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turn with me to Psalm 118. Psalm
118. If my understanding is correct, this was one of those Psalms of degrees, which is some
King James language to say that it was a song of ascension. A song which would be sung as
a group of people was making their procession or making their
way into the temple. We're going to read the full
psalm, somewhat of a lengthy text as it's 29 verses, but it's
a good text. I want you to have some context
of how this psalm was sung. Based upon what we can understand
about this psalm is that it was actually sung in three-part harmony.
There was three different people that were singing during this
song. There was the priest who was
leading the procession into the temple for the purpose of making
sacrifice. There was the king who was certainly obviously the
leader of the people. And then there were the people.
And so you will see sort of a play between these three parties as
the priest would sing and then the king would sing and then
the people would sing. as they made their way into the
temple. And with that context in mind,
I want you to put yourself in their shoes. I know we've never
been in a place as beautiful as a temple was for the purpose
of worshiping the Lord, but if all of us were entering into
a house of worship, How might we be singing as we come together
for the purpose of entering in to the Lord's house? One time
I was down at Old Union on a Thursday night service and had a road
down there with some guys from Southside. Me and Brian Shive
were getting out of the car at the same time. As we were getting
out of the car, Brother and Sister Bryson were getting out of their
car at the same time, Brother Paul and his wife. Sister Bryson
and Brother Brian started singing a song together. They're in the
parking lot of Old Union, and they just sang it as we entered
into the church house. You want to talk about getting
your mind right to worship, when you're singing coming into the
Lord's house, that's a good place to be. That's the context of
this psalm. It was a psalm that was sung
as the people were entering into the house of the Lord to worship
there. So let's see what it says. Psalm
118. Again, this is a psalm. Psalm 118. It says, O give thanks unto the
Lord, for He is good, because His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say that His mercy
endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say
that His mercy endures forever. Let them that fear the Lord say
that His mercy endures forever. I called upon the Lord in distress,
and the Lord answered me, and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man
do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with
them that help me. Therefore shall I see my desire
upon them that hate me. Verse 8 is the middle verse of
all the Bible. Listen to what it says. It is
better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Verse
9 similarly says, It is better to trust in the Lord than to
put confidence in princes. Both renderings of verse 8 and
9 could be perhaps better said by saying, It is better to take
refuge in the Lord than to place your trust or your confidence
in men or in princes. that the Lord will be our safe
place. Remember, they are entering into
the house of the Lord. They are taking refuge. All of
their enemies round about them have no power before them in
the face of their God. And they are entering into the
house to worship. Verse 10, All nations come past
me, all nations surrounding me about, but in the name of the
Lord will I destroy them. They compassed me about, yea,
they compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord I will
destroy them. They come past me like bees. They are quenched as the fire
of thorns, for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall. Thou hast pushed
against me that I might fall, but the Lord help me. The Lord
is my strength and my song and has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of
the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. I shall not die, but live and
declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore,
but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates
of righteousness. I will go into them. I will praise
the Lord. Can't you see the people as they
are entering into the house of the Lord, recounting all the
things they have seen, but knowing that, lo, the Lord is with them? Verse 20, This gate of the Lord
into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee, for
thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. Verse 22, The stone
which the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner. Can you just picture them? They're
entering into the temple now. And they're looking at the building
in all of its fairness. And they're seeing it as it's
been constructed. And they've paid attention to the gates as
they're entering into the house of the Lord. But as they enter
into the gates, they know that the walls they are entering have
been laid upon the chief coroner. And this chief coroner that they
were looking to, the one in whom they were believing, the chief
coroner they were pointing to, he hadn't yet come. But they
knew in whom they were believing and trusting in the purpose for
their worship. And so they said, the stone which
the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner.
