Once again, turn in your Bibles
to 1 Peter chapter 2. Isn't it amazing how Tuesday I kind of had a feeling
all the way up to it. that Kevin was going to not be
able to be here. But we weren't sure until Tuesday.
He was feeling pretty good up to that point. And when he called
me and we talked, I said, OK, don't worry about it. We got
it. We got it under control. Lord will give us something. And just
after I hung up from him, man, I'll tell you what, I sat down.
and looked at this chapter, and the Lord gave me all four messages
for the weekend set right there in front of it. We actually are
at this very point in Scripture in our Bible studies on Sunday
mornings. And I told the brothers and sisters last Sunday, I said,
I think the Lord's going to give me some messages to bring from
this next part. So it'll look like we're going to actually
skip a whole bunch of verses when we come back to Bible study
next week, but actually we're not skipping them because they're
right here in the messages this weekend. Most have heard this phrase,
nothing in this world is sure except death and taxes. I'm here to dispute that. We all know that many in today's
world don't pay any taxes at all. In fact, they survive because
other people who do pay taxes are paying taxes, so paying taxes
is not a sure thing, is it? Now death, on the other hand,
we all know that that's a pretty sure thing, right? Right? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What about Enoch? Hebrews 11.5 tells us that he
was translating, that he should not see death. So I guess death's not a sure thing
either, is it? I'd like to take a brief bit
of time and talk to you about something that is a sure thing. It is as sure as sure can be. Something that is most definitely
a fact. It's so sure that it cannot change. I have one point, and if the
Lord is pleased to lay this point to our hearts, my point, my hope,
is that God, the God of all creation, the Lord of all glory may reveal
this to each and every one who is here tonight hearing this
word. Or that may hear it on a CD wherever the Lord sends
it. And this is the thing I hope he lays on your heart. Salvation is of the Lord. And Jesus Christ is Lord of all. That is as sure as sure can be. It's a certain fact. In fact,
it's as solid as a rock. Our Lord loves to use words that
our small little brains can understand. And a rock's pretty solid, isn't
it? That figment of our imagination called Superman's the only one
we know of who can take a rock and crush it in his hands, right?
No, rocks are pretty solid. It's so sure that it's described
as a rock in his word, a stone, a cornerstone. You know what
a cornerstone is? In the old days, when they were
building houses out of rocks, they would start in the corner,
and they'd make sure that first corner rock was just non-movable. Because if it could move at all,
the whole foundation would fall. So they'd get that first rock,
and they'd dig down, and they'd make sure they get it all packed
around and nice and solid before they'd start putting all those
other rocks. being supported by it. It's called the cornerstone.
A very foundation. A foundation that you could build
upon and it wouldn't give way. We sang the song last night in
closing, On Christ the solid rock I stand. On Christ. On Christ, everything else is
sand, and it's sinking sand. If you stand on anything for
your salvation, other than the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord
Jesus Christ alone, you will sink. I'd like you to look with me
at 1 Peter 2, beginning at verse 2. As newborn babes desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. If so be ye have
tasted that the Lord is gracious. Now we covered those two verses
last night, so we're going to continue on. To whom, verse 4,
to whom coming this Lord, this sincere milk of the word, this
one that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom
coming as unto a living stone, there's that rock, there's that
one, the solid rock, the living stone, disallowed, that means
rejected, indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, as
living stones, are built upon a spiritual house, and holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore, also it is contained
in Scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect,
precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
He is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. even to them which stumble at
the word being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed." Now
I've titled tonight's message, Precious, Precious, Precious or Stone of
Stumbling. It's a question for you. Is the graciousness of God through
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, precious to you? No, it's not precious to everybody.
I've shared this with some of you before. A lady came and attended
the church with her granddaughter. And she got up and walked out
in the middle of services saying, I'm not a sinner like that. Not
the sinner that the pastor was describing up here in the pulpit.
