Let's all stand together and
sing hymn number 252. 252. Come every soul by sin oppressed,
there's mercy with the Lord. And He will surely give you respite,
trusting in His Word. Only trust Him, only trust Him,
only trust Him now. He will save you He will save
you He will save you now For Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to be Plunge now into the crimson flood
that washes white as snow. Only trust Him, only trust Him,
only trust Him now. He will save you, He will save
you, He will save you now. Yes, Jesus is the truth, the
way that leads you into rest. Believe in Him without delaying
You are fully blessed Only trust Him Only trust Him Only trust
Him now He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
75. Hymn number 75. Abide with me, fast falls the
eventide. The darkness deepens, Lord with
me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts
flee. Help of the helpless, O abide
with me. Swift to its close, Oh, since
that last little day, Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass
away. Change and decay in all around
I see. O Thou who changest not, abide
with me. I need Thy presence every passing
hour. What but Thy grace can foil the
tempter's power? Who like Thyself my guidance
day can be? Through cloud and sunshine or
the pine, with me. Hold thou thy word before my
closing eyes Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heav'n's morning rays and earth's
vain shadows flee. If you have your Bibles with
you this evening, I'd like to read from the book of Ephesians. We'll read Ephesians chapter
3. I had a hard time deciding what
to read tonight. I wanted to read about the conversion
of Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul, and that led me to Ephesians
2, about being saved by grace. I was looking in my notes, and
I read that not too long ago, so we're going to see what's
next in Ephesians chapter 3. For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if you have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to youward, how that
by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore
in few words, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ
by the gospel, whereof I was made a minister according to
the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make
all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things
by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of him, wherefore I
desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you which is
your glory. For this cause I bow my knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named. that he would grant you, according
to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by
his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth
and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with the fullness
of God, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding, abundantly,
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us, unto him glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen. Our most high and heavenly Father,
Lord God Almighty, We come to you once more with our heads
and our hearts bowed before you in your holy presence. We come boldly through your son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. What a mystery it is, Lord, that
you allow us to bow before you. For no eye hath seen thy glory,
Lord, except through what you reveal to us through the Lord
Jesus Christ. You've given us a glimpse. Lord, we know that you're almighty
and all-powerful, righteous, a just God. Lord, we thank you for everything
you have taught us, everything you've given us and provided
us through your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may have
a Salvation. Free salvation. For the least of all. Orders
we've read work. Everyone you've revealed yourself
to or we all know that we are the least of all. And you are all in it all. Father, we ask that you would
send your spirit among us this evening. We ask that you would
cause us to honor thy name, to glorify thy name, to worship
you, Lord. Let us to worship you in spirit
and truth, ingrain in our hearts the things of thy word. Teach
us the gospel, Lord, and teach us thy way. Keep us here tonight, Lord, as
you have so So faithfully, Lord, you have kept us. We ask that
you would continue to keep us. We heard in the truth this morning,
Lord, that we cannot keep ourselves. Lord, but we trust to know that
you can keep us. We trust that you will. Lord,
we trust that you will provide, as you have all this time. Lord, we pray that thy word go
forth among this congregation, among this community, among your
sheep, wherever they be all across this world, Lord, that your word
would go forth and bring forth fruit as you see
fit. Lord, let us not meet in vain
tonight. Let us meet with you. We ask for mercy and grace and
strength for those who are weak and weary, those who are unable
to be here, and those who are weak of heart, Lord. We trust that you will provide
grace and strength for tribulations which you send. Lord, we know not the needs of
everyone, but we know that you do, more so than we know ourselves. We ask that thy will be done
for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn number 449. 449. To God be the glory, great things
He hath done. So loved He the world that He
gave us His Son. Who yielded His life in atonement
for sin, And opened the life-gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give him the glory. Great things he hath done. O perfect redemption, the purchase
of blood To every believer, the promise of God The vilest offender
who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Great things He hath taught us,
great things He hath done, and great are rejoicing through Jesus
the Son. But purer and higher and greater
will be Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through
Jesus the Son, and give him the glory. Great things He hath done. Psalm 91, Psalm 91. Changed our meeting, I think,
to the 15th through the 17th, the weekend before Thanksgiving. So I'll have to see if that's
all right with the preachers, I ask. But I want you to look
with me. I'm gonna read this psalm and
then come back and use verse 11 for my text. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. Imagine being under the shadow
of God Almighty. God's shadow over you, protecting
you, keeping you from the heat in the summer. And I will say
of the Lord, this is what I'm going to say about Him, He is
my refuge. Got a place to hide. He's my
refuge. He's my fortress. He's a fort
all the way around me. My God, in him will I trust. Surely, surely he shall deliver
thee from the snare of the fowler. They sent snares to catch birds.
