Good morning. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 257. 257. "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise,
just to know, thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust
Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious
Jesus, oh, for grace to trust Him more. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to trust His cleansing blood Just in simple faith to plunge
me Neath the healing, cleansing flood Jesus, Jesus, how I trust
Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious
Jesus, oh, for grace to trust Him more. Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from sin and self to cease Just from Jesus simply taking
life and risk and joy and peace. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious
Jesus, O for grace to trust Him more. I'm so glad I learned to trust
Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend. And I know that Thou
art with me, wilt be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious
Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him more. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
318. 318. I need thee every hour, most
gracious Lord. No tender voice like thine can
peace afford. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee. I need thee every hour. Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh. I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour I need Thee, O bless
me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. I need thee every hour, in joy
or pain. Come quickly and abide, for life
is vain. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior. I come to Thee. I need Thee every hour. Most Holy One. Oh, make me Thine indeed. ? Thou blessed Son ? ? I need
Thee, oh, I need Thee ? ? Every hour I need Thee ? ? Oh, bless
me now, my Savior ? ? I come to Thee ? If you have your Bibles with
you this morning, if you would open with me to the book of John,
chapter 4. John, chapter 4. While you're
turning there, I have a prayer request and announcement to make
here. First off, Mike and Dottie wanted
to express their thanks, their gratitude for everyone's outpouring
of love and grace. during this trying time, especially
yesterday. They wanted to be here this morning,
but Dottie had to take Mike to the ER this morning. He has low
blood count, so that's why they're not here. So please continue
to remember them in prayer. The Lord will continue to uphold
them and be merciful and gracious. John chapter four. When therefore
the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and
baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized
not but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again unto
Galilee, and he must needs go through Samaria. I love how it
says he must needs. That set forth on a purpose.
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near
the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's
well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied
with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth
hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria
to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me
to drink. For his disciples were gone away
into the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria
unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of
me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings
with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto
her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and
he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him,
Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From
whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than
our father Jacob, which gave us this well, and drank thereof
himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and
said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him, a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. The woman saith unto him, Sir,
give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said
unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast
had five husbands. He whom thou now hast is not
thy husband, and that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto
him, Sir, I perceive thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain
nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship you know
not what. We know what we worship for the
salvation is of the Jews. The hour cometh and now is. when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth,
for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit,
and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is
called Christ, when he is come and he will tell us all things.
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee, Our most high and heavenly Father,
Lord God Almighty, we bow our trembling hearts before you,
come to you through your blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our
precious Savior, precious Son. Father, we thank you for this
day. Thank you for this gathering of saints. Thank you for this place where
we are gathered. We thank you for who will get
up and speak the words of thy truth. Lord, we thank you for
your infinite mercy and grace, for your power and your might.
Thank you for your righteousness. Thank you for our blessed salvation. Lord, as we've just read, you
are spirit. You must be worshipped in spirit
and in truth. We ask that you would send your
spirit among us here today. Cause us to enter into true worship.
Your name be held up and magnified and glorified. Lord, that you
would let us forget the things of this world and our wearies.
for a little while that we may enter into worship. We ask for continued mercy and
grace for Mike and Dottie and their family. Or that you would hold them up
during this greatly trying time. Pray for
Mike as he's in the hospital. Doctor's wisdom to help him,
Lord, be a comfort to him. Lord, again, I pray that you'd
meet here with us today. Let us not meet in vain. Lord, pray for my son as he's
at homestead. upon him. For there are many
weak and weary. For there are many that I don't
even know about. But you know your sheep. I said you would strengthen them. Be merciful
until you call them home. Lord, please keep us lest we
go astray, not keep ourselves. We need you more than every hour.
