Everybody turn with me to first
Thessalonians chapter 5 First Thessalonians chapter 5 But of the times and the seasons
brethren you have no need that I write unto you I For yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
in the night. For when they shall say peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon
a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren,
are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you. You're all the children of light
and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of
the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others but let
us watch and be sober for they that sleep sleep in the night
and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let
us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate of
faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we walk, wake,
or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort
yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye
do. And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you. and to esteem them very highly
in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves.
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort
the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow
that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice
evermore, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks for
this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench
not the spirit, despise not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that
which is good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very
God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you,
who will also do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet
all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord
that this epistle be read unto the holy brethren. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Father, we come to you this morning
so thankful for our time together and for the opportunity to fellowship
and to see brethren we haven't seen in a long time. And Father,
we are so thankful for the messages that you brought yesterday. Lord,
you truly sent us three faithful men to bring your message. And
Father, we ask that you watch over this congregation, Lord,
and we ask that you watch over our pastor as he studies. And Lord, we ask that we be there
to support him in any way we can, Father, as he studies and
brings us the messages every week. And Father, we ask that
today and always you open our eyes and our ears and our hearts
to the message that you're sending. And Lord, we again just ask that
you watch over and care for us and bless this time together.
again with good friends and brethren. And Father, we ask this in Christ's
name. We're gonna be singing this pamphlet
again. And, oh Lord, our hearts and
souls aspire. And you'll see a number eight
on the top there. Oh Lord, and our hearts and souls aspire.
And if we'd like to do that in standing, that would be nice. O Lord, our hearts and souls
aspire to lift up from this earthly mire. O may we think of heavenly
things and know the joy thy presence brings. Lord, let us see the Savior's
face, and let us taste of Thy sweet grace. May open ears Thy
glories hear, and may we smell Thy fragrance near. Be pleased to open heaven's door,
and on our heads thy blessings pour. All wretched, poor, and
needy, we, where can we go if not to thee? O may this day be blessed the
most, that Jesus Christ becomes the host to feed our souls with
living bread and with our souls in joy. Thank you. You may be seated. All right, so we have Brother Donnie Bell coming
up from Lantana Grace Church in Crossville, Tennessee. And I've enjoyed my time with
Don. He stayed at my house. And so
it's been real, real sweet. It's been a blessing to me just
to get to know you better, brother, and spend time with you. So thank
you very much for coming up and come preach the gospel of our
Savior to us. John 21. John 21. Likewise, I've enjoyed being
with you and Michelle in your home. You make me so comfortable
and I appreciate it very much. And I, yesterday afternoon was
what, oh my goodness, what a blessed afternoon it was. Oh, it was
such a wonderful, wonderful. My wife watched all the messages
and she was telling me about you last night, you know, when
you said there, get on the show, get on. She said, boy, that was,
I said, I wanted to get on. She said, I did too. Get on. Get on. Well, and our folks from
Lantana, I didn't say it yesterday, but our folks from Lantana and
especially the men that was with you all down there, they send
their love for you. Let me start reading here in
chapter 21, verse 14 verses. After these things, Jesus showed
himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on
this wise, or in this way, showed he himself. There were together
Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael of Canaan,
Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them,
I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go
with thee. They went forth, and entered
into a ship, and immediately, and that night caught nothing. But when the morning was now
come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that
it was Jesus. Then Jesus said unto them, Children,
have ye any meat? ye got any food? They answered
him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the
net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. cast
therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude
of fishes. Therefore that disciple, whom
Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon
Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his fishing coat unto
him, for he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea. And
the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from
land, and were 200 cubits, dragging the net with fishes. As soon
then as they came to land, they saw a fire of coals thereon,
and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring
of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up,
and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred, and
fifty, and three. And for all that there were so
many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and
dine. And none of the disciples durst
ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish
likewise. This is now the third time that
Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from
the dead. It says there in verse 1, After
these things Jesus showed himself again. After the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ, nobody could see him, no one could see him,
except he revealed himself to them. It's just the only way.
And the only people that he revealed himself to was his own people. Paul said over in 1 Corinthians
15 that he began to be seen, you know, of Cephas, with of
course Mary Magdalene first, then Cephas, and then the other
disciples, and all the apostles, and then over 500 brethren at
one time. And that's why they said in the
book of Acts, we are all witnesses of the resurrection of Christ.
But He revealed Himself only to His people at that time. And that's all He reveals Himself
to now is His people. his people, and it was after
his resurrection. And he showed himself to his
disciples. And you know that the first time he really, after
Mary, was he to two disciples on the Emmaus Road, and then
all of a sudden to Mary. And yet, all the folks that saw
our Lord Jesus Christ, there's lots of folks that were in the
book of Acts that saw the miracles, and the wonders, and the signs
that our Lord Jesus Christ did, and yet many did not believe
on Him. And that's why He told Mary when He raised Lazarus from
the dead, Mary and Martha said, Didn't I say if you'd believe
you'd see the glory of God? But it says here, On this wise,
in this way, in this manner, He showed Himself, or revealed
Himself. Look what time it was. Look down there in verse 3. It
says, Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say
unto him, we go also. Now let me tell you, there's
seven fellas, seven fellas went with him. Not only Simon Peter,
but seven other men went with him. There's only 11 apostles
and 7 of them were out there fishing. Peter said, I go fishing.
They went forth and immediately, immediately went into this ship. And look what it said, and that
night caught nothing. You know when our Lord appeared
to them, it was after a night of failure. They had failed and
failed miserably. That night they caught nothing.
And when Simon said, I'm going to go fishing, he was not like
you fellas go out on the river and fish. taking a fishing pole. This is him going back to his
old profession, going back to what he did for a living. All
those men, John and James and all those men were fishermen.
That's what they did for a living. So Simon said, Well, this thing
ain't going nowhere. Ain't nothing going to happen.
So I guess I'll just go back to doing what I did before. I'm
going to go fishing. And not only did he go, but he
took seven other men with him. And so it was, this is, you know,
I'm going back to my old ways. I'm going back to my old ways.
Instead of living by faith, Peter takes the lead here, and ever
true to his nature, he was nature, they went forth immediately and
got in boats. They said, I'm gonna go fishing.
Well, listen, I gotta make a living too. And they all said, they
just jumped on the boat with him and away they went. But you
remember our Lord Jesus Christ, them off of their boats, called
them off of their boats after they spent their lives fishing.
