If someone were to ask me to
sum up the difference in what we preach, as opposed to what's
being preached today, if I were to ask you that, what would you
say? If I were to ask you to sum up
the difference between what we preach as opposed to what's being
preached today, this is what I'd say. I would say the sum
and substance of what we preach is the person in the work of
Jesus Christ, the person in the work. In short, as Paul said,
we preach Christ and him crucified. That is the sum and the substance
of all of our preaching, all of it. And others may occasionally
preach about Jesus Christ and talk of his words and his works,
but it is obvious that they do not base the whole of man's salvation
on Christ alone. It's obvious. It's obvious that
they leave most of salvation up to man. Isn't it obvious to
you? They leave it up to man to finish
what Jesus merely started. Isn't that, doesn't that sum
up what is being preached today? It's equally obvious, if you'll
listen to them, it's equally obvious that most preachers and
people, religious people, put greater emphasis on works of
religion and us doing something for Jesus. and emphasis on their
programs and their various forms of religious activity and entertainment. They put more emphasis on those
things than the preaching of the gospel. Isn't that obvious
to you? It is to me. And that which modern
religion seems to be taken up with is what's going on, how
many, how much, and so forth. But we preach Christ. We preach
Christ, not just about him. Not every now and then we touch
on him and go on to other things. We preach him. We preach him
high and lifted up because he said, if I be lifted up, that's
how I'll draw men to me. If I be lifted up, if they see
me, they'll come to me. We preach him sovereign. We preach
him successful. We preach him satisfied. Lord
and Savior. Salvation totally in his hand. from the choosing of a people
to the final glorification of those people, from the saving,
from the choosing, to the redeeming, to the final saving of those
people. We preach it's Christ's work from start to finish. We're all in Christ's hands.
He's called the Alpha and Omega, the beginning, the end, the author
and finisher of the faith. And all that we do here in this
place Although I can say this with the utmost belief and strong persuasion, that all we do here
is designed to worship, glorify, and exalt Christ. And the purpose,
our purpose in preaching, the purpose for all of our people,
young and old, is to come to a faith and a knowledge of that
Christ, of Jesus Christ. That's the purpose in all that
we do here. Like someone, one of these big
religionists, asked a pastor we know what they do for their
young people in their church. And he said, we preach the gospel
to them, not trying to entertain them on their road to hell. We're
trying to keep their souls out of it, preaching the gospel to
them. So all that we do here is designed
to worship, glorify, and exalt Christ. Our purpose is that all
of us come to know and believe and trust Jesus Christ, be saved,
know him, which is salvation. And our church, our preaching
Our church. And. And your pastor and this
preach the preaching that comes from this pulpit. Mirrors or
is. I try to make it we want it to
be an exact duplicate of what the apostles preach don't want
it mirrors or it should mirror the preaching of the apostles
as We've clearly seen in the book of Acts our message is the
same as Paul's here in Acts thirteen. Our message is the same. Paul's
message was the same as Stephen's. Stephen's was the same as Peter's
at Pentecost. Wasn't it? Do you notice the
striking similarity? Peter's message was the same
as John's. John's message was the same as
Isaiah's. Isaiah is the same as Jeremiah,
Jeremiah is Samuel, Samuel is David, David is Moses. Because the scriptures say, to
him give all the prophets witness, and to Christ give all the apostles
witness, and to Christ give all the preachers witness, and to
Christ give all the people witness, and give all the angels witness,
and all the cherubs give witness, and the seraphs give witness,
and God gives witness, and the Holy Spirit gives witness to
him, because Christ is all, right? All bear witness of Jesus Christ.
He's called in that one song, the hope of earth and the joy
of heaven. So he is our subject. All right? And this is Paul's subject here
in his message at Antioch. Let's just do an overview of
Paul's message here. And as I said, it is strikingly
similar to Peter's message at Pentecost He quotes some of the
same verses as Peter did, and Stephen's message. Stephen's
message. All right, let's read it. Paul
entered into a, Paul and Barnabas that is, entered into the Jewish
synagogue, verse fourteen. They came to Antioch, went into
the synagogue on a Sabbath day. Now this was over in the land
of the Gentiles, but there were Jewish synagogues, you know the
Jews had combed that Middle Eastern area from the time of of Abraham
on to this time Jews had spread throughout all the world. And
this is what much of the prophets talking about gathering his people
back to Jerusalem. But and that's spiritual time.
