So, so Good evening. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 199. 199. Sinners, Jesus will
receive. Send his word of grace to all. ? To the heavenly pathway lead
? ? Long may we go, long may we follow ? ? Singing o'er and
o'er the field ? ? Christ, receive us, sing for me ? Come and He will give you rest. Trust Him for His word is plain. He will take the sinful rest. Christ, receive a sinful wing. Make the message clear and plain. Christ, receive a sinful wing. Now my heart can tempt me not,
? For your law I stand ? ? We are
cleansed, freed from all scorn ? ? Satisfied, exactly men ?
? Sing it home, endure your fear ? ? Christ received with sinful
fear ? Christ, receive a sin for me. Christ, receive a sin for me. Even me with all my sin. Earth come, heav'ns come and
stay. ? Sing it over and over again ?
? Christ receive and save again ? ? Make the message clear and
plain ? ? Christ receive and save again ? Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
257. 257. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Jesus Jesus ? Remember me, Jesus, Jesus ? ?
Precious Jesus ? ? Oh, for grace to trust in me ? ? Guest is sweet
to trust in Jesus ? Just from Jesus I will hear Life
and rest, and joy and peace Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him I'm so glad If you have your Bibles with
you this evening, I'd like to return back to the book of John
chapter 4. We'll pick up where we left off
this morning. John chapter 4. Beginning in verse 31, John chapter 4, verse 31, In
the meanwhile his disciples prayed to him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have
meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples
one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus
saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent
me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, there are yet four
months, and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift
up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already
to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that
soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein
is that saying true, one soweth and another reapeth. I sent you
to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor, other men labored,
and ye are entered into their labors. And many of the Samaritans
of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which
testified, he told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans
were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with
him, and he abode there two days. And many more believed because
of his own word. And said unto the woman, Now
we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard him
of ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior
of the world. Now after two days he departed
thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that
a prophet hath no honor in his own country. Then when he was
come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all
the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast. for they also went
unto the feast. So Jesus came again into Cana
of Galilee, where he made the water wine, and there was a certain
nobleman whose son was sick, Capernaum. When he heard that
Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him and
besought him that he would come down and heal his son, for he
was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, except
ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe, The nobleman saith
unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto
him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word
that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he
was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying,
Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the
hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday,
at the seventh hour, the fever left him. So the father knew
that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto
him, thy son liveth and himself believed in his whole house.
This is again the second miracle that Jesus did when he was come
out of Judea into Galilee. Our most high and heavenly father,
Lord God Almighty, we come to you once more through your blessed
son that we just read a little bit more about. We thank you
for this word. We thank you for our Savior.
We thank you for all of your works, your perfect works, Lord,
that we don't lift a finger, but we bestow and share in your
labor, Lord, just to know you. Lord, we thank you that you've
shown mercy to a certain people, a peculiar people. We're a people
of sinners. Lord, we're so thankful that
you show mercy to the Samaritans. Lord, we ask here tonight that
you would continue to bestow mercies upon us, Lord, that you
would guide this service, send your spirit to be among us, As
we attempt in this flesh, Lord,
to worship you, ask that you would send your spirit that we
could worship you in spirit and in truth, not just in this flesh. Lord, there are many weak and
weary, those who are sick, those who are brokenhearted. Lord,
some of us have loved ones who are, as the man's child was near
the end, Lord, that you can show mercy to whom you will. Lord,
we ask that you would show mercy. Lord, be our strength and our
stay. Keep us or we won't be kept. Lord, we ask that you would teach
us thy way. Bless your saints wherever they be gathered. We
ask that that will be done for Christ's sake. Amen. Hymn number
52. Number 52 in our hymnals. ? Majestic, sweetly sits the throne
? ? Upon the Savior's brow ? ? His head with beauty glorious crowned
? ? His lips with grace so full ? ? His lips with grace so full
? ? No more will I ? He saw me crouched in deep distress and and carried all my grief, and
carried all my grief. We're pleased to have Brother
Larry Chris with us once more this evening. You come on, brother. That sounds simple enough, doesn't
it? Hit the red button. Good to be with you. Before I
hit the red button, let me just say what a joy it always is for
me to come here and to worship with you. I was telling the brethren
in the back I think probably I first began coming here in
the early 90s, I believe. I moved to Danville in 91. And I don't think it was too
long after that, maybe a year or two, that Brother Donnie first
had me down. And it's always a joy. God's people, no matter where
they're at, it's always a joy to meet with those of like, precious
faith. And I thank you. Thank you for
your kind words, your reception of the gospel. I appreciate each
of you. I appreciate your pastor, Brother
Donnie Bell. He's been a dear, dear, cherished
friend of mine. Pray for me. Pray for me tonight.
