I want you to turn now to Psalm
19 again. This past week I was preaching up in the mountains of North
Carolina. The church is located in a small town called Clyde,
North Carolina. There are about eight or ten
families who are associated with this little church. out of Waynesville,
North Carolina, and the pastor and the people are most gracious
people. They love the free and sovereign
grace of God. The pastor has been preaching
it for several years. But his family, not his immediate
family, not his sons and daughters and wife, they do attend the
services and love the gospel. But his father and his brothers
and sisters have very little interest in the gospel, very
little concern for their souls, no interest in what we call religion. For Jack has a brother whose
name is Billy. He told me Billy had not been
in his home but a few times in the past 20 years. Well, a week
or so ago, Jack went to the services on Sunday morning and preached,
and then they went out to eat. They came in from church and
walked in the house, and there sat Billy in the living room
of Jack's home, the pastor's home. And he greeted him, and
Jack said he was glad to see him, appreciated him coming by.
They passed the time of day, and then Billy turned to his
brother, the preacher, and he I've been trying to find God. I've been trying to find the
way to God. I want to know, how can a man
find God? He said, I've been to different
churches, I've listened to some preachers lately, haven't been
to your church, but I've been to other places, but I've come
to you now and I've got this question on my heart. How does
a man find God? How can a man know God? How can
a man come to God? How can he find peace with God?
That's a good question. And when Jack told me that, I
began thinking about a message on that subject. Just taking
that man's question. Here's a man who has no interest
in religion prior to this time, who has no background in religion,
who has no no false foundations to dig up and cast aside, but
he wants to know, how does a man know God? How does a man find
God? One of the things wrong with
preaching today is this, they're answering questions nobody's
asking. That's what's wrong with preaching. The average preacher
is getting up this morning and he's talking about something
good, I'm sure. It's like Calvin Coolidge, who
was a man of few words, went to church one Sunday and And
he came back from church, and his wife said, Do you have good
service? He said, Yep. She said, What was the pastor
there? Yep. Well, did he preach a good sermon? Yep. Well, she
said, What did he preach on? He said, Sin. Well, she said,
What did he say about it? He said, He's against it. You know, we're answering questions,
but here's a question I'm asking. Here is a question you may be
asking, how does a man find God? Let's see if I can handle it.
I want you to turn to Psalm 19. You may think it strange that
I ask you to turn to the book of Psalms. Most people say, let's
go to John 3.16, let's go to Romans 10. No, I want you to
go to the book of Psalms. Here is a man writing who knew
God. David knew God. God called him twice, a man after
his own heart. Here was a man that knew God.
Here is a man who walked with God. Here was a man who talked
with God face to face as a friend. We can listen to this man speaking
on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knew God. And he gives us
two books in which we can find a revelation of God. Two books.
He says, first of all, in Psalm 19, 1, the heavens declare the
glory of God. Do you want to know God? Do you
want to find God? You want to come to God? Well,
he said, the book for you to study first of all is the book
of nature. That's exactly what he said.
He says, "...the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
showeth his handiwork." Let me tell you this, in the light of
creation, a man's a fool who says there's no God. In the light
of creation. Now, you take first of all, he
said, the heavens. What are we talking about there?
Well, we're not talking about this immediate face that we see. We're talking about the heaven.
We're talking about light years, an infinite number of light years
away from here. The Apostle Paul said he knew
a man, whether in the body or out of the body, he did not know.
He was talking about himself who went to the third heaven,
the third And some things it was not lawful to utter. So when
David says here, the heavens declare the glory of God, he's
not just talking about the moon that's some 90 or 100,000 miles
away. He's talking about the heaven
of heavens. He's talking about all the way
out beyond all the galaxies and all of the universe. the universe
so vast, so beyond our imagination, beyond our comprehension. I see
them and hear them talking about all the vast, vast universe that
God has made. Well, it declares the glory of
God, the glory of God. And then he says the firmament.
