Thank you again for everything. All your kindness, all your service. Thank your pastor and his dear wife for everything. Love them dearly. Thankful for them. Brother David, thank you for that message. Thank you so much. We honor our Lord and bless His people. Brother David, pleasure. Thank you for your preaching and for the message. I think this is a fitting closing message, Acts chapter 20. Turn there with me. Acts chapter 20.

You know, these men and myself, we've come a long ways to preach to you. We think it's at the, according to the will of God, invitation of your pastor and we're grateful and honored And don't take that lightly. We're not going to betray the trust you've put in us to stand up here and preach. So what do we preach? One thing. Christ. The grace of God. The Lord sent Paul to a heathen city, Ephesus. Like Caesarea Philippi, our Lord came through a heathen city called Ephesus to preach the gospel. just as he sent the gospel to this heathen place. Every town's a heathen until the Lord saves those people. I can't help but think of a story of, we're all heathen until the Lord saves us, makes us his people.

And Dan Parks was in the islands, His child was really young, his son, Dan D., and Lord took D. recently. But they were in the hospital and filling out the papers, and a nurse said, asking about Dan's son, what is his religion? He's just born. He said, he doesn't have any. He's just born. They said, we've got to write something down here. What's his religion? Dan said, heathen. He's heathen. And this town was heathen, wasn't it, until the gospel came here, until the Lord revealed himself to some of you heathen? He sent your pastor here like he did Paul to Ephesus. That's a great blessing, isn't it? Greatest gift, greatest blessing God can bestow upon a city, isn't it? Sent the gospel preacher, like what Ephesians 4 says, he sent it on high, he gave gifts unto prophets and apostles, evangelists. He put pastors and teachers right there with prophets and apostles. Think about that. We're nothing. We're nobody. But in the war of the gospel, we preach everything. Christ is all.

Look, David's missing. Salvation. Paul spent two years preaching in Ephesus. And the Lord saved some people there. But not until it caused a great stir. An uproar. That town, their goddess, their god, goddess was Diana. And she certainly represents the great whore of modern day religion, doesn't she? Jezebels in the pulpit. And such were some of you involved in some of that. And the Lord saved you out of that heathen, pagan idolatry. Turned from your idol service. Living and true God, how blessed you are. How do you do that? By the preaching of the gospel. This is what God uses, power of God. And fear came upon those people and this is the beginning of wisdom in them. Fear of the Lord.

David said in Psalm 36, the transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, there's no fear of God before their eyes. transgression of irreligious people, the way they take God's name in vain, but especially the transgression of religious people, the way they take his name in vain. What religion is saying about God. What they're not saying about God. What they're saying about my Lord. That is such a vital message, what you preached this morning.

Have you seen this this campaign by the so-called Jehovah's Witnesses, Russellites is what we call them. But they had these signs all over the South, at least where I am, black, big black signs with white letters that boldly and brazenly now saying what they've said, believed all along. Jesus is not God. Have you seen that? And it says right under that, Scriptures does not say he existed before in heaven. And you hadn't seen that? I'm glad, but it'll make you real mad. They're all over the world. I did. I was traveling somewhere to North Carolina recently and saw that and it just made me angry. I wanted to take some spray paint. And do you know what? The next time I came through, somebody had. Jesus is God. Scripture does say He existed in heaven.

That is the message. That's the issue, isn't it? This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God. That means every other God's a false one, isn't it? And Paul came preaching the true and living God and the Christ that he sent, who is God Himself, manifest in the blood. Everything, it's the beginning of wisdom and it tempers everything we do around the worship of God, doesn't it? It tempers our lives. It tempers the way we refer to our God, doesn't it?

Oh, how this generation is blaspheming our God from old people to young people. Oh, my God. People don't ever become insensitive to that. Don't ever get used to that. Young people don't. ever say that. You're taking his name in vain. I thought, David, his last words in his message were, my Lord and my God. That's what God's people are going to say when he appears, isn't it? And while the whole world is going to be forced to say that what they've been saying all along in blasphemy, he's, oh my God. We're going to say it in joy and rejoicing and smiles on our face and laughter in our heart. Oh my God. The whole world says it in fear and tremble. How blessed we are, aren't we? That God has revealed himself to us, the true and living God and the true Christ who is God, equal with God.

