Showers of blessing, showers
of blessing we need. Mercy doth round us our calling,
but for the showers we flee. Psalm 1, the first psalm. The blessed man. The blessed
man. Who does this speak of? It's
the first song. It's the very first song. It
has to speak. It has to speak first of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who well deserves the preeminence. The blessed man. The word blessed,
blessed, means happy. The word blessed means well-off.
That's what it means. Well-off. Now, the world thinks
this. Everyone thinks this. When you
think of someone well-off, when you think of being blessed, it's
a very common popular salutation today. You hear it all the time,
don't you? Have a blessed day. You hear that all the time. Well,
the world thinks, and what they mean by that is, we hope everything
goes good and nothing bad happens. We hope you're healthy. We hope
you're wealthy. To be well off, the world thinks.
Everyone in the world, except God's people, think that to be
well off means to have an abundance of things. No. Our Lord didn't have anything. Nothing. He's the blessed man. He was poor beyond that he was
rich. Our Lord said this, He Himself
said this, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. Listen to our dear brother Chapman
on this, and he said, Oh, to be blessed is not in what you
possess, but who possesses you. The beloved one says, I, my beloved
is mine. And she says, and my beloved
is mine. How blessed. Don't need anything
else. Do you? Some of you understand
that. Blessed is the man. Blessed is
the person. The blessed man, and I hope in
this message, I hope you will be able to examine yourselves,
whether you're of the faith. I hope you will be able to examine
yourself and say, from the heart, that's me. Let's say, I think. This is my heart's desire. This
is the way I believe. To the blessed man, people say,
have a blessed day. To the blessed man, a truly blessed
man, everything's good. Everything's a blessing. You
know that? Your house burned down. To the blessed man, your
house burned down. It's been a blessed day. You
say, Preacher, I don't understand. God's people do. All right? Let's look at it.
Job and three men. Do you judge according to the
appearance? Here's Job, here's a man sitting there who's lost
everyone and everything. He's sitting in a pile of ashes,
scraping the boils that cover his body. And over here, three friends
that don't have a problem in the world. Who's the blessed
man? Huh? Who is it that God looks upon
with great respect and honor and favor? Who is it? The world
without exception would say, that man's done something wrong. And that's what his friends said.
And they spent days trying to determine what it was. And God
did it for God's glory and Job's good. And Job finally found that
out. It's all been a blessing. Look at two old people. They're
not here this morning. They're not here this morning. And they're 90's. Okay? They're waiting to die.
I think any day, when I go over to visit them in the morning,
I think one of them is going to be gone. It's happening. They're waiting to die. Ninety. Two. Waiting to die. Wanting to die. Ill health. That's why they couldn't come
this morning. Don't hardly go anywhere except
here. Where else do you need to go? And then look at a young couple
traveling all over the world, in Paris or New York or the ends
of the earth in perfect health, having everything that they could
possibly have in this life. Who would you rather be? Examine yourself. Who would you rather be? Someone
asked me not long ago, how's your dad and mama? I said, almost
well. Almost well. I was sitting on the river bank
the other day after having just caught a rather large rainbow
trout. Well, it really wasn't very large,
let me tell the truth. It was very small, I had to photo-op
it to send it. But I just caught it and it just
made my day, you know. And I was sitting there taking
it off the hook, just a lovely day, Thursday. Thursday, you
know what a day that was. I was sitting on one of the most
beautiful rivers in all of Virginia, having just caught the most beautiful
fish on earth, in the water. And I began taking that thing,
and I started thinking about Brother Cody Gruber. We went
fishing a lot. How much he loved to fish. And
I sat there, and honestly, from my heart, I said, I'd rather be him right now. Can you say that? Oh, the blessed man, the blessed
man, the blessed man. Many, many scriptures come to
mind about being blessed. Number six, this is the blessing. The Lord
calls His face to shine on you. This is the blessing. If we sing
it right, there shall be showers of blessing singular. Many showers,
one blessing, one thing deep. This is the blessing. If the
Lord will make His face shine on you, if the Lord will lift
up His countenance on you, if the Lord will be gracious to
you, this is the blessing. Right now, what you're hearing
right now, this is the blessing. On this earth, it doesn't get
any better than this. This is the blessing. Psalm 32,
oh, blessed is the man. You know that, don't you? Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord impudeth not iniquity, whose sins are
covered. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Have
a blessed day. I am. My sins are gone. Matthew 5, the Lord said, things
that the world can't understand. He said, blessed are the poor. Then they, blessed are the poor
in spirit, but theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are they
that mourn. Mourn? Oh, no, no, no. Those that are laughing, those
that are smiling, those that are happy, they're blessed. No,
no, no, no. The Lord said, blessed are they
that mourn, they shall be comforted. Those that mourn now will laugh
last and laugh forever. Those that laugh now will mourn
forever. Things are not as they seem.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst. No, no, no, no. Got it wrong. Blessed are the
full. Oh, he said in another place, the full are going to
hire themselves out one day. But the hungry and thirsty after
righteousness will be dead. Blessed are they that persecute
him. Oh no, no, no. Blessed are they that everybody
loves them, everybody befriends them, everybody thinks highly
of them. The Lord said, no woe is unto you if men speak well
of you. It's all wrong, isn't it? We've
got it all wrong. And no one typifies that. No
one shows that more clearly than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, He had nothing. He had nothing as a
man, but He had it all. He just said that a man's life
doesn't consist in what he possesses, but rather who possesses him
and who he possesses. And this understanding he possesses.