Satan catches snares for us. And he'll not only save us from
the snare of the fowler, but from the noisome pestilence. I love this, He shall cover thee
with His feathers. You know, He talked about bearing,
He come to Israel and He bare them on eagles' wings, carried
them on eagles' wings, shall cover thee with the, you know,
God don't have feathers, we understand that, but He speaks in language
that makes it such a blessing to us, makes it encouraging to
us and comforting to us. He shall cover thee with His
feathers, and under His wings, that's where you gonna trust.
You know, he gonna spread them wings, get under them, get under
them, he says. And oh, he told Israel, how often
would I have gathered you under my wings as a hen doeth gather
her chicks, but you would not. But oh, I will. Oh, Lord, please
put me under your wings, and thou shalt trust his truth. His
blessed truth shall be my shield and be my buckler. Thou shalt
not be afraid for the terror by night, nor the arrow that
flies by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in the darkness,
nor the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall
fall at thy side, ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall
come not nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou
behold and see the reward of the wicked. because thou hast
made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high, the place
where you live, though your habitation, you made it the place where you
want to live, you made it where you want to stay. And neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, for he shall give his
angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up, this
is about our Lord Jesus Christ, shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon
the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under feet, because he has set his love upon me. Therefore will I deliver him.
I will set him on high because he hath known my name. He shall
call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor
him. With long life will I satisfy
him and show him my salvation. Now I want to get my subject
back up there in verse 11. FOR HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS
CHARGE OVER THEE TO KEEP THEE IN ALL THY WAYS. IN ALL THY WAYS
IS THE TITLE OF MY MESSAGE. JUST SAY IN ALL THY WAYS. IN
ALL THY WAYS. AND I WANT YOU TO LOOK. YOU KEEP
PSALM 91. LOOK OVER HERE IN PROVERBS CHAPTER
THREE. I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT THIS. CHAPTER
THREE IN VERSE FIVE. IN ALL THY WAYS. You know, there's
a way that seemeth right unto man, but the ways are the end
of death. But look what he said over here
in Proverbs 3 in verse 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all
thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, in all thy ways,
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. You know, the
believer, the believer has his shared troubles in this life,
and yet he's kept in safety, kept in safety. God keeps us. He's kept us in safety all these
years through all the trials, with all the troubles, all the
sorrows, all the weeping, all the worry, and all the fret,
and all the sleepless nights. He's kept us through all of them,
kept us through all of them. Wherever we are, Whatever we're
doing, if we're walking, and God made a way for us to walk
in, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And He says
that He will be with us, be our shield and our buckler, and that
He'll send angels, that angels, covered in angels give angels
charge over you. And you know the Hebrews chapter
1 verse 14 says that the angels are sent to be ministering spirits
to them that are heirs of salvation. You know, they asked the question,
Whoever did say, I give these angels charge over thee, but
under the sun, he says, thy throne is forever and ever, but are
not they ministry spirits sent forth to minister to them that
shall be heirs of salvation. God's got angels that see sins
to protect us. You've heard of guardian angels.
God said he actually does send angels to protect us. You know,
our Lord Jesus Christ, He says, Be careful who you offend, one
of these little ones, because they're angels. Their angel does
always behold the face of their father, which is in heaven. Oh,
God said, you know, you got an angel, and they're looking up
at God, and that's what He's talking about there. And oh my,
what does the psalmist mean by thy ways? For thy ways ARE THE
WAYS WHICH EVERY BELIEVER WALKS IN THIS WORLD. I BELIEVE THEY
DO. JOB SAID IT THIS WAY, HE SAID,
THE LORD KNOWS THE WAY THAT I TAKE. HE KNOWS THE WAY THAT I TAKE.
