Thank you. I mean, that's what they do. That's the best stuff I've ever
heard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not. Thank you. I don't know. I don't know. I
don't know. I don't think I've ever met you
before. I don't think I've ever met you
before. I don't think I've ever met you before. I don't think
I've ever met you before. I don't think I've ever met you before.
I don't think I've ever met you before. I don't think I've ever
met you before. the the the so so an an an an the the the Good morning. Welcome to the
services. I want to read you a card that
we received from Bonnie Terrell and Mary Morrell. First from Bonnie, a nice card. It says, I thank God every time
I remember you. Philippians 1-3. Bonnie said,
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you for your kind
and thoughtful gift to my daughter and I. We truly appreciate the
love behind your generosity. The Lord has given us a spiritual
family to draw close to us in these times of trouble and to
be a comfort to us It does our hearts good to know that we are
in your hearts and what a blessing the children of our Lord are.
He has blessed us so much. Thank you again, Bonnie. And
then Mary wrote, thank you for your continued prayers and support
of my family. I continue to be humbled by the
Lord's people and their generosity. With love, Mary Carter and Logan. So in case you didn't pick it
up from that, the church sent them both a gift. And we also
sent a gift to the church in Iowa where Joe pastored, who
shortly after Joe passed and departed, was flooded in that
big flood out there. And they had considerable damage. So I am thankful. that we were
able to be a part in that and to help with that. And I commend
you, this church, in your generosity. I truly do. It's amazing how
much such a small group does. And it's the Lord that enables
us. It's the Lord that gives us the ability to do that. And it's the Lord that gives
us the will to do so. So He gets all the glory. He
always does, right? Let's begin our singing by turning
to 447 in the hymn book, The Lily of the Valley, 447. I have found a friend in Jesus,
He's everything to me, He's the fairest of two thousand to my
soul. The lily of the valley, in him
alone I sing, All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow He's my comfort, in
trouble He's my strength, He tells me, prepare on Him to roam. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He all my griefs has taken, and
all my sorrows borne. In temptation He's my strong
and mighty tower. I have all for Him forsaken,
and all my idols torn. From my heart and now, He keeps
me by His power. Though all the world forsake
me, Satan tempt me sore, Through Jesus I shall safely reach the
door. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. He will never, never leave me,
nor yet forsake me, While I live faithfully to His blessed will. Oh, all have thought her about
me, I've nothing now to fear. With His men I'll heed my hungry
soul shall fear. Then, speaking of the glory,
I'll see His blessed face, Where rivers of delight shall ever
flow. He's the lily of the valley,
the bright and morning star. He's the fairest of ten thousand
to my soul. Right across the page, 448, He
Ransomed Me. Let's sing it together. There's a sweet and blessed story
Of the Christ who came from glory just to rescue me. from sin and
misery. The unloving kind has sought
me, and from sin and shame has brought me. Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me. Hallelujah, what a Savior who
can take a poor lost sinner, lift him from the mired clay,
set him free. I will ever tell the story, shouting
glory, glory, glory. Hallelujah, Jesus ransomed me. From the depth of sin and sadness
To the heights of joy and gladness Jesus lifted me In mercy full
and free With His precious blood He bought me When I knew Him
not He sought me And in lovely kind He ransomed me Hallelujah,
what a Savior Who can take a poor lost sinner Lift him from the
martyr clay Set him free I will ever tell the story, shouting,
glory, glory, glory! Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me! By and by, with joy increasing,
with gratitude unceasing, with dinner to be, with Christ eternally! I will join the hosts they're
singing In the anthem they're ringing To the King of the ransomed
King Hallelujah, what a Savior you
can take A poor lost sinner, lift him to come and I'll replace
Send him to me, I will never tell the story Shouting glory,
glory, glory Hallelujah, Jesus ransomed me I'm sure that most of you know
by now that Friday, the Lord took Brother Larry Brown home. It's with joy in my heart and
a tear in my eye that I say that. But Brother Larry is now face
to face with Christ our Savior. And I think it's okay to say
this. I'm pretty envious. Shouldn't we all be face to face? Anyway, the services tomorrow
will be at 2 p.m. August 12th, Monday, at Barnett
Strother Funeral Home here in Madisonville, corner of Shamrock
and South Main, in case you don't know. And there is no visitation. The service starts at 2 p.m. And I hope you're able to come,
continue to remember Carol in your prayers, Jennifer and Caroline,