A lot of times it's like I asked Doris the other night, I said,
what does the firmament mean? She said, well, it makes you
think of the earth, terra firma we're talking about. But it's
not the earth he's talking about here. He said, the heavens declare
the glory of God, the vast expanse of space and planets and stars
and all these things, way out yonder that the naked eye, even
the telescope can't see. The heavens declare the glory
of God. The firmament is this immediate part that we see, this
part that our airplanes are flying through and that our spaceships
are flying through. That's the firmament, and it
declares the glory of God. The moon, the stars, the snow. Have you entered the treasures
of the snow? The rain that was falling this
morning, when you walked out and looked at the sky and looked
at the little puddles and you saw the drops of rain. God sends
the rain. He tells Job that. Have you entered
the treasures of the snow? The treasures of the rain? Down
there in the mountains of North Carolina this week. I tell you,
how can a person look at the heavens and not see the glory
of God? How can he look at the firmament, the sun and the moon
and the stars? How can he look at the mountains,
those 5,000 foot mountains rising up out of the valleys with the
snow on top? Go to the waterfall, see the
trees in bloom and the flowers in bloom and hear the birds singing,
all the things that God has made, all of the wonders of this earth.
David talked about himself, how wonderfully I am made. Yes, the
heavens and the firmament and the earth and creation, all of
these things say there is God. There is God. In him we live
and move and have our being. Without him we can do nothing.
Even our breath is of God. Everything is of God. It says
here in verse 2, day unto day, in other words, daylight shows
his glory. When the sun came up this morning,
it came up with the power of God. When the sun circles the
earth or whatever it does and sets in the West, it declares
the power of God. We see God in that. Day unto
day, every daylight, daylight speaks to us. These are God's
witnesses. Everything speaks to us. And
also in the night, the night shows knowledge. You want to
know God? The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament
shows his handiwork. All day long you see so many
evidences of his presence, of his power. Every night, the twinkling
of the star, the shining of the moon. Verse 3, there's no speech,
there's no language, there's no tribe, there's no nation where
the voice of these witnesses is not heard. That's what he's
saying. You can go to the heart of Africa. You can go there behind the Iron
Curtain. They think that they've sealed
off every witness behind the Iron Curtain. They've sealed
off every witness concerning God's gospel. But I tell you
this, even behind the Iron Curtain you can look up and see God.
Even behind the Iron Curtain you can listen to that bird and
see God. Even behind the Iron Curtain you can see the vegetables
grow and you can see the flowers grow and you can see the rain
fall and you can say, there is God. That's what he's talking
about here. There is no speech, there is
no gibberish, there's no language, there's no place of communication,
there's no place where the foot of man has ever walked that there's
not evidence of God. He has not left himself without
a witness. There's no language where their
voice is not heard. Now you hold that right there
and turn to Romans 1. You want to know God? Here's
where you start. Here's where you start. That's
exactly right. You may have some preachers, God's preachers, speaking
loudly to you, clear out in the woods, out in the densest part
of the woods. See that little deer come through the woods and
you see something God made. You see all these things, you
see something God made. Everything is something God made.
In Romans 1, verse 20, listen to this. For the invisible things
of him from the creation of this world, from looking at creation,
are clearly seen. being understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that even
the heathen are without excuse." The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God, for the heavens declare the glory of God. The
firmament showeth his handiwork. Every day God speaks, every night
God speaks. There is no speech or language
where the voice of creation is not heard. There is no speech
or language where a witness of God is not heard. Their line,
their direction, their voice is gone through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world, to the very end of
the world. In the Arctic region, all over
this world, God speaks. One of the hymn writers wrote
this, I sing the mighty power of God. who made the mountains
rise, that spread the flowing seas above and built the lofty
skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day. The moon shines full at his command
and all the stars obey. I sing the goodness of the Lord
that filled this earth with food. He formed the creature with his
word and then pronounced them good. Learn how thy wonders are
displayed wherever I turn my eye. If I survey the ground on
which I walk or look up in the sky, there is not a plant or
flower below but makes your glories known, and clouds arise and storms
blow by orders from your throne. While all that receives life
from thee is ever in your care, And everywhere that man can be,
my God, you are present there. You want to know God, want to
find God? It says right here, the heavens declare the glory
of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. All day long he
speaks, all night long he speaks. There is not a speech or a language
or a tribe or a nation or a kindred where his voice is not heard.
His voice has gone throughout all the earth and his words to
the end of the world." Now, watch this, verse 4, the latter part. "...in them," that is, in the
heavens, in the firmament, "...hath he set a tabernacle for the sun."