I'm not a sinner like that. And she got up and walked out. The pastor was preaching Christ
in Him crucified as he had every time he stood in this pulpit.
And I know for the last 23 years that I had the opportunity and
the pleasure and the honor of sitting under that man preach,
he preached Christ in Him crucified. And it was a stumbling stone
to that woman. The Lord Jesus Christ and Him
crucified for His elect is a stumbling stone to all of us until the
Lord comes to us and gives us life to believe Him. Jesus Christ, the Son of the
living God, is the rock of salvation. So you may ask, John, how can
you be so certain of this? I'm just going to tell you, quite
frankly, the Lord told me. He told me. Not with the audible
ear. But He told me right here. This
book, this love letter that He has left for each and every one
of us who belong to Him, He has left us a word to speak to our
hearts. A word that when it's preached
with the power of the Spirit of God, the one who takes that
word from the poor sinner standing before the people and applies
it to the hearts of the people, oh, it becomes precious. Where
it was once a stumbling stone for each and every one of us,
it becomes precious to the point our hearts burn within us. He tells us through the preaching
of his word with words like Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9, for by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is
it a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You
know, there's a reason why you hear that verse from me every
single time I preach, because we are stiff-necked and easy
to forget. And the Lord knows that. That's
why He gave us the institution of coming to His table. He says,
do this in remembrance of Me. Why? Because we're forgetful
people. It doesn't take long for me to
get outside the door or to walk away from this book and reading
God's Word and all of a sudden I forget that He is Lord of all.
And I think, I can do it. I can do it on my own. Don't tell me you all don't think
the same way. I know you do. And our Lord reminds us, for by grace are we saved. Through faith. Through the belief
of who He is. Through the God-given gift of
knowing who the Lord Jesus Christ is. God in the flesh. Emmanuel. God with us. It is a gift of
God, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. With God-given ears of the heart,
we hear the word preached, and we believe. Once I had heard
with the ears of the new heart His glorious gospel, I cried
out to the Lord. I cried out for His mercy when
He showed me through the preaching of His Word what I am before
a thrice holy God, unworthy of anything from Him, only deserving
His wrath, just as everyone else is. The only difference between God's
people and the people of this world is Jesus Christ and Him
crucified for them. I'm not like that guy. Yes, we
are. I've never done that. You have
in your heart. We cry out for His grace. We
cry out. We have heard how depraved this
flesh is before a thrice holy God, and we cry out unto Him.
We cry out unto the One who has preached Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. For we read in Romans 10, 13-14,
For whomsoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. Oh, what a promise to stand on! How do I know Because I've cried out for Him
over and over again. Not just once, but every moment
of the day that I can remember what I'm doing. I get up this
morning, the first thing I think about is, Lord, I'm sorry that
thought went through my mind. Lord, I didn't give you the glory
for getting out of bed and being able to breathe today. Forgive
me. How then shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher?" Folks, to call upon the Lord, you must hear the gospel
preached. But man cannot reveal these truths
to the heart. I can't speak to your heart.
In my prayer, I ask for the Holy Spirit to take the Word that
God has given me and apply it to your hearts, because only
God can speak to the hearts of men and women. Only God can touch a heart and
make it live. The Holy Spirit quickens. You
know what that means? That means to make alive. That means to
take something that was dead and make it alive. You talk about
a miracle. The new birth is an absolute
miracle. You think miracles don't happen today. I'm telling you
right now, it's not happening in those churches where somebody's
standing up here in the pulpit and saying, come up here and
I can heal you. That's nothing but a sham. But
when the Lord comes to one of His chosen children, and I've
seen it. I've witnessed it in her. I kind of saw it in my own too.
I didn't know what it was at the time. But I saw it plainly
in hers. Oh my, the change that God does
to a heart when He speaks to it and gives it life. We must hear the Gospel preached.
