In a sense, we didn't have the
damage that a lot of parts of western North Carolina and eastern
Tennessee had. So pray for those folks, because this is, the pictures
are devastating. I can't imagine what these people
are going through. They lost everything. I saw a picture of
a woman who was actually on a housetop with her dad and her daughter,
taking a film of it. The water rose and took her dad
and daughter away while she was filming. Things like that just
overwhelm children walking in the woods without parents. This is a real catastrophe. As I was telling everybody we've
received so far, people have called and said they want to
help any way they can, and the way they can is monetarily. So
far, we've received $1,500. And I know two more checks are
coming. And so if you know somebody that
needs help, immediate help, we can give them some money. Let
us know, and we'll use whatever comes in for hurricane relief,
we'll use for hurricane relief. It's heartbreaking. That's just what it is. It's
heartbreaking to see it. And I thank God that Cherokee was
spared in a lot of ways. Providence is a wondrous thing.
We know who sends the rain, the clouds are the dust of His feet. He's in the whirlwind. A lady
called the other day and was talking about it. I said, Don't
try to figure this out. We know, we know somehow in the
wondrous grace and mercy and intricate workings of God's providence,
this will work for the good of all of God's people. but it certainly doesn't feel
good at the time. So don't try to figure it out. Don't ask me,
why did this happen? It happened because it happened.
It happened because God's on the throne. We bow to his wisdom
and shuck our wisdom because we can't figure it out. It's
that simple. It's good to see you all out
this morning. Good to know you all well and okay. I'm thankful
for that. Let's begin our worship service
with hymn number 127. Hallelujah, what a Savior. O man of sorrows, what a name
for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned he stood, Sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile, and helpless we,
spotless lamb of God was he. Full of tone, but can it be,
hallelujah, what a saint. What a Savior! When He comes, our blood will
flow. After scripture and prayer, we'll
sing hymn number 209. If you have your Bibles, turn
with me to the prophet Jeremiah. chapter 9 in verse 23 verse 23 thus sayeth the Lord
let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty
man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches
but let him that glory of glory in this that ye understandeth
and knoweth me. And I am the Lord, when executeth
lovingkindness, and judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, great and glorious, majestic, full of mercy,
tenderheartedness, We pray for those who've gone
through this flood and have suffered such great
loss. We pray, Father, for your help and strength for these folk. We pray that you might give them
wisdom and understanding to seek the Lord in these things. Oftentimes, most of the time,
in fact, we are faced with the fact that we control nothing. And it's hard for us old sinners,
us human beings, to struggle with that. Give us grace to bow and submit
to your sovereign will. Pray for those of our company
who are sick, going through trials and tribulation. We ask, Lord,
you to be with them. Pray for ourselves that you might
tenderize our hearts and minds toward each other. We thank you, Father, for your
love and your grace, for that mercy that's new every morning. We thank you, Father, that in
your great power and purpose, you chose a people out of a fallen
race that yet did not yet exist, chose them unto salvation, and in time came here yourself
in the person of your Son, taking on human flesh, from being found in the fashion
of a man, humbled yourself, became obedient to the cross, obedient
to death, which was the payment that we owed, died in the room
instead of your people, secured their salvation, made Christ
to be under them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. and glorify them through the
gospel. We thank you. Help us, Lord, to seek your face
in all things. Help us this day to set aside all things that
might hinder us from worship and consider and concentrate
on your glory. We pray this in Christ's name, amen. Number 209. ? Marvelous
grace of our loving Lord ? Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace
that will pardon and Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. Sin and despair like the sea
waves cold, threaten the soul. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will harden and cleanse
within. God's grace, grace that is greater
than all our sin. Dark is the stain that we cannot
hide. What can avail to wash it away? on high, whiter than snow you
may be today. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace
and all pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. Marvelous, infinite, matchless
grace freely bestowed on all who believe. Will you this moment His grace
receive? Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse
within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Let us pray. Father, again, we come
in the name of Jesus Christ, the unspeakable gift which you've
given to your children, and with him you've freely given us all
things. We have said in your word that all things are ours,