AND WHEN HE HATH TRIED ME, WHEN HE HATH TRIED ME, I SHALL COME
FORTH AS GOLD. I SHALL COME FORTH AS GOLD. HE
KNOWS THAT I HAVE NOT TURNED FROM HIS WAY. AND I KNOW THIS
THAT GOD'S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS. He cares for our person and He
cares for our ways, our ways. And you know, none of us want
to lose our home, none of us want to lose our health, none
of us want to lose our liberty or lose our lives. But oh, the
thing that I don't want to lose, I don't want to lose the way.
I don't want to lose the way. I don't want to leave the way
that Christ brought us in. I don't want to leave that way.
I don't want to lose the way that God prescribed for me in
this world. It's when we get out of the ways
that we're in danger. When we get out of the ways,
we go our way. We go the way we think, the way
we feel. And oh, that's a dangerous thing
to go, you know, let our emotions, let our thoughts and let our
reasoning, that's why he said, you know, trust in the Lord with
thine own heart and lean not to your own understanding. And
oh, the ministry for God's elect are threefold. First he said,
He shall give, He shall give. He shall give, that's what he
said there, he said, He shall give His angel. This is what
God's elect, he said, and then the official, he's the one that
gives them. And then they're personal over
thee, you personally, over you personally. And it'll be constant
in all your ways. It'll be constant, it'll be constant.
Well, what are the ways that he's talking about? And you notice
it says there in that, it said, in all thy ways, not way, all
thy ways, that's plural. That's plural. The believer's
ways, let me tell you the first way of a believer. It's the way
of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. That's the way,
that's the way that we take. When God directs our steps and
directs our way, He brings us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Hebrews 11, it's all
about faith. Faith is the substance. It's
got a substance to it, but what is it? It's the substance of
things we hope for. And then he started talking about
this faith. We understand that the world,
this world and everything in it, was built and framed by the
Word of God. And then he started out with
Abel. Abel, you know, said these all obtained a good report. Who
gave them a good report? God did. Then he talked about
Abel and his sacrifice. Talked about Enoch walking with
God and God took him. Then he talked about Abraham
and how God called him to go out and he went out. So the ways
of all these people are the ways of faith. You know, Hebrews 11
tells us, look over in Hebrews 10. And you know, look in Hebrews
10. Just look at this over here in
Hebrews 10, verse 38. You know, we look, the way of
faith in Christ, that's what we're saying tonight, to God
be the glory, great things He hath taught us, great things
He hath brought us, great things, and oh abide with me, oh God
abide with me. You know, and it says here in
verse 38, now the just shall live by faith, Now you know this
is mentioned three times in the scripture. It's this word, just
the just shall live by faith. It's mentioned in Habakkuk, it's
mentioned in Galatians, and it's mentioned here in Hebrews. It's
mentioned three times. And I tell you, you break this
thing down to just. How in the world does a man get
just? Where does he get justice from? Where does he get to be
made just from? God has to make a man just. God
declares a man just. God clears a man of all guilt
and acquits him of all of his sin. And then he lives, he has
to live in this world. And he lives. A man that lives,
I mean he lives, he moves, he has his being. And the just,
he has to live in this world. We live here. I get up in the
morning, you get up in the morning, you go through your day, you
get to the end of your day, you go to bed, and you know, during
that time, you're living. And the just shall live. They're
living. Well, how in the world are they
going to live? By faith. By faith. by faith in WHO? It's not by faith in WHAT? Our
faith is in a PERSON, a BLESSED PERSON, a GLORIOUS PERSON! And
he goes on to say now, verse 38, Now the just shall live by
FAITH, but if any man draws back, he goes backwards, he says, I'm
going to go back from this. Look what it says, My soul shall
not have no pleasure in him. I won't be pleased in that. But
there's the difference between them that draw back and them
that don't. There's the difference between
the just living by faith and them that don't. But we are not
of them. We are not of them who draw back
unto perdition. That word perdition means damnation. Judas was the son of perdition,
the son of damnation, and he said, We're not of them that
draw back unto perdition, but listen to this, but that believe
to the day our souls are saved. You know, Peter said it like
this, you know, there comes a time when our faith comes to an end.
Peter said, you know, over in 1 Peter, he says, Our faith being
much more precious than gold, though it be tried with faith,
is much more precious than gold, and being tried, for your faith
shall have an end. One of these days, our faith
will cease to be. God's got an end to when our
faith is going to end, and when our faith ends, that's when sight
starts. When God's got a time, when our
faith, we won't need it anymore. But as long as we're living in
this world, we need faith. And we need faith in a person.