We need you every breath we take. Lord, we ask that thy word go
forth and prosper, conquer sinful hearts wherever they may be.
wherever you or she may be, all across this world, Lord, that
your word will go forth and conquer, call it to prosper. We ask that
thy will be done in all things, on earth as it is in heaven,
for Christ's sake, amen. We'll stand together and sing
the hymn of the day in the bulletin. stand together and sing the hymn
of the day in the bulletin. Lord with glowing heart I praise
thee for the bliss thy love bestows For the pardoning grace that
saves me and the peace that from it flows. Help, O God, my weak
endeavor. This dull soul to rapture raise. Thou must light the flame, O
never can my love be warm to graze. Praise my soul, the God
that sought thee, wretched wanderer, far astray. Found thee lost and kindly brought
thee from the paths of death away. Raised with love's devoutest
feelings, ? In whose soul thy guilt born freer ? And the light
of hope revealing ? Bade the blood-stained cross appear ? Lord, this bosom's Ardent feeling,
vainly would my lips express. Low before thy footstool kneeling,
ding thy suppliant prayer to bless. Let thy love, my soul's
chief treasure, Love's pure flame within me raise, And since words
can never measure, Let my life show forth thy praise. Be seated. Brother Larry Criss
with us today. We're pleased to have you again.
Every time you show up, I feel like it's just been a little
while, and then I realize it's been longer than I think it has.
I guess time just keeps going faster as the days go on. I didn't
think it had been that long since you'd been here. My wife was
telling me that last time we went to dinner, I can't remember
if we just found out, if we're pregnant or if we just found
out he's having a girl, but that's been a minute, so. Welcome back,
we're glad to have you. If you don't know, he pastors
in Sylacauga, Alabama. Love you and appreciate you,
and you come up here and come and preach to us. Thank you, Houston. Yes, Tom
has a way of flying by, doesn't he? He's not seen nothing yet.
Has he, Jane? He's still young. Hey, Gary,
good to see you. Would you turn with me to Colossians
chapter one? Colossians chapter one. Our little flock in Sylacauga
sends their love, greetings to you. Continue to pray, pray for
us. God will continue to bless us
there and continue to knit our hearts together. It's a blessing
and honor to be with you. I appreciate your pastor asking
me. Yeah, it was September, last
time I was here was September. And it's, It's always a privilege,
always counted a privilege wherever I preach, wherever I'm invited
to preach, I count it an honor. And always ask or should remember
to ask you to pray for me. I don't have any natural ability.
Only God can make his word effectual. I've studied, I've prepared. I think God's given me a message,
but pray that he would enable me to deliver it and that you
will hear it. as it is indeed the word of God. Here in Galatians chapter 1,
Paul had never been to Galatia personally, but he knew the pastor
there, and the pastor while Paul was in prison, as he often was,
he was when he wrote this epistle, He comes to Paul, gives him the
good report of the believers that he pastored at Galassi,
and in response to that, Paul sends back this epistle. Verse
one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
to both he is our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren
in Christ which are at Galassi, grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love
which he hath to all the saints. For the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the
truth of the gospel, which is come unto you as it is in all
the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you,
since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in
truth. As ye also learned of Epaphras,
our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease
to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power,
unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness, giving thanks
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light, who have delivered us
from the power of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Paul, having mentioned
redemption, now speaks of the Redeemer, who is the image, that
is Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. having made peace through the
blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things to himself.
By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in
heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body
of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight." What a Savior. What a Redeemer. My text will be verse 13, verse
13. Let's read it again together.
Speaking of God the Father, who had delivered us from the power
of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son, the title of my message is From One Kingdom to Another. If you would look up the word
translate in our text, one of the definitions, and as it is
used here, means to bear, to carry, or to remove from one
place to another place. That's what God does in the salvation
that he performs, the salvation that's of the Lord. He translates
the sinner upon whom he bestows his grace. He takes him from
darkness to light, From death to life, from sin to salvation. He translates a sinner from death
to life. Remember what we read in Ephesians
1, we know it by heart. You, you. If I know God, it's
because God did what I could never do for myself. The preacher
couldn't do it, the priest couldn't do it, mom or dad couldn't do
it. All those who loved me and prayed for me couldn't do it.
