Psalm 135. Notice verse 4. Psalm
135. For the Lord hath chosen. The Lord hath chosen. Whom did He choose? He chose
a sinner named Jacob. Jacob was a vile, wretched man,
and yet God chose this man, Jacob, and God made this man in Christ,
and because of Christ, a prince. A prince. He changed his name
actually from Jacob, remember he changed his name to Israel. Prince of God. Favor with God. The Lord hath chosen. That's grace, is it not? The
Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself. A peculiar treasure unto himself. A purchased sinner by the blood
of Christ. And Israel Israel, he made Jacob
a Israel for his special treasure. That is all of God's grace, a
special treasure. Now verse 5, I know, for I know,
do you know this? Do you know that the Lord, notice
it says capital L-O-R-D, Jehovah, Almighty God, God my Savior,
the Lord is great. He is the great God who has great
salvation. He is the great high priest. And you know what? I'm a great
sinner. You know what this great sinner
needs? A great Savior who has great salvation, who has all
power to save me. I know that the Lord is great. I am God, He said, and beside
me there is no other. I am God and that our Lord is
above. He's above everything. He's above all idols. Notice that small g, gods. He's above everything. He is
Lord of heaven and in earth. He's Lord of all things. God
had made that same Jesus whom we crucify, both Lord and Christ. He's not Lord by something we
do. He's Lord by the decree of Almighty God. I know the Lord
is great. Do you know that? Has he taught
you that lesson? He teaches all of his people
that very lesson. Who is Lord? Who is God? And we use the term
sovereign. That means that he simply rules
and reigns absolutely supreme over all things. I know that
the Lord is great, that our Lord is above all things, above all
idols, above all people. Now, verse 6, and whatsoever,
that's a pretty big word, isn't it? Whatsoever the Lord please. That's what He did. Now, you
and I can't say that. I might want to, and often think
about this, have you ever watched a hawk spread his wings and soar,
fly. Did you ever think about doing
that? I'd like to do that. But you know what? I can't. I
can't fly like a hawk. I'd like to, but I can't do that.
But our Lord's not limited. You see, I'm limited because
I'm a frail, vile, wretched creature. I'm limited in my capacities.
God's not limited in any capacity. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that's what He did. And He does His will, absolutely,
in heaven and in earth and in the seas and in all deep places. That is, He is God the Sovereign
Lord everywhere. He rules and reigns over all
things, over all creatures, over all events. He is Lord to the
glory of God the Father. You know what it says in In the
scriptures, Philippians 2, every knee is going to bow, every tongue
is going to confess that he is Lord, that Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Now I'm asking this question
today, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that's what he did. Well my question
is this, what did it please the Lord to do? What did it please
the Lord to do? We can find out from the scripture
what it pleased the Lord to do. Whatsoever the Lord did, whatever
the Lord pleased, that's what He did in heaven. You remember
that old pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, when God taught him the gospel? God taught him the truth of the
character of God. He said this, Whatever the Lord
pleased, that's what He did in heaven. in earth and seas and
all deep places, and I want you to find the book of Daniel. Daniel
chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4 verse 35. all
the inhabitants of the earth, I repeat it as nothing, he doeth
according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say
unto him, What doest thou?" Daniel chapter 4, don't turn to it,
let me just quote it to you, Daniel chapter 4 verse 35 if
you want to jot that down. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing, and he does according to his will. Now,
whose will is going to be done? His will is going to be done
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth,
and none can stay his hand, or none can say unto him, Lord God
Almighty, what are you doing? We can't question what he does.
Whatever he does is right. is right and true. Now, I'm asking
this question, what did it please the Lord to do? We know that
God works all things after the counsel of His own will. We know
that the God of the Scripture is absolute sovereign of the
whole universe. He universally reigns. He has
all dominion, directing and ruling, controlling all things after
His own wise counsel and purpose. And I know this, to be occupied
with thoughts about God as He is revealed in scripture will
increase our faith and comfort our soul. The way to have strong
faith. And real comfort is to have a
mighty and sovereign God. You see, our comfort and strength
is not in the amount of our faith, it is in the object of our faith. My faith may be puny and weak,
but the object of my faith is almighty and strong, because
it's God. God. Nobody's faith can be stronger
than he believes it's God to be. The strength of faith is
not in faith, the strength of faith is what the object of faith
is. What is the object of your faith?
What are you looking to and trusting in? Well, saving faith that acknowledges
the truth as one single object. The exalted, Lord, victorious,
Lord Jesus Christ. Now our scripture declares, whatsoever
the Lord He was pleased to do. That's
what he did. Now, I'm asking this question.