and we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. We know that what we have we
received, and let us not boast as if we have not received it. Father, if we receive this offering,
let us rejoice in the opportunity to have a part in the preaching
of the gospel here and in other places. We thank you that you've given
your children such a privilege. Help us now, we pray in Christ's
name. I invite your attention back to Jeremiah, the
ninth chapter. In this religious day and age,
we hear very little about the word that the Bible declares
as the glory of God. We hear a litany of religious
phrases. People talk religion and do it
well. They come across to me as advertising
stingers or punctuation on the end of religious sentences. rages
such as praise the lord that's you see it on signs thank you
lord or to god these things people talk about that which glorifies is woefully absent reason for
this carl phenomenon is that which glorify god is not all
together for god back burner religious rhetoric this day when you've heard a preacher
talk about what really glorifies God. Because the Bible says what
glorifies Him. He says what is His own glory
in Exodus 33. In text it's stating what a man
is not to glory in. He said a man is not to glory
in certain things. Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. let not the rich man glory in
his riches." So in stating it that way, if you look at it conversely,
it declares what men actually do glory in. If they're told
not to glory in that, that's probably what they're glorying
in. Men glory in their wisdom. If you read 1 Corinthians, the
first epistle written by Paul to the church, you'll find that his whole thing
was about the WISDOM of this world being cast aside and not
having anything to do with the WISDOM of God. In I Corinthians
chapter 1 and verse 29 it talks about having no CONFIDENCE in
the FLESH. after having said, We see your calling, brethren,
how many not many wise, not many noble. But God has chosen the
foolish things of this world to confound the wise, the mighty
and the weak things of this world to confound the ones that are
mighty. So no flesh should ever glory
in his presence. The wisdom of man is part and
parcel with his flesh. we're not talking about his skin
or his epidermis, we're talking about his carnal nature. And
stating what men are to glory in, our text declares what man
does not glorify in, understanding God. He says you ought to glory
in this, you ought to glory in understanding God and knowing
God. They don't glory in that, they
don't glory in that. knowing God in a particular way
as the one who exercises judgment and righteousness, the one who
exercises. This is where men fail in their
preaching and their teaching. God is the exerciser. He's not
the offerer. He's not the facilitator. He's
not the solicitor. He's not the helper. He's not
the trier or the one who makes things possible. It says here,
He exercises judgment in the earth, righteousness, and He
delights in these things. Being that He always has done
whatsoever He is pleased, being that He always does all His pleasure,
This is then what God does, His foremost doings, that which gives
Him glory and that which men should glory in. One does not
have to search deeply to see that the glory of God in these
three things, judgment and righteousness in the earth and lovingkindness,
which He exercises, all things apply to the salvation of sinners
by the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he
talks about love, he don't talk about a general love. Jacob have
I loved, and Esau have I hated. When he talks about righteousness,
the righteousness revealed in the gospel is Jesus Christ himself. He's the end of righteousness
to them, end of the law for righteousness to them that believe. When he
talks about judgment in the earth, the judgment he poured out was
upon Jesus Christ. He poured out judgment for our
sins when they were laid on Him by imputation on Calvary Street. So these things he delights in,
judgment, righteousness. There is no true and full revelation
of God except in the revelation of the salvation of His people
and that only with God being the exerciser of it. That's the
way it always is in the Word of God. This book is not about
a lot of things. It's about one thing. A lot of
things are talked about-historical events, happenings, things that
go on throughout history. and things that happen to the
church, promises that the church have received and that they have. All these things are mentioned
in Scripture, but all of them have one singular thing to point
to. Christ said, You do study the Scriptures, for in them you
think you have eternal life, but they are they which testify
of me. All the Scriptures point to Christ. He is the Word made
flesh that dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the only
begotten of the Father. Who is the word? He's Jesus.
Why call him that? For he shall save his people
from their sin. In the New Testament, there's
a phrase used by the apostles 11 times. The phrase takes this
form, to whom be glory, or to him be glory. These phrases are
used in a two-fold way. They are used in reference to
some aspect of the mercy and grace of God and the salvation
of His people. And they're also used as a disclaimer
when in reference to what a believer does, to what a believer does
or is to do as a believer. A disclaimer is a qualifier.