But there were Jewish synagogues everywhere and this is the here
was one here at Antioch and Paul and Barnabas went into the synagogue
and this was this is what he What happened is that they were
reading verse fifteen the law and the prophets. They were reading
it. They were studying it. But they
were ignorant of it. Does that sound familiar? Everybody
had a Bible. Well, they were reading the Bible
anyway. They were reading Isaiah. They
were reading the Word of God. They believed the Word, John.
They were Bible-believing Jews. But they didn't know who the
Word was talking about, did they? They believed the Bible, but
they didn't believe Christ. They didn't believe the gospel.
Sound familiar? And it says, after they read
the Law and the Prophets, they saw Paul and Barnabas there,
and all the people were stirred up. They knew that these were
famous men, and these formal, religious, self-righteous Pharisees,
you know, they didn't have anything to say, and they were glad step
down for a minute, they didn't have anything to say, and I said,
oh, we're glad to have the noted Saul of Tarsus with us today,
former Pharisee, has a doctorate, a Master of Divinity, and a B.A.,
he studied under Gamaliel. As you know, I studied under
Gamaliel. Paul, Saul, do you have anything
to say to us? He wishes he hadn't said that
after it was all over. Saul, we'd like to hear from
you today. Amen, amen, amen. So Saul stood
up. Verse 16, Paul stood up and,
beckoning with his hand, said, Men of Israel, men of Israel
now, and ye that fear God, give audience. Now Israel, oh, they
should have heard about the Messiah, shouldn't they? They ought to
hear it today. Nobody is so blind as the Jews today, are they?
He was sent to his own people, and they received him not. The
Messiah came to the Jews who'd been waiting on him, Joe, for
thousands of years, and he came, stood right in the middle of
them. And John, they didn't know him. They turned thumbs down
on him. So God blinded their hearts, and today there's nobody
so blind as the Jews. They're still looking for the
Messiah. Barbara, they're still studying Isaiah, looking for
the Messiah. How blind can you be when the
gospel has been so clearly preached? They ought to hear, shouldn't
they? The Jews ought to hear. But they didn't, and they don't
today. Some do. And ye that fear God,
it says. Give audience. Ye that fear God.
Men that fear God. Those who truly fear God ought
to hear. Ought to hear God's Word, oughtn't
they? Everybody today claims to be a Bible believer. Your
fundamentalists claim to be Bible believing, God-fearing people,
don't they? Well, they ought to believe the
Bible, shouldn't they, John? They ought to believe what God's Word
says. Every word of it. Do they? You that fear God, you
want to know what God says? No. We're saved and sure for heaven's
we've already there. We know. You don't tell us anything.
In that, they ought to hear God, but they don't. They don't hear
the audience. Verse 17, Paul continues, the
God of this people of Israel, the God of Jacob, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Israel, chose our Father. Paul starts
right in preaching election. God chose Israel. Now Israel had no problem with
that. They all went to hell. Amen. That's right. He didn't
choose any Gentiles. They didn't have any problem
with that. Neither should fundamentalists who are so strong to contend
for the Jews. Right? They'll back the Jews
up no matter what they do today. Why? They're God's people. Why
are they arguing against election? Huh? the God who chose the Jews
over the Gentiles. Why are they arguing now, Joe,
that God chose a particular people of Gentiles over others? Why
do they argue that? Well, Israel had no problem with
it, neither should fundamentalists today, and he goes on. God chose
our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers
in the land of Egypt. Amen. That's right. And with
a high arm brought them out of it. Not Moses now. But Moses
is rock. Moses is redeemed. Moses is a
rod. Moses is God. That's who this high arm is.
The all-powerful arm of the rock of Israel. Now, Israel knew God
was sovereign. They knew it. They did. And omnipotent. All right, he
goes on. Verse 18. But about the time of forty years,
he suffered or put up with their manners in the wilderness. Now, they're going to call these
Jews, these Israelites, sinners. And they started getting on easy,
these Jews and this. They suffered there. No amens
here. God suffered, put up with their manners in the wilderness.
