Okay, turn back to Acts chapter
three now with. Had a very long talk conversation
with a young preacher recently. And of course, that conversation
we were talking about. The emphasis. The one. Great emphasis. Which should be in all of our
preaching. Like Paul the Apostle said, necessity is laid upon
me. Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. And as the scripture
said, Christ must have the preeminence in all things. Some men don't understand that. that Christ is to be the emphasis,
sadly enough. And they attempt to expound the
scriptures and preach various messages which are true. The things they say are true.
But as our brother James once said, he said, a man can preach
some true things. but yet not preach the truth. Christ said, I am the truth,
didn't he? Christ said this, he said, an
evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. That describes
our generation, doesn't it? They are taken up with miracles,
signs, wonders, phenomena. Things like that give people
a great deal of excitement, and preachers for the most part today
are merely religious cheerleaders who are pumping people up into
a religious fervor when there is not an ounce of gospel in
their messages. Christ said, No sign shall be
given. but one. Do you remember what
that sign was? Sign of the prophet Jonas. He
said, as Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly
of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth. Now that's talking about the
Lord Jesus Christ. That there'd be no sign, truly
no sign given There is no necessary thing that people look into save
the gospel, the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's only by looking to Christ that we are saved. It's only
by looking to Christ that we are kept saved. It's only by looking to Christ
that we will run the race that is before us. It is only by looking
to Christ that we will fight the good fight of faith. Paul
said in Hebrews, we are to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. And when we turn our eyes upon
Christ, you turn your eyes away from yourself, and you turn your
eyes upon Christ. You turn your eyes away from
self, you turn your eyes away from sin, you turn away from
the world, and you turn to Christ. And if you fall in love with
Christ, and this was the thing I was trying to impress this
young preacher with, that if in preaching Christ,
God causes, the Holy Spirit causes men and women and young people
to fall in love with Christ. Then they will fall out of love
with sin and the world. The preaching of Christ crucified
is the only effective deterrent against sin. The preaching of Christ crucified
is the only real motive for obedience, right? If it's not Christ, then
what is it? What's the opposite? law. And
law is not the motive. Law is not an effective deterrent. It does the opposite. The scripture says, The love
of Christ constraineth me. The love of Christ constraineth
me. And I'll say this. The love of
Christ also restraineth me from evil. Keeps me from evil. and
the love of Christ constrains or causes me to want to follow
him and emulate him. And with that in mind, I thought
it necessary to preempt the message with that. With that in mind,
every portion of Scripture must be designed to point us to Christ. Right? It must be. It must be. Every portion of
Scripture. And if we fail to see Christ
in it, to some degree, then we have missed the message
of Scripture. Christ said, They are they which
testify of me, of his person, his work, of God's purpose for
all things. God's purpose. And that purpose
is to glorify his Son. whom God has set forth, and to
save a people by revealing his Son to them, in them. Now, our
story here in Acts chapter three is a picture of salvation by
Christ. It's an actual story. It actually
happened. It's not fiction. It's not a
parable. It's a true story. This story
actually happened. I've heard it preached from time
and time again. I've heard it preached Poorly. I've heard it preached
as a mere. Example of. Of saving faith or
a miraculous account of the. The powers of the apostles is
much more here, and I hope by God's grace, you'll see this.
Let's read verses one and two together again. Act chapter three
verses one and two. Now, Peter. Now follow along
with me. Now Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour,
or about three o'clock in the afternoon. And a certain man,
lame from his mother's womb, was carried whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple, the gate which is called Beautiful,
to ask alms of them that entered into the temple, a certain man
lame from his mother's womb." Now, God Almighty is sovereign
over all things and over all people. Our passage says, "...a
certain man." The words of Scripture are all very carefully chosen
by the Holy Spirit. Everything God Almighty does
is on purpose. It says this man, a certain man,
was lame. God Almighty, the Scripture says,
wounds. This man was lame because God
Almighty caused him to be born lame. God wounds, God heals. God kills, God makes alive. God afflicts, God comforts. Everything he does, he does for
a purpose, for a certain end. God is sovereign over all things,
over all circumstances, over all people. And everything God
does, everything God purposes, will most certainly come to pass. Everything God purposes will
most certainly come to pass, and everyone whom God elects
will certainly be saved. Everyone whom God purposes to
save will certainly be saved. Now, God loved a people before
the foundation of the world. God chose. The word is elect. according to the foreknowledge
or for ordination or for love of God almighty. God chose or
elected to save certain individuals, certain individuals. Now turn
over with me to Acts chapter ten. My wife brought this to
my attention when I told her to read Acts three and tell me
what she thought of it to see if perhaps she could give me
something that I missed. She followed her scriptural references,
marginal references, over to chapter ten. I hadn't seen that.