What did it please the Lord to do? What did it please the Lord
to do? Well, the Scripture doesn't leave
us in the dark on this. What did it please the Lord to
do? Now, here's my first point. I want you to find 1 Samuel chapter
12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. It pleased
the Lord to sovereignly elect and choose a people. 1 Samuel
chapter 12. Look at verse 20. 1 Samuel 12
verse 20. And Samuel said unto the people,
Fear not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn not aside
from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your
heart. And turn ye not aside, then ye should go after vain
things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For
the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake,
because it had pleased the Lord to make you his people. So what
did it please the Lord to do? First thing we know is this,
it pleased the Lord to choose a people unto Himself. It pleased
the Lord to make you His people. For His great namesake, He chose
a people. We call that sovereign, unconditional,
electing grace. God in eternity was pleased to
choose a people, and give them to the Lord Jesus Christ out
of His own good pleasure, that's what it pleased Him to do. And
I'm glad it pleased Him to do that. What pleases Him... Pleases
me, because I believe his word. Before the world began, God chose
to save some men, sinners, in electing eternal love and predestinated
them to be just like the Lord Jesus Christ. Sovereign, to make
them sons of grace by sovereign adoption. Now let me ask you
this question. When did this election take place? When did it please God to choose
a people? Well, according to the scriptures,
we read in Ephesians chapter 1, don't turn, but let me just
quote this to you, jot this reference down if you are taking notes,
Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 and 4, God blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ according as he has chosen us. in Him before
the foundation of the world. So it pleased God to choose a
people, unconditionally, a multitude of people out of every tribe,
kindred, nation, tongue, and people under heaven, and to give
them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He stood as the surety and the
guarantee of His covenant people. We call that covenant love, electing
love. No one questioned you when you
chose your bride, Lamar, when you chose to marry Carol, you
made that choice. No one else said, well, they
didn't make that choice. You chose. You made that choice. Well, we're not going to question
God's choice. He chose His bride. He chose
His elect. It's called the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He laid down His life for His
bride. He loved the church and gave
Himself for it. I'm not going to question whom
He chooses to marry. Are you? I'm not going to question
you. That's your business. I'm not going to question God.
I'm not going to question God. So when did He do this choosing?
In eternity. The children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand. Jacob have I loved, Esau
have I hated. It pleased God to do so. Why
did He choose some? Why did God choose some? Well,
it simply pleased Him to do so. Why did God choose to save some? from their sin and the path others
by, leaving them to justly perish under the wrath of God, simply
because God is sovereign in salvation and he will have mercy on whom
he will. Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
it's God that would show mercy. So it pleased God to choose a
people. So what did it please God to
do? Well, to choose a multitude of sinners and to give them to
the Lord Jesus Christ. I know this, all who were chosen
by God in eternal election and given to the Lord Jesus Christ
they shall be saved. Not one for whom Christ died
can perish Not at all. He said, All that the Father
hath given to me will come to me, and those that come to me
I will in no wise cast out. And then he goes on and says,
I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will
of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will.
That all he hath given me I'll lose nothing. I'll lose not a
one, not a sheep, but raise them up at the last day. They will
hear the gospel, they will believe the gospel, and they will receive
the Lord Jesus Christ. Because God chose them to be
just like the Lord Jesus Christ. And they cannot perish. He's
a good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. So what's
the first thing? It pleased God. What did it please
the Lord to do? It pleased the Lord to choose
His people. Secondly, turn to Isaiah 53. Now, seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ as the surety of the covenant, And the sacrifice
of the covenant, God cannot save His people apart from His holy
character and His holy law being satisfied. The sin debt has to
be paid. So here's the second thing. What
did it please the Lord to do? Well, it pleased the Lord. Isaiah
53, 10. Let's read it together. Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise His Son. You see that? Somebody had
to die. The wages of sin is death. And
the Lord Jesus Christ paid my sin debt in full. Satisfied every precept of God's
holy law in his obedient life. He lived as a real man honoring
God's law in every aspect. He did love God with all his
heart. with all of his mind, all of his soul, and all of his
strength. He is the perfect man who honored God in every rule,
precept, and commandment, and thereby he worked out a perfect
righteousness, not for himself, but for us. But not only that,
In His death, He satisfied the penalty of that loss. The penalty
of that loss is the guilty must die. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ
died as our substitute. He died in our room and in our
stead, bearing the weight and judgment of our sin. Our sin
being reckoned to Him by God's imputing our sin to our substitute. And when sin was found upon the
Lord Jesus Christ, that's what happened at Calvary. It pleased
God. to bruise his son in my stead
and in my place. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord," I like this right
here, "...the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."
