Now, this evening we're going
to study for a few minutes Psalm 74. Psalm 74. I'm entitling the message from
the words found in verse 12. As I indicated earlier, I think
this is a key verse in this Psalm. For God is my King. Who's my King? My God. God is my King. How long has
He been King? From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God and King. And He is the one who's purposed
salvation. He is the one who has accomplished
salvation. He is the one that provides salvation. And He is the one that gives
salvation, working salvation in the midst of the earth. God's Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. What a comforting thought to
God's people, our God is indeed God. Beside Him there is no other
God. In Psalm 47, verse 7, the scriptures
declare that God is King. He is the King of not some of
the earth, part of the earth, God is King in all the earth. Beside Him over and over again
we read in The gospel according to Isaiah, I am God, beside me
there is no other God, the only just God and Savior. In Revelation 19, you're very
familiar with this. He is indeed called King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. This One who is King, King of
all the earth, the One who is the only just God and Savior,
is my God. Our God. Beside Him there is
no other. Now, one of the lessons of this
psalm that the Lord would have us learn, even though He is our
God, Almighty, Sovereign, and Eternal, And we are the people
of his pasture, the sheep of his hand. One of the lessons
I believe is taught in this psalm and all through the Word of God
is that his people are not exempt from heartache, trial, and trouble. Peter writing about the trials
of God's saints reminds us and gives us these inspired words. He said, don't think it strange
concerning the fiery trial, as though some strange thing happened
unto you. Those things that come our way,
come our way by God's purpose, His grace, and therefore His
glory, and therefore our eternal good. Remember the scripture
from 2 Corinthians chapter 4, where it says, talking about
our light afflictions, which are but just for a moment, they
work for us. Eternal, exceeding weight of
eternal glory. So trials don't work against
us, they work for us. God's people of the past, and
even God's people of the present, have been a tried people. But
the Lord has promised us that He will never leave us. He will
never forsake us. Not totally, not finally. He said, I'll never leave you,
I'll never forsake you. Now, sometimes it appears like,
as we'll read in a moment, sometimes we think, is His mercies plain
gone? Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Oh no, oh no. It says in verse 20 that He will
remember His covenant, everlasting covenant of grace.
You see verse 20, have respect unto thy covenant. God is a covenant
God. You remember that book Warburton,
John Warburton wrote years ago, that's actually, I believe, was
his autobiography, The Mercies of a Covenant God. The Mercies
of a Covenant God. Our God is a covenant God, and
His covenant is an everlasting covenant. He will not forsake
His covenant. He will not forsake the people
of that covenant, the people concerned in that covenant. He will defend the sheep of His
pasture and the people of His hand. He said, I give my sheep
eternal life and they'll never perish. Neither can any man pluck
them out of my hand. He will bring us as a captain
of our salvation. He will bring us safely unto
glory, will he not? Says that in Hebrews chapter
two, verse 10. He's a captain of our salvation
who's bringing many sons unto glory. Christ suffered for our
sins, the just for the unjust that he might do what? Bring
us unto God. That's the only way that he will
bring his people unto himself is through Christ and him crucified.
And then it says in verse 21, the poor and needy, the poor
and needy will praise His name forever and ever, for He is our
God and our Savior. Now, we'll make an attempt to
try to look at all these verses this evening, if we can. But
let's begin with verse 1. The question is, I ask, O God,
why hast thou cast us off forever? Why does thine anger smoke against
the sheep of thy pasture? Because of the hardships and
afflictions we sometimes endure, we're tempted to think that the
Lord is angry with us and that He has cast us off You know,
this is our infirmity when we think that way. Let me show you
that in Scripture. Look at this Scripture here. Turn just a page.
Psalm 77, look at verse 7. Oftentimes we think, we think
and we're tempted to think that the Lord is angry with us and
the Lord has cast us off, but this is our infirmity. Look what
it says in Psalm 77, look at verse 7. Will the Lord cast off
forever? And will He be favorable no more?
Is His mercy cling gone forever? Doth His promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in His anger shut up
His tender mercies? And I said, this is my infirmity. This is my infirmity. But I will
remember the years at the most high, the right hand of the most
high. I will remember the works of
the Lord. Surely I will remember the works of old. I will meditate
also on the work of thy hand and talk of thy doing. So when
we're tempted to think that the Lord has cast us off, and then
when we're tempted to think that we're suffering hardship and
afflictions, The reason we think those things
is because of our sin, our infirmity. The Lord will never cast off
His covenant people. In reality, has He ever? No, no, no, no, no. Never He
will. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. We've seen this scripture several
times. Turn back to Psalm 37. The promise of God's word is
certain and sure. Psalm 37, look at verse 25. I've been young and now I'm old.
