Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. th th th Thank you. Thank you. I mean, is it on me? Is it on
me? Is it on me? Is it on me? Thank you so much. 2A 3.30 x (-0.001') 3F 5.83 x
(-0.001') so so Good morning, welcome to the
services. Let's begin our singing by turning
to hymn number six, Come Thou Almighty King. Hymn number six. Come Thou Almighty King, Help
us Thy Name to sing, Help us to praise. Father, all-glorious, O'er all
victorious, Come and reign over us, ancient of days. Come, Thou incarnate Word, gird
on Thy mighty sword, our prayer attend. Come and thy people bless,
and give thy word success. Spirit of holiness, on us descend. Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred
witness bear In this glad hour. Thou who almighty art, Now rule
in every heart, And e'er from us depart, Spirit of power, ? To the great one in three ? ?
Eternal praises be ? ? Hence and more ? ? His sovereign majesty
? ? May we in glory sing ? ? And to eternity love and adore ? And turn over with me to 112
if you would, M number 112. Up Calvary's mountain, one dreadful
morn. Walk, Christ my Savior, weary
and worn. Facing poor sin, Death on the
cross, but He might save them from endless loss. Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer,
It seems now I see Him On Calvary's tree Wounded and bleeding For
sinners pleading Blind and unheeding Dying for me Father forgive them, thus did
He pray Even while His life had flowed fast away Praying for
sinners while in such woe member of soul. Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer,
seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree, wounded and bleeding, for sinners' sins. He is dying for me. Oh, how I love Him, Savior and
friend. How can my praises ever find My tongue shall praise Him forevermore. Precious Redeemer Seems now I
see Him On Calvary's tree Wounded and bleeding For sinners clean Just one announcement to make.
This Saturday, we'll have a men's work day here at the church.
If you're able to come, we'll meet at about eight o'clock.
Got a few things we want to do, a little spring cleaning, men.
I'm gonna try to wash the windows and a few other little things.
So if you can be with us, that'd be great. And if not, we understand. Gene, would you lead us in prayer
at this time, please? Our Father, we thank you in the
name of our Lord Jesus for providing this place for us to come and
worship you in spirit and in truth. Thank you for your protecting
hand and bringing us here safely. And we pray your blessings on
us as we continue to sing these songs, thanking you and praising
you for your sovereign grace and your sovereign mercy bestowed
upon us for Christ's sake. Bless our dear brother David
as he preaches the gospel this morning. Give him good utterance,
Father, for your glory, and give us a heart to receive Your Word,
praising You and thanking You for this unspeakable gift, eternal
life through Christ our Savior, in whose name we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Amen. Okay, 255. Stand with me as we
sing. 255. Blessed assurance. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. for taste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of
God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story,
this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long Perfect submission,
perfect delight Visions of rapture now burst
on my sight Angels descending ring from above Echoes of mercy,
whispers of love This is my story This is my song
Praising my Savior All the day long This is my story This is
my song Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at
rest. I am my Savior, and happy and
blessed. Watching and waiting, Filled with His goodness, lost
in His love This is my story, this is my song Praising my Savior
You may be seated. My text this morning is found
in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. Immediately, many of you know
that verse of scripture comes to mind. 2 Corinthians 5 verse
17. This is my story. Therefore if any man be in Christ,
He is a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away, and
behold, all things are become new. When the Lord revealed Christ
to me in the gospel, this verse became a very precious truth
to me. Yet in the beginning, I confess,
I struggled with assurance and the reason that I did is the
reason pretty much everyone does, is because I looked within to
find that assurance and it was not to be found there. Not within. There was no evidence within
that old things had passed away and all things had become new.