And it caused no small stir in Ephesus, and it causes no small stir wherever the gospel is preached. And it said in chapter 19, the whole place was filled with confusion. That's the way it is, isn't it? Some said this and some said that, and that's exactly what religion is full of, confusion. That's what Daniel said, didn't he, in Daniel 9. Confusion of faith belongs to us. Righteousness belongs unto the Lord. It's His to give, His to impart, His to impute. It's his, and salvation is of the Lord. Confusion, that's what this world is filled full of, and religion is the cause of it, not the answer, the cause.

A lady one time heard Brother Scott Richardson. Don't you love Brother Scott's down-home, bold way of putting things together? The lady said to him one time after hearing him preach, she said, you're just confusing people. He said, you're born confused. And we are, aren't we, until the Lord clears up our confusion. Is he God or is he not? Those six stubborn statements, plain as day, aren't they? God's either God or he's not. Man's either dead or he's not. Can't be both. God chose us or he didn't. Christ either paid for our sins or didn't. The Holy Spirit is sovereign or He's not. God's people are saved eternally or they're not. It can't be both ways. The Lord clears up our confusion. It's a revelation. True.

Well, Paul left Ephesus and went everywhere else to preach the Gospel and he was determined to come back by there. fell in love with those people like he did every place where the Lord raised up a church. Don't you love Ephesians? We're going to go to Ephesians in here in a little bit. But Paul left and he came back and he called the elders together. And here in chapter 20, this is our text. Chapter 20, he concluded his parting words to them. He said in verse I've kept back nothing that's profitable unto you. God's preachers don't keep back anything, do they? You've heard this before, Larry, you've heard this before, the Southern Baptists especially. You know, the doctrines of grace, Calvinism was in the original Southern Baptist convention. We studied J.P. Boyce's book, didn't we, on abstract theology in the preacher's class, didn't we, brother? He was the first, was he the first president of the Southern Baptist Community? They preached, and they're forced to, it's in their writings and so forth. But God's preachers, they don't keep it back, but I've heard them say that. That this election and all that, that's family doctrine. Have you heard that? You heard that, haven't you? That's family. We just reserve that for a family.

Paul said, I kept back nothing from you. I preached the whole counsel of God. Every word. In fact, Martin Luther said, whatever it is that the world is rejecting at that moment, we need to preach it loud and clear, don't we? I don't like election. Election! Well, I hate that predestination. Predestination! Sound it loud and clear. Keep saying it. Keep saying it. These are terms we know and love dearly because God has put his love in our heart for his truth, for himself, for his son, for his gospel. And these are things involved in our salvation, aren't they? They are our salvation. When Paul said, I've kept back nothing profitable from you. Testifying, verse 21, testifying both Jews and Greek, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That sums it up, doesn't it? Against thee and thee only have we sinned and done this evil in ourselves. God be merciful to us sinners. Please have mercy upon us. We know God's mercy. And God's salvation is in one place. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not anything we do, not anything we don't do, not any... It's all in Christ. We know that, don't you? Isn't that our plea? I'm a sinner, and if God saved me, it'd be through Jesus Christ. That's our testimony. That's our gospel.

Then look down at verse 31. He said, Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone, night and day with tears. Warn. Preachers aren't warning people these days, are they? What's to warn them about? God loves everybody and Jesus died for them. Well, they got to worry about it. I heard a talk show host say that one time. He had a panel of religious leaders in front of him. And he had a Catholic, a Methodist, a Baptist, an Episcopalian or whatever, and a big rowdy crowd behind him. And he said, let me ask you all something. He said, does God love everybody? Yeah, they all agreed to that. Sure he does. Did Jesus die for everybody? Well, yes, he did. Then the talk show host just in mockery and laughing said, then what has anybody got to worry about? And the whole crowd erupted in laughter. Religion making a mockery of our God. God's not mocked. They're laughing that God said, God's gonna have the last laugh.

God's preachers warn people, don't they? Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? That's what Brother David preached, isn't it? What think ye of Christ? It really is that urgent. Well, I'll put it off till tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation, isn't it? Right now. Do you think Christ is coming today? Do you? You probably don't, do you? You know what the Scripture says? at a time when you think not. God's people hope he does. We warn people, plead from the wrath to come. Come to Christ now. Come to Christ now. If you've come to Christ, don't leave. Don't leave the gospel. Don't do it for anybody or anything. Leave everything and everyone for Christ. But don't leave the gospel. Don't leave.

So he warned them day and night. And now verse 32. Here's my text. Verse 32. He said, And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. That's my text. That's my closing message to you. That's fitting in. And now, brethren, finally, let me say this. I commend you, brethren, to God.

