(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, if you take your Bibles and turn to Psalm 14 and look at verse number two, Psalm 14 and verse number two, the verse reads, the Lord looked down. The title for the sermon this morning is the Lord looked down, the Lord looked down. Now this is to bring our remembrance to the fact that God is looking on this earth, God is looking at this world, God is looking upon you believer, God is looking at this ungodly world. And sometimes in these challenging times, these difficulties, these struggles, these fears, there might be this idea well God is not looking at us, God you know is far from us, but what we see now the Lord looks down, God is looking at the world, God is looking at mankind, he's looking at the righteous and he's looking at the wicked. And so let's pick it up here in verse number one, Psalm 14 verse 1, it says, the fool have said in his heart there is no God, they are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. Now the Bible's speaking here about a fool, a fool, and it says that the fool is someone that says there is no God. And you know the name we give the fool today is the atheist, the one that claims that there is no God, that things came into existence because of a Big Bang or without a God, you know these people according to the Bible, these people according to God, they are fools. And if you look up the dictionary definition of a fool, the first one is a person who acts unwisely or imprudently a silly person. Now think about that, that's what they are, these atheists, these scientists, they claim there is no God, they are people who act unwisely, a silly person, the dictionary says. And here the second meaning for a fool is, you know this is a medieval term, a jester or a clown, a jester or a clown. So think about the atheists you may know, the atheists that you've crossed paths with. The dictionary tells us that they are a jester or a clown, they're a clown. When they start, you know, talking and they think they're wise, don't they? They think they have it all worked out, they think they know that there is no God, the dictionary says that they are a clown. The Bible says they are a fool, that they are silly people who act unwisely. And two of the most famous fools or atheists or whatever you want to call them that we know about in this day and age is, one of them is Richard Dawkins and the second one is Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking passed away a couple of years ago, he passed away into hell, now he knows, now he's no longer an atheist of course, now he knows there is God, in fact he's facing the wrath of God every moment of his life right now. But these are two men that the media, you know, highlighted, these are two people that had a great reputation in the world. And these are the words, let me just read to you from Richard Dawkins first of all, Richard Dawkins, he's famous for his book called The God Delusion, but his words is, I'm just quoting him here, it says we cannot of course disprove God just as we can't disprove Thor, fairies, leprechauns and the flying spaghetti monster. Okay so he's saying look we can't disprove there's a God, just in the same way we can't disprove that there's a flying spaghetti monster or disprove that there are fairies or a Thor, you know, a God-man or things like this. And so what he's saying is it's just as stupid or just as silly in his eyes to believe in a flying spaghetti monster, well it would be equally silly to believe that there is a God. That's the perspective that Richard Dawkins takes. Now those words might seem intellectual, they might seem one of wisdom, in fact I've heard many people when I've gone knocking the doors and they speak about God as a flying spaghetti monster, they get that from Richard Dawkins, but God calls this person a fool. Richard Dawkins, as far as God is concerned, that man is a fool. The second person that I mentioned is Stephen Hawking, who passed away as I said two years ago, the cripple in the wheelchair, you know, his computer system will talk for him, I mean I don't even know if the computer system was even representing his real thoughts, but you know, he'd talk like this, there is no God, if you know what I'm talking about, that cripple in the wheelchair, and he said these words and his quote is, I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God, no one created the universe and no one directs our fates, this leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. Wow, so profound, so foolish, the Bible says this man is a fool, and look I don't feel sorry for these atheists that go to hell, you know, right now they are facing the judgment of God, right now listen, by their words, even though this man has passed on by his words, by his theories, he's leading many hundreds, thousands of people into hell, you know, he's convincing people that there is no God, and yet the only one that will save them from hell is of course the Lord Jesus Christ, and so the Bible tells us that atheists are fools, that they are unwise, they are imprudent, they are silly, they're jesters, they're a clown, and you say well that's a bit harsh Pastor Kevin, how could you say that about these atheists, well these are the words of God, he called them a fool, right, he called, not only that, what else did he say there in verse number one, they are corrupt, they have done abominable works, hey the God Delusion book by Richard Dawkins, that's an abominable work, when they when they have their speeches and they speak out against God, these are abominable works, and then it says there is none that do of good, and you know these atheists they think they're good, they think they're the gift to mankind, that you know somehow you know they've got this vast intellect where they can work out, you know, a system where there is no God, and yet