And I bless his holy name. Oh my. And I taught only that,
but you know, we have faith in his obedience. In his obedience,
in his righteousness. I've, you know, I wish I could
remember where it was. I know where it's at, but I'd
hate to take time to look for it. But it says, you know, that
bringing every thought unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. That's
not bringing our every thought to our obedience, but bringing
every thought and imagination unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. And everything in our mind is
brought back to what Christ did, what Christ accomplished, the
salvation He accomplished, to His obedience, and beloved, His
righteousness. God, if He ever looks at us outside
of Christ, as I used to say, you're a gone Jesse, but oh my,
this is the way of a believer, the way of faith in Christ. Faith
in His blood that put our sin away. Him, Him, our faith in
Christ is our ONLY acceptance with God. One of the preachers,
I believe it was David Edmondson preached last week, he preached
on ACCEPTED in the Beloved. You know what it is to be accepted
of God? God accepting your person, accepting
you, accepting you as you are, accepting you with all your weaks,
with all your failures, all your frailty, and all your sin, and
all your ups, and all your downs, and all your changes that you
go through. God accepting you as you are in Christ, in Christ. Oh, with our own acceptance with
God. He always says plainly, he said, no man, no man can come
unto the Father but by me. And oh my, he's our only mediator. Oh, he's our only mediator. God
only way in the world God will approach us and we can approach
him is through the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you what,
this is one thing, it's about the way of a believer. We know,
we know that without him, We can do nothing, we know nothing,
we have nothing, and are nothing. A bunch of zeroes. If I had a
pen, I'd show you. Zero, zero, zero, you get six
zeroes and run them across there. Go get nine zeroes and put them
across there. You got nine. What's nine zeroes amount to?
Zero. But you put one in front of them,
and it becomes a big, big number. And that's the way we are. We're
all a bunch of zeros without Christ. And Christ is the only
thing that makes us worth anything. Ain't that right? He's the only
one that makes us worth anything. Oh, bless him. You know, he wrote,
Paul wrote, I'm the last of the least of saints. And I believe
every believer feels that about himself. I talked about fruit
this morning. And I felt like such a hypocrite
preaching on fruit when I don't have any. I don't have any. I just feel like I don't have
any at all. I feel like such a hypocrite. But I do know this. If they have any fruit, God's
got to produce it. God's got to produce it. And
oh my, that's why the scripture says we walk, we walk, we live
by faith, and we walk by what? By faith. We don't walk by sight. And oh, let me tell you something
else. Not only the way of faith in
Christ, but secondly, the ways, the way of the obedience of Christ.
You know, I want you to look with me in Acts chapter nine,
Acts chapter nine. This is where, and this is the
way we are. You know, down in verse chapter
four, this is where Christ apprehends Paul on the road to Damascus.
And I tell you, Christ is our master. And when you have a master
as good as our Lord, you have a master as sweet and as kind
and as gracious and merciful and tender and pitiful as He
is, oh my, He's our master and it's the way of obedience to
our master. Look what it said here in verse
four. You know, Paul's threatening out slaughters to the church,
and he's on his way to get some men and women and children and
bring them to Jerusalem and put them in jail. And oh, as he journeyed,
it says there in verse 3, And as he journeyed and came near
Damascus, suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven, and he fell to the earth. Can you imagine, I mean this
man is, he's a mean man. And there's a light shining so
bright that he fell, fell to the earth. It didn't say he jumped
to the earth, he fell to the earth. Ain't that what it says? And he heard a voice, a light,
and then he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul. Why are
you persecuting me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? Who are you? You have to be a
Lord. You have to have some power.
You have to be almighty to blind me and put me in the dirt and
lay me off down here in the dust, lay me in the dirt, causing me
to fall. And I, Lord, said, I'm gonna tell you who I am. I am
Jesus. Jesus, whom thou persecutest,
oh, it's hard for you to kick against the pricks. And he trembling,
trembling and astonished said, Lord, this is the way we are. What would you have me do? What would you have me to do?
Huh? Oh, my. And I tell you what,
our Lord Jesus Christ, that's what he does when he saves us.