God, you had he quickened, made alive. made alive quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. People say, open your heart,
I'm dead. Can't do it. Take the first step,
no, can't do it. I'm dead. You had he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins. God made you live, made
you alive, alive spiritually. I remember years ago reading
the biography of George Whitefield, that famous preacher evangelist.
traveled the United States from one end to the other, preaching
the gospel of God's grace as well as in England. When he was
a young man in college, he became affiliated with John and Charles
Wesley. And they joined together and
formed a club. They didn't call it themselves,
others did, other students, Methodist. But Whitefield thought that he
could please God by denying himself. I mean, he fasted to the point
he almost killed himself. He almost starved to death fasting,
thought he was pleasing God. One day, in the providence of
God, a little book came across to him called, The Life of God
in the Soul of Man. The Life of God. What makes a
believer? The Life of God in the Soul of
Man. Whithead read that little book
and he said, I don't have a clue what this man's talking about,
but I know, I know if this is what being a believer is, I'm
not a believer. And all this stuff I've been
doing, all these works of self-denial, all this trying to rule the flesh,
it's all for nothing. And God brought him. from death
to life and revealed his son in him, made him alive spiritually,
alive eternally, alive to the things of God that we were dead
to before. How does that happen? How does
a sinner suddenly, who had no interest whatsoever in the things,
who could care less? And I'm talking about every child
of God now. At one time, we're dead to the
things of God. Oh, we might have been religious.
But as far as really knowing God, knowing Christ, knowing
anything about grace, we were as lost as a goose in a snowstorm,
as you've heard say. What happened? He who is the
resurrection and the life came to us, just like he did at the
tomb of Lazarus, and he said, live, live. And then and there, at that moment,
the very life of God was breathed into the soul of man, and he
became a believer. God alone can bring us from death
to life. To translate us also from darkness
to light. From darkness to light. In Genesis
1 and 1 we have a picture of creation, but it's also a picture
of the new creation. The life of God in the soul of
man. In the beginning there was a big bang. Now if you believe
that, I want to meet you after service. I've got some ocean-sprung
property down there where I live. I want to sell you." Oh, no.
In the beginning, God. God. That's it. Oh, but my teacher. It doesn't matter. But the professors,
all the smart people. Smart? A big bang? God created
the... It's the result of not a big
bang, but a big God. God created the heaven and the
earth. That settles that. God said it's so, and it's so.
I love the story. Someone told me, your pastor,
someone asked him if I remember right, you really believe that
story about the whale swallowing Jonah, that great fish? Don't
you think that's a fairy tale? Donnie said, you listen, if the
word of God tells me that Jonah swallowed that fish, I would
believe it. God's word says so, and that
makes it so. In Genesis 1, we go on to read,
and the earth was without form. was without form and void. And darkness was on the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And the earth was without form.
The word was is became. The earth became without form
and void. Now, personally, I don't think
God created it in that state. Without form and void means in
a state of chaos. Something happened. Something
happened. Now, I wouldn't make it a point
of great importance, but I feel personally that something happened
that brought it into that state of chaos. Perhaps it was the
fall of Satan. I don't know. But God, but God
did this. Let light be, and light is. Let there be light, and there
was light. Likewise, likewise, you and I,
every one of us, as believers, and you who don't know God, are
born in a state of darkness, just darkness. John 1 and 4,
in him was life, that is Christ, and the life was the light of
men. And the light shanneth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended
it not. The natural blindness of our
fallen state, unawakened by God the Holy Spirit, has no perception
of the glory of Jesus Christ. There's no beauty in him that
we desire him at all. And that is why the Lord told
Nicodemus, verily I say unto you, Nicodemus, this is truth,
except a man be born again, he cannot see. He cannot see the
kingdom of God. He cannot comprehend the things
of God. He can't understand the things
of God. You just don't get it, Nicodemus. And neither does anyone
left in darkness. In that same chapter, in that
conversation with the proud Pharisee, our Lord said, and this is the
condemnation, that light is coming to the world. And men love darkness
rather than light because their deeds are evil. Now that's just
so. That's just so. I don't think
I've found a better way to define that than the old hymn by Joseph
Hart. He wrote many hymns and he lived
hundreds of years ago, but he said this, and you've heard it.