the Bible says that they have done no good, there is none that doeth good, now we use this phrase there is none that do of good quite often in relation to the entire world, but if we keep it in the context of that verse, it's actually speaking about the atheists at this point in time, okay, it will then expand on to other things, but how does one become an atheist, how does one decide to deny the existence of God, and the answer is actually found in the Bible, if we turn to Romans chapter 1, please turn to Romans chapter 1, and we see this downward spiral of someone who becomes an atheist, now it's not that an atheist becomes a Christian so much, it's not that, you know, when someone is born into this world, when they grow up into this world, it's not that they have to learn that there is a God, the atheist has to actually learn that there is no God, okay, but they started with understanding that there is a God, if you look at Romans chapter 1 verse 19, the Bible says, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God have showed it unto them, so the Bible tells us here that God has shown the truth unto us, but then look at verse number 20, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, the Bible's telling us here that the creation of the world is sufficient evidence for us to know of God, not just know of God, but know of his eternal power and Godhead, you see the fact that we exist, the fact that we, you know, so complicated, you know, our design is so complicated, you know, the human eye is beyond comprehension how it operates, each of our cells operate like little cities, you know, just one cell in our bodies, we are such complex creatures, you know, we have the ability to think, to rationale, to love, to have emotions, this all proves to us not just our creation, but the creation of the animals, the world, geography, our earth, all of these are to show us the power and the Godhead, you know, of God, and so we are without excuse if we are to deny God because of what we've seen, the Bible's making it very clear that we can believe in the Creator because we have seen the creation, we can take the creation in, and so one does not have to learn how to believe in God, he must learn how to not believe in God, and that's the process that the atheists have gone through, let's keep reading in verse number 21, because that, now notice next words, when they knew God, did they know God, the atheists? Of course they know God, they knew God, they could see the creation, there was no excuse for them to deny the existence of God, they know there's a God, yes Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking, what I'm saying is they know there is a God, they know it's the God of the Bible, because that when they knew God, verse 21, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. These men and these other atheist scientists are vain in their imaginations, their foolish heart has been darkened, but listen, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. You know I was doing some research and seeing, you know, reading through some of the quotes of atheists, and quite often, you know, they won't necessarily come out and deny God in of itself, or of himself, but they will then rephrase God into something else, you know, they will think that potentially God is is everything, you know, or God, you know, the the mind of God is everything there is to learn in the universe, everything there is to learn in nature, they would think of that as God, and so by extension what they're trying to describe is that they can become like gods, you know, if they can learn everything there is to learn of the natural world, if they can learn everything they believe, they can learn about, you know, you know, the planets and the solar systems and everything that we can learn of science, then they think that they've reached a level of godhood, and of course that is the lie of the devil. The lie of the devil in Genesis 3, when he convinced Eve to take of that fruit, he said to her that she can become like gods, okay, and that is the search that these atheists want, they want to deny the existence of God, and then they want to think of themselves as God, or someone that's on this journey to become as gods, no different to any other religion that's out there like Mormonism or other things that that teach you can become like a god, and so, you know, these atheists are full, they've denied God, and they glorified him not as God. Verse number 22, the Bible says professing themselves to be wise they became fools, hey there's the fool, the fool that have said in his heart there is no God, they thought they were wise, they thought they had this great intellect and knowledge, but they got into a point where they, because they did not glorify God for who he is, they became fools, they denied the existence of God, and then it says in verse number 23, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. So it's telling us here that they make God out of anything else, anything that's in creation, you know, instead of there being a creator of the creation, it's like creation becomes that image of God, and so they defy the, they defile the thought of God. If we drop down to verse number 28, Romans chapter 1 verse 28, and even, look at this, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, hey did they have the knowledge of God, yes, did they like to retain that knowledge though, did they like to think that there is a God, no, they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, look at this, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient, and so God can give these atheists over to a mind that's reprobate, a reprobate mind, that's a rejected mind, they've rejected God, so God says right, well if you reject me, you cross a certain line, well I'm going to reject you, and so they receive this mind of