We're going to get back to that. This is the Lord's doing, verse
23. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord
has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which hath showed
us light, buying the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns
of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise
thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt
Thee. And then the psalm concludes
very much the same way that it began. Oh, give thanks unto the
Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Don't you think their hearts
were ready to worship? upon singing that song as they entered into
the house of the Lord. I think sometimes we see the
context, not just of the Scriptures and the context in which they
were written and for which they were written, to whom they were
addressed, but just here seeing the activity of the people that
were involved, it helps us to have a greater level of appreciation
and understanding for the Scripture and what God can teach us Through
that, that was we consider how it is that we worship the Lord,
that we would see the fullness of why we worship. They recounted
all of the great blessings of the Lord, how he had delivered
them time and time again, even though at times they were compassed
about by their enemies as though it was a swarm of bees. They
knew the hand of the one who had delivered them again and
again and again, and they were compelled by that to come and
worship Him. So they come to make glad His
throne, to exalt Him, knowing that He is good and that His
mercy endured forever. So this is a psalm of thanksgiving.
It's a psalm of victory. And so as it's being sung, the
people's hearts are being elevated to be able to worship. Now, I
want to make a couple of comments about that elevation. Now certainly
the temple, it required them to go up steps to be able to
make their way up into the temple. So they were literally being
elevated as they climbed up to the temple. But while they were
ascending physically into the temple, their hearts were ascending
as well. Now what do you know about being
able to be elevated? To be able to ascend, you must
start lower than where you are going. These people, their hearts
remained to worship and made to be glad because they knew
the one in which they had had all things. Didn't you hear their
prayer and their call for prosperity? They knew that all that they
had, all that they could count on was of the Lord. They started
in a low place and ascended not just with their feet as they
entered into the temple, but they were ascending in their
souls as they were being lifted up. and worship. Isn't that cool
how that takes place? As we lift up the Lord, we find
our spirits uplifted as well. I want to tell on my wife real
quick. It's going to get me in trouble. It's all right. My wife
yesterday afternoon, she was just a grump. All right. She
was just in one of those moods. I'm not going to make eye contact
as I say this. She was just in one of those moods, right? And
she was tired and worn out and all those things. Some of you
know we went to a concert last night, a Christian concert, and
good songs of praise and of worship, and we were on our way home,
and she says, you know, sometimes it's just good to be able to
worship the Lord. She went in just in a bad way, but as she
was made to worship and exalt and praise the Lord, her spirits
were lifted. Doesn't that happen to us sometimes?
We enter in the church and we're just in a bad way. We had a rough
morning, we had a bad night before, a bad week, a bad month, whatever
the case might be. But the Lord, through the worship,
not just of ourselves, but of others, we start being elevated
and lifted up as His name is glorified. Isn't that just tremendous
that the Lord does that? He receives the honor and glory,
but we receive the blessing as we elevate His name. I love worship
for that reason. That's why it's so exciting for
us to come together in ways like this and so exciting to consider
what Israel was doing even in this day as they were ascending
to worship. But I want to consider for a
moment the house that they were entering into. Because I love
as we see them nearing into the temple. And it's likely that
when we see here in verse 20, when it said, Open to me the
gates of the righteous, I will go into them, and I will praise
the Lord. And verse 20 says, This gate of the Lord into which
the righteous shall enter. It's likely that this was a dialogue
between the priest and the gatekeeper. That gatekeeper even began to
participate in the song as they were entering into the house
of the Lord. And so we see that they're paying special recognition
that what they are doing is in a place, and I can't step here,
we got floors here, so I'm gonna be elevated even as I preach
here. Can we do this on a new stage? I kind of like this. As
they were entering into the house of the Lord, they knew that the
purpose for which they were entering, that it was a holy place, that
it was consecrated for the worship of the Lord. Now, listen, we
know that this is just a building, right? We know that we are just
in a place where we come together to meet. Not the church. The church is in the pews right
now. The church is the people. It's not these walls. But I want
you to know we have set this place apart. We have consecrated
this place. It is purpose. This building,
this room is purpose for the worship and glory of God. And
it's right then that we would revere it in a special way. In
fact, on Sunday mornings right now in Sunday school, the adult
class is going through the subject that was presented last year
at the association about the sanctity of the sanctuary. And
you even hear those similarities in those words, don't you? Sanctity
and sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place reserved
for the worship of the Lord. It is a place where God's people
come before Him and meet with Him there. And so it's right
that we would revere it, that it would be set apart and consecrated
for that purpose. And that we'd pay special attention.
That when you come through those doors, you're not coming through
those doors like you enter into any old building. You are entering
into the place that has been reserved for the worship of God.
