The Believer's Pastime

Q: What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

The Bible teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10). In Scripture, the fear of the Lord is consistently highlighted as the essential starting point for understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 states, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,' emphasizing that a proper reverence and awe for God is foundational to gaining insight into His ways. Likewise, Proverbs 9:10 declares that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,' suggesting that wisdom is achieved when one acknowledges God’s sovereignty, power, and holiness. This understanding leads to a life guided by His principles and a relationship marked by reverence.

Q: How do we know that our salvation is secure?

Believers have assurance of salvation through the precious blood of Christ, which redeems us from sin (1 Peter 1:18-19). The assurance of salvation is grounded in the nature of Christ's sacrifice. According to 1 Peter 1:18-19, believers know they were not redeemed with perishable things but with the precious blood of Christ, which signifies the high cost and importance of their salvation. The use of 'precious blood' conveys that God's own Son was the price paid for redemption, showing how invaluable this salvation is. For a believer, understanding that their sins have been atoned for by Christ’s sacrifice offers a solid foundation for assurance, as it is God's sacred work rather than their own efforts that secures their salvation.

Q: Why is fear of God important for Christians?

The fear of God is crucial for Christians as it shapes their relationship with Him and leads to obedience and reverence. For Christians, the fear of God is integral to a genuine and vibrant faith. It involves an acknowledgment of God's holiness, justice, and sovereignty, as discussed in Romans 3:18, where it is noted that a lack of fear of God signifies separation from Him. This fear is not mere terror but a profound respect that motivates believers to live in accordance with His will. The fear of God leads to a deeper understanding of His character and an inclination to serve Him with reverence, ultimately guiding Christians in their daily lives and decisions to reflect His glory.

Q: What does it mean to pass the time of our sojourning in fear?

Passing the time of our sojourning in fear means living with a continuous awareness of God's holiness and a commitment to His service. To pass the time of our sojourning in fear, as mentioned in 1 Peter 1:17, involves living our lives in light of God's presence and authority. It means recognizing that our time on earth is temporary and that our actions are seen and judged by God. This kind of fear leads to a life marked by reverence, a commitment to pursuing holiness, and an acknowledgment of the gravity of our relationships and responsibilities. As believers, we navigate life understanding that we are destined for eternity, prompting us to live in a way that honors God and adheres to His commandments during our time here.

Q: How should Christians love one another?

Christians are called to love one another with a pure heart fervently (1 Peter 1:22). The call to love one another is a fundamental aspect of Christian life. In 1 Peter 1:22, believers are instructed to love one another with a pure heart fervently. This admonition emphasizes both the quality of love—a love that is untainted and sincere—and the intensity with which it should be expressed. Loving one another fervently involves not only emotional affection but also action and commitment to the well-being of fellow believers. This love is grounded in the understanding of Christ's love for us, inspiring us to model that love in our relationships and community, fostering unity and spiritual growth.

