It's been great to get to know
you, brother. It's been a real blessing, and I know he's talked
to several of you, and Jean-Claude was right. Like Joe, they're
both their own men, and I like that about these guys. They just
want to preach Christ and where they're sent and where they're
to be, and that's what they do. They just proclaim Christ and
Him crucified. And so, Brother Drew, come up
and preach to us Christ. What a joy, I must say, it's
been to be among you these last few days. The messages that Joe brought
are outstanding, I can say that. The hymn selection and the song
selection, the special music, I heard a man say that we ought
to sing what we believe. You have. Thank you. Thank you. Because if I get up here and
start babbling or crying or you can't understand what I'm saying
because my Missouri or misery dialect, at least we heard the
gospel and we heard it sung too. So my wife and I, Melinda, extend
our gratitude. for the food and the fellowship
and meeting some of you for the first time has been wonderful. It's just been incredible. I
didn't realize that, and it's been a while since I preached
at a conference, that it would be as difficult and as it has
been when I'm standing up here. And I feel, actually I feel as
comfortable or more comfortable out among you. And when we visit
and fellowship as I, you know, it's just my nature, my character
I guess. But we extend our thanks for
the ladies and the food. It is indeed pure Michigan. So I said somebody, I think Josh
and I was talking about, It's not pure in the wintertime, but
you know, in the spring, summer, fall, it's pure Michigan. And
I have to say this, and maybe I shouldn't, I don't want to
offend anybody, but go state. Our son-in-law graduated from
Michigan State. And actually, I figured this
was Michigan territory, and then actually there's a lot more,
the others, so I can hide behind you guys. Pastor, I hope this is just the
beginning of many years to come. Having said that, we must preach as though this
is the last time. And I may not see as much as
I've enjoyed, you know, visiting Matt and John and Tim and, where's
Tim, up there, okay. And the ladies, it just, there,
yeah. As much as I've enjoyed visiting, the Lord has called
me to Missouri. And that's where my heart is.
As this conference is going on, I'm thinking about the brethren
there. about the brethren in Crossville.
You can't meet brethren. Now the brethren, when I'm in
Missouri, and I'll be thinking about the brethren in Almont.
And the Lord bless you, and the Lord has blessed you with continuing
this work. That's rare. A lot of times the
places will start, and then Armenian philosophy and doctrine will
take over. But not so here. And you ought to be, ought to
prize, prize the gospel. And I know you do, and I'm thankful
for that. So with that in mind, this may be the last time we
see one another, turn to Hebrews chapter 12. I want to speak something,
you know, just as I get older, I was telling Wayne, these eyes
look at things different. You know, these eyes, I didn't
have, I always had a beard. My wife made sure I had a beard.
My mom didn't like it, but she's like, no, you keep it. Okay.
It used to be black. And boy, this head of hair was
just, it was like those hockey hairs. I mean, it was just wild
and free. It's not there anymore. It's
not there anymore. So, and I pray a little wisdom
has come along with that. So I hope that this encourages
every one of us here. Hebrews chapter 12, we'll start
reading in verse one and we'll go through verse 11. One word,
wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the
sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds. You have not yet resisted
unto blood, striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the
exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth, and scourges every son whom he receives. If ye endure
chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is
he whom the father chastens not? But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected
us, We gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for
our prophet, our prophet, that we might be partakers of his
holiness. Now, no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward. It yields the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Now,
had we had the privilege to read the prior chapter in Hebrews
11, we would have heard of that good and profitable grace called
faith, its blessedness, and the trials which surely will accompany
it. But now in this chapter, chapter
12, the writer exhorts the elect of God to endure those things
which are in conflict to faith and to persevere or remain steadfast
in the faith of God's elect. If you understand the grace of
God, you're going to be tried. You're going to be tried. And
the Lord's, you know, chastisement, affliction, whatever term, persecution,
whatever you want to use it, chastisement, specifically in
the context here, is from God. And it's not joyous, it's grievous
a lot of times. But it yields a peaceable fruit
of righteousness, and it's for our profit. And it's like we
know that. It's like last night, we know
certain things, and we know that. But boy, it's tough. It's tough
to go through. I don't want pain. I don't want
misery. I don't want suffering. But why
should we be any different than any other called quicken of God? For our use and our help today,
specifically, I want to stay upon one word, and that word
is found in verse 11 and the latter part, the middle part
of that. Now, no chastening for the present seems to be joyous
but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, afterward,
okay, underline that. That word in the Greek simply
means, at the last. At the last. And as much as I've gone through,
and I probably have not gone through half of what you've gone
through as far as chasing the hand of God, like Job, he saw,
he finally saw, this is the Lord's doing. It wasn't his friend's. I may not have been through half
of what you've been through, I may have been through more. I may,
I still have yet to come, things to come. But isn't this where we want to be
in God's hands afterwards? Isn't this at the last, at the
end of our journey, so to speak, as we begin to fall asleep in
the Lord, at our last, afterwards? Isn't that where we want to be?