It seemed that in me, that is in my flesh, as Paul said, everything
looked pretty much the same. But now I see that I had missed
two great truths found in this text. And when God called me
by His grace and saved me by His mercy and grace, first, my
position, my place was in Christ. And secondly, my character, my
nature was a new creature, a new creation. Mr. Spurgeon once said that in connection
with Christ, there are three stages of the human soul. One,
without Christ, our position by nature. Secondly, in Christ,
which is the state of grace. And thirdly, with Christ, which
is our state of glory. So, let's consider first the
believer's position. This is not the world's position,
this is the believer's position. They are said to be in Christ. Every believer at first was in
the first Adam. Adam was man's federal head. Adam represented every single
man and woman born of woman. If Adam had kept the command
of God, every man and woman would have been forever blessed. But Adam partook of the forbidden,
and he fell, and all of us fell in him. I've heard it said that
if you're wrong about the fall, then you're wrong about it all.
And that's true. Sin fell upon every man and woman
because he Adam was our covenant head and representative and we
fell in him. But for some, for some, not all,
but for some, those whom God foreknew, those whom God predestinated,
those whom would be conformed to Christ and perfectly restored,
God called and God justified by the sacrifice of Himself. That's what it is to be in Christ.
So Christ, the second Adam, the only other representative man
before God, the heavenly man, he who knew no sin was made to
be sin. The Lord from heaven became the
propitiation for all his people's sin. Propitiation, not easy to
say, but what a glorious word it is. It's the act of appeasing
God. Propitiation. It's the act of
satisfying God Almighty whom we have offended. Being in Christ
is the only way to regain the favor of God. And this is the
atonement of God. It's the act of at-one-ment. It's a good way to define it. Being made one with God. God's
law is kept in Christ. God's justice is satisfied in
Christ. And the believer, the one who
believes and trusts in Him, is a new creation in Him. Jesus Christ reconciles us to
God. Jesus Christ makes us at one
with Him. So by being in Christ, we are
by union with Christ reconciled to God. Isn't that good news?
The Lord Jesus is the only one who can make us one with the
Holy God whom we have offended. And this propitiation, this atonement,
this satisfaction, this reconciliation, always has something to do with
blood. throughout the Scriptures. Colossians chapter 1 verse 20
tells us, and having made peace through the blood of His cross,
that's speaking of Christ's cross, His crucifixion, by Him to reconcile
all things unto Himself. If you and I are going to be
reconciled, made at one with God, Christ's blood has to be
shed for us. This is why the gospel message
is Christ and Him crucified. In the Old Testament, when you
find that word reconciliation, you'll most every time find the
shedding of blood by a sacrifice. in Leviticus chapter 8. I won't
turn you here. We're told that Moses brought
a bullock for the sin offering and Aaron and his sons, the high
priest and the priest of God, laid their hands upon the head
of that bullock for the sin offering. And it was then that Moses slew
it and took the blood and put it upon the altar, purifying
the altar to make reconciliation upon it. There's reconciliation
in one place, upon the altar. Christ is the altar. Christ is
the sacrifice. And friends, it's His blood that
was shed that makes us new creatures in Christ. In the book of 2 Chronicles,
he goats were brought for the sin offering and again, the priest
laid hands upon them and he killed them and they made reconciliation
with the blood upon the altar to make atonement. for all Israel. And Hebrews 9.22 tells us, and
almost all things are by the law purged with blood. And without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission, no forgiveness of sin. Beloved of God, Jesus
Christ is the Lamb of God. Slain from the foundation of
the world. He is the sin offering for all
his people spiritual Israel I'll put a marker here in 2nd Corinthians
We'll come back to it and turn with me to Ephesians chapter
2 if you would Ephesians chapter 2 Paul here writing to the church
at Ephesus and speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, wrote to the
church, believers, at Ephesus, and in verse 12, he said, there
was a time that we were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus, you see that? In Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes
were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is
our peace, who hath made both one, that's speaking of Jew and
Gentile, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. having abolished in His flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in Himself of twain, Jew and Gentile like, one new
man, a new creature, a new creation. So making peace, peace between
man and God. to his peace between the believer
and his holy creator. Verse 16, and that he, Christ,
might reconcile both Jew and Gentile unto God in one body
by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. And he came and
preached peace to you, which were far off, speaking of the
Gentiles, and to them that were nigh, speaking of the Jews. Now
look at verse 18. For through Him, through Christ,
we both, Jew and Gentile alike, have access by one Spirit unto
the Father. We who were alienated, aliens,
strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, are now given access
to God the Father. How? through Jesus Christ. There's neither Jew nor Greek,
there's neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female,
for ye, all believers, are all one in Christ Jesus, in Christ,
in Christ. The obedience of Christ is the
obedience of all his people. In Christ we live on earth, in
Christ we die, and in Christ we will rise. Look up at verse
six in Ephesians 2. It says, and hath raised us up
together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. in Christ Jesus. Just as the
animals and the eight souls were preserved from the flood of God's
wrath against sin, went through that one door of the ark. That
door is Christ. The Lord shut them in. He shut
them up in Christ. The ark. He's our ark. And we
are in the same sense in Christ. Christ is the ark that God provided
for His chosen people in the day of His holy judgment and
justice. We trust Christ. We give up all
other hope. We trust in what Christ alone
did. And He becomes to us our ark. and we are in Him, in Christ. Isn't that a beautiful illustration?