And men cannot reveal these truths to the heart. We speak to the
ears on your head, but God must speak to the ears of your heart
to hear. And the reason is because of sin. Our hearts are stone
cold dead. We come into this world speaking
lies. And we all know we do. Well, all I did was change the
truth a little bit. That's a lie. The devil changes
the truth a little bit and deceives himself. We come into this world dead
in trespasses and sin. Spiritually speaking, we are
dead in those trespasses and sin, and there is no spiritual
life in us. God the Father, by His Spirit,
cuts away that rebellious heart, and He gives us a new heart,
the miracle of born again. Ye must be born again, Nicodemus. Ye must be born again, child
of God. Every mortal being is born lost
in that sin and degradation. There was no spiritual life in
me or anyone else who came along from the loins of Adam. Many
hear His Word at times, yet it profits them nothing. Just as
it profited Israel nothing in the wilderness, it profits them
nothing mixed without faith. Faith from God. The gift of God. It falls on deaf ears. It falls
on a dead heart, on a hardened, cold, dead heart. Yet the Lord
is pleased, the Lord is pleased at times to pass by one and say,
live. Gives us a picture of a child
in a field that had been left by its mother born and the mother
hadn't even bothered to wipe it, to wipe the birth off the
child, left it out there in its blood and in the mud. That's us before the Lord came
to us. And the Lord passed by that child
and saw the deprivation of it and said, live. And that's us. As the Lord passes by through
the preaching of his word, he says, live to the heart. Spiritual
life. Our Lord is pleased to pass by
some and say live just as he is pleased to pass by others
and just keep right on going. Why is it important for us to
know that? Because each and every one of us could be one of those
that the Lord Jesus passed by. Each and every one of us could
have been one of those who go through that doormark death not
knowing who the Lord Jesus is. And by the grace of God, through
his love, his eternal love, he comes to us in the day of love
and gives us life. Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter
1, if you would please. 1 Corinthians. While you're turning there, allow
me to read from Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4 and 5, but God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love were with us, He loved us even when we..."
See, now this is to prove, here's God's Word. This is what the
Lord says about you and I before He came to us. "...even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened..." Given us life. Made us alive. "...hath quickened us together
with Christ." Now through the preaching of the truth, A very
truth that most churches in the world today will not speak of.
They'd rather speak of a Jesus who loves everybody, even though
some will go to hell. They speak of a Jesus who is
a failure. Through the preaching of the
truth, the truth of who Jesus is, God Almighty in the flesh,
Perfect in everything that He has done. Perfect in everything
that He did. Perfect in what He's doing right
now because He's God. He cannot fail. It doesn't say
that all the Father giveth me, some may come to me. It says
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. That means
there's no way that there's going to be any deceits in heaven.
Every single one for whom God died on that cross, every single
one for whom He shed His blood shall be in heaven. Now you can't get any more solid
than that. The word shall is strong. It
means yes, it will happen. It means it's finished, which
is what our Lord said on that cross. This is for us. This is the grace of God for
you and I. We who have had the mercy to
have our Lord speak to our hearts and give us life, that we would
know His truth. in a world where it's all spread
out and messed up and messed with man's will and man's works. There's only two kinds of religions,
grace and works. And I don't care what kind of
religion you want to look at out there in all of its works. Man's got to do this. Man's got
to do that. Through the preaching of the
truth, the Holy Spirit quickens. He makes us alive. He takes a
dead spirit and He shines. He shines the light of Jesus
in a new heart. A heart that no longer hates
Him. A heart that is now willing to come. A heart that is made
willing in the day of His love. Folks, we must worship in spirit
and in truth. One that now loves Him We love
Him because He first loved us. We don't just decide some day,
you know, I've been on a bad path all my life. I've been a
rebel all over where I've gone. I've created all kinds of havoc
in my life. It's time now I need to stop
doing that stuff. I just need to be a better person. There's a lot of people that
do that and don't know the grace of the Lord. This love of Christ is revealed
in the preaching of the truth, not lies, not half-truths. And
as I read from Romans chapter 10 a moment ago, how are you
going to call? How are you going to call on the true and living
God, Christ Jesus, if you've never heard of Him? Are you with
me in 1 Corinthians? I'd like to begin at verse 17
if you would. We're talking about precious,
or a stone of stubbling. Is the Word of God precious?
