Most of you know who I am. Those who don't, I'm just an ignorant sinner that got saved and gave me a story to tell. Years ago, I started out in the building trade and had this old man. He'd been in it all his life. We were framing a house, and we got to the rafters. If you've ever done any carpenter work, this was a hip roof. And he handed me a framing square and told me to cut those rafters and gave me the width of the house. And so I set the rafter there and began to step off the distances and stuff. And I cut it and handed it up. And I said, Hager, I said, how does it fit? He said, well, it fits where it touches. I try to preach. So hard for me. But somehow the Lord uses things like this, and it still fits where it touches.

It's a great honor to be among God's sheep. It's an added blessing to be here at Central Baptist Church, beautiful Rocky Mount, Virginia. I've not only found a kindred spirit here in fellowship, but also a beautiful bride. I thank you for your love and prayers. I pray that the Lord will speak to you through this old body of flesh.

I had a rough start this year. I started out with double pneumonia, and then a stroke, and then kidney stones, and then diverticulitis, all in a row. But you know, isn't that the way of grace? You start out with rough, and you have a hard time. And then God intervenes.

If you will, I'd like for you to turn with me to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 20. I had a lot of experience with this this year. I titled the message this morning, Blessed. If you're here today, And you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're blessed. It don't matter what your circumstance is, or what your physical state is, or what your financial condition is, you're blessed.

Now here's my text, Revelation chapter 20 and verse 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The book of Revelation gives seven visions of the person and work of Christ from the time of His appearance in this world until the end of time. If you would understand the book of Revelation, you need to read the first verse. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. If you go in this book looking for beasts and animals and horrible creatures, you'll never understand anything. You'll come out as confused, if not more so, than when you opened it up. It gives seven visions of the person and work of Christ from His appearance in this world to the end of time. And these visions tell us about His appointments, His office, His work as our Savior and Lord. And He tells us of His present reign and His purpose in all this book. is to ensure all God's saints of their ultimate conquest over sin and Satan and this world and false religion and whatever else becomes their enemy.

I have several things I want us to see this morning. The first is this, a big and. You know, I love those verses that begin with if. or and, or but. And he says here, not just that we're blessed, but he said blessed and holy. The very heart of being blessed is being holy. Holiness, he said, without which no man shall see the Lord. Holy.

Turn with me to Ephesians 1. Holiness is necessary to blessedness. Holiness, he said, without which no man shall see the Lord. Well, what is it to be holy? What's that mean? I have to learn a religious language and have all the ladies put their hair up in a bun and wear long dresses down to the floor and say certain things and do certain things? That's not holiness. What is it to be holy?

Well, holiness has to do with the whole character of God. Now, Scripture tells us plainly about the character of God. He's righteous. He's holy. He's just. He's merciful. He's gracious. He's wise. He's all-powerful. But all of this whole character, that's God's name, works in perfect harmony all the time. It never has a flaw. He never does one thing at the expense of his character. Everything he does is in perfect harmony with his character. Sometimes the commentaries that I read refer to it as his perfections. Perfectly righteous. Perfectly just. These are His perfections. And His character is always in perfect harmony. Never compromises His character to do anything. And therefore, everything God does is holy. Isn't that what He says? Did God inspire this book? Then it's a holy Bible. The holy Scripture. Were the prophets His prophets? Then holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Is His church His church? Then it's a holy nation. He never compromises His character. We worship, serve, and preach a holy God.

Moses came on that burning bush, and the voice came out of that bush and said, Moses, take your shoes off. The ground whereon thou standest is holy ground. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3. This is the beginning of all things. And he said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That's what we're talking about tonight. Blessed. He's blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now we're talking about the beginning. Now watch this. According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. That. That we should be what? Three things. What's first on the list? Holy. How is a man holy? He's holy if God puts him in Christ. Now he's holy. How is a man holy? In Christ.

And I want you to know something, election, I'm seeing this more and more as I preach and study, but election is not just God writing your name in a book. Election is God putting you in a perfect union with His Son. That's what election is. He's chosen us according, isn't it? He's blessed us according as He has chosen us in Christ. And He tells us the reason that we should be holy. He's not telling us here something we have to do. You couldn't be holy if you wanted to. And most don't. But we're holy in Christ. Perfectly holy. Everything about us, everything about our salvation, everything about the gospel we preach is holy. There's no compromise in it of the character of God. It's in perfect harmony with His name. We're holy. In Christ, there's no schism in the character of God.