Jesus Christ is the ark of God. Those that are in Him are safe
from God's wrath. You outside that ark, you're
gonna drown in the wrath of God. There's no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus. Just as the Israelite who unintentionally
slew another might flee to a city of refuge provided throughout
Canaan, we must flee to Christ our refuge. That's what we spoke
about in the first hour. Christ our refuge. And what a refuge He is. What
security He is. What safe haven He is. what safety
we find in Him. God, Christ is God's eternal
city of refuge. We've offended, we've slain,
we've murdered the commandments of God. And we must flee for
our lives and enter into Christ, our city of refuge, where vengeance
cannot reach us, where we can be safe forevermore. As the branches in the vine,
So are we in Christ. We receive all our nourishment,
all our vitality, all our fruit bearing power from Christ the
vine with which we are united. Our Lord said, I'm the vine and
you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. And for without me,
you can do nothing. Do you suppose the Lord meant
nothing there? That's what he said. It doesn't
mean something, a little something. It means you can't do nothing.
The phrase in Christ has great meaning. I forget how many times,
over 70 sometimes in the scriptures, we read that phrase in Christ
or in Christ Jesus. How do we come to be there in
Christ? Well, only when we lean our soul
wholly upon the beloved Son of God in whom we are accepted.
Where are we accepted? In the beloved, that's speaking
of Christ. Only when we desperately cling
to the crucified one. Only when we embrace our bridegroom,
which no divorce can separate us from. For this message, I
looked up every time the phrase in scripture in Christ is used. And as I said, over 70 sometimes,
I want to give you just a few. And I think it'll be a great
encouragement to you. It ought to be. In Christ, there
is redemption. Romans 3, 24. Being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. That's where redemption is. It's
in Christ. In Christ, there is no condemnation. In Christ, there is the spirit
of life. Romans 8, 1 and 2. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them, who? Which are in Christ Jesus. who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. In Christ there is inseparable
love." Romans 8, 39, nothing shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. In Christ, we have wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 1 Corinthians
1, verse 30. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, and
sanctification and redemption. Everything that God requires,
the believer is made that in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we have
hope and we're made alive. 1 Corinthians 15, 19 through
22. In this life only, we have hope
in Christ. There's no hope anywhere else. We've read many times that we
have hope only in Him. Without God and without hope
in this world, but in Christ, we have hope. In this life only
we have hope in Christ. We are of men most miserable,
but now in Christ, now is Christ risen from the dead and become
the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, listen, even so in Christ, shall all be made alive. All his people, everyone that
Christ died for is gonna be made alive. In Christ we're triumphant. 2 Corinthians 2 14, now thanks
be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. In Christ, we have liberty, we
have freedom. Galatians 2.4, Paul wrote that
false brethren came in privately to spy out our liberty, which
we have in Christ. That's the only place we have
freedom, in Christ, that they might bring us into bondage.
