The other evening, my daughter
and I went to a performance at Mill Mountain Theater in Roanoke, and there were two women who
were retelling the life story of two elderly black sisters,
the story of them growing up in the United States coming up
from slavery, actually. Both of these ladies lived over
100 years old, and these two were reenacting
or retelling their story as old women. And these two ladies moved
the audience to much tears. I can bet. Very emotional. Their troubles that they went
through coming up. And laughter. I kept thinking
while I was sitting there, this is a play. This is just a performance. This isn't real. Well, the story
did happen, I'm sure it was embellished, you know, but these were actors
playing a part. And while much that was said
was very inspiring and to some degree profitable to understand
the plight of oppressed people. and thought-provoking, yet it
was just a play. And people went out of there, I'm sure, the same way they went
in, unchanged, just a play, just a performance. What I'm doing this morning is
not a play. I don't, I'm not trying to give
a performance. not acting, not make-belief. Peter said,
we have not followed cunningly devised fables. What I do in this morning, and
there's no room for dramatics in this. There's no room for dramatics
or theatrics in this thing of preaching. But what is being done right
this morning is real. As a matter of fact, the scripture
says it's life or death. And the scriptures say that what
is said never returns void. Doesn't it say that in Isaiah?
He said, my word will not return void. It will accomplish that
thereunto I have sent it. And the Apostle Paul, in another
place, said God always causes us to triumph in Christ. Something is always accomplished.
And he went on to say that it was either a savor of life to
some, eternal life. and death to others. So this is life and death. It really is. But there's no
room for dramatics. I'm not playing a role or giving
a performance. I'm declaring a book. And that's
all we're going to do. That's all I'm going to do. I'm
just going to state the facts. We're just going to read what
it says right here. State the facts. And if God is
pleased, I hope he'll make it a savor
of life. I was sitting there, Brother
Charles sharpened my pocket knives for me. He's got one of these
big, fancy, three-sided sharpeners, and he's kind enough to sharpen
all my pocket knives for me. And I was sitting there. feeling one of those blades real
just sharp, and I was thinking to myself, Lord, make the word sharp this morning. As he said, his word is sharper
than a two-edged And this is the reason, you know,
preachers have a tendency at times to get all worked up and
excited. They're trying their best to get people to do something.
It can not be done. It can not be done. I don't care
how. That's not what accomplishes anything. It's this right here,
when God Almighty, the Holy Spirit, brings one of these words home
to the heart. A pointed word from God. He makes a point. with His Word. All right, with that being said,
look at Hebrews again. Hebrews chapter 1, the whole
first chapter of Hebrews, tells us about who Jesus Christ is. The whole first chapter of Hebrews
tells us who Jesus Christ is. It says He's not Just a man,
but he's the express image of God. He's God manifest in the
flesh. God came down here. That's who
he is. God came down here, the creator
of the universe, who is now Lord over all. And he said and did
many things. In chapter 2, look at chapter
2, verse 1. It says that he said many things.