He said, to understand these things are right, this grand
distinction should be known that though all are sinners in God's
sight, there are but few so in their own. Boy, isn't that the
truth. The such as these our Lord was
sent, they're only sinners who repent. What comfort can a Savior
bring? What comfort can a Savior bring
to those who never felt their woe? Now, it's happening in every
church around us this morning. From coast to coast, north to
south, east to west, people are being told they're saved who
never knew they were lost. They've been told they've come
to Christ because they moved their feet. You don't come to
Christ... There were people that moved
their feet that literally came to Jesus Christ in person and
he said, you haven't really come to me. You've not really come
to me. You can't really come to me unless God Almighty draws
you to me. Oh, what comfort can a Savior
bring to those who never felt their woe? A sinner is a sacred
thing. Oh, the sinner is a sacred thing.
Oh, they're rare. They're rare. Old Scott says,
Scott Richard said, oh, I got good news. The gospel's glad
tidings. I got good news for sinners, but I can't find a sinner.
Everybody's saved. Everybody's made a decision.
Oh, to find that rare, rare individual, that rare man or woman who, like
that woman in the parable, Our Lord spoke of that debtor, rather,
had nothing to pay. Oh, a debt to God Almighty. Justice
calls for payment, and I've got nothing to pay. Lost, lost, lost. A sinner is a sacred thing. The
Holy Ghost has made him so. New light from him we must receive.
Before, for sin we rightly grieve. Only God Only God can get a man
lost. Bray, did you ever try to get
somebody lost before you had any better sense? I did. Try to get somebody lost. Can't
do it. Can't do it. Can't make anyone
cry out for mercy. Oh, to confess like that poor
publican, I'm the sinner. I'm not going to argue with that
Pharisee looking down his nose at me. I'm worse than he thinks
I am. I'll agree with him plus 10 times
more than that. Yes, I'm the sinner. Only God can wring that confession
out of a man, make them hungry, thirsty. You know why our loved
ones don't come with you to hear the gospel? As you gather here,
they would rather just stay in bed or watch grass grow, do anything.
Got no interest because they're not hungry. They're not thirsty. Yes, we each were born in darkness.
We lived in darkness and we love that darkness. Is that not so? Is that not what the word of
God says? We love darkness rather than light. And that's where
we would still be. Oh, God, help us never to forget
that. That's where we would still be except for this. Except for
this. What happened? God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts to
give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. God spoke, light be! And light
was. The darkness had to flee. And the light of knowing what
I really am came in. But that wasn't all. The glorious
revelation of Jesus Christ also came in. Is it not a sweet thought
that the same spirit which gave light to the old creation gives
light to the new? He turns the light on. I remember
years ago listening to a cassette, in the days of the cassette,
Brother Moose Parks was preaching a message, and I was traveling
somewhere, and he talked about praying for years for his son
and his daughter, and Dee at the time had no interest, just
not interested. He said, Dad, that's for you.
