Bibles to Matthew chapter 10,
and we'll read our text in just a moment, but I want to start
with the handout. So if you have the handout available
there, I want to read from Romans chapter 10, verses 8 through
15, where we read these words, but what sayeth it? And that's
talking about Scriptures. What sayeth the Scriptures? And
we know this because the very next thing it says is, the word
is nigh thee. even in thy mouth and in thy
heart, that is, the word of faith, the word of belief, which we
preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard. And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. Romans 10, 8-15. Folks, there is one message that
leads a lost sinner to salvation. And this is that message, Christ
and Him crucified. Believe on Him and thou shalt
be saved. It says in 1 Corinthians 1, 17-18,
for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made
of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it
is the power of God. In Romans 10 verse 17, so then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So
as we spoke there of what the word is, the word of faith is
the word that is preached, And this faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by what? Not by what man has said, or
by what men think, but by the Word of God. The fame of what
Christ can do has gone out into all the land, and we read that
back in chapter 9, verse 31, in chapter 9, verse 26, and also
in chapter 4, verse 24. He heals the blind and the sick,
He raises the dead, and He feeds the multitude. Page 2. Many have
heard of these things, and now the Lord will send His preachers,
send them with a message. And He'll provide the means to
secure and to prove the message. Now, before we read our text
in Matthew 10, 1-8, I want to remind you, the Lord was speaking
to some unbelieving Jews who came to Him and said, how long
do you cause us to doubt? And the Lord said, I have told
you who I am. They asked Him, if Thou be the
Messiah, tell us plainly. And He says, I have told you.
In fact, the works that I do in My Father's name, they prove
who I am. And that's just paraphrasing
what the Lord has said in His Word. But then He says to those
unbelieving Jews, you believe not, because you are not of My
sheep. As I said unto you, My sheep
hear My voice. So with those things in mind,
let's look at our text in Matthew chapter 10. It says, beginning
at verse 1, And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples,
he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease. Now,
the names of the 12 apostles are these. The first, Simon,
who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, James, the son of
Zebedee, and John, his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas
and Matthew, the publican, James, the son of Alphaeus and Lebeus,
whose surname is Thaddeus, Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot,
who also betrayed him. These 12, Jesus sent forth and
commanded them, saying, go not in the way of the Gentiles into
any city of Samaritans, enter ye not. But go rather to the
lost sheep of Israel, of the house of Israel, and as ye go,
preach. saying, the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils, freely ye have received, freely
give. And that's our text for right
now. We'll come back and read a little more of that after we
spent some time talking about this. And there's lots there
to talk about. There's a lot there, and there
are many pastors who spend much time devoted to daily, hourly
study. I mean, Don Fortner studied a
lot. And folks, I'll tell you, there's
not many Don Fortners out there. People don't come to John Reeves
very often to ask what the Lord's Word means, because they know
my take on the Lord's Word is limited to what I know of God's
Word. I don't spend the time that Don
Fortner spends. I spend time studying. Don't
get me wrong. I've studied for a message like what we're going
to look at tonight. But there's a lot here in these verses. And
what the Lord's laid upon my heart tonight is going to be
right here in verse 7. And as you go, preach. saying
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I want to talk to you tonight
about the message that God gives all of his preachers. The message
that he gives me to take unto the people. And the message is
very clearly right here in that verse. It says preach saying
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Back in our handout again. Right
there at the top of page two. These twelve men were called
and commissioned by Christ to do a great work. It is a great
responsibility. It is a great privilege. Not
just to be a preacher of God's word, but to be a hearer of God's
word. These men were commissioned by
Christ to do a great work. It says there in verse Chapter
10, verse 1. And when he called unto him his
twelve, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them
out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. And then he sent them forth saying
this in verse 8, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils freely as ye have received freely give.
The purpose of the gospel ministry is the healing of men's souls.