who I know are rejoicing in the fact where their daddy is, and
Steve and the rest of the family. We're going to miss Larry, no
doubt about it. I already missed him. I told
Stevie earlier, I've missed him for three and a half months now. It's the Lord's will. The Lord
appoints our time. He appoints the day we come into
this life, and He appoints the time that we leave. And children
aren't born late or early. They're born right on time when
the Lord ordains it. And our life is not extended
a second longer than what God gives us. Isn't that comforting
to know? I want to ask Brother Gene, if
you would, at this time, to lead us in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father,
we thank you. Thank you for the good news concerning
the promotion of our brother Larry
Calhoun. Thank you for your divine providence
cause our paths to cross and become acquainted with him and
to know him and his family. Thank you, Lord Jesus. And we
do pray your comforting spirit of all those who are mourning
the loss of this dear brother and this dear family member. And we ask that you will bless
the services tomorrow to your presence. as we gather to give
our parting love. And we pray your blessings on
our worship service here this morning. Be with little David
and give him good utterance for your glory and us hearing ears
and believing hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth. And we'll thank you and praise
you. In that name which is above every name, the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, we do pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Amen. Okay, turn with me to 201 in
the hymn book. Stand with me as we sing together
201. Tis the grandest theme through
the ages run. Tis the grandest theme for a
mortal tongue. Tis the grandest theme that the
world, our Son, our God, is able to deliver thee. He is able to
deliver thee, He is able to deliver thee, Though by sin oppressed,
go to Him for rest, Our God is able to deliver thee. Tis the grandest thing in the
earth are made, Tis the grandest thing, Lord, mortal strength,
Tis the grandest thing, till the world again Our God is able
to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Though by sin oppressed, go to
Him for rest. Our God is able to deliver thee. Tis the grandest thing that the
tidings wrote, To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul. Look to God in faith, He will
make thee whole, Our God is able to deliver thee. He is able to
deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Come, let's sing a praise to
God in Him for which our God is able to deliver thee. You may be seated. Thank you,
Shelly. Would you turn with me to Genesis
chapter 4, please? Am I my brother's keeper? I often wonder if I truly have
the heart of a pastor. You see, I live with myself.
Do I have the heart of a shepherd, a brother, a keeper, a watcher
of men and women's souls? to claim to be your brother's
keeper, you're in many ways saying that your brother or sister is
your responsibility. And are they? Let me in the beginning say that
I understand that we cannot bear the responsibility of another
in the matter of salvation. We can't bear the responsibility
of someone's sin. For one's faith or lack of it
before God Almighty, obedience to God and His law must be personally
rendered. For each individual, each sinner
is responsible to God for their own sin. Each person, every sinner
must stand on their own feet and answer for themselves before
the judgment seat of God. We can't be responsible for the
sin of another. And each and every person that
hears the Gospel is responsible for the hearing and the believing
of it. I've said to you often, and I'll continue to say, that
the Gospel is not an invitation to be accepted or rejected. We
looked at that in detail last week. The Gospel is a command
from God to be obeyed. And you're responsible before
God on what God commands you to do. For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the
things done in his body, in her body, according to that he had
done, whether it be good or bad. No one else can believe the Gospel
for you. No one else can repent of your
sin for you. No one else can be born again
for you. Each person must seek the Lord
for themselves, and each must lay their own sin at the feet
of Christ on the cross. One cannot employ another to
deal in the matters of the soul like we often do to deal in our
business. We hire people to help us in
financial matters. We hire consultants in health
matters, whether it be wellness or sickness. We hire some to
help us. But in the matters of faith,
in the matters of salvation, in the matters of the soul, the
heart, None of us can be our brother's keeper. But in every
other way, we must strive to be and do so. Now here in Genesis
4, verse 2, we're told that Abel was a keeper. He was a feeder,
a watcher, a shepherd of sheep. But Cain was a tiller. He was
a worker. He was a servant of the ground. And from the very get-go, We
see that Abel was one who fed, one who watched, one who cared
for the sheep. That's the responsibility that
God has given each of us. Whereas Cain was a worker. He was a servant of the ground.