That's different, isn't it? And suddenly, as you're entering
in, those doors take on a new light. The gates here took on
a new light. They looked at the building and
they noticed it a little bit differently than they did before.
You know, last month, I spent a lot of time at the federal
courthouse in Indianapolis while I was on jury duty. And I was
reading through one of their little information books and
all the time that I had waiting there. It was talking about the
construction of the building. And when they constructed that
building, they had one stone that they hollowed out and they
put a time capsule in it. So that sometime later they could
look at it. Well sometime later they took
that time capsule out, or took that stone out rather, that rock,
and lo and behold, the time capsule wasn't in it anymore. But what
we see in that example was that there was a special notice given
to what they were doing when they were building it that some
stones had a special consideration over others. What stone had the
most special consideration? It was the chief corner. It was
that first stone that was set. that based upon that stone would
be the squareness of the building. The rest of the building would
hinge upon that chief corner. Now, I want you to think for
a moment, if that's the case, and you're the contractor, you're
the one building it, and you need to set that cornerstone,
you would be paying special attention to which stone you took to place
there, wouldn't you? It wouldn't be just any old stone,
would it? but it would be the most precious stone, the best
stone, the one that looked better than all the others, that was
shaped right, that was prepared right, that was of the greatest
strength, the one that you knew would serve well as that chief
corner. Yet here we see the psalmist
write that the stone that the builders rejected has now became
the chief corner. Now it is no doubt who they were
talking about in a sense when they were talking about this
stone that had been rejected because they knew as they entered
into the temple that the chief corner of that temple was not
the stone that laid in that place or in that place, but the chief
corner of that temple was Christ. And they knew that when they
entered into it. And they said, the one who the
builders have rejected is now the headstone of the corner,
is the chief corner. Now I want to talk to you for
a second about this chief corner. I want to consider for a moment
why he was rejected. And make no mistake, we see Christ
was in fact rejected of men. He was prophesied to be so. All
these years before Christ was ever born to the Virgin Mary,
we see Isaiah 53 verse 2. This is 400 years before we see
Christ even arrive here in the flesh. Isaiah 53 verse 2. Isaiah
53, that wonderful chapter that tells of the Lord's suffering.
Servant says this in verse 2, For he shall grow up before Him
as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath
no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see Him, there
is no beauty that we should desire Him. Why was it? that there was nothing of the
world that desired Christ. All these years before, during
Christ's lifetime, there were those that rejected Him, even
up to the time He was hung on the cross. All these years later,
as those still reject Christ, why is it that they reject Him? Why is it that they turn their
desire against Him? Why is it that this chief quarter
continues to be rejected by men? And the answer that we would
find is that it is because they desire those things according
to what they want that chief corner to be. According to their
own preferences and desires for who they want God to be, for
who they want Christ to be. You see, what takes place is
when you begin to preach the true reality of who Christ is
and the true reality of who God is, when people get a full view
of what God really is or who God really is and who Christ
really is, they have that same tendency to reject Him. Why? Because there's nothing comely
about Him. You know, Christ, if He was seated
in these pews today, we would not look at Him and be struck
by His appearance. We wouldn't be impressed by His
dress, nor impressed by His hair, or how tall He was, or how short
He was. There was nothing about Him that
men would desire Him. Physically, there was nothing
remarkable about this man. He did not come in some great
pomp and circumstance. He was prophesied as a king,
yet even in His arrival He was laid in a manger. He professed to be the Son of
God, yet did none of those things that people expected the Son
of God to do. He professed to be King of the
Jews. To be establishing a kingdom. Yet when people questioned him
about his kingdom, he made clear that his kingdom was not of this
world. If it were, then would his servants fight. You see,
the kingdom that he was establishing, it was not the kingdom that was
desired of the Jews that might overthrow Rome. It was not the
kingdom that men had desired that might be some great political
theocracy upon which good morality would be found as though the
Lord would somehow create a rival against this world. I want you
to know for a second, while there is nothing about Jesus that men
would desire in him, he is a God with no rivals. He had no cause
that he would come to establish some political kingdom that would
rival the kingdoms of this world. Why would he? It's his world. Kingdoms rise and fall according
to his decree. He had no purpose in establishing
or setting up some kingdom to rival those kingdoms that are
elsewhere. And even today, His church is
not meant to be a protagonist against an antagonist of the
world. I think sometimes we see that,
don't we? We think, oh, it's us against
the world. Y'all listen, the world's done been defeated. If
it's us against the world, it's no contest. It ain't worth watching. Why? Because we have the victory.