He said, Now follow me and I'm going to make you fishers of
men. But they give in to the reasoning of their nature, and
that's what we often do, they give in to the reason of their
nature. And I'll tell you what, and all these men said, We'll
also go with you. And here's the first thing they
did, they went out at night and they labored in the dark. Without
Christ, that's all you can do is labor in the dark. Without
Christ, you can't do anything but nothing. You know, our Lord
Jesus Christ told them, told them, and God leads us to ourselves.
I mean, you can't catch nothing, you can't do nothing. Our Lord
said, He said, without me, you can do nothing. He didn't say
without me you can do a thing or two. Without me you might
be possible to do something, but without me you cannot do
nothing. If I wrote down a bunch of zeros
here, one, two, three, four, five, six, what have I got? Six zeros. I'm going to do three
more. Now I've got nine zeros. And you know what zeros are worth?
Zero. But you put a one in front of
all of them, and then you've got something. Well, that's the
way it is with Christ. Just a bunch of zeros until we
have Christ. Ain't that right? And that's
what he said, without me, you can do nothing. Without him,
we can't know nothing. Without him, we can't do nothing.
Without him, we're like them fellas, working in the dark,
not catching nothing and not doing nothing. I'll tell you,
without the Lord Jesus Christ, everything's a failure. Everything's
a failure. I've been a failure all my life,
and I'll be a failure the rest of my life without the Lord Jesus
Christ. Without Him, everything's bound
to fail, already fail. Don't attempt a moment without
our Lord Jesus Christ. Don't attempt a moment without
Him. And oh, how many, how many, think their life has been so
successful. Billionaires and millionaires
and their life is so successful. God all drive the best, finest,
fanciest car where the best clothes money can buy. And all they think
their life has been a success, but they'll find out in that
day, in that day when Christ comes again, that their life
has been nothing but an absolute failure and a zero, and they
gonna leave it all behind. They ain't taking no cars, they
ain't taking no money, they ain't taking no clothes, they ain't
taking nothing with them when they leave this world. And I
tell you, I don't want to leave this world without Christ. Oh
no, without me you can do nothing. And oh my, look what happens
down here in verse four now. But, how many times have y'all
mentioned but yesterday? But, big doors hang on little
bitty hinges. But look what he says, but, when
the morning was now come, when all was failure, when they caught
nothing, everyone followed impulsive and impetuous Simon Peter, the
morning, look what it says, the morning was now come. Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning. And you know when Christ comes
after we failed, sees the light of the world, he arises with
healing in his wings. And thy Lord Jesus Christ, the
morning was now come." And look what it says, Jesus stood on
the shore. It was after they had failed, after they had labored
all night, then there stands the Lord. There stands the Lord. Morning was now come. He was
there, but the disciples didn't have a clue who he was, didn't
know who he was. They just saw a man standing there. my, it's
like Mary was yesterday. Her heart was so taken up with
grief, and they was hid in the house because of the fear of
the Jews. But when they have failed miserably, and when we
have failed miserably, our Lord Jesus Christ always brings the
morning with Him. brings the light with Him, always
brings the sunshine with Him, always does. And Mary was occupied
with death, and her heart was full of sorrow, and she didn't
recognize the Savior. And these men returned to their
worldly, worldly way of living, and occupied with their bodily
needs, occupying with their reasonable minds, and didn't recognize the
Savior. They was too taken up with their
fish and their nets, and instead of thinking about the Savior.
And I don't know about you, I hope y'all don't do like I do, but
there has been whole days went over my head, whole complete
days went over my head, and I get to the end of the day, and I
say, you know, I haven't even prayed, I haven't even thought
of the Lord. I hope that don't happen to you.
But go all day long, get up and get started with your day, get
all started all day, and then all of a sudden you sit down
in the evening and then all say, oh my, I haven't prayed, I haven't
thought of the Lord. Oh, what kind of person am I?
What kind of soul am I? What kind of human being am I?
What kind of believer am I that I'd go all day? Well, that's
what these fellas did. They was too busy fishing, too
busy working, too busy doing their own thing. But now it always
says there in verse 1, after this manner, after this manner,
after these things, Jesus showed himself on this wise, in this
way. And you know there in verse 1,
our Lord has his own way. He has His own way. We think,
you know, that we got Christ figured out, and He's going to
do things this way, that way, and another way. But our Lord
has His own way of showing forth Himself, and making Himself known,
and His doctrine. And that's why I said He showed
Himself after this wise, or after this manner. And you know what
the first thing He did? made them confess their failure.
They had not known up to what they had done. Huh? Look what
our Lord asked them there in verse 5, they knew not it was
the Lord, but He stood in the morning standing on the shore.
Then Jesus said unto them, Children, got anything to eat? You got any fish? Oh, Oh, and you know what they
had to say? No. Oh, listen. If Christ don't feed us, we're
going to starve to death. You know, if Christ don't give
us that bread of life, if He don't give us that water of life,
if He don't feed us with grace, if He don't feed us with mercy,
if He don't feed us with His precious Word, if He don't take
the things of Himself and show us, we're going to starve to
death, starve to death. Oh, my. Children, you got anything
to eat? No, no, no, we don't, Lord. We ain't got nothing in
the world to eat. know who you are, but we ain't got nothing.
No, no. And let me tell you something. Our Lord doesn't ask questions
for information. He didn't ask these because He
didn't know what they was doing. Oh, no. He said, Adam, where
are you? He knew exactly where Adam was.
He knew what Adam was going to do before Adam knew he was going
to do it. He put Adam in the garden, and he And. He said, listen, this man's gonna
fall so that I can raise my son, can undo his fall, undo what
he did, undo his disobedience, undo his death, undo his blindness,
undo his fig leaves, and my son's gonna come and undo everything
Adam done. Where he brought death, I'm gonna
bring life. Where he brought fig leaves,
I'm gonna bring a righteousness. Where he brought... Blindness,
I'm going to bring sight. So everything took place in that
garden just exactly the way God willed for it to, so his son
would come into this world and bring glory to his father in
saving sinners like me and you. Huh? Ain't that right? That's right. You know, I don't
think, some people say, well, he's a sublapsarian, he's a superlapsarian,
he's an infralapsarian. Now, if I told you what all those
meant, you'd sit there and say, boy, he's smart, ain't he? But
that's what preachers do. They get up and say, I'm an infralapsarian.