So when it talks about what a believer does, it ends with the phrase
to whom be glory. It's not talking about to the
believer. It's talking about God. When he talks about the
believer, what he's supposed to do is to him be glory, not
the believer, but to God. So a disclaimer is a qualifier.
It qualifies a statement. That is to say, though a thing
may be declared as an accomplishment by the believer, the disclaimer
is added to clarify and reveal the true source of how that accomplishment
took place. How many times did Paul say,
yet not I? Yet not I. but Christ. Let's look at a few of these
examples. All 11 of them exactly, but they're not going to be long.
I'm not going to keep you a long time. Trust me. Romans chapter 11.
Turn over there. Romans chapter 11 and verse 36.
It says, for of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Romans 11 is an interesting chapter.
It's a matter of debate for a lot of people because they don't
fully understand the concept of the Old Covenant and the New
Covenant. What this is, this refers to the providence of God
in the temporary blindness of that remnant of Jews chosen to
salvation. That remnant is chosen by the
grace of God, however, for a time they were blinded so the Gentiles
could be brought in. That's what Romans 11 teaches. They were blinded until the fullness
of the Gentiles was to come in, as we see in verse 25 of the
same chapter. An example of that would be in
Acts chapter 13 when the gospel was preached to the Jews and
they denied it and rejected it and wanted Paul to leave town.
So Paul says, Okay, you're not interested in eternal life. I'm
going to take the gospel to the Gentiles who received it and
as many as received it, as many as were written to life, believed
on the gospel. Verse 25 says, For I would not,
brethren, that you should be ignorant of the mystery, because
it is mysterious. lest ye should be wise in your
own deceit, that the blindness in part is happened to Israel
until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in." So that's what Paul
is referring to him when he says, "...of him, and through him,
and to him is all the glory of God." This text clearly states
that the final Gentile brought in in the salvation of all Israel
is the salvation of all Israel. It's the salvation of the true
church, what is called to Israel of God in Galatians chapter 6.
We see that in verse 32 and 33 of the same chapter. It says, For God hath concluded
them all under unbelief that they might have mercy upon all.
Oh, the depth and the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and past his ways. look at verse thirty four verse
thirty five it says all the uh... for who has known the mind of
the lord who has been his counsel or who has said given him to
whom shall it be recompensed god takes no counsel of men it's
accorded to his own counsel when he says to whom be glory he's
not talking about men he's talking about god who gets the glory
in the salvation of the church that's the jews and gentiles
alike chosen from the foundation of the world to be his church,
who gets glory for that. who gets glory for that. I remember
when I was in false religion how we had these crusade-like
things where we would go out and try to win people to Jesus.
We'd have Philippew night in the church and things like that.
They had the banana night in the church. Who had the biggest
bunch of people to come? Silly things like that, but they
were talking about you going out and winning people to Jesus.
If anyone is won to Jesus Christ, the glory must be to God. The
whole church is saved by God's grace and for His glory. In Romans
chapter 16 and verse 27 it says this, To God only wise
be glory through Jesus Christ forever. And Paul's referred
to the means by which those who are chosen of God find out what
God has done for them in Jesus Christ. You see, God did a whole
lot for His people that they didn't know anything about and
would never know anything about. And I believe, humanly speaking,
applying human logic is probably what I shouldn't do, but nonetheless,
that they could have been saved without ever knowing it because
they were chosen before the foundation of the world. They were put in
Christ. Christ became their surety before
the foundation of the world and assumed the debt for their sin.
And then died on the cruel cross and paid for their sins by his
own blood and his own death. For we is ever born. Twenty centuries
for we is ever born. And we would have never known
about it except for one thing. God raised up somebody to stand
on his hind legs and preach the gospel to us. And that's how
we found out what had been done. what had been done. Well, who
gets the glory for that? Who gets the glory? If indeed
you know the gospel, you may not take any credit for knowing
the gospel. Don't be wise in your own conceits.
