It's good to see everybody. I thank the Lord for this blessed opportunity to be here with you. What a joy. I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 26. Psalm 26. Psalm 26. I'd like to look at primarily a couple of verses. Lord willing, I plan to make a comment or two on one or two more, but this morning I got up. I heard Brother Scott Richardson say, It was said of Scott, I have some notes. Scott said, I hope I don't need them. I hope I don't. I wasn't planning to have everyone here today. What I originally planned was I was going to try to have David come and just be just going to try to live stream the message for everybody.

I had to laugh at myself, because I told Gary Bourne one time, I said, we were having a conference, and I said, I've got a schedule made out here. I handed it to Gary. And I said, now there's about a 60% chance that I'll stick with it. And that's usually the way I do it. Like I said, I had some notes. And I got up this morning and my heart was truly moved to want to take the passage that I planned to preach out of, Psalm 26. I started jotting down a few things that were just on my heart. It was so heavy. I just, I just had to write them down. So

I'm just going to be honest with you. There's a part of me that's thankful that the Lord's given me a passage. Part of me that's scared to death because I'm just a man. I'm just frail. And I don't have the ability in myself, I know, to be able to preach as I ought. I don't.

But there's some things I want to share with you that just It's just been really a personal testimony to me. Before I say anything about that, look at Psalm 26, verse 8. David was moved, and these words truly are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God's word. This is the words of our Lord. but they were pinned by a man named David, a man after God's own heart, a man that God had given a heart after him. What a blessing. And here's what David was moved to pin. Verse 8, Lord, you've heard me say this before, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth. Lord, I've loved the habitation. I've loved, Lord, That place, that residency, I've loved that place where your honor dwelleth.

23 years ago, give or take a few days, I was moved by the spirit of God to come to Katie. I had always had great respect for this place because I knew just enough, didn't know much, but I knew just enough to know that there was a place in West Virginia where the honor of Almighty God was proclaimed, where God's honor is proclaimed. Now, I know that There's a lot of places, a lot of assemblies, a lot of places where people gather. They're talking about going to church. But I know this, not every place where people assemble to go to church is a place where according to the words of the Spirit of God through David, Lord, I love the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth. I'm just going to be honest with you. I see myself and I've said this before last year and a half been enlightening to me. And I know this. I'm just a frail creature of dust and I'm Relatively speaking, you know. In light of eternity, I'm not long for this world. I know that, Neil. I realize that. And the thing that has just blessed my heart is that the Lord has allowed me to be in a place where God is honored. He's honored. Where I can hear The message of the truth about man and the truth about God. Don't, don't, don't waste my time on just religious. Don't, don't try to make me feel good and, you know, try to, you know, pat me on the back, tell me, say, listen, I'm going to tell you something.

Ben, I'm going to die. I know that. I'm going to die. And when I leave this world, when I take my last breath, there's only gonna be one thing that matters. What think ye of Christ? What do you think of the Lord? Is he somebody that has come into this world trying to, you know, make salvation possible? Or did he come into this world to save sinners? and honor God's law and draw unto himself a people of God's choosing.

I know this. I know according to the scriptures that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. I know that. How do I know that? The scriptures has told me that. I know that I'm a frail creature of dust. I want to be somewhere where I can look in God's Word and read that. Romans 3, 23. There's none good. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

When I stand before God, I want to know. I want to know that God has done something for me. I want to know that He's not left it up to me to make a decision. A decision for what? I need the Lord to save me. I need God to save me. Because when I leave this world, it's all over then. That's it. It's done. Scripture says the way a man dies, he's going to spend eternity like that.

I want to know, I want to be in a place where Almighty God is set forth. Where he is truly proclaimed. I want to be in a place where somebody is honest with me and truly tell me that mankind, man, all men, men, women, everybody, everybody, that we were all ruined in the fall. That sin has actually taken its toll on everybody. And when I'm made to realize that I am dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead, that I don't have the ability to be able to pull myself up by my own bootstraps.

Now you think about that, pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. Matt, can you imagine trying to do that? Pull yourself up by your own. You say, you can't do that. No, I know you can't. And man cannot of his own free will. He can't pull himself up. Why? He's dead.

I want to be in a place where somebody is honest with me and truly tells me, you of yourself, you can't do anything. to save yourself. I want to be in a place where somebody tells me the truth that God Almighty has had a people from the foundation of the world chosen. This is in Ephesians, book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter one. Read Ephesians chapter one. The scripture declares that God has a people that he's chosen from before the foundation of the world. And he loved them. He loved them with an everlasting love. And they were given unto the Lord Jesus Christ by the Father. The Father has chosen us. This is in Ephesians.