I'm a sublapsarian. I'm a superlapsarian. Well, you've
lost your mind when you get up with that kind of stuff. Your
mind's quit working. I just said that to show you
how stupid preachers are. But, oh, listen, our Lord Jesus
Christ, He don't ask questions for information, but He asks
questions to reveal truth to our hearts. Adam had to say,
Lord, I'm over here, and I'm afraid of you. And said, we're
naked. Who told you you was naked? And that's what they said. He
does these things to teach us something. He knows our thoughts
are far off. He knows why we do what we do
and when we do it, and he knows it before we ever do it. Oh,
my. There was no use pretending that
they had something. Oh, well, we're doing all right.
We'll make it. We'll make it. We'll catch a
fish later. We'll have something to eat after a while. Oh, we're
going to be okay. Listen, we know what we're doing.
You know Simon Peter told the Lord that one time? This same
thing happened in another place. They was out fishing and the
Lord was on Simon Peter's boat and he was preaching. And he
said, now, you know, and he said, now, Peter, take your boat and
go on out here in the deep and cast your net over here on this
side. He said, Lord, that's what I do for a living. This is what
I do for a living. You don't know what you're talking
about. I know where the fish are. He
said, Simon, cast your net over there. Boy, he cast it over there
and pulled it up. And you know what the first thing
he said after that? He said, oh, Lord. Lord, I talked to you
the way I did. Thought what I thought. Felt
like I knew something about fishing. Thought I knew something about
what was going on. He said, Lord, oh God, oh Lord,
just depart from me. I'm so sinful. Just, oh, just
depart from me. To think that I would question
you and doubt you and wonder about what you're doing. Oh,
my. There was no use pretending they
had something. Beware. I didn't turn that on.
Beware of misrepresentation. Beware of exaggeration. Oh, my. You know, you hear these fellows
say, well, I caught a fish that's about like that. Next time they
tell us about like that. Next time you tell, biggest fish
I ever seen. That's mad. He got to make things
bigger than they are. Oh, my. And let me tell you something. Them disciples in the sea pictures
us out here in the world. We are in the darkness. We ain't
got nothing. We can't catch nothing. We can't
do nothing. And Christ on the shore is a
picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in glory, speaking to us, teaching
us, instructing us. And oh, blessed be his name.
He speaks to us even though he's on that yonder shore. We get
to go yonder one of these days. And then look what our Lord said
to them. Then he tried their faith. He said in verse six,
said unto them, cast the net on the right side of the ship
and you're going to find, you're going to find. Oh, my. And they cast therefore
and now they were not able. They caught so many fish at one
time because of what Christ told them to do. They were not able
to draw it for the multitude of fishes. They caught so many
fish just when Christ said, cast your net. caught so many fish
they couldn't get them all in. Couldn't get them all in. Oh,
cast your net. Isn't this the sovereign of the
seas? Isn't this the one who stood out there? He was asleep. He was asleep. This shows us
something about our Master. Our Lord Jesus Christ was in
the ship asleep. Now, God don't sleep. He God
don't need any rest. He neither slumbers or sleeps.
But the man, Christ Jesus, was tired, and he fell asleep. And
this great big storm rose up, and he just kept on sleeping.
And this big storm rolled up, and waves were going over the
ship, and wind was just a-blowing. And all them fellas running down
there said, Oh, Master, wake up! Don't you care that we're
perished? You think they can perish with Christ on the boat? That's what I mean, we were just
a family. And he said, he got up and said,
oh. He walked out there and that
wind just whipping and a whipping and a whipping in the way, it
was just a blowing. He said, just be still. Now, God don't sleep, but man
don't calm a storm either. But God does. So we see, oh,
how Lord is, How glorious, how wondrous our Lord is. Oh, this
is the sovereign of the seas. This is the one, this is the
one that is out there one night out there fishing and all of
a sudden they see somebody walking on the water. Walking on the water. You think,
listen, didn't we worry about something going to happen to
us, some little thing going to happen to us? He said, He come walking
to them on the sea. That's a ghost coming there,
ain't it? Ain't that a ghost? That's a phantom. Our Lord said,
Be a good cheer. It's me. It's me. Oh, my. And oh, this is a God
man. He sees all and knows all, has
all power. Cast your net, not in the front,
first indication, said, Lord, well, cast in the front, cast
in the back, move the boat, go over here, go over yonder. No,
cast it on, didn't say on the right side. He said, just cast
it, cast it on the right side. And you know there's two miracles
in this chapter that was only performed, the only two miracles
that was performed by our Lord after His resurrection. This
was the first one. These men had fished all their
lives, toiled all night and caught nothing, but they heard a voice,
a voice of certainty, cast your net on the right side. And then
you know what he said? You'll find. You'll find. You
do what I tell you and you'll find. Uh-huh. And our Lord brings
something out of nothing. These men were a bunch of zeros,
failures, But he brought something out of nothing. They cast, like
he said, and they were not able to get them fish. I remember one time that Bruce
Crabtree and Joe was down at our house, and their boys was
just little old bitty fellas. And I got a big pond on the farm,
and it had crappie in it and bass in it. And them boys went
down there fishing. And Chris, the oldest, and he'd
go out there, and he'd catch him a fish. And then Ben, the
little bitty one, he'd run over there real, real quick, said,
listen, he caught a fish there. I'll catch a fish there. He followed
him all the way around that pond. Chris caught all the fish. That
boy never caught a first one. He went everywhere trying to
catch a fish. Listen, we can throw our line everywhere we
want to. We ain't going to catch nothing. Christ we do what He
says. Follow anybody you want to, it
ain't going to do you no good. But oh my, He created the earth
out of nothing, and they obeyed His Word. And look what the results
had happened. It said in verse 7, They were
not able to draw for the mulled to the fishes. Therefore, that
disciple, therefore, since all this had happened, happened. They went back fishing, didn't
catch nothing. Christ asked them a question. And therefore, that
disciple whom Jesus loves saith unto Peter, Peter, you know who
that is? You know who that is? That's the Lord. That's the Lord. This can only be the one, only
He can do what He just did. He's the only one who can take
our failure and turn it around and make it successful. You see
our Lord, the way He does things, He takes the weak to confound
the mighty. He takes the foolish to confound
the wise. And this is exactly what He done
right here. And when we have failed miserably, our Lord shows
Himself. And I tell you, this is just
like our Master. Quit laboring for nothing. Believe
His Word. Believe what He has to say. Look
down here in John 20, verse 30 and 31. This is what our Master
said. This is what God's Word says.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His
disciples. which are not written in this
book. But these are written, what you read and what you hear
is written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his
name." And he said, Peter, that's the Lord. That's the Lord over
there. Oh my. John recognized him. John recognized
him. Then look what happens. Now this
is Simon Peter. He had denied the Lord three
times. Three times. He was the one that said, I'm
going to go back fishing and took all those men with him.