Listen to this. In Him, Paul said, dwelleth all the fullness. Fullness. What's he talking about? Fullness of God. Fullness of righteousness. Fullness of justice. Fullness of mercy. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye, that's you and I, are complete in Him.

All right, here's the second thing. Try to wrap your mind around this. I've often said this. Justification means just as though you'd never sin. That's not what justification is. Justification means no sin can be found. The holy judge of the universe looks on us and can't find anything in us to even reprove. Is that right? That's what the scripture said. No sin found. Why? It's obvious we're sinners. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us.

So how is it possible to stand before God without blame? By way of union with Christ. Psalm 32. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no God. When God chose us in Christ, He made full provision for our sin. He tells us plainly, the soul that sinneth shall surely die. But all of our sins were charged to our substitutes. He put us in Him and charged our sins to Him. When? From the beginning. And bearing our sins, He must die. He shall surely die.

If it's possible, Lord, let this cup pass from me. It's not possible. He must die. Spoke not a word in his own defense, did he? Why? He was guilty. But oh, I like this. We're blameless in Him. Listen to this. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ that died. Jesus Christ so fully reconciled us to God that when He's finished, He sits us before the all-seeing eyes of God and presents us What? Unblameable. Unreprovable in His sight. Holy. Holy. Blessed and holy.

By way of this holy union, we're always, here's the third thing, always before Him in love. Does that mean God looks at you Seize your love for Him and have satisfaction in it? No. No, He's talking about our election in Christ, putting us into union with Christ, and why He did it. And He did it to preserve His love for us. And in Christ, in that holy union, God always looks on the sinner that He chose in perfect love.

Who's going to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Well, Paul put a list on there about four verses long, and nothing's going to separate you from Him. Why? Because His love is secured in Christ, and Christ is sitting right beside Him. So what you're saying, preacher, is God saves His elect no matter what. No, sir, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is He set in place a salvation so complete in every detail that there's no possibility that any sinner that He chose in Christ should ever be lost. Never going to be lost.

Christ said, I come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me, I should what? Lose nothing. God is so long-suffering toward His people, and here's what He says, He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So you think God's repentance is part of the means that He's set in place for us? Absolutely. So much so that the risen Christ, the ascended Christ, the King that sits on the throne, our Savior, has arranged His providence in such a way as every sinner chosen by Him In Christ, He arranges His providence for him to come and hear His preacher.

And He's got a preacher for you, whoever you are. I don't know that I'm the one, but He has one. And He's going to arrange for you and Him to cross paths. Not only that, but when that man preaches to you, it's going to be effectual. Read 1 Thessalonians 2. Paul said he thanked God. He said, I thank God when you heard My gospel, you didn't hear it as the words of a man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also affectionately worketh in those that believe. What's that mean? That means he hears. What's that mean? He goes home and hangs out for a couple of years. No, sir, he hears. He hears. When a sinner hears the gospel, he's desperate. He don't sit around thinking about what he might do six months from now. He's desperate.

So what are you saying? I'm saying the Lord reigns so fully, so sufficient that He arranges all things from the beginning. And then he maintains them all through time and sees that they come to pass.

You think of everything. I was listening to Brother Preach last night, and he was talking about God's eternal purpose. And you think about what that means. God arranging His providence. I moved from Ohio to Kentucky. And I had a great business in Northern Ohio. I was making money hand over fist. Got into a quarrel with my brothers and packed up my tools and moved to Kentucky. If I hadn't had that disagreement, I would have never went to Kentucky, and I would never have heard Brother Mayhem preach, and I would never have heard the gospel. But the Lord arranged it. He intervenes, don't he?

What's that mean? It means he butts in. He butts in. Blessed, is what he told them. They were sitting at tables collecting taxes in boats, fishing, who knows what all they were doing. The Lord said, follow me, and they did. And they were sitting there, I'm sure just like you are this morning, thinking about these things, and feeding from the bread of God, and sitting there, and he said, blessed are your eyes. They see. In your ears, they hear.