In other words, he's preaching the long-suffering of the Lord
being salvation. Long-suffering. And you know,
I thought about the. The Jews here. If they were mindful
of what God had done. Instead of demanding their rights. To salvation, demanding things
of God. They ought to be amazed that
God would save any Jews if they just look back right, John, if
they just look back at what they knew what their fathers had done.
They just look back and instead of demanding their rights to
the things of God to salvation the rights of the Jews they would
have been amazed they would have stood amazed at the mercy and
the grace of God that he would save anybody. Particularly you. Particularly you. And if anybody
is honest an honest sinner before God Almighty. If anybody would
be honest they would think they would think they would Rather
than think that God owes them something, they would be amazed
that God would show mercy to anybody, wouldn't they? Instead
of thinking that everyone deserves a chance, if men and women were
absolutely honest before God about their sin and their rebellion,
they would be amazed that God would save anybody, let alone
them. Right? God, the long-suffering
of the Lord is salvation. All right, verse 19, he goes
on. But men don't, though, do they? They think everybody deserves
a chance. Verse 19, Now when God had destroyed seven nations
in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. Here's
a picture of God's preservation and his predestination of his
people. He saved the Jews out of pagan people out of the hands
of an enemy, pagan people, you know the exodus of the Jews all
through the land of the pagan, the Gentiles and so forth, even
into Canaan. And he destroyed the Hittites,
the Gergesites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites,
the Habites, the Jebusites, seven nations. God utterly wiped them
out in favor of his people. Boy, if that's not discriminating
grace, what is? If that's not sovereign mercy,
what is, huh? Well, they had no gripes with
that. They had no gripes with that, and neither should we. And you know, God does the same
for us, for us Gentiles. He saves us, he calls us out
of a people from all over the world. Many of us come from different
backgrounds and so forth. This is what Psalm 107 says about
us, that the redeemed of the Lord ought to say so, who he
hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered them
out of the land from the east, from the west, from the north,
and from the south. God has a people from all over the land, and God
saves his people out of the hands of, calls them out of the peoples
of the world, and saves them from the Russellites, the Smithites,
The Campbellites, and I'm talking about Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons,
Church of Christ, if you know the ites, the men's. Russellites, Campbellites, Smithites,
the Mariites, you know who the Mariites are? Not Mariots, Mariites,
Catholic. The Arminianites, the Baptistites,
the Methodites. Right? He saved us out of all
of those. host and a host of other religion drawn us out all
over the world, just like the Jews of old. Read on. And after
that, it says, he gave unto these Jews about the space of four
hundred and fifty years. He gave unto them judges until
Samuel the prophet. And afterward, they desired a
king. God gave unto them Saul, son of Seth, man of the tribe
of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had
removed Saul, he raised up unto them David to be their who was
God's king all along, to whom also God gave testimony, Samuel
gave testimony, and said, I found David the son of Jesse. God said,
he's a man after mine own heart. He shall fulfill all my will.
And God Almighty, the Lord has given us men after his own heart
down through the years, the prophets like the judges, the apostles,
the evangelists, pastors, teachers, who shall fulfill God's will.
What is God's will? Of all his ambassadors is to
testify of God's Son. That's the will of God. That
everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on him should have
eternal life. That's the will of God. And God hath revealed
unto them his Son after his own heart. Read on. All right? Of
this man's seed, Paul says, of this man's seed of David. Now
their ears began to perk up here. David, yes. of David's seed hath
God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior,
Messiah. He has come. And they knew this
name. They knew who he was talking
about. Jesus. Everybody knew that name. Back
then, you didn't have to qualify. Nobody was preaching another
Jesus yet. And everybody knew what Jesus
he was talking about. The seed of David, the son of
David, according to promise, according to God's promise, typified,
prophesied, a Savior has come and his name is Jesus. The angels
heralded it, didn't they, at his birth. Call his name what?