Chapter 2, verse 1 says, We ought to give the more earnest heed
to the things which we have heard. We ought to give serious attention
to what we've heard or what he said. He said some powerful things,
didn't he? Listen to what he said. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Nobody's going to get to God
but by me. That's what he said. Oh, that's strong. He said, now go. He told his
preachers, go into all the world and preach this. Preach this
gospel. He that believeth shall be saved. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned." Powerful, isn't it? Powerful. He says we ought to
give the more earnest, serious consideration to what he said,
because it's life and death. Teresa, he said, know me, believe
me, and live. Don't, you'll die. All right? And then he tells
us of the dire consequences of not, of ignoring his word. Look at verse 3. Look at verse
3 there. He says, How shall we escape
if we neglect so great a salvation? You know, ignoring the gospel
or just not, you know, just not, just letting it slip is neglecting
it, isn't it? He says, how are we going to
escape? We neglect so great salvation. Then he goes on to tell us why
he came. Look at verse 7. Tell us why
he came. He said, God made him a little
lower than the angels. Oh, he's crowned with glory now
and honor. He's not just a man now. He's not only a man now. God set him over the works of
his hands. But verse 8 and 9 says he put all things under his feet. He was made a man for the suffering
of death. We see Jesus, this one who was
a man named Jesus, made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death. Why did he come? As a man, he
came to die, because that's what we, because that's what God's
going to do to us. That's what God's going to do
to all flesh. Unless. Unless. Christ did it for us. See, it's life and death, and
so we ought to give earnest heed to the things we've heard. Who
this was that came. Why'd they come? If you're going
to give life to somebody, you need life. Or we're going to die. Verse
10 says, it became him to bring many sons unto glory. It became
him by whom are all things, For whom and by whom are all things,
and bringing many sons unto glory." Many sons. He has many children. Many children. Well, I want to
be one of those. Don't you? I mean, really. I
don't want to just run around like a member of a club, but
I'm a Christian. I want to be a child of God. Really. All right, verses 13 through
15, he says in verse 14, as much as the children were partakers
of flesh and blood, he took flesh and blood that he might, through
death, destroy him that had the power of death. And verse 15,
deliver them. who, through the fear of death,
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. He came to bring
deliverance to his people. Who are these people? Who are
these sons? Who are these children he talks
about? He said, Behold, someday he's going to present them to
God and say, Here are all your children. And I hope it's me. I hope I'm one of them. Who are
they then? They're believers. That's who
they are. They're believers. They believe.
What do they believe? Not what, it's who. They believe Hebrews 1. They
believe who came. Who he is. They believe why he
came. They worship him. Who are believers? Who are these
children? They worship Jesus Christ. That's
what Paul, well, I'm getting way ahead of myself. But in Philippians
3, Paul gives three characteristics of a true child
of God, and he says they worship God. They worship God in spirit and
in truth. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and they will put any confidence
in their flesh. Philippians 3, 3, all right? So they worship
Christ, and they look to Him, and they love Him, and they follow
their disciples. That's what it means to be a
disciple. You follow somebody, right? You follow somebody. You're a follower of so-and-so.
He's a disciple of that person. Quite often, down through time,
various people have followed men, and they give them that
name, don't they? They say, He's a Darwinian. You know, they follow the teachings
of Darwin. Arminian, Jacob Arminian, he's
a Calvinist, you know, he followed. It says the disciples were called
what? Christians. Why? They follow Christ. They're disciples. They believe him. They follow
him. They love him. They worship him.
They're enamored with him. They're enamored with him. If
you're a real disciple, you're absolutely taken up with somebody. No middle ground disciples have.
All right, now chapter 3 says we need to consider, verse 1,
consider this the apostle and high priest. Consider, that means
think on what we're trying to do this morning, what I hope
God will enable you and me to do this morning. Think on, think on things above. Forget this
and that and the other. Forget the race. Forget the roast.
Forget the run, whatever, forget it all. And think on, consider, wherefore
consider, he said, the apostle, be taken up with, the apostle
and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. High priest, who
he is. Look at verse 6. All right, now
this is where we left off. Verse 6. Christ as a son over
his own house. Whose house are we if? A big
if. Christ as a son over his own
house. Whose house are we if? You've heard talk of the house
of God, the church of God. That's the house of God. It's
not a building. It's people. People are where
persons are where God dwells. He lives in their heart by faith
or in their midst when they gather. All right? Whose house are we? Christ as a son over his own
house. All right, listen. In old times,
back in old times and even today sometimes, great wealthy landowners,
men who had large fortunes and who owned large estates with a huge mansion on
that estate, if they had an older son, that's who was going to
get it off. When that owner died or whenever,
he turned it all over to the son, the oldest son, the elder
son. He was the heir of it all, okay?