We want to be tucked away in Christ. We want to be tucked
away in Christ by Christ and because of Christ. The end is,
it's okay. It's okay. At the last, it's
okay. Scott Richardson, whom I know many of you know or have
known, he made a comment to me. He said, the believer's life
is in three phases. You're heading into trial, you're
in trial, or you've just come out of it. Because the world is not our
friend. So let's look at specifically, I want to look at this afterward,
this concept, this thought of afterward in the believer's life.
And you and I can run a race well, but if we don't finish,
or won't finish, or can't finish, it's in vain. It's in vain. It's in vain. So let's look at
some examples of afterwards. And remember, all these trials,
hardships, chastisements, tribulations we encounter along our pilgrim
sojourn is for our good and for God's glory. Turn with me to
Genesis chapter 37. Let's just take a look at this
one we call Joseph. Genesis chapter 37, verses 3
and 4. Now Israel loved Joseph more
than all his children, because he was the son of his old age,
and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren
saw that their father loved Joseph more than all his brethren, they
hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him." Here we
go. I had a gentleman tell me when the Lord saved his son that
he'd rather his son were back in drugs. Here we go. Because of your adoption,
because of your Mark that bore that the Lord has put upon your
ear like in the Old Testament the slave because you're willingly
Serve Christ you willingly come for miles around hours come to
hear the gospel People are gonna hate you they're
gonna despise you Selected were selected and chosen
of God like you know he loved his son more than the others
Selected to receive riches and honor from the sovereign Redeemer
and ruler over all, Jesus the Christ, you'll be dogged, ridiculed
for having such favor from God. Your fellows, your neighbors
will despise you. Satan will try to sift you. And
let's just look at Joseph's life. You know the story. His brethren
conspired to kill him. They sold him into slavery. Hard
trials with Potiphar's household, cast in prison and even forgotten
by his prison mate. You would think there would be
some compassion there. We're both in here, justly or
unjustly, but there's the camaraderie in prison. No, he forgot him.
And on and on we could go. But then, afterward, afterward, Genesis 45. Genesis 45. This is later time when Joseph
is now second in command. He's distributing the corn and
different things. And Joseph said to his brethren,
come near me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said,
I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery. Now therefore,
be not grieved. nor angry with yourselves that
you sold me thither, for God did send me before you to preserve
life. For these two years hath the
famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in which
there shall neither be earing or harvest, and God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent
me here, but God. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt." Genesis chapter 50, and one verse. Verse 20, Joseph again speaking
to his brethren, but as for you, you thought evil against me way
back when you sold me in this land, way back when you tried
to conspire to kill me. You thought evil against me, but God meant
it unto good to bring the past, as it is this day, to save much
people alive." Afterward. I didn't understand what was
going on. I didn't understand God's providence, God's purpose.
All these things are happening to me. But afterward, what does Hebrew
say? It brings the peaceable fruit. of all this chastisement from
God, from God, all this trial and affliction, peace. And we know from all the epistles,
I think almost all the epistles, they start grace and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't have it, you
can't have peace without grace. So grace comes before peace. But then, all through God is
teaching us and bringing us through in things we don't like. Situations,
humiliating situations. It brings forth afterwards, afterwards,
afterwards. It brings forth, yes, you bet,
afterwards. Oh, such peace and comfort are
afforded to such sinners like us, afterwards. Afterwards, the calm comes, but
it's got to go, you've got to have the storm first. Afterwards
comes, our daughter just graduated with a master's degree. She just didn't get the master's
degree. She had to toil and work and labor to come, but afterwards
came that diploma, but before that took years, years in the
making. Afterwards will come the sweet
honey to Samson only after he kills the lion and is exhausted
and hungry. Afterwards, and I call your recollection
to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, it was only afterwards that Christian
found sweet rest and repose. That was after he climbed the
hill difficulty. And need I remind us where Pilgrim's
Progress was written? Where? In jail. No, not in these country club
jails. in jail, in prison, in a dungeon. Does not afterward then this
concept, this thought of who's controlling this whole thing?