The first thing we ask, Lord, what? Oh, God, what would you
have me to do? And the believers, like his father
Abraham, when he was called to go out, he didn't know where
he was going. When God calls us, the first thing we say, Oh
Lord, oh Lord, please be my guide. Lord, please guide me. Lord,
don't let me be against you. And be like Samuel, when Samuel
was a little boy and God was calling him. And he went and
asked Eli, what Eli was doing. He said, no, go lay down. And
he said, the next time he calls you, say, Lord, here am I. And that's the way we say, Lord,
here am I. I'm here. Have mercy on me, Lord. Speak, Lord, I'm here. Speak,
Lord, for thy servant hears. Oh, speak, Lord, thy servant
hears. And I tell you, dear Shirley,
my wife, is on the way home today. She said, would we go and hear
the gospel? Said, it does something for us.
We come in here in certain ways, in certain attitudes, in certain
manners, and things going on with us. And by the time we sat
down and hear a little while, next thing you know, the world
shut out for a little while. You know why we're here? Speak
Lord, thy servant hears. Speak Lord, thy servant hears.
Oh my. And here's the third thing about
the ways of the believer, thy ways. The way and trust of our
Lord's providential rule. And what providence means is
this, he governs. That's all it means. Providence,
we talk about those people say, you know, that had to be the
Lord's providence because of the way it come out. It's whatever
way it comes out, it's the Lord's providence. You know, that means
that he's governing things, he's ordering all things. That's what
it means. And over here in Romans, look
over in Romans with me, in chapter eight. You know, people, they do, they say, boy,
I tell you, the Lord's providence was so good to get me through
this, and I tell you, he's good for that and good for something
else. but all my everything the Lord's does. That providence
just means that he declared the end from the beginning and he
sends things our way and everything he sends our way is exactly right,
exactly right. Look what he said here in Romans
8, 28. And now everybody knows this verse. And we know there are some things
we actually know that all things work. HOW MANY THINGS? ALL THINGS. ALL THINGS. EVERYTHING THAT EVER
HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES. EVEN WHEN WE WAS UNCONVERTED.
I'M GONNA TELL YOU THIS, WHEN WE WAS UNCONVERTED, YOU KNOW,
WHEN WE WAS KIDS AND WHEN WE WAS YOUNG, WE, IT'S A WONDER
WE DIDN'T DESTROY OURSELVES. I'VE DONE SOME OF THE DUMBEST
THINGS AND EVER, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY DID. WE THOUGHT THAT, MAN, I
MEAN, And what in the world, why did it not destroy us? I wrecked so many cars and I've
done so many things, come through Vietnam and all kinds of things.
I was in a big old sand pit one time, in a gravel pit, and I
was digging me a hole in a big old
sand, big old thing of sand, you know, big old pile of sand.
I was gonna dig me a hole and get in that hole in that sand.
I got in it, the sand fell in on me. I said, oh my goodness,
I'm gonna smother to death. I went to dig it, dug my way
back out of there. How stupid is it you're gonna
try to dig a hole in sand, knowing that you build a house on a sink
of sand? But that's what I'm talking about,
God, We didn't know it then, but everything that happened
to us, God protected us. God preserved us. Whatever happened
to us, all those things brought us to Christ. All those things
brought us to trust him. All those things taught us that
God really does protect us. He called them simple, said the
Lord keeps the simple. Well, I mean, I know He keepin'
me, I know He did. But oh my, but look what He said. We know that all things, and
it works, it works, things are workin' together. And it works
together for good, good, good to them that love God. And oh,
who loves God? To them who are called according
to His purpose. And oh my, look over here then
in verse 17. This is what I'm talking about.
You know, he said, and if children, then your heirs. Heirs of God,
join eyes with Christ, and if so be that we suffer with him. Where did we suffer with him?
