Nobody’s But Mine
I love music, but I am not musically inclined. I can barely play the radio. Now, I do not like this modern junk they call music. You know the type of music where everything is engineered by sound engineers and enhancements to voices are made through computer programs. It’s almost fake music. I like old music, and I like all genres. Traditional blues, classic country, traditional rock, and traditional gospel. My brief knowledge of music tells me that most of the “classical” music I enjoy has its roots in traditional gospel music. As a matter of fact, Elvis Presley said in an interview that traditional Southern gospel music and Mississippi Delta Blues formed the background of his musical style. There is just something about that grainy “Non synthesized, non-computer-enhanced, non- sound engineered” sound. I guess it might be that it harkens us back to a simpler, traditional American society that was drastically different than today’s world. There is a Blues song called Nobody’s Fault but Mine.
It has been sung by many people and groups, including Led Zeppelin, but the version I like is the original version sung by Blind Willie Johnson and by Sister Rosetta Tharpe a little later. In case you’re not familiar, here are some of the words:
I got a Bible I can read
If I fail to read it an' my soul get lost,
Nobody's fault but mine.
I got a Jesus I can serve
If I fail to serve him an' my soul get lost,
Nobody's fault but mine. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Then If I am a dyin’ an’ my soul get lost, Nobody’s fault but mine
Using this song as background, we are going to look at it in terms of lost soul. If you are lost and remain in your lost condition, one of these days, you will scream, “It’s nobody’s fault but mine.”
Revelation 20:11-15 describes the last time that sin and ungodliness will ever be uttered again. It refers to the Great White Throne Judgement.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
There are no white robes here. There is no righteousness of the saints here. This is an assembly of the damned and the doomed. This is an unblessed and unholy congregation. There is no mention of anyone righteous in this passage. All that is mentioned here is ungodliness and the rejection of the damned and the doomed. Jesus, the One you would have rejected to get to the Great White Throne, is the judge.
A constant parade of the ungodly will march before that Great White Throne. The small and great, the young and old, the powerful and weak, and the rich and poor will march before the throne. Even though their lives were different, every single person in the brigade of the damned will echo the same refrain, “It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” I think I can identify some of the ones in line.
1. NIMROD
We are introduced to Nimrod in Genesis 10: 8-10
8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Now, do not be deceived. The Bible is not being complementary to Nimrod. He was a mighty one in the Earth. He was powerful. He had many followers. The Bible refers to him as a mighty hunter. This is not talking about hunting wild animals. Nimrod was a hunter of men’s souls and allegiances. He sought men to keep them from worshipping the true God. He precipitated a great false religion built on man’s desire to be anti-God. You can go all the way back to Cain and discover that man inherently wants to do what man wants to do regardless of what God says.
The Bible says the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was where? BABEL!!!!! Babel would eventually become the Great Harlot of Babylon that is finally destroyed in the end. Babylon is the seat of false religion. It is seat of evil and Nimrod’s kingdom began there. Nimrod sought men’s souls. He was the “god” of Babel.
Genesis 11: 4-9 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The people, after the Flood, had been commanded to spread out and populate the earth, but Nimrod convinced man to gather at Babel to build a tower, a tower that was to have a zodiac at the very top oof it so that man could study the stars. Nimrod was a man of fate, and not a man of faith. He wanted his destiny to be guided by the stars, so he rejected God’s Way. Nimrod as been awaiting his appearance before Jesus for many, many years. As he finally, takes his place before the Judge, he sees Jesus on the Great White Throne, and Nimrod knows that he is guilty even as Jesus begins reading what is recorded in Nimrod’s book of deeds in glory. Nimrod’s fate is finally sealed as the Son of Man sentences him to an eternity in Hell. As Nimrod turns to be cast into the Lake of Fire, I can hear him now with angst and despair in his voice. No sound engineers needed!!!!
It’s nobody’s fault but mine. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Then If I am a dyin’ an’ my soul get lost, Nobody’s fault but mine
2. Belshazzar
The plain and simple truth is that Belshazzar was a fool according to the Bible.
Psalm 14: 1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.
We know the story of Belshazzar. He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. He was co-regent of Babylon. He was a great ruler in the eyes of man, but this guy was a fool in an empire of fools-fools that had denied the God of the Universe. Belshazzar and the Babylonians were so sophisticated. They were people of science, mathematics, and astrology. They did not need God. Instead of seeking and responding to God, Belshazzar decided to have a great party. What he did not know was that the enemy was at the gates of his empire. The Medes and Persians were on the way. They literally dug trenches and diverted the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers so that they were literally able to walk into the city. While the Medes and Persians were digging the trenches, Belshazzar was partying. At the pitch of the party with wine, women, and song in abundance, the fool, Belshazzar, broke out the vessels of worship that had been taken from the Temple of God and put away and drank wine in them. At that very moment, a hand appeared writing on the wall.