You think this is a mere coincidence that chapter ten begins this
way? The Lord God chooses to save certain individuals. It
says here in chapter ten, verse one, listen to the There was
a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the
band called the Italian Band, a devout man and one that feared
God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people
and prayed to God always. He was praying and he saw in
a vision evidently about the ninth hour, about three o'clock,
a certain man. A mere coincidence? No, God does, God chooses, God
elects, God does all things on purpose, and he chooses and elects
certain individuals. I love the certainties of God's
Word. You know, as 2 Corinthians 1 says, you know, yays and nays,
it's all yay and amen, it's all certainties. God says, I shall,
I will. Right? God says, I will and you
shall. And when God wills to save someone,
purposes to save them, they shall be saved. It's certain. It's
certain. And God chooses to save certain
people. Listen to these certain people
that I looked up throughout the Scriptures. Scripture says, A
certain man named Elimelech. You remember that? That name
ring a bell to you? Ruth's husband. And you know
that story. The rest of the story. There's
another story, a certain man named Elkanah. Do you remember
who he was? Hannah's husband, Samuel's daddy. A certain man with an infirmity
of thirty-eight years. A certain man was sick named
Lazarus. A certain woman with an issue
of blood. A certain woman whose daughter,
and I may say here, a certain dog, Gentile dog, whose daughter
was vexed with an evil spirit, a certain one. A certain woman
named Martha. A certain woman named Lydia. God saves certain individuals,
and when he purposes to save them, their salvation is certain,
as in the case of This man here in Acts chapter three God chooses
certain people and they will most certainly be safe as is
this man's case and in our case if you're saying this is here
a certain man burst to lame from his mother's womb. Lame by all. This man like this
man was lame from birth from his mother's womb and so are
we. The scripture says, By one man's sin entered into the world,
and death by sin. All men and women died in Adam's
fall. We fell into sin as a result
of our federal representative, Adam. And everybody born from
Adam is a sinner, is a sinner. And we are lame, the scripture
says. We are lame. We are unable to do that which
is required of us. Our head is sick, the scripture
says. Our heart is faint. Our hands shed innocent blood.
Our feet are swift to mischief. The scripture says we go forth
from the womb speaking lies. David said it. In sin did my
mother conceive me. From the womb we are sinners. Sinners from the womb. by this
fall. We are depraved, we are wicked,
we are sinful, we are dead to God, unable to come to God. This is just so. Not only are
we unable to come to God, we are unwilling to come to God,
unless, until, God comes to us. is of the Lord. He must come
to us. He must come to us. Now, look
at it again here. It says, A certain man laying
from his mother's womb was carried. He was carried. Now, turn over
to Acts 46. This is such a blessing. I'm
sorry, Isaiah 46. This is such a tremendous blessing.
Turn over there with me. Isaiah chapter 46. All the day,
this man was carried Everywhere he wanted to go or needed to
go, someone carried him. Someone sustained him. Someone
cared for him. He had to be born. He had to
be carried by another everywhere he would go. And so it is with
us, even though we think it is our strength, our wisdom, our
industry, our talents, and so forth, that get us the things
that we get. It's truly God who has carried
us from day one. Look at Isaiah 46 verses 3 and
4. Harken unto me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born, that
is, carried by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. And even, does God carry us a
little way and then set us down when he sees that we can walk? Are there two footprints, two
sets of footprints in the sand? There never has been but one. It says he carried us from the
cradle, verse 4, and even to your old age. I am he, and even
to hoary hairs will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear.
Even I will carry and will deliver you. So this certain man, who
was lame from his mother's womb, was carried everywhere he needed
to go. and places where he may not have
wanted to go. But he was carried, nonetheless.