On the cross. And in his death, we suffered
with him, that we may be also glorified together. And listen
to this now. And I reckon that the sufferings,
sufferings, sufferings of this present time, And everybody, one time or another,
you're gonna suffer. And I reckon that the sufferings
of right now, right now where we are and what now when we are,
they're not worthy at this present time to be compared. Don't even
put it in the same column with the glory that's gonna be revealed
in us. Oh my, you know the believer,
you know what the believer's heart attitude is? In all things,
Lord, your will be done. Your will be done. Your will
be done. Oh, he works all things after
the counsel of his own will. Wouldn't you rather be under
his will and the counsel of his will rather than your will? Oh, yes, Lord. Put me under the
counsel of your will. I don't want mine. I don't want mine. I'll give
you another thing. We're going to get down to a
couple of things here. In the way of believers, in our
ways, he said ways, plural ways, and this is I think the fourth
way of God. A believer's way and a Christian's
way is a way of honesty, uprightness, and integrity. They are. It's a way of honesty, uprightness,
and integrity. You know, SCRIPTURES TELLS US TO LIVE HONESTLY
WITH ALL MEN. PAUL SAID I HAVE UP TO THIS TIME
I'VE EXERCISED MYSELF, EXERCISED MYSELF TO BE WITHOUT OFFENSE
TOWARD GOD OR TOWARD MAN. HE SAID I HAD TO WORK AT THIS. I HAD TO WORK AT THIS BUSINESS
OF EXERCISING MY SOUL THAT I MIGHT NOT BE OFFENSIVE TO GOD OR OFFENSIVE
TO MEN, THAT I MIGHT BE No blood on my conscience, no blood on
my conscience. And he says, you know, in Romans
12, 17, he says, live honestly, be honestly. Hebrews talks about
be as honest in all things. And I'll tell you this, I know
without a shadow of a doubt, look with me in 2 Corinthians
8, 21. And that's, you know, this is the way we are. A BELIEVER
IS AN HONEST MAN. I BELIEVE HE'S AN HONEST MAN.
LOOK DOWN AT VERSE 21, PROVIDING FOR HONEST THINGS,
NOT ONLY IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, GOD KNOWS, BUT ALSO IN
THE SIGHT OF MEN. BE HONEST BEFORE GOD, BE HONEST
BEFORE MEN. You know, the believer's an honest
man. I believe he's an honest man.
I believe he's an honest man in all things. As much as in him can be, he
wants to be honest. And I tell you, he pays his bills.
He speaks the truth. He walks uprightly. And I tell you, a man that's
untrustworthy and not honest, I heard, you know, Henry Mahan,
I love him, love him, loved him, still love him. And boy, he,
there was a preacher come around and he said, boy, said, I caught
him in a couple of lies and I'm not going, you know, I don't
want nothing to do with him. Cut him off, caught him in a couple
of lies. I was talking to a lady here a while back and it was,
she had no problem lying. She had no problem lying. Didn't
have any problem at all telling a lie. Well, I had to say that
to say this, and I'd done that to say this, and you know, there
is no excuse for a lie. People say there's a white lie.
There's no such animal. A lie is a lie is a lie is a
lie. And people start lying to you,
you can't trust them. If I lied to you, if I lied to
you about things that I was done or things that I was going to
do, you wouldn't trust me after a while. You wouldn't trust me
after a while. I remember Bruce Daley, years
and years ago, bless his heart, I love him, oh my goodness, what
a precious man he was. But years ago, when we were starting
to try to get money together to buy this land, build up here,
he come to me and talked to me, said, you know, said, I don't like to talk about money
and I don't think we need to be putting people in debt and
all this stuff and everything. And you know what I always said
to him? I said, now, Bruce, I said, you trust me with your soul.
You trust me with your soul. Standing up here preaching the
gospel to you, you'll trust me with your soul, but you won't
trust me to make decisions about what this church is gonna go
and the directions it's gonna go and the things it wants to
do and needs to do. He said, oh my, sorry, forgive
me. He said, do whatever you want
to do. But that's the difference. If a person will trust me with
their soul, then they wouldn't trust me to make decisions about
other things, temporal things. And that's what we're talking
about, a believer's honest. And I'll tell you, the first
thing he is, he starts being honest with God. Oh, to be honest
with God. We got to be honest with God.
I mean we have to open ourselves up to God, we've got to be honest
with God, and we have to deal honestly with His Word, with
His Word. Every once in a while that Word,
you know He calls it a sword, it'll cut you this way, and it'll
cut you back that way. It's got sharp edges on both
sides. It'll get you going and get you coming. Trim you up,
and every once in a while we need a trimming, and God, He's
the one that has to do the trimming. It's the Word that does it. And
oh my, we're honest with His Word. If His Word condemns us,
we're condemned. If His Word assures us, we're
assured. If His Word instructs us, we're instructed. If He rebukes
us, we're rebuked. And we don't say, it's the Lord.