If you call on the Father, who without respect of persons
judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning
here in fear." What's your favorite pastime? The title of this message, if
you read it, is The Believer's Pastime. And for the sake of
memory, I'll remember it. But what is your favorite pastime?
If I asked you that, what would you say? I believe there would
probably be as many different answers as there are people in
here. pastimes or ways that you pass
the time, your free time, what little you may have of it. For
some, it's their favorite pastimes are an outdoor activity. Maybe
hunting or fishing. We have some avid hunters in
here. And fishing, maybe that. We have some fishermen in here.
Brother Bob Coffey, when he was here, one of the ways I enticed
him to come was to say they stopped big river with drought. He said we'll be there early.
And. That I think it was Sunday afternoon
he went fishing. Well we went Friday night when
they got here we all went down there with Bob went again and
I got my feel of it that's not my pastime I enjoy it but I don't
catch fish I don't enjoy But he does, he just likes to, and
he, man, he came back Sunday afternoon. My pastime is outdoor,
too. What I like to do is shovel manure. No, I'm serious. I'm dead serious. You say you're a fool. No, I'm serious, I do. I love
the sights and the smells of that old barn, and looking at
the backside of that horse. I do. I don't golf anymore. It's too expensive. And these
other things. I don't hunt and fish, but I
like shoveling manure. It helps me reflect and remember
the pit from which I was digging. I tell you that. It helps me
remember how he raised this old beggar from a dung hill. I reflect
quite a bit on that passage. At any rate, you call me a fool.
Well, Bob came back from fishing Sunday, and he was cut and sweating. And just, I said, you have a
good time? He said, yeah. He had navigated those jagged
rocks and banks of that old river, you know, hunting for bubba or
whoever it was, that fish. It's different for some of you.
Different activities. Some of you may be indoor. You
may like indoor activities, pass the time, sewing, cooking, reading,
whatever. Nothing wrong with these things. Everyone needs an outlet. Some
kind of repose or relaxation, R&R, you know. Nothing wrong
with these things, as long as past time doesn't become full
time. As long as you redeem the time. What time? Of God says there's
a time for everything and so it's time to finish his time
worship. And long as you don't get mixed
up. And you serve. The past time for what should
be full time. You see this is the believers
past time. It says here all the time verse
seventeen past the time of your sojourning here in fear. Turn with me to Proverbs 1. Proverbs
1, right after the book of Psalms, you'll find the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 1. Proverbs 1. All our time, all
the believer's time, whatever he's doing, whatever he or she
is doing, and this is a good way to spend your free time or
to choose that hobby or pastime, whatever it is that may tend to this, fear the Lord. All our time, whatever we're
doing, he said, whatever you do, whether it's eat or drink,
do all of the glory of God. We spend our time in fear. be nice if these pastimes would
in some way. Direct our thoughts. Toward the
fear of the Lord right. Fear of the Lord look at Proverbs
one all our time he said should be spent in fear past the time
of your sojourn in fear Proverbs one verse seven the fear of the
Lord. Is the beginning of knowledge. Fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge. Look over at Proverbs 9. It says
something similar. Proverbs 9, look over there. Fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy is understanding. And back there in Proverbs 1,
verse 7, it says, of the Lord's beginning of knowledge. And. And the principal part. I didn't
write that down where is that murder. The principal part. At any rate. It's the main ingredient
or characteristic of. Saving fates fear. Fear knowledge
of the Holy One Christ. That's what our Lord said in
John 17, same thing. He said, this is eternal life,
that they might know thee, the only true God. And Jesus Christ,
whom he has sent. All right, the believer's pastime
is spent in fear of God. Fear of God. Turn over to Romans
3. Fear of God. Romans 3. I'm talking about the God of
the Bible. Of course, a believer is one
who knows the true and living God. And those who know the true and
living God, they fear him. They fear him. Say, I love Jesus,
I love the Lord. Well, fine, but the first characteristic
that's in the heart of a true believer is not love, it's fear. This fear. Romans three verse
eighteen. Says look at this. And let me
count let me advise everyone in here to take advantage of
the Sunday morning Bible study. It's absolutely the most important
thing you can get in on we're studying the book of Romans and. I really believe anybody take
advantage of that they would. Paul covers it all in the book
of Romans, and if you are really seeking the truth, if you think
you know the truth, it'll be revealed to you in this study
of Romans. Well, Romans 3, 18, he says, there's no fear of God
before their eyes. Up in verse 12, it says, they're
all gone out of the way. Verse 9, we better than they
know. before proved Jews and Gentiles
all understand. All gone out of the way. Verse
18, no fear of God before their eyes. The natural man does not