Look at the text again. It says, A certain man, laying
from his mother's womb, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gates
of the temple. A gate which is called Budapest. Evidently somebody, I don't know
who, his friends, he was a grown man by this time. And evidently
a couple of his friends picked him up at his house or wherever
it was on the street where we live in the in the alley and
carried him. Physically carried him to the
gate for the entrance of the temple and sat him down there
at the entrance of the temple to ask all every day they would
carry him there to that temple to ask all. Now, you're looking
at a young man who was carried to the temple from an early age. Do you remember when Paul thanked
God for Timothy's grandmother and his mother? Do you remember
that? His grandmother, Eunice, I believe
it was, and his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice.
Have I got them backward? Anyway, that's not important.
At any rate, you're looking at another young Timothy whose faith
first dwelt in his grandmother named Mary, Mary Turner Freed,
and a mother named Doris. And as a child, I was physically,
literally carried and laid down in the church house. And I was
raised under the sound of the Word, raised up under the sound
of the gospel. which Paul said is able to make
a young man wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus
Christ. Now, the reason I brought that
up was to encourage you parents that the best thing you can do
for your children is to literally, if you have to, carry them, force
them, bring them to the house of God from as early an age as
they're able to sit and listen to the word, to bring them. because
this gospel is able to make them wise unto salvation. Continue
to do that faithfully and pray for them. Lay them before the
Lord in prayer. You don't know. You just don't
know. But the Lord may speak to them
as he did to me, as he did to you. Now look at it again. It
says he was laid daily at the gates of the temple, which is
called beautiful. daily at the gate of the temple,
which is called beautiful. Now, in reality, spiritually
speaking here, it is the Holy Spirit of God which brings a
man and a woman or a young person to first hear the gospel, brings
them to hear the gospel for the first time. brings them to the
feet of Christ. Christ is this beautiful gate.
He is, what the scriptures, what he himself said, the door, the
way, the gate, the entrance into eternal life. And it is the Holy
Spirit of God who brings a man, a woman, a young person to hear
of Christ and brings them by faith in Christ to see his beauty,
to see his glory, to see the beauty of his gospel, to make
them desire to worship him. And once that happens, this place,
this temple, like David said, becomes an amiable place. The
gates, the very doors of the temple appear to be very beautiful.
And like David, you would just assume to be a doorkeeper in
the house of God, and to dwell in the tents, the lavish places
of the wicked. And the house of worship becomes
the most beautiful and desirable place of all to God's people,
after God reveals Christ to them. I'm not talking about a building.
I'm not talking about a building, but I'm talking about what it
stands for, or rather what it stands upon. Christ, the solid
rock. Rather, who and what it is that
the building stands for, and who and what is in it. Christ
said, where two or three are gathered together in my name,
that's where I'll be. That's where I'll be. And that's
a beautiful place to be. That's a beautiful place to be.
And what is in it? the gospel which we so desperately
need. I look at verses 2 and 3 now. A certain man laying from
his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate
of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms of them
that entered into the temple, who seeing Peter and John about
to go into the temple, asked an alms. And one day this man
sat at the gate of the temple, and Peter and John, the apostles,
walked into the temple. They just happened to go by at
this particular time. It was this man's hap to light
on at the particular time when Peter and John would be there.
No, it was the providence of God in bringing him at this particular
time and bringing him to hear these two preachers of the gospel. And if you're a child of God,
if you're a child of God, Someone brought you to hear the gospel
for the first time. God the Holy Spirit uses means,
whoever it may be, a relative, a friend, whoever it may be. God uses means. He uses people
to bring people to hear the gospel. We're not to despise the day
of small things. And someone brought you to hear
the gospel for the first time, did they not? Yeah, they did.