As we have read in verse 1, the design of the gospel is to conquer
the world, the flesh, and the devil. Christ gave these men
power to cast out demons out of men's bodies, to show that
Christ has come to destroy the power of Satan and his works. He gave them power to heal all
manners of sickness and diseases, to show that nothing is beyond
the reach of God's omnipotent grace. Nothing is beyond His
reach. And folks, the blood of Christ
effectually cleanses those for whom it was shed for from all
sin. That's what we read in 1 John
chapter 1 verse 7. But if we walk in the light as
He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood
of Jesus Christ, His Son, does what? It cleanses us from all
sin. And then over in 1 John 1 verse
9 we read these words, If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. These miracles were done in the
name of Christ the Messiah, the Deliverer, of God the Father
and these men as His messengers. And I want to look at an example
of that over in the book of Acts. If you didn't already mark it,
we'll give you just a moment there. Go over to Acts chapter
3. And I want to look at an example of our Lord showing us that His
preachers, His ministers, His messengers, Go under the name
of Christ. Folks, John Reeves can't do anything
for you. John Reeves can't speak to your
heart. It's God who must do the work in a cold, dead heart. And that's what we all come into
this world with. We must be given life, and Christ is the only
one who can give life. You read that in John chapter
17, verse 1. But here in chapter 3, we see
in verse 1 through 16, Now Peter and John went up together into
the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain
man... I love that when the Lord points
out there's a certain one. You know, when the Lord Jesus
came through rescue one day, He came through on a Sunday morning,
giving Pastor Gene Harmon a message to preach to a lost, dead soul
by the name of John Reeves. A certain man. A certain man
here, who was lame from his mother's womb, was carried, whom they
laid daily at the gate of the temple. And it was called beautiful
to ask for alms of them that entered into the temple. Who
seeing Peter and John, verse 3 here, about to go into the
temple, they asked for alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes
upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto
them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver
and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee in the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up and walk. And He took
him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet
and ankle bones received strength. Now remember, we're looking at
this because we want to see God's ministers and who gets all the
glory from His ministers. Now going on, verse 8, And He,
speaking of the lame man who was healed, He, leaping up, stood
and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking
and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking
and praising God. And they knew that it was he
which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. And they
were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto
him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John,
all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called
Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered
unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why
look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness
we had made this man to walk? Now see there, they've already
pointed that it's just like John the Baptist when he said, I am
not worthy. Don't look upon me. I must decrease. He must increase that I must
decrease. When people wanted to call John
the Baptist the Messiah, he said, it's not I. I'm not the one.
That's exactly what Peter's saying here. This was not done by him.
Look at verse 13. The God of Abraham, and Isaac,
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son
Jesus, whom ye delivered up. and denied him in the presence
of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied
the Holy One of the just, and the just, and desired a murderer
to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God
hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And his name
Through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye
see and know. Yea, the faith which is by Him
hath given Him the perfect soundness in the presence of you all."
So we see here an example of one of God's ministers, one of
God's messengers, going forth with the gospel. And that's what
the gospel is. It's a healing power. Healing
poor, dead sinners. giving them life through the
preaching of His Word. And we'll see that in a moment
too. Back in your handout, bottom of page two. These men were sent
with a message. This message is this, who being
the brightness of His glory, and the expressed image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when
he had by himself purged our sins sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high. That's what the message is. The
message is this being, this one who is the brightness of God's
glory, this one who is the expressed image of His person, this one
who upholds all things by the word of His power. Folks, Christ,
when He said, let it be, the worlds were made. Isn't that
what we read in John chapter 1? in other places as well? This is who we're talking about.
This is what the Gospel is all about. The Gospel is the message
of Christ. Christ our Savior and as God
Himself. If He saved us, can anything
stop Him? Can anything get in His way?
When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down in the
right hand of the Majesty on high. That's Hebrews 1 verse
3. Christ Jesus the Lord. His crucifixion and His resurrection. Page 3. Now that we have the
full revelation of God in Holy Scripture, God's servants need
no miraculous signs to confirm our message. We don't need it.
His Word and His Word does all the miracles itself. I've got
to tell you, when I saw my wife come the first time when the
Lord called her out of that darkness, and she saw the truth of who
He is, what He's done, and where He is now. That was a miracle. Now, I didn't notice it myself
as much, but Pastor Gene tells me he saw that in me. He's seen
that in others. I've seen that in James Luper.