rejection, and then it says at the end of verse number 28, and do those things which are not convenient, and what are some of those things, notice this, verse number 29, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, does this sound like a group of people you want to hang out with, you know if you've got some atheist friends, or you go to a university and you've got an atheist professor, hey the Bible says that atheist professor is full of these things, being filled with unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, look verse number 30, backbiters, haters of God, haters of God, listen there's no such thing as an atheist, an atheist is someone who hates God, they know God exists, but instead of making the decision to know God, instead of making the decision to seek out God, and to have the fear of God, and the knowledge of God, they've made a conscious decision to be a hater of God, can you imagine that, hating the God that created them, it keeps going, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, or disobedient to authorities, you know, and so we need to understand brethren, that you know God looks at these fools, he looks at these atheists, and you know he thinks of them as foolish, no wisdom, and that's how we ought to think about them, you know if there's a television show about you know some documentary, you know and you know something about the natural world, and they put on one of these atheist professors, one of these atheist scientists, brethren just switch the channel off, switch that program off, otherwise you're going to be listening to the ramblings of a foolish man, okay, don't waste your time listening to the fools, when you can listen to the word of God, the truth of God's word, through the preaching of God's word, or just by picking up the bible yourself, but back to Psalms 14 for me, Psalms 14, let's keep going, verse number two, and this is where we get the title for the sermon, the Lord looked down from heaven, upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God, you see God is looking to find somebody that is seeking him, you know he wants to be a blessing, he wants to guide and direct people that want to know salvation, that want to know the true God of the bible, he's seeking to find that person, and he's looking down from heaven upon the children of men, you know God is watching us, every moment that we live our lives, God is watching, God is watching the wickedness of this world, you know the wickedness of our governments, he's watching the effects of this coronavirus, or if it doesn't exist, whatever situation you think, God is looking down, he knows the truth of all these situations, and it says that to see if there were any that did understand and seek God, now if you can keep your finger there, please go to Romans chapter three, Romans chapter three, and I want to show you where the book of Romans pulls what we just read from Psalm 14 and applies it to the gospel message, but if you can go to Romans 3 chapter 10, Romans 3 chapter 10 takes what we're about to read here from Psalm 14, and it says here, as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one, so we saw that in reference to the atheist, but now we want to take that truth and apply that to the broader level, to every man that lives on this earth, the bible says there is none righteous, no not one, but look how it says in verse 11, there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God, there is none that seeketh after God, the reason I wanted to show you these passages, first of all is that nobody can be saved by being a good person, it doesn't matter how good of a person you are, you know, the bible tells us that our righteousness are like filthy rags, you know, you cannot work your way to heaven, you are not good enough, the bible just told us there is none righteous, that means there is none that does right, you know, 100% of the time, no not one, and so, you know, there is a teaching in the Christian world known as Calvinism or predestination, now I believe in predestination as the bible defines it, we read a lot about predestination, you know, predestination steps or the teaching that God has given us, a lot of that comes from the book of Ephesians, so I want us to go to Ephesians now, please go to Ephesians, now, you know, you may want to keep your finger in the book of Romans, but please go to Ephesians chapter 1, and there are those that say, well see, no one seeks after God, you know, there is none that understand, there are none that seek after God, you know, nobody's going to get saved by seeking after God, it's only, you know, the predestined will of God for you to actually get saved, okay, that's the view that they will take, that without God predestinating you, without God electing you to be saved, you cannot be saved, is the thought by this teaching of Calvinism, and so it has some ramifications on how you think about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, you know, because if God is the one who has already chosen who he wants to save and who he doesn't want to save, well that would make sense if Jesus were to come and die on the cross, then that would mean when Jesus Christ died that he only died for those that God wanted to save, and he didn't die for the sins of those that he did not want to save, and so what they'll say is, we are incapable of seeking after God, we are incapable about believing the gospel unless God first does a work in our hearts, and you know, this is the predestined, well if you're predestined, God will make you saved, God will get you saved, God will give you that new spirit, God will make you a new man, God will allow you to go for a born again experience, and then once you are born again they will teach, then you can believe the gospel, but whether you believe the gospel or not, it doesn't change the