And it was by the sweat of his brow that he worked to produce
fruit. We'll talk about that more in
a minute. And in verse 3 we read, And in the process of time it
came to pass, Now some understand this to mean at the end of the
days, or the end of the week, or on the Sabbath day, that these
two sons of Adam came to bring their offerings to the Lord.
And I might add this one thing. God is the sovereign ruler of
the process of time. God alone determines what comes
to pass in time, and it's always that which He purposed in eternity. And you cannot take that too
far. We call it providence. And never forget that it's divine
providence. It's providence at His hand,
according to His will, His purpose. Always, always remember that
God is the first cause of everything. Everything. In verse 3, we see
the cane brought of the fruit of the ground and offering unto
the Lord. And then we're told in verse
4, also in the providence process of time, Abel brought of the
firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord
had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and
to his offering he, the Lord, had not respect. This would be
a good time to remind you that there are basically two religions
in this world. The religion of Cain, the religion
of works, and the religion of Abel. The work of grace by God
in the heart. All religion in this world is
under one of the two, and only one of them is true. There's
only one faith, and it was the faith of Abel. He said, salvation
comes by the grace of God. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 says
this, let me read this to you. By faith Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous. Only one sacrifice, now hear
me, only one sacrifice that can make you righteous, only one
faith that can offer an excellent sacrifice unto the Lord that
he'll accept. Is that too narrow for you? Well,
let me tell you, narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way that
leads to life. It's pretty narrow. There's no
room to take anything with you but Christ. I'll tell you that. The faith of Abel, the offering
of blood, the blood of the Lamb, the sacrifice of Christ, the
shedding of His blood. Abel brought that which God provided
for him. Cain brought what? The work of
his own hands. The lamb that Abel brought sacrificed
and offered pictures and typifies the Lord Jesus Christ. We see
that. Only his blood can wash us clean. Only his blood sprinkled upon
the altar can wash away our sin. The lamb that Abel brought Pictures
Christ. Cain brought the work, the fruit
of his own hands. Essentially, Abel offered Christ
as his sacrifice. And Cain offered himself. He
offered his self-righteous works. Last week we discussed how we're
accepted. How are we accepted? In the Beloved.
In the Lord Jesus Christ. No other way. He is God's Beloved. Now the problem that Cain had,
many still have today. They don't believe that God is
holy and just. And you say, well, how do you
know that? Well, because if they did, they'd bow to Christ, because
He's the only means by which they can be washed clean of their
sin. Oh, people believe in a God of
love, they'll be quick to tell you. God loves anybody and everybody. He loves everyone too much to
condemn them for their sin. He's not willing that any of
them should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance. It was Peter who wrote that in
2 Peter 3, verse 9. Who did Peter write that to?
He said, the Lord is long-suffering to usward. Who is the us Peter
is speaking of? Who is Peter's letter addressed
to? Elect, the elect. according to the foreknowledge
of God. He's writing to those who through
sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling
of the blood of Jesus Christ should have grace and peace multiplied
unto them. That's who He's writing to. Certainly
not everyone in the world. He's not writing to the whole
world there. He's not willing that the whole world not perish.
He's not willing that His people should perish. And you know what?
Not a one of them will. Not a single one. Men don't want
a God who will punish sin according to His holy law and justice,
strict justice I might add, inflexible justice, unbending justice. They want a God of love who will
Punish no one and ignore their sin and just sweep it under a
rug. But it can't be covered. And if it can be covered, it
can be uncovered. But if it's put away, it can't
be remembered anymore. God is love, but He doesn't love
at the expense of His inflexible justice. He's a holy and just
God. He must punish sin. Death is
sin's wages. The soul that sins shall die. This is what God says. God is
too holy to do otherwise. Now Cain brought what God had
already cursed. You ever thought about that?
