Grace Gospel Network presents
Recovery of the Gospel. Pastor Kent Clark. This is an exciting place to
be. And I am as positive as I have been in 50 years that God is
doing something. And it's something awesome. And
it's something very special for us here. We have proclaimed this
gospel for 34 years. We have not varied from giving
God all the glory, all the praise, and all the honor because He's
worthy. And He inhabits the praise of
His people. So, Ephesians. Let's go there
and read a few passages together. Ephesians chapter 3. I think
some of the greatest passages in the New Testament with regard
to Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus. And this is my prayer
for us here. Beginning with verse 14 of chapter
3, For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to
be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. A powerful, Strengthening in
your inner man. You want more power in your inner
man? That's where I want the power to be, in the inner man.
That new man, that new creation of God. I don't want to be a
weak Christian. I want to be so strengthened
that I can stand up against the Philistine giants. Even though
I've only got a sling and I'm a little boy with a few stones. Giants fall when God is in it.
Very, very true. So Paul prays that you'll be
strengthened in that inner man. My fleshly man is strong enough.
He doesn't need any strengthening. He needs weakening. Paul said,
O wretched man that I am. That is, that fleshly man is
wretched. I want to be strengthened in
that inner man so I can overcome the flesh. Right? Verse 17. That Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith. I want greater faith. I want
more faith to trust Him. More faith to believe Him. More
faith to lean on Him. Because it's impossible without
faith to please God. God's not pleased when we're
not trusting. It's when we trust Him. Come
hell or high water, I'm trusting God. Because we know that all
things work together for good to them that love the Lord. Even
in those darkest moments, to be able to trust God. That's
a great thing. Strengthened in faith. That ye
being rooted and grounded in love, in this love of God. Rooted and grounded in this unconditional
love of God. If you're not grounded and rooted
in that, you're going to have so many problems. You're not
going to have a little heaven on earth unless you understand
that He loved you unconditionally. that there was nothing sparkling
about you that caught the eye of God. Verse 18, that you may
be able to comprehend. I want to lay hold on it. I want
to shout when I see it. I comprehend it. I get it. You
know, I wish sometime during church, right out of the clear
blue sky, when it happens, somebody would scream, I get it! You know,
that's what happens when God opens your blind eyes. Why didn't
I see that before? Why didn't I know that before?
Because you didn't comprehend it. But once you comprehend it,
I promise you it'll thrill you. I remember the first time I really
heard that God had chosen me from the foundation of the world.
I was only about nine years old. But I hopped when it happened.
I can remember where I was sitting on the left side of Grace Baptist
Church, about five rows back, sitting up against the pew. when
God told me, I've loved you with an everlasting love. There never
has been a time when I did not love you. In fact, I picked you
out and you're mine. And you may be able to comprehend
with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth
and the height. He says, I want you to comprehend
it. Then he turns around and says, you can't. And to know
the love of Christ which passes knowledge. I want you to comprehend
it. But you can't. It's too big,
it's too wide, it's too high, it's too deep. The love of God. You know, most of us in here
don't even live close to that. You're not experiencing nowhere
close to what you could experience and see. You know, God's able
to do mighty things. That you might be filled with
all the fullness of God. That you might have a phantasmatical
view of God. What's wrong? I just saw God. I was just filled with the fullness
of God. Have you ever seen anybody so
frightened or overjoyed they wet their pants? I hope God makes
this place so full of Himself that there's No room for anything
else. Now, under God that is able to
do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us. Power that works in us. I hope God grants this prayer
to our own church. Now, God's glory is what it's
all about. I said, well, Pastor, you say
that all the time. When you say I say it all the time, you say
it like this. You say that all the time. I
don't say it all the time because it's not important. In fact,
it's so important that nothing's going to happen here. You don't
buy clutch cargo unless you give God all the glory. You don't
buy parking lots. That doesn't just come out of
nowhere. Look at what a bunch we are. Why would we get clutch cargo?