Does He make it precious to your heart? Or is this a word that
you're saying, oh, that can't be right. No, that's not fair. Listen to this, folks, in 1 Corinthians
1, beginning at verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to do what? To preach. to preach the gospel. How? How? How are we supposed
to preach? Not with wisdom of words. Folks, you couldn't get anybody
with less wisdom than the man who's standing before you right
now. I have not been to any colleges. I've never been to a seminary.
I've had people tell me that I don't deserve to be in this
pulpit because I haven't read through the Bible 15 times like
they have. I know a man who sits over in
Rome with a fancy robe on him who knows more about scriptures
than probably any man that you and I know of, and he does not
know Jesus. He can preach about all the stuff
he wants to, but he's not preaching about Christ and Him crucified.
He can preach about all the wisdom of the world that he has, but
he's not preaching about Christ and Him crucified. Not with wisdom
of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. If it was the wisdom of men,
grace wouldn't be needed, would it? If we could talk to you and
convince you out of the wisdom of His mouth before you, then
God wouldn't need to give you His grace. But we need grace. And it is by His grace is what
we read in Scripture. By grace we are saved through
faith. Verse 18, for the preaching of
the cross is to them that perish foolishness, a stumbling block. You folks over there at Rescue
are just as crazy as get out talking about some pretend God,
something of your imagination. What foolishness. But unto us, unto us which are
saved, it is the power of God. 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 foolishness
the wisdom of this world? Oh, folks, we think we are so
wise. We think we're so smart. And
you know, the Lord has blessed us with a great deal in this
time and this age. Look at doctors. They can take
a heart out of a man and put it in another person and make
that other person live. Isn't that smart? Do you know
that's a gift of God just like everything is? That's a gift
from the Lord Jesus Christ just like the air that we breathe
is. Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom, what? Knew not God. You don't
think those Israelites thought they were pretty smart? You don't
think of all those people in Israel thought it was pretty
smart? Jesus Christ stood right before them and preached himself
and they didn't see it. They couldn't see. People tell
us, have you ever heard anybody say, I want people to see Jesus
in me. If they didn't see Jesus when
He was standing right before them, where do you get the gull
or the pride to think they're going to see Him
in you? They're not going to see him
in you. Not unless the Lord Jesus Christ opens them up and gives
them eyes of the heart to see anything at all. Oh, he's a nice guy. Or she's
such a great lady. She's so sweet. She's got to
be with God. Woman's never been in the church
in her entire life. How many people do you hear say
this? They're in such a better place
now. A person could have drank, rode
a motorcycle, had tattoos all over them, killed a couple people,
and somebody's going to say, oh, they're in a better place
now. Verse 21, again, for after that,
in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased
God by the foolishness of what? Of preaching, to save them that
believe. For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified
under the Jews, a stumbling block, and under the Greeks foolishness. But under them, which are called
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God." What are some of these wise things that stumble, that
some stumble at? And to others, they are precious. How about words like this, John
chapter 11 verse 25, our Lord says, I am the resurrection and
the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live. How do you mean I'm dead? Pinch
me! I'm alive, you can't tell me I'm dead. I'm alive, I can
make a decision of whether this is correct or not. You see how
that was a stumbling block to you at one time before the Lord
called you out of darkness? Is it not precious to your heart
now to know that He comes to us when we are dead? Though we
were dead, yet shall we live in Him, those of us who believe
in Him? How about John 14.6? He says,
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. You tell that to somebody who's
a freewheeler. Don't you tell me that. And I
know because my aunt did that to me. She came to me and she
poked her finger right in my chest and she said, you will
not take my free will away from me. I didn't do anything. All
I did was tell her that God is sovereign in everything, including
man's free will. My will does not trump my God. My God trumps me and everything
else with it. And then we read a few moments
ago, Ephesians 8 verses 2 and 9, for by grace are ye saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God,
not of works. Blessed any man, Shabbos. Now, I cannot add anything
to it. That's what that's telling me. I can't add anything to salvation,
for salvation is of the Lord and of the Lord alone. It's by
His grace that we are saved through faith, through the believing
in Him, not of ourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
not of will, not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy, lest any man should boast. But
I also can't take anything away from it. Do you catch that? We don't add
anything to grace and we can't take anything away from it. This
is my rock of salvation. When I stumble, when I step in
my own, you know what? When I do something against my
Lord, It's not going to take anything
away from me because I'm in Him. It's His righteousness that I
stand in. There is none in this flesh.