After his father Adam fell, the Lord cursed the ground. You remember
that? He cursed it for man's sake, the Scripture says. He
cursed it because man disobeyed. And man in sorrow would eat from
the ground from the sweat of his brow. God sure wouldn't accept
any offering that came from the ground. It was cursed. Man and
his work were and are forever cursed. Do you hear me? There's
nothing you can do that would appease God. It's cursed. And
the fruit from which Cain's offering came was curse. God had no respect
for Cain's offering as He did Abel's. And without the shedding
of blood, the Scripture is clear, there's no remission, no forgiveness,
no pardon. Without Christ's blood sacrifice,
there's no forgiveness or pardon for our sin. Why was Cain's sacrifice
rejected? It was not given in regard to
Christ, the Messiah, by whose blood we're cleansed. No reverence
was given to the glory of God. It was an act of glory that Cain
gave himself. In essence, when Cain brought
that fruit before God, he was saying, look what I've done. Look what I've done. And men
and women today still do the same thing. That's what's going on in religion
today. With pride, men say, look at what we've done for God. Look
what our church is doing for God. Look what we've done for
God. And every single time, I'm telling you, God is going to
reject it, just as He did Cain's sacrifice and offering. The gospel
is not what we do for God. The gospel is what God does for
the sinners that we are. The end of verse 5 here reads,
And Cain was very wroth, angry, and his countenance fell. Now
we're getting to the heart of the matter now. The problem with
Cain was in his heart. He didn't believe God in his
heart. He didn't worship God in his heart. Cain, as all fallen
men and women, had and has a heart problem. Well, what's wrong with my heart?
It's deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. And
that word wrath there in verse 6 means to blaze up. It means
to be blazing mad. To wax hot. To fly hot. I used to work with an older
black gentleman that would always tease me. I'd tease around with
him and he'd always say, you're going to cause me to fly hot. In other words, you're about
to make me mad if you're aggravating ways. That was his way of saying
it. You're going to cause me to fly
hot. The Scriptures talk a great deal
about God waxing hot. But God waxes hot against sin
and against sinners. But it's futile for us to wax
hot against God. It was futile for Cain to do
so. God, in Exodus chapter 22, 24, let me read this to you,
concerning afflicting and mistreating widows and fatherless children.
He said, And my wrath shall wax hot, and I'll kill you with the
sword. And your wives shall be widows
and your children fatherless. Better not mistreat these widows
and these children. The Lord told Moses and Israel's
rebellion against Him. He said, I've seen this, people.
And behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Therefore, let them alone
that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume
them." And you know, people just look at you crazy when you say
things like that. Well, God loves everybody too
much to do that. Listen, the Lord pilleth, and
the Lord maketh alive. The Lord bringeth down, and the
Lord lifteth up. It's the Lord that does that. In Job chapter 6 verse 17, the
Lord compares those who wax hot to ice and snow. When they wax
hot, they vanish. They melt away and disappear.
Like snow and ice, when things get hot, those two elements are
consumed and fade away. Those who are angry and stay
angry with God are the same. They're like cane They consume
another, and in the end, they themselves are consumed by God. Cain's countenance failed. And
in verse 6, God asked him, Why are you so angry? Why are you
wroth? Why is your countenance foiled?
If thou doest well, verse 7, shalt thou not be accepted? And
if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Now it's very important
for us to understand what verse 7 is telling us here. I beg you
to help you. It's just another display of
God's mercy and grace and long-suffering to us. God's so long-suffering
with sinners. I look back on my life and just
think to myself, This is what the Lord is saying
to Cain here. He said, if you had done what
I commanded, if you had done what I required, if you had rendered
that I would accept, you would have done well. And then God
says, and if thou doest not well, now listen, Cain had already
not done well. But God is saying here, there's
still room for repentance. There's still opportunity to
do what is right, to do well. What longsuffering, what mercy. God is saying, retrace your steps. Seek where you went wrong. Amend
your actions and your offering. Consider your standing as a guilty
sinner. Take the hand of mercy that I
extend toward you. Offer the blood that without
there is no remission, no forgiveness, no pardon. Sprinkle the blood
of the Lamb upon the mercy seat. But Cain remained obstinate. And Cain remained hard-hearted,
unwilling to repent or to change his mind. That's what the word
repent means. To change your mind. To change
your heart. And you can't do it. Only God
can. It means to change your gods. And what did Cain do? He burned.