And when Simon Peter, when John, he said, it's the Lord. You know
what? Peter was out there, he was naked and he was fishing.
He got his fisher's coat and he put it around himself and
tied it up. And he said, listen, you fellas
stay on this boat all you want to and fish all you want to.
I'm going to go to my master. And he jumped in the sea. He
was so anxious. Now he had just denied the Lord.
And the Lord told him what he was going to do and when it was
going to happen, what would happen. And he said, listen, I know I'm
nothing. I know I'm a failure. I took
all these men back fishing. But he said, I tell you what,
if that's my master, if that's my Lord, I'm gonna get to him.
I don't care if I got, he just jumped in the sea. Left all them
fellas, he didn't care about fishing anymore. He didn't care
about that boat. He didn't care about those fish.
All he said was, that's my master. I've got to get to him. denied
him three times, he said, I'm still going to go to Him. If
I had a nickel for every time I've denied the Lord, I'd be
a wealthy man. Huh? Oh, listen. But I'll tell you, that's what
happens. Peter Piconi left the fish, oh Lord. It's like that
Samaritan woman, after the Lord revealed Himself to her. You
know what? She went there to get water and
she got so shook up. She got so excited. She got so
blessed by Christ. She left the water pot on the
well. Went there to get water. Christ preached to her. She said,
left her water pot, run into town, said, come see a man. Come see a man. What's so special
about him? He told me everything that I
ever did. That's why he made these fellows,
they admitted they've done everything. And look what else he does now,
look down in verse 9. And oh, they was right there
dragging the fishes. And then as soon as they were come to
land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid there on
it, bread. Now, where in the world did that
fire come from? Where'd that bread come from?
Where'd that fish come from? That just don't happen. You reckon
Christ had to take some flint and make some sparks, get up
a bunch of little bitty stuff and you make a spark, trying
to blow a fire. But it got there and our Lord
had a fire And he has some fish and he has some bread. Just exactly
what he used to feed 5,000 one time and over 4,000 the other
time. And they got there and they told Almighty they was hungry.
He said, you got anything to eat? No. But this is what our
Lord does. That's what our Lord does. When
we're hungry, he feeds us. How many times? I know Wednesday
night to me is the most blessed time for me preaching. And because
the folks that really want the gospel, they're there. They worked
all day, they got up early, and they come to the service. And
I want to feed them. I want to feed them. And how
many times have you and I come to a service, we'd be just so
lifeless and said, oh my, you know, just no energy, no encouragement,
you know, and you just, and then by the time the service is over,
you're walking out of there on a cloud. You're walking out of
there energized. You're walking there renewed.
And that's what these fellas did. They didn't have nothing,
didn't have nothing to eat. They got there, and I, Lord, being
the shepherd of the sheep, He said, I'm going to give them
something to eat. Oh, my. He knew they
were hungry. And oh, my. And this is what
he does. That's what he does for his people.
He feeds his people. When you come hungry, I guarantee
you, he's going to feed you. And then look what he says. And
he has fellowship with them. And then our Lord said unto him,
bring the fish which you've caught. And Simon Peter went up to the
land full of great fishes, 153, and they were so many, yet the
net was not broken. Then look what our Lord said,
come and dine. Come and dine, the master called
it, come and dine. He will feed the hungry now all
the time. He who turned the water into
wine, now he tells you, come and dine. Come and dine, the
Master calleth. Come and dine. We sang that at
home all the time. Come and dine. That's what we
come here for, to dine, didn't we? We got all that food back
there. But this is food here. This is soul food. This is soul
food. We're having soul food right
now. And he takes, look what it says now. Our Lord's gonna
be true to his own character. Like you keep saying all the
time, God's gonna be true to his own character. Look what
he said. Jesus then cometh and he takes the bread and gives
it to him. He don't say, you fellas feed
yourself. He didn't say, get down here and get some bread
and get you some fish. He takes it. He takes it. If he's gonna be responsible
for his shit, he takes the bread and he gives it to them. And
he takes the fish and he gives it to them. He does not leave
us to feed ourselves. He doesn't leave us to fend for
ourselves. I tell you what, if you're gonna
get anything, it's gonna be because he gave it to you. He's gonna give it to you. He
said he gave that, gave it to him. Got the fish, gave it to
him. If we gonna get anything, it's
gotta come out of his hand. Listen, ain't it a wonderful
thing, talking about the hands of Christ. Our Lord said, you
know, I give unto them eternal life and they shall, you know,
they're in my hand and in my Father's hand and no man's able
to take them out. That means we've got a two-fisted
salvation. And people say, well, you can
open it yourself. Well, I'd like to see somebody open God's hand.
Well, you said, I can't even ask you what he's doing. Oh,
my. Here he fed these. You know how
many people Christ's got in his hand right now? They sing that
old song, he holds the whole world in his hands. Well, no,
he created the world, but the only people he's got in his hands
is his own people. Huh? Oh, my. Oh, come and dine. The master
called it, come and dine. They didn't ask, who are you?
They knew it was the Lord. Who else could do this? Who else
could act this way? Who else could feed our, who
else could fill our nets, feed us when we're hungry? And our
Lord has a way of giving where he is made known. The law demands,
Christ gives. Christ gave himself for us. And then let me show you this
and then I'm gonna quit. look down here at verse 20, you
know then, you know, you know the story here about the Lord
telling Simon Peter to feed my sheep, you know, and you love
me. And they got down there and the Lord told him how he was
going to die, and how he would glorify God in his death. And
then, turning about seeth Jesus, seeth the disciple whom Jesus
loved, he was following, they were following Christ, the one
which leaned on his breast at supper." Now this is talking
about the Last Supper, the last time they were together. And
he asked John, he said, now John said, he said, "'Lord, which
is he that betrayed thee?' Remember when they asked that with the
Lord's Supper. And then Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord,
I asked this question, Lord, what shall this man do? He's
interested in what Judas was going to do, what's going to
happen to Judas, who will betray him. Well, look what our Lord
said, Jesus saith unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come,
what in the world is that to you? That's not your business.
It's not your business to worry about Judas and what happened
to him. It's not your business what happened to John or what
happened to anybody else. It's not your business to do that.