And this thing that lives in his heart is called life. More
abundance than things. He had it all, Nancy. He had
it all. He said, I have meat to eat you
don't know of. You have never eaten it yet.
Didn't he? He was poor. No, no, no, no,
no. He was rich toward God. Infinitely. Happy. Nothing and no one bothered
him. Peace beyond. No one could take
it away. He knows God. He had no house. Oh, yes, he
did. He had one eternal in the heavens,
a heavenly palace without a ceiling, hated by the world, loved by
God, the angels. Died alone, didn't he? He died
alone. A multitude which no man can
number received Him into glory. Died and suffered a brutal, horrible
death on the cross. Suffered terribly. He is now
seated on the throne of glory and bliss. The blessed man. Things are not as they seem. I read Isaiah 53 this morning. We disdain him smitten and stricken
of God. We despise and reject him. He's the blessed man. Look at it in light of Christ
here. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of God, nor
standeth in the way of sin, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to do God's will, and He lived according
to that purpose. He lived in absolute conformity
to the counsel, the wisdom, the Word of God. He's happy. He's
happy. All our unhappiness has to do
with our sin and our rebellion against God's Word. Our guilt
and all that. He was not guilty. Happy. No guilt, no shame. Happy. No standeth in the way of sin.
His delight is in the law of the Lord. Verse 2. Oh, he said
in the volume of the book, it is written of me. Lo, I come
to do thy will, O God. You know, if we lived like that,
if we really lived like that, we'd be so happy. Thy delight to do thy will, O
God. What is it? What is it? Lay down
your life for the bread. Ah, wonderful. I just thank myself. Happy to do that. It's more blessed
to give than to receive. I'll give myself. I'll give everything
I am. I'll give my life and do it with
joy set before me. Happy. We've got it all wrong,
don't we? If I just serve myself and try
to make myself happy, I'll be happy. No, you'll be miserable
all your days. We've got it all wrong, don't
we? Our Lord said, I delight to do thy will. For the joy set
before me endured what? The cross. Thought nothing of the shame,
put me to shame, stripped me naked. Lay on me the iniquity
of my brethren, the reproaches of them that reproach thee. Let
them fall on me, because I love them so much. I'll do anything
to save them. It just makes me happy. Do you hear me? And he's blessed. God's given
him a name above every name. Blessed Lord Jesus. He says,
praise Him. Don't praise man. Don't praise
anyone. Praise Him who loved us and washed us from our sins
in His own blood. Our Lord said, now, do you want
to be blessed? Do you want to be happy? Do the
same. Isn't it? There's no other way. In his law doth he meditate day
and night. Verse 2. In his law doth he meditate
day and night. I just read Joshua, chapter 1.
Joshua is such a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses, the
law, couldn't take him in. Joshua's going to take him in.
Sinners though they be. He's going to take them all and
kill them. Alright, Joshua. The Lord gave this charge to
Joshua in chapter 1. Who do you think this is speaking
of? First chapter. First chapter. Speaking of Jesus. Joshua. Savior. Redeemer. And
the Lord said to Joshua, now, I want you to meditate on this
Word day and night. I want you to know it so you
can do it to lead these people into the promised land, Joshua.