In Christ, we're made faithful. Ephesians 1.1, Paul begins his
letter addressed to the saints of God and to the faithful in
Christ Jesus. In Christ, we, believers, are
blessed with all spiritual blessings. Verse 3 of Ephesians 1. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. In Christ, we're God's workmanship.
Ephesians 2.10, for we are His workmanship created in Christ
Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. In Christ we have consolation,
comfort, fellowship, and mercy. Philippians 2.1, if there be
therefore any consolation in Christ, If any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any vows and mercies, it's
in Christ that these things are found. Nowhere else. Oh, isn't
that a blessed thought? In Christ. In Christ we have
a high calling. Philippians 3.14, we press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. In Christ we're made thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5, 18, and everything give thanks for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Grace, faith, and love found
in Christ. First Timothy 1.14. And the grace
of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is
in Christ Jesus. That's where God's love is found.
That's where God's grace is found. That's where God's mercy is found.
That's where our forgiveness is found in Christ Jesus. In Christ we're saved and called,
who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us, do you want to know where? In Christ Jesus,
before the world began. In Christ we're made strong in
grace. Paul told Timothy to be strong in the grace that's in
Christ Jesus. In Christ our salvation is obtained. In 2 Timothy 2.10 Paul said,
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they
may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. In Christ we live and suffer
persecution. Yea, and all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And in Christ, we
have peace. Do you have peace this morning?
If you're in Christ, you should. 1 Peter 5.14, Peter ended his
first epistle by saying, Peace be with you all that are in Christ
Jesus. Because there is no peace anywhere
else. No peace at all. What a wonderful privilege to
be found in Christ Jesus. Every believing sinner is in
Christ Jesus. Not the world as a whole. The
Lord didn't pray for the world, did he? He said, I pray not for
the world, I pray for them which thou hast given me, which God
gave him, John 17, nine. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him,
in Christ, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Well,
Brother David, I thought you believed in election. I thought
only the elect will be saved. That's right. Whosoever believes
in Him is the elect of God. Now, I want to spend our remaining
time considering the character of the child of God. It's said
that if any man or woman be in Christ, they're a new creature,
a new creation. King Saul, you remember King,
David's father-in-law, he prophesied among the prophets. And in 1
Samuel 10, the people said unto one another, is Saul also among
the prophets? He was an evil king, Saul was.
Had Saul been converted and made a prophet? Well, the scriptures
say that he was given another heart, but it didn't say he was
given a new one. And in 1 Samuel 18, verse 10,
the scriptures say that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
and he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played
the harp with his hand, as at other times, and there was a
javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast that javelin, for
he said, I'll smite David even to the wall with it. This happened
on two different occasions, and Saul was afraid of David. The
Scripture says, because the Lord was with him, and the Lord had
departed from Saul. Saul's character proved that
he was not a new creature, not a new creation. Friends, conversion,
salvation is often described in the Scriptures as healing.
Those that are well, righteous in their own eyes, have no need
of a physician. But you know who goes to the
doctor? Those who are sick and afflicted. That great Captain
Naaman, he went down the Jordan River full of leprosy. And he
washed himself there, and he came up the seventh time, and
his flesh was clean like a little child. Someone once said, smoother
than a baby's behind. Well, but he was by no means
a new creature. A man or woman may be washed
from outward leprosy, but to be in Christ there must be an
inward work accomplished for them. Do you follow me? This is not an outward thing,
this is an inward thing. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Old things are passed away, and
behold, all things have become new. When I look back on my past,
that's the best news I ever heard. Can an Ethiopian change the color
of his skin? Can a leopard remove his spots? Can a sinner that is accustomed
to doing evil do good? He's got to become a new creation.