Everybody in the house included. There are lots of servants in
a large house, right? Butlers and maids and gardeners
and this and that and the other. And the great landowner said,
now, he gave it all to his son, now he said, Prince William.
This is going to happen someday in England. Now this is Lord
over this house. You serve him now. You answer
to him. I've committed it all into his
hands. You answer to him. I've committed all judgment,
all authority to him, and that's what God says about Christ. You see, that's why you can't
worship God or know God or have anything to do with God or he
with you, apart from Christ. Why? He's Lord now. He's over
it all. You don't bypass him. You got
something to say to the to the father, the owner, you say it
to the son. All right. He says, whose house
are we? We're in the house. We're either
in the house or we're out of the house. We're either in the house or
we're out of the house. Whose house are we? If. If. Look at verse six again. If we
hold fast, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the
hope firm unto the end. What's this? What's it talking
about here? If, if. Well, turn back to Philippians
3, okay? Philippians chapter 3. Philippians
chapter 3. We're either in the house or
we're out of the house. We're either in Christ or out of Christ.
Not straddling the fence, as it were. And if you are a believer,
if I am a believer, we have laid home on Christ. That's what hold fast means. Fast means firm, means solid,
means I'm not going anywhere. There was a man named Joab, back
in the Old Testament Scriptures, where the law was pursuing them.
He was a guilty man, and he ran into the tabernacle and laid
hold on the horns of the altar. And he said, if you're going
to kill me, you're going to kill me right here. Lay hold here. That's what it talks about. This
is exactly what he's saying here. Who hold fast. If we hold fast
the confident and rejoicing of the whole firm under the end.
Hold fast. What does it mean? Have you ever
had something or someone get a hold of you? I mean, something or someone
absolutely take hold of you. Not physically, but you become
so enamored with and so interested in and so fascinated by that
person or that thing that it's just got a hold of you. Your
whole person. And you dive in. I'm an enthusiast. You couldn't say it. I'm an enthusiast. Whatever it is that strikes my
attention, boy, I get into it. In other words, get into it.
Lay hold on it. Search it. Study it. Read it.
Get into it. Try it. Has this gospel got a hold of
you? I'm enamored with this. And what I'm saying, if it gets
a hold of you, something or someone gets a hold of you, this is love.
This is love. You young girls and guys, if
you ever experienced it, you know what I'm talking about.
It gets a hold of you. You just get silly. You become
a fool for love's sake. That's what the scripture says
about believers. And Christ lays hold on them,
the gospel, and they lay hold on it. And they hold fast. Look out here at Philippians
3. This happened to the Apostle Paul. Now, he was religious before.
Right, Stan? He was just religious. Oh, was
he religious. Sickeningly religious. ultra-pious, moral, upstanding,
upright, never-miss-the-service sort of religious, you know,
never drank, smoked, cussed, or chewed, or whatever, and had
all his attainments and all his life he'd been religious. He
was religious, but he was lost. Because religion ain't what you
do, it's who you know. Religion's not what you do, it's
who's in you. Not what comes out of you, it's
what's in you. And he was lost. But boy, Christ
met him one day. And look at it now, verse 8.
He renounced his past, his past religion. Verse 8. He says, I
count all things, all that background, all that religion I had, all
that knowledge I had, all my this and that and the other that
I trusted in, that I took pride in, I counted all but lost. What
for? Christ, the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Look at this. This is fanaticism,
isn't it? This is a fanaticism. Something
got a hold of this man. Ain't a something, it's a someone.
Look at it. For whom I suffered the loss
of all things, renounced it all. But what does he say? It wasn't
anything but dung anyway. Traded manure for peril. a pearl of great pride. Didn't Christ say, Deborah, that
the kingdom of God is like a man seeking goodly pearls, good things,
good things? But he said when he finds the
pearl of great pride, he sells all that he has to buy the pearl. Before, the man was looking for
good things. Oh, this is good, that's good.