Why would we take it back? Why would we get the $40,000
for the parking lot? Why is that happening? I'm going
to tell you one reason. Don't ever forget it. And when
I'm dead and cold, if you forget it, I'll be back. I'll either be back or you'll
be gone because nothing won't happen here without God. God's
glory. The Apostle Paul, talking about
the glory of God, and the grace of God, and the love of God,
and the mercy of God, he said, that in the ages to come, while
the ages pile themselves on top of another. while you've been
there through the ceaseless ages of eternity. We've no less days
to sing His praise than when we first begun. Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. That's what
I'm talking about. You Baptists, you Catholics,
You tongue talkers, you sanctified lies. Some of you think you're
so sanctified. In fact, you think you are so
much that none of us can stand to be around you. You're just
so holy. You act like you're something
on the end of a stick, and you are, but it's not what you think.
Let me tell you, Paul called it dung. that I might win Christ
and be found in Christ, I threw everything overboard religiously
as dung." That's a four-letter word that most of you in here
understand. I would say it, but some of you
are too religious. I think that man just hurt my
feelings. All I said is, give God all the
glory. You're nothing. You're nothing. And He doesn't bless you because
you're something. Or you've ever done anything
in your entire life. Or your granddaddy or grandma
did something. God blesses because He wants
to. He's sovereign. And it's free. And it's wonderful.
And it's awesome. And it's glorious. All the great
things God has done. And that's the way we ought to
talk here. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. But you
and I are not going to give Him glory unless we get caught up.
You've got to be caught up. Are you caught up? Caught up
with His grace? Caught up with His mercy to you?
Should have killed you a long time ago. When I think of even
Steve's death, I think, that could have and should have been
me. There was no reason for me not to die that way too. Why
is it getting quiet in here? You know that's true. God should have killed you a
long time ago. Squashed you like a bug. Remember this. Just think about this. Remember,
God never means less than He says. But He always means far
more than you think He says. I thought about that last night.
I said, that's good. I'm going to write that down. His power to bless you and I
is not bound up by our power to understand the blessing. You
go, I don't understand the blessing. I don't understand why God's
doing this for me. It doesn't stop God one bit because you
don't understand it. I'm always going around, I just
don't understand it. Sometimes Ms. Pam says, wow,
can you believe this? But that doesn't stop God. Keep
from piling it on. When that family, the Lutheran
family, made that huge donation, and I thought, wow, now it's
going to trickle in. And then somebody else, the Mardigans,
gave us $40,000 to buy those parking lots. And I thought,
ooh, this is the end. And you know, it's going to trickle
down to us buying seats with silver dollars and, you know,
pennies in a bucket. But you know, the blessings haven't
stopped. A guy walks up to me Thursday and gives me that check
for $100,000. That's what I'm talking about. The blessings
don't stop. And you know, I thought this morning too, I don't want
to just get off on blessings money-wise. Look at you. You
don't have cancer this morning, or at least you're not in your
sickbed. You're not dying. You may have cancer, but you're
not dead. And if you do have cancer and you do die, you're
going to heaven. So, there are no losers who are Christians
in this place. We're all winners. You see, grace
is not measured to us according to our capacity to receive it.
Have you ever thought about what if grace were measured to us
according to our capacity to receive it? Now, that might sound
good, but that's just not true. Because you don't get it yet.
I've been in this over 50 years preaching grace, and I don't
get it yet. It's too marvelous. It's too
wonderful. It's too awesome. Why would God
do for a wretch like me? I don't comprehend it, but it
doesn't stop Him. He blesses us according to His
ability to bestow it and efficacy upon us. Isn't that true? He
blesses me because He wants to bless me. And He's got plenty
of blessings stored up. You know, praise is like a river
flowing on with joy and delight within its banks. That's what
praise is. But adoration is the same river
overflowing all its banks. You say, well, I'm so happy today.