You can just picture a huge tent. I'm not talking about a huge
tent. I'm talking about a tent beyond measure. A tabernacle
is a tent. And God says he has set a tent
for the sun. Now, stay with me. You theologians,
stay with me now. I know what we're going to talk
about in a minute, the S-O-N. But right now, this is saying
the sun. We're talking about the heavens. We're talking about
the heavens and the firmament. God has made a tent for the sun. Did you know the sun is the center
of the universe? That's the whole center of the
universe. Everything has to do with the sun. If there were no
sun there, there would be no universe. He made this whole
thing for the sun. Put it right out there. On it
we have heat and warmth and light and strength and growth and all
these things, the sun. He made a tabernacle for the
sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, it's
his day, it's his special day. All the teachings are on him,
all eyes are on him, on the S-U-N, the sun here we're talking about,
the sun, there it is. God Almighty created it, put
it in the universe. He made the whole universe a
tent for that sun. and rejoices as a strong man,"
not a weak thing, but a strong man. The sun is full of strength
and power. Without the sun, there'd be no
light. Without the sun, there'd be no light, there'd be no warmth.
God made the sun. And this going forth is from
the end of the heaven and the circuit under the ends of it,
and there's nothing here, nothing, but the heat of the sun. And
you can hide something from the light of the sun, put it under
a covering. The sun permeates the universe. Everybody has to do with the
sun, everything has to do with the sun. So that's the first
thing. Look up and behold the glory
of God. Look around you and behold the
glory of God. When I consider the heavens,
the things that thou hast made, the work of thy hands, O God,
how great thou art! How great thou art! I see God
in the falling raindrops. I hear God in the chirping of
the birds. I see God in the blooming of the flowers. I see God in
the birth of the child. I see God in the beautiful mountains
with snow on top. I see God in the rippling streams. I see God in the waterfalls.
I see God in everything, even when the lightning flashes and
the dark clouds roll overhead and the thunder rolls, I see
God. In the light-falling snow, I
see the hand of God. In the peace of the night, I
see God. In the shining of the moon, that's what David is saying
here, the heavens declare the glory of God, the reality of
God, the wisdom and power of God, the presence of God, the
majesty and greatness of God in all that's made. Now all this wonder and amazement,
one question arises which can never be answered by creation. That's one book. That book will
tell you that there's a God, that there is God. That book,
the book of nature, it'll instruct you, it'll teach you. Will you
listen? Will you heed? Will you walk in the light of
it? Will you own and worship him? All right, but there's another
book that's necessary, another book. Now, this book of nature,
turn to Psalm 8, just over a few pages of 8th Psalm. I'd help
you if you'd listen. How can a man find God? How can
a man know God? Open your eyes, open your ears. Look around you and behold what
God has made. In Psalm 8, verse 3, When I consider
thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, the stars
which thou hast ordained, Lord, a question rises in my heart,
what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of man, that
thou bist of him? Now, there's a question that
nature can't answer, what is man? God, what's your relationship
with man? What are your dealings with me?
I know that this is your creation, there is the Son, you've made
a tabernacle of the whole universe for the Son. You've made the
moon and the stars and the planets and earth. You've made the mountains
high and the valleys low and the water to run, and man to
walk on this earth. But what about this man, this
creature? What's your relationship with
him? God is life. God is life. But we're dying
men. What's our future? God never
dies. God can't die. God is life. Life. L-I-F-E. God is life. We'll do
it. What relationship can life have
with death? God is light. In him there is
no darkness. We are darkness, in us there
is no light. God is holy. We know God is holy, pure, perfect,
without fault or sin. We are sinful. We are without
good. That is real good, that is pure
good, that is God's goodness. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. We are good compared with one
another maybe, but not with God. So how is this goodness and this
evil going to be brought together? God is mighty. We are weak. How can God look on man and live?
How can man look on God and live? How can God have anything to
do with man? God is inapprehensible, unapproachable. How can he be
clean that's born of woman? How can man be just with God?
How can God be just and justify? Wilt thou, O Lord, look upon
such a one? That's what we're asking. Nature
can't tell you that. Depth of mercy can there be,
mercy still reserved for me? Can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood? If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark
iniquity, who shall stand? My friend, stand and gaze at
the moon and the stars and the sun and the heavens and the firmament
and nature and creation and even yourself all day long and all
night long and throughout the millenniums. You'll never get
an answer to that question. You've got to go to this book.