fear God. And a man may call himself religious
and a believer, but if he doesn't fear God, he's lost. He doesn't know God. Because we're talking about the
God of the Bible, whom he unites all the hearts
of believers to fear his name. That's what the scripture says. All the saints fear him. They
fear him. The God of the Bible is to be
feared, first of all. Why? Because he's not loved first. He said, the cherub, and we sung
that song. He said, the cherubs cried, holy,
holy, holy. What did Isaiah do when he heard
this song and when he saw this Lord? What did he do? Oh, he
said, woe is me. What did John do on the Isle
of Patmos when he saw this Lord? What did he do? Fell on his face
as a dead man. Didn't come running up waving
his hand. That's the beginning of saving
knowledge. Man and woman doesn't have that first and foremost.
They don't know the God of the Bible. And today, because the God of
the Bible is not preached, but a God who's all love, and who's helpless, and impotent, And they don't fear him. I said Wednesday night, and I
kind of wouldn't apologize, but I was just explaining things,
the way I do things, why I preach what I preach and how. But I realize that some people
may think that I preach too negatively. And I say too much about modern
religion and poke fun at people. in religion today, and I say
too much about preachers and talk about this false gospel
today, but I'm telling you, if you'll read the Bible and
you start in the prophets, if you'll read every one of the
prophets, you won't find them saying one good thing about their
generation, not one. Not Isaiah, not Jeremiah, not
Ezekiel, not Hosea, not Daniel, not any of them. and not John the Baptist, the
last of them. Not one good thing. Have we better? Are we better? We just read that
in Romans 3. Are we better than they? Are
we an enlightened generation? Is this a generation seeking
after God? Is modern man, twentieth-century man, is this religious Christian
America, the moral majority? There is none that feareth God.
There is no fear of God before their eyes. It's clear and plain
as the nose on your face, the way they use his name, the shenanigans that go on in
places called worship. It's clear as the nose on your
face. And why do I say these things? The people at Nineveh, the places
where the prophets came, they repented and said, Oh, don't let us be like the world
and like the people. Sanctify us. Set us apart. Unite our hearts to fear thy
name. Fear the Lord's beginning of
wisdom. Fear the Lord's beginning of
wisdom. I can drive home one point this morning that says,
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Oh, I could go on and on with
that. But see, the God of the Bible,
Hebrews 12.29, that's the New Testament, isn't it? Hebrews
12.29 says, Our God is a consuming fire. Scripture says, and there's not
one in a thousand that know this, in Exodus 34, he says, he will
by no means clear the guilty. And that's quoted three or four
times. Why? He's holy. Now that's the
beginning of wisdom, Joe Park. God's sovereign, too. God's sovereign. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. He doesn't consult man or wait
on man to do anything. He doesn't ask man, he doesn't
ask man if he's willing, God will do something. No, he worketh
all things according to the counsel of his own will. None shall stay
his hand and say unto him, you can't do that. They may say it,
but they can't stop it. God will work, Scripture says,
and who will let it? He's sovereign. Fear the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. Who is this we're to fear? Who
is this Lord? Who is the Lord? That's what
Pharaoh said. Who is the Lord that I should serve Him? You
want to know who the Lord is? It's Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Yeah, the same Jesus
that came as a man. That's what Peter said at Pentecost,
wasn't it? That everybody, after he got
through preaching, who Jesus was, oh, they were scared to death. crying out, what must we do? When they found out that this
Jesus was not a man anymore, and not in their hands anymore,
was seated on a throne, and they were in his hands, the Lord of
glory, they fell down on their faces and feared him. And at
the beginning of the Salvation Stand, three thousand people
God created the fear of this Jesus Christ in their hearts.
Salvation had come to their house. Fear of the Lord. He's king of
kings. He's king. He's king to whom
we must bow. And the scripture says in Psalm
2, kiss the Lord. Kiss the Lord. Where do we kiss? Oh no, we don't get that high.
Judas did that. When you're bowing, what is there
to kiss? Feet. Kiss his feet. And all those
who he by grace abases, brings them to bow down, he'll exalt
like that woman caught in the act of adultery and he'll swoop
down and lift her up. Kissed his feet in what? here
here in this that's the believer's past. Past the time of your sojourn
in fear of fear of God. Fear of God. Do you fear the
Lord? I'll tell you another thing.
Look at Hebrews four. Another thing. Hebrews four verse
one. Here's another thing. We pass
the time in fear doing. Hebrews four. We pass the time
fear in fear of falling." Is that right, preacher? Are
we supposed to fear falling? I thought we were supposed to
trust Christ. Well, you are. But look at it
here. Hebrews 4, look at verse 1. It
says, "...let us therefore fear, lest the promise being left us
of entering into his wrath, any of you should seem to fall short
of it." Let us fear. Bar bread ought