And oh, we're honest, try our dead level best to be honest
with souls. And old Barnard said one time,
God don't send honest men to hell. And He doesn't. A man is
honest. Honest with God, honest with
his word, and oh my. Let me give you another one of
our ways. The way of giving ourselves to Christ and giving ourselves
to God for his glory. You know, we give ourselves away.
I've said this so many times. We get up in the morning and
say, Lord, I'm yours. I'm yours again. You know, we
have so much flesh and so many things wrong with it that we
have to give ourselves to Christ over and over and over. And we
do it for His glory, for the glory of God. Oh, my. Paul, you know, he talked about
that, you know, doing all things for the glory of God. And Romans
12 says this, I beseech you, brethren, I beseech you, I beg
you, I beseech you by the mercies, mercies of God. What a motive
for the mercies of God that you present, give your bodies, present
your bodies to God, present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice,
not a dead one, a living sacrifice. And don't you be conformed to
this world but you be renewed in your mind and in your spirit.
Oh, a believer is a person whose heart and life is given to the
Lord Jesus Christ. People say all the time, you
need to make church and you need to make the gospel and you need
to make Christ, number one, the priority in your life. You make
him priority, then God will make you priority. Well, that's not,
that's only one thing wrong with that, that's not true. Oh my,
the believer in his heart and in his soul is giving himself
to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what the scripture says,
when Christ, who is our life, Christ our life, when he appears,
he gonna appear. When he appears, we gonna appear
with him, gonna show up with him. Where are we going to appear
with Him? In His glory, in His glory. But Christ is our life. We don't give Him first place.
We don't give Him first place. We don't give Him priority. He's
our life. He Himself is our life. You take
Christ away from us and what do we have? What do we got left? You take Christ from us and what
have we got? Oh, Christ himself is, and that's
why, Lord, we pray that, Lord, please, please. Oh, I want my
heart, my soul, everything be given over to you. Oh my, Paul
said, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet it's
not I that live it, but it's Christ. Christ in me, live by
the faith of the Son of God. And listen to this, he loved
me and gave himself for me. Oh my, and I tell you, we want
to. If we could do anything perfectly,
if we could do anything perfectly, you know what it'd be? It'd be
a perfect conformity and commitment to Christ and hold back nothing. And one of these blessed days,
that's the way it's gonna be. There'll be no sin involved in
it. And if we could, you know, that's why Paul said, the will,
the will, the will, the will, the will's present with me. I've
got it. But how in the world to perform
it? That's another story. But we got the will. But oh,
wouldn't it be wonderful? Wouldn't it be wonderful? But
I know this, are giving ourselves to Christ, and giving ourselves
away to Christ, and committing ourselves to Christ. It's not
perfect by no stretch of the imagination, but it's sincere,
and it's growing, and it's growing. And then I, you know, I hate
to say things like this, but it needs to be said. And I hope
you think I'm not chiding you in any way. But the way, one
of our ways is that we are not of the world. We're separated
from the world. This world is not our home. We're
like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we dwell in tents. Oh my, this
world is not our home. You know, the believer willingly,
willingly separates him from the things of this world. And
what are some of the things of this world? Well, in the ways
of the world. The world is so ambitious after
recognition. Ambitious after power. Ambitious
after materialism. Ambitious after recognition.
And to be somebody in this world. People name drop all the time.
Oh my, I know this, I know that, and I've met this fella, that
fella, and this fella, and all that fella, and all that. But
oh my. This world, you have to, I know
you got to go to work and you have to deal with people in the
world. But whenever they talk religion, it's a grief to you,
ain't it? It's a grief. It hurts you. And then in politics,
we was at a shindig yesterday in Deer Creek. They had a picnic
yesterday. Some folks wanted to get off
on politics, you know, and everything. And this one fellow said, can
we let politics go just today alone, not get into that? Oh,
politics, you know, it starts a fight. I know where I am, and
I know the way you are. But let's leave it out of the
church. Leave it out of our fellowship. And you know, we don't want the
ways of the world. We don't want the ways of the
world. The ways of this world is avarice, corruptness, lies, deception,
and corruption. Paul called it an evil world.