Hit the red button. Would you turn to Philippians
chapter 4? Philippians chapter 4. We'll read verse 1 in just a
moment. These believers at Philippi were
very dear to the Apostle Paul. And Paul was dear to them. because Paul was the preacher
who had brought them the gospel. You remember at the riverbank,
Lydia got open her heart as Paul spoke the word, and she believed
afterwards in prison. The jailer believed in all his
house. And upon hearing that Paul was
now in prison in Rome, this church, these believers, sent Paul an
offering, a gift, by their pastor. and the pastor took it to Paul,
and Paul in return sent this letter, this epistle, back to
the church at Philippi. There are several reasons why
Paul sent this letter, and very briefly, one is obvious, he wanted
to express his love and affection for them. He does that in the
very opening chapter. and also to give an account of
his imprisonment and the result of it. He didn't want them to
be discouraged by his imprisonment. In verse 12 of chapter 1, Paul
says, I would that ye should understand, brethren, that the
things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto
the furtherance of the gospel. Look what God's done. He's not,
the gospel has not been hindered, it's been advanced. Even in Caesar's
household, they could lock Paul in, but they couldn't lock Jesus
Christ out. Christ told his disciples that
night before he went to the garden and was betrayed, he said, I
won't leave you comfortless. The word there is orphans. I
won't leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Every child of God
can testify to the truth of that promise. I will come to you. There is nothing that can keep
Christ away, the great shepherd, away from his sheep. And Paul
said in closing this epistle, all the saints salute you, chiefly
they that are of Caesar's household. Servants, kinsmen of Caesar,
they believe, oh yes, All things are done for God's glory and
for the furtherance of the gospel. The third thing, one other thing,
reason that Paul wrote this epistle, this letter, was to encourage
them in their affliction and persecution. Also to excite them,
stir them up to love and unity and peace among themselves. and
to warn them, as Paul had to do in all his epistles, to caution
them against false teachers who were trying to mix Moses with
Christ, the law and the gospel of grace, it won't mix. And then
also to exhort them to a holy life and behavior and to give
thanks to them for the gift that they had sent for him. I would
like to just consider one of those things, one of the reasons
Paul wrote this epistle, and that is to encourage them under
their affliction and persecution. May he be pleased to encourage
us tonight as well. Now let's read verse 1 of chapter
4. Verse 1. Therefore, therefore,
and then we'll see what it's therefore in a moment. Therefore,
in light of what he had just said, my brethren dearly beloved,
and longed for my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my
dearly beloved. I heard a good illustration of
stand fast, stay put, we might say. Just stay put. I heard a good illustration of
that given by Brother Henry Mahan years ago, and you've probably
heard it, but it's a good one. I thought of this this afternoon,
and I thought, well, that would serve as a good introduction
to the message. Henry told the story about back
in the horse and buggy days. horses and buck boards. There
was a little boy, just six years old or so, and every time his
daddy got ready to go to town and hitched up the horse to the
buck board, Daddy, I want to go. Take me with you. Son, I
can't. You're too young. I've got business
to take care of, and you need to just stay here with your mother.
And that went on for a while, and then One day, the father
hitched up the horse and the buggy was getting ready to go,
and again the son said, Dad, can I go with you? Daddy, please
take me with you. Let me go. And Dad said, OK,
OK, you can go. And oh, he jumped up there, sat
next to his dad, and they went to town and took care of business
and got back on the road. buggy, and started to head home. And the father remembered, oh,
I forgot something. There was something else the wife wanted
me to get, and I forgot. And he had to be in a hurry,
because the place was ready to close. So he told his young son,
listen, you just sat here. You just stay here until I get
back. I'll be right back. And he set
him on one of those big wooden barrels that sit out in front
of storefronts. And he went and took care of
business. And it was nearly dark. And he got back and got on the
buggy and the horse and started home. He'd gone a little ways. He said, oh, my soul, I forgot
my son. You know, he usually wasn't with
him. He said, oh, I forgot him. Oh, he hurried back, hurried
back and pulled up to where he left him and peered through the
darkness. And there sat that little boy on that barrel just
like he left him. Daddy ran up to him and said,
oh, son, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Were you afraid?
Were you afraid? I'm so sorry I forgot you. He
said, no, Daddy, I'm fine. I'm fine. You told me to stay
right here. You get back. And Jesus Christ
says, stay right here, child of God, till I get back. Paul says, stand fast. Stand fast. Being in Christ,
we must stand fast in Him. Be even and steady in our walk
with Him. close and constant unto the end. To stand fast in the Lord is
to stand fast in His strength. And by His grace, not trusting
in ourselves, Paul said, I can do all things. That would be
absurd if he didn't add, through Christ that strengtheneth me. We must be strong in the Lord
and in the power of his might. This is what it means to stand
fast. So as you have done thus far, we sang this morning, here
I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy grace I've come. Stand fast. Remember what our Lord said?