I've given you a charge. Know my word. Do it and lead
my people in. That's Christ. He said, I come
to do thy will. He knew it. He said, you don't
know the law. Now the deeds of the law in the
old place shall be justified. He said, Lo, I come to do thy
law. I come to do the law. Do it for you. On your behalf. By His knowledge. By His knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, God said. By His knowledge. He came to do His law. Verse 3, He'll be like a tree.
Like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Over in Revelation
22, don't have time, I was going to have you turn, Revelation
22 says there's a river, there's a river from the throne of God,
and in the stream of that river is a tree of life. and the fruits,
bearing twelve manner of fruits. And it said, the leaves of that
tree are for the healing of the nation. What's that? Who's that? See, that's the last chapter
in the book. Who do you think that's speaking of? He's the
first, he's the last, he's the author, he's the finished, he's
the son, he's the subject, he's all, he's in all the scriptures.
That's Christ. He's the tree of life. He's the tree of life by the
rivers of water. He's the river. He's the water.
He's the blessed name. And bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also
shall not wither. Oh, my. And whatever he doeth
shall prosper. Oh, doesn't Isaiah say the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand? He shall not fail nor
be discouraged. That was the prophecy. When he
came, he wasn't discouraged. And he didn't fail. He prospered. Joseph. I just read of Joseph
in Genesis 37. It says God was with him and
he prospered in everything he did. Everything he did. Well, they put him in prison.
It says, well, God was with him and he prospered. If that isn't Christ, who is? Verses 4 and 5, when the ungodly
are not so. Well, let's read that in a moment. But this also speaks of God's
people. That's clearly speaking of Christ,
isn't it? Clearly. He must have the preeminent.
You must see Christ. You must look to Christ. You
will be blessed in Him. You will be blessed by Him, through
Him, to Him, for Him, because of Him. He's the blessed man.
All the blessings of God are in Him. Blessed be God, Paul
wrote in Ephesians 1, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. Where are they? In Christ Jesus. Like that ark. Oh, everything
was in that ark. And whoever was in the ark had
everything. That's crap. But you know, as He is, so are
we in this world. This is, this is not how we ought
to be. This is the people of God. Blessed is the man. It doesn't
say blessed are, they ought to be. Our Lord in Matthew 5 did
not say blessed, they ought to be, they ought to be mournful.
They ought to be poor. They ought to be blessed are. That's why they mourn. You understand? If God has blessed
you, you'll be poor in spirit. If God has blessed you, you'll
mourn over your sin. If God has blessed you, you'll
hunger and thirst for righteousness. And you'll never quit hungering
and thirsting. If God has blessed you, you'll be persecuted by
the world, but you'll be loved by God. If God has blessed you,
you'll be meek, you'll be humble, because only the humble and the
meek will be with God. You'll be merciful. You'll be a peacemaker,
realizing He made peace for you. Oh, it's not blessed art they
ought to be, but blessed are. Blessed is the man, the woman,
who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Ephesians 2 said
we were all just like the world in that we walked according to
the course of this world. And you have the quickened who
were dead in trespass and sin, who walked according to the course
of this world, just like the children of disobedience, children of wrath even as others. Can I say it? But God. Oh, how blessed is that man,
blessed is that woman who no longer walks according to the
course of this world. but walks with God, who no longer
listens to or bows to or believes the wisdom of this world, but
rather see it as foolishness. Do you not see it, brethren?
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? Do you
not see that clearly, more and more as the days go by? Blessed is that man, that woman,
who walketh not according to the wisdom of this world, but
rather according to the Word of God. based on all that they
believe and all that they think and all that they do according
to the all-wise without the true Word of God. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Blessed
are they who walk not in the counsel of the ungodly. What
are ungodly? He talks of the ungodly here
and he talks of the righteous. Well, the ungodly are those who
don't have a God. Ungodly. Now that's people that
say there is no God, and the world's full of them. The fool
has said there's no God. And it's also religion who has
a God that's not God, that pray to a God that can't say. It's
both. Oh, how blessed we are to know
that God is God. You're not ungodly. You may think,
you know, Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for those
that didn't know God. Christ died for those that didn't
believe God. Those who were dead in sin. But
He died to make them godly. To repent toward God and have
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to bring them to God. That they
might know God. He died and they're saved that
they might know God and believe God and walk with God. All of
God's people walk with God. They're not ungodly. They have
a God. Do you understand what that means? We have a God, and He's the living
and true God. I know it. Nor standeth in the way of sinners. Blessed is the man, the woman,
the young person that doesn't stand in the way of sinners.