That's where you've got to go. And that's what he says here
in Psalm 19. Look back at our text. In Psalm
19, you must go to the word of God. He says, verse 7, the word
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. That's where it is.
That's where it is, the word of God. And this word right here,
this book, Genesis through Revelation, this is the book of God. Holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit to write
the book. All scriptures given by inspiration
of God, that is, all scriptures God breathed. Now look back at
verse 4, and I'll show you something here. In this tabernacle here,
in this tent right here, this word right here, God Almighty
has set a tabernacle for the S-O-N, the Son of God. This book
is written to reveal Christ. This book is written about Christ.
And this is a tabernacle just as the universe and the things
that are made was made as a tabernacle for the sun. The sun is the center. This word here, the word of God,
this tabernacle which God has pitched and not man, this tabernacle
which God has given us, is a tent for the sun, the S-O-N, and he
comes forth out of it like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. He
is the great one. And he is the strong one, is
a strong man. And his going forward is from
everlasting to everlasting, from the end of heaven, it circuits
until the end of the earth, and there is nothing hid from the
presence of Christ or from him with whom we have today. This
is so important. Billy, you want to find God? You want to know God? First of
all, just open your eyes to the things he has made. There is
God. Look around you. The heavens, these things didn't
just happen to be, the precision of them, the exactness of them,
the glory and beauty of them. God is life, God is light, God
is power, God is majesty, God has made all things. Let me tell
you this, there is nothing wrong with this universe and this earth,
nothing wrong with it, if you take sin out of it. You take
man's sin and man's rebellion out of this universe, out of
this earth, the sin of angels out of the universe, and God
will someday remove it. You take it out, you take away
the blight, you take away the disease, you take away the conflict,
you take away the war, you take away the sickness, you take away
the sorrow, you take away the death, you take away sin, because
all these things came through sin. It's a beautiful place God's
made. It's a wonderful place God's
made. It's a habitation for man that God made. But man messed
it up. Man messed it up. So you say,
well, what can we say about man? What is it that God has for man? How can this creature approach
God? Let's go to this verse 7. The word of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. If I want to know how a man can
know God, how sins can be forgiven, how a man can approach the living
God, I'm going to have to get into this book right here. Now,
Billy, go out and look around, and you come to the conclusion
there is God. No question about it. Then you
come to this conclusion, but I am a sinner, I am miserable,
I have no peace, I have no rest, I have no joy, I have no communication
with that God. How can I communicate with him
and him with me? How can I have fellowship with
him? How can I know God? How can I find the peace of God?
Well, we'll have to get into this right here. Now, that's
a must, that's essential. Turn to John 5. We're going to
have to get into it. We're going to have to make it
our business to search the scriptures, to study the Word of God and
to find somebody somewhere who is preaching the Word. In John
5, verse 24, listen. John 5, verse 24, "...verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word," my word, And
believing on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."
We've got to hear the word. A man came to Spurgeon one time
and he said, Mr. Spurgeon, I'm coming to hear
your preach. But he said, I know this, that
salvation is not in your word, it's in God's word. And I've
got to hear not only you, but I've got to hear him speak who
speaks through his word. And Mr. Spurgeon's salvation
is to be found somewhere in this book. It's not what man says,
it's not what man writes, it's what God says and what God has
written. And Mr. Spurgeon, I'm going to get into
this book, and by God's grace, I'm going to find eternal life.
Turn to John 20. Listen to this. In John 20, verse
31. But these things are written,
these things are written, that you might believe. that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might
have life through his name. These things are written for
that purpose. These things are written that you might believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and have life through his name. So
here's where we start. The word of God is perfect. It's without
error, it's without contradiction, it's perfect and it will convert
your soul, but you've got to hear the word. I read in here the story of our
fall. If you want to know what happened
in the Garden, it's right here. By one man's sin entered the
world, and death by sin. By one man's disobedience we
were made sinners. I read in this book about our
fault. I read in this book the consequences of our fault. What
makes it so much easier for us to do evil than to do good? What
makes us like we are, full of envy and hate and jealousy and
lust and malice and bigotry and prejudice and all these things?
We're born that way. It came from a sinful father.