Even if an Ethiopian could change his skin, and even if a leopard
could change his spots, the Ethiopian would still be black in his heart. And the leopard would still remain
a leopard. The improvement could not be
called a new creation. So a sinner could give up every
outward lust and weep and be sorrowful forever over their
sin and be not considered a new creation. How does this new creation
come about? Well, in the first Adam, the
chosen sinner is judged and condemned, weighed in the balances, and
what? Found wanting. But when his punishment is laid
upon Christ, his substitute, his sacrifice, his surety, and
his Savior, they're born again as a new creation. So in the second representative
man, The sinner is legally before the bar of God's justice made
just that, a new creature, a new creation. The sinner who believes
in Christ and by faith, by believing, is found in Him. And they find
themselves completely pardoned by the sin-atoning blood sacrifice
of the one who loved them and gave himself for them. They love
Christ. They love the God who gave Christ
to be their redemption. The God they once hated without
a cause, they now love. Why? Because God's given them
a new heart. God's made them a new creature.
God has made them a new creation. They once hated God, but now
they love Him. The God from whom they once hid
and had no interest in, they openly and constantly desire
communion and fellowship with Him now. Why is that? God has made them a new creation
in Christ. Grace doesn't reform us. Grace recreates us. Creation is the work of God.
It's a divine working of the Creator. The new creature is
the work of God. And it's the work of God in Christ. Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers
that be are ordained of God." We were talking in the men's
meeting about You know, bowing to the providence of God, even
in government issues. And you may like the president,
and you may not. And you may want another president,
and you may or may not get it. But I'm going to tell you one
thing. God Almighty is behind who's there. And we ought to
bow and submit ourselves to His providence. Let every soul be
subject unto the higher powers. Why? Because there's no power
but that of God's. Mankind in and of themselves
cannot come to Christ for life. I don't know why people think
that they have a free will and the ability to come to Christ
and make a difference in their lives. For who maketh thee to
differ? What do you have you didn't receive?
And if you received it, why do you glory in it? It was given
to you of God. God made the difference. Man
cannot come to Christ for life, John 6.44, I'm sorry. And they will not come to Christ
for life, John 5.40. Man doesn't have the ability
to come. Man doesn't have the will to
come. Man doesn't have the power to
give himself life. Man doesn't have the power to
make himself to differ. How then is a man born of God
and made a new creation? Let me tell you, the psalmist
told us. He said, thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. That's the only way. The power
of God. The power of God. Who helped
God create the world? No one. Nobody. When God created the world out
of nothing, who or what was there to help Him do so? In the new
creation, there's nothing within us that could help Him. I don't
know why folks don't have any problem at all with God alone
creating the world, but when it comes to the creation of a
new heart within a man, a man becoming a new creation, that
they somehow miraculously help God do it. In the new creation, there's
nothing within us that could help Him, but there was much
within us that could and did oppose Him. Our stubborn wills. I'm going to talk about man's
will. What a stubborn will we have. Our dark prejudices. Our love for iniquity. This is the condemnation. The
men love darkness rather than light. We oppose the very one who gives
life. We will not have this man rule
over us. And yes, there was darkness in
the first creation. And God said, like me, and light
was. By nature, we love darkness rather
than light. Why? Because our deeds were evil.