There's no power in the voice of this One who sits before you.
We don't need miracles to confirm our message. God's Word does
that. There's no power in this voice of the one who sits before
you. I cannot speak to the hearts of men. Faithful men do not come
with a new word, a new revelation from God, but simply declare
the revelation of God in Holy Scripture. That which is perfect
has come. We have our more sure word of
prophecy, as it says in 2 Peter 119. Those who pretend to work
miracles, speak in tongues, and have a word of prophecy or revelation
from God, they're saying this. They're saying Christ is not
enough. They're saying this, that Christ
is not enough. They're saying the Bible is not
enough. They're saying that salvation is not enough. They're saying
this, that gospel is not enough. Oh, how often we've heard people
come into our own congregation and say, John, couldn't we just
preach a little bit more? Couldn't we just look a little
bit more into this or a little bit more into that? And I said,
what more do you need? I've said this to them, what
more do you need? I need Christ. I need to hear
about my Savior. That's all I need. Oh, there's
so much that we can have just in that alone. To me, to God's
people, the gospel is enough. The Bible is enough. Christ is
enough. It says in verse 1 that He gave
them power. We're mid-section of page 3.
To do the work He sent them to do. Our Lord Jesus Christ never
called anyone to do anything for Him without giving them the
power to do it. Whatever the work is to which
God calls a person, He will give him power to do it. The ability
to do it. The opportunity to do it. The
means to do it. And I am a living example of
that very thing. I'm just a truck driver. And
here I am with the most greatest responsibility in the world,
and that is to preach to God's people. Preach peace in this
world of chaos. And God has provided me with
everything I need, exactly what I needed, and usually that's
at the last minute. But he does, he does. God's messengers,
like these 12 apostles, they're sent of God into the world to
preach the gospel of His sovereign, savior and grace, and His Son,
the Lord Jesus. And He says, and as ye go, preach,
saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's in verse 7
of our text. This was the apostles' commission.
They were to preach, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. His person,
His work, And His salvation are near. God's messengers all have
one message to declare. We've been sent of God to preach
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, to preach Christ is the King.
He has brought in and established the kingdom of heaven. Salvation
is finished. God's salvation, the kingdom
of heaven is at hand right now before you. Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and
grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord
will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people and to
His saints. But let them not turn again to
folly. Surely His salvation is nigh
them that fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy
and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the
earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the
Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield
her increase. Righteousness shall go before
Him, and shall set us in the way of His steps. That's in Psalms
85, verses 7-13. Page 4 of your handout. The Kingdom
of Grace. And the kingdom of glory to which
that grace leads is distinguished from the law by the preaching
of the gospel. John bare witness of him and
cried, saying, this was he of whom I spake. He that cometh
after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And
of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the
law was given by Moses. But grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." John 1,
15-18. Let every man sent of God to
preach the Gospel of Christ be mindful of that, that he is not
to be turned aside to any other message. It does not matter what
Satan gets you off on. If he gets you off Christ, he's
won the day. Our message is not prophecy.
It's not morality. It's not politics. It's not the
home or any other matter, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's something that Pastor
Gene has, I want to say, pounded, although I want to say that in
a very loving way. If I say pounded, it kind of
makes it sound like he beat it in me. But he has reminded me
over and over and over again. And I've heard the message from
the pulpit. Preachers say this very thing.
Get on the subject of Christ and stay on it. You can't go
wrong. David Edmondson once told me this. He said, John, the gospel
is the gospel of simplicity. Get out of its way and let God
do his work. That is our message. That is
the message that we are to keep in front of us at all times.
