All right, so our next speaker
is gonna be Brother Larry Criss. And the last time I got to, well,
it was at Darwin's place when I last saw you, but in relation
to the story I told you about Brother Don and the work that
he was doing when I was there in Sylacauga helping Brother
Larry, I was blessed just to see a brother who was humbled
by the love of his brethren coming to to help him and Robin and
you and I could tell there wasn't any entitlement, but a thankful
heart for brethren to come in and give their time to help them. And so that's a blessing. And I'm thankful to have Larry
here. He's from Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, Alabama
with his wife, Robin. And we're thankful to have you
here and brother come and preach the gospel to us. Good evening. It's a delight
to be with you. I appreciate your, Pastor, inviting
me to your first conference. It's an honor to be here. I was
here the first time, the last time, five years ago. in 2017, before you'd even asked
Eric to come be your pastor. And I'm just so thankful that
the Lord has brought you together. It's a delight to be here. And
thank you. Brother Eric mentioned the work
that various churches came together to help us when we were flooded
at the Parsonage. This man, Mr. Pruitt, kind of,
I think, ramrodded all that behind the scenes. Folks were commenting
and sending me emails and texts asking what we need before we
even had an opportunity to determine what we needed. But it was just
so delightful. We had four fellows there from
Kingsport, the first group, Brother Gabe Stoniker's men. And then
on Monday, I think, we had 13 different men there all at the
same time. It was a sight. How pleasant
it is. to behold brethren dwelling together
in unity. It was just a delight. And the
work that was done in just a matter of a couple of days was just
astounding. And we appreciate it. Okay, let
me turn on this thing. Yeah, you got it. It's actually on. I don't need
to turn it on? No, because you turned it on
at some point in the past. I'm better than I thought I was.
All right. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter two. Hebrews chapter 2. Let's just read the first four
verses in Hebrews chapter 2. Therefore, that goes back to
chapter 1, in light of what we read there, in light of the fact
that God now speaks to us by His Son. This is my beloved Son.
in whom I'm well pleased, hear ye him. Therefore, in light of
that, considering that one who's doing the speaking, we ought
to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard,
lest at any time we should let them slip, let them drift away. Or if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense or reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God also
bearing the witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. Our text shall be from verse
three, this question, a portion of the question, how shall we
escape If we neglect, so great salvation. First of all, consider
a great salvation needed. A great salvation needed, considering,
as we've heard already, considering the state of what we are by nature. Not what we do, but what we are. Could anything less than a great
salvation do us any good? Brother, could anything less
than the great salvation do anything to rescue sinners? Old Scott
Richardson, Brother Donnie and I talked about Brother Scott
before service, the first service this afternoon, and some of the
things we remember about Scott, some of the things he often said.
But I remember hearing him, and I know these brethren have too,
say more than once, I have good news for sinners. The gospel. Glad tidings, good news. I have
good news for sinners if I could only find one. Oh, they're rare,
aren't they? I mean, ask yourself in your
own experience, when's the last time you talked to a needy, hungry,
thirsty sinner? When's the last time you talked
to anybody like that publican our Lord spoke about in Luke? Like that poor man spiting up
on his breast and confessing, I'm the sinner. There's not another
sinner like me. I'm the worst one in the world.
When's the last time you talked to someone like that? Oh, as
Brother Scott said, they're rare. Everybody claims to be saved. But everyone you talk to, and
that includes friends and family and relations, they say they
know the Lord. They've made a decision. And
by the way, all these things are unscriptural terms. The Bible
knows nothing of this. This is religious jargon. But
I've made a decision. I'll walk to now. Well, I do
declare. I said the sinner's prayer. I
love what old Joseph Hart said. He wrote many hymns, and he lived
a few hundred years ago, but I've not found anything that
expresses it any better than he did. And again, this too is
a question. What comfort can a Savior bring
to those who've never felt their woe? To those who've never felt
their woe. And the answer is, God doesn't
give comfort to any who've never felt their woe. He never does. Now, I know that religion does,
and preachers do, but God never has. Listen to these words of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's speaking to the scribes
and Pharisees, and they murmured one time. They saw him associating,
mingling with publicans and sinners. Oh, aren't you glad he did? And
they looked down their self-righteous nose and asked his disciples,
why does your master mingle associate with publicans and sinners. We
would never do such a thing. Oh, no, no, we're too holy. We
would never do that. And our Lord's answer was this.