You know, Scripture says there's a way that seemeth right unto
man. But our Lord said the end thereof
is destruction, didn't He? Our Lord is the one that said
broad is the way, wide is the gate, and broad is
the way. You know when a way is wide,
like back years ago the buffalo used to come through this country
and there would be thousands, hundreds of thousands of buffalo
go across the plains and after they left, it was a broad way. And many roads were made as a
result of those buffalo ways. Why were they broad? Because
so many people, so many buffalo were going there. Our Lord said,
Broad is the way that most people are going. And he said, it's
ended in disruption. There is a way that seems right,
and the whole world is saying, this has got to be it. Look,
everyone's walking it. Our Lord said, it's the opposite.
It's the opposite. Straight is the game. Y'all are
too straight. Narrow is the way. That's too narrow. God said it's
narrow. So narrow, you're going to have
to take all your clothes off and bow down to get through it. Oh, blessed is the man who doesn't
stand in the way of sinners, but he's in that narrow way.
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. You ever been around
scorners? They're not pleasant to be around. judgmental, scoffers, mockers. They know everything. They're
just mean as a snake. They got it all right. That's
just work. Sitteth in the seat of the scornful,
unbelieving, God-hating world that ridicules and mocks and
scoffs at what we believe, that all we hold dear in religion
is the worst. I do not, I cannot, I will not,
I will not join with and be comfortable with them. Look with me at Psalm
26. Psalm 26. David said this, it
speaks of Christ. Remember, every psalm is Messianic. This is Christ and this is David
and this is God's people. Psalm 26, verse 4, he said, I
have not sat with vain persons. Neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation
of evil doings. I will not sit with the wicked. Verse 8, Lord, I have loved the
habitation of thy house, the place where thine honor dwelleth.
Verse 9, gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody
men. Verse 12, my foot standeth in
an even place. In the congregations will I bless
the Lord. I do not, I cannot, God's people
cannot, true people cannot be comfortable with people that
hate God. You can't do it. You can't do it. If you feel
comfortable around the ungodly, I fear for you. You say, but the Lord ate and
drank with publicans and sinners. He was a friend of publicans
and sinners. Yes, He was. Why? to save them. And he saved everyone he came
to save. And then he left the rest. He
left them. He did not commit himself unto
them. He says, I know you. He says, you have not the love
of God in you. He turned to them often and said, you're following
me because you get your bellies filled. He says, you're following
me because you see the loaves and fishes. He said, I know what's
in you and I'm not committing to you. But he went off with
twelve disciples, twelve poor fishermen that hung on his every
word that he had chosen, and that's who he dwelled with. Those
were his friends. He said, I call you friends because
I tell you everything. That's who he dwelled with. David
said, I am a companion of them that fear thee. They're my companions. Verse 2, "...but his delight,"
that person's delight, "...is in the law of the Lord." This
is the delight. This is their heart's desire. "...and in the word doth he meditate
day and night." Delight. Listen to David. Can you say
this? Oh, how I love thy law. It is
my meditation all the day. David said that. Oh, how I love it. Listen to
this. He said, How sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea,
sweeter than honey to my mouth. Can you say that? Some of you
are nodding. That's good. You must be blessed. The world
doesn't want to hear that. The world doesn't believe this.
The world doesn't like this. The truth is positively distasteful
to them. God's sovereign grace is distasteful,
but for those who have tasted, those who have eaten Christ's
flesh and drunk His blood, oh, this is sweet to the taste. I love this more than life itself,
David said. More than life itself. It's my
very life. Can you say that? You must be
blessed. Mary chose that partner, and
our Lord said to Martha, Martha, Martha, you're careful and comfortable
about many things. And He said, But look at Mary. Magdalene. Don't forget what she was. She had chosen the good part. She's sitting at His feet. And
He said, It will not be taken from her. She's there right now.
Right now. Mary, is that your heart's desire?
Is this your delight? Are you delighted in what you're
hearing this morning? Mary, I've got good news for
you. It will not be taken from you. This is something the world
can't take. Everything will be. Everything
and everyone, Mary, will be. That man beside you, someday,
if you don't go first, he's going to be taken. But bless him. Bless him. He knows the Lord. You know the
Lord. Someday, never separate. Why? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Is this important
or what? Is it important that you find
the man that knows Christ? It's important that you know
Him. Life. If the Son had life, life more
abundant. Preacher, I don't understand
this. Ask the Lord to make you understand. Right now, ask the
Lord, Lord, I don't have this, I don't feel this, I don't taste
this, I don't feel this. Ask Him right now. Right now.