Jesus. Why? Because it means something. God just didn't pick a name that
sounded good to him. A name that nobody else had used
in a while. He called him that because it
meant something. And that's the only time we call
him that, isn't it, Joe? Because it means something to
us. Call his name Jesus. He shall save. It means Savior. It doesn't mean attempt or try
to save you. It means Savior. Call his name
Jesus, the angel said, for he shall save his people from their
sin. His name means Savior, and that's
what he did. That's what he did. And you know
how it is so today that most preach and talk about a Jesus,
but I challenge those who talk about Jesus to believe in his
name. Huh? If they insist upon calling the
Lord of glory by his name, then let them believe what it Let
them preach it, let them preach that name, Savior, Savior. But most who preach and teach
about a Jesus don't really believe that that's what his name means,
does it? Read on, verse twenty-four, And
when John had first preached before Christ's coming the baptism
of repentance, John first preached the baptism of repentance to
all the people of Israel, Proverbs one, seven said, the fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs nine, ten says
the same thing. And this is the message that
the prophets came preaching first, isn't it? Repentance. Repentance
toward God. And even Christ, who's called
that prophet, what did he come preaching? First thing he preached,
first thing out of his mouth, was repent, wasn't it? First
message he preached was repent. And this is the first message
that every true preacher of the gospel must preach. Repent. We've offended a holy God in
whose hands we are. Not God loves you, but God is
angry with the wicked every day. Repent. Repent. It's obvious nobody's going to
fear and bow down to and worship or repent to a God of love, are
they? And millions of people are going
to hell, presuming upon the love of God, who have never known
anything about the holiness of God, the wrath and judgment of
God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. John
preached repentance. Do you remember when he said,
bring forth fruit meat for repentance, too? Do you remember that, when
he said to the Pharisees, bring forth fruit meat for repentance?
Let's see some real repentance, some real heartfelt sorrow overseeing. And I don't see that it today
in the so-called revivals and all these people walking down
the front do you see that I don't hear anybody crying on the God
for mercy. And after John preached repentance
then he preached the whole dilemma of God didn't. But not until
he preached repent. Right. See if this doesn't make
sense. You don't preach the remedy for
sin. Until people see that they're
sinners. And this is the problem in preaching
today. No sinners out there. You don't
preach the remedy for sin until men and women. Know that they're
sinners. And so you don't preach Christ
until people see their need of Christ, do you? Preachers today are offering
people of Christ that they don't need They're talking about a
blood, well a little bit, they're talking about a blood sacrifice
for sins that people don't need. You can't. You can't. You've got to preach repentance
first. You've got to preach God's holiness and sovereignty. Sovereign. Sovereign mercy. Then you point
men to Christ. And then here's John's opinion
of himself, says John, when he had fulfilled his course, verse
twenty-five, when his ministry was about over, he made a great
name for himself. No, he said, John, we want to
put your name on the seminary down here. John, would you write
your autobiography for us? No, John said, I'm not he, don't
pay attention to me, he must increase. I must decree. Behold, there cometh one after
me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. I am nothing. Man is nothing. You are nothing.
That's a good preacher, isn't it? Christ is all. That's a preacher right there.
All right, verse 26. Read on. Men and brethren, children
of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God,
to you is the word of this salvation sent. You have a Bible, don't
you? You have the prophets, don't you? It's sent to you. It's sent
to you. And in a sense, everyone who
has a Bible is under this call, the general call. Everybody has
the word of God. They're holding the truth, aren't
they? Sadly, many hold it in unrighteousness, don't they?
They don't believe the truth and receive not the love of the
truth. So God sends strong delusion but more specifically here more
most especially the children of Abraham are the children of
faith. I think you know what Paul talks
about not every Jew which is not it's not that which is a
Jew which is one outwardly but one inwardly children of faith
they are the children of Abraham you are children of Abraham there
are no Jews in here by nature some very striking facial resemblances
at least one manner, but. There are no Jews, there are
no national Jews in here, but we're all Jews if we believe
the Christ. We're all children of Abraham,
and to you is the effectual cause hence. To you is the salvation
sin. It's come to you whom God foreknew,
God forechose, God elected before the foundation of the Read on. And they that dwell at Jerusalem,
and it's still so today, the Jews over there, the national
Jews in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not, they
knew not the Christ, nor yet the voices of the prophets which
are read every Sabbath day, that they have fulfilled the prophets
in condemning him. And it's the same today with
religious Jews or religious people today who could be called Jews. I mean people in religion today,
so-called Christians and the rulers in religion today, they're
like Jews, aren't they? You know, to the Greek, it's
foolishness. The gospel is foolishness. To
the educated people in our society, to the Jews, that is the religious
people, it's a stumbling block. It's in the way of their self-righteousness.