But when he hears about the pearl, nothing's Nothing holds a candle
to the sun. I'm going to read on. Here's this
man's testimony here. He said, I count it all but done. Verse 9, that I might be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law. John, once
before, he had one, didn't he? He said, I had a righteousness
which was of the law. Didn't he say that concerning
the righteousness which is of the law? Blameless! He said,
I thought that because I was such a good person. I was such a good person. That's
what these two old ladies in that play kept saying. It just
nauseated me. But they kept saying that because
they'd lived all their life helping people. Helping people doesn't
save us. I'm all for helping people, but
that doesn't save us. Blood saves us. The righteousness of Jesus Christ
that He lived on this earth to fulfill on behalf of us, that's
what saves us. Nothing else. That's what Paul
says here. Not having mine own righteousness, read it, which
is of the law, but that, look at it, verse 9, that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. what God provided by Christ. Oh, look at it, read on. He's
not finished. Verse 10, he says, Oh, that I
may know him. Wait a minute. Oh, you're 50
some years old. Don't you know Christ? Oh. Sure, he knew Christ, didn't
he? But, oh my, I want to know him
better. That's what he means. I don't
know him. We know him part. He said, oh,
then I might know him. Do you know Christ? People haven't touched the hem
of his garment yet. Why do we toss to and fro about
this and that and the other? We don't know him well enough
to do it. Read on. that I might know him in the
power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his suffering,
being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Paul says, whatever
it takes, that's what I want, to attain unto this resurrection.
Isn't that what he says about his death? Read on. He says,
I haven't already attained, verse 12. I'm not already perfect. Read it with me. Are you reading
it with me, verse 12? But I'm a disciple. I follow after. If that I may apprehend that
for which I am also apprehended of Christ. He's got a hold of
me. Yes, that's all my salvation. But I'm not sitting, I'm not
there yet. often wonder if I'm going to
make it. So he says, I'm laying, I want to lay hold on it. I mean,
lay hold on it. And verse 14, it says, I pressed
toward the mark of the prize of high calling. Verse 13, reaching
forth, pressing. I've told you this before, when
I was a young fellow played basketball and I was real short for my age. You say you're short for your
age now. Granted, I'm still pressing too. But I played basketball
and the only thing I had going for me now was, man, I could
play defense. I could play defense. I'm telling
you. If we needed the ball, put me
in. I wasn't that good of an outside
shot. Or, you know, I sure couldn't
slam dunk them. But I was tenacious. Where's
the ball? I've got to have it. Full court
press. I've got, I mean, people I remember
to look on some of these. Him, off of me! Get away from
me! Pass the ball off, you know.
That's what, exactly what this is talking about. I pass. Are
you there yet? Ain't nobody in here there yet. And if some in here, I'm not
going to make it. I ought to say that with tears
in my eyes. That's what Paul said in Hebrews.
That some Jews, they just didn't make it. Why? They'd slip. Yeah, there'll be another day.
No, there won't. Look back at the text now, Hebrews
chapter 3. This is today. This is today. No promise of tomorrow, is there? Didn't Christ say, Boast not
thyself of tomorrow? When I get older, I'll get interested
in who says you're going to get older. Well, when I get married
and get, you know, get all settled, who says you're going to get
married? Well, you know, when I get my
job all situated, who says, who says there's going to be tomorrow? Huh? He keeps telling us, John, right
through this chapter here, today, today, today, while it's called
today. Look at it here in Hebrews 3,
while it's called today. He says down in verse 7, wherefore
the Holy Ghost said today, if you'll hear his voice. Whose
voice? Who are you talking about? God's voice. You say God speak? Yeah, but not out loud. How does
he speak? It's going to sound presumptuous
to an average person, but he speaks through a man like me, doing what I'm doing this morning. And I just tremble when I say
that for fear that somebody might think I'm exalting myself. No,
ma'am. No, sir. No, sir. No, sir. Though I preach the gospel, Paul
said, I have nothing to glory in, for necessity is laid upon
me. Woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel." God does speak through a man
preaching the gospel, like this this morning, through his Word.