Yeah, I've not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread. He's ever merciful and lendeth,
and his seed is blessed. His seed is blessed. Now, here's
another scripture turned to Isaiah 49. Oftentimes we're tempted
to think the Lord is angry with us and the Lord has cast us off. We get down and blue and sad
and think, well, no one loves us. No one cares for us. Look what he says here in Isaiah
49. Isaiah 49, verse 13. Sing, O heavens, be joyful, O
earth. Break forth in the singing, O
mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, and he
will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, the Lord hath
forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? Yea, they may forget. God said
that I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hand, and thy walls are continually before
me. God will not forget his people.
A mother may forsake a child. We've seen that repeatedly, haven't
we? God says, I'll never forsake
you. I'll never leave you. Matter of fact, He promised,
the risen Lord promised His disciples. You remember there in Matthew
28? When He said, go preach the gospel, know I have all power
in heaven and earth, go and preach the gospel and remember this,
Lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the earth. God
will never forsake His covenant people. He'll never cast away,
He'll never cast off those for whom He foreknew. Moreover, whom
he did foreknow, he also did what? Predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son. Whom he predestinated, he called.
And whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified.
You think God is going to forget and forsake His covenant people
whom He chose in eternity, for whom Christ died, and whom the
Holy Spirit dwells within them? Certainly not. But oftentimes
we're tempted to think, Oh God, why hast thou cast us off? Why does thine anger smoke against
the sheep of thy pasture? Now, look at verse 2. Remember the
Lord said, I laid down my life for the sheep. Did he forsake
his sheep? Oh no, he gave his life, laid
down his life for the sheep. Look at verse two, remember,
more valid reasons why the Lord will not forsake his sheep, his
people. Remember thy congregation, which
thou has purchased of old. the rod or tribe of thine inheritance,
which thou hast redeemed, which thou hast redeemed and bought
this Mount Zion, the gospel church, wherein thou does dwell." He
said, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I'm
in the midst of those covenant people. More valid reasons why
the Lord will not forsake His church, His elect, His sheep,
He bought them. See what it says there? The congregation
which He purchased. He purchased, it says there,
of old. He bought them with His blood. He bought them with His precious
blood. You see, the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is no new recent purchase. He purchased us of
old. How old? The Lord Jesus Christ
stood as a lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
The old eternity of God's purpose in which the Lord Jesus Christ
chose a covenant people and determined to put away their sin by the
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes in 1
Corinthians 6 that we're bought with a price. Therefore glorify
God in your body and in your spirit. Remember the Apostle
Paul giving the final instruction to the elders at Ephesus? That
God had purchased the church with His own blood, caught by
us. Now, you think God Almighty is
going to forget and forsake that which He had purchased? You see,
the redemption of a soul is precious unto Him. He redeemed us with
His precious blood. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ, secondly, says there in verse 2, is His inheritance. We're heirs of God and joint
heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's portion is His people.
The rod of His sovereignty reigns over them supreme. He will never
forsake His own. And then it says there, He's
purchased us. We are His inheritance. He chose
us. And then it says, He redeemed
us. He delivered us from our sin. This is the one in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches
of His grace. He redeemed us and delivered
us. How did He do so? by the sacrifice
of himself. You remember what Peter writes
when he talks about our redemption? We're not redeemed with corruptible
things, are we? Silver and gold, vain conversation.
Traditions of our fathers? How are we redeemed? Precious
blood. Precious blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are redeemed. We are delivered. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. And then it says there,
He dwells within His people. Christ in you is a hope of glory. We are one with Him. His church. What's true of Him is true of
us. Where He is, that's where we are. You remember in John
17, our Lord said, I in them, thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one. We're one with Him. Now, you
wouldn't willingly, speaking of your natural body, and this
is a poor illustration, but you wouldn't willingly cast off your
right arm, your left arm, your leg. Would you willingly cast
it off? Oh, no. Oh, no. And the Lord
Jesus Christ will never cast away His body. You see, He loved
the church, and He gave Himself for it, and He's gonna have it.