It pleased God to choose a people, and it pleased God to save and
to justify those people by the death and sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It pleased God to do so. The
Lord Jesus Christ that is a mediator of those people that were given
Him in eternity, in order to redeem and to justify them, He
had to shoulder their sin dead. substitution and satisfaction. You remember that first message
I brought to you. What happened at Calvary? What
happened at the cross? The death of the Lord Jesus Christ
was not an accident. It pleased God to bruise Him. The justice of God's wrath fell
upon Him. You see, this is God's appointed
sacrifice. This is God's Lamb. He died the
appointed sacrifice at the appointed time for the appointed people. Those chosen and given to the
Lord Jesus Christ. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. The work men did at Calvary was
not sufficient to put away our sin. It's what God was doing
at the cross. That's our hope. It pleased God. God to bruise him. We know it
pleased those Jews. They hated him. We know it pleased
Pilate. He despised him. But what we
must understand about the cross and Calvary is that it pleased
God. For Christ to die, to come and
to die in the room instead of his people. That's what it pleased
him to do. I'm glad that it pleased him
to send Christ, to make Christ stand as my surety, and to die
in my stead. That's what I deserve. That's
the death I deserve. But He took my place. Substitution.
Well, thirdly is this. What did it please God to do?
Here's the third thing. It pleased God by and through
the preaching of the gospel to call out His sheep. Now, here's the verse. 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians chapter 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse
20. That will work better, won't
it? 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Let's go to verse 18. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. For
the preaching of the cross. That's the message of the cross.
Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. 1 Corinthians
1.18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness. But unto us which are saved it
is the power of God, it is the power of God. For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God." There
is that phrase again. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. The Jews require a sign,
the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified
under the Jews a stumbling block, under the Greeks foolishness,
but under them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and Christ the wisdom of God. So it pleased
God, not only to choose a people, not only that, but to the Lord
Jesus Christ to come and die in our room and in our stead
as our substitute to satisfy God's law and justice, but not
only that, in time He sends us a faithful gospel preacher to
tell us the truth. to tell us the truth, and he
calls us with the gospel. There must be a hearing of THE
gospel of God's grace. You cannot trust an unknown,
unrevealed Christ. God calls out his people through
the preaching of the gospel. And that's the wisdom of God.
Wisdom of God. Never underestimate the importance
of true gospel preaching. The gospel is setting forth the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who He is and what He
has done. Now I wouldn't make much of the
preacher, But I'd make much of preaching. God has ordained that
to the salvation, to the calling out of the salvation of His people. Let me show you another scripture
that might help us understand that. If you find 2 Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians chapter 2, where he talks about 2 Thessalonians
2.13. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. Notice he says this in verse
13 now, this is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We are bound to give
thanks always to God for you brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. There's
that electing choice, isn't it? through sanctification of the
Spirit, that's regeneration and belief of the truth, whereunto
he called you by our gospel. You see that? There's the preaching
of the gospel through the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, you've got right over there,
turn over to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy 4, verse 1, we are
commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. This is 2 Timothy 4. 2 Timothy
4 verse 1, I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ
who shall judge the living and the dead at the appearing of
His kingdom, preach the word. Preach the word. That's Christ. Be instant. Be ready. In and
out of season. Reprove and rebuke and exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine. Notice that singular doctrine.
The doctrine of Christ. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, true doctrine, but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching
ears. They shall turn away their ears
from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." So there is the
necessity of declaring and preaching the truth as it is revealed in
the scripture. who the Lord Jesus Christ is
and what He has accomplished. We know we read in Scripture,
"...of His own will begat He us with the word of truth." We're
born again, not of a corruptible seed, but of an incorruptible
seed, the Word of God. So there must be in this birth,
in this calling out, there must be the seed And that's the Word
of God, the truth of God. And the Spirit of God will take
that truth and quicken the hearts of His people and effectually
call them out with the gospel. So that's the third thing. Fourthly,
find Galatians chapter 1. Galatians chapter 1. What did
it please the Lord to do? Galatians chapter 1. Let's see
if we can find out here, fourthly. Galatians chapter 1. What did
it please the Lord to do? Well, Galatians 1, look at verse
15. Galatians 1, verse 15. But when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. What did it please the Lord to
do? Would it please the Lord to save His people? by his justifying
almighty grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me ask you this
question, and it's an important question. When will a sinner
be saved? When it pleases God. Now, you
may say that's oversimplifying it. No, it's not, because in
religion today, In religion they say, well, when will a man be
saved? When he walks an aisle, when he prays through, when he
makes a decision, when he shakes the preacher's hand. My friend,
those things are not salvation. When will a sinner be saved?