So it's the same things happening today. The Jews in religion today
The religious people today and the preachers of religion and
the higher rulers of religion today, they don't know him. They don't know God. They don't
know his Christ, nor yet the voices of the prophets. They
don't know what the word of God is saying. And they read it every
Sabbath day, it says, every Sunday, and they have fulfilled them
in condemning him read on and though they found no cause of
death in him yet desired a pilot that he should be slain. And
when they had fulfilled all that was written of him they took
him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. It was almost
as if those Jews of old were almost as if they were reading
the Bible while they were carrying out all of this on Christ. Let's
see what are we supposed to do next. Let's pluck out his beard
it says that we should do that. What do we do next. The crown
of thorns. the crown of thorns on what we do next was cast lots
for a row that says they get a lot of my garment there some
twenty two let's let's do that. Well let's divide it no no no
it says to repeat this row will be without saying let's don't
know that don't do that. After he after he died or whether
it says given vinegar to drink it said given vinegar to drink
maybe that. And after he died, some might
say, well, let's break his leg and make sure. No, no, no, no.
Scripture says not a bone of him will be broken. It's almost
as if they're reading the Scripture today. Where are we going to bury him?
Well, let's number him. Where are we going to hang him up on
a cross? Well, let's number him with a transgressor. It says
that. Where are we going to bury him?
Let's find a rich man's tomb. It says that he'll be buried
with the rich. This is God's providence. Hath
not God made foolish? the wisdom of men and their will.
Men did their wicked will and fulfilled God's eternal will. Verse 30, But, and they did all
this and killed the Lord of glory, but God raised him from the dead. In other words, God put his Son
in men's hands one time to do with, as they would, what they
willed. And what did they do? That's
what they're saying today, and what will you do with Jesus?
Well, first of all, he's not in your man's hands anymore.
You can't touch him. You can't do anything with Jesus.
He's sitting on the right hand of the majesty on high. You can't
touch him. It's a great gullfix between you. But if he were in
your hands, you'd do with him just what your daddy's did, right? You'd kill him. What will you
do with Jesus? You'd kill him. Just like they
did. But God hath raised him from
the dead. He's out of men's hands now. And now they're in his. They're
in his. And all of this is typical of
our day. Those few verses here. Men still
fulfill the scriptures. Listen to me. Men are still fulfilling
the scriptures in their hatred and persecution of the gospel.
And those that believe it? and with their lies and their
doctrines of devils and heaping up teachers, and they bring Christ down to
being no more than a man, a baby in arms, a frustrated failure.
They're fulfilling all that God's Word said that they would do.
God said that the time would come when they're not What heresy can we come up with
nine well is is what the scripture says will do. We'll eat ourselves
teachers will preach doctrines of that will. Command abstain
from me to command abstain from Mary and will do this will do
that. Like the reading the scriptures and fulfilling it and condemning
them said, but God had raised Christ and exalted him. From
the day it had quickened us together with him the scripture said.
you who were dead and trespassed in sin. We've been raised with
him." And Paul went on preaching. Let me hurry. Paul went on preaching. It says that he was seen, though,
many days of them which came up with him. And he's been seen
by us. We've seen his glory. And he
hath been so evidently, verse thirty-two, we're his witnesses,
and we declare unto you glad tidings. Christ hath been so
evidently declared unto us, set forth these glad tidings, the
gospel, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
the gospel, set forth from the Old Testament as well, promises.
Verse thirty-three, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their
children, in that he raised up Jesus again. And Paul went on
to quote. from song to my art, my son,
this day of our begotten day. Read on, he says, as concerning
at Christ's resurrection. He quoted Psalm 16. I'll give
you the mercies, the sure mercies of David, Isaiah 55, that is. Remember that message on the
sure mercies of David? Now that all the mercies of God
are in hands of Christ, covenant mercies. He's the head of the
covenant, the mediator, the surety of the covenant. that all things
are in his hands. He's a son of David, the son
of righteousness, the son of God. Read on. And he said also
in another psalm, and Paul's just preaching the Old Testament,
isn't he? He's preaching the scripture, which was the Old
Testament. And he preaches, Thou shalt not suffer thine holy one
to seek corruption. Psalm 16, 10, concerning Christ's
resurrection. This is the very verse that Peter
quoted at Pentecost, too, wasn't it? Verse 36. David's dead, y'all. Paul says to these Jews who looked
to David and thought so much of David, he said, David is dead.