It's been established. There's no rivalry. So what then? What do we do with this chief
corner? And what do we do with this which
is exalted? I want you to consider for a
moment all of God's people that have been raised up over time. All of God's people that he has
used for his honor and for his glory. and how we see this similar
example of Christ and their rejection. Consider for a moment, Joseph,
as he was rejected of his brothers, sold into slavery, went back,
told his parents that he'd been taken, that he was eaten, that
all these awful things that had happened. Although here we see
Joseph rejected by his brothers, but preserved of God for his
glory. rejected, yet preserved of the
Lord for his glory. What do we see of David? Don't
you remember when we see David being appointed or anointed as
king? And how they go through all the
sons. And they're looking and they're
searching all these sons. David wasn't even in the picture
because I'll assume that little ruddy boy He's running errands. Surely he wasn't the one who
would be anointed king. If the question is asked, don't
you have another son? Where is he? That he would be
anointed king. You see this pattern that what
God has used is not what the world would expect to use. It's
not those who we would look upon and expect. Well, that must be
the place where we would see things rise and fall upon which
the hinges of human history would turn. But S. M. Lockridge instead
said it well when he said that the hinges of human history have
turned, listen to this, on the strength of what? Or on the strength
of who? Not on the strength of some great
big church doing great big things in the name of the Lord. Not
on some great big movement that we would look and we would all
wonder about, about all the things that are going on. But the hinges
of human history have turned upon this, upon the strength
of the insignificant man who has linked his life with the
lordship of Jesus Christ. Consider yourself today. Who
you are. How the rest of society might
reject you. And listen, I'm being very careful
here. You're no Christ. I want that to be plainly clear.
But I am telling you that what we see even today, as we are
rejected of men, as the Lord's cause is rejected of men, the
same thing holds true. That He is doing wonders of the
likes of which we won't even begin to understand until we're
in eternity. of what the Lord is doing through
people just like you who have linked their lives to the Lordship
of Christ, have given themselves over to His cause, fully surrendering
yourself, and you are becoming mighty in His sight while you
have no clue what's going on. Isn't that cool? That's just
good stuff. I mean, the Lord takes his people and he uses
them to change history. And all the while, oftentimes
we are clueless to that. Yet what's taking place is the
Lord is changing not just not his lives, individual lives.
He's changing civilizations. Adoniram Judson, the one who
was a minister, a missionary over to those who were in Burma.
And if you talk to those Burmese people today, and you mention
Adoniram Judson, their eyes will be filled with tears as they
consider the one who brought to them the gospel. Yet there
was nothing impressive about Adoniram Judson that the rest
of the world would stand and applaud for his fame or some
great fortune that way he would have. In fact, you can study
his life and you'll see it was quite to the contrary. But an
entire nation of people, their civilization was changed because
of this one man who gave himself to the cause of Christ. That's amazing to me. But I want you to know when you
give yourself to the cause of the Lord, it is not for desire
to change civilizations. It's not for desire that you
might be of some great significance where you're called to missionary
work or called to this or called to that, that people might be
able to applaud that. In fact, I want you to know some
of the greatest men and women of God, Some of those who will
be revered throughout all eternity are those who are doing works
that even we would consider to be small things, yet are doing
them in such great ways before the Lord that He is fully satisfied
with their works. Even though it might just be
with a few people, just a few lives being reached, but a few
people that God has saw fit to bring you to, to honor and to
glorify Him. Isn't that wonderful? And if
you need an example, all we got to do is look to the cross. The
one the builders rejected, but is now the chief corner. This
chief corner wasn't what they wanted. but now has received
the highest exaltation amongst the world. Even we are joined
around this chief corner. Verse 23 says, This is the Lord's
doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. He goes on and says,
This is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice and
be glad in it. Do you see what's building here?