Brethren, don't you love that term? Brethren. Here's how all men know you're His disciples. You have love for the brethren. I'm talking about loving those that love God, the God of the Bible. The world doesn't love His people. They hate Him. And we love Him, don't we? We have no fellowship with the religion of this world. We don't call them our brethren, do we? We don't meet with them. I don't use that term lightly. Do you, brother? Do you call everybody your brother? I know there are brothers in Adam, But I use that term carefully when I talk about my brethren, because it's a blessed, precious term.

We just baptized a young 19-year-old man, and we've been praying for our young people, a young 19-year-old. Boy, man, boy, is he a man. And just baptized him, and boy, just thrilled my soul. I said, there's nothing I love better than to be able to call somebody brother for the first time. Brethren. Beloved of the Lord. Children of the Most High God. Sons of God. Brethren, I commend you to God. I commend you to our God. Our God is God. I commend you to Him, to His cares. I'm not committing you to His care, but I'm commending you that He cares for you. He is your God. You are in His hands. Everything about you is in His hands. Aren't you glad? I commend you to God. Our God is God. Aren't you glad our God is God? Not trying to be God? Aren't you glad? That makes me exceedingly glad concerning myself, concerning my children, concerning this nation, concerning everything. Our God is God. I commend you to Him. Look to Him. Believe Him. Call upon Him. Cast all your care upon Him. Why? Because He's the one taking care of you.

I commend you to God. Look at verse 32. I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace. The Word. Oh, blessed Word, the Lord said in Revelation 1, blessed are they that read this book. Isn't this a precious gift? Is there a more precious gift on earth than God's Word for us to read? Well, the next thing says, blessed are they that hear. Because how shall they hear without a preacher? Blessed Word. Oh, God gave the Word and great was the company that published it. Aren't you thankful for this book? Read it. I commend you to it. Immerse yourself in it. Let the Word of God dwell richly in you. You'll need it. Need it like a wellspring springing up on a dry and thirsty land. Strength when you don't have any. Word of God. And don't just read it as a book. Ask the Lord to speak to you. It's His voice. That's how you're blessed by the Word of God. Not the mere reading of it, but asking Him to speak to you through it. Especially ask Him to speak to you through the preached Word. This is what God uses right now. You need to pray for this man before every time you come to hear him. You need to pray for him that God will open your ears, the ears of your children and your grandchildren, your neighbors. Lord, we're not going to hear you except through this man that preaches God's Word. And we're not going to hear you if you don't open our ears to hear. Receive this. Pray for this man.

Brethren, pray for us. I know you do. But we're not going to get a blessing out of God's Word if we don't ask him to bless us. I commend you to the So the Word of God, the Word of His Grace. Now we're getting on our favorite subject. Grace. That's God's Word to His people isn't it? Grace. Grace. Grace unto you. Every epistle of Paul begins and ends that way doesn't it? Huh? Because that's where salvation begins and ends. It's irrevocable. You're going to lay that capstone in it with cries of grace. Grace unto it. We're all going to be hollering out there with it. By grace you're saved. By grace you're kept. By grace. It's all by grace. God's grace. You know this. We sound like a broken record, don't we? Because this is the record. This is the Word of God. It's the Word of His grace. That's what this book teaches. That's what this book tells us. That grace is not an offer. It's an act of God. It's the power of God. It's something God does to us, not offers to us, but does to us. It's something Christ did for us on Calvary's cross. It's something the Spirit of God does in us. The gift bestowed, not offered. A work wrought upon us, wrought in us by the Spirit of God.

Grace! It's a gift. Gift. God's people. Not offered to everyone. It's a precious, precious gift. Who do you give gifts to? Whom you decide? Whom you please to? What about this unspeakable gift? Oh, man, how blessed we are. Grace, grace. That's our salvation, isn't it? You know, Christ and grace are just synonymous, aren't they? You can substitute the name of Christ everywhere you read the word grace, can't you? And not do damage to the scripture. Oh, by grace, by Christ are you saved. Grace, grace. It's our salvation. It's the name of this church, isn't it? Grace Baptist Church. Most of the churches we know have taken that name. Grace, Grace, Central Grace Church, Grace Baptist Church. Because that's our salvation, the grace of God in Christ. That's our purpose, isn't it? We've got on our sign part of Ephesians 1, 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Because that's what we preach, that's what our church, the church, is all about. That's the purpose, is to manifest and preach, declare the gospel of God's sovereign grace and power.

