All right, turn with me back
to John 15. I was thinking today about how difficult life is. I was thinking this week of my
calling. I do that all the time. Lord,
what have you called me to do? What am I supposed to do? And
I'm supposed to preach the gospel. And I believe I've been called to be
a nurse. We have a great physician. And I'm not the physician. And
I'm not even the physician's assistant. I'm the nurse. We apply the balm of Gilead.
We wrap the wounds in bandages. And by God's grace and help through
his word, we administer the comfort of
this word to help us through, help us along. The longer that
we live in this life, the more clear it becomes that we're not
going to live forever. You know it? We're not going
to live forever. We don't think about the end.
We don't. But it's coming. It is coming. Life that we live in has an end,
and it's coming. And things happen to us, and
things happen to those that are close to us, and it worries us. It worries our flesh. That reality
sets in just all of a sudden. It causes us to acknowledge eternity. You know what? You live through
this life, and as a child, you know, your parents take care
of everything. And then you become a teenager, and you're invincible. It doesn't matter. You just live
life on the wild side. And then you become an adult,
and you got life ahead of you, life ahead of you. And all of
a sudden, something happens, and it causes you to acknowledge
eternity. And when our Lord allows us to
acknowledge eternity, things become put into perspective. It all starts to become into
perspective. The things of this world start
to lose their luster, don't they? Some of us have experienced some
things in this world. And then some of us have experienced
that they are not what I thought they were. And they've lost their
luster. And the things of Christ, whenever
we acknowledge eternity, the things of Christ start to increase
in value. a lot. It becomes very, very
important to me. This is something I need to know
about. This is something I need to hear
about. I can tell that I have to have
this. And we start to realize what
His Word means to us. It's not just the Bible that
everybody worships. You know, oh, don't mess up the
pages of your Bible. We start to realize the words
in this book mean something to us. And it becomes our lifeline to
our Lord. That's what this is. As we read
this word, we start to realize this is our connection. This
is our lifeline to our Lord. And as he opens up his word to
our hearts, we begin to hear him. He said, my sheep, hear
my voice, but he doesn't speak out loud. Through this word,
we begin to hear him. We hear him tell us the truth,
don't we? Eternity is coming and there
is a truth that has been told. And aren't you so, as difficult
as the reality of truth is, how much do you thank God for showing
you the truth? When men, they just don't have
any idea. We hear him tell us the truth. We hear him tell us his promises,
and we start clinging to those promises. My prayer is that we
might hear him tonight. My prayer is that he is talking.
This is the living word, and he's talking. And I want to hear
him. Verse 6, he tells us the truth. John 15, verse 6, he says, If a man abide not in me, he
is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." There is nothing outside of Christ. There's nothing. There is nothing,
absolutely nothing. This right here, verse 6, is
the end for every soul outside of Christ. Oh, I wish men knew it. I wish
they believed it. I wish they saw the dire need
of Christ and being in Christ because this is the end for every
man and woman outside of Christ. This world is so enticing still
to me it is so enticing and we try so hard to gather it up don't
we? But our Lord said, what shall it profit a man if he shall gain
the whole world and lose his own soul? What does it profit? Verse six, if a man abide not
in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather
them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. Now turn
with me over to Matthew 13. Matthew 13 verse 47. Our Lord in great mercy spoke
the truth. He said again the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered
of every kind. Now everybody wants to know what
heaven is like and God himself said the kingdom of heaven is
like a net that was cast into the
sea and gathered of every kind, which when it was full, they
drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels,
but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of
the world. The angel shall come forth and
sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into
the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. Jesus said unto them, Have you
understood all these things? Have you understood them? If
a man abide not in me. Oh man. What determines the good
from the bad? Because everybody assumes they're
good. What determines the wicked from
the just? Well, our Lord said concerning
every man and woman on earth, there is none good but God. Every man is born into this world
wicked, every single one. So what makes the difference
on whether or not they're spared, they're considered good, or they're
considered just? The answer is, it's whether or
not they're in Christ. That's the answer. Our Lord said,
buy the truth and sell it not. We are always investing. We don't want to rent, we want
to buy a house. We want to invest in it. We don't want to spend
all our paycheck, we want to invest some of it. Buy the truth. Who is that? That's Christ. And
sell it not. The warning has so clearly gone
out. Our Lord has given the warning
to the world, the warning to the world. It's gone out to every
man, every woman. Oh, that they were wise, that
they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.