We reference this verse a lot, don't we? We'll say, this is
the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in
it. There's easy to learn songs. We'll teach our children about
this being the day the Lord has made. It teaches us just as we
see in the scriptures to remember that the Lord's mercies are new
every morning. Therefore we are not consumed.
It teaches us to recognize that the Lord is the one who provides
each sunrise. He provides each sunset. He provides
the newness of day just the same as he provides the newness of
life. Do you get that? The one who saved you is the
one who causes the sun to rise in the east and to set in the
west and the one in whom our expectation is linked that it's
going to rise again tomorrow. Isn't that cool? I tell you,
Lord, you start searching him, you'll find that his riches are
in searchable. You will just go one by one through
the riches and the splendors of Christ and you'll just keep
pulling it out. And each time you think, well,
perhaps you've got to the bottom of the barrel, you'll look down
and check and you'll see that it's still full. His riches are
in searchable and his love for us is equal to those riches. Didn't you hear the second part
of the verse that I quoted earlier? Yes, the Lord's mercies are new
every morning. Therefore, we are not consumed.
It is by His mercy that we are kept. It is by His mercy that
endures from everlasting to everlasting that we are kept by His hand. This psalm, it started off with
this repetition. It said, give thanks to the Lord
for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Then there was
a call for Israel to sing it. Then there was a call for the
house of Aaron, for the priest to sing it. Then there was a
call for all that fear the Lord to sing that His mercy endures
forever. My friend, if the Lord was to
remove His mercy from you for just a moment, you would know
calamity in ways that you've never experienced it. But make
no mistake, even when calamities happen in our lives, the Lord's
mercy, it persists even the same. Why? Because this Christ of who
we speak, the one who upholds this kingdom, the one who is
established as his chief quarter, he himself is the one who is
responsible for this work. Didn't you read verse 23? This
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our sight, in our
eyes. Listen to what Jesus said Himself
about this verse. Matthew 21, verse 42 says, Jesus
said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures the stone which
the builders rejected? This became the chief corner.
This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Jesus is teaching, He said, Didn't you ever read this? Verse 43
says, Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people producing the fruit of it. And
he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever
it falls, it will scatter him like dust. You can go and read
about stoning in the days of Christ to understand the reference
he's making better there. But didn't you see who this kingdom
would be given to? You see, all of Israel thought
that it was by their lineage that they had place with God.
They were missing that it was Christ in whom had the lineage. It was Christ whom Abraham had
believed and it was counted as righteous. It was Christ whom
Noah preached as a preacher of righteousness. It was Moses who
looked ahead to the days of Christ. It was David, the man after God's
own heart, who looked ahead and saw Christ even here. as the stone which the builders
rejected, but it now became the chief corner." Let me just make
clear about this real quick, just a real simple doctrine I
want you to know about how people are saved in the Old Testament.
People in the Old Testament were saved just the same way people
in the New Testament are saved. We're saved by looking to Christ.
We look back, being in the position that we are today, and I want
you to know the fact that we are alive today, it is to our
advantage that we are able to look back to Christ. Why? Because
we have the fullness of these scriptures. When the psalmist
wrote this psalm, when the psalmist wrote Psalm 118, he had not yet
seen Christ. He was writing from a disadvantage,
but he saw Him before time. He knew what was ahead. And that
salvation that we look back to, David obtained it by looking
ahead. You see, it all points back to
Christ. I mean, I may as well go and say it, right? It's all
about Jesus. That's true in the New Testament,
the same as it was true in the Old Testament. We see that even
in verses like this one. And so this is the day that the
Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in
it. I want you to consider something
about this chief corner. Some look to Christ and they
see his crucifixion as though it was some element of weakness
to Christ that he was put to death. Perhaps they look to references
that teach us that He could have called legions of angels to deliver
Him up off the cross, but chose not to, and they see that as
a weak choice. They look how He opened not His
mouth, and they wonder why did He make no defense of Himself?