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Look over at 1 Corinthians, if you are still in the book of
Acts, go to the right, past Romans to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and
we'll read a couple of verses over there. 1 Corinthians chapter
1. Paul gives us a very good example
of this and is very clear about it as a matter of fact. Very
clear and blunt as well. In another place he tells us
anybody who is to preach another gospel should be a curse. But
here in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, if we begin reading at verse
17, we read these words, For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto
us, unto us, which are saved, it is the power of God." God. Jesus Christ is the power. He
sits on the right hand of God Almighty. That's the power, the
right hand. Verse 19, For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them to believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach
Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the
Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness
of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty." Now I want to skip down to verse chapter 2 if you
would. And I want to read for you here from verse 1 of chapter
2. And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And
I was with you in weakness. and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. Are you getting the picture here
of God's ministers speaking of Christ and Him crucified alone?
Who He is. He's God Almighty. He's the one
who has all power in heaven and earth. This is the one who we're
speaking about. It's not preaching with enticing
words of men's wisdom, but demonstrating the spirit of power. That your
faith, here's why, that your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men. but in the power of God. Back in our handout, mid-page
of page 4. In verses 5 and 6 of our text
in Matthew 10, we are given whom this gospel is sent to. These
12, Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, go not into the
way of the Gentiles. Notice that it said, go not into
the way of the Gentiles. Folks, there's a reason why God
told Israel not to mix among other nations. He knew the weakness
of the flesh. And He knew what would happen.
And you know what? When they went in and mixed with other
nations, exactly what God knew would happen, happened, didn't
it? They began following the gods of other nations. It says,
go not in the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans,
enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Well, how are you going to tell
who the lost sheep of the house of Israel? The house of Israel
is huge. There were millions of them at
the time, some believe. How are you going to know who
the lost sheep are? Are they just the ones who are down at
the pub having a beer with their friends? Or are they just the
ones who don't show up in the synagogue once a week? No. Let's go on, shall we? Brother
Don Fortner wrote this. He said, God's servants are sent
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It never was our Lord's
purpose to save all men. And he never has sent the gospel
to all men. These two verses must be interpreted
literally, according to Don. The Lord Jesus sent the gospel
to the Jews first, and then to the Gentiles, and he later commands
that we go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature, saying, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,
he that believeth not shall be damned. But whether preaching
to Jews or to Gentiles, we are sent of God to seek out the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. God's elect. That's what that
is. Folks, the nation Israel was never to be in literally
God's people. He favored Israel because they
were the smallest people out there to show that his favor
towards the people is all we need. It's to show that his people
throughout every nation, throughout every tongue, throughout every
tribe are favored by Him. That's what grace means, to be
favored without merit. We are on the trail of Christ's
sheep, writes Don. We are seeking the Lord's sheep. Page 5. We have good news for
the Lord's sheep. Redemption is accomplished. Forgiveness
is free. Salvation is forever. When we
find them, these lost sheep will hear the shepherd's voice and
will follow him. These sheep are the house of
Israel and Israel of God, scattered among the nations, who must and
shall be gathered." John Gill wrote these words about that.
He said, these are called sheep because they were chosen of God
and given to Christ to be redeemed, looked up, sought out, and lost
ones, not only because lost in atoms and by their own transgression
so that neither they themselves nor any mere creature could save
them from the eternal ruin and destruction, but also because
they were made to go astray and were lost through the negligence
and the errors of their pastors, the scribes, the Pharisees. And
this character is the rather given of them partly to reflect
upon the characters of the shepherds of Israel and partly to magnify
the grace of God in having regard to such ruined and miserable
creatures and also to excite the compassion and diligence
of the apostles to preach the gospel to them. Respect seems
to be had, Jeremiah 116. Now, going on, our Lord sends
his disciples with the message. He sends them to a certain people
and he tells them after that he will provide all that is needed,
mix nothing of yourselves with my gospel. Now let's go back
to our text in Matthew chapter 10, if you would. Back in our
text in Matthew chapter 10, beginning at verse 8, we read, heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead. cast out devils, freely
ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver,
nor brass in your purses, nor script for your journey, neither
two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves, for the workman is
worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town
ye shall enter, inquire who it is is worthy, and there abide
till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house,
salute it. And if the house be worthy, let
your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, Let
your peace return to you, and whosoever shall not receive you,
nor hear your words when you depart out of the house or city,
shake off the dust of your feet. And in verse 15, verily I say
unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for that city. Now, again, back in
our handouts again, mid-page, page 5. What a beautiful view
is here given of those faithful men going forth with their lives
in their hands to preach Christ, having neither gold nor silver
nor money in their purse, making no provisions for themselves.