Yeah, but have you ever had an overflow? That's what adoration
is. Adoration is the fullness, the
height and the depth and the length and the breadth of praise. Overflow. What is possible to
happen out of the praise of His people? When He inhabits the
praise of His people, oh, that we would be plunged into praise
and worship and wonder. I don't know whether you've ever
experienced this or not, but you know, if you ever have a
clear night, you're out in the country and you have a clear
night, You see all the stars and all the planets. And it's
clear and beautiful and it's awesome. And it's declaring somewhat
of the glory of God. And yet there is no voice. You know, sometimes, have you
ever been voiceless? I've been preaching sometime
and be overcome with a fullness where I thought I got a little
bit of it and there was no way to talk. I was locked up and
full of praise and adoration. So, I just stood there and looked
at you. And you didn't quite get it, maybe, what's wrong with
the pastor, except, he's full. Have you experienced that? I'm
telling you, you don't know nothing about nothing till you get to the place where
you can't talk. You're full up to the brim and
you're running over and you just sit there and quiver. at the
amazing love and grace of God. That's giving God glory. It's
amazing to me that people wonder why God isn't in our churches.
Have you been in some of them? Spooky Halloween songs? Slurping
with religion? What ought to happen in the house
of God, some old slimy, rotten maggot of a sinner? Crawl in
there and hear the Gospel! Be washed in the blood and shout,
Hallelujah! I just got saved! Miss Pam and
I was at our first church living in Kentucky and we got awakened
early in the morning. Somebody pounding on the door
and a woman who was not necessarily a virtuous lady had gotten saved
and she was bringing her husband over because he was troubled
about his soul. So we let him in sleepy-eyed
and kind of began to We talked to him about the Lord. And we
had prayer. And we talked a whole lot. And suddenly, out of nowhere,
he jumped up. I mean, he jumped right straight
up. He said, I just got saved! I just got saved! He ran out
in my front yard. It was a good thing we were in
the country. I just got saved! I just got saved! Have you ever
got saved and not got over it? Too many of us get over it. Oh,
I've been a Christian 30 years. How long since you've been in
church? About 22. You got saved and got over it.
I want some people to get saved and not get over it. That's what
God wants. The Bible says this, grow in
grace. Now, this is really going to
set some of your rear ends on fire, but it's ok. Grow in grace. Grow in unmerited favor. Grow in it. If you don't grow
in it, you're going to talk about free will. And you're going to
turn around and give yourself a little praise and glory. Look
at some of you biting your teeth. It was not your will. It was God's will who worked
on your will. And because God willed on your
willer, you were made willing. You were made willing. I'm so
glad I'm not a self-made man. God chose me before the foundation
of the world. You say, well, I think God chose
everybody. You know why you want that? Because
you think everybody deserves choosing. But the truth is, you
didn't deserve choosing. God looked down from heaven upon
the children of men to see if there were any good, and He said,
there's not a one! There's not one! Not one. And God chose, whom He would,
a number that no man can number. More people will be in heaven
than they'll be in hell, but it won't be because of their
free will. It'll be because of God's amazing grace. Give Him
the glory! Give Him all of it, not some
of it, not part of it. Give Him all the glory. I know
some of you are looking for your Bibles now. God is not willing
that any should perish. Let me tell you something. If
you've got a God who's not willing that any should perish, and any
means everybody, then nobody goes to hell because God is not
willing. If God's not willing something
to happen, is it going to happen? If God is not willing that something
happens, if God's will is this doesn't happen, is it going to
happen? Well, if it does, you've got
something bigger than God. Somebody ought to say amen in
here. I'll amen myself. Oh, I know. You see, here's the
devil's ploy. Don't take all of it. You know,
don't give him all the glory. Just take a little bit of it
and nobody will know. You see? The only one who'll
know is God. And God will be grieved. We'll
grieve God because we'll take a little of the glory. Don't
let that crackhead totally know that God came down to Lodibar
where they were and fetched them out! Don't let them know that God
first taught them. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that He first loved us. Amen. Yeah. Yeah. Don't tell them God. Don't tell them God, the Holy
Spirit, fetched them out and put a rope around their leg and
drew them to themselves. Oh, yeah. Brother Gil is getting
happy throwing shoes at me. You know, that's what they did
in the old church. They get happy, they throw a shoe at the preacher.