He flew hot with envy and jealousy. Sin was lying at the door. That's
being the door of his heart. Cain didn't like the means that
God had prescribed. No blood, no remission. I don't
like that, Cain said. People today still don't like
it. That's why men and women like
Cain strive day in and day out to provide a work of righteousness
by their own hands in order to be saved. No different than Cain. Instead of offering the only
thing that God will accept, that being the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the blood of His precious and beloved Son, they offer what
they suppose to be fruit. And they bring it before God
and they say, look what I did. Look what I've done. I did this
for you. Haven't we? Haven't we done all
these wonderful works? Look at this fruit. Cain didn't respect the worship
that God had prescribed. He didn't respect the blood of
the sacrifice. Sin that is not repented of,
now listen, lies at the door of the heart in darkness, stubbornness,
and despair. Iniquity lies at the door to
inflict more anger and more rebellion in the heart. You know it's so,
and so do I. Have you ever gotten upset about
something? And no matter what is said to you, you just get
angrier with every word? And pretty soon, you're just
consumed in anger. Listen, when sin is not repented
of, it plunges the offender deeper and further into the gulf of
depravity. It just does. And here in verse
7, God, God Almighty, in the simplest, in the mildest, in
the most direct terms, gives Cain room for repentance. With
humble acknowledgement of his guilt, with voluntary submission
to God's mercy, God would have forgiven him. His confidence
would have been lifted. His anger would have subsided.
Cain could and would have experienced a great calm. The Lord can bring
about that calm in a man, just as He did in the waves in the
sea when the disciples were on that ship. Remember what He did?
He stood and just with a word said, peace, be still. And they
went, what kind of man is this among us that even the waves
in the wind obey His voice? He's God. That's who He is. Notice at the end of verse 7
where God says, or the Lord says, "...and unto thee shall be His
desire, and thou shalt rule over Him." You know, I never really
looked into what that meant, but I did, and it's a beautiful
and a gracious word. It simply means that though Abel's
offering was accepted and Cain's wasn't, Cain's animosity toward Abel
would have fled. Cain would still love his brother
and his brother would still love him. It meant that Abel would
still be subject to submit to Cain as the elder brother by
his birthright. It meant that God would see to
it that Cain had no reason to be angry or envious with Abel. It means that God would put away
his sin and it would be remembered no more and forgotten forever. You see, God delights to show
mercy. Aren't you glad? It pleases the
Lord to make sinners His people. It really does. He didn't find
any pleasure in the death of the wicked. Why do people think
that? Oh, you are one of these that
believe in the sovereignty of God. You preach election and you're
shutting people out of hell. No, we're not. The election of
God never shut anybody out of hell. It makes salvation certain
for some. But it doesn't cast anybody out. And Cain wouldn't have any part
of it. Now consider verse 8 with me.
I never paid much attention to the wording of this verse before.
Verse 8, and Cain talked. You see that? And Cain talked
with Abel, his brother. What do you suppose he talked
to Abel about? Well, no doubt he talked about
that which came out of the abundance of his heart. That's what people
do. We talk about the things that we're most passionate about,
good or bad. If it's something good, we talk
about that. If it's something bad, we talk
about that. So I have no doubt that he talked to Abel about
God's rejection of his offering. And no doubt that he said something
to Abel about God's acceptance of his. And this has been something
talked about, discussed, even argued over since the fall of
man. People are still arguing over it. That's why there's a
church building on every corner. That's why there are more denominations
than we can count anymore. Abel knew that God would only
accept the shedding of blood as an offering for the removal
of sin. Cain believed that he, by the
work of his hands, could appease God. And Cain was angry with
God. But wasn't he angry with Abel?
He was angry with God. He couldn't get his hands on
God. He couldn't inflict pain upon God. So He did the next
best thing. He got His hands on and murdered
the one whom God accepted. Our Lord Jesus said in John 16,
verse 2, that whosoever killeth you, think that he doeth God's
service. And these things will they do
unto you, because they've not known the Father, nor Me. Now, wicked men took the Lord
Jesus Christ And they killed him because they couldn't get
their hands on God the Father. And that's why the Lord said
in John 15, verse 8, If the world hates you, you know it hated
Me before it hated you. Sin had waited at the door of
Cain's heart. He could not be persuaded by
God. He could not be persuaded by
Abel. So he killed Abel because he
couldn't get his hands on God. Now that's just the truth. Then we come to verse 9. And
the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper? You know what Cain did to Abel.