If you have received the gospel, it's because it's been revealed
to you by the grace of God. If you know something that somebody
else don't know, it's because God showed you, not because you're
small. It is by the power of God that
you are established and rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ,
and it is through the preaching of the gospel you will find out
that that has taken place. And lest you think that it is
by your keen intellect that you have stumbled upon the truth,
our Lord makes known this by revelation, the purpose of which
is that you would be brought to the obedience of Jesus Christ.
That is what it says. To the obedience of Jesus Christ.
What does that mean? We bring all things according
to 2 Corinthians 10 and verses 3-5, we bring all things to Christ's
obedience. these imaginations in our head.
How do we get rid of these high thoughts? How do we render them
useless in our life? We don't bring them to our repentance. We don't bring them and say,
well, I'm going to stop disobeying and start obeying. What we do
is we bring them to the fact that someone in the history of
humanity has obeyed God perfectly for us. and that obedience is Jesus Christ.
So if I do anything bad, what do I do? I bring myself to the
obedience of Jesus Christ. What if I do something good?
I bring myself to the obedience of Jesus Christ. It's His obedience
and not mine. That's what Paul says, to whom
God, the only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever
and ever. Who gets the glory for you knowing
the gospel? When thousands walk these streets
who might hear the gospel but never receive it, why'd you do
it? You special? You smarter than
everybody else? Why? Because God cut the light
on in your heart through whom be glory. Don't
be mad at folks who hate the gospel. I hated it for a long
time. Wish them well. For what they
got here is the best it's ever gonna be. Pat them on the back and send
them on their way. And thank God that one day you were walking
in darkness and he cut the light on in your mind and heart. To
whom be glory. to whom be glory, to God the
only wise. Galatians chapter 1 and verse
5 says this, To whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen. Now what is Paul glorifying
in? Paul here is referring to the
fact that our salvation and our deliverance from this present
evil world was accomplished by our Lord
Jesus Christ and that by the will of God alone. That's what
he says. He says in verse 3, Grace be
unto you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from
this present evil world according to the will of God our Father. contrary to popular folklore
and old wives' tales and fables, salvation is God's will, not
your will, which were born, not of the will of a man, not of
the flesh, but of God, but of God. Romans 9, 15, and 16 says
that it is not him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy, of his own will, says in James 1.18,
begat he us with the word of truth, with the word of truth. How were you delivered from this
present world, evil world? You were delivered because God
willed it to be so. That's what it says in verse
5, to whom be glory forever and ever, forever and ever. Ephesians chapter
3 and verse 21, unto him be glory in the church
by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. This is Paul's prayer for the
family of God. He says, I pray for you here
in this passage of Scripture. In verses 14 and 15 it says,
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. He prays that God would grant
them some things. If you read the context, that
means He will bestow upon them and not offer it to them, not
make it available to them, not make a proffer to them, but give
to them, grant them these things. Grant means to bestow. Bestow. That they would be strengthened
in the inner man. That's one of the things. That's verse 16.
Verse 17. Christ will dwell in their hearts, that they be rooted
and grounded in love, verse 17, to the end that they might understand
the greatness of that love is the same power that raised Christ
from the dead that works in you, and that might be filled with
the fullness of God in a body, verse 19 says that. And to know the love of Christ,
with passion and knowledge as you might feel with thee, all
the fullness of God. And we know the fullness of God
according to Colossians chapter 2 and verse 9. In Him dwelt the fullness of
the Godhead bodily. In Christ the fullness of the
Godhead bodily. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
is Jesus Christ. Is Jesus Christ. Who gets the
glory in the church? for giving this to people. Peace
in the inner man. Strength in the inner man. Wisdom
and knowledge. Love. You know how hard it is
to love. Folks say, well, it's easy to
love the ones you love. Yeah, but let them do you wrong. Our love can fade fairly easily. I mean, half the people who get
married in the United States get divorced. you know why cause
they end up not loving each other cause I've stood on I've stood
in these things where people were talking to each other about
divorce and it ain't no happy time they're not saying oh I
just love him I love her why our love don't matter how does
how does the love for your brethren get in your heart God must put a tag we love him
because he first loved us. This is the commandment that
I give to you, my brethren, Christ said to his children in John
15, that you love one another. By this, the world's going to
know that you're my disciples, that you love one another, that
you love one another. You say, well, a lot of people
love you. No, people are going to know. They're not going to like it,
nor appreciate it, know one thing about the child of God, they
stick together. They have each other's back.