The woman of Toccoa, I don't know if you know the story of that or not, but here's what she said, we must needs die and ours is water poured out on the ground which can't be, you can't, you dump a glass of water out here in the yard, you can't gather it up again. cannot be gathered again. Yet the Lord devises means that His banished be not expelled from Him." Oh, my soul. He declares the end from the beginning.

Oh, but you say, I don't feel blessed. I didn't either when I was laying in that hospital bed. I couldn't pick a pencil up with this left hand. I didn't feel blessed. And then, when these other things start happening one after another, I guarantee you, I didn't feel blessed. But here's the thing, blessing is not a feeling. Blessing is a standing. We stand before Him blessed. Why? Because of who blessed us. Why did he do it? Because he would. That's why. It pleased him. Our standings in Christ. That's how we're blessed.

He was delivered for our offenses, raised again for our justification. And then he says, therefore, being justified by faith we have peace through God. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. We have a standing before God. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Oh, blessed. Blessed when I'm well and blessed when I'm sick and blessed when I'm living and blessed when I'm dying. Blessed after I die. Blessed with them down and blessed with them up. Blessed in Him whom Paul said is over all blessed forever.

How are we blessed? We have part in the first resurrection. Oh, I wish I could get over this. Ephesians 2.6 said, and hath raised us up together." They went down there and they saw the risen Christ. First day of the week. Took those grave clothes off, folded them up neatly and set them on the bench. I won't be needing these anymore. Set them down. Took the little face piece off and laid it over here in a different place. Walked out of that tomb. Who opened the door? God did. Why? Because He satisfied God. And when He rose, we rose. Isn't that what this is saying? He hath raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly places. I not only have a standing, I have a sitting. I'm sitting with Him in the heavenlies. Seated at the right hand of God. Accepted. Loved. Blessed. Security in Christ.

All right, here's the question. How do I know if I'm His elect? You can read it in here where His elect are going to be justified. You read in here where Christ died for them, but how do I know my standing? How do I know my election of God? Turn with me to John chapter 6. I'll show you. I tell you, if the Lord ever reveals the gospel to you, and you see that, terrible, perfect justice of God looming over you, you're going to want to know if you're one of God's elect. And here's what it says, John 6, 37. All that the Father hath given me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

But those old Pharisees, they heard what He said. He came down from heaven and they started murmuring. We know Him. We know Joseph. We know his sisters. We know that whole family. So how can He say He come down from heaven? Jesus answered them. He said, Don't murmur. Don't murmur. No man can. That's ability, isn't it? No man can come to me except my Father which has sent me draw him. And I'll raise him up at the last day. It's written that a prophecy shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard and has learned of the Father comes to me.

Now here's another question. How is a man taught of God? Does he just walk around one day fishing or out on the hillside somewhere and a big bubble appears and he reads it? I mean, how does God teach these chosen sinners? I'll let you read it. 1 Corinthians 1.21. Where after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

How's it going to teach them with a preacher? Go into all the world. Teach every nation. Teach them. Yeah, but they don't want to be taught. Yeah, they'll want to be taught. You go teach them. I'm going to send some folks down there that want to be taught. And they will be taught.

I love to read those encouraging long messages of Christ. Follow me. And they did. I preached for two hours. I can't get anybody to do anything. Follow me. Take up your bed and walk. Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. I will. Paul wrote those Thessalonians and he said, they didn't know it, but he did. He said, I know your election of God. How? My gospel came not unto you in word only. But it came in power, and it came in the Holy Ghost, and it came with much assurance. That's not confidence in your confidence. Assurance in Christ. He preached Christ, and they found assurance in Him. We ought to. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead. The Gospel is Christ. We don't have anything else to preach. You don't need anything else. If there was something else to preach, I'd preach it. But there isn't anything else. It's all Him. Christ is all.