That's what this word says. I don't need to go to a philosopher
or a psychologist to tell what's wrong with me. I know what's
wrong with me. I'm a sinner by choice, a sinner by birth, a
sinner by nature, a sinner from a sinful father. I need to be
born again. I know people are making fun
of that today and laughing and scoffing at it, but it's still
so. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. And flesh and
blood can never communicate with God, associate with God, fellowship
with God, or enter the kingdom of God. We get to be born of
the Spirit, born of the Word, born from above, born of God,
a new nature, because we are fallen creatures. I read that
in this book. I read how God Almighty made
a covenant to redeem some people. That's in the book. God Almighty
is a covenant God. He made a covenant with Adam
and he broke it. He made a covenant with Noah. He made a covenant
with David. He made a covenant with Abraham.
And before the foundation of the world, he made an everlasting
covenant with Christ. He says, I'm going to have a
people. I give to my son a people. I will populate heaven with a
people like Christ. That's an everlasting covenant
of which Christ is the heretic and the chief shepherd and his
blood is the blood of that covenant. I read that in this book. And
I want to be a part of it. And I read in this book how that
God loved sinners and sent his son into the world to be our
representative, to be our propitiation, to be our redeemer, to be our
mediator. Christ came down here to this
earth and was made of a woman, made under the law, made in the
flesh, and obeyed the law for me. And I have a perfect righteousness
in Christ by believing on him. And he went to the cross and
there he satisfied God's justice. God is just. He'll not wink at
sin. He will not overlook sin, he
is not going to whitewash sin, God is going to punish sin. And
he punished our sins in Christ. Christ paid our debt. He satisfied
the law and he satisfied justice and he put away our debt. He
completely justified us before the law and before God by taking
our place. the innocent for the guilty,
the just for the unjust. I read that in this book. I read
how he suffered and died, how he rose again, how he ascended
to heaven, how he is seated at the right hand of God as our
intercessor, how he ever lives for them that believe. It's right
here in the book. If you want to know how a sinner
can approach God, I'll tell you, through Christ. Do you know what
Brother Jack did for his brother? Billy said, How does a man find
God? He said, Billy, would you listen to a sermon on tape? Billy
said, I'll listen to anything. He said, I've got a sermon here
by Brother Scott Richardson entitled, To Be Accepted, It Must Be Perfect.
You remember that sermon? Place it here. He said, would
you listen to it? So they played it. It lasted
40 or 45 minutes. When they got through, turned
it off, Billy was sitting there and he looked at Jack and he
said, That's been my whole problem. I've been trying to find God
without Christ. I've been trying to come to God
without a substitute. I've been trying to come to God
without a sacrifice. He said, I see my I need a sacrifice,
I need a high priest, I need a substitute, I need a Mediator
that God will accept, and Christ is that Mediator in me!" Jack
said, that's exactly right. You have it now. Christ. That's
what I read in this book. I'll turn back to Psalm 19. I'm
going to hurry and get all this in. I want you to hear, the word
of God is perfect. It will convert your soul if
you listen to it, because it appoints you to Christ. To him
give all the prophets witness. Secondly, the testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple. What is this testimony
of the Lord? Turn, if you will, to 2 Timothy
1. The testimony of the Lord. The
first thing it says here, you want to know God, you want to
find God, go out and look around. Go out and look around. God is
everywhere. God has not left himself without a witness, not
speech or language where his voice is not heard. The Word
of God will show you your fall, it will show you God's mercy,
it will show you Christ, it will show you sacrifice. And the testimony
of God is sure, making wise the simple. Look at 2 Timothy 1,
verse 8. Paul is talking to young Timothy,
and he says, Timothy, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of
me, his prisoner. But you be a partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Now, here's
that testimony. He hath saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. That's the testimony of God.
That's the testimony of God. It's the gospel. Now, listen
to me. I make no claim of brilliance. I'm not brilliant. Not at all. Don't claim to be. I'm not intelligent. I was sitting this morning going
over my Sunday school lesson and message again. I went over
it Friday. I went over it Saturday all day. I went over it Saturday
night. I went over it again this morning. And I said to myself,
how come everything comes so hard for me? I have to read it
a dozen and dozens and dozens of times. I have to go over it
and over it and over it and still don't know it. Do you feel that
way? Over and over and over. I'm not smart. I'm dumb. But
I'll tell you this. In Christ, God makes us smart. That's right. I don't claim because
I have any brilliance or intelligence, I've taken this book and figured
it out. The gospel of God makes wise the simple. Makes wise the
simple. But that's what I'm talking about.