Daniel 5: 4-6 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood, and stone. 5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
Belshazzar did not know what was going on. He did not know if it was real or not, but he knew it was something. He lost control. He was scared to death. He became white as a ghost. His partying was replaced by consternation. He was terrified in his thoughts. His knees were knocking together so hard that it loosened his hip sockets. He was shaking more than Elvis Presley ever did, but he was not all shook up over some old hound dog. The God of the Universe had finally had enough of Belshazzar. The joker desecrated God by using the instruments of worship stolen from the Temple. He sought someone to explain what was happening. None of the king’s soothsayers could help. Finally, his mother told Belshazzar to call for Daniel, and Daniel did not pull any punches.
Daniel 5: 22-23 22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
Daniel tells Belshazzar: “You have had your chance.” Your days and your kingdom are numbered. The enemy is at the gates. Belshazzar had awakened that morning with not a care in the world. By night fall, he could not even control his own body from fear. Daniel says, “Belshazzar, you are dying tonight.” Belshazzar is the Old Testament of the rich fool. DO you remember him?
Luke 12: 16-21 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Just as this fool, Belshazzar died that very night. It’s been many years since Belshazzar’s demise, but I think I see him. He is next in line to appear before Judge Jesus. As the Judge pronounces Belshazzar’s sentence, the deposed despot can be heard screaming:
It’s nobody’s fault but mine. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Then If I am a dyin’ an’ my soul get lost, Nobody’s fault but mine
3. Pilate
Pilate, the great Roman ruler, will be there. He had the power of the most powerful nation and army that the world has ever known at his disposal. Pilate had the same decision to make that Nimrod and Belshazzar had to make. What shall I do with Jesus? Mankind’s fate boils down to that simple question. What shall I do with Jesus? Pilate, like all men, had every opportunity.
He was given the chance. All he had to do was to choose.
Instead, he said in Matthew 27: 22-24:
22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”
Pilate knew Jesus was who Jesus claimed to be. Pilate proclaimed Jesus to be a just person. He thought he could just was his hands of Jesus. He just brushed Jesus to the side. He refused to satisfy his soul but chose to satisfy the people. He was more interested in popularity than righteousness. He decided to pass the buck, but by passing the buck, he made his decision. He even ignored the advice of his wife, who I believe had a dream by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 27:19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”
Pilate’s wife, though lost, knew who Jesus was, and she begged her husband to make the right decision, but he washed his hands of Jesus. The decision drove Pilate to insanity. Not too many years later, Pilate was imprisoned in an insane asylum. According to Roman historians, Pilate had the choice of suicide or execution when Caligula became emperor. He chose suicide. His rejection of Jesus led him to the same fate as Judas Iscariot, suicide.
Pilate has been dead for almost 2,000 years, but I think I can see him approaching Judge Jesus Pilate on The Great White Throne. He had the decision of what to do with Jesus in his very hands. As he is being cast into the Lake of Fire I can hear Pilate in a trembling voice and as he continues wringing his hands screaming in torment:
It’s nobody’s fault but mine. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Then If I am a dyin’ an’ my soul get lost, Nobody’s fault but mine
4. You
Will you be there? Will you be at The Great White Throne Judgement? Are you going to be in the brigade of the damned? Are you going to be in the congregation of the doomed?
Do you believe John 3:16? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Have you done what Romans 10:9-10 says?
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If you have not or if you do not, you are like Pilate, Nimrod, and Belshazzar, and as a result, you will be at The Great White Throne awaiting the destiny of the doomed. Get your voice box ready, clear your throat, and take a deep breath because as Jesus gets ready to judge you the last time you will sing like Blind Willie Johnson:
I got a Bible I can read
If I fail to read it an' my soul get lost,
Nobody's fault but mine.
It’s nobody’s fault but mine It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Then If I am a dyin’ an’ my soul get lost, Nobody’s fault but mine
Listen to me. It is a far better thing to trust what Jesus did at Calvary. You had much rather Jesus to be the welcoming Savior instead of the Judge. You had much rather be singing There Is Power In The Blood than It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine. All you have to do is listen to the Holy Spirit’s call as He tells you that you need to confess that you are a sinner and give those sins to Jesus. After you do that or as you do that, ask Jesus to save you. Say Lord Jesus I am trusting you for my salvation. Then ask Him for the strength to make that decision public by walking this aisle and letting the world know of your decision.
You might ask, “Why do I have to do that?” Jesus said this:
Matthew 10: 32-33 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Make that decision while you still have the opportunity. Today is the day of salvation.