And he says, if you will hear his voice, Christ's voice. He said, my sheep hear my voice,
didn't he? My sheep hear my voice. I sat and sat and sat and sat
hearing a man preach, okay? That's all I heard for a long
time. A man, a man, a man, a man. Oh, he was a good preacher. I believed the Scriptures, too,
as a young man. I believed that. I believed that.
I believed that. I believed that. Until one day I heard his voice. And it wasn't the voice of a
man. I heard, as it were, as it is in truth, the Word of God.
Coming from a man, yes. And just a man. That's what throws
people off. It's just a man. There's preachers
everywhere going through this. How do you harden your heart?
Anybody in here can grow a garden? You have soil out there that
grows in, right? Well, the Scriptures talk about
the soul of man being like soil, earth. And it talks about the gospel
being seed that must be planted in it, right? All right, how
do you harden the heart? How do you harden soil? Do you
have to go out there and harden your dirt? Huh? Stan? It gets hard, doesn't it? What will harden it? The thing
that'll harden it more than anything is lack of rain. Right? It goes long enough without rain,
it'll get hard. They call it hard pan. There's
some places where, at my place, it's hard pan. I mean, nothing's
going to grow in that. Unless, unless it's plowed up. Unless it gets plowed up. Paul
and Peter talk about being stirred up. The Holy Spirit must do that. How do we harden our own hearts?
You just get out of the rain. Just get out of the rain. There shall be showers of blessing. Oh, that today they might fall.
Today they might fall. Showers of blessing. Showers
of blessings we need. Mercy drops round us are falling.
But for the showers we plead. The gospel. What's going on this
morning? How do you get hard? Get out from under. The surest
way to get hard and full of unbelief and leave the gospel is to get
out from under the sand. Harden. Read on. It says, They
hardened not your heart. It says, Your fathers, verse
9, tempted me, proved me, saw my works, tempted me. That is,
they were playing at it. They were just playing at it.
They were really ignoring it. They were playing at it, putting
on a good front. Verse 12. Read on. You've got to hurry.
Take heed, brethren. Verse 11. He says, They are not
going to enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God. Take heed. Remember chapter 2,
verse 1, earnest heed. Take earnest heed. Take serious
heed. You know, I can understand young
people getting taken up with other things. I can understand
that. I was young once. I fully understand young people,
where you're at right now, what you're going through. some new
things and a new world out there and new relationships and new
feelings you're going. I fully understand that. And
I can understand young believers going, you know, going after
other things, but I cannot understand older believers. Anything sidetracked on that. You know, the older we get, the
more we hear this gospel, the more diligent and serious about
it we ought to become. The closer we get to glory, Deborah,
the more serious we ought to be, right? Earnest heed. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart. You're a fine woman, Deborah.
I think so highly of you as any woman I've ever known. I mean
that. But I've seen as fine women as
you leave this gospel. Been around a while, haven't
you? Been here a while. Been sitting right here hearing
the gospel a while. I've seen people sit three times longer
than you. All right, read on down. He says
in verse 14, we're made partakers of Christ if, here it is again,
hold, if we hold the beginning of our confidence Steadfast unto
the end. Partakers of Christ. I wish I
had another hour on that. Partakers of Christ. Oh, my life more abundant. Unending
joy. Life worth living. If we hold
fast. Now, he doesn't listen to me. All right. Just a few more minutes. This is life or death, it really
is. He says, we're made partakers
of Christ if, there's another big if, and if we hold the beginning
of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Now, Sherry, he's not
saying that if you be a super believer, really strong in the
faith, You've really renounced this and that and the other,
and really gotten the victory over this and that and the other,
and really now are living the victorious life, and really strong
in the faith now. Does he say that? What does he
say? This will just bring a smile
to your face. He says, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end, the beginning of your confidence. When I first
heard the gospel, by God's grace, I heard the gospel. I heard of
who he is. I heard who he is. He's not the God that men say
he is, helpless and trying and failing and can't do this because
they won't let him. No, this is God. God of the Bible,
a God who is God. And it struck fear in my heart,
not like I ought to, but nevertheless, fear is the beginning of wisdom.