There's an end to this world. And everything in this world
is going to turn out to be empty. It's all going to turn out to
be empty. I was thinking about a person,
a celebrity yesterday. who has gained so much. And I think she's probably about
80. And I saw where she is continuing to grow and expand and invest
and accumulate and buy. And I thought, what good is it
doing her? You know, she spent her life
and she's done a good job. And then it's all going to be gone. It's
all going to be for nothing. It's all going to turn out to
be empty, just absolutely empty. Nothing in this world matters. Well, I can't go worship God
because whatever's in the blank after that, I can just tell you
it doesn't matter. Nothing in this world is needful. We just
need to be in Christ. That's it. Time is ticking away. It's ticking away. We're not promised tomorrow. That's what this word says. Boast
not thyself of tomorrow. I don't need to be satisfied
over the fact that I was in Christ yesterday. I need to be in Christ
today. A believer knows what that means. I need to be in Him right now.
Go with me over to Psalm 90. Psalm 90 verse 9 says, For all our days are passed away
in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. These days and these years are
just passing by, aren't they? Man, they're just passing by.
My life already feels like a tale that is told. It honestly, I
know that sounds silly to those of you that have lived twice
as long as me, but it already feels like a tale that's told.
I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this, and then
I did this, and now I'm here, and by God's grace, I'm not going
anywhere. This is the last stop on my tail. And it's passing by. It's just passing by. This world
compares life to a flower. This word, this word compares
life to a flower. It springs up and it's immediately
gone. That's what it says. Isaiah said
it withers and it fades. Job said it's cut down. This
word compares our life to a vapor. James said it appears, then it
vanishes away. This word compares our life to
a shadow that passes away. Psalm 90 verse 9, all our days
are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. The days of our years are threescore
years and ten, and if by reason of strength, they be fourscore
years. Yet is their strength labor and
sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth
the power of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Teach us to number
our days. Teach us to acknowledge that's
one more gone, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. What is
wisdom? It's Christ. Lord, teach us to apply our hearts
to Christ. Teach us to apply my soul. I need Christ. I need to be in
Christ. If you have a reference, a marginal
reference next to the word apply, mine says cause to come. Lord, teach us to number our
days and cause our hearts to come to Christ. The time is ticking. It's just ticking. Look at Psalm
39 with me. Psalm 39 verse 4 says, Lord,
make me to know mine end. What is the end of a believer?
Christ is. I want to know my end. That's what I want. I want to
know my end. He is my finish line. He's my
goal. He's my mark. He's the beginning. He's the end. Lord, make me to
know my end. I want to know Christ. That's
what I want to know. Make me to know mine end and
the measure of my days, what it is that I may know how frail
I am. The Lord calls me to know how
frail I am. Why? It's so this heart will start
running to Christ. That's why. Go with me back over
to John 15. Verse 6 says, if a man abide
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered. And
men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. But verse 7 says, if ye abide
in me. If you abide in me. Think about
that for just a second. What does it mean to abide somewhere? What does that mean? To abide
somewhere. We all abide somewhere. We call it our home. Somebody
might ask you, where do you live? And then you give them your address. That's my home. That's where
I abide. Well, what do you do in your
home? What do you have in your home? Well, over there on Wildwood,
I have all my clothes over there. I keep all my clothes there.
It's where I get dressed. I walk out of that house fully
clothed. Over there on Wildwood, it's
where we keep all our food. It's where I eat. I come home,
it's where I'm fed. My bed is in that house. End
of the day, it's where I rest. It's where I get hopefully eight
hours of peace and quiet. Rest. My family is in that house. My love is in that house. My
heart is in that house. My life is in that house. My life is in that house. What does it mean to abide in
Christ? It means he is where I go for
all my clothing. I'm robed in his righteousness.