They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are
sick. I came not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance. Most folks, like these Pharisees
and scribes that our Lord spoke to, think they're fine. They're good enough. They've
never felt their need of salvation. They've never felt their need
of grace that brings salvation. Old Horton went on to write,
a sinner is a sacred thing. A sinner is a, I mean a real
sinner, is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so. I used to think that I could
make someone realize that they're a sinner. Can't do it. Can't do it. Couldn't make myself
feel that I was the sinner. Oh no, for generations now, generations,
the religion that makes man to be his own savior has been telling
sinners how easy it is. Tomorrow, tomorrow, most of the,
all of the churches, and I know this sounds bold, and we'll be
accused of being thinking we're some sort of special elite, but
the truth is, I'm sure it's as true here as it is where I live,
where Darwin lives, where Donnie lives. Most of the churches in
this area will stand and tell men how easy it is to be saved. It's easy, Eric. I mean, it's
like falling off a log. It's easy as A-B-C. All you need do is come up here
and say the sinner's prayer, and if you don't know what that
is, I'll put the words in your mouth. Just repeat after me.
There's really nothing to it. And we're told boldly, boldly,
never realizing how dishonoring this is to God. It's all up to
you. It's all up to you. God's done
all he can do. It's all up to you. I sure hope
not. I sure hope not, and I thank
God that it's not so. And the result of that is this.
We have multitudes of people who have no inkling as to what
God's great salvation is and why it's needed. They're clueless. Clueless. My dear friend over
here, Brother Donnie Bell, many years ago, I was listening to
him preach, and he was talking about folks who aren't aware
of their need. And he said, you preach the gospel
to them or witness to them of God's sovereign mercy and grace
in Christ Jesus. And they look at you. I've never
had heard this expression before, Brian. You're grinning. I think
you know where I'm going. Donnie said, it's like they look
at you like a calf looking at a new gate. But clueless, clueless. And it's sad, isn't it? It's
sad. This is what Martin Luther said. If you see yourself as
a little sinner, you'll see Jesus Christ as a little Savior. And
that's just exactly so, isn't it? That's exactly right. When,
and this has been referred to already as well, when you Third
in line in preaching, most of what you were going to say has
already been said. But it's OK to repeat. Concerning
that vision that Ezekiel had of those dead, dry bones, God
took him to the valley. And he said, oh, there were very
many. And they were very dry, very dry. Ezekiel, can these
bones live? And religion today says, yes,
that's not a problem. It's easy. Really, the Lord Jesus
Christ didn't say so, did he? When he was asked by his disciples,
and I mean, how plain could language be? When they watched that rich
young ruler who refused to bow to Jesus Christ, The Lord said,
well, he didn't say, this is not a problem. If you won't bow
to me as your Lord, just accept me as your Savior. You'll lose
a little bit of reward and you'll be a carnal Christian, but everything
will be okay in the sweet by and by. That's not what he said,
did he? As he walked away, the Lord would
not give that sinner at Rebel any hope whatsoever, would not
give him a thought. He wouldn't dishonor his God
that way. And that young man refused to
bow, and our Lord sent him away sorrowful. This whole, it would
be so easy to digress, this whole idea of carnal Christians, what
a bunch of garbage. That's just an excuse for a bunch
of rebels. But anyway, as they watched that
young man walk away and heard what our Lord said about the
difficulty of a man, the impossibility of a rich man entering into heaven,
the disciples said, whoa, whoa, did we hear you right? I mean,
they stood by and they saw this young man come and bow before
the Lord Jesus. He sought him out and said, Lord,
what must I do? That's more than most would do.
The Pharisees wouldn't do it. And they were impressed. But
our Lord sent him away sorrowful. And as they watched him walk
away and heard what our Lord said, they said, well, then who
can be saved? Who can be saved? Who can be
saved, Joe? Well, I'll tell you what, if
it's up to you, And if it's up to me, nobody's gonna be saved. Nobody's gonna be saved. Oh,
and our Lord said that's exactly what His answer was. With men,
this is impossible. Not that it's hard, not that
it's tough, it's impossible. No creature, no man or woman,
can work the change that's necessary for the salvation of their soul.
No one can give themselves a new heart. No one can raise themselves
from the dead. Salvation, the Bible describes
as being a creation, a resurrection. And with man, that's just impossible.
Philosophy won't do it. Human merit won't do it. Politics
won't do it. Man-made religion won't do it.
Man's will or man's worth or man's work won't do it, aren't
you thankful that our Lord didn't stop there? But, there's one
of those blessed buts, Darwin. But, with God, with God, all
things are possible. The Psalm of Psalm 37. Psalm
37 and 39. But, there's another one. But
the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. He is their strength
in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them
and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them because they trust in Him. Behold, God
is my salvation." That's what Simeon said, didn't he? In the
temple. And he wasn't looking at the
sacrifices. He wasn't looking at the furniture.