There is none in this mind. There is nothing about John except
for my Lord who dwells in my heart, the new heart that He's
given me. And in that new heart, my Lord
says, I'm as righteous as His Son. He looks upon His people,
every one of us. And even though we're still yet
sinners in this flesh, and He says, I see the blood of my son
on the doorpost of that one. He's paid the price. We are redeemed
through Him. I've gotten quite a ways behind,
so I've got to get along. Our Lord has performed the deeds
necessary to save His people. He is more than just a man. This
man was not born of the seed of fallen Adam. He is not just
any man who walked this earth. He is the God-man. Scripture
tells us this in Matthew, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with
us. The Son of the Living God, as
it says in Matthew 16.6, equal with God the Father, God the
Spirit, for all three are of one accord, one purpose, and
that is for Jesus Christ to save His people. What's the will of
the Father? It's that Jesus should lose none. All of those that it talks about
in John, that the Father has given them, that Jesus should
lose none. I'm so sure that my salvation
was accomplished because of this, because of the one who accomplished
it, cannot fail. This is why he's called the lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. In Revelations, I saw a lamb. as though he was slain before
the foundation of the world sitting upon his throne. God the Father
was the first to trust his son. He trusted him when he made in
the eternal covenant that he would save a people. God the
Father said, that's my son in whom I'm well pleased. He will
do it. This very one who walked perfectly
upon this earth who walked with no sin, was made to be sin so
that his people would be made righteous, the righteousness
of God in him." Folks, we can't comprehend that completely. We
get a little inkling maybe. But to understand what it means
for God to be made sin, there's not a human being on this earth
who can understand that completely. So who is the Lord to you? Turn
over to Matthew chapter 16 with me, if you would, please. Matthew
chapter 16. And I apologize, I did not mean
to go along tonight, but this is such an important message
to my heart, and I pray the Lord is blessing you with it. Would
you look with me at verses 13 and 14 of Matthew chapter 16? When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that
thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah's, and others Jeremiah's,
or one of the prophets. Do you hear the thoughts of carnal
men? The very men who watched and
saw the miracles of 5,000. Do you think only a couple of
people saw the miracle of 5,000 being fed on that hill that day? There were 5,000 people who saw
that there were only a couple of fishes and a couple of loaves
of bread. And the Lord made everybody eat to their fullness with it.