I won't read that chapter for the sake of time, but I'm telling you, read Ephesians 1. Read it. Just read it. I told you about Brother Henry when he had a man that just said, I don't believe in this election stuff. I don't believe that. And Brother Henry said, let's just read Ephesians chapter one. He read it. And that's where he's talking about chosen from the foundation of the world that we should behold him without blame before God in love. And he read it to this man that just refused to believe. And Henry said, do you believe that right there? And he said, not the way you read it. He just read it. God's got a people. God has got a people. And these people, the scripture declares they were redeemed by the blood of Christ. How? How? The Lord himself bore the guilt of all those given unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He bore their guilt and paid their debt. It's paid.

I want to hear where there's a place where all that the father has given the son. That's election. That's what that is. I know it's a truth that is rejected by mainstream religion. I know that. But it doesn't change the fact that this is what God said. It doesn't change the fact that this is how the Lord has declared himself to be, man to be.

But I want you to tell me that God Almighty has a people. That interests me. God's got a people. And he's gonna save them. He's gonna save them. I just, the older I get, the more I get to thinking about this. I mean, I've seen people die. I've been at funerals before. And I guarantee you, those people that had left this world, unless the Lord done something for them in their hearts, they had some kind of realization that they were going to leave this world and had some kind of hope.

I want to know what God has to say about it. Not what somebody else thinks up, but you tell me what God says. You tell me that I've been spiritually ruined, but that God has chosen a people in Christ before the foundation of the world. He's gonna save them. I can't say read Ephesians chapter one enough, but I'm gonna say it again. And then tell me how the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. and bore all the guilt of those that God had given the son. This is in Romans chapter 5 verse 21. He bore the guilt of his people and he put away the debt that they owed before God. He put it away. Tell me that.

And tell me again because I'm so prone to forget. Tell me how I have, in regenerating grace, that the Spirit of God comes and gives life. He gives a new heart, a new heart. I know something about an old heart. I can see it in me. I know what I am. Somebody says, well, you're a preacher. Oh, okay. What hope does that give me if God hadn't done something for me? But you tell me how the Lord comes in regenerating grace, and he has just given me a new heart, and he teaches me, and gives me life, gives me a hunger for the gospel. Tell me that again. Tell me one more time. Tell me that.

Let me tell you this. Where these truths are proclaimed, by the power of the grace of God, where these truths are proclaimed, that is the place where God's honor dwelleth. That's what David said, Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor stays and dwells. Where it is, where you've raised it up, Almighty God was pleased over 50 years to have a man that was sent of God to preach the gospel in this place.

And then the amazing thing, I told you this was going to be a kind of a word of personal testimony, that he took this nobody out of South Louisiana, Fred, You wonder what in the world could come out of Katy, West Virginia, but what would come out of South Louisiana? But for the grace of God, that God would raise me up and give me a heart. I want to tell somebody about this.

And here's the amazing thing about it. That this truth, the truth of the gospel, the declaration of the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, what you're hearing right here, This is the gospel. It is the declaration. If you want to know what the gospel is, I'm going to tell you again because I need to hear it again. It's the declaration of what God Almighty has been pleased to do in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the good news of salvation, not of works, not of man's works. The gospel is the declaration of what God has been pleased to do to save helpless, hell-deserving Sinners, that's where I find myself. I deserve damnation. I deserve it. I've told you before. I deserve it. But that God would show mercy to somebody like me and save me, this is good news.

And Paul, the apostle, hold your place right there and turn over to Romans chapter one. That's the gospel. It's the good news, the declaration of the truth of God's mercy to somebody like me and somebody like you, whether or not you know it or not. This is the gospel. And this is the only message. This is the only message. This thing of offering, you know, God wants to offer you salvation. God don't offer you nothing. He's going to give it to you if you're going to have it. He's going to give it to you. He's going to give it to you. He's not going to leave it up to you. I'm telling you right now.

Paul, the apostle, said in Romans chapter 1, verse 15, 16, 17, he said, look, for as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith.

Listen God has been pleased to save a people The miracle of God's grace. That's the only message. That's the only message. You read it again. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It, it, it. Is there multiple ways to, for God to save people? No. God saves sinners one way, through the preaching of the gospel.

Well, how can I know? Is there any way I can tell whether or not I've got any hope in that? Yeah. You believe God. You believe Him. You believe in Him. Something happens that nobody can see but God. You see glimpses of it, but the Lord sees it. The Lord sees it. He gives you faith and He believes this. And I'll tell you what you believe. You believe the salvations of the Lord. You believe salvation is the Lord. Not me and the Lord. I'm just the recipient of it. If God's done something for me, it's because God had been pleased to do something for me and he didn't leave me to myself.

How sure, how sure can I be that if I'm one of his own, how sure can I be that God will do something for me? How sure can I be that I'll be the The amazing thing about it is that everyone that God has chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, he's going to put them under the sound of this gospel. Well, I thought I decided to. No, you didn't decide anything. Don't don't pat yourself on the back. No, the Lord put you here. If God has put you under the sound of the gospel, it's because God put you there. God did. This is the gospel of the power of God unto salvation.