A man can be a college graduate with a Ph.D. and an M.A. and
a B.A. and a B.S. and a L.L.D. and all
the rest of it. And still, this book will be
a closed book to him, totally closed. He can't understand sin
or God or Christ or the Egyptian thing. And a fellow can be a
second-grade plowboy who has never followed anything but a
mule down a row all his life. But if God opens his heart and
God opens his mind and Christ is revealed to him and the Holy
Spirit does a work in his heart, he makes wise the simple. Not
wise in the things of this world of ill bridges and skyscrapers,
but wise in the things of God. Wise in the mysteries of God.
Wise in the glory of God. Wise in the beauty of Christ.
Wise in the things of God's kingdom. And I'd rather be wise in these
things. that wise in those things that some day are crumbled like
soap bubbles and fall like sandcastles." Oh, Paul said, I've determined,
Paul, one of the smartest men of his day, educated at the feet
of Gamaliel, a philosopher and all these things, a Hebrew of
Hebrews, a Pharisee. He said, I'm determined to know
nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's my
wisdom. That's right. Get into the book. You have converted your soul,
get into the book, it will make the stupid smart and the simple
wise. That's right. Now watch the next
thing. The statutes of God. The statutes
of the Lord are right, rejoicing in God. Where are the statutes?
The decrees of God. Now will you listen a minute?
The decrees of God. They are right and they will
rejoice your heart. When I'm blue and discouraged
and depressed and just seem like things are not going right, troubled,
you know what rejoices my heart? To hear some good, old, solid,
fundamental, Calvinistic, sovereign, holy grace preaching. That rejoices
my heart more than anything else. That's right. When I hear statements
like these. I am the Lord, I change not.
Therefore your sons of Jacob are not consumed." When I hear
scripture like this, all things work together for good to them
who love God, who are called according to his purpose. That's
where I find my strength. That's where I find my confidence. My son, Robbie, whom most of
you knew, back in 1969, had come out of school and had a The draft
board here had sent him a notice to think about drafting. We sat
down and talked one day. And he said, Daddy, I don't want
to be drafted. And I said, Well, I don't blame you. He said, I
believe I just joined up. What do you think? I said, Well,
I think that's all right. I think that's all right. I think
it might be a good thing. Just go ahead in, and good for
a boy to go in the service. Good for him. I think it will
be good for you. I think you'll enjoy it. I think
you'll do well. I think everything will be fine." Yeah, that's what
I'd do. I'd say, let's get in the car and we'll go down and
talk to him. So we got in the car and went down and talked
to him. That was in December or January. That was March, April,
May, June. He was killed. Now, you know
something, where do you find your comfort? Well, you know,
if I'd sit down and thought, what if I had told him, Scott,
not to do that? I told him to do it. See what
I'm saying? What if, what if I told him,
well, son, join the Navy, don't join the Army? Might still be
here, huh? Is that the way you think? What
if you'd have waited, just, now son, don't join, wait and get
the draft notice, and then go in, and it might have been six
months, might have been a year, huh? Let me tell you something. You give your daughter the car
to go on a prom, She runs into a tree and kills herself and
another little girl. You say, what if I had just not let her
have the car? Huh? What if? What if I had just
said, I thought about it, what if I, or I'd not let her have
the car? Or anything like that happens
and you begin to go back, backtrack and say, what if, what if, what
if? Let me tell you something. You're headed for the mental
institute. That's exactly right. You're headed for trouble. You're
headed for severe depression. You know where I find my comfort?
God decrees these things. God ordains these things. God
orders these things. And my son died when it pleased
the Lord. And there is no what-if by it,
or about it, or concern. And you can just rest everything.
That's what I say. That's what he's saying here.
The decrees of God rejoice the heart. The decrees of God. If I didn't believe in a sovereign
God, I'd lose my mind. If I didn't believe that man's
days are determined, the number of his months are with God, he
cannot pass, his bounds are set, his days are determined, which
of you by thinking, by studying, by plotting, can add one second
to your life? You know what scripture says?
That's exactly what it says. You said that says, Preacher,
what man by taking thought can add an inch to his stature? No,
that's talking about a moment to his life. By thinking, by plotting, by
planning, by turning things off, man supposes and God disposes. Man plots and plans, and God
carries out his will. Now, that rejoices the heart.
