
my favorite things describing light. He said, In the first
place, light is clear. It's transparent, translucent,
patent and open, always and everywhere, as far as its free influence
extends. The entrance of light, which
itself is real, spreads reality all around. Clouds and shadows
are unreal. They breed and foster unrealities. Light is naked truth. Its very
invisibility is, in this view, its power. It is not seen because
it's so pure. For secondly, a certain character
of inviolability belongs to it, in respect of it. While it comes
in contact with all things, it itself is affected by nothing.
It kisses Charion. embraces foul pollution. It enters into the innermost
recesses of the rottenness in which worms uncleanly revel. And yet it is the same clear
element of light steel, taking no soil contracting no stain,
its brightness not dim, nor its beauteous beauty marred. It endureth
forever clean and clear." God has shined out of darkness, and
where did the light hit? The darkest place in the universe.
The light of the gospel embraced you, entered into you, into that
heart, that mind. foulness and rottenness. It didn't change you to be it.
It's still pure light from God. But what it did do was dispel
understanding on you of what you are. It revealed the rottenness
and the foulness. And it's still pure and it's
still clean. Finally, light is purposeful. it's purposeful. The light of
the gospel is to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God. That's why we're here, to glorify God. When this light comes sovereignly,
mercifully, and irresistibly, it comes for the purpose of revealing
that all glory, for the salvation of your soul, for the understanding
of your mind and heart belongs to God, and that glory is tied
up, locked, stock and barrel, in the face, the person, the
present, and the countenance of Jesus Christ. If this light
is in you, if this light has shined unto you, You will give
all the glory to God and you will disallow and disavow and
disown any glory for yourself. For God commanded the light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I pray the devil hasn't hid that
from you. Say, well, how would I know if
he is? If you're blindly believing you can see because you have
merited a righteousness before God without Jesus Christ, you're
blinded. And nothing but God can change
that. Nothing but God.

God's Mighty Work

What does the Bible say about the difference between the old and new covenants?

How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

Why is the ministry of the gospel significant for Christians?

How does God blind the minds of the lost?

What is the importance of the glory of God in the gospel?

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God's Mighty Work

What does the Bible say about the difference between the old and new covenants?

How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

Why is the ministry of the gospel significant for Christians?

How does God blind the minds of the lost?

What is the importance of the glory of God in the gospel?

Sermon Transcript

About Tim James

Comments

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