They brought you to hear the gospel. And because the gospel
is what God Almighty uses to save people, the preaching of
the gospel is what he uses to save people. Now, when you were
first brought to hear the gospel, someone may have brought you
for the wrong reason. OK? It says someone picked this
man up and carried him to the gate of the temple, which is
called beautiful, and to ask alms. Could be they were of a
syndicate. You know they have them down
in Mexico. They have syndicates where they put poor people on
street corners and they take a little percentage of their
take every day. They sure do. That's how corrupt
it is. And I have a half a mind to know
who's behind this. Religion. A very large and pagan
religion down there. But someone may have brought
you here for the first time for the wrong reason. The wrong reason,
maybe to put a feather in their cap. I don't suppose you have
ever witnessed the gospel to anybody, or talked to anybody,
or given anybody a tape for the wrong reason, have you? When is our reason ever for the
glory of God and with a pure motive, huh? We like to get a
little feather in our cap, don't we? Bring somebody to church
and, hey, hey, we want everybody to know we brought them. Somebody may have brought you
for the wrong reason out of duty. Out of duty, you parents may
bring your children out of duty. You may have, somebody may have
brought you to show you off like my wife did me. When we were
dating, that is. I wanted her and I guess she
wanted me. But she brought me to church
with her. I don't know who brought who, but nevertheless, I was
there for the wrong reason. And she brought me for the wrong
reason, perhaps, but I came for the wrong reason. Like this man,
he came for the wrong reason. He came to ask alms, didn't he? He came to get some money. He
came to get a handout, didn't he? And you may have come to
church for the first time, or even now, for all the wrong reasons.
For all the wrong reasons. Like I did, to get the girl,
to get the girl, to ask alms, to ask alms, to get rid of a
problem. There's a lot of people that
get sick or get in trouble or have, you know, problems, and
what do they do? They go to church. They go to
church, right, to get rid of their problem. They figure if
they clean up their life and start living right and so forth,
good things will happen to them. Well, not necessarily. But anyway,
what I'm trying to show you is this man came for all the wrong
reasons. But if you're one of God's chosen, if you're one of God's chosen,
you may have come, the person may have brought you for the
wrong reason, you may have come here on your own for the wrong reason,
but God brought you here to save you. Right? And it says he's
seen Peter and John asked on. It's about like a man who comes
to church for the first time and starts asking all the wrong
questions. I suppose you asked the wrong questions when you
first came, didn't you? Huh? Start asking questions,
maybe the wrong questions, maybe foolish questions, maybe endless
questions with no answers. Did you ever do that, John, when
you first came? Contentious questions and everything. You know, at
first, everything is wrong about us, isn't it? Everything is wrong. We've got a wrong heart. We've
got a wrong motive. We're going the wrong way. We're
just wrong. Everything about us, we ask the
wrong question until God Almighty sets us right, sets us straight. He said, I'll set things in order
before they're right. And he does this through his
preachers. Whatever reason we come, whatever reason we're here,
Whether the motives are wrong in us or whoever brought us,
if we're one of God's chosen, God sends a preacher and he causes
us to look in the right direction, to start considering the right
questions. He gives us the right answers,
answers to questions we weren't even asking to begin with. So this man began to ask alms,
and Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look
at us. Look at us. In other words, he wasn't saying,
Look to us. He was just saying, Look at me. Look at me now. You know, they
were trying to get his attention. He was, he wasn't interested
in what was going on in that temple, alms, alms, alms, a little
money, thank you, thank you, a little money, and he asked
for alms, alms, and they didn't have any, and they stopped in
their tracks and said, look here, look, look at us. And it startled
him, you know, and he looked up into their eyes. I remember when I was a young
man. I remember various preachers, and there were some good ones
back when I was growing up. I remember various preachers
when they would preach. It appeared to me, it seemed
to me, that they were looking right through me. There would be times when I thought, there's nobody else in here but
me. They're looking at me. Especially, I remember Walt Rolfe
Barnard quite well. He wore glasses, and he would,
every now and then, he'd put those glasses down on the end
of his nose when he'd make a particular point, and he'd look right at you with that gaze.
And I thought they were looking right through me. They knew my
heart. They knew my secrets. I thought
somebody has ratted on me. They know all about me. I know
all my, I remember distinctly one time my father preaching
down in Danville, Kentucky. I went, I was maybe twenty, twenty-one
at the time, twenty-one at the time. And he was preaching a
message and man, it just seemed like I was on one end there all
night long he was preaching at me. He was calling my name. He was without ever saying, looking
right at me. And I remember after that, I
was so broken and brokenhearted and touched by the message and
just weeping. And I remember at the end of
the message looking up, and he was still looking at me. But anyway, Peter and John said
to the man, now look at me, and I wish I could get some people's
attention, but I can't. Only the Holy Spirit can do that,
right? Look at me, and here's what they said to this man, verse
5 and verse 6. And he gave heed unto them, expecting
to receive something of them. Get some money. Oh, you got something. But what I have, you're about
to receive." It was as if he was saying to
me, here, your problem is not your finances. Your problem is
not a money problem. Your problem is not a girl problem
or a boy problem. Your problem is not your job
or a lack of one. Your problem is you're a lame
sinner. before a holy God, a God who will by no means clear
the guilty. And you are guilty of many things.