to be our pastime. Fear falling. Oh, Lord, don't
take your hand off of me. I'm a goner. I'm a goner. Fear dying without
Christ. Look over at Hebrews 10. Look
over here. Hebrews 10. Fear apostasy. Listen to me,
please. God help us all. Would you listen
to me, believer? Do you call yourself a believer?
Do we call ourselves a believer? Would you read Hebrews 10 with
me? If I never preach to you again, will you read Hebrews
10 with me? If I lose sleep at night and
pray over you and worry about you, would you look at this with
me just for about five minutes? Would you look at it with me,
Hebrews ten, look at it, verse twenty-three. Let us hold fast
the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful
that promiseth. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love
and to good works, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together
as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so
much the more, as you see the day approaching, for if we sin
willfully, and this is a rejection of the gospel or apostasy. We
do what we want to do, we go where we want to go, we do what
we want to do, we're willful, we do, we all sin, but this is
talking about just leaving the gospel willfully. Read on, come
on now, look, verse twenty-five. Not forsaking the assembly of
ourselves, verse twenty-six, if we sin willfully after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there's no more sacrifice
for sin. There's a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversary. He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy unto two or three witnesses.
How much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy,
who should have trodden underfoot the Son of God, and counted the
blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, done despite or despise the Spirit of grace? We know
him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth, I will recompense,
saith the Lord." And again, the Lord shall judge his people.
Peter said, judgment will begin here. It's a fearful thing. Look
at it, verse 31. A fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. Paul remembers the former days
in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of
affliction and became a laughing stock to this generation. Verse 37, "'Yet a little while
he shall come,' will come, he won't perish, the just shall
live by faith. Any man draw back, God will have
no pleasure in him.'" Let's pass the time of our sojourn
in here and fear lest there be a promise left to us, any of
us should come short of it. 1 Peter 1. Look at it. It says here, past the time of our
sojourn in fear, The Believer, verse 18, this is written to
the Believer. I don't expect everyone to be
moved by this, but verse 18 says, "'For as much as you know, pass
the time of your sojourn here in fear.'" Why? Because you know
you weren't redeemed with corruptible things. Silver and gold, your
vain conversation received by tradition from your father, your
past religion or whatever it may be. You see, believers know
this, that what it took to redeem their souls was not things, right? It took the blood of God's Son, which God, it's my Son, I'm going
to pour out His blood for the redemption of the likes of you,
He said. Now, every believer knows that.
Every believer knows that. In my hands, no price I bring. What's it going to take? Not
my two cents, not my two bit works. In my hands, no price
I bring, simply to the Christ of the cross. What can wash away
my sins? Every believer knows this. Not
his repentance, not his church going, not his righteousness,
nothing but the blood Precious blood, sinless blood, perfect
blood, spotless blood, he says, and a lamb without blemish. God's
lamb. John said, there he is, the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Every believer
knows this. He is redeemed with precious
blood. Precious. Precious to God and
it's precious to him or her. Costly blood. What did it cost
to redeem us? It's unspeakable. It's unspeakable. No man's ever preached it. The
cost of the redemption of a soul, the blood of God's Son, I've
heard men try to describe and go into great detail about the
crucifixion of Christ, but perhaps it's never been told. I've heard
men, I've tried myself to declare what it took Christ to live that
life and made sin for us and a sacrifice of himself, but the
half's never been told. What it took to redeem his people was a pouring out of his soul
unto death. Precious blood. God's blood.
That's what Acts 20, 28 said. The church of God which he purchased
with his own blood. God's blood. God's blood. God's punishment of sin. You want to see what God Almighty
thinks of sin. What God Almighty will do to
those that sin is found on. Go to Calvary. You don't have
to go to hell. Go to Calvary. Scripture says God has made him
to be sin. It says the Lord wounded him. You want to see what God would
do to a man who sin is found on? Look at that
bloody piece of meat hanging on the cross. And if you could
look further than that, you'd see a soul in torment. Why? Because he's holy. He's just. The fear of the Lord. The knowledge of the Holy. Why
Christ came. That's the beginning of wisdom. Saving wisdom. Read on with me. Verse 20. He
says, Christ was barely foreordained before the foundation of the
world. Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the
world. To do this, he said, for this end I came. He said, I came
to die. When we're born on this earth,