He was looking at a person, like Darwin told us. He was looking
at the Lord Jesus Christ and said, I've got nothing else to
live for. These old eyes are never going to see anything comparable
to this. Lord, just let me die. Take me
home right now because I've seen your salvation." And he was looking
at the living, breathing Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, God is my salvation,
David said. I will trust and not be afraid
for the Lord. Jehovah is my strength and my
song. He also has become my salvation.
And it shall be said in that day, lo, he is our God. We have
waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. We will
be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Old Jonah, he learned in the
belly of that great fish. He knew, he knew his will got
him into that mess, but he knew it would take the will of the
omnipotent God to get him out. Is that not so? He learned in
the belly of that whale about the College of Hard Knocks. Somebody
said that whale was Armenian. He was a free will whale because
when old Jonah in his stomach shouted out, salvation is of
the Lord, it just left a sour taste in that whale's belly and
mouth and he just spit him out. That happened to me. That happened
to me. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
not of him that willeth, or of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy." And they spit me out. But that's okay. Here's the answer. Who then can
be saved? Well, I know this. It's not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. It's of God that
showeth mercy. The old hymn writer or poem writer
put it this way. It took a miracle to put the
stars in place. It wasn't the result of a big
bang like all the smart folks tell us. It took a miracle to
put the stars in place. And it took a miracle to hang
the world in space. But when God saved my soul and
cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of God's mighty
love and his amazing grace. Is that not so? Nothing less
than that will do it. The word of God teaches that
our natural state before him is one of spiritual death. We
need a great salvation. Wherefore, Paul wrote in Romans
5, wherefore is by one man sent entered into the world, and death
by sin, so that death passed upon all men, for that all have
sin. Nicodemus, you must be born again. If you're not born again, our
Lord told that Pharisee, if you're not born again, you can't even
see, you can't perceive, you can't comprehend the things of
God. And Nicodemus proved it, didn't
he? That he couldn't comprehend, because the natural man, whether
it's Nicodemus, or my son, or my daughter, the natural man
receiveth not the thing of the Spirit of God, for there is foolishness
unto him, Neither can he know them because they're spiritually
discerned. Life must come first. I must
have life before I can exercise faith. I must have life before
I can repent. Christ must give me life before
I'll even have a will to come to him. Until he comes to me
and gives me life, I'll never be willing. I'll never repent,
I'll never believe until he gives me life. And that faith is the
gift of God as a result of that life that he breathes into the
heart of otherwise dead sinners. That's what the grace of God
does, and that's what Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life
does. You hath he quickened. You hath he quickened, my soul. If he hasn't done it, you're
dead. You had he quickened, made alive who were dead in trespasses
and sins. Yes, with God, salvation is possible,
it's certain, and it's everlasting. And here's the second thought.
Such a great salvation is that. Considering what a work it is,
what a miracle it is, it demands, it requires a great Savior. Who else is gonna do it? Who
else is gonna do it? And there is only one who's mighty
to save. There's only one who's able to
save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, and it's
not Pope, and it's not preacher, and it's not Baptist, and it's
not Calvinism, and it's not Arminianism, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. We
gotta do business with him. We gotta come to, come to me. You want life? Come to me. You
thirsty? Come to me. Do you want to live?
Look to me and live, cause I'm God. And there is none else. There is only one name given
among men by which we must be saved. And there's only one mediator
between God and man. And there's only one door. And
there's only one way. And there's only one savior.
Would you behold him? Oh, Larry, I have. We'll take
another look. The best thing we can do as redeemed, saved,
believing sinners, the best thing we can do after we've beheld
the Lamb of God is just behold the Lamb of God. Just keep beholding,
keep looking unto Jesus. Oh, there is only one great Savior. When the fullness of the time
was come, here He is. Here He is. But when the fullness
of the time was come, oh, this is the end. on which the doors
of eternity revolve. It's eternity past and eternity
to come. Look back to this time. Oh, behold,
God sent forth his son made of the woman made under the law
to take a stab at redeeming them that were under the law. To try
to redeem them that were under the law, offer to redeem them
that were under the law. No, that's the talk of religion.
The book of God says he came to redeem them that were under
the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And thank
God, that's exactly what he did. That's exactly what he did. When
he hung his head upon the cross, no, when he raised his head in
glorious victory and shouted, it is finished, was he lying? Was he lying? Was he telling
a lie? Was he deceiving me when he said that? Oh, no, no, no,
no. He tried the wine press alone. He brought in everlasting righteousness.