Grace, grace. The world says, is that all you all talk about? Yeah, see? Babel, look at verse 32. The grace of God is able to build you up. Oh, the world brings us down, doesn't it? If the grace of God builds us up. Oh, sin brings us down, drags us down, but grace lifts us up, doesn't it?

Come in here. How many times did you come in here dragging? Like that pool of the world somebody was talking about. Oh, and like that dog, it gets back out there Can an old believer get caught up in the world? Sure can, buddy. Sure can. God calls us back. We come in dragging. We come in dragging, we go home flying on wings of eagles. The grace of God does that. Gospel of God's grace. Free. Eternal. Saving. Grace. Grace. Able to build you up.

The law brings you down, doesn't it? Makes you guilty. Grace builds you up. And Abel, verse 32, says, Abel, to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified, an incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, an inheritance reserved in heaven for you, among all them that are sanctified.

Sanctified how? You know, dear, by the body of Christ, once and for all. Once and for all. Sanctified, made holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight, fit for heaven by Jesus Christ. That's right. Is that what you believe? You better. You have no hope. Free access unto a holy God. Free access, how? By grace, by Jesus Christ, who made the way into the Holy of Holies. It's called a throne of grace. It's a throne of judgment to the rest of the world. But to God's people, it's a throne of grace. Come freely and boldly. He's our Father. Grace and peace from God, our Father.

At one time, I had two studies. I had a study at the church house and one at home in the attic, the upper room. I've got an upper room. Well, I'd go too. And our second youngest granddaughter, one time she's about three years old, I guess, came up in the attic to see me and they'd never knock on the door. They don't have to knock. She came in and she said, Papa, she said, me mom told me that I came up here to tell you that me mom told me I was not to come up here and bother you. What do you think I did? Come here, honey. Sit on my lap. I dropped everything. We had free access to the holy and righteous God through Jesus Christ. Sons and daughters, because Christ was adopted into him.

Well, what book, I hope you'd turn anywhere to define and declare God's grace, couldn't you? But if you were going to turn somewhere, where would you go to really define and declare God's grace? Ephesians? Go with me, Ephesians 1, okay? Have you heard this too much? I'm quite sure that most in here first really heard the gospel when you heard a man preach Ephesians 1, or Romans 9. But Ephesians 1, Paul wrote this, and he's the one that commended them to the word of God's grace. And he was in prison when he wrote this. And he's writing to them, and it's the same thing he was preaching to them in person. He's got one thing to tell them, one thing to commend them to. It's his salvation, it's their salvation. God's grace, God's grace. He's parting words. His dying words, so let these be my dying words. If this is my last message, oh, I hope I make God's grace plain. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. Whose will is free? Whose will purposes and orders everything? Whose will? You know that, don't you? He's revealed unto us the mystery of his will. It's not a mystery to us anymore that his will is being done.

A man doesn't have a will. The will of God to the saints, the sanctified ones at Ephesus or at Louisville or at Houston or Madisonville. This is to God's people, to the faithful in Christ Jesus, put in Christ, grace to you. Peace from God our Father.

God doesn't love everybody in this world. You know that. He's angry with the wicked every day. He's not angry with His people. Oh, grace to you. Peace from God our Father. Where do we get this peace with God? Well, you know that. Our children know that. By the blood of Jesus Christ. We didn't make that peace. Christ made that peace. He is our peace.

Grace to you, peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Where are they? And he doesn't mention one single earthly thing in these blessings, does he? Not one material thing. Spiritual blessing. Do you not regard spiritual blessings as the greatest blessings of all? The truest blessings. in heavenly places, heavenly things, things of God. God has taught us these things. He's revealed these things. You're sitting right now in a heavenly place by the grace of God. By the grace of God, you're not hearing this false gospel and going to hell because of it. It's the grace of God.

Well, your choice is His. What's the first thing He said? He chose us. There you go again, preach. That's right. Election. According to this, He chose us in... Why? In Christ. Because Him, He's the elect. He chose the people in Him. Like Bernard said, he... Like him or not, I like him. The Lord used that man, didn't He, Brother David? He did. This church and many others are the indirect result of Ralph Barnard's evangelistic preaching. My dad, the Lord used Ralph Barnard to reveal the gospel to my dad. And I'm not going to say anything bad about him. Like John Calvin. Because Barnard said, God up for breakfast. For breakfast one morning, he took one look at his son, and he looked at him and admired him, loved him so much, he said, I'm going to make a whole bunch of boys just like him.