He said, follow me. Yeah, just leave everybody else
and follow me. And then with this saying abroad among the
brethren that disciples, that that disciple should not die.
But Jesus said, not unto him he shall not die. But if I will
that he tarry till I come, what's that to thee? Follow me. And
I tell you what, people worry about what somebody else is going
to say, what somebody else is going to do. Follow me. I'll take care of Judas, and
I'll take care of you. All you got to do is follow me.
Follow me. Amen. Amen. Appreciate you. Thank you, Brother Donnie. Oh,
let me turn this thing on. Yeah, you can just hand it right
over to that man there. That nice blue suit. All right, I'm going to have
Brother... Thank you, Brother. I really appreciate that. It's coming
down. Brother Joe's going to come up
and lead us into hymn. This is the time to use the restroom.
If we have to go to a second hymn, we will. No worries. And
then we're going to bring up Brother Larry after. I'll come
and introduce him after that. We're gonna be singing out of
the Blue Hymnal, okay? The Blue Hymnal. I think it's number 488. I will sing of my Redeemer. Yeah,
the Blue Hymnal. 8488 My Redeemer. And if you want to stand, go
ahead and stand. Maybe it's nice to stretch your legs a little
bit. I will sing of my Redeemer and
His wondrous love to me. On the cruel cross He suffered,
from the curse to set me free. Sing, oh sing. In the hand of
my Redeemer, with His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free. I will tell the wondrous story,
how my lost estate to save. In his boundless love and mercy,
he the ransom freely gave. Sing, oh, sing. of my Redeemer. With His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free. I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I'll tell, How the victory He giveth over
sin and death and hell. of my Redeemer, with His blood
He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free. I will sing of my Redeemer, and
His heavenly love to me. He from death to life hath brought
me, Son of God, with Him to be. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free. Thank you so much. We're gonna now bring up Brother
Larry Chris from, Chris, where are you from exactly? Fairmont
Grace Church from Sylacauga, Alabama. So he's come a good
long way, good nine hours, I suppose about there. So come and tell
us what you heard, brother. Come and tell us what the Lord
has laid on your heart, brother. Thank you, Pastor. Thank you.
And thank you, church. You ladies prepared the food,
your generosity. Brother Scott gave his home to
Robin and I. He's not even there. And we've
stayed, been just very comfortable. Everything's just been outstanding.
And I thank you. I appreciate it very much. Will
you turn with me back to Hebrews? Today, we'd like to look at a
few verses in Hebrews chapter 11. Let me turn this on. I was preaching one time in Cherokee,
North Carolina, where Brother Tim James pastored, and first
time I used one of these things. His brother told me, I asked,
now, what is this? And he said, if you go too long,
we'll zap you. Don't want that. Hebrews chapter 11, we'll read
verse one in just a moment. There in verse one, we're given
a definition of what genuine faith is, and I stress genuine.
There is a dead faith the Bible speaks of. We'll read verse one
in just a moment. The faith of devils. Those are
not my terms. That's Bible language. That's
what the scripture says. James, in his epistle in chapter
two, wrote this. James two, verse 14. He asked,
what doth it profit my brethren Though a man say he hath faith,
and have not works, can faith save him? Can such faith as that,
is what James was asking, can such faith save him? Then again,
in verse 20 of the same chapter, chapter two, he asks, but wilt
thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Again, verse 26, for as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. And there are multitudes, this
morning, multitudes, all around us, every place, from shining
sea to shining sea, worldwide, there are multitudes who profess
faith such as that. A dead faith. That's just a fact.
I take no delight in saying it. It's just so. A faith without
works. An historical faith. Just an
historical faith. A mere profession of faith. It
doesn't take grace to make a profession of faith. It doesn't take regeneration,
a miracle of grace, to make a profession of faith. People do it all the
time. It lies only in words. Only words. There are no works, no fruit
to show the truth, the genuineness of that profession. The tree
shows that it's alive by the fruit that it bears. At the parsonage
before the flood, when we still lived there, there was a fig
tree just outside the fence but on our property. And I watched
every year for those figs to ripen. It wasn't the figs that made
the tree alive, The figs were evidence that the tree was already
alive. Even so, faith, James tells us,
without works. is dead, dead. He's not contradicting
Paul. Paul said, by grace are you saved
through faith. That is very true. But James
tells us, the faith that saves is never alone. It always has
the evidence of works, the fruit of good works. Paul put it this
way, and I like this, don't you? In 2 Corinthians chapter five,
verse 17, Paul said, therefore, therefore, if any man, not most
men, not some men, not, without a single exception, Paul says,
God's work is as effectual, his work in us is as effectual as
his work for us. God's grace is effectual. Therefore,
Paul said, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creature. He's
not what he used to be. He'll never be what he used to
be. That's what old Newton said, didn't he? Oh, I'm not what I
once was. I'm not what I once was. If any
man's in Christ Jesus, he's a new creature. Old things are passed
away. Behold, all things become new. A new and living way is opened
up by the blood of Jesus Christ into the holiest of all, into
the very presence of God. He puts new songs in our mouths,
praises to our God. New heavens and a new earth are
now our hope. That's what we expect as being
new creatures. In that place where God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain, for the former things are all passed away. You remember
moms when your children were young And they would be crying,
and you'd say, what are you crying for? You got nothing to cry about.
Well, in heaven, we're going to have nothing to cry about.
No reason to cry. New creations looking for new
heavens and a new earth, looking for that one. That one who sits
upon the throne, Darvin, you read it last night. John was
caught up to heaven and he saw one throne and he saw only one
sitting upon that throne, none other than King Jesus. And he
said, behold, I make all things new. He said, you can write this
down, John, write this down, because these words are true
and faithful. There is no question, therefore,
that whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved,
and it will be with an everlasting salvation. The faith of God's
elect is a gift once given that he will never take back. He will
never quit believing. Donny Bell, if I have genuine
faith, If God's given me the gift, the precious gift of faith,
I can't stop believing. If I could, I would. But thank
God, I can't. By grace are you saved through
faith. And it is that faith, that faith,
not a dead faith, a living faith, that justifies and gives us peace
with God. Therefore, Paul wrote in Romans
5 and 1, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God. What's that worth? You can't
put a price on that. Peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. The faith of a child of God is
asked by the son of God as he asked Peter, who do you say that
I am? Let's forget about what the rumor
is, what other people are saying. Let's bring it on down home.