They failed to recognize that the reason why Christ was willing
unto death, even the death of the cross, was for your sake
and mine. He willfully went as a lamb done
before its shears, and he did so as one who would go for us. You see, he knew to establish
his kingdom required that these sinners be reconciled unto God,
and the only one that could do that reconciliation was him. So He went to the cross with
a weakness that men supposed in His death. Can't you just
picture those men that hated Him? Those builders that had
rejected this stone, thinking as He gave up the ghost there
on Calvary, thinking as though they had been vindicated in what
they had believed all these years concerning this Messiah. They
felt good about what they had done. retired that evening and
went to the Passover, went through the Passover just as they had
in times before, feeling as though they had been vindicated before
God because they had crucified and put to death this blasphemer. What they didn't realize that
while they were celebrating the Passover and believing themselves
to be well accomplished, that that one who they believed they
had crucified, the victory in even that moment was being won. Why? Because the next morning,
they would venture out into that garden tomb in which they had
laid Him. And behold, they would look, and that stone was rolled
back, and there was an angel sitting on the stone. And He
said, Why seek ye the living amongst the dead? He is not here,
for He is risen. Come and see the place where
the Lord is laid. see that one that the stoners
had rejected whom they felt so satisfied as he was put to death
behold he emerged indeed as that chief coroner the one in whom
all of this kingdom is established the kingdom yes not of this world
but the one that endures for all eternity the one in whom
He himself is at the center of that when we rejoice in the kingdom
as we have occasion to do from time to time here, but for all
eternity in heaven we will see this chief corner exalted as
he rightly should be, rather than rejected as he so often
is here. Listen to what CH Spurgeon said
about this rejection and this exaltation, said he lost nothing
by his enemies. Isn't that wonderful? They took nothing from him. What a savior. They put him to
death, but took nothing from him. They mocked him, they beat
him, they scourged him, but never for a moment did they take the
upper hand. They scourged his back, St. Spurgeon
continues, but they did not rob him of that imperial purple,
excuse me, which now adorns him. They crowned him with thorns,
but those thorns have increased the brilliance of his diadem
of light. Isn't that incredible? They crowned
him with thorns as though it was a mockery, but all that is
done is exalt him more and more. They pierced his hands and by
it prepared them to sway an irresistible scepter of love for men's hearts. Brother Moran said it well at
Brother Nathan's funeral on Friday. He said he believes that Christ,
when we see him in heaven, that we'll see those imprints in his
hands, that ribbon pierced in his side. I believe the same
thing. Yet what men did in piercing those hands, as C. H. Spurgeon
so more ably put it, allows him to cast his scepter as rightful
king over all, as the one who rules over all of love or men's
hearts. They nailed his feet, but those
feet stand firm forever upon the throne of sovereignty. They
crucified him, but his crucifixion led him to his greater honor.
since by it he finished the work which was given him to do, and
now also God has highly exalted him and given him a name which
is above every name." Do you know Paul affirms what the preacher
just said in the quote that I read to you? When he said that if
they had known what they were doing, they would have not put
to death the Lord of glory. Praise God for our chief corner. But listen to what he goes on
in verse 25, and we'll try to close. He says, Save now, I beseech
thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity. Here they were entering into
the gates, entering into the temple for the purpose of worship.
They had already looked around and seen how the Lord had kept
them, and how his glory had reserved them and set them apart, and
how they knew that though they'd been encompassed about like a
swarm of bees that God had delivered them again and again. Here they
are as they enter into the temple and they say, Oh Lord, save!
Why? Because they knew except the
Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it. They knew
that unless the Lord keeps it, the watchman waketh but in vain. They knew that they were relying
upon the Lord always. for their lives, always for the
welfare of the people, always, as we look to this from a New
Testament light, always for the welfare of his church. We are
reliant upon Him. And so even though we worship
in consideration of the goodness of God and all the things that
we have seen, we do so with a heart that says, Lord, now please deliver. Lord, now save. Lord, build your
kingdom. Lord, increase your church. Lord,
bring in these fields that are ripe for harvest. Save in a way
that only you can do, God, for that work is greater than us.