There are those who rightfully so declare the church the congregation
needs to support the minister fully. not in a beyond type of
means, but in a way to relieve the messenger of the burdens
of support required of this world. But what about our little church
here? What about our little church?
We have so few. We have mostly elderly on fixed
incomes. Could they give more? What a
preposterous question to ask. We must bring the needs of our
facility before our congregations, but never should one of God expect
any more than what is given. He will provide what our needs
are, speaking of God Himself. If He withholds, then we did
not need it. Page 6. We are not alone in our
side. Yet God still provides His ministers
their needs. And I can't speak for other churches,
and I would never dare to do so, but I can speak for this
little church here in Rescue. I can speak for my pastor, because
he has spoken of it many times himself. Pastor Gene and Judy
spent many, many years, 38 years preaching the gospel at this
church here in Reston. And it wasn't until the last
15, I believe it was, where Gene did not work a job. to support
his family. In fact, he has told this before. He has said, how much do I have
to pay you to come preach the gospel? And people were like,
what do you mean? You don't have to pay us anything.
God supported that man for 38 years here. And it wasn't with
the monies of the church. It was of a place to live and
raise his children in safety and take care of them right here
in this property. God provided all that Gene needed
in all kinds of different ways. Folks, it's never stopped being
that way. Kathy and I don't take a salary,
but the Lord has given us a place to stay where the funds that
we had from our retirement, from the selling of our home down
in the valley, are more than enough to take care of us. See,
I'm trying to tell you is that there are men who need to be
taken care of by the congregations, but it's God who does the taking
care of. And some people are taken care
of in different ways. I know ministers who worked for
30 years at their job and then retired, as Gene did. I know
many of them who are that way, many who made investments before
God ever called them to preach. Young ministers with families
is a rarity in our world. It's a rarity. Why? Because God's
churches are small. There's some that have a pretty
good size. But most of all of God's churches
are very small, with elderly on fixed incomes. So I want to
say this again. We are not alone in our size. Yet God still provides. Perfect example of that. What
happened when this room was flooded? Did not God raise up people all
around this country to send help for us to rebuild it and make
it nice again? Absolutely. It was from God. And it just goes to prove to
you that it was from God. People that we had never even
heard of sent help. So our Lord provides all that
His ministers need. And that's what we're reading
there in our text. Taking no gold with you. And
if we go into a place where they won't have us, shake the dust
off of your feet. But then He gives us a warning
after that. We'll read that again in a moment. I want to read verse
8 one more time, if you would, in Matthew chapter 10. Heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, and
here's what I want to close with the thoughts of this tonight.
Freely ye have received, freely give. What have I been, what
have I been freely given? I have been given free grace. I have been freely given grace. I am freely given the grace to
know Christ. This is in the last page, page
6 of your handout. I am freely given the grace to
know Christ Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He in his wisdom
became a man. He humbled himself and became
like unto a servant, giving himself even unto death of the cross,
to the death of the cross. He is the just. and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus. I am freely given the grace to
know Christ, the Son of the living God, that He died in my stead. He died for my transgressions. He died for my shortcomings. All my sins that require my death
were laid upon Him. He died my second death. Listen to these words of the
Lord. Fear none of those things which
thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that ye may be tried. And ye shall
have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Revelation
2, 10-11. I am freely given the grace to
know Christ as Lord of Lords. Sovereign in all that is. He
could not be held by death. He arose the victor over death
and hell. Let this mind be in you, which
is also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. But man made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, and being found in the fascism
of man, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth. and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Philippians 2, 5-11. I am freely
given grace to preach His grace to sinners. Woe unto you who
will not hear. Matthew 10, verse 15. Verily I say unto you... Now
remember, these are the words of the Lord. Verily I say unto
you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for that city, speaking of that one
who would not hear God's preachers. Amen.