Back in Psalm 26 verse 8 again, David moved to say, Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth. I looked up at word honor. Here's what it means. I've loved thine honor. I love where your honor is. I love it where you're honored. Here's what that word honor means. It means glory. I love where your glory is. Moses asked the Lord. He said, Lord, show me your glory. Here's the glory of the Lord. This is the glory of the Lord, right here. I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion. Paul the apostle was moved to say, so then, it's not of him that willeth, of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. It is the honor of God to show mercy and call out his people under a message that has been sent of the Lord, the gospel of God's grace.

That word means glory. It means abundance. It means riches. It means I love where your honor. It means splendor. It means dignity. It means reputation. Where the gospel is preached and blessed by the Spirit of God, the salvation of God's elect is made evident. God does something.

Hold your place again. Turn with me to Acts chapter 11, Acts 11. Acts chapter 11. Acts chapter 11 and verses 22, 23. I love this passage of scripture. Old brother Tom Harding said, you'll read a psalm. He said this, he said, my favorite psalm. He said, this is the one I'm reading. Well, this is one of my favorite passages of scripture, the one I'm reading. Acts chapter 11, verse 22 and 23. Acts 11, 22. There was a man named Barnabas, and he was sent to this place here. He's sitting to a place called Antioch. The Spirit of God moved upon those that went and sent him over here.

I think about, how did I get here? Well, God moved me here. How did Barnabas get to this place, Antioch? Well, God sent him there. Oh, he might have used the means of a man to, you know, recommend that he went, but God sent him. He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And here's Barnabas. Verse 22, 11-22, then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem. And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go with far Antioch, who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord.

I got to thinking on that passage this morning when he had seen the grace of God. You know, I've, I've been able to see the grace of God. How's that Martin? I've seen what God has been pleased to do. I see it. I know I see it through a glass darkly. I know that I see a glimpse of it. I know that, but, but I've seen it. I've been here, like I said, coming up on 23 years. That's hard to believe. But I've seen the grace of God. I've seen God do something for somebody, for some nobodies, that God Almighty, who is all and in all, has done for some unworthy sinners. And he's called them out of darkness. And he's kept them. And he's blessed them. And he's given them a heart to be in a place where his honor dwelleth.

This building right here, I know it's just wood, just two befores, I know that. But in this little place that God's raised up, he's raised up a people. His church, his bride, the bride of Christ, and his honor dwells here. Do you realize what a precious thing that is? That God's honor dwells here.

Back to Psalm 26. Verse three, 26, verse three. David was moved to write, for thine loving kindness is before mine eyes. I read that again this morning and I thought to myself, you know, by the grace of God, I'm going to be able to view some things here. I'm going to be able to look. Thy loving kindness. To see the loving kindness of Almighty God to do something for somebody like me. To be able to view what God has done For those that know in themselves they're unworthy. Thine loving kindness, the loving kindness of God Almighty to show mercy to sinners. Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes. And I've walked in thy truth. I've walked in the truth of Christ. Christ, who is the truth? He said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the light. No man comes to the Father but by me. And I'm thinking, what a blessing that God has allowed me to see that. Just look at it. I think about how many people go through this life. They don't, they just, they leave this life, and they leave this life without the Lord, and I'm thinking, Thy loving kindness before mine eyes." I'm so thankful that God's allowed me to see it, just for this little vapor of a life that I've got.

But in closing, the Spirit moved David to pen the desire back in Psalm 26, the desire of every believer. Now, let me tell you something. This is the desire. of every believer who continues daily to see the frailty of his life. This is the desire. If you want to know what a believer desires and prays, look at verse 9. Psalm 26.9. Gather not my soul with sinners, on my life with bloody men. Lord, gather not. In the margin, it says gather not away. Lord, gather not away. Lord, keep me. Lord, keep me. Lord, if you don't keep me, I'm leaving. I'll leave. And I'll justify it in my mind. I'll leave. I will. And in my mind, I'll come up with a good reason. Well, they don't like me. Well, they don't this. I don't like the way they did. I'll come up with every silly excuse in the world to think why I shouldn't come back to where the honor of God is proclaimed. I think of every reason in the world. And everybody that the Lord leaves to themselves will, too. I ain't going back there.

Gather not my soul with sinners, rebels that rebel against your word. Lord, don't let me leave this world. I recollect daily my own shortcomings. I know it. I see the presence of sin in me. I see it. You don't have to remind me. Believe me, I know it. I know it. But let me be found. with the redeemed. Lord, I have nothing in myself. I have nothing in myself to offer. I have nothing. I need you to do something for me. I need you to save me. I need you to keep me. And Lord, let me rejoice in this again. Let me just rejoice in what you've done for me.

I think about when David was moved to say, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. Let's go worship God. Lord, keep that heart. Give me a heart for that, for your glory and my eternal good. Amen, amen.