Let's get down here where the rubber meets the road. Who am
I to you, Walter Whitehead? Who am I to you? Don't give me
a second-hand opinion. You, tell me. To you, who am
I? And the true child of God, just
as Peter did, every child of God will answer, you're the Christ. It doesn't matter to me what
the others are saying. It doesn't matter what their
opinion is. It has no effect on me whatsoever. It has no weight
with me. I know who you are. You're the Christ. You're the
Messiah. You're the one the Old Testament
prophets talked about, foretold that should come. You're the
Christ. You're the son of the living God. Wow. Wow. Oh, bless the Darthal. Darwin
Pruitt, you're smarter than other people. You figured this out,
Darwin. Oh, no. Bless the Darthal. My heavenly father's done something
for you that he's not done for everybody. Like Donnie preached
a moment ago and last night, Christ revealed to you or my
father has revealed to you who I am. He's giving you a revelation
of the son of God. Ooh, you're a blessed man. Be
a happy man. That's one definition of the
word blessed, isn't it? Happy, happy. The faith of a
child of God. is the object of that faith rather,
the gift of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I want, don't
you? Oh, God saved me from the faith,
such a faith, dead faith, a faith that cannot save that James talked
about. God give me this faith. Verse
one here in Hebrews 11. Now faith, faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. There's the
definition of faith. And through the rest of that
chapter, through the rest of that chapter in Hebrews 11, we're
given example after example, demonstration after demonstration
of that very thing. Men and women who proved the
reality of their faith by their living, their acting, and obeying
God, when those things they longed for, that God had promised, were
yet unseen. were yet unfulfilled, they believed
God. They believed God. I want to
look at just one example of that, and we won't be long. Look, if
you will, here in Hebrews 11, beginning at verse 24. Moses,
Moses. There's one example of what we
just read in verse one of the chapter. By faith Moses, when
he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. for a season, oh, and how brief,
how short that season is, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect unto
the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt. not
fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured, as seeing him
who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover,
and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn
should touch them. By faith they passed through
the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do,
were drowned." The greater riches of Jesus Christ. Oh, what can
you compare that to? the greater riches of Jesus Christ. We read there in verse 26 that
he esteemed those greater, the reproach of Christ's greater
riches than all the treasures that Pharaoh could offer. When
Moses was 40 years old, he looked out on all those treasures in
Egypt, treasures that he himself would probably inherit. And he
said, no, I don't want them. I'm leaving all this to follow
Jesus Christ, reproaching all. I'm turning my back on all of
it. Wow. Wow. What in the world is Moses
thinking? Was it temporary insanity? What
was wrong with him? Why would he do such a thing? The same reason every child of
God does such a thing. He looks to Jesus Christ. He looks at what that one who's
waiting for him at the finish line. When this race is over,
he's gonna fall into the arms of Jesus Christ and they shall
see his face. Donnie, you're not much to look
at. I'm going to explain that. He insulted me this morning,
so I'm just getting back at him. Told Robin, oh, I'm glad you
got him that suit. Comment on my suit. I said, my
wife bought it. She's trying to class me up.
He said, if anybody needs it, you do. And he's right. Oh, but what will it be? Donnie,
what will it be? What will it be? When we step
into glory, we close our eyes to this world and everything
in it. And we open them. And the next
thing we're looking at is the face of Jesus Christ. That's what Moses esteemed greater
riches than anything that Egypt had to offer. He had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. The Greek reading is this, turning
his eyes away from every other consideration, he fixed them
on the eternal recompense. of being with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Moses looked away from all those things seen with the
natural eye, and by faith looked beyond to that treasure laid
up in heaven. It said he counted the pleasure
of seeing for a season not worthy to be compared with the everlasting
and uninterrupted everlasting joy of heaven. That's why he
left Egypt. Egypt, as you know, represents
the world. Canaan, that land that promised
is a type of heaven. Any hardship, any reproach, anything
he would endure in the journey would be more than recompense
when he entered that city whose builder and maker is God. everlasting glory. The glory
of Egypt cannot compare to that better country, that heavenly,
where for God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He
hath prepared for them a city. In my Father's house are many
mansions." I'm telling you the truth Christ said. Don't be troubled. Don't let your heart be troubled.
In my father's house are many mansions. I'm going to go prepare
a place for you. It's for you that I'm doing that.
And I'll come back and receive you to myself that where I am,
you may be also. I've heard preachers over the
years, you know, they're giving their author a call. Never dawns
on there no such thing in scripture. Oh, oh, there's a mansion up
there in glory. and it's gonna be empty. I mean,
there's empty mansions in glory. If you don't come, if you don't
make your decision, there'll be an empty mansion in glory.
Poppycock, hogwash, there is no such thing. No, all the mansions
in glory will be occupied by God's elect. All the sheep will
be with the shepherd. The Glorious Bride will be with
her Glorious Bridegroom forever. There's gonna be no empty mansions,
no harps with cobwebs on them. No, no, no. Christ said, Father,
I will also. In that high, priestly prayer,
Father, the best for last, so to speak. Father, in his last
will and testament, Father, I will also, that all those you've given
me, All those you put into my hands before we ever created
the heaven and the earth, you entrusted into my hands. I'm
the surety for them. I became responsible for them.
I accepted that. And I promised you when you put
them into my hands, that I would bring them all back to you without
a spot or a wrinkle or any such thing. Now, Father, I will also
that all those you've given me be with me where I am, that they
might behold my glory. Oh, hallelujah. I saw two men
one time almost come to blows trying to convince each other
who was the most spiritual. You know what they were arguing
about? One said that the streets were gold were just gold-plated.
The other one said, oh, they're, I believe it from cover to cover,
they're gold through and through, and it's just about come to blow. My soul, brothers and sisters,
If it's a red dog road like I lived on up there in West Virginia,
it won't make a lick of difference. Jesus Christ is that thing. The
heaven in heaven is where he is. That's what Moses looked
to. That's what every child of God
looks to, that better country. No wonder Paul said, I reckon.