I'm not interested. One in the wee hours of the morning
one time, Moose said his phone rang, and Dee was on the other
end. He said, oh, he's crying like a baby. Oh, daddy, daddy,
pray for me. I'm lost. I'm lost. And old Moose
just rejoiced. He'd been wanting to hear his
son say, oh, daddy, I'm lost. What must I do to be saved for
years and years? And God was pleased to reveal
his son to him. Peter, in his first epistle,
wrote, but you are a chosen generation. That's the kingdom a child of
God is in now. a child of the king. You're a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. That you should show forth the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light. Barnimaeus, take comfort. Be joyous, Barnimaeus. He's calling
for you. He's calling for you. Someone
wrote a hymn about that. It said, one set alone beside
the highway begging. His eyes were blind to light
he could not see. He clutched his rags and shivered
in the shadows. Then Jesus came. Then Jesus came and bade his
darkness flee. When Jesus comes, the tempter's
power is broken. When Jesus comes, the tears are
wiped away. He takes the gloom and fills
the life with glory, for all is changed when Jesus comes to
stay. He translates us from death to
life, from darkness to light, from being lost to being found. Only God can do that. And that's
what our text says. And that brings me to our second
point. Look at our text again, if you will. Yes, God has delivered
us from the power of darkness But that's not all he does. It
doesn't stop there, does it? Grace delivers us from and translates
us into. I've known professing Christians
in my lifetime, especially when I was younger. My dear grandmother
comes to mind and others, but their entire profession of faith
consisted in what they did not do anymore. That was it. I touch not, I taste not, I wear
not, I go not, I laugh not, I smile not. No, no, no. You remember
that little ditty that went like this? I don't smoke or drink
or chew and I won't run around with those who do. Christianity
is more than that, isn't it? God translated us into the kingdom
of his dear son. Yes, he calls us out of darkness.
He gives us life. and light and salvation. The
salvation of the Lord is a great salvation, isn't it? It delivers
great sinners by great grace, by a great Savior to a great
salvation. Religion tells me to change my
ways, but God's grace puts me in the way. the way of following
Christ. Brother Henry Mahan said that
a lady called him one time and had been watching his television
broadcast. And she said, Mr. Mahan, I go
to church and every Sunday our pastor tells us we need to get
our act together. I mean, every Sunday, it never
fails. We know what's coming. He looks out and says, y'all
need to get your act together. She said, Mr. Mahan, I don't
know what my act is. I don't know what it's supposed
to be. Oh, there must be more to it than that. Oh, yes, there
is. There is a salvation today that
doesn't require turning our back on this world of denying self,
taking up the cross and following Christ, but true Christianity
does. Oh, there is a so-called salvation
that accommodates itself to the world. It's manufactured another
gospel, another salvation, another Jesus. It sneaks up on a man's
blind side. Oh, not so the true grace of
God. What did John write? If we say that we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. And we'll lose more than a reward.
I hear people talk about rewards in heaven. Exactly what's that
going to be? A bigger harp? Crown? Mansion? We're told that every
redeemed sinner will be ushered into the presence of God. We
read it in this chapter, and it's in so many other places.
But we're told they shall see His face. We shall see the King. We shall see King Jesus. My soul,
what more reward could there be than that? That this sinner,
this sinner, as Job said, I shall see him for myself. Not another,
I shall see him just as real, just as truly, just as certainly
as I'm looking at you this morning. I shall see his face. Isn't that? Oh, what a reward. What a reward.
Oh, this is the Lord's doing. This is what we can say concerning
the work of grace. This is the Lord's doing. Preacher
didn't do this. This is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes, like Paul wrote in another place,
when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by his grace. And you know what? Paul would
never be the same after that. He would never be the same after
that. From that day forward, it was Christ, Christ, and Christ.
He threw away all his dung, his religious garbage, and he said,
oh, what do you want now, Saul? What's your hope now? I mean,
you've let go of the tradition of the fathers. You say we're
not under the law. All those things you once hated,
you now profess to love. What's your hope? He said, I
want to be found in him. To be found in Christ, I throw
my righteousness down in the dung where it belongs, and all
to be clothed in the righteousness of the Son of God. That's my
hope. When God met Paul in the Damascus
road, when Christ came to him there, that rebel, and knocked
him from his high horse, Saul of Tarsus would never be the
same after that. And listen, listen, neither is
anyone else who experiences the true grace of God. Hall wrote, therefore, if any
man, not just Paul, but if any man be in Christ, he's a new
creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things become
new. Young Mr. Spurgeon, 15 years
old, goes out one morning. God had gotten him lost. Oh,
he wasn't miserable. I tell you, when God strips you,
it's tough. It's necessary, but it's a tough
business, isn't it? brought Mr. Spurgeon down, and
he didn't get to go to the Baptist church because the snow was falling
too deep. So he ducked down an alley to a primitive Methodist
church. And you heard the story. And
God opened his eyes, removed the scales from his eyes, and
he saw Jesus Christ. He was saved by the grace of
God. He made his way home that day. He heard his mother talking
to his father in the next room as he stood by the fireplace,
young Spurgeon. His mother said to his father,
something's come over Charles. Charles is not the same anymore.