You're guilty of not loving God. You're guilty of not thanking
God, of living however many years you've lived thus far without
thanking God. You're guilty of not seeking
God, seeking everything but God. You're guilty of the most heinous
crime of all, of not being interested in God's Son. And that's a serious offense.
That's our problem. And God is angry with you. And I don't care what Mama thinks. I don't care what Daddy thinks.
I don't care what this person thinks or that person thinks.
The question of all questions that we need to be asked is,
what about our relationship with this Holy God? What think ye
of Christ? And that's what Peter is saying
here to this man, isn't it? Look at me. Your problem is not
a money problem. Your problem is not a home problem. He says, Look at me. Look at
verse 6 again. He says, Silver and gold have
I none, but such as I have, Give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved." In the name of Jesus Christ, bow
to him. Repent of your sin. And he says,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. as a sinner needing forgiveness. That's what the apostles said
to some people. Why tarryest thou? Arise and
be baptized. Arise and be baptized. Why tarryest
thou? There may be no tomorrow. Arise
and be baptized, confessing Christ, and walk. Rise up and walk by
faith in Christ. Look to Christ. Trust Christ.
Walk in newness of life. Save yourself from this untoward
generation. Look at verse 7, and it says
that Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and lifted
him up. The song says, When Christ Jesus
reached down for me, he lifted me up from the deep miry clay. He settled my feet in a straight
and narrow way. He lifted me up. to a heavenly
place and flooded my soul each day with his grace. That song
we sang, from sinking sand he lifted me, with tender hand he
lifted me, from shades of night to planes of light, O praise
his name, he lifted me. Now he can lift you, too, if
he's so pleased to do so. Verse seven, it says he took
him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately His feet
and ankle bones received strength, and he leaping up stood and walked
and entered with them into the temple." Walking and leaping
and praising God. He immediately, it says, he received
strength. And leaping up, he stood and
he walked and he entered. And you may be saying tonight,
well, I'm so sinful. I just feel so sinful, I feel
too sinful to come to Christ. That's why you need a Savior.
That's why you need to come to Christ. You're so sinful. He
says, but I'm so weak, I'm so unbelieving. That's the reason
you need to come to Christ, to receive strength. He says, I'm
your strength, I'll carry you. And then someone says, well,
I'm afraid I'll fall. Well, no, that's where you are now. Right? And you will fall. You will fall. But you were falling
when he found you and he picked you up then and stood you. The
rest of you know you were falling when he found you and he stood
you on Christ the solid rock but you fell again didn't you?
But not completely, not finally. But he picked you up again didn't
he? He keeps picking you up and you keep falling like a little
child. Right John? Learning to walk. You're learning
to walk. And he's right there every step of the way. And he
picks you up and stands you. causes you to stand on Christ
Jesus. I don't know what to do. I don't
know what to do. Well, he'll teach you. I'm not
going to give you a book to tell you how to live right. How to
live the Christian life. God's already written a book.
Hasn't he? He's already written a book.
You don't have to send me five dollars. You don't have to send me five
dollars and I'll give you a book on how to start right. I don't
know what to do. Well, walk by faith in Christ.
He'll lead you and guide you. And someday, it says here, this
man entered into the temple. He entered with them into the
temple, with John and with Peter. And someday you'll enter into
heaven's temple with Christ. Christ's going to be the first
one that you'll see. He'll carry you right in, like
he carried you all the way up to the gate, he'll carry you
all the way in. He'll be the first. I very believe, we're
not going to see Peter at the gate first. Oh, no. We're going
to see Christ. We're going to see him, and he's
going to say, Welcome. Welcome, my beloved. Enter into the joy of the Lord.