And so we look to you, Lord, we pray that we be found acceptable
in your sight and useful to you as tools in the hands of a master
craftsman. But God, unless you save, unless
you send prosperity, we will surely fail. Why? Because he is the chief quarter. Not any of us. Not some great
thing of a body. It is all the Lord's doing. And it is marvelous in our eyes. I want to close by looking at
what Peter said. This verse of Scripture that we read today,
it's quoted by Christ, it's quoted by Peter. We see it referenced
again and again in the New Testament. Listen to how Peter used it in
Acts 4, verse 8. It says, If we are on trial today for
a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made
well, let it be made known to all of you and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this
man stands here before you in good health." Forget who he's with there. But
Peter and John had healed someone. They were being blamed for it
as though they were causing an uproar. Keep in mind what had
already taken place with the crucifixion of Christ and all
that he had healed before him in his earthly ministry. And
so now Peter is standing before them and he is giving them account
of what has been done. That it was nothing that he had
done. Nothing of the apostles had done, but it was holy of
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom they had crucified.
Verse 11, He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders,
but which became the chief cornerstone, and there is salvation in no
one else. Listen to this, for there is
no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved. And so sinner friend, I want
to close with an appeal to you tonight. This Chief Corner, I
want you to know I have found him to be very, very good. He
has never failed, though he has called caused others to stumble
who doubted of his superiority, who have doubted over his sovereignty,
who have doubted over his lordship. What you will find is that all
who have came to trust in this chief quarter and the one who
the builders have rejected. They have found Him to be a very
fitting cornerstone. They have found Him to be a very
fitting rock upon which to build their lives, as we talked about
earlier today. And now we see Peter knowing
and testifying that this same Jesus, this same chief corner
that you the builders have rejected, He is now the chief corner. And
there is none other name given amongst men whereby we must be
saved. Sinner friend, if you're going
to be saved, it's going to be through Jesus. No other way will do. You know, men try to create all
sorts of gimmicks, all sorts of ways as though it will somehow
produce salvation. But I want you to know, just
as I said earlier, the point of salvation, it's not altered
course. It's not changed for man's convenience. It's not somehow
mixed itself in that it might be more becoming to us or more
of a desire to us. For behold, The one whom we seek
is the very one who has came to seek us. Is that what he said? A son of man is seeking to save
those that are lost. So, Senator Friend, I want to
recommend to you this chief coroner, the one who has come to save
The One who has came to build His kingdom. And make no mistake,
He is building it. And make no mistake, Jesus Himself
said, well, that yes, you may fall upon this rock and you will
be broken to pieces. You'll come before the Lord brokenhearted
and contrite in spirit. But lo, those who find themselves
built upon this chief quarter, they will find that they are
no longer broken, but they've been made brand new. But those
who the rock falls upon will be crushed forever. I'll go ahead
and share with you this very quickly. During the times of
Christ, we read about these stonings. It wasn't just that they were
being stoned and stones were being cast against them. that
they'd be taken up to a high place, and there'd be a rock
down at the bottom, and they'd be pushed off of that high place
onto that rock that was below, and then a rock would be rolled
behind them and pushed onto them. When Jesus was talking about
falling upon the rock, before the rock falls upon you, they
knew what he meant. Sir, friend, this chief corner,
it is a wonderful rock to build your life upon. But if you fail
to believe, if you fail to repent, you will stand before the Lord
and that rock will fall upon you. Sinner, you stand in danger
of the judgment every hour. And in that danger, you are no
different than me, for I likewise stand in danger of judgment.
But there is but one thing that distinguishes those who are saved
from those who are lost. is that when I stand in judgment
of my sins, behold, the Lord will look to the work of his
son, the one in whom I'm depending on for heaven, the one who I'm
trusting in on that great and terrible day of the Lord. When
I stand before him in judgment, he will see the blood of his
own son covering my sins. And because of that man, because
of Jesus Christ, he will look upon me. And because of his work,
I will find pardon and life everlasting. You, sinner friend, though, without
that blood applied, without having come to salvation, without that
experience, that defining moment of faith, where you come to be
saved, without that experience of salvation, when you stand
in judgment of the Lord, he will look at you and say, depart from
me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you. No sadder words
will ever be spoken than on that day of judgment, when sinners
are cast into hellfire. As Christ himself looks at them
and says, depart, I never knew you. Brother Corey, let's get
a song. I want to give occasion to you
tonight. What was dealing with you in some way, seek him, for
it can be found. He's a wonderful, wonderful chief
quarter.
The Unbending Truth
| Sermon ID | 31023153305747 |
| Duration | 43:53 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Galatians 5:1-15 |
| Language | English |
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