I like Paul's arithmetic. I reckon that the sufferings
of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed in us." Old John Newton wrote
so many hymns, didn't he? I suppose the best one, the most
famous one is Amazing Grace, of course, but he wrote these
words. He said, when the weary traveler gains the height of
some commanding hill, his heart revives it o'er the plains, he
sees his home, though distant still. Thus when the Christian
pilgrim views, by faith his mansion in the skies, the sight his feigning
strength renews, and weans his speed to reach the prize. the
thought of heaven his spirit cheers, no more he grieves for
troubles past, nor any future trial he fears, so he may safe
arrive at last. Jesus, on thee our hopes we stay,
to lead us on to thine abode, assured thy love will far repay
the hardest labor while on the road. Oh my soul, For since the
beginning of the world, the prophet said, men have not heard nor
perceived by the ear, neither have the eyes seen, oh God, beside
thee what he had prepared for them that waited for him. Here's the second thing. Moses
refused to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter. You know why? Because
he was a son of God. He was a son of God. Pharaoh's
daughter, it seems, had adopted Moses into the family. He probably would have succeeded
Pharaoh to the throne, but Moses had much more of a royal family
to which he belonged. He was a child of the king. He
refused to be a child of any earthly king because he was a
child of the king of kings and lord of lords. Can't you just
see Moses? as he turned his back and walked out of Pharaoh's palace
saying, I'm a child of the king, a child of the king, oh, glory
to God. You can have it, Pharaoh. I'm
a child of the king. He refused to wear a crown below
because he was looking forward to this, a crown laid up in glory. Paul said, henceforth there is
laid up for me a crown of righteousness. which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day. Oh, Paul, because you had
reached some plateau that the rest of us can't attain to, oh
no, Paul went on to say, and not only me, not just me, but
unto all them also that love his appearing. Mm. My father, the hymn writer said,
is rich in houses and land. He holdeth the wealth of the
world in his hands. Of rubies and diamonds, of silver
and gold, his coffers are full. He has riches untold. I once
was an outcast, strange on earth. A sinner by choice, an alien
by birth. But I've been adopted. My name's
written down, an heir of a mansion, a robe, and a crown. The spirit
itself bear witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God. And if children, then heirs of
God. And joint heirs with Jesus Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may also be glorified together. Peter said, you're
a chosen generation. Oh, children of God. Listen to
this, you're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. How
does being a son of any earthly man, whether his name be Rockefeller
or any other, compared to being a child, a son of God? John said, behold, look at this. Don't rush by. Take a time out. Find a quiet place. Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. Right now. And it doth not yet
appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him. But we shall see him as he is."
Oh, that should put joy in our hearts and a song in our mouth,
should it not? The Psalm of Psalm 149, verse
1, praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song.
and his praise in the congregation of the saints. Let Israel rejoice
in him that made him. Let the children of Zion be joyful
in their king. I seem more prone to make complaints
than to make a new song. Let him praise his name in the
dance. Let him sing praises unto him
with the temporal and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure
in his people." Huh. Did I read that right? For the
Lord taketh pleasure in his people. He will beautify the meek with
salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their
beds. Oh, how comforting, how sweet,
how peaceful it is to lie down at night, perhaps with a body
full of pain, a mind full of confusion. But yet to lay down
at night, oh, how comforting. To lie down on your bed at night
and to know, to know I am his and he is mine. There's nothing
can change that. There's nothing, nothing in time. in my past, in my future. I didn't put myself in Christ
and I can't take myself out of Christ. That's God's work. That's
God's doing. And to lay down at night and
know I am his and he is mine. Oh, love with an everlasting
love. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Here's the last
thing. Christ's greater riches. They
can't be esteemed too high, can they? You say, compared to what,
Larry? You fill in the blank. Compared
to anything you want to. Because they, like Christ himself,
are priceless. There can be nothing to compare
to the riches of his grace. Mercy, salvation. Jesus Christ
is that pearl of great price. This is that treasure that never
loses its value. Riches, the stock market can't
touch it. The riches once obtained can
never be lost or stolen. The rich fool, our Lord spoke
about, spent his whole life laying up treasure for himself. It's
all about me. Have we ever lived? I suppose
it's always been this way, but it seems like, have we ever lived
in a generation that is so much me, me, it's all about me. Selfies, selfies, let's take
a selfie. The rich fool, it was all about
himself. All about himself, he'd spend
his whole life, he laid down one night and said, you know
what, this is what I'm gonna do. I've got so much, my barns
are bursting at the seams. I'm gonna have to tear them down,
I'm gonna have to build bigger barns, and then I'm just gonna
take my, I'm gonna retire. And say, eat, drink, and be merry,
cause you've got all this laid up. And Jesus Christ said, but
God. But God. Yes, God does that. God does this. But God said,
you are a fool. Tonight, I demand your soul of
you, then who's all these things gonna belong to? He had more than enough of earthly
treasure, but the Lord Jesus Christ said he didn't have this
heavenly treasure. He wasn't rich toward God. Do you imagine as they stood
around that rich man, that rich fool, our Lord called him, God
called him, as they stood around his grave, did someone say, well,
I wonder how much he left behind? He left it all behind. He left
it all behind, didn't he? When he was called out to stand
before God, he stood there in absolute poverty. He wasn't clothed
in the best robe of the righteousness of Christ. He stood there naked
before God. He stood there without a mediator
between his guilty soul and a holy God. My soul, what a horrible
thought. But it's a reality. Like those
our Lord spoke of in Matthew 7. Oh, Lord, you know us, you
know us. We've done all these things and
we did it in your name. And he said, I never knew you.
They didn't have a mediator between themselves and a holy God. And the only thing the holy Lord
God would do is say, depart from me, I never, no mediator, not
Mary. Not the priest, not the preacher.
The only mediator between a holy God and a sinful man is the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know how he mediates. God
hears him. God accepts us because of his
son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ's sake. Oh, but godliness,
Paul wrote, with contentment is such great gain. Because we
brought nothing into this world, and it's certain we can't take
anything out. Having food and raiment, let us be there with
content. How delightful to be content
with God's good providence. When Brother Don was not too
Brother Don Fortner, I sat under him for 20 years before I went
to Alabama. One Christmas, not long before
he died, his last Christmas, he was spending in the hospital
in Cleveland. And I called him on Christmas
Day, and I said, Don, I'm sorry that you had to spend Christmas
there. He could hardly breathe. And I said, Don, I can tell you're
having a tough time talking. He said, oh, Larry, I've always
got time to talk to you. And he knew it was just going to be
a little while. I said, I'm sure going to miss you, Don. He said,
Larry, you listen to me. Don't you feel sorry for me?