He's gonna have that which He bought. He didn't buy or redeem
all men or mankind. He redeemed His elect, His chosen,
His church, His bride, His sheep. They're called in the book of
Malachi, His jewels. They're precious unto Him. Now,
in verse 3 down through verse 11, a cry from a believer's heart
unto the Lord, for speedy end to the oppression from the enemies
of the Lord. You see, His enemies are our
enemies. Look what it says in verse 3.
Lift up thy feet, lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolation,
even all that the enemies hath done wickedly in the sanctuary,
the meeting place of God. Now this speaks of the destruction
of the temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. They made an
end of temple worship as they destroyed the temple and killed
many of the people in Jerusalem, took captive The king, I believe
his name was Zedekiah at the time, killed all the priests,
ransacked the temple. He said, the enemies have done
wickedly in that sanctuary. They defiled the sanctuary, the
Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant. All those precious
things where the blood atonement was made each year, they ransacked
the temple, they destroyed the temple. You can read about the
lamentations of Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations. But I want
to make an application here, I believe it's relative to our
day. This could also be considered of the false preachers in our
day who have done wickedly in the sanctuary of God. How so? They would, if they could,
silence the voice of every true gospel preacher. They have done
wickedly in the fact that they have changed God's message. They have changed God's gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is not man-centered. Our message is not a man-centered
message. Our message is a Christ-centered
message. Christ and Him crucified. But
they have changed the message of God. And they put the emphasis
upon you. What you must do for God. Your
will. Your way. Your doing. My friend,
that's another gospel. That's not a less enlightened
view of the gospel. It's another gospel that's damning
to your soul if you embrace it. Because what you're embracing
is your own self. You see, faith doesn't look,
true saving faith doesn't look in here. True saving faith is
not subjective. True saving faith is what we
call objective. Looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ,
the author and finisher of faith. And true saving faith doesn't
deny the truth. True saving faith acknowledges
the truth. True repentance acknowledges
the truth of God. It doesn't deny it. The enemies
of God have done wickedly When you say or imply that God done
all He can do in the matter of salvation, and now it's up to
you to make the final decision, that's wickedness. They've done
wickedly in the sanctuary of God. Look at verse 4, the enemies
roar. in the midst of the congregations. They set up their signs, their
incense, their banners. The enemies of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, they roar against it. They set up their
own way, their own doing. They raise up, they manufacture
another gospel to please their fancy. They say, away with grace. Let's preach up man's work, man's
worth, man's will. Away with grace. Let's preach
works. My friend, Salvation is either
by the grace of God alone or by works. It's not a marrying
of the two. Salvation is either 100% by the
sovereign grace and will of God alone or it's completely the
opposite. Which is it? It's not a marrying
of the two. Salvation, as this book declares,
is of the Lord. The enemies of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, they roar against it. They hate grace. If you don't think so, you just
confront somebody who is a free will preacher. and present to
them the Christ of God who does not fail, the Christ of God who
will have mercy on whom He will, and they'll roar against you.
And they'll say things like, well, that's not fair. God gives
every man a chance. And they forget totally what
happened in the garden. Ruined. Ruined. Dead in sin. Dead and trespassed in sin. They
manufactured another gospel, another message that the Apostle
Paul said, though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached. Let him, he
doesn't say it'd be okay, you know, let's just, let's just
kiss and make up and get along. No, doesn't say that. Any man
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we've already
preached, let him be damned. It's a serious matter, isn't
it? Let him be accursed when God comes. If any man loved not
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be damned. And in verse 5 and
6, those that constructed Solomon's temple were gifted, crafted,
skilled workers. A man was famous as he lifted
up his axe upon the thick trees. They carved out, verse 6, but
now they break down the carved work thereof. At once with their
axes and hammers they mess up. You can read about the skilled
craftsmen in 1 Kings 6, how God gifted them and skilled them
to make such beautiful things that adorned the temple that
God designed, that God told Solomon to construct. But when the enemies
came in, they didn't do it They took the same axes and the same
hammers on that car, beautiful work, and they took their axes
in a malicious way and chopped it up and destroyed what had
been so wonderfully designed. And here's the point I'm trying
to make. The servants and ministers of
the gospel in the past have taken the axes and the hammers of God's
word. Jeremiah said, is not my word
like a hammer? And they have preached the gospel
down through the years and laid these foundational truths of
God's gospel. That theme of the reformation,
Christ alone, the word of God alone, faith alone, to the glory
of God alone. The old reformers have laid the
foundation, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, many others. Even men in our
day like Rock Barnard, Brother Henry Mahan, and others who traveled
this country over preaching the sovereign grace of God. O A.D. Muse and those other men, George
Fletcher, B.B. Carwell and those other men preached
the gospel of God's grace for years and years and years and
Lord blessed their ministry and blessed their message. But now
modern thinkers come along and try to destroy what God has established. They try to change God's message.