fact that you're saved, they think you're already saved, and because you're already saved, you will eventually believe on the gospel, but that's why I want to turn to Ephesians 1 verse 11 for me, please go there, Ephesians 1 verse 11, because it couldn't be any clearer than what we see here, and it uses the term predestination here, or predestined, Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11, the Bible reads, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, there it is, are we predestinated? Yes, do I believe in predestination? Yes, I do believe it in the context of how we find it in the Bible, the Bible doesn't tell us we're predestined to be saved, what does it say here? It says, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things, after the counsel of his own will, that we should be the praise of his glory. What are we predestined to do then, are we predestined to be saved? Is that what it's saying? No, it's saying we're predestined that we should be the praise of his glory, once we are saved, your destiny as a Christian is that you would be the praise of his glory, that God will glory in praising, in seeing you become more Christ-like, by seeing you walk in the Spirit, by having that new man, by being saved, and as we grow in the Lord, as we grow in the Bible, in Bible knowledge, you know God is praised, his glory is demonstrated on that behalf, but that's for someone who is saved, it's not saying here someone is predestined to be saved, no, once we are saved we are predestined to be the praise of his glory, but let's keep going, verse number 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory, notice the next words, who first trusted in Christ, who first trusted in Christ, hey what comes first in the salvation process? Is it that we're predestined to be saved and others are predestined not to be saved, is that what comes first? No, the Bible says what comes first is our trust in Christ, hey that's like saying we believe on Christ, when you believe on Christ, when you believe his death burial and resurrection, that means we have trusted in his death burial and resurrection, we're not trusting anything else, we're not trusting our good works, we're not trusting our church, we're not trusting some false god, no we're trusting Jesus Christ, and when we believe on Christ it means we are placing all our faith and trust on Jesus, that he has done all the work, his death, his burial, his resurrection, he's paid for all our sins, and that through Christ we can have eternal life, and so the first thing is that we trust in Christ, look at verse number 13, Ephesians 1 13, in whom ye also trusted, look at this, after that ye had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, so how is it that we've trusted what we thought we heard, the gospel, that's what it's saying there right, we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, look at this, in whom also after that ye believed, so after we believe on Christ, what happens, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory, there is the praise of his glory, the resurrection, the completeness of our salvation, not only when we're saved by believing on Christ, but that time as we become more Christ-like, to the time we receive our new resurrected bodies at the rapture, that would be the fullness of the praise of God's glory, we would no longer have any sin in us, no sinful nature, and we can worship God, we can serve God without any sin in our lives, but notice the process, we have to hear the gospel, that's how we believe, and then once we believe, it said, sorry, it said in verse number 13, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise, so the holy spirit, do we work on us, get us saved, and then we could believe, like Calvinism teaches, no, we first believed, then we received, by believing we're born again, we receive the holy spirit of promise, and that is at the down payment for our eternal redemption. If you can please go back to Romans and go to Romans chapter 10 and verse 14, Romans chapter 10 and verse 14, and I love this passage, a very famous passage, we often preach about this one in our church, because it shows us the process of salvation, it shows us how somebody calls upon the name of the Lord for salvation, in Romans 10 verse 14, it says, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? You see, we can only call upon the Lord, we can only call upon the name of the Lord for salvation unless we have first believed, we cannot do that until we have believed, right? And then it says, and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? So before they can believe on Christ, they have to hear something, what do they have to hear? And it says here, and how shall they hear without a preacher? You see, for them to be saved, they have to hear the gospel, they have to hear the word of God from a preacher, and then, you know, I've had people say, oh, hold on, are you saying only preachers can get people saved? And by that question, they think of preacher as a pastor, as a church worker, listen, anybody, any saved person can be a preacher, you can be a preacher if you're saved, okay? Because all you need to do is take the gospel, go to someone that you love, someone that you know is lost, preach unto them the gospel, and you are a preacher of the gospel, because you're preaching that person the word of God, it's not standing up behind a pulpit, that makes you a preacher, it's preaching God's word. When you preach the gospel, you are the preacher that Romans 10 is speaking about. Look at verse number 15, and how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who have believed our report. And look at verse number 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So notice those two things, how can someone come into faith on Christ? How can someone believe on Jesus Christ? Well they have to hear, okay, from the preacher, and what it is that they need to hear? The word of God. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and the only way they can hear the word of God is through the mouth of a preacher. So it is not, once again, the Calvinist says no, the Holy Ghost just saves you, then you're on this journey to finally believe. Once you believe, then that proves that you were actually one of those chosen people, you were predestined to be saved. Whereas the Bible makes it, it teaches it differently, doesn't it? It says here that the preacher must go bearing the word of God, bearing the precious seed, preach unto someone to hear the gospel of glad tidings, the gospel of peace, and then that person, once they hear it, they can believe, and then they can call upon Jesus Christ to save them. All right, so the preacher must use the Bible, must use the word of God, and you know another name for the Bible is the sword of the Spirit. So don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit plays no role. In fact, being born again is being born of the Spirit, the Bible says. The Holy Spirit does a work, revives that Spirit of man unto God, and so in order for someone to be saved, yes the Holy Spirit must work, but the Holy Spirit also needs the preacher, needs the preacher using the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, okay? If you don't use the word of God, if you're not using the sword of the Spirit, you're not going to be able to get someone saved, and the Holy Spirit, unless he has the preacher bearing that word, will not be able to get someone saved. We need both the Spirit of God and the preacher bearing the gospel in the word of God, then that person who can then hear will believe and call upon the name of the Lord. All right, back to Psalm 14 and verse number 3. Psalm 14 and verse number 3, the Bible reads, they are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no not one. So now we get to this broader concept, okay? We saw that the foolish, the atheists, yes there is none good in that category, but there is none good overall, all right? They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no not one. And this is where, you know, we use our famous passage in Romans 3-12, which says they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not one. We often like to quote that one when we go door to door, so when we use the Romans road, we'll often use that verse to show people that there is none good, no not one. And as I said to you, Isaiah 64 verse 6 says, but we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness are as filthy rags, okay? So when you're not saved, when you don't have that born against spirit, you haven't caught upon them the Lord, any good you try to do, yeah it might look good in your eyes, but in God's eyes they are filthy rags. And if you're trying to get to heaven based on how good your works are, boy you're just going to God, hey God, here are my filthy rags, you know, have a sniff of those rags and God's going to reject you. You will not be able to go to heaven for those that are trusting in their works. And by the way, it's not just trusting in Jesus and works, no, it's trusting Jesus 100% without works that will get a man saved. And so the Bible once again did say there is none righteous, no not one. So there was one though that was righteous. There is one that we can say is definitely righteous and in Mark chapter 10 verse 18, you know, we have the story of the young rich ruler coming to Jesus and he calls Jesus good master. But then Jesus says these words to him, it says in verse number 18, And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one that is God. So what do we learn here by these words of Jesus? There is only one that is good, not man. And that one that Jesus said was God, God, okay. So when he's asking this young rich ruler, and listen, was Jesus good? Did Jesus go doing good things? Most people would say absolutely he was a good man, you know. And think about this though, if he's asking the young rich ruler, why callest thou me good? Don't you know there's only one good which is God? What is Jesus saying about himself then? You know, what is he trying to get the young rich ruler to think about if only God is good and he's calling Jesus good? Well this confirms like once again many ways that we can confirm the deity of Christ in the Bible. Jesus is God. Jesus is God the Son. You know, the Trinity has God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ the Son of God was manifest in the flesh. He is just showing this young rich ruler, hey you're speaking to God. There is only one that's good and that's God and you're speaking to him. You know, God the Son of God. And the Bible says in Psalm 34 8, oh taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusteth in him. You see, God wants you to taste and see that the Lord is good. And the Lord is good. Our Lord God is a good God, okay. But what it takes is for you to draw nigh to him, what it takes for you to seek after him, to learn the gospel, to believe on Christ and you can taste the goodness of God when he saves you from all your sins. All your burdens have been placed on Christ, your iniquities, your trespasses and sins put on Christ. He's paid for them all. And when you can understand that Christ has paid for your present sins, your past sins, your future sins, he promises you a home in heaven, eternal life, once saved always saved, you can understand the goodness of God. That God is good. And in Psalm 107 verse 1, the Bible reads, oh give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. And it says, for his mercy endureth forever. God's mercy will endure forever. That's why he's good. That's why you always have an opportunity to go to God and ask him for salvation. Okay, he's not going to remove that opportunity. If