Who's on the throne? Who's ruling and reigning in
righteousness in your life, in my life? Does not this afterward
become a real and honest and sincere truth to our own souls
as we recollect our own selves on our prior days before God
dealt with us in mercy. We were lovers of self. You think
back, what was it saying in the Old Testament? Recall the pit
from which you've been dug. The believer never forgets where
he came from. We were lovers of self. The pleasures
of this world enthralled us. We were guilty and not even knowing
or caring who God was. And then the word of truth came
in the preaching of Christ's gospel. I like those old three
R's, like the old Puritans, ruined by the fall, redemption by blood,
and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The three R's. Do you hear that? You believe
that. You see that you put Christ on
the cross. And then afterward, in your own
life, in my life, peace, harmony, reconciliation by blood payment.
God appeased, God honored, law fulfilled, and we're pardoned.
Afterward. Afterward. Truly, I said to Wayne
this morning, truly our ladder in is better than our start.
Born in trespasses and sins, you didn't have to do anything,
you were born that way. By Adam's transgression, we all
fell. Our will, ability, we all fell,
everything fell, there wasn't anything untouched. So we came
into this world, sinners, But by the immaculate conception,
the miracle, which we've heard these three days, the preaching
of the gospel, it's a miracle. By the preaching of the gospel,
he saved them that believe. So now, afterwards, and I wouldn't
change anything. I wouldn't change a thing. You
know, sometimes we like to look back at our lives and say, man,
if I'd have made that decision, I'd have made more money if I looked
at that. It's afterwards. We don't look,
we don't play that game. Well, let's just look at another
example, Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. Starting verse 11, and he said,
a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his
father, father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me. We're
familiar with the story, and he divided unto him his living.
And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together
and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his
substance with riotous living. That sounds like us. Verse 14,
and when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that
land, and he began to be in want. Sounds like us again, spiritually.
Verse 15, and he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country. That's what I need. I need to get religion. I need
to get God. Ralph Barnard said more people
are hiding from God in the pew than they even realize. Hiding
from God in the church. Well, that's what I'll do. I'll
join myself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into
his fields to feed swine. And this is what you get when
you join yourself, you align yourself with the world. And
he would feign as filled his belly with the husk that the
swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. There's no help there.
There's no help there. That's us again. Well, now we see Holy Spirit
conviction. And then he came to himself. Holy Spirit conviction,
Holy Spirit understanding. How many hired servants in my
father's house, they have bread enough to spare, and I perish
with hunger. I will arise and go to my father,
and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven,
and before we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, says John. I am no more worthy. What kind
of talk is that? You tell your kids to talk like
that, and they're going to, the school psychiatrist is going
to be knocking on your door. I am no more worthy to be called
thy son." Repentance. Make me as one of thy hired servants.
And he arose and came to his father, but when he was a great
while off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him. And his son said unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. It's OK to repeat yourself. It
sure is. How many times have we sinned
already, not even knowing it? Job, when he's prayed, peradventure,
these sacrifices, peradventure, my son's taking your name in
vain. Here we go. Afterwards, afterwards,
verse 22, but the father said to his servant, bring forth the
best robe. and put it on him, and put a
ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the
fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry. For
this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and
is found, and they began to be merry afterwards." Afterwards. Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter
5. Verse 1, they came over on the
other side of the sea into the country of Gadarenes. And when
he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out
of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling
among the tombs. And no man could find him, no,
not with chains. because he had been often bound
with fetters and chains, and chains had been plucked asunder
by him. And the fetters broke in pieces. Neither could any
man tame him. And always, night and day, he
was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying and cutting himself
with stones. But when he saw Jesus far off,
he ran and worshiped him and cried with a loud voice, what
have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God that thou
torment me not. For he said unto him, come out
of the man, and thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, what
is thy name? And he answered, saying, my name
is Legion, for we are many. And he besought him, that he would not send him away
out of the country. And there was nigh unto the mountains
a great herd of swine. And all the devils besought him,
saying, send us into the swine, and that we may enter into them. forthwith Jesus gave them leave
and the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine
and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. They
were about 2,000 and were choked in the sea. Verse 15, afterwards, afterwards,
and they came to Jesus and saw him that was possessed with the
devil, that had the legion, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind." That word in the Greek, right
mind, means of sound mind. Afterwards. So, I heard it put
this way, Until God saves you, and I know a lot of us think
we've got degrees, and we do have degrees, and we think we're
smart, but until God saves you, you're not in your right mind. You're not in your right mind.