And our deeds were evil because we're evil. But like in the first
creation, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep. Tom,
He moved upon the deep recesses of man's heart. And He took out
that heart of stone and He put in a heart of flesh that beats
and pants to be like their God. God did that. Don't you take
credit for what you didn't do? Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have that you didn't receive? Nothing. God gave it all. The same Spirit moved upon the
deep recesses of the chosen sinner's being, and their soul yielded
to His light." Friends, it had no choice. We read the verse
earlier in Romans chapter 13, that every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. No power but that power which
is of God. The powers that are ordained
of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance
of God, and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. For who hath resisted his will? Romans 9, 19. In the first creation
of the world, God first gave light, and afterwards He gave
life. He made the worlds, prepared the world, and then He formed
man out of the dust of the ground, and He breathed into him the
breath of life. And it's the same in the new
creation. For God, who hath commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts in
those deep, dark recesses He shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. It's only in Christ. In Christ
was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That which
is dead cannot comprehend anything. Not until life is given to see
and to comprehend. John the Baptist, he wasn't the
light. He said so. He said, I'm not the light. I'm
sent to bear witness of that light. Jesus Christ is the true
light. And it's in Christ that we have
that light and that life. And as many as received, bowed,
subjected, that's what the word means. It's not like that, you
know, we cooperated and interjected something that caused us to do,
we received, you know, like we did something. No, that means
bowed and subjected themselves unto Him. To them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. This book is so specific about
that. Salvation is of the Lord. The
salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. And it's He that
makes us righteous. God sent Christ into the world
to seek and to save that which is lost. That's why this new
creation in Christ is not speaking of our human and physical birth. Salvation is not of blood. That's
why we're not born of the will of the flesh nor of the will
of man. A dead man or woman has no will. A man that is born again is born
of God in Christ. It's a divine work because it's
a new creation. Only God could speak the worlds
into existence from nothing. And only God can speak life and
light into our dead and nothing hearts. How long has it been
since the world saw a new creation? Oftentimes geologists have imagined
to have found a new creation, but it was not. Tracy and I was
watching a little show, I forget what it's called now, but anyway,
scientists or whatever were listening and they thought that they had
found a new marine creature. because they were hearing these
noises. And it turned out to be the glaciers up in the high
country melting and rubbing together or whatever, you know. What would mankind think if the
Almighty God formed and sent a new creature among us? You
know, mankind would be delighted because mankind's always seeking
something new, some new thing. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Spiritual life is not so though.
Being in Christ, being a new creature, a new creation, happens
day in and day out without any notice from the world. To the
child of God, this new creation grows sweeter and brighter and
fresher every single day. Doesn't it? It never grows old. And if the
Lord has given you light and life, you need not fear that
He'll leave you to perish. If He meant to destroy you, why,
He would have just left you alone and to yourself. The Lord didn't
save us so that He might condemn us. People say, oh, I don't believe
in that election stuff. God doesn't elect people under
damnation. Salvation is a new creation by
God. And if God, it's God alone that
works it. And being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. It's God that worketh in you
to will and do of His good pleasure. It's God that gives you life
eternal. It's God that puts you in Christ.
It's God that makes you a new creation and gives you a new
heart that beats and pants after Him. God gets all the glory. We don't get any. We didn't do
anything. God will preserve you. God will nurture you. He'll present
you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy if you are
in Christ Jesus. And if you're not, then you're
not a new creature. Are you a new creature? Are you
born again as a new creation? Are you in Christ? If you're not, I pray that you
might be right now. May God be pleased to make it
so. For His glory, our good, and for Christ's sake. Thank
you for your attention. Okay, Shelly, if you would come,
let's sing a closing hymn. 473, let's sing verses one and
three as we stand together. And Brother Clayton, if you would,
at the end of this song, dismiss us in prayer. 473, verses 1 and
3. ? Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful
day, ? ? day I will never forget. ? ? After I wandered in darkness
away, ? ? Jesus, my Savior, I met. ? ? Oh, what a tender, compassionate
grin. ? ? He met the need of my heart,
? Shadows dispelling with joy I am telling He made all the
darkness depart Heaven came down and glory filled my soul When
at the cross my Savior made me whole My sins were washed away, and
my night was turned to day. Heaven came down, and glory filled
my soul. Now I have a hope that will surely
endure After the passing of time I have a future in heaven for
sure There in those mansions so blind And it's because of
that wonderful day When at the cross I believe Rich is eternal
and blessed is the noodle that the precious hand I received. Heaven came down and glory filled
my soul, filled my soul, when at the cross my Savior made me
whole. My sins were washed away and
my night was turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled
my soul. He was, Lord, he was, he found
all the enterprise for us. Lord, if indeed I will, we'll
pray to you. It is our children, Lord. Save
them, Lord, if indeed I will. Continue to watch over us, forgive
us our sins, and we ask thee, thank Yeah. Mhm.