But the one whom David typifies, he's seated on David's throne. He's seated on an everlasting
throne. David, after he served his own generation, fell asleep.
But he, verse 37, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. He
didn't die. David's bones are still in the
grave. until this one comes for. But you look all your life for
bone, the bones of Jesus. They're not there. They're not
there. Don't seek the day of the living
among the dead. He's not there. He's risen and
be it known unto you. And here's the conclusion. Be
it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man, not Abraham, not Moses, not David, no mere mortal man,
but this man, the God-man, the Messiah, the Christ, is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, by him, by his person,
by his work, through his merits, through his righteousness, through
his shed blood, through his atonement, all that believe or simply trust
in him, believe Trust him, commit to him, are justified, justified
as if I had never seen, declared holy, innocent, holy from all
things, past sins, present sins, future sins. Now that interests
me. From all things, by him, not
by you and him, but by him, by him. are justified, all that
believe. Not do anything but just believe,
and even that's God's gift. From all things from which you
could not, cannot, will not be justified. Might as well quit
trying. Be justified by the law of Moses. You can't do it. By the deeds of the law, no flesh
will be justified. But by the deeds of Christ, all
that are in Christ will be justified. That's a good news. That's the
gospel. Christ and what he did nothing
more nothing less. And Paul warns him here now he
said now beware. And this is the same warning
that needs to be issued to our generation beware therefore. Lest that come upon you which
is spoken of in the prophets behold ye despisers despisers
of God's Christ despisers of God's God's sovereign mercy and
grace, of God's electing grace, despisers, beware. Beware. Behold, ye despisers,
and wonder and perish. Wonder why you didn't believe
it. You know, there's going to be a lot of people, Joe, wondering,
why didn't I believe that? Wonder and perish. God's work,
the work in our days, a work which men in no wise believe.
Though men declare it unto them. And we all wonder, don't we?
Why in the world? How is it that people don't receive this message
of just free grace? Free grace. And the only answer
you can come up with is that they want some of the glory.
They want some of the glory. They want God to have it. And
when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles After
this was over, the Jews shuffled on out, but the Gentiles. We saw it and said, Paul, but
you come back next Saturday and preach that again. Same message. Same message, very same message.
We want to hear it again next Saturday. And when the congre-
listen to this, I've got to bring this out. This is the title of
the message. When the congregation was broken
up, many of the Jews Many of the Jews, by God's grace, and
religious proselytes, they followed Paul and Barnabas, and this is
what Paul and Barnabas said to them. Now, they had never mentioned
this word yet. Listen to me. They had never
said this word yet. I said it quite a lot, but Paul
never said it in his message. But he says, now, y'all continue
in the grace of God. Do you catch the significance
there? Y'all continue in the grace of God. He had never mentioned
the word grace yet. And what is the grace of God?
It's Christ. The wages of sin is dead, but
the gift, the grace of God is Jesus Christ. The gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. They preach
the grace of God. If you're going to preach the
grace of God, you've got to preach Christ. The doctrine of Christ is the
doctrine of grace, right? Y'all continue in this message
of sovereign grace. They didn't say that. Yeah, they
did. Yeah, they did. Y'all continue in this message
of sovereign grace. It's your only hope. It's your
only hope for the Holy God. And don't let anybody tell you
different. Don't let these Jews persuade you. You look to Christ. Christ alone, the doctrine of
Christ. All right, stand with me. Heavenly Father, we ask that
you would enable us to continue in this grace. We have a good
hope through grace, sure hope, because we have a surety. The
grace of God is in Christ and it's freed all. who come to God
by Christ. So Jesus Christ, we come. To
whom coming? We keep coming, Lord, knowing
we're sinners, feeling our sinfulness, seeing our guilt under your holy
law, seeing our desperate need of Christ to do all. So Christ
is most precious to those that believe. We keep coming to Christ,
Lord. Never let us look anywhere else. Always look to Christ and Him
alone. That's my prayer for these people and for myself. In His
name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.