Right now. He'll give it to you. Abundant.
Like that woman at the well. Lord, give me this water that
I never drink again. He said, I'm it. And Irene, she went skipping
home. She left everything she owned.
What? An old water pot. She went home and told her friend,
come see a man. I've been looking for him. Been
looking for a husband. They're all failures. He found
me. Got all I need now. Oh, that person. Blessed is that
person. Blessed is that man. You know
an old cow, an old cow, when the Lord gave command to Noah
to bring in seven clean and two unclean of every creature, that
which made the clean clean were two things. They parted the hoof,
they had parted the hooves, separated the hooves like a cow, deer,
And they chewed the cud. They chewed the cud. That's what
made them clean. They chewed the cud. What's that
mean? Matthew Henry says it. He said,
Oh, all those whom God saves out of this world, they part
with their sin. They part with that present company,
this present evil world, to go with the people of God, the flock
of God. They congregate. That's the nature
of sheep. They congregate with those like
them. They're not of the world anymore. Sheep don't dwell with
lions. Lions eat them up. They drive
with sheep under the watch of a shepherd. They have to have
a shepherd. And they chew the cud. Meaning, they get labbed
down in that green pasture, and they eat and they eat and they
eat, and the cow's got a third stomach, don't they? And what
they do later on after they've eaten and eaten until they can't
eat any more, they'll eat it again. That melts it up, don't they?
And they began eating that again. It's something I missed. It's just as good now as it was
before. Chew that cud. Chew that cud.
And you're not going to get everything right now. And, you know, we read the Scriptures. And we miss much of it. But bless
God, this river of water that He puts within you, this grass
that we eat, that makes us to lie down in the Word of God,
it comes back up just when we need it. And we begin to chew
on it. Chew on it. Oh, something I missed. That's the clean. The unclean
say, I don't need that. I heard that before. Well, I
heard it before, too, but I didn't hear it. And I need to hear it
again, because there's something I missed. But you know what? Meditate on
it. Meditate on it. Meditate on it. Be like a tree. That man,
that woman, that blessed person is like a tree planted by the
rivers of water that bring forth His fruit in His season. Whose
fruit? Can you produce fruit? Huh? Oh, no. It's the fruit of the
Spirit, He said. Oh, if any man hath not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. But blessed is the man who is
led to the Spirit of God, who is born of His Spirit. That person
brings forth fruit. They now love God. They now love
the brethren. Joy. They have joy. They rejoice
in Christ. They rejoice in the truth. They have joy in the Lord.
Peace. Oh, they have peace with God
through the blood of Christ. And they are peacemakers. Oh,
they are long-suffering, realizing something of a long-suffering.
Yes, they have fruit. Yes, they had proof. They didn't
make it, God made it. And they're a tree. They're grafted
into the tree, you see. The root of the matter is in
them. They're evergreen. Planted down at our old place,
they used to have a big old hemlock tree by that Pig River. I thought the Pig River was beautiful.
But there was a big old hemlock tree down there, so majestic. So majestic, no telling how old
it was. It just stood, towered above
the rest of them. And those limbs, those evergreen
limbs would just hang low. That's maturity, that's grace,
and that's humility. And it was just full of little
seeds, little cones. And it just shed them all around,
everywhere. Fruit. that grows up. That's the testimony of God's
people. That's the testimony of their
lives. That's the testimony of their mouth. That's the works
that they do. Yes, they do. They're planted
in Christ. They're like Christ. Whatever they do will prosper.
The Lord said that about Joseph, a man. The Lord said that about
his guy, a man. The Lord says that about all
his people, men and women, though they be. Whatever they do, it
will prosper. The ungodly are not so. Let me close
with this. Verses 4 through 6. Those without
God are not so. They are like the chaff which
the wind drives with the way. Oh, they appear for a little
while. They spread themselves like a green bay tree for a little
while. But the psalm says, soon the
wind is going to blow over it. And they'll perish, and you're
going to see it. And the place thereof will know it no more.
