Praise The Lord
I’m out here today to praise the Lord. This is the day that the Lord has made. As believers we say thank God or praise the Lord and we really do mean it when we say it. Yes, we thank God and praise God for He is good. We thank God when things go well. There are probably even unbelievers who thank God and praise God when they make it through a cancer scare or maybe when they nearly escape a car accident.
Those of us who follow Jesus Christ praise the Lord because He is worthy. So tonight, I’d like to read in Psalm 115: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
Trust In The Lord
O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;
He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord!
I’m out here today to praise the Lord, to praise God. I thank God for His mercy and grace. I thank God for He is good. Yes, I thank God for He is an awesome God. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3).
Why did God send Jesus into the world? Why did Jesus come into His creation? All things were created by Him and for Him. Why did Jesus insert Himself into His own creation? The King of glory, why did He come down to this earth? Why was he born of the virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit? Jesus came to save His people from their sins. He came to seek and save the lost.
Sin Problem
We all have a sin problem, no matter how good you think you are. You may be a better person than your friend, you may be better than myself. You may be better than a lot of other people in general. But unfortunately, the standard is not you or I. The standard is not other human beings. No, the standard is God Himself and God is perfect. God is righteous, Holy and just.
Because He is Holy, He must and He does punish sinners. You look to the past and God flooded the whole world. Approximately 3 million people died in the flood and only eight souls were saved. God most definitely punished sinners in the past. God still punishes sinners today and He will punish sinners in the future. Hell was made for Satan and the fallen angels (demons), but men and women foolishly trip and fall in it.
Why? Because we’ve all sinned against God. We’ve all rebelled against God. No matter how good you think you are, none of us are good. There is none good, no not one. There is none righteous. No, there is not a just person upon the earth. We’ve all sinned and gone astray, we’ve gone our own way. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Jesus Did What You And I Could Not Do
That’s why Jesus came to this earth a little over 2,000 years ago. Jesus did what you and I could not do. Jesus never sinned, not one time. He never lied, stole, lusted, coveted nor disobeyed God. Jesus never blasphemed God’s Holy name. No, He always did the will of God the Father.
Jesus perfectly kept the commandments. Not just the letter of the law, but in the spirit of the law. In fact, Jesus raised them to a higher standard. Jesus said you have heard it said of them of old time that you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you if a man looks upon a woman to lust after her, he has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Not only can you and I not keep the physical demands of the law, Jesus raised the bar even higher. Not just your actions and words that damn you, but even your thoughts. God is going to judge every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. This includes your thought life. We’ve all sinned against God and there is nothing that you or I can do to make ourselves right with God. We cannot clean ourselves up. No, we cannot make ourselves righteous and holy. It takes the righteousness of God to be in the presence of God.
Jesus Perfectly Kept The Will Of God
Jesus perfectly kept the will of God the Father, yet He willingly went to that cruel cross to lay down His life as a ransom for many. The Lord was beaten with 39 harsh lashes across His back. Before that, He was beaten with fists, with a stick. His beard was plucked out and He was spit upon. A crown of thorns was placed on His head. His hands and feet were nailed to the old rugged cross.
As Jesus hung on that cross enduring the horrible physical pain, an even worse pain was placed upon Him. God’s wrath over sin was poured out upon His own precious, sinless Son as Jesus hung there for six, long, torturous hours. That’s how much God hates sin.
You want to see how much God hates sin, look to the cross. You want to see how much God loves, look to the cross. Christ Jesus endured the anger of God that He did not deserve. But He did so on behalf of guilty sinners who repent and put their faith in Him. Before Jesus died on the cross, He said it is finished. Jesus stayed the course to the very end. He always did the will of God the Father. Jesus came for the redemption of sinful men and women, for those who surrender their lives to Him.
Jesus Rose From The Grave
Yes, Jesus suffered, bled and died on the cross; was buried and rose from the grave three days later. I’m here to share the good news, that Jesus rose from the grave. That’s why I’m here to praise Him. The Lord defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan. God offers eternal life to each and every person who repents from their sins and puts their trust in Jesus.
My hope and prayer today is that someone here will hear this. That someone will turn from their sins and turn to the risen Lord. I’m here to praise Jesus. He is the mighty Savior. He is the only Savior. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
You must be saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ or the guilt of your sins remains upon you. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old. We’ve all gone astray from the womb (Psalm 58:3). Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden and we’ve all sinned since then. Sin is an abomination to God.
The Only Way To Be Right With God
Jesus is the only way to get back in a right relationship with God. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the only way of salvation. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:6). Jesus is very exclusive; He is the only Savior of mankind. But oh, what a mighty Savior He is. Jesus saved souls 2,000 years ago and praise God, He’s still saving souls today.
The Lord said he that has ears to hear, let him hear. Is there anyone here today that will recognize that you are a sinner, that God is Holy and Jesus Christ is the only Savior? I’m pleading with you to repent from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Trust in the Lord for your salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The problem is most people think they are good, so they don’t call upon the name of the Lord. They don’t see the need for their salvation. Maybe you think you don’t kill, steal and commit other horrible crimes. But we have all sinned against God. In Revelation 21:8, Jesus said all liars will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone that burns forever.
You cannot earn salvation. It is the free gift from God. You must receive it. Just like you would have to receive this Bible in my hand if I were giving it to you. Just standing there looking at it would do you no good. No, you’d have to actually receive it to do you any good. Salvation is the same way. You must receive this free gift from God. Salvation is of the Lord.
Jesus Saved Me!
Jesus saved my soul. I was a dirty rotten sinner. God revealed my wicked heart to me and showed me His Holiness and that Jesus is the only Savior. I cried out for God to save me. I humbled myself and came to Him through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the Lord.
God will do the same for you, but you must recognize that you are a sinner and there’s nothing you can do to save yourself. Cry out for God to have mercy upon you. Repent from your sins and surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus.
Today is the day of salvation. Now is the time to get right with God. Jesus said repent and believe the Gospel. I’m pleading with you to repent and trust Jesus. Trust in His righteous, Holy, mighty name. Believe on the Lord Jesus. Don’t die in your sins and go to Hell. Come to Jesus today.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Then join me in praising the Lord. He is worthy of all praise, honor and glory. Repent and put your faith in Jesus. Then praise the Lord now and forever. I willingly praise the Lord now and I’m looking forward to praising Jesus forever in the next life. I can’t wait.
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on February 8, 2019)