He removed the sins of us, his people, in a day. He did it all. He did it all. He said, I looked
and there was none to help. I looked and there was none.
Therefore, my own arm brought salvation unto me. It is finished. And the victory, the glory of
that blessed proclamation still echoes through the halls of eternity.
Thank God it is finished. No wonder. The angel told Mary,
call his name Jesus. He shall be great. That's what we read in Luke chapter
1, I believe it is. He shall be great. His name means the salvation
of the Lord. Jehovah saves. And he lived up
to his name, didn't he? Who else could perform such a
great work but the great God and Savior Jesus Christ? He trod
that winepress. He by himself purged our sins. He obtained eternal redemption
for us. He makes intercession for us.
He shall never allow us to perish. And he will keep us from falling.
And he will present us, think about that, ooh. My soul, that's
a lot for my little, little, the positive gray matter to get
a hold of, but the word of God says he shall present us without
fault before the throne of God. If he doesn't, if he doesn't,
he'll lose his glory and honor. And that can never be. That can
never be. Listen, this is where God looked
for satisfaction. This is where we're to look.
God said, behold, 700 years before Christ came, God said, behold,
my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth,
I put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up.
He shall not fail. Hello. He shall not fail. Donnie Bell, you fail. Darwin
Pruitt, you failed. Eric Lutter, you failed. Oh,
how we failed. Every one of us failed. The son
of God, he's never failed. He's never failed in anything.
He said when he came into this world, I come to do thy will.
Oh, my God. And he did it perpetually. He
did it completely. And he did it perfectly. And
he did not fail in anything. Did he ever fail? Ask that poor
leper. Was the Lord a failure when you
fell before him? You cankerous, diseased, dying
man, you outcast. And you cried, if you will, you
can make me clean. Was the Lord a failure? Was he
able to help you? Oh, let me tell you what he did.
He did what nobody else dared do. He touched me. He reached
out and touched me. And at the very time he was doing
it, he said, I will. Oh, do you hear the bells of
heaven ringing? That poor leopard did. I will. The Lord Jesus Christ sitting
just like that. He was made whole. Bartimaeus,
did he fail in opening your eyes? Oh, no. No, let me tell you what
he did. It was just another humdrum day.
I'm sitting at the gate of Jericho. I'm just waiting for somebody
to come by and just ask for an alms. Help me, could you help
me? I'm just a poor blind beggar, day in and day out. That was
my existence. And one day, one day, I heard
a crowd. It was obvious, it was a crowd.
And I asked, what's going on? Jesus of Nazareth is passing
by. Oh, he'd heard that name. He'd
heard what the Lord had done for other blind people, and he
cried out, oh, Jesus, thou son of death, have mercy on me. I'm not thinking of blind Bartimaeus
right now. I'm thinking of old blind Larry Criss. That's who
I'm seeing right now in my mind's eye, that blind beggar. Oh, to death to God, and I had
nothing to pay. I felt like I was going down
for the last time. I thought I had sinned so long,
for so long, despised God for so long, hated Christ and everything
about Him for so long. When I did cry for mercy, when
He did wake me up, and I began to cry for mercy, I thought,
He won't save me, Donnie Bell. I've just been too wicked, too
wicked. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth, would
you have mercy on me? And he stopped dead in his tracks.
He stopped dead in his tracks and said, come on, bring him
to me. And he threw away his garment.
And he came to the Lord Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Oh no, Jesus never failed. Ask
that multitude before the throne, did Jesus Christ, did his mighty
grace ever fail? Did he ever refuse anyone that
cried for him for mercy? Listen to their answer. Salvation
to our God, as they waved the palm leaf of victory. Clothed
in the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, they
say, salvation to our God, which setteth upon the throne and unto
the Lamb. Oh, bearing shame and scoffing
rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my pardon with
his blood. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Guiltless, guilty rather, guilty,
helpless, lost were we. Blameless lamb of God was he.
Sacrificed to set us free. Hallelujah, what a Savior. He
was lifted up to die. It is finished was his cry. Now
in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah, what a Savior. No wonder the angel told Mary,
he shall be great. Oh, every time he was challenged,
every time his greatness was challenged, he met it head on,
didn't he? That woman at the well, are you greater than our
father Jacob? We can trace our roots back to
Jacob. We don't know who you are, but
we know who we are. Are you greater than he? Are
you greater than our father Jacob? The Lord said, I'll tell you
what. Jacob gave you this well, and you come here, and you drink
as often as you can, drink as deep as you can, drink as much
as you can, but you're going to thirst again. Am I greater
than Jacob? You tell me. I'll give you a
drink, lady, and you're never going to thirst again. Yes, a
greater than Jacob is here. The religious leaders asked him,
are you greater than our father Abraham? Who do you make yourself out
to be? Abraham's dead? You say before Abraham was, you
are? Who do you think you are? You're not yet 50 years old.