we're not born to die. You young people. You 12 years
old. My daughter's 11. Maybe one of
you 12 in here. Is there a 12-year-old boy in
here? Andrew, do you think about dying?
Is that what you're thinking about all the time? Jesus Christ
and His 12-year-old boy, that's all He thought about. So I came to die, a bloody, excruciatingly
painful death. That's what it took, what it
took. Before the foundation of the
world, from the cradle to the grave, his eye, his heart, his
mind was set on Calvary. We turn, we try to avoid even
thinking about death, don't we? Don't we, Barbara? We try to
avoid thinking about it. That man sitting beside you is
going to die one of these days. He's getting close. He's three-scoring
ten. It's borrowed time, Brother Charles,
borrowed time. You're going to die, but Barbara,
you don't want to think about it, do you? You don't want to
lose him. He's going to die. We avoid the subject. Christ
had his mind and his heart set on it. and the worst of death. Brother Charles, I believe the
Lord will be merciful to him. Great, he'll die in peace. It'll
be like he's on his face now. There'll be one of those. Not
Christ. Not Jesus. Not the man Jesus. He'll have a smile on his face. Says he's busy with marriage
more than any man. I believe he looked about seventy
years old when he was thirty-three. Why? No man suffered like this
man. Suffering will make you look
old, you know. I've seen some people, when they
told me their age, I couldn't believe it. I thought they were
much older than that. Pain and suffering and worry
and so forth will age you rapidly, won't it? Oh, the Lord was made
sin from an early age. What did it take to redeem us?
That's the reason we should pass the time of our sojourn in fear. Fear. This is what God did for
me. Am I getting this across? This
is what God, it took John Davis, it took God to save you. Now
what are you going to do about it? How are you going to spend
your time? Not giving a care about Jesus
Christ and the worship of him to serve his You know you weren't redeemed.
It took precious blood. That's what Paul was saying in
Romans 12. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies as living sacrifices, not part time, living
sacrifices. It's your reasonable service.
Then he says, reasonable service. Why? Because he served us from
the cradle to the grave. The fear of standing against
him. Here's the next thing. He manifests
to us. Manifests to us. My, my. We've
got the gospel. I was thinking, why are we more
thankful for this gospel? There's a world out there starving.
I'm telling you, there's a world out there that's not hearing
one iota of what we're hearing here. And they think they're getting
a good meal. When I first got married, the
men didn't ever cook for me before we got married. And, fellas,
I was scared to death. I was scared to death. I just
knew, whoo, man, I'm going to have to suffer About four or
five years of bad cooking until she learns. But it's a gift. You know, cooking is a gift.
Because I had some women practice for years. But she was given
the gift, and from the first meal on, nearly every one, if you stick to basics and not
try some of these new things, fangled things. Some of them
are good. At any rate, let me get off of
this subject. She's a good cook, and I've just
eaten meal after meal, just scrumptious meal. I never want to take it
for granted. I always try to tell her, thank you, and I do
appreciate it. Boy, my belly does. If my mouth
doesn't say it, my belly does. Well, we went some But she cooked the meal and the
green beans were like, you're seeing those rubber, that rubber
or plastic fruit, you know, used to put on display. We got in
the car after that meal, I said, Nanny, I'm so thankful. Oh, I'm
so thankful. She said, for what? I said, for
your cooking. And if it would serve the purpose,
and I sure ain't bragging on this old piece of dung, but if it would serve the purpose,
you'd go somewhere next Sunday morning. Just pick you a spot on next
Wednesday night. And you sit. And you try to feed. If you'll serve a purpose, if
you know the truth, if you know Christ, if you've heard the joyful
sound, if you've fed on this bread from heaven, bountiful meals, if you've heard
the gospel and ate abundantly, you'll come back here being mighty
thankful for what's been manifest unto us here in this place. As I've said before, you know,
if you've cooked bread And sometimes she always could, and it's always
good in it. That bread, Mindy cooks, and
some of you do, and it may be times when I do take it for granted.
I do. I get so much of it. And so she
tries to find different ways to cook it. It's the same food,
bread. Same food in that. And I try,
try, try, find different recipes, you know, different books, same
food. And it's good bread. It's manifest. Christ, this gospel has been
manifest in these last times. Last time. Last time, John, didn't
he say that there's going to be a famine in the last days?
There'll be a famine, but not a bread. But of the hearing of
the Word of God. And it says people are going
to have to go a long way to get it. A long way to get it. We pass the time here. Now hurry,
we pass the time here in waiting, pass the time waiting for the
Lord, waiting. Our Lord said, Blessed is the
servant whom when the Lord shall come shall find him watching,
waiting. Blessed is the servant Like the
wise virgins, you remember there were ten virgins, five of them