They take axes and sledgehammer of works and try to tear down
and destroy what had been established down through the centuries. by
gospel preachers. Look at verse 7, they've cast
fire into the sanctuary. They defiled by casting down
the dwelling place of the name of God to the ground. They trample underfoot the blood
of the covenant. If axes and sledgehammers won't
do, they bring the fire upon it to destroy the gospel. Malice
and hatred of men know no bounds when it comes to casting down
the name of the one whom we love. The Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Mahan was one time preaching
a meeting somewhere, and as he often did, he would preach salvation,
salvation, And as he often would try to show the people how God
elected a people. And the Lord Jesus Christ died
for those people. And God the Holy Spirit calls
those people out with the message of God's grace. And when the
preacher who was out of town at the time, and Brother Mahan
occupied that pulpit and preached particular sovereign redemption
of God's elect, God's sheep, the man came back and said this,
If the Lord Jesus Christ died for only the elect, He's no Savior
of mine." What a terrible statement. He's no Savior of mine. You see,
they spare no expense the malice and hatred of men, no, no bound. They defile the name of God by
casting it down to the ground. Thank God that he did successfully
die to save his covenant people and that he did not fail. Look
at verse 8. They said in their hearts, let
us destroy them together. They burned up all the synagogues
of God in the land. They said in their heart, come,
let us destroy and burn up the assemblies of God with it. A
true gospel of God is preached. Now, I've been on the receiving
end of that. We've had a radio program for
many years there in Zebulon, Kentucky. And we used to write
quite often in the newspaper articles. And there was one local
preacher who thought he's going to put me out of business. And
he took me to tax in a public way and tried to discredit my
ministry. He even got on his radio program,
invited all the members of my congregation to leave, insinuating
that I was a wicked and evil man who preached a message that
was not of God. You see, they will try. You take
a public stand. I'm not talking about privately
over in the corner. I'm talking about taking a public
stand for the gospel of God's grace, and they'll try to put
you out of business. They will. They said in their
hearts, let us destroy them together. They burned up all the synagogues
of God in the land, and they'd put us all out of business if
they could. God sees fit to maintain a gospel
witness. Look at verse 9. We see not our
signs. There is no more any prophet,
neither is there among us any that knoweth. How long? How long? Now it may be, I don't
know. It may be in our day that we'll
not be able to find a gospel preacher in these particular
parts. I don't know. I hear from people
all over the country through sermon audio ministry that we
have established over the years And one of the common things,
Tony, you know this yourself, one of the common things that
we hear about the sermon audio ministry that we've sent out,
downloads through that ministry over 800,000 sermons. But one
of the common things we hear back from people around the country,
around this world, is that their town is full of churches, but
there's no gospel church. No one in that city preaching
the gospel. I'm telling the truth, aren't
I? This is a common thing that we hear so often from people
around the country. There are so few today preaching
the gospel of God's sovereign grace. You know, I don't look
for things to improve before the Lord comes back. Will there
be few when the Lord comes back? Yeah, I believe there'll be a
few. There'll be a few faithful to the gospel who haven't sold
out for money and popularity, who haven't changed their message
to get along, who haven't compromised God's truth to keep from offending
some poor religious lost man who will stand firm and contend
for the gospel of God's grace. We see not our sign, verse 9,
there is no prophet anymore. Neither is there any among us
that knoweth. How long, how long, O Lord? Verse 10. How long shall
the enemy, the adversary reproach thee? And shall the enemy blaspheme
thy name forever? Shall the enemy reproach the
name of our blessed God forever? The Lord in his sovereign providence
does know when the end will come. We don't know. He said, at times
in the season, you don't need to know when the Lord comes back.