I believe who God is. I believe God is God. And then
I saw what I am. God revealed to me, man, you're
in a bad state is what you are. A heap of trouble. Boy, so to
speak. And he said to me, you better
get to Christ fast. And through the Gospel I heard
that, hey, there's a Savior for no good, worthless, gutter, snipe,
prodigal son sinners like you. All you have to do is go to Him. Just go to Him. And I did, by
God's grace. Laid hold. Is that right? Is
that it? In the beginning. Is that it?
You came as a worthless, no good sinner. You come to Christ and
you mean this by just trust you? Yes. Oh, I like that. Lay hold. That was the beginning
of my calling. The person. All right, now here
I've lived several years. What's my hope? Oh, now I'm living
above sin. Oh, no, no, no. I feel like I'm
worse than I was in the beginning. You say, what are you doing,
preacher? Oh, I'm not, no, no. Outwardly, I'm more moral than
I was then. But I've got struggles with sin
now that I never had them. What am I going to do? You know,
I'm just not living like I feel like the Scripture says I ought
to live. Alright, what's my hope? I failed miserably as being a
good Christian. What's my hope? The beginning
of my hope. I'm going to go right back. That's
the reason. Getting ahead again. He says, to whom coming? To Christ. Keep coming to Him. He's right
there. He ever liveth to make intercession
for sinners. Lay hold up, horns are right
there on the altar, John. Right there. Lay hold again,
the gospel. And I quit with this. He said,
but with some, verse 16, they heard, they did provoke. You
know, I can't help it. It provokes me when I preach
and preach and preach to people and they look at me obviously
uninterested. I can't help it. It's like, have
you ever sat there talking to somebody and you're real enthused
about what you're saying and they're going, huh? What? Have you ever done that? You can't help but be provoked. That's exactly what God is saying.
He gets provoked at people. Some people hear the gospel,
hear the gospel, hear the gospel, hear the gospel. Provoked. I've reached out to people before.
I've known people that I've tried to befriend and reach out and
reach out, call and call and write and so forth, and they
don't return it. Until finally, you can't help
it. It provokes you. You say, that's
it, I quit. I quit. Well, I know I'm speaking
like a man, but that's what this is saying. He was grieved with
them, verse 17. And verse 18, he swore they're
not going to enter in. Why? Verse 19. They could not
enter in because of unbelief. You say, I don't understand that
preacher. I thought God saved whom He will.
He does. He does. God's sovereign. If anybody's saved, He's going
to save them. If He wills to save them, He's going to save
them. If anybody is saved, God gets one hundred percent of the
credit. Salvation is one hundred percent
by the sovereign grace and power of God Almighty. You know that
so don't you? If you make it, God's going to
have to get you there. One hundred percent, carry you
all the way. But if we're not saved in the
end, we get one hundred percent of the blame. So I don't understand
that. Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. That's just the way it is, isn't
it? He said, You would not. You heard
this gospel over and over. You would not, didn't you? If you would, if you do, he made
you with it. Give him all the glory, but if
you don't, I just obstinately rejected it. Right? All right. Brother John, do you have a p.m.
picked out? What is it? him number thirty-six. Stand
and sing just a couple of verses. Number one and number two. Y'all stand. of who was never failing. Our helper He amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe Does
seek to worship foe His cross and power are grave And armed
with cruel hate On earth is not his equal Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing? Were not the right man on our
side The man of God's own choosing? Just as true that may be Christ
Jesus, it is He. Let's gather up His name. From age to age the same. And He must win the battle. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it.