you're seeking after him, you want to know, how do I get to heaven, Lord? He's going to give you the mercy to forgive you of your sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You see, the sacrifice of Christ, yes, it happened 2,000 years ago, but all of man's sins from Adam to the last man that takes a breath, all of those sins that were done by mankind was all put on Jesus Christ, my sins, your sins, and all we need to do is believe on him, trust him, call upon Christ to save us from our sins. And so the Lord is good. Psalm 14 verse 4, Psalm 14 and verse 4 reads, have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and call not upon the Lord? So now we turn our attention to the workers of iniquity, and God once again is saying, hey, they've got no knowledge. Okay, they're foolish, they've got no knowledge. But these workers of iniquity, these people that hate God, and hate the people of God, it says here, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. So it's talking about people who persecute the children of God, who afflict the children of God. Now keep your finger there, and actually, no, you stay there, you stay in Psalm 14. I'm going to read to you from Psalm 53, because this is one of the Psalms that is almost identical to Psalm 14, almost identical. You can almost say they're the exact same Psalm, but there are some differences. And you know, and I want to read to you from Psalm 53, but you follow along in Psalm 14. Okay, so Psalm 53, and you follow along just to show you how consistent it is. It says, The fool have said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity. There is none that doeth good. Verse number two, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and did seek God. Verse number three, Every one of them is gone back. They are altogether become filthy. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. And then verse number four, Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread. And then it says this, They have not called upon God. I want you to notice that. So in Psalm 14, what did it say? It says here and call not upon the Lord, right? In Psalm 14, but then in Psalm 53, it says, They have not called upon God. So let's get a few thoughts there. It says God in 53, the Lord in Psalm 14, because the Lord is God. God is the Lord. And this is important because when we talk about our salvation, and I'll just read to you the passage, I know you probably turn away from from Romans, but it says in Romans 10, nine, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus. You see, in order for you to be saved, it's not just that you believe Jesus was a good man, that Jesus was a good prophet. No, you need to believe or confess the Lord Jesus. Who is the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus then says, And shall believe in thine heart, that God have raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And then we read verse number 13, it says, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Again, who's the Lord here in the context of Romans chapter 10, as we saw in verse number nine, the Lord Jesus. In order for you to be saved, you need to call upon the Lord, and that Lord is Jesus Christ. So when we see in Psalm 14, referring to calling upon the Lord, and then in Psalm 53, calling upon God, we have another passage of Scripture, which confirms the deity of Christ. Jesus is God. Jesus, you know, the Son of God makes up that Trinity, you know, God, there is one God and God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one, but these three are not one another that they are, they are not the same. Okay, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, but they make up that one God. Okay, so Jesus Christ, the Lord is God. And then, if we can go back to Psalm 14, Psalm 14, and verse number five, Psalm 14, and verse number five. Actually, before I read that passage, I did want to show you, read to one other passage here. And you know, these are writings of Old Testament Psalmists. And it says in Psalm 86, verse five, for thou, Lord, art good. Now we saw that already, who's good? God, right? For thou, Lord, art good, look at this, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Wow. So when we see the Psalmist speaking of salvation, he speaks about those that call upon the Lord, those that call upon God, the only one that is good. So my question to you then, brethren, is how did the Old Testament saints get saved? Well, by calling upon the Lord. It was the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now they didn't know the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but when they called upon the Lord, they were calling upon Christ for salvation. You see, salvation in the Old Testament is the same as salvation in New Testament. It's by grace, through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Okay, so salvation is the same in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. Now back in Psalm 14, in verse number five, Psalm 14, verse five, it says, there were they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. So what we notice in verse number five is a change in direction. We're talking about in verse number four, the workers of iniquity. And again, what were the workers of iniquity doing? They were eating up people as they eat bread. Okay, so what that means is, in the same way you would just, you know, get a loaf of bread out and eat it, not give it much thought, you know, these people of iniquity, you know, in the same way are trying to destroy or consume the people of God. They don't think of the people of God much more than your daily bread. Okay, they don't think highly of the people of God. And so when we get to verse number five, we have this change where they finally realize that they're going to face the wrath of God, that God is going to judge them for their