He had been so wretchedly miserable and sad. And Spurgeon told his
mother, well, either the world has changed, Mom, or I've changed,
because grace makes us the differ. And that's OK with us, isn't
it? That's OK with us. In Bible terms, salvation is
a radical thing, isn't it? Salvation is life-altering. It
makes every saved sinner a stranger to this world. Religion makes
people strange and acts funny. All but grace makes us a stranger
to this world. Therefore the world knoweth us
not because it knew him not. Believers are strangers to the
people of this world. The world just cannot figure
us out. Grace experiencing the soul makes a person a stranger
in this world, and we're thankful that it's so. Oh, I pray often,
God, don't let me get comfortable in this world. Don't let me feel
at home in this world. Thank God if we don't feel at
home in this world. I was talking to Clay Curtis
a few years ago concerning someone that had come to his church.
And they'd sat under the gospel for a little while and professed
to have believed. So Clay baptized him. And I don't
know, it was a few months later, I was talking to him and I said,
well, Clay, how's that brother doing? How did he go? That brother,
that man that you baptized, he said, well, Larry, I don't see
him anymore. It didn't take. It just didn't
take. I've had that happen too. It
just didn't take. Oh, but when God, by his grace,
brings a sinner to his son, It always takes, doesn't it? Without
exception. Every saved sinner takes these
words of the Apostle Paul as his own. But, but, by the grace
of God, I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain. True grace only comes from the
God of all grace. Grace that will keep me from
falling. Grace that will not let me go. Oh, I love that, don't
you? Grace will not let me go. Grace
that reigns over all my sins. That's the true grace of God.
And it flows from only one fountain, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that
grace can never be defeated. It can never be taken from me.
and it will present me faultless, this is what we read here, unblameable,
unreprovable before the throne of God Almighty. Look what it
says in verse 12, has made us meet, meet, that word is fit,
made us fit, qualified, given us a right to heaven. All the
shifting sands of all man-made religions will fail, but the
true grace of God never will. Every believer who stands now
in the grace of God will stand with him in glory hereafter.
He shall give grace and glory. David Coleman, many of you knew
him. He's with the Lord now and home
about six years ago. He was a dear, dear friend of
mine. He was in the church in Danville when I went there, and
I was there 20 years. But precious friend, precious
brother, one of my best friends. And he'd been sick and going
downhill. And one morning, my phone rang
one Saturday morning, and it was his daughter Amy. David was
a gifted singer. If you've got his CDs, you know
this. But she said, Larry, my daddy's singing in heaven this
morning, singing in heaven. I remember David sang a song
called, I'm So Glad That God Saves Old Sinners. I'd never
heard that before. I hadn't heard anybody else sing
it. Goes like this, I am so glad that God saves old sinners. I'm
thrilled and amazed how he sets them free. But the biggest surprise
in God redeeming old sinners is that he could save an old
sinner like me. Isn't that amazing? Here's my
last point. God will bring all that he calls
by his grace below the glory above. We got ahead of ourselves,
I mentioned that already. We shall soon see the king of
this kingdom, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, in writing to the
believers at Philippi, and every believer, said, I'm confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Listen to our
great high priest. It's before he went to the cross.