That's what it is to abide in Christ. It means he clothes me. It means He is where I go for
all my food. If I'm not in Christ, I'm not
going to be fed. I'm going to be starving. He is my heavenly bread. He's
my living water. I feed on Him. I delight myself
in fatness. My cup runs over in Christ. What does it mean to abide in
Christ? It means He is where I go for all my rest. And I told you that things come
along that cause us, they happen to us, they happen to our loved
ones, and they cause us to acknowledge eternity. And I can just tell
you, knowing that physical death is coming gives no comfort. Either you're gonna get sick
and die, Or God's going to make you well and then you're going
to die. And there's no comfort there. But if you go to Christ,
you'll lay down and rest. You'll have some peace. You'll
have some quiet. And he's where we go for all
of our rest. We leave work, the work of this
world and the toil of this world and the suffering and the pain.
And at the end of the day, We go to Him. He's where I abide. We go back to Him. Same place?
Same place. It's where I abide. What does
it mean to abide in Christ? It means He is my family. He's my family. He is my Father. He is. He's my Father. He is my brother. He is my husband. He's my friend. My heart is in Christ and my
love is in Christ. My life, all of my life is in
Christ. Verse 7, he said, If you abide
in me, if you live in me and my words abide in you, He talks
with us. You know that? His word. We'll need something and then
a scripture comes to mind and he has just spoken to us. His
word wells up within us. If you abide in me and my words
abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done
unto you. It shall be. It's all right. It shall be. You can ask what
you will. What do sinners who live in Christ
ask for? New cars? Nope. Lots of money? Nope. They say, Lord, teach me
to number my days. that I might apply my heart to
wisdom. Lord, cause me to know my end. That's what they say.
I'll show you exactly what a sinner who is in Christ will ask for. Turn with me to Psalm 51. Psalm 51 verse 1 says, Have mercy
upon me, O God. According to thy loving kindness,
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgressions. If I never get another car in
my life, if I never eat another meal in my life, have mercy on
me, O God. Sinners who abide in Christ beg
for mercy because they know their end. They know their end. Verse 2 says, Wash me throughly
from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Sinners who abide
in Christ continually ask Him, Lord, would you make this filthy
sinner clean? I want to be clean. I am putrefying sores from the
crown of my head to the sole of my foot. I need to be clean. Look at verse 7. Purge me with
hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. Sinners who abide in Christ continually
ask, Lord, cover me in your blood. Hyssop is what they use to dip
in that blood and sprinkle it on the doorpost and sprinkle
it on the lamb and cover me in your blood. Just cover me, purge
me with hyssop. And then verse eight says, make
me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou has broken
may rejoice. Let me see my sin. I want to
see it. But then let me see my Savior
and then let me rejoice. Verse 9, hide thy face from my
sins and blot out all mine iniquities. Lord, forgive the sins I've committed,
forgive the sins I commit, forgive the sins I will commit. Verse
10 says, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right
spirit within me. Lord, I desire a right spirit. I really do. But only you can
give it. Your spirit. Verse 11, Cast me
not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from
me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Draw me near
to you. That's all I want to be, is near
to you. Let me abide in you. A true believer, one of God's
sheep, in John 15 is talking about a branch. A true branch
wants one thing. One thing. I want to be in Christ. That's all I want to be. What
do you want to be when you grow up? In Christ. That's all I want
to be. I want my wife to be in Christ.
I want my kids to be in Christ. I want this congregation to be
in Christ. I want your kids to be in Christ. That's all I want. That is all I want. I just want
to be in Christ. Put us all in Christ. Go back
to John 15. Now listen to our Lord. Verse 6, he said, If a man abide
not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and
men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If you abide in me, in my words abide in you, you shall ask what
you will, and it shall be done unto you. Let us abide in Christ. Can you
say that that's the one thing you ask for? Lord, let me abide
in Christ. He said, ask what you will, it
shall be done. I'll put you in Him. All right,
let's stand together.