You're not of sound mind. Own up to it. It's the truth. Like I say, a lot of these things
we go through, they're humiliating. But that's OK. We're nothing
anyway. We're less than nothing. In order for us to get wine,
the grapes have to be crushed. My wife and I have lemon balm
in our flower butterfly garden. And you can kind of get a whiff
of it. But when you pick it up and crush it and smash it, it
yields its wonderful, rich, full aroma afterwards. You just look at it, and you
look at grapes. It's nice, but you gotta do something to get
wine, and it's not pleasant. We have to lose in order to gain. We have to be made, in order
to be made full, we have to be emptied. So, my friends, afterwards
may seem to the world like it's wrong, it's upside down, and
it's unprofitable, and the believer, or the unbeliever says, well,
I don't understand what you're, you know, what you're saying. what
the believer does because in his life he's had
many afterwards and one thing's the same about every afterwards
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. I've seen it, I've seen it in
my own people, I've seen it in the folks I love and I preach
to. We have a lady that the Lord has taken her home But she never
had assurance. She always tried to get assurance. And she struggled so often. And
she worried. They had no children. And she
worried when her husband died that she'd be all left alone
and didn't know what was going to happen to her. And as I was
sitting there over her husband's casket and she was in her wheelchair,
they both had been sick forever, never knew a day. I got a few
pains and I get a little aggravated. The lady has been in pain since
she was 16 years old, always trying different drugs and things
like that. And she's sitting there in her wheelchair at her
husband's casket and nobody's around. I went there, I was there
early and talking to her and she looked at me and she said,
it'll be okay pastor. I know God's going to take care
of me. I know God is going to take care of me. And the expression
on her face, peace, that past all understanding. I didn't understand
what was going on. All I knew was that she was a
worrier. Her husband said, you worry too much. A worrier. And in trial after trial, drug
after drug, you know, over-the-counter drugs and all these different
things she's tried and all these different things. And there her
husband is gone and she's got nobody. She's got us. But that's not the same. This
chastisement or affliction or trial she's going through. But
it's just like she looks at me, and I'm trying to minister to
her, and she's ministering to me. I got nothing to say. Afterwards,
it had to come afterwards. I remember Thomas Hooker. He said, if you want to be blessed,
go to visit your people in the hospitals, in the nursing homes. And I just had become pastor. And I got no clue other than
I got the message. So I'm clinging to the message.
I got no wisdom. I got no understanding. And I
go visit a dear old lady who had been so faithful and has
been such an example to all of our women at church. I go visit
her in the nursing home. There she is, 80-something years
old. Everything she's got in her two suitcases under the bed.
And she's in a room with a Lutheran old lady. And she'd listen. She
got to where she couldn't come to church anymore, so we'd bring
her cassettes. And she'd listen to her. We bought her a little
cassette player. And she's listening to cassettes. And the lady next to her says,
turn that stuff off. Persecution up to the end. The roommate hated the gospel. So the roommate would leave.
And so she could listen to the message. And so every time I'd
go there, I'd go there to minister to her. Couldn't do anything.
She ministered to me. But she had been through afterward
and afterward and afterward until she's received up unto glory. So, my friends, afterward, it
seems ridiculous to the world, but to you who have been called
and quickened and have all manner of sin covered and forgiven. This makes perfect sense, for
we live by faith and not by sight. So let us bless the Lord, O our
soul. Afterward is truly grace in seed
form to us now, but soon, soon, very soon, it shall yield the
final peaceable fruit of righteousness. And then shall patience have
her perfect work. Christ will be honored in your
life when you close these eyes and are with him in glory. Because
Christ must always have the preeminence, always have the preeminence.
In our afterwards, he will have the preeminence. And you, well,
what can, I don't know. If you're one of his, He'll guide
and direct and providentially, and he'll never let you go. But
I am telling you, and I hope it's a comfort because it's helped
me in this last couple of years, it's afterwards. We want fast
food religion. We're in a country that we drive
up, we get what we want, we go. Say something to me right now
that'll help me. What did Paul learn? Take this
affliction, take this away from me. And he said, my grace is
sufficient. Paul said, no, I'm not going
to do it. And he learned that peace will be the fruit of righteousness.
And incidentally, who is our peace? Christ Jesus the Lord. The Lord bless you. afterward. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. We'll take
about a 10-minute break. Brother John will close us in
song. We'll take about a 10-minute break. And then Sister Cara will
play the piano as a call for us to come back in, Brother Don. Won't you take out your red folder
and let's sing number 13. 13, redeemed how I love to proclaim
it. Number 13, let's stand. Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. His infinite mercy is silent
forever again. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Indeed,
through His infinite mercy, We salute forever ahead.