God saved us from this evil world. And oh my, the people of the
world, oh my. And I'll tell you something else,
this is where we really want to be separate from the religion
of the world. the religion of the world. Dear,
do you know Caleb Hickman up in Pennsylvania? They've told
him that they're going to keep his sermons and that they've
said that they're not going to play his messages anymore. They've
blocked him on Sermon Audio. You know, and what in the world's
going on whenever there's supposed to be a place to hear preachers,
and they've blocked him, so he has to go to another place. And
I said, he said he's going to appeal, he's going to talk to
them about it. But somebody tried to get on and try to find me
the other day to hear me preach and said we couldn't find him
on there either, said he wasn't available. Religion is hell, I mean, it's
hellish. It's hellish. Oh my, and I tell
you, I don't want to be, James said it this, he that's
a friend of the world, a friend of the world, is the enemy of
God. You know what all this world's
about? The lust of the flesh. I want, I want, I want, I want,
I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want. The pride
of life, you know what the pride of life is? Look at me, look
at me, look at me, look what I've accomplished, look what
I've done. Oh, pride of life is, that means
that you're proud of your life, you're proud of your accomplishments,
you're proud of who you are, you're proud of your race, you're
proud of your face, you're proud of everything you've ever done.
And then the lust of the eyes. And you know what the lust of
the eyes is? Same thing as pride of life,
look at me, look at me. Look at me, look what I am, look
who I am. Oh my. Well, you reckon that'll
work, I hope it. You know, I ain't talked about
the world in I don't know how long. But this world, I tell
you what, it's, It's really not our home. We're pilgrims. We're
pilgrims and strangers in this world. David said, I'm a stranger
just like my father was. You know, I go visit my family,
and me and Shirley, which we used to talk about, said, two
hours is a long time. They're ready for us to go, and
we're ready to go. You can only talk about old times
for so long. They only wanna be around you
for so long. You know why? Because we're in
different worlds. The believer and the world are
in different realms. The believer, he lives in this
spiritual world. He lives in this world where
Christ is everything, and the world is in this place where
self is everything. Pride is everything. Accomplishment's
everything. Ambition is everything. Your
job title's everything. And then let me give you the
last one. Our ways, that ways, oh Lord. Give His angels charge
over it. That's the way of the cross.
The way of the cross. You know what the cross means?
When you talk about a cross, The way of the cross, you know
what the cross represents? It represents death and shame. And our Lord said, accept a man,
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. He ain't
got no part in me. And so the cross means that death,
death. Paul said, I've got the sentence
of death in myself. And that cross, you know, we're
following Christ and his blessed cross. That's the way of death. It's the way of shame. It's the
way of rejection. And oh my, we died with Christ. We have the, you know, that cross
means that, you know, we don't care what anybody thinks. That
cross, God forbid that I glory in anything but the cross of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And the believer willingly takes
up his cross and follows the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm dead to this world, I'm dead
to its opinions, I'm dead to its ways, I'm dead to its religion,
and oh my, we take up our cross and follow our master. Day by
day by day by day. consequences. He seeks to do
the will of his Lord and putting all things into subjection to
him. Subjection to him. I started
out with faith in him and followed him. And oh, what a privilege, what
a blessing, what a mercy, what a grace. What sovereign mercy,
what sovereign grace that God would come to us and allow us
to know Him. Be privileged to have that cross. Be blessed to know the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's all that matters in
this world, is our relationship with Him. Father, thank you for your great
and abundant mercies given us in Christ. Oh, Lord, blessed
be your holy name. There's no one like you. No one
like you in mercy, grace, love, compassion, pity. And oh, Lord, we thank you that
you promised us, promised us, Lord,
that you'd keep us. And that one day you'd come after
us and take us to be with you where you are. And Lord, that's why we want
to be with you here. Want to walk with you here. Want
to be under subjection to you here. For you to be our master,
to be our Lord. And Lord, save us from ourselves.
Save us from this world. Save us from everything that's
unlike you. Renew our faith, our love, everything,
our commitment, everything I spoke about tonight, Lord. Renew our
commitment to our Savior. Forgive us of everything that's
so unlike you. God bless these dear saints.
Lord, encourage them, uphold them, and meet the needs of their
home, meet the needs of their hearts. And Lord, have mercy
upon our children and grandchildren. Lord, do for them what you've
done for us. Go to them and find them and
save them like you found us and saved us by your grace. We bless
you and praise you in Christ's name. Amen. Jesus Christ is made to me. All I need. All I need. He alone is all my plea. He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness, and power. Holiness forevermore. Redemption sure. And sure, He is all I need. Amen. See you Wednesday, God
willing.