And someday you will, just by looking to Christ, just by coming
to him by faith, and you'll enter in with all the rest of us lame
beggars. Right? We're all going to get there
the same way. That's what Peter said one time, didn't it? He
said, We're going to be saved the same as them. The apostles
were saved the same way. a fisherman sitting in a boat.
He wasn't thinking about God, wasn't interested in God. God
came along, and the person of his son said, follow me. He did. He did. And we're all just like
blind Bartimaeus, just like the woman with the issue of blood,
just like all the certain men and women of Scripture that God
chose and called to himself, just like this man. And we're
going to enter in the same way that he did, by looking to Christ.
Read verses 9 through 11 in closing. And all the people saw him. When
they saw this man leaping and praising God, walking and praising
God, they saw him. And they knew that it was he,
which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple. Kind of like
that blind man. They said, well, there's something different about
him. They knew it was him, but they knew something had happened.
some change had taken place. And when the Holy Spirit of God
begins to work on somebody, a definite change takes place. And they
knew that it was he which sat for alms at the beautiful gate
of the temple, and they were filled with wonder. They were
filled with wonder. David said, I'm a wonder to many.
I'm a wonder to many. They can't figure me out. I can't
either. I've stopped trying. Just keep looking to Christ.
They're filled with wonder and amazement. at that which had
happened unto him. There wasn't anything he had
done, was it? Had this man done anything? He
was just an old lame beggar sitting at the gate of the temple, and
God sent his man along and caused him to look by faith and picked
him up out of the dirt and the mire and set him on his feet.
And from that day forward, it says there in verse And as the
lame man which was healed held Peter and John," boy, he loved
these men from that day forward, "...held on to them. And all
the people ran together unto them in a porch that is called
Solomon, greatly wondering." And this man, I can pretty much
guarantee you where this man was found from this day forward,
can't you? You know, see, at the beginning
of this story, at the beginning of this story, he was sitting
at the temple. He was there for the wrong reason,
right? He was there for what he could
get, what he could get, alms or whatever, what he could get
out of God or whoever came along. He sat at the temple, but he
wasn't interested in God. But now, you come back a little
while later, and you'll find him at the same temple. And he's
sitting. He's not sitting on the outside
now. He's sitting on the inside. And he's sitting right down on
the front row. And what's he doing? Asking alms? Giving thanks. That's a radical transformation
that God Almighty does in every person. that he brings to hear
the gospel. You all know, those of you who
the Lord has revealed the gospel to, it was much the same way
with you, wasn't it? He came, somebody brought you,
for all the wrong reasons perhaps, but you were there. And a faithful
gospel preacher preached Christ crucified, and God's Holy Spirit
arrested your attention and said, look, your problem's not this,
it's not that, you're a sinner, you need a Savior. And by his
grace you looked, and you leaped up. He rose, he quickens you
together with Christ, raised you up to sit in heavenly places
with Christ Jesus, and stood you on the rock, Christ Jesus,
the solid rock. And you leaped and walked, and
now you're walking by faith in Christ, looking to Christ. And
they'll find you daily. Or whenever God's people are
meeting, they'll find those people at the temple praising God for
this so great a salvation. Everybody wonders, oh, that's
old Joe, and I remember him back when. He's something. He's different. He's different.
This is the Lord's doings, and it's marvelous in our eyes. All
right, stand with me. I'll dismiss this in prayer. Our Lord, we thank you for the
marvelous picture of salvation that we see in every portion
of your Word. Give us eyes to see Christ and the work of the
Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit
in every portion of the Scripture. May we remember the pit from
which we were digged. and the rock on which we now
stand, cause us to look to and see you. Praise God in Christ
all the time, at every meeting, at every gathering of your people. And Lord, conform us to his blessed
image. Cause us to walk by faith in
Christ. And Lord, if you use something of this feeble attempt
of preaching, use your word, which is powerful. sharper than
a two-edged sword. One word, one phrase, use it
to arrest the thoughts, the attention of somebody in here tonight,
maybe for the first time. Cause them to look to Christ
by faith. Cause them to come to Christ,
see their desperate need of Him, and come to Him asking for mercy
and grace, and He will save them. And we'll wonder, and we'll be
amazed, and we'll praise You for it. In Christ's blessed name
we pray, amen. You're dismissed.