were wise, five foolish, five had oil, five didn't. That's
a perfect picture of a good Sunday morning church service. There's five, no oil. Five had oil. When the bridegroom
said the bridegroom come if they were waiting, and they entered
in. Like Simeon, that old man, He's
waiting. Charles, that's like an old man
sitting in the pew. Simeon was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. It's like two old men, Charles,
maybe you and another one in here. One's going to church,
the other one's waiting on the Lord. Waiting to hear about him. Consolation
of Charles Ross. Or like that impotent man who's
by the side of the waters. The infant man who was sitting
beside the water and waiting for the moving of the water,
wasn't it? And somebody came up to him.
Somebody came up to him. He said, What are you waiting
on? Somebody came up to him. He said, What are you waiting
on? He said, The moving of the waters.
Well, when the Lord comes and moves the waters, if I can get
in there, I'll be healed. Christ said, You don't need to
get in that water. Get up. Somebody came to me. He's waiting. What are we doing
here? We're waiting on the Lord, because
he said, We're two or three together, Deborah. I'm going to be there. What are
you doing here, Deborah? Waiting on the Lord? I hope I am, too. Are you hearing
this message, Debra? Are you speaking to your heart
a little bit, Debra? Are you waiting on the Lord,
Ed? What we spend our time doing
is a believer's pastime. What I'm doing right now is my
pastime. I'm not talking about preaching. I'm talking about
worship. We spend the time of our sojourn,
past the time of our sojourning here. Brother Bob used that illustration,
didn't he? He said, I'm a salesman to meet
expenses. Christ is my life. Sojourner. That means the visitor. Passing
through. And waiting. Past the time waiting with all
those that gather in his name. who will feel the heavenly train.
You know what that means that song we sing who feel the heavenly
train. That's Barbara says when Isaiah
saw the Lord his train filled the temple you know what that
train is you know a bride you know what's the train of a bride. We have a young lady in here
I don't know if she's going to wear one of those trains and I hope
not. I'm allowed to step on it. But that train is, it's those,
that veil, that big long train, trails long behind her, that
veil and that train. What's Christ's train? It's his
people. It's his church. Revelation says
he enters in and behind him is a number which no man can number,
dressed in white robes. His train fills the temple. You
want in on that train? What do you do to get on a train? You going to catch a train? Anybody
ever caught a train? What you going to have to do?
He ain't going to wait on you. How about a bus? You ever wait on
a bus? You ever caught a bus? What do
you have to do? Where's the bus coming in? The bus station. Two or three are gathered. They're
going to be there. I barely believe, I believe with
all my heart, Brother Todd and I were talking about it. Scripture
seemed to indicate it. He shall so come, and like manners
you've seen him go, had to go. They were gathered together.
He appeared, I know this for a fact, he appears unto them
that wait for him. Thomas didn't say, wow. Thomas was filled with doubt
and fear, wasn't he? Thomas was bitter and cynical,
wasn't he? I don't believe you. Thomas was
full of envy and jealousy. I don't believe that. I go, why?
He wasn't with them. But bless God, he still came
to Thomas anyway. Tom? Tom. Oh, Tom Fool? Fool has said no, God. Fool has
said he didn't arise. Fool has said he ain't coming
back. Tom Fool? Oh, Tom Fool. Reach out your
hands. touchy-scarred. It's me. Didn't I tell you? Christ told
those disciples, He said, you go before me in the Galilee,
I will peer unto you. Didn't He say that? Didn't He
say that? Want to catch a train? When I was a young brakeman,
when I first started working on the railroad, I started out as a brakeman. I
used to ride cabooses, and no more cabooses anymore. I've ridden
many a caboose. But I'll never forget one ride
that I took, I'll never forget the rest of my life. It was the
first one. They hired me and said, You're
going to be a brakeman on a railroad. Oh, boy. Great. When do I go to work? Whenever
we call you. And wait a minute, seven, no,
we'll call you. But I'll go to work, nine to
five. No, no. No, you wait. We'll call you. You're waiting
now. You work for us, you're going
to wait on us. We're going to call you. Well, they did, didn't
they, Mendee? From that day forward, it was any old time. But the
first time, I sleep in my bed. I had been visiting my future
wife, courting her, and I left her house aboutâ€”better not tell. Young people, I left her at ten
sharp. But went home. At any rate, I
was laying in my bed at two-thirty in the morning. The phone rang.
Who could that be? You're ordered for a 3.30 a.m. northern. A what? A what? A what? Pick? Where do I, where
do I get pick? I grabbed my suitcase, you know,
heart beating, and grabbed down in there, and it darted out of
nowhere, and where'd I see? The crew caller, I called him,
I said, where's my train? He said, you'll catch your train
on track 24. They're staying, there's a hundred
and some tracks down in that yard. The whole car is pitch
black. I crawled through the car. You're
not supposed to crawl through it, Steve. You're not supposed
to crawl through those cars, aren't you? I had to get to track 24. I crawled under them. I crawled