He said, look, I will come back. We don't know how long the Lord
will let this go on when the enemies blaspheme His name, but
one day it will come to an end. And every knee will bow, and
every tongue will confess that the Lord Jesus Christ, that He
is indeed Lord. And they'll bow before Him and
confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now,
look at verse 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? Pluck it
out of thy bosom. Pluck it out of thy bosom. The
hand of God here is a symbol of His power. Remember the lesson
God taught Nebuchadnezzar? He does according to his will
in the army of heaven among the habitants of the earth, and none
can stay his hand, for saying to him, Lord God Almighty, what
doest thou? We long to see, I do, we long
to see the power of God working among the Lord's people. Wouldn't
that be a marvelous thing? We pass coming down. You know,
one of the things I do when I drive and I go by these churches, they
always have a sign out front and they always have these cute,
clever sayings. I don't know why they don't put
the Word of God out there, the Word of Truth. But I pass one
of these outfits coming down the road and they said October,
I forget the date, October 27th or something like that. They
said, Revival begins October 27th. As to the fact that they
think they can dictate when God will bless His people. But I
do, don't you? I do wish the Lord would come
among His people in a mighty way and bear His holy arm, His
mighty hand, and stir up God's people. Wouldn't that be something?
To have a real God-sent revival in our day. Like back in George
Whitefield's day. Back in the early 1700s, what
they call the first great awakening in this country. What was his
message? It wasn't walk the aisle, make
a decision. It was, no, God is on the throne. God is sovereign. Bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. I tell you, Lord, pluck out your
hand. Pluck it out of your bosom. Show
your mighty hand. Do a work of grace in the hearts
of thy people. We long to see the power of God
working among His people. It takes nothing short of the
almighty power of God to steal the enemy and to save the elect
of God. It still takes power, the power
of God, to save His covenant people, doesn't it? That's why
the Gospel is called the power of God unto salvation. Oh God, bear Thy holy arm. Suck it out, Thy hand. Look at
verse 12. For God is my King of old, working,
working, working, working salvation. Salvation Christ. And it's God
who, we're confident of this very thing, that God who has
begun a good work in you, He will perform it. He will finish
it. He will perfect it. He's working salvation. He's
purposed it in old eternity, brought it to pass in time. The
Lord Jesus Christ has brought out salvation for us, and by
His grace, you know what He does? He does that work of grace in
us. You know, salvation is a hard
work. It's a heart work. It's God invading you, your heart,
your mind, your soul, your affection. It's Christ in you. The hope
of glory. Look over here at Psalm 44. Psalm
44 verse 4. Psalm 44. Look what it says. in verse 3 and 4. They got not
the land in their possession by their own sword, neither did
their own arm save them. but thy right hand, and thine
arm, in the light of thy countenance, because thou hast had favor unto
them. Thou art my king, O God, command
deliverances for Jacob." If God delivers us, it'll be by His
command, His will, His purpose, and His grace. Now in verses
13, 14, and 15, now just read this and make a brief comment.
He gives us some examples of God's path-saving mercies, and
they all picture salvation by God's grace. God divided the
sea by His strength, referring to God delivering Israel of old
from Egyptian bondage. They were totally helpless to
deliver themselves. They could not. Matter of fact,
they didn't even want to be delivered. They said to Moses, who are you?
I'm sin of God. God divided the sea by His strength,
the Red Sea, and He broke the heads of Pharaoh and his army
and drowned the enemy, destroyed the enemy. The heads of the Leviathans
He breaks in pieces and gives them to be meat. to His people
inhabiting the wilderness. Thou didst cleave the fountain
of the flood. Thou didst drive up the river. God promised Joshua and the people,
when you crossed into the Jordan land, you remember the priest
bearing the ark? He said, when your feet touch the river, the
waters will part. And they did. And they walked
in on dry ground. You see, all these deliverances,
not by the will of the flesh, not by the will of man, but by
the power and grace and purpose of God. And it's no different
in our salvation. It's all by His purpose and grace
that God saves sinners. Look what it says in verse 16.
The day is thine. The day is thine. Who made the day? God created
the light. God said, let there be light.
The day is thine. Who owns the night? When God
removes the light, He said in Isaiah 45, I create the light,
I create darkness. I, the Lord, do all these things.
The day is thine, the night is thine. God owns all things. He
controls all things. He made all things by His purpose
and power and pleasure. Thou hast prepared the light. and the sun. Who maintains this
order of creation? The law of gravity. Who maintains?