He said, God's been good to me. Nothing but good. And he said,
Larry, if anybody asks you, you tell them. You tell them. There's
nothing better. than leaving this world to stand
before God, knowing that I'm in his son. I'm wrapped in the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's rich. That's rich,
isn't it? Rich in grace and mercy. Oh, how delightful that is. Assured
that the Lord is my shepherd. If the Lord is my shepherd, this
is the natural consequence of that. I shall not want. I shall
not, how can I lack with such a shepherd as that? In him I'm
complete. The birds without garner or storehouse
are fed. From them let us learn to trust
God for our bread. His saints, what is fitting,
shall never be denied. As long as it's written, the
Lord will provide. Week before last, I think it
was, every time I watched even local news and the national news,
They talked about the lottery. Getting bigger and bigger, and
it's a billion dollars. You talk about zeros, how many
zeros is that? It's a bunch. And they interviewed
people. They don't have it in Alabama,
one of the few states, I think, that don't. So people would drive
to Georgia or Florida to buy lottery tickets. And the news
people were there, reporters, and they would interview them.
Oh, what are you going to do? Oh, I might win. Oh, what? Oh, I just dream about winning.
Oh, what I would do with all that money? I'd buy this, and
I would buy that. If I could just win that, a child
of God. already possesses more than this
world can ever give. And it's not a dream. Walter,
I'm not imagining this. It's not a dream. It's not a
fable. This is a blessed reality. Jesus
Christ wants this sinner with him in glory. Father, I want
Larry with me because he's one of those you put in my hands.
He's one of those I live for, one of those I died for. I paid
the penalty for him on the cross. I put away all his sins and I
want him with me in glory. Wow, that's not a fable, that's
reality. Child of God, what's that worth?
I wonder when Moses stood on the other side of the Red Sea
and looked back and saw Pharaoh and his mighty arm and his chariots
and his horsemen floating on the Red Sea. How much were the riches of Egypt
worth then? So much for the treasure of Egypt. But, we read there in Exodus
14, and I'll wrap this up, but the children of Israel God said,
I'm putting a difference between them and the Egyptians. People
say, oh, that's not fair. That's not fair. Oh, I can't
stand that. Oh, I can. I like it. God said, I have mercy. On whom I have mercy? I'm thankful
he's having mercy. He's having mercy. But the children
of Israel walked upon the dry land in the midst of the sea,
and the waters were a wall unto them on the right and on the
left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
that the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord
and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. They stood in
holy wonder. What is a God like our God? And Moses said, you know what?
This deserves a song. Let's sing a song. In Exodus
15, they sing a song. Who is a God like our God? Glorious in holiness, fearful
in praises, doing wonders. Oh, the wonder of His grace.
The wonder that He would have mercy upon a sinner like you
and I. Oh, my soul, can you imagine
the esteem that Moses has now as he beholds the king in his
glory. As soon as every believer make
their exodus, their departure from this world, and like Moses,
so shall we ever be with the Lord Jesus Christ. What riches,
what a treasure. God bless each of you. I thank
you for your labor, your generosity. It's been a delight. I know I
speak on behalf of these other two pastors. Thank you. It's been a privilege. You thank
us. I thank you. It's been a privilege
to be with you. Thank you for inviting me, Pastor.
God bless you. I do count myself a happy man,
a blessed man. I'm thankful for the Lord's blessing. As he says there in the end of
Psalm 3, 8, when he says, thy people are blessed, or thy blessing
is upon thy people. And truly his blessing is upon
each of us that he's gathered here this morning. And what a
blessing that is. I'm so thankful. For you, Brother
Larry, come in. For you, Brother Donnie, come
in. And for you, Brother Darwin, come and be sure and say hi to
these men. And we are thankful. And I know
on behalf of each of the members here and those present here,
we are thankful. Thankful for your labor and for
coming here to preach to us. And I was thinking about that,
too. As Paul said there, he said, I run not as one uncertainly
or not with uncertainty. Not uncertainly. We know the
prize is Christ. And he's obtained it already
for us and given it to us. And so how wonderful that is. After we have a final hymn, We
do have deli meat that we're going to set out afterwards,
and then you'll be able to help yourselves. There's plenty of
it. There's roast beef, there's ham, there's turkey, and two
kinds of salami, a hard and a Genoa. And there are several soups.
There's bread, there's some sourdough bread as well. There's several
good soups up there. And help yourselves, and I think
there will be extras for you hitting the road. you'll be able
to make an extra sandwich or two and put it in a baggie and
you can hit the road with it if you like it. So feel free,
feel free. I'm gonna say a prayer now and
then brother Joe will come and sing that final hymn and then
you're dismissed. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
father for your grace and mercy. We thank you Lord for Blessing us so richly with your
word To preach to send these men to preach and to declare
That which they have heard from you and bring forth to us to
defeat us Lord we are truly comforted and Thankful for the peace that
we have in your son Lord we ask that you would Bless these words
to our hearts. Bless us, Lord. Help us to hear
them. Help us to remember them, to think on what we've heard
concerning your son. And Lord, make us to know our
need and make us to know the sufficiency that you've provided
freely, abundantly in your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you would Bless and protect these brethren
who have traveled here and come to hear this word that you would
bring them home safely to their families, help them with the
things that they need to do when they get back there. But Lord,
let this word never depart from us. And we're thankful for that
blessing and that hope that you've given to us in the Lord Jesus
Christ, because in him we know it is firm and fixed. Lord, thank
you. It's in Christ's name we pray
and give thanks. Amen. All right, brother. Even the people online, thank
you. Even they say thank you. We're going to sing out
of the Blue Hymnal again. And people, just all stand, OK,
if that's all right. We're going to sing 514. We're
marching to Zion. 514. 514, we're marching to Zion. We that love the Lord And let
our joys be known Join in a song with sweet accord Join in a song
with sweet accord And thus surround the throne And thus surround
the throne We're marching to Zion, the beautiful, beautiful
Zion. We're marching upward to Zion,
the beautiful city of God. But those refuse to sing, who
never knew our God, But children of the Heavenly King, But children
of the Heavenly King, May speak their joys abroad, May speak
their joys abroad. We're marching to Zion, beautiful,
beautiful Zion. We're marching upward to Zion,
the beautiful city of God. The hill of Zion yields a thousand
sacred streets Before we reach the heavenly fields Before we
reach the heavenly fields Or walk the golden streets Or walk
the golden streets We're marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful
Zion. We're marching upward to Zion,
the beautiful city of God. And let our songs abound And
every tear be dried We're marching through Emmanuel's ground We're
marching through Emmanuel's ground To fairer worlds on high To fairer
worlds on high We're marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful
Zion. We're marching upward to Zion,
the beautiful city of God. Thank you.