Thousands of people saw that. Yet some called him Jeremiah
and Elijah, or one of the other prophets. Do you hear the thoughts
of the carnal world? They think of Jesus in the ways
of men. They don't see Him in His spiritual
sense that He is, because it's only revealed in God's Word,
and God's Word is only revealed to His people. He was a good
prophet, they said, but there was something. There must be
something that I must do, along with what that prophet has told
me. Salvation must be in my hands. I either got to receive it, or
I got to do something to earn it. I make a decision, something
to that effect. It is our sinful nature to think
that we have power over anything. Look at verses 15 and 16. He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. Who do you see when you read
or hear about this One called Jesus? Do you see just a man? Or do you see the Son of the
living God? with all power and with all authority
over all rule, every detail. In the Old Testament, Steve Doyle
used to take us through in Bible study in the Old Testament, and
if you go back and you look in how the Lord directed them to
make the tabernacle, oh, He gives such little teeny details. You
know, carve this, do that here. tap this to make sure that the
gold lays on it a certain way. Folks, that's an example. That's a picture. That's a portrayal
of how the Lord Jesus Christ looks on everything. He knows
the hairs on our heads. Every detail is in His authority. Every detail. How can you think
you have a free will over Him? He can do whatever He wants with
our will. He can do whatever He wants with
anything. He's God. He's with all power, with all
authority, working all things out according to His will. Look
at verse 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Blessed are you
if you see the true and living God, for God Himself must reveal
these truths to you. And if God the Spirit is revealing
these things of Christ to you, to your heart, then He who has
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus. You see, salvation is of the
Lord. Look at verse 18. After declaring
who Jesus is, After Christ declaring to Peter who it is that revealed
him, our Lord says this about himself, And I say also unto
thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now Christ
is our rock. He is my rock of salvation, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against his people. In His priestly prayer, interceding
for His people, for His elect, our Lord says these words. Now
they have known that all things, this is in John chapter 17 verse
7, they have known all things that whatsoever Thou hast given
Me are of Thee. How do we know that? Because
He's revealed it to us. We don't just get smarter and
figure something out. God Almighty reveals these truths
to our hearts. They have known. that all things
whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they
have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them." I
pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me,
for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine,
and I am glorified in them. And then in John chapter 6 verse
37 we read this, All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Now
when your God says shall, I ask you this, does it mean maybe? There's a lot of people who believe
that. There's a lot of people who say,
well, yeah, you can lose your salvation. When the Son of the living God
says, shall, He means shall. For He speaks with all power,
the power of the Almighty. There are no ifs. There are no
buts. There are no maybes. In Colossians
chapter 1, verse 16, we read these words. For by Him were
all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, Now
listen, folks. We're talking about the creator
of everything. We're talking about the ruler
of everything. We're talking about the Lord of all lords,
the King of all kings. For by Him, by Jesus Christ,
were all things created that are in heaven and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him. Do you get to the rock that we're
talking about here? Is this rock becoming more precious
to you? It becomes more precious to me
every time I hear it. Every time I sit down and study
the Word of God to bring a message to the folks here, it gets more
and more precious. My heart burns within me, as
we read last night from the two men of Nehemiah, who the Lord
opened the Word and expounded Himself to them. And He is made precious to this
poor sinful man who stands before you. So precious that I come
to Him begging for mercy over and over again and again and
again. And I receive it. I receive it. You see, when you
come to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, He loves to give mercy. And those who come to Him, come
to Him because He draws them. Real quickly, last thing, Isaiah
57. Just a quick couple of verses,
12 through 15. A picture of exactly what we
just talked about. Isaiah 57. Look at verses 12 through 15. Isaiah
57 verses 12 through 15. I will declare thy righteousness
and thy works for they shall not profit thee. Your righteousness ain't worth
nothing. You're either in the righteousness of Christ, or there'll
be gnashing of teeth from you at the end. Your righteousness, for they
shall not profit thee anything. Verse 13, when thou criest, let
thy company deliberately, but the wind shall carry them all
away. Vanity shall take them. But he that putteth his trust
in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy hill. my holy mountain, and shall say,
cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling
block, remove whatever it is that's in me, Lord. Do whatever
it takes to remove it as a stumbling block out of the way of my people,
he says. For thus saith the high and the
lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in
the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite
and humble spirit. to revive the spirit of the humble
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Oh that the Lord
would revive our contrite hearts. Will you stand with me please
and turn in your handbooks to page 348.