He prays on behalf of his people, his church. Father, I will also
that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. There's not a better definition
of heaven than that, is there? It's to be with Christ where
he is that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
Heavenly glory, whatever it is, and all that it is is a gift
of God's pure grace bequeathed unto the children of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace is the forerunner of glory,
and where grace is, glory is bound to follow. In that great
chapter, Hebrews 11, concerning the believers of the Old Testament,
we read that by faith Enoch was translated, there's the word
again, that he should not see death and was not found because
God had translated him. Before his translation, he had
this testimony that he pleased God. You probably have heard
this, but the old preacher read that verse, and he said, well,
it was like this. God spoke to Enoch, and he said,
Enoch, come up and spend the night. And he never came back,
because there's no night there. So shall we be. Brother Don,
let me draw this to a close. And you may have heard this before,
it might ring a bell. He wrote an article years ago,
traveling to another country. Brother Don Fortner, he said,
every year I travel to a foreign country preaching the gospel
of Christ. I have crossed the borders of
our nation, north and south and east and west. Whenever you leave
this country and cross into another, there are three things required.
You must have a birth certificate to prove your citizenship. You
must have a visa from the country receiving you. And you must have
a clean record, no criminal record. Don wrote, soon I will leave
this land of sin and sorrow, and he has. I hope to enter into
the bliss and glory of heaven. I hope to stand forever accepted
as a citizen of the new Jerusalem, and here is the basis of my hope,
a birth certificate. The Lord God has given me a new
nature. There is in me a new man created
of God in righteousness and true holiness. A visa, I have a right. to enter into heaven itself by
the blood of Christ, because I'm robed in his righteousness.
God says it must be perfect to be accepted, and in Christ I'm
perfect. He has made me perfectly righteous
before God, a clear record. Jesus Christ has purged away
all my sin with his precious blood. Therefore, God will never
charge me with any sin. When I stand before God, and
he searches the books for iniquity and sin under my name, he will
find none. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity shall be sought for, of Israel
shall be sought for, and there shall be none. And the sins of
Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them
whom I reserve. I think you have that hymn in
the booklet on the back of the pew. Have you heard what Jesus
done for me? They're all taken away, my sins. They're all taken away. Thine eyes shall see the king
and his beauty. They shall behold the land that
is very far off. Fanny Crosby wrote thousands
of hymns, just thousands. Of course, they're all not recorded.
But she wrote so many hymns, she wrote these lines. Someday
the silver cord will break and I know more as now shall sing.
but all of joy when I shall awake within the palace of the king. And I shall see him face to face
and tell the story saved by grace. I shall see him face to face
and tell the story saved by grace. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention. Word of prayer. Our precious
Father, Lord God Almighty, we come to you once more through
your blessed Son. We thank you for this wonderful message. Thank you for the wonderful promise of grace free grace, perfect salvation, perfect righteousness, in Christ alone, by no merit of our own. Oh, to God be the glory. Lord, thank you. Thank you for
your precious son. Thank you for your blessed word.
I ask that you would bless it to our hearts. Cause us to continually look
upon thee. Till we see you face to face. Lord, thy will be done for Christ's
sake. Amen. Let's stand together and sing Amazing Grace in our
course book. It's on page 28. 28 in the course book. Amazing Grace How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart
to fear. And grace my fears relieved,
How precious did that grace appear! the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils,
and snares, I have already His grace has brought me safe
thus far. And grace will lead me home. has promised good to me. His word, my hope, set a curse. He will my shield and portion
be. as long as life endures. Yea, when this flesh and heart
shall fail, and mortal life I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace. The world shall soon dissolve
like snow. The sun refused to shine, but
God who called be here below, shall be forever mine. When we've been there ten thousand
years, Bright shining as the sun We've no less days to sing
God's praise. He will be first begun. We'll meet again this evening
at six, Lord willing. You're dismissed. Brother Larry,
if you would go to the foyer there, people can... Okay, okay.
Whether they want to or not. Yeah.