What's that mean? That means He's all. The gospel is Christ. The eternal Christ. Christ incarnate. Christ our representative. Christ our substitute. Christ our redeemer. Reigning Lord. You think about Christ on the throne? Christ reigning in glory? Watching over His sheep? I love what the Scripture said. Their, T-A-G-I-R, their angels do always stand before their Father. Well, we'd better be careful how we treat one another. Can you find assurance in Him? My first wife, before she died, always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. All the movie stars, everybody went to Niagara Falls. She wanted to go. So one day I packed up and I said, all right, we're going to go. So we went up there. And it's worth going to see. It is something else to stand beside that falls and watch that water go down and burst on those rocks and rapids. So I did it all. Before we left, you've got to have something, you know, to show you've been to the Voss. So I bought one of these big coffee table books. Niagara Falls. Took it home, put it on the coffee table. Nobody looked at it. It laid there on the coffee table for years.

Next trip we made was to Washington, D.C. I bought a book up there, took that book, put it on top of the china closet, set the new book down. The only book they ever read is the one I put down there about the classic cars of the 50s. Everybody picked that up. But anyway, I invited the church. Kathy died. I invited the whole church over for lunch. And for any of you men in here that are single, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I started looking around. Dust was about that deep on the books when I was setting up. So I thought, well, I better do some dusting before these ladies come in. Reached up and got that book and started wiping it off and opened it up and it comes to the page about the old daredevils, you know, walking the falls and they go out on a, there was a tree that had fallen and somehow wedged and stuck out over the falls and they go out and dance on that tree and all this.

Anyway, they had a man there, his name, he called himself the Great Blondin. This was in 1869. You can look him up on your phone so you don't think I'm making all this up. But he would walk that tightrope, a manila rope back then now, had some guidelines, you know, to steady it. But he'd walk that rope. They tied him up in a sack. And he walked across the falls in a sack. But on this one occasion, he would do all kinds of things. He pushed a wheelbarrow over the falls. I don't know what all he did. But on this one occasion, he went out and Cooked an egg in a little makeshift stove, standing on this wire out over the falls. And made him an egg out there in that stove. He had some stilts. He walked a little further and got up on those old wooden stilts. Some of you here are old enough to know what we did when we were kids. We'd just nail this tubing floor on the side or something, stand up on it, stilts, and walk around. He's on this thing walking across Niagara Falls.

So he finally does all these things, and he goes on the other side, and his promoter, Harry Colcord, was on the other side with a bunch of honored guests. And boy, they were just beside themselves. They was applauding and yelling, and the tightrope walker come down, and he saw them, and he looked at his promoter, and he said, well, Harry, he said, do you believe now I can do everything I told you I can do? Oh, he said, absolutely. He said, I believe. He said, get on. And old Harry crawled up on his back and he carried him across to the other side and set him down safe on the other side.

Do you believe Christ did everything he said he could do? Get on.

One more thing and I'll wind this up. The blessed man, John writes, is put in such a place that the second death hath no power over him. You can read about that power over in 1 Corinthians 15 right there at the end of the chapter. The law. The soul that sinneth shall surely die. Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them. It has no power on this blessed man. So what is this second death? Well, as near as I can tell, it's a death with no constraints. You say, well, men are dead. Yes, they are, but they're still constrained. I remember your dad said one time, if they hadn't constrained him, they'd have put Christ in a pot and boiled him and ate him. And that's probably true. We're constrained.

No constraints in hell. It's a hole without a bottom. Isn't that what he says? A bottomless pit. That means you're going to fall forever. Ever and ever and ever. Fall. Eternal darkness. Eternal suffering. But the man blessed and holy in Christ has a hope so good that he has no fear of the second death.

Listen to this. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15. He said that Christ through death, destroyed him who had power over death, the devil, and delivered us who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. But when he died, he canceled the debt. He took away the threat. He took away the bondage. And now he said, you're free. You're free. He said, I call my sheep by name and they come out. I call them and they come out. So then he runs around with a whip and keeps them in line. No, he just walks and they walk right behind him.

I said in Kings Fourth the other night, faith is a reasonable expectation. Do you expect to be saved? Yes, I do. And I got good reason. Christ died. Christ rose. Christ reigns. It's all Christ. And hope is the result of it. And so Paul writes, it's the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

Oh, my soul. May the Lord teach us to look to Christ. Always. Continually. Thank you.