over. Where's track 24? Finally got something, the conductor
was down there waiting in the yard, and he said, I'll get you
there. And we started walking. Had to walk the train, check
the brakes. Brake, where's the brake? Yeah, I was a brakeman,
Steve. I didn't know what a brake was.
It was a stuck brake. A what? Walking out there, there's
a train running this way, and our train just said, yeah, our
train coming this way, and another train going beside us. You've
been down through those yards, hasn't you? That much room on
either side. Carrying my bag, pitch black,
couldn't see my hand in front of my foot, scared to death.
He said, never want to catch this caboose when it comes by. It's not going to catch me. You're
going to have to catch it. You're going to have to grab
hold and lay hold on it. It's coming fast. Don't miss
the train." I said, what am I going to do? He said, let me have your
grip. He got my grip. That caboose came down and I
bent the iron on that crap boat. And so I threw me like a flag.
I didn't know how to get on it. Threw me like a flag, and I got
on and I laid hold on that caboose. I wasn't missing a train. Paul told young Timothy, you
lay hold on eternal life. Yeah, but if Christ's going to
save me, He's going to save me. Here she comes! I will not let you go unless
you bless me." That's who's going to be saved, Kevin. That's who's going to be saved.
Let no man fool you. Yeah, the elect are saved, but
they call on Him. They seek Him with all their
heart. And when they hear the gospel, they say, That's me.
That's for me. I'm a sinner. Give me that! What are you waiting on? Train. That's what we read Wednesday
night, wasn't it? No man that layeth stirreth up
himself to take hold on thee. And where will you find him? Well, and lastly, he says here
in verse twenty-two, he says, seeing you have purified your
soul, we spend our time, the believer's pastime, seeing you
have purified your souls, and obeying the truth through the
Spirit," verse 22, "...and to unfeigned love of the brethren."
See that, you! See that, you! Love one another
with a pure heart, firmly. Spend our time loving one another. Who do I spend my time with? Who do you spend your time with? Thank God she's a believer. I'm talking about the bride,
she's the bride, isn't she? I have some, there's some people
in this community, there's some people that I consider my friends,
I do. I like them, fine people. One of my neighbors is just a
fine man, he's just a fine man. I like him. David said, I am a companion. David said this, Psalm 119, I
am a companion of them that fear me. John Sheasley, Jr., we're good
buddies now, buddy. We go golfing. We can go golfing
together. Haven't yet. I want to. I'm looking
forward to it. Why? Because that's not the tie
that binds us. And whether we have a good round
or not, probably won't. We'll have a good round, won't
we? Because the conversation will come around to what's really
important. I'm a companion to them. I wouldn't
have been before, before the Lord revealed the gospel to you.
I like you. Why? Because you're your dad's
son, and I'm a companion of him. And now you fear the same Lord.
Now we're buddies, mighty good buddies, bosom buddies, eternal
buddies. And that's what we spend our
time cultivating, these relationships that we're going to spend forever
with. This courtship, I had a courtship with many, three years, three
long years. I waited for that gal. He's worth it. He's worth it. Now I'm spending
my life with him. Spending my life with him. And I'm waiting for the Lord
to come back to get his bride, whom I'm spending my time with.
It's a courtship. Those of them will spend eternity
with. Cultivate, nurse, love one another with a pure heart.
And I mean this, I'm not trying to be religious. Yesterday, out
of nowhere, nobody I'd rather have been with. How about you,
Amy? Really? Really? Nobody, nobody. Vicki Patton,
I'm sorry, Vicki was here, she was just beaming all day long. She lives alone over there. She doesn't have constant companionship.
She was here with all her brothers and her family, and she was beaming
all day long. I like that. She's red now. She's red. She's flushing now. She was beaming yesterday, and
I was too. Everybody I saw felt the same
way. Wow! I'm a companion of them
that fear thee. And I'm going to pass my time
with you. If you'll have me. If you'll have me. If you call on the Father, who
without respect to persons judges every man according to their
work, pass the time of your sojourning here. in fear and see that you
love one another with a pure heart, fervently. All right,
Brother Joe, do you have a hymn picked out? 212. 212.

The Believer's Pastime

What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

How do we know that our salvation is secure?

Why is fear of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to pass the time of our sojourning in fear?

How should Christians love one another?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The Believer's Pastime

What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

How do we know that our salvation is secure?

Why is fear of God important for Christians?

What does it mean to pass the time of our sojourning in fear?

How should Christians love one another?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

More from Paul Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Paul Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book