I worship, I believe the Bible teaches, an absolute, eternal,
sovereign God who does all things when he pleases, where he pleases,
when he pleases, with whom he pleases. And you find some peace
there. You say you are fatalist. No,
that's not a fatalist. He is a whole lot different from
fate and direction. There is a lot of difference
in fate and plans. I say God planned it. Not by present good, but by eternal
good. God plans all things. I say,
you want peace? You want to know God? Which God
do you want to know? You want to know the God of the
Baptists, the Methodists, the Catholics, the Presbyterians? You say, I
ain't interested in any of that. No, God, I want to know the living
God. That's the one I want to know.
And the living God, David said, is in the heavens, and he hath
done whatsoever he pleased. That's where he is, and that's
what he does. And so let's bow to that God.
He reveals himself. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. He said, I am the Lord, I create light, I create darkness,
I create good, I create evil, I kill, I make alive, none can
stay in my hand, none can question my judgment, none can say unto
me, What doest thou? I declare the end from the beginning.
God uses means, good means and bad means, pleasant means and
future means. In fact, God uses means to accomplish
his purpose. And that's what he's saying.
You want to know God? The law of God, the word of God will
convert your soul, the testimony of God, the gospel of God will
make you wise, and the statutes of God, the decrees of God will
make you happy. They'll make you happy in the
darkest day. They'll make you happy in the
most severe trial. They'll make you happy in the
most terrible times, because you know God's on the throne. He says the commandments of the
Lord are pure, enlightening to eyes. Saul of Tarsus fell down
on the road to Damascus, and he said, Lord, what would you
have me do? What would you have me do? And brother, he has not
left us without instructions. How sweet are his commandments!
They are not grievous. He said, Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. This is my commandment, that
you love one another. Be ye holy, as your Father in
heaven is holy. Be ye merciful, as your Father
in heaven is merciful. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven
you. Do these things, not in order to be saved, but because
you are saved. Do these things, not in order to get to God, because
you are a son of God. Talk like a son, walk like a
son, live like a son, think like a son, speak like a son. or his
blessed commandments. He said, take my yoke upon you,
my yoke is easy, my burden is light, I hurry. Notice the next
line. And the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. Now, the fear of man is dirty,
it brings a snare. The preacher who fears men will
compromise his testimony. Whoever fears men, if that fear
ever gets in him, it will make him a hypocrite. It will turn
him from his objective, it will turn him from his purpose. The
fear of man bringeth a snare, but the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. The fear of trial and suffering
will lead to compromise. Peter, do you know him? I don't
know him. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. The fear
of man, the fear of falling, will lead to doubting God. But
the genuine fear of the Lord is clean, it's wholesome, it
endures forever, it will give strength in all circumstances.
And old Martin Luther stood that day alone before that awful,
awesome, ecclesiastical body. of Catholics from all over the
world who were judging him for the truth of his gospel. He didn't
have a soul to stand with him, not a man to stand with him.
He stood alone. And they were gnashing their
teeth and gritting their teeth, and their eyes filled with hatred.
And they had the power to put him to death. And they said,
We can't deny what you're saying. He said, I can't. Here I stand. I'll do no other. That's a fear
in God, and not me. Here I stand, here I stand. And then last of all, in closing,
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous. Now, here
sometimes we run into trouble. With Peter, I don't understand
God's wrath, God's judgment. I don't understand, like your
son getting killed and there my daughter and there my dear
many years is so sick, to hear this is happening, and then to
talk about people at the judgment perishing. Well, my friend, don't
try to comprehend God, just believe. That's good advice. Don't try
to fully understand God's ways. Just remember this, look at what
it says, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Now, whatever they are, let me
ask you a question. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? I mean, Charlie, whatever he
does, it's right, isn't it? It's right because he does it.
And that's the way we have to do it. Now, let me give you a
little advice. There are some parts of the scripture There
are some promises and pictures and instructions that are delicious
just to chew on. For example, you go back here
and talk about him making a tabernacle for the Son, the S-O-N, through
the Word. I can just chew on that all day,
get so much out of it and just savor it and switch it from one
jaunt to another like a lemon drop, and under your tongue,
boy, that's good, just chew on it. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. Chew on that all day. Chew on
that all day. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. Just chew on that all day, that's so precious.