Are you greater than our father Abraham? And the Lord said, verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Now try that
on for a second. Take that, Mr. Pharisee. How
you like that? I am. They knew what he meant. I am
the eternal God. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. Yes, a greater than Abraham is
here. Behold, he said in another place.
Behold. Pause. Pause. Get in there. Find you a quiet
place. And behold this. A greater than
Jonah is here. Greater than his person, his
office, His miracles, his life, his obedience, his suffering,
his death, his resurrection from the dead. Jonah at first fled
from what God sent him to do, but not the Lord Jesus Christ.
He didn't flee, did he? He didn't turn back. He gave
his back to the spiders. Jesus, therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth and said, Whom
seek ye? I'm he. Take me. Take me. I am he. But you're going to
have to let my sheep go their way. Take the shepherd, smite
the shepherd. Oh, but the sheep have to go
free. Yes, they're greater than Jonah
is here. And on and on we could go. Behold,
they're greater than Solomon, greater in riches. What would
you rather have, earthly riches? a fat bank account or be rich
in the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Old Solomon was a wise
man, but he could never figure out the answer to this dilemma.
How can a man be just with God? Solomon in all his wisdom couldn't
answer that, but Jesus Christ did. He enabled God to be just
and to justify the ungodly, being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Oh, mercy always
comes on the wings of satisfied justice. People think when God
bestows mercy, he sets aside his justice. Oh, no, no, never
so, never so, no. He's faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins. Last of all, brothers and sisters
in Christ, and the one who is trying to
preach to you right now, feels like he's under more obligation
than anybody else to do this, but to thank God for such a great
salvation. Thank you, Lord, for saving my
soul. He didn't have to do it. Thank
you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to
me thy great salvation so rich and free. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians
5, for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ. And God's appointments are never
frustrated. What a comfort it is to know
that our great salvation by our great Savior is in the hands
of He who is able to save to the uttermost, in the hands of
he who has never failed in doing what he has promised to do and
purposed to do. Oh, how good to hear him declare,
Israel shall be saved, not that nation across the pond, but Israel,
God's true Israel, his people, shall be saved in the Lord with
an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end. Fear not, little flock, the great
shepherd says, yet your father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. God's little flock has his eternal
love encircling them, his everlasting arms underneath them, and a heavenly
inheritance before them, awaiting their arrival. He's made a reservation. Our joint heir, the Lord Jesus
Christ, has a place, an inheritance reserved in heaven for us. Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion
and power, both now and forever. Amen. Several years ago, I was
back home. I was back in Kentucky visiting
my eldest son. Oh, this has probably been 10
years or so ago, the time I'm thinking of. And I was there
with my Two granddaughters watching them. Dad was working. Mom was
working. And it was just a joy to do it.
You know how we just spoil them grandbabies and send them home.
But my youngest one, Allison is her name. Allie, we call her.
She had her phone. Everybody's got a phone nowadays.
And she steps down. And I'm sitting on the couch.
I said, Allie, what are you doing? She said, Pawpaw, I just took
your picture. I said, let me see it. I looked at it. The camera
don't lie. I said, Ali, I think Pawpaw needs
to go on a diet. She said, Pawpaw, what does that
mean? I said, your Pawpaw needs to lose some weight, don't you
think? She said, oh, no, Pawpaw, you're perfect. She's my favorite
one. You're perfect. Brothers and sisters. In the
sight of an omniscient, holy God, being in Christ Jesus, I'm
perfect. I'm perfect. Listen to this. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect. It was perfect
through my comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith the Lord.
Oh, love surpassing knowledge. Oh, grace so full and free. I
know that Jesus loves me, and that's enough for me. Oh, wonderful
salvation from seeing Christ set me free. I feel the sweet
assurance, and that's enough for me. Oh, blood of Christ so
precious poured out at Calvary. I feel its cleansing power, and
that's enough for me. Jesus Christ is all. God bless
you. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. So we're going to have one hymn. We're going to go right into
the next one. I think everyone's Do you need
a minute, brother? No? All right. No, no, no. So I'm going to have Brother
Joe lead us into him, but anyone needs the restroom, now's a good
time to do it, and then we'll come back. But let's stand for
this one. Make sure everyone's awake. Let's
all stand and sing out of your pamphlet. It's Blessed Assurance. 255, Blessed Assurance.