That's all right. Oh, yes. We call that regeneration. You know what's happening right
now? God's getting glory. And now the blessings are going
to come because we're giving Him all the glory and all the
honor and all the praise. Born again. God didn't find you
in a good place. He found you dead in the cemetery
of sins and trespasses, inactive toward God. You were the babe
in the open field. You were the dry bones in the
valley. And God came walking. And God
said, live! You want to know about you? You
were like Lazarus in the grave. All bound up, you weren't going
anywhere. You weren't thinking about surrendering
my life to Jesus or signing the decision card. You were in the
grave, dead. And Jesus came walking, said,
roll the stone away and let him out. Lazarus, come forth. And this is the way you came
forth. Yeah. And you had life. But you
didn't get let go and unbound until somebody came preaching
grace and unbound you. Even after you got saved, you
thought you were still going to go to hell because you thought
of so many things that you've done or said, so many places
you've been. And Jesus came along and said,
Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer! If the Son sets you
free, you're free indeed. That's what this Bible says. Unutterable joy. Grow in grace. Grace doesn't grow. You grow
in it. So stop backing up. You'll hinder
us here. I don't believe what that preacher
said today. Not sorry. From the top of my
head to the bottom of my feet, I believe this because I've seen
God work this way. I know it works this way. For
whom He did, for no, He also did predestinate. Whom He predestinated,
they'll be also called. Whom He called, they'll be also
justified. Whom He justified, they'll be
also glorified. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? I am persuaded that neither life,
nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor any other creature shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Let's praise
Him. Let's praise Him. We praise You. We exalt Your
Holy Name. Salvation is of the Lord from
first to last. That's the truth of this Bible.
All right, get ready. Blessings are coming. Blessings
are coming because He's able. He's our God. Well, we ought
to sing before I fly away. Brother Guillory, get your shoe. Hasn't it been good to be in
God's house today? It's been good to be in the house
of the Lord today because he's been here. And the angels are
joining us in singing. Let's praise our God together. You've been listening to The
Recovery of the Gospel with Pastor Kent Clark. You can hear the rest of this
message and many more on sermonaudio.com. You can also like us on Facebook. Thank you for listening. These
are the men of grace. In Isaiah 62 verse 12 we are
told that those saved by the free and sovereign grace of God
shall be called sought out. The redeemed of God are made
up of those who were once dead in sin. But God has come to us
through the power of the Holy Spirit and sought us out of the and give him all the glory and
praise, because he saw you. You are his praise, and he's
praising you. If the Lord has saved your soul,
well, you know there's nothing, nothing to do with you. Only his blood can make you whole. Thirsting through the darkness
with no spiritual sight, my life's just one big merry-go-round. I'm Jesus is waiting on you to turn
your life around. Oh, but don't get it twisted. You belong to Him. His holy hounds are gonna track
you down. You can run and try to hide,
but the room is coming to get it right. I said, lad, how did you play? She'll knock me out, knock me
out. Thank you, Lord. You see, I was just like this
when Harry locked him up in jail. It's that time of year again.
Men of Grace, along with Alexander Zanchak, are hosting their fourth
annual Jazzy Christmas fundraising event to benefit Grace Centers
of Hope. This year, we're so honored to present 10-time Grammy
Award-winning gospel group, Take Six. Help us spread love this
holiday season by helping us to help those who are hurting.
When? Thursday, December 5th, at the beautiful Ward Presbyterian
Church in Northfield, Michigan. For more information, visit www.menofgracemusic.com
or call 248-335-1222.