They love one another. They love one another. And they
may have differences in 10,000 things. When it comes to what's
important, they'll lay down their life for each other. Because they love each other.
Because they love each other. How does that come about? Who
gets the glory for that? Well, he's just a loving person.
To whom be glory? forever and ever. Amen. Philippians chapter 4 verse
20. Now unto him, unto God and our
Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. These are the words of
the Apostle. Paul is declaring the all-sufficiency of God in
chapter 4 of Philippians in supplying all things for him and for his He is writing from prison at
this time. He's in prison and declaring
that he has all that he needs and even more. I've got more
than I need. Well, you're in chains. I've got more than I need. He
refers to the church meeting his needs by the gifts of the
hands of Epaphroditus. Paul, ever willing to honor the
Church for its sacrificial kindness toward him, nevertheless lets
them know that it is God who supplies them with everything. Verse 19, But my God shall supply
all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Jesus
Christ. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever. and forever. Amen. What we have,
we have received, and God gets all the glory. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8. Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown. Paul said, I fought the good
fight, I finished the race. about ready to die. Henceforth
there is laid up to me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me in the day, and not me only,
but unto all them also that love the day of his appearing. And the Lord shall deliver me
from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Paul is referring to the fact
that he's been slandered by a man named Alexander the Coppersmith
and that nobody stood with him when that took place. You can
see that in verses 14 through 16. Are we protected by our own
strength? When the world, it seems, is
against us and we feel like we stand alone, what is our protection? our protection belongs to God
Himself. And the Lord shall deliver me.
The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work. Now, he's talking
about Alexander, but Conrad's a copper smith, and he's slandered.
And will preserve me in His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever
and ever again. Amen. Hebrews chapter 13, verse
21. but ye give the Lord, making
you perfect in every good work, to do His will, working in you
that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory for ever and ever." Working in you, what is
well-pleasing in His sight. I want to please the Lord. Well,
it says there, you go and do, because He's going to work it
in you. work it in you. Paul is admonishing
the children of God to do good works, maintain good works. How
shall these be done? How shall these works be done?
Well, to the glory of God. God's going to take care of them.
He will do this. That's what it says. Make you
perfect, mature, grown up in every good work to do His will. working in you that which is
well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory
forever and ever. How's he going to do it? Well,
the wonders think about good works. We don't think about them
a great deal. I know you did not have a response
to what went on here in the Western North Carolina mountains last
week, a week ago, when the rains came down and the floods came
up. I know your response as a child of God was not, I'm gonna get
a star in my crown for giving you some money. That never entered
your mind. Your neighbor was hurting and
you went out to help. Your friend was in need and you
made sure they had some help. And you don't do that thinking,
this is gonna count for something. You work and do good works because
they are ordained of God. By grace you are saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should go. And we are His workmanship, working
in us that which is well pleased. We are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained,
that we would walk in them. That's why the children do what
they do. They don't do it because they
feel like they're going to gain some points. They do it because God
has worked in them and is working in them what is well-pleasing
in His sight. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 11. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Now Peter here instructs the
elders and the pastors of the Church, as well as the congregations
to whom they minister. That's what he does in verses
1 through 9. This is what we are to do. He says, The elders
which are among you I exhort, whom also I am an elder, and
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of
the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God. which
is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but
willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither
is being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown
of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, and that crown of glory
is the crown of life that's endued upon you. Likewise, you younger,
submit yourselves to the elder. Yea, all of you submit one to
one another. Submit one another. Be clothed
in humility, for God resists the proud and giveth grace to
the humble. Humble yourselves there before the mighty hand
of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your
care upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober. Be vigilant. because your adversary, the devil,
is a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour, whom
you resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the
God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Jesus Christ, after ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish,
strengthen, and settle you. To Him be glory. To Him be glory
and dominion forever and ever. Who gets the glory? For you being
humble. For you submitting yourself one
to another. For pastors feeding the flock. For the care and feeding of one
another. Who gets the glory for that? would to god second peter chapter three in
verse eighteen but grow in grace and knowledge
jesus christ knowledge of our lord jesus christ him now and
for Peter is warning the believers
in this chapter to beware of following men who think they
have it all figured out concerning the day, concerning the last
day, concerning events that are to come or that are happening.