He killed him. Who's Cain talking to here? He's
talking to the Lord. That being the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord asked, where is your brother? He's your brother. He's your father and mother's
son. He's your brother. He's flesh
of your flesh. He's bone of your bone. Where
is he? Where is your brother, your constant
companion since the days of your youth? Where is he? Where is
the brother that you confessed to love? Where is this younger
brother that you swore to protect? And what's the first thing that
Cain did? He lied to God. He said, I know
not. I don't know. Why would Cain
or anyone for that matter lie to a God that knows everything?
I don't know. But we all do. We all do. The Bible tells us why,
though. Our Lord told us why. He said,
You are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father you
will do. You're going to do what your
father the devil does. He was a murderer from the beginning.
He abode not in the truth, because there's no truth in him. And
when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar
and the father of it. And the Lord Jesus said this,
and it applies to Cain, and it applies to every man and woman
that are without Christ. The Lord said, and because I
tell you the truth, you believe Me not. Which of you convinces
Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do
you not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God's
words. Ye therefore hear them not, because
you are not of God. Then Cain's lie becomes bigger.
He denied any and all responsibility. He knew where Cain was. He killed
him. He buried him. He denied any and all accountability
to God. And he asked God, am I my brother's
keeper? He basically said, he's not my
responsibility. So, I must ask myself, this morning. Am I my brother's keeper? Are
you your brother's keeper? Is the welfare of our brothers
and sisters our responsibility? What is it to be your brother's
keeper? I lost a dear friend Friday.
Larry Brown was my friend. He was my brother. And I can
say without any reservation, None at all. When it came to
me, his brother in Christ, he was my keeper and my watcher.
He had my best interest at heart. He defended me, and a time or
two he rebuked me. And he told me the truth because
he loved me. And I endeavored to do the same
to and for him. That's what it is to be your
brother's keeper. A brother's keeper is someone
who watches over you, one who watches for your very soul. One
who looks after you as a shepherd does his sheep. Like a shepherd,
one who guards and protects and defends. That's what Brother
Larry and I try to be to one another. That's what every believer
tries to be to other believers. Not one who watches over another
to find fault. Now, I've been pretty good at
that. And that's exactly what religion does. You know, I know
of denominations, I kid you not, that have leaders, people in
their church, that they send out to their parishioners' houses,
unannounced, to check on them. To see if they, I don't know,
to check if they're watching TV too much, or I don't know,
having a glass of wine at dinner? And I've always wondered when
I've been told about this, is who stops by and checks on them? Our Lord said, I'm among you
as one who serves. When the Lord washed His disciples'
feet in John 13, He said, you call Me Master and Lord, and
you say, well, because I am. And then he said, If I then,
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash
one another's feet. For I have given you an example
that you should do as I have done. Now there's what it is
to be your brother's keeper. Do to others as Christ has done
unto you. Strive to be like Christ. And
to serve your brother. May God grant us the grace to
serve our brethren as our Lord served His brethren. Who are
my brethren? Well, let me show you. Turn to
Luke. I'll hurry. Luke 10, verse 25. Who are my
brethren? Luke 10, verse 25. And behold, a certain logger
stood up and tempted him, the Lord Jesus, saying, Master, what
shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Christ said unto him,
What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answered
and said, Well, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with
all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself. And he, Christ, said
unto him, Thou hast answered right. This is due, and thou
shalt live. But he, the lawyer, willing to
justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? In other words, who do I have
to love? Who am I obligated to love? I sure hope it's not the Gentiles. I sure hope that it's not that
publican. I sure hope that it's not somebody
that hates me. Who's my neighbor? Who's my brother? Verse 30. And Jesus answering
him said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho
and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and
wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance,
there came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him,
he passed by on the other side. And likewise, a Levite, when
he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on
the other side. but a certain Samaritan. As he journeyed, came where he
was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And he
went to him, and he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and
wine, and set him on his own breast, and brought him to an
inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed,
he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto
them, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come
again, I'll repay thee. Then he asked, Which now of these
three thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? Was it the two that saw him and
walked by on the other side? And the fellow answered, He that
showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go
and do thou likewise. Who's my brother? Turn with me
one last place, Matthew chapter 25, verse 31. Matthew 25, verse 31. What is it to be your brother's
keeper? Who is your brother? Who's your neighbor? Verse 31, Matthew 25. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon
the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered
all nations, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. And then shall the
king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. For I was hungered, and you gave
me meat. And I was thirsty, and you gave
me drink. And I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked I was,
and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.