Is that something that just happens? Who maintains these laws of physics
that control this universe? God Almighty controls all things. By Him all things consist. By
Him all things are held together. He controls and rules all things. Thou hast set the borders of
the earth, the seas, Thou hast made summer and winter." Why
does it get hot and cold? Who controls the weather? Is
it Mother Nature? My friend, that's evil to say
that. Mother Nature sent the snow. Mother Nature sent... No,
no, my friend. The book of God says that He
sends the lightning. He sends the storm. He sends
the rain. He sends the wind. God controls
all things. He makes the summer. He makes
the winter. He makes the snow. The snow is
a picture of Christ, His cleansing white purity. All things in creation. You know what all things in creation
declare what? Glory of God, don't they? Remember
this, that the enemy, the enemy, the enemy hath reproached thee,
O Lord. You know God's enemies are our
enemies. David said that in Psalm 139, Do not I hate them, O Lord,
that hate thee? Remember this, that the enemy,
hath reproached thee, O Lord." Now, we don't need to remind
the Lord of anything. He knows all things. But this
is the cry of our heart. Lord, remember those that reproach
thy name and blaspheme thy name, and that the foolish people have
blasphemed thy name. They speak evil of thy name. Remember what the enemy hath
done. Remember what the enemy hath
said to those that are perishing. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is what? Foolishness. Foolishness. The
fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Verse 19. Oh, deliver not the soul of thy
turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked. Forget not the
congregation of the poor. Have respect unto thy covenant. The Lord our God is a covenant
God, a covenant-making God. I mentioned earlier about those
last words of David on his deathbed, recorded there in 2 Samuel 23. God hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and is sure, this is all my hope,
all my desire, all my salvation before God's covenant mercies. Have respect unto thy covenant.
You remember the words found over in Hebrews 13, 20. The God of peace that brought
again from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant that
makes you perfect before God, that justifies our soul before
God by the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have respect
unto the covenant. The dark places of the earth
are full of habitations of cruelty. Verse 21. Oh, let not the oppressed
return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise
thy name. Let us, my friend, never be ashamed
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want you to find
2 Timothy. Turn over there, 2 Timothy. One
of my favorite chapters, 2 Timothy chapter 1. You remember the verse
from Romans 1.16, where Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
Not ashamed of the gospel. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1,
verse 11. Whereunto I'm appointed a preacher,
an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which cause
I also suffered these things." Paul suffered for the gospel,
being in prison as he writes these words. Nevertheless, I'm
not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. For I know whom
I have believed, and I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which
I committed unto him against that day. Hold fast the form
of sound words. which thou hast heard of me in
faith and love, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back
to the text, and I'll let you go. Look at verse 22. Arise,
O God. Plead thine own cause. Remember
how the foolish have reproached thee daily. Let the poor and
needy praise thy name, as it says in verse 21. Praise his
name. Plead thine own cause. Now, let me close with this comment. I trust that our cause here and
our reason for meeting here is the same as the Lord's cause.
As David said to his elder brother who mocked him for coming to
fight the giant, is there not a cause? Is there not a cause? What is our purpose here? Meeting
each week as we do. What is our mission here? What
is our ministry here, the purpose of this ministry? If we can,
by His grace, by His grace, by His power, by
His will and purpose, do these three things, everything else
will be okay. Number one is this, to continue
to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with zeal, compassion,
without compromising one doctrinal truth. As Paul said, woe is unto
me if I preach not the gospel. God has purposed this gospel.
He's caused this gospel to be preached here in this city, in
this place, in this time, right now. It's His purpose and grace.
So number one, what is our purpose here, our mission here? Well,
I pray that our cause is the same as God's cause. He said
to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Secondly, to do all we do here, to do all we do here, for the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul said that. Whatsoever
you do, whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. What is our purpose here? To
preach His gospel. To do all that we do for the
furtherance and promotion of the gospel to the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and as the Apostle Jude writes, to contend
for the faith once delivered unto the saints. I pray that
our cause here is the same as God's cause and purpose. Thirdly,
to worship God. That's why we've come here this
evening, to worship God. To worship God in the power of
God the Holy Spirit, for He's sick as such to worship Him.
You ever read that carefully? The Lord seeketh such to worship
him in spirit and in truth. I tell you what, there is no
worship going on where the truth of God's gospel is denied. Mark
it down. Not so. There's no true worship
going on. There may be a lot of physical
activity and pep rallies going around. You can find that down
at the high school. I mean true worship. Worship. The Father seeketh such to worship
Him. Isn't that our cause? To preach
His gospel for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and to gather
together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and worship Him?
You know, He's worthy of all honor, glory, and blessing both
now and forever. So then our purpose and our chief
concern revolves around the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. May
God grant it to be so. May God, in His purpose and grace,
keep us faithful to the gospel of His grace.