When God is pleased to do a work of grace in the heart and to
make us new creatures in Christ and to call us by the gospel
and to reveal Christ to our heart. According to the scriptures,
sinners are saved by almighty grace. when it pleases God to
reveal the gospel to our heart. Salvation is a heart work. Salvation. I think I preached
that message a few weeks ago. Salvation is of the Lord. in
its origination, in its execution, in its application, in its sustaining
power, in its ultimate perfection. Salvation is a heart work begun
by God, carried out and finished by almighty grace. And it's sovereign grace. The
only kind of grace there is is sovereign grace. Now turn over
here to Philippians, the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter
1. I'm saying that salvation is
a heart work. We know the Lord Jesus Christ
has done a justifying work for us, but there must be that work
within us. Philippians 1 verse 6, Philippians
1 verse 6, being confident of this very thing, we're confident
of this, that God who has begun a good work in you will perform
it, will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ. God who
revealed his son in me. Salvation is a hard work of God's
grace. A good work. Whose work is it?
Well, it's his work. Who starts the work? He does.
being confident of this very thing, that God who has begun
a good work in you will perform it, will perfect it, will finish
it. He never starts a job and quits. If He's ever started on you,
He will finish His work of salvation in you. And this is all a work
of God's grace. You say, well, a sinner must
believe, a sinner must repent. Yes, that's true. But that also
is a gift of God's grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast." Not only is faith the gift of
God, but the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted to give us repentance,
Acts 5.31. He's exalted to give repentance
unto his people. So there's four things. What
did it please the Lord to do? Here is the fifth one. Turn back
to where we started. Colossians. Colossians chapter
1. Colossians chapter 1. Here is
the fifth thing. Colossians chapter 1 verse 19. Colossians 1 verse 19. For it pleased the Father that
in Christ should all fullness dwell. This is what it had pleaded
God to do. He put all of his eggs in one
basket. All the eggs of salvation are
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased God to do that, to
put salvation totally in Christ Jesus. You see, He made peace
with God through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile
all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. And you that were sometimes
alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you unholy,
unblameable, unreprovable in his sight." This is what it pleased
God to do. It pleased God that all the fullness
of salvation should dwell in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this
is good news. Look at Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians 2 verse 9, for it pleased him that in all fullness,
for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, this is
Colossians 2 verse 9, and you are complete in him which is
the head of all principality and power. So I'm saying this,
that God Almighty in eternity, pleased and purposed by His sovereign
will to put all of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. He's all of salvation. He is the fullness. You see what
it says there in Colossians 1 verse 19? For it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. Pleased God. The Lord Jesus Christ is all
the fullness of my righteousness before God. How good do I have
to be to stand before God, accepted, perfect. In the Lord Jesus Christ
I have a perfect, justifying righteousness. I'm no longer
going about to establish my own, but I'm resting in the Lord Jesus
Christ who is all my righteousness. No wonder the apostles said,
I can everything lost and ruined that I might win Christ and be
found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is by the
law, but that which is through the obedience of Jesus Christ.
So all the fullness of righteousness dwells in Christ. Matter of fact,
it says this, blessed and happy is that man to whom God would
impute righteousness without works. Absolutely no contribution
on my part is expected or can I give. Or you say all my righteousnesses
are filthy rags. In Christ I have the fullness,
the fullness of righteousness that justifies me before God.
Not only that but I have the fullness of redemption. complete
and total deliverance from all sin. You see, I must have both. I must have a justifying righteousness,
and I must have all my sin put away. In the Lord Jesus Christ,
I have the fullness of both. You think about that. Oh, I tell
you, all the fullness of a righteousness to justify me before God, and
all my sin, the fullness of my debt that I could not pay, I
can't put away one sin. Not one sin. Not one. In the Lord Jesus Christ, He
appeared once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. He obtained for us eternal redemption
with His own blood. All my sin is gone. So much so
that God says this, their sin and their iniquity will I remember
no more. You see, I have the fullness
of righteousness, I have the fullness of redemption in the
Lord Jesus Christ. In whom we have redemption? The
forgiveness of sin according to the riches of His grace. I
have the fullness of righteousness, the fullness of redemption, and
the fullness of salvation. The fullness of salvation. You
know, He saves us with an everlasting salvation. Everlasting. He gives His sheep eternal life
and He says they'll never perish. They'll never perish. I have
the fullness of salvation in Christ Jesus. Now, what did it
please the Lord to do? Number one, to make you his people.
Number two, to bruise his son. Number three, to proclaim the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to every sinner. Number four,
it pleased God to save His people by His grace. And number five,
it pleased the Lord to put all the fullness of redemption and
righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, can you remember
that? Well, I hope the Lord will burn it in our hearts, all of
our hearts. And I know this, last statement, what pleases
God pleases his people. I'm thankful. We gladly bow to
God's sovereign will in salvation, and we say with the Lord Jesus,
even so, Father, it seems good in your sight. It seems good. It's good in my sight. And I
pray and trust that it is in yours as well.