wickedness. And in verse number five, it says, there were they, that's the wicked, in great fear. You see, the wicked will not continue forever in their wickedness. At some points, God will judge them. At some point, God will rain down his wrath upon them. He could start on this earth by someone who receives that reprobate mind that's rejected by God. Hey, otherwise, it will definitely happen in the lake of fire. Okay, and so one day they will have a great fear of God. And like I said, Stephen Hawking, that cripple in hellfire, he's got a great fear of God right now, okay, as he burns in the wrath of God. And so it says in verse number five, there were they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. See, God is looking at the righteous. God is looking at those that have the imputed righteousness of Christ, that walk in his ways, okay, those that are saved. God is looking down at his children. And please, you know, never get to the point where you think that God has forgotten me, that God is not looking at my turmoil, that God is not looking at my suffering. Hey, God is looking down at you. He is the God in the generation of the righteous. You know, if you're saved, God is there with you in, you know, you are in his presence. And these wicked people will one day understand that, okay, they will come face to face with the wrath of God. Look at verse number six, Psalm 14, verse six. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Now let's understand this. When it says verse number six, ye have shamed, that's against speaking about those that are in great fear, once again, speaking about those are the workers of iniquity, okay, because in contrast, it says, because the Lord is his refuge, that's speaking about the believers, the believers who have their safety, their trust, their refuge in the Lord God. And so verse number six, once again says, ye have shamed the counsel of the poor. And so when we think about the poor, you know, Jesus puts it in these words in Matthew chapter five, verse three, it says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And so for you to be saved, you must come to a point where you are poor in spirit, you realize that spiritually, you're not in a good place, that spiritually, you need to be born again, that you need Christ, you need his imputed righteousness, you need his salvation. And that's someone who is poor in spirit. And God says that person will receive the kingdom of heaven. You will enter into heaven. And when that millennial reign of Christ comes, you're going to be ruling and reigning with Christ. And so we are the poor in spirit. But look, the workers of iniquity, or as we saw in verse number one, the atheists, the foolish people that deny God, it says that they shame the counsel of the poor. You see, when we seek the counsel of God, you know, when we come to the Bible, and we seek wisdom in this book, or we speak to one another in fellowship, we go to our brothers and sisters, we speak, we have counsel, one with another, the Bible says that they, the workers of iniquity, those that are haters of God, they seek to shame that counsel, they seek to shame us, as we go and seek our refuge in the Lord. And let me just show you this quote from Richard Dawkins, once again. And this is what he thinks about our God. He says, it is, it's a horrible idea that God, this paragon of wisdom and knowledge, power, couldn't think of a better way to forgive us our sins than to come down to earth in his alter ego as his son, and have himself hideously tortured and executed so that he could forgive himself. So God, I mean, sorry, Richard Dawkins thinks that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is, it's a horrible idea. That's what he thinks. Hey, but when we are seeking counsel, when we're seeking refuge, when we're looking for protection and salvation from our sins, we turn to Christ, and we look at Christ, and we rejoice in his sacrifice, we rejoice in his resurrection, and we're looking forward to the coming of Christ. You know, we're thankful that he died in our place, we're thankful he shed his blood for us, we're thankful for everything he's done for us. Richard Dawkins brings that counsel to shame. You know, he says that it is a horrible idea that God would sacrifice his son in our place. And, you know, it just shows you the heart of the wicked, it shows you the heart of the fools. But once again, brethren, God looks down, God sees, God sees the wicked, God sees the righteous. Please don't forget that these wicked people that say such things, you know, there's a special place in hell, in the deepest and darkest places of hell for that Richard Dawkins. Okay, for those that deny God, those that have been given over to a reprobate mind, there's a special place in hell for them. You know, it's going to be the worst place of the wrath of God. Let's go back to Psalm 14 and verse number seven. Psalm 14, verse seven, we're almost done now here. And it's the last verse, it says, Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion, when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. And notice that, this is a psalm of David, an Old Testament saint, you know, and these crazy ruckmanites, you know, these hyper dispensationalists who say that people are saved in the Old Testament by works. Hold on, is that what was David trusting in his works for salvation? What did he say in verse number seven? Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion. Think about that. You know, he was asking for the salvation of Israel to come from Zion. And this is also quoted in Isaiah 59, verse 20. I'll just read it to you. If you guys can please go to Romans 11. Please go to Romans 11. And I'll read to you from Isaiah 59. You go to Romans 11. I'll read to you from Isaiah 59, verse 20. The Bible reads, And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. So who comes to Zion? The Redeemer. Hey, that's the Saviour, the Saviour, the Redeemer, okay. Now you're in Romans 11, verse 26. You know, who was David looking for? He was looking for the Redeemer. He was looking for salvation. He was looking for the Saviour. Romans 11, 26. It says, And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. You see, out of Zion comes the Deliverer, comes the Redeemer. Who is the salvation of Israel? Of course it's Jesus Christ, okay. Jesus Christ who died for us, and by his death he has turned ungodliness away from Jacob, okay. Ungodliness away from the believers because he became sin for us. He took on the curse that, you know, we should have received. He took it upon himself so we don't have to face God and judgment day with our sins. No, our unrighteousness, our ungodliness has been turned away. And then it says in verse number 27, For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. Hey, that covenant is the New Covenant. That's the New Testament when Christ's blood was shed when he died, the death of the testator ushered in that covenant when he will take away our sins. Now don't forget, once again, just because Jesus Christ did die 2000 years ago and that's when the New Covenant came into effect, his death paid for every sin though from Adam, once again, the first man to the last man that takes breath on this earth. Now some will say, well hold on, it says here in Romans 11 26, all Israel shall be saved. You see, it's just for the Jews. You know, God only cares about the Jews. Jesus only came, you know, his desire was just for the Jewish people. He didn't have any desire to see the Gentiles saved or ridiculous things like that. But this is why, when we read Romans and we get to this point where it says all Israel, this is chapter 11. Okay, the expectation is that you would have read chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Okay, and so to understand what Romans 11 26 is speaking about, we need to go back a couple of chapters in Romans 9. Please go with me to Romans 9 and verse number 6. Let's understand what all Israel is. Is all Israel those of Jewish descendancy? Is that what all Israel is or is it something else? Romans chapter 9 verse 6, it says, not as though the word of God have taken none effect, for they are not all Israel. Hey, who are not all Israel? Which are of Israel. So not every Jewish person, not every Israelite, makes up all Israel. Have you thought about that? That's what Romans 9 is telling us. So when we understand all Israel in Romans 11, the expectation is that you would have already understood what all Israel is in Romans chapter 9. Now let's have a look. Who is all Israel? Verse number 7, Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, those are the physical descendants, these are not the children of God. Does that make sense to you? Not all the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the children of God. Not all Israel make up all Israel. Just because you're Israeli in the flesh, does not make you a child of God. Does not make you saved. Verse number 8, that is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. Look at this, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Okay, who are the children of God? Well let's just drop down the same chapter, verse number 29, let's keep reading. Romans 9 29, and as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sedoma and had been made like unto Gomorrah. Verse number 30, what shall we say then? Look at this, that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness. How? Even the righteousness which is of faith. Hey, even the Gentiles can have the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness of God, forgiveness of the sins. How? Of faith, by faith. Okay, verse number 31, but Israel which followed after the law of righteousness have not attained to the law of righteousness. Look, you know some of those Jews are following after the laws, the Old Testament laws, they think that their salvation is by that, some of those Jews where they did not obtain righteousness through that. Verse number 32, wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at the stumbling stone, as it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Hey, Jews, Gentiles, whosoever believeth on him, on Jesus, shall not be ashamed because you're saved. You become a child of God, you know, you make up all Israel, Jew or Gentile, those that believe on Jesus Christ, they should not be ashamed. Hey, just because you're born physically as a Jew, you know, does not guarantee you anything. In fact, it guarantees you, just like anybody else, damnation in hell should you reject the law of Jesus Christ. You know, Judaism is a road to hell, Jesus Christ is the way to heaven, the leaf on Jesus Christ. And in conclusion, brethren, Romans 10 verse 12 says, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What a great promise from God, salvation, we hear the gospel, we understand what Jesus has done for us, we place our faith on him. And if you're listening to this video, you know, I just want to quote to you John 3 16, the most famous verse in the Bible, which says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that's Jesus who died for us, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. What I promise, if you can place your faith and trust on Jesus, the promise of God is that he will give you eternal life. That means you can't lose it, it's eternal. Once something has been, that gift has been given to you, the eternal gift, you can never lose it. If you could lose it tomorrow, it was not eternal, was it? It was temporary. No, God promises us eternal life. Once you're saved, once you believe on Christ, you call upon Jesus as Saviour, you'll always be saved. You will always have that promise of salvation in accordance to the word of God.