I was in prison, and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous
answer him, saying, Lord, whence saw we thee a-hungry, and fed
thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger
and took thee in? Or when did we see you naked
and clothed you? Or when saw we you sick or in
prison and came unto you? And the king shall answer and
say unto them, barely I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done
it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you've done it
unto me. Verse 41, then shall He say unto
them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Well, why? Why? For I was hungered, and
you gave Me no meat. I was thirsty, and you gave Me
no drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not in. Naked, and
you clothed Me not. Sick, and in prison, and you
visited Me not. Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungered, and athirst, or a stranger,
or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not
to me. and these shall go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."
Who are my brethren? You know, when I was growing
up, I'm telling my age now, but when I was growing up, it was
common to call friends brother. It's kind of like calling somebody
buddy. You know, hey buddy, hey brother.
But since I came to the Lord, I try not to throw that term
brother around loosely. Because I really do have true
brothers in Christ. John, you're my brother. You're
my brother in Christ. Glenn, Gene, all of you that
know the Lord and trust the Lord, you're my brother. But now I
have on occasion called someone who does not give any evidence
to know Christ a brother, and I've done it out of habit. And
then I was reminded of a story about Brother Scott Richardson
one time who was at lunch with a professing believer and someone
in the restaurant spoke to Brother Scott. Hey, Scott, how are you
doing? And Brother Scott said, well, hello, brother. How are
you doing? And in fact, anything of it. And moments later, the person
that was sitting with him piously said, You ought not have called
that man a brother. He's not a believer. And Brother
Scott said, I don't know his heart. I don't know his heart.
But I do know that he's either my brother in Christ or he's
my brother in Adam. He's my brother one way or the
other. Now in closing, my final thought is this. It was Paul
who said in Galatians 6, verse 10, He said, as we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men. How many? All men. Especially unto them
who are of the household of faith. Who's my brother? Well, God enabled
me to do good unto all men. to have the concern of all men
and women's souls, especially unto them who are of the household
of faith and trust in Christ. Am I my brother's keeper? Am
I? I sure want to be. I sure want
to be. And may God be pleased to make
it so for His glory, my good, and for Christ's sake. Amen. Okay, Ms. Shelley, if you would
come. Let's sing a closing hymn together. 510 in the hymn book. Stand with me if you're able. 510. Brother Clayton, if you would
dismiss us at the end of this hymn. Shall we gather at the river
Where white angel feet have trod With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God? Yes, we'll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river. Gather with the saints
at the river that flows by the throne of God. On the bosom of the river, Where
the Savior keep we all, We shall meet in sorrow never, Neath the
glory of the throne. Yes, we'll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river. Gather with the saints
at the river that flows by the throne of God. Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we every burden down, Grace our spirits will deliver, And
provide the rolling ground. Yes, we'll gather at the river,
the beautiful, beautiful river, there with the saints at the
river, let's watch by the throne of God. Soon we'll reach the shining
river. Soon our pilgrimage will cease. Soon our happy hearts will quiver
with the melody of peace. Yes, we'll gather at the river,
the beautiful, the beautiful river. Gather with the saints
at the river, then we'll go to California. Thank you for what you've done for us and for yourself. I'll pray that you give us an opportunity to be gracious
to each other, to other people, to be gracious to us. I pray
that you give our church family here what you're worth. I'm a pastor in a small RIT.
I pray for the faithful. I pray that you'd come to their
family and their loved ones. We're not allowed to do this.
We can't. I pray that you'd watch over them, give us understanding,
and ask these things out of them. Amen. Yeah, that's my dad. That's my dad.