You'll never hear of them, and all, everything they are and
have and ever done is gone. And you'll never even be them
again. They're not so, like the chaff the wind driveth away.
The ungodly, verse 5, shall not stand in the judgment. Those
without God, without Christ. Those not in Christ, those who
don't have this delight in their heart, they're not planted, they're
not standing in judgment. They'll be cast out. Or sinners
in the congregation of the righteous. But preacher, I thought Christ
came to save sinners. He did. But not that they remained sinners.
He came to save them from their sin, he said. And every one of
them before God are wholly righteous, unblamable, unapprovable in His
sight. Every one of them in Christ have
been redeemed, washed in His blood. Such were some of you,
but you're washed, you're justified, you're sanctified in Christ. Given a new nature, a new desire,
a new heart. This is the way they are. They're
the righteous. Still sinful, but no, not to
God. Got a new creature. And they're
going to stand. in the congregation of the righteous.
Stand in Christ. Stand on the rock. Stand complete
in Him. The way they stand now. They're
righteous. They're righteous. You see, the
Lord, verse 6, knoweth the way of the righteous. The Lord knoweth. You see, the
Lord looketh on the heart. What's in your heart? What is the faith of your heart? What is the desire of your heart? What is the delight of your heart? That's where the Lord lives. Blessed is the man whose delight
is in the Word of the Lord, who dwelleth in the congregation,
who says, Like Ruth, I'm not going anywhere. This is my life. You're my life. You're everything
to me. And by your grace, I just want
to be planted right here. I want to dwell in the house
of the Lord forever, beholding this beautiful Lord of mine and
inquiring. There's a lot I don't know, and
there's a lot I need to know. And I hope to know and grow in
grace and the knowledge of Him from here on. What a blessed
man that is. What a blessed man. The way of
the ungodly shall perish. You look yonder at a man. He's
standing there. He had a family that he loved
and that loved him. And he had the things, the comforts
of home and all that. He had everything, you know,
a house, a job, a wife and children. and neighbors and friends that
loved him, he thought. And there he stands with a big
burden on his back. He's weighed down by this big
heavy burden and the story says he has a book in his hand. He
has a book in his hand, has this heavy burden on his back, and
he's crying. Tears are running down his face,
saying, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me. And so he heads out. He leaves those people that love
him. He leaves that house where he
was so comfortable. He leaves everything and everyone
that he held dear to him He's running with everything
he's got, because he's got this big burden on his back. He's
got this book in his hand, and he sees this place called the
Celestial City. And he's crying out, Life! Life! Eternal Life! While his
neighbors and his friends are saying, what a fool you are.
How could you do this, leaving your family on it? You don't
love them. And he turns to them and says,
this place is perishing! This place is perishing! Son,
daughter, this place is getting to be burned up! Come with me!
Come with me! Blessed man! What a blessed man! Do you hear me? How blessed to
have this burden laid on you called sin! How blessed to have
this book in your hand called truth! How blessed to be given
eyes to see it's burning up, and eyes to see celestial city,
and have a man come to you and say, look at that gate. You see
that wicked gate? Go through it, beyond that gate,
to cross. You hear me? Across. And nearly
don't cross. And then birds will fall off
the gate. And the angels will receive you
into heaven itself. Blessed man. What a blessed man. Is that you? Do you see this
place for what it is? Huh? Do you see yon celestial
city? I don't see it, preacher. Ask
Him to show you. Ask Him. Do you see this for
what it really is? Do you have this burden on you?
That's a good thing. That's a good thing. This blessed book. The world
is lying to you. The God of this world is lying
to you. The wisdom of this world is false. It's all false. God can't lie. He's so merciful. He's so gracious. He's a God of truth. And He says,
I'm telling you the truth. Listen to me now. Blessed is the man I'm telling
you what blessing is. Oh, may the Lord, if no one in
here hears it this morning, oh, may somebody hear it. I know
this. It's not going to return void.
I know this. It's not going to return void.
It's not going to fall to the ground. The words of Samuel,
none of them fell to the ground. And these words won't either
because they're not mine. They're the Lord's. And they're
going to hit somebody. Oh, may it be your heart. May
it be my heart. May the Lord bless us all. Have a blessed day. Okay, Brother
John. All right, let's all stand and
turn to number 333. Number 333. And we'll sing the first, second,
and the last. First, second, and last. May the mind of Christ my Savior
live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling
all I do and say. May the Word of God dwell richly
in my heart,