We're chosen in him. We're predestinated in him. We're adopted in him. It's all about him. That's the fact. That nobody pleases him like his son. And in order to please him, we're going to have to be like his son. Like you said, as good as Jesus Christ. Well, we are in Him. Chosen in Him. Oh, we never get tired of hearing that. Before, when did He do this? After we believed? We're chosen to believe. Not because of it. Before the foundations were. This is electing grace in them. that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. That's sanctifying grace, isn't it?

Verse 5, predestinated us under the adoption of children. That's predestinating grace. Don't you love that P word? I worked on a railroad all the live long day. And there was a man there who was a Pentecostal preacher. Boy, did we get into it. I was too young to, like you said, not argue with him. I did. I wanted to kill him. But anyway. And he'd just go on and on. And finally he said, he said, I'll believe anything but that predestination. And they do. They do. They believe anything. Predestination. Everything about God's people has been predetermined before the world began. Don't you love that? Everything in this world. Down to the very hairs in your head being numbered. The germs. Your appointed day of death. The way of your death. Everything about us. Everything in this world. There's nothing that writhes or wriggles that God is not in absolute control of and didn't predetermine before the world began. Don't you love that? The thing that makes the world exceedingly mad, makes God's people exceedingly glad, doesn't it? Our God reigneth and has predetermined, predestined. Our destiny, Larry, Chris, has been predetermined. Isn't that wonderful?

Adoption, adoption of children. I wish Brother David would come up here and finish this. You love adoption, David? Can I tell this? Years ago, a man named Leo Edmondson and his wife made a contract with a young girl who was going to have a baby. She was going to give that child up for adoption. And they set their love and their affection on that baby boy. Before he was born, wasn't it? Before he was born. You need to come up here and tell me. But this is my story too. Adoption. Did David have anything to do with that? He wasn't even born yet. He'd accept them as his personal parents. He wasn't even born yet when they determined that. Adopted. They named him. Took him in their home. Raised him. Fed him. Clothed him. Housed him. That's our God. That's our Father. We've all been adopted, chosen. We didn't choose Him, He chose us. Adopted. Blessed adopting grace. Why'd He do it? Because He's good. Your dad, don't you love your dad and your mom? They did it because it was their pleasure. And that's why God does it. Nothing in us, It's all in them, all in Him. To the praise of the glory of His grace, He's made us accepted in the beloved, accepting grace. We're accepted because of Jesus Christ. We're accepted in Jesus Christ. We're totally unacceptable in ourselves, aren't we? Totally. But we're accepted in Him.

One time, most of you know that the Lord took my oldest brother in Vietnam. It wasn't a bomb, it was the Lord that did it. And, oh my, he was my parents' first born well-beloved son. Anyway, one day, and I was 14 years old when the Lord took him, 1969. And one day, there was a knock on the door, and I answered the door, and it was a pretty shabby looking fella standing at the door. He said, is Reverend Mahan home? He had his head hung, and he was real poor, down and out. Is Reverend Mahan home? I said, yeah, I'll go get him. I went and got him, and dad, somebody wants to see you. And he came to the door, and he said, yes, sir, what can I do for you? And the man said, and my brother's name was Robbie. And the man said, Reverend Mahan, he said, I'm pretty down and out. I don't have anything. He said, I was with your son, Robbie, in Vietnam. And I saw my dad's whole countenance change. Come on in, son. They sat him at the table like his son and fed him, gave him money, clothed him. Isn't that what God does for His people? We're accepted in the beloved. Accepted. Accepting grace. Aren't you thankful for it? Accepting grace.

Verse 8, let me hurry, let me close. Verse 7, can't leave this. Redeeming grace. Oh, through His blood. We don't have any redeeming qualities, do we? We know, we know, we know that we're redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, not our vain conversation or life. Tradition or religion. Oh, we're redeemed one way. We're not worth saving, but a ransom was found. Forgiveness. According to the riches of the grace. You see that? It's all according to the riches of the grace. God, great grace. And you know what? Ephesians 2 says, I said earlier, is that all y'all talk about? Yes, it is. God's grace in Christ. And you know that's all we're going to be talking about the rest of our days. It says in Ephesians 2, that He's going to show us the exceeding, in the ages to come, He's going to really show us the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us where? Through the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to be amazed. We're never going to cease to be amazed at His grace. We're going to see just how gracious he really was. Now we got a little glimpse. We know in part. We preach in part. This is a sorry message. God's grace deserves a greater message than we're able to give in it. But someday we're going to see and we're going to shout, Grace! Christ! Thank the Lord for his saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.