Don't pay attention to those folks. Peter warns his whole
chapter is about that. People don't believe the Lord
is coming because He hasn't come. That's what they said. Been a
long time. Now, it hadn't been a long time
when Peter wrote this epistle. Maybe 50 years, 60 years since
the Lord had left and gone to glory. And they were saying,
well, he hadn't come yet. It's been 2,000 years. And he
hadn't come yet. And men will always say, well,
you know, he probably ain't coming. Peter said, don't you understand
that a thousand years to the Lord
is like a day? So with the Lord it's been two
days since Christ went to the Lord. And a day is like a thousand
years. Time doesn't matter. But he said, don't believe them.
Don't pay attention to them. Don't pay attention to them. Believe the gospel. Believe the
gospel. Grow in grace. That, my friend,
as I've said before, is an oxymoron. Grow in grace. Grace is unmerited favor. God doing something for you that
you don't deserve. that's what grace is. How do
you grow in God doing something for you that you don't deserve?
You can't make God do something for you that you don't deserve,
but He's already been gracious to you. How can you grow in that?
Downward. You grow in the knowledge every
day as you live in this world. Every day you get more and more
steeped in the understanding that if anything good comes your
way. it comes from God. Because you
can never, and I can never deserve it. I grow in the understanding
of my absolute unworthiness. That is what it is to grow in
grace and in knowledge, knowing this. The Lord said He's coming
again. He's coming again. When? I don't
know. Is anything withholding His coming?
No, He could happen today. You don't have to be seven years
in tribulation and all these other things that people tell
you can't happen today. He's coming. And to grow in grace
is to know that in your unworthy self and think about leaving
this world and leaving sin behind and knowing that He's coming.
It's been 2,000 years. We say, Behold, He cometh. even so, come, Lord Jesus. That's what it is to grow in
grace. Jude 1, Jude verse 25. To the only wise God, our Savior,
be glory and majesty and dominion and power both now and forever. That speaks for itself. Jude set forth the vileness of
this world and all that's therein, and the greatness of God's salvation,
and it's that it's only due to God. Those words mean something,
you see. To the only wise God there is
the wisdom which is given you in Jesus Christ. There is the wisdom, the majesty and glory belong
to Him, dominion. He rules all things, and power. He controls all things, now and
forever. Amen. Then one more, Revelation
6. Revelation 1 and verse 6. same
thing repeated in chapter 5, but it says, "...and He hath
made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever." You've been made something
in Christ. According to chapter 5, it's
because of the substitutionary work of Christ. where it says,
brethren, chapter 5 and verse 10, they
sung a new song that says, thou art worthy to take the book and open the
seals thereof. Thou was slain and has redeemed
us by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people
and nation and has made us kings and priests unto our God. Though we don't feel like it
often, And we're afraid if we say it out loud, somebody will
think we're braggart. There are kings and priests on
this earth. God made kings and priests. Not
because they had a royal lineage. Not because of birth or intellect or self-worth. because God in His wisdom and
because He has dominion and power by the blood of Christ made His
people kings and priests. I'm looking out at kings and
priests right now. Now, if you tell somebody that,
they're allowed to slap you upside the head. So we can take this
as knowledge we can keep in our hearts and our minds, but it's
the truth. and God gets the glory for it. God gets all the glory for it.
In fact, as has been pretty well covered in Jeremiah 9 and repeated
in 1 Corinthians 1 and spoken throughout the New Testament
altogether, every one of the disciples, every one of the apostles
who wrote anything down from Paul to Jude said the same thing. Whatever happens, to God be the
glory. God be the glory. Father bless
us to understand and pray in Christ's name.