In Matthew 24, the disciples were leaving the temple for the
last time. It was near the end of our Lord's
earthly ministry, perhaps the last week or so of it. And they
said, Lord, have you noticed the temple, all these beautiful
things? And he said, there's not going
to be left one stone upon another. And his disciples asked him,
when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of
thy coming and of the end of the world? That was three questions.
And the Lord answered them. But the very first thing he said
in his answer, his response to them, remember what it was? Beware. Be not deceived. And he repeated
that over and over again. Because many false prophets shall
rise and shall deceive many. Stand fast. Stay put. And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he
that shall endure until the end. He that stands fast, not just
he that begins, but that he that continues, the same shall be
saved. Stand fast in his gospel. The glorious gospel of the blessed
God. James, in your prayer back there
a few minutes ago, you thanked God for a place, for giving you
a place to come hear the gospel of God's dear Son. Stand fast,
Paul said, brethren, in 1 Corinthians 15, moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. which I preached unto you, which
also ye have received, and wherein ye stand." Ephesians chapter
4, he says much the same thing, verse 14. That we henceforth
be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine by the slight of men. and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Hebrews 13 and 9. Be not carried
about with divers and strange doctrines. Don't believe everything
that comes down the pike. Everyone that comes along with
the Bible under his arm is not a preacher, is not called of
God. Paul said, for it is good, it is a good thing that the heart
be established with grace, not with meats. which have not profited
them that have been occupied therein. Stand fast also, means
stand fast in the doctrines of Jesus Christ. Stand fast in the
teaching of God's word, God's word, the scriptures. I had a
phone call not long after I began pastoring there in Sylacauga,
and this young lady wanted to know what catechism we used. which one we adhered to. What
was our code of faith and practice? And I said, it's the Bible. It's
the Bible. Oh, yeah, sure, sure, I know
that. But now, what catechism? I said, lady, it's the Bible. That's all. Is that not enough? Is God's word not enough? Paul,
for good reason, said, stand fast. He wrote to Timothy, you
remember this? He said, I charge thee therefore
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick
and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. Is that all? I'm sure you've
encountered or you've invited friends or loved ones of the
services here. What do you do? What do you have
for the children? What do you have for the teenagers?
What do you have for the younger people? What do you have for
the older people? The gospel. The gospel. Preach the word,
Timothy. Be instant in season. and out
of season. For the time will come when they
shall not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth and pay men to tell
them what they want to hear." and be turned unto fables. Don't
overlook this first word in our text, therefore. That points
us back, as we said, to what Paul wrote before. Here's the
foundation, the exhortation for staying fast, for staying put. It's built on something. It doesn't
just stand alone. It has a basis, a solid ground
on which we can rest, we can lay down and rest. I think quite
often People can get into a habit of just speaking religious slogans,
don't you? It seems to happen all the time.
They really don't give it much thought. It's just something
they heard someone else say and they pass it along. There is
not hardly a week goes by a clerk at the register or any place
of business, Lord bless you, Lord bless you. Have a blessed
day. Just a slogan. Like James would mean you were
young, and we'd say, after a while, crocodile. We thought that was
cool. See you later, alligator. Have a blessed day. I wonder
what they would do if you thought, well, why should I? What is your death? What do you
mean by that? What is a blessed day? Do you
mean blessed is that man to whom God reveals his son to? Is that
what you mean? To have a blessed day, but everywhere
we hear them just toss out religious slogans. Oh, Paul, when he tells
these believers at Philippi, stand fast in the Lord, he's
already laid a foundation for them to do so, a basis for doing
that very thing. Look, if you will, at verse 20
and 21. Paul hears the foundation, therefore takes us back to this. For our conversation is in heaven,
for whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body. In 1 Corinthians 15, he said
a few times, we shall be changed. How about that, child of God?
How about that, Gary? We shall be changed. It's not
always going to be like this. It's not always going to be that
battle where we cry out with the apostle Paul, wretched man
that I am. Oh no, we shall be changed. Who shall change of our body,
that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according
to the working whereby he is able. He's able to save to the
uttermost all that come unto God by him. He's able to keep
us from falling and to present us without fault before the presence
of God Almighty. Yes, Jesus Christ is able also
to do this according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue
all things unto himself. What a contrast that description
is. to those Paul described in verses 18 and 19 of chapter 3. Very briefly look at those. Paul
says, well, verse 17 we should include. Brethren, be followers
together of me, and mark them, beware, be watchful. Mark them
which walk so as ye have us for an example. For many a walk of
whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that
they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction,
whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame. Man,
doesn't that describe our day, who mine earthly things." Paul
was talking here about religious people, false teachers. Paul
says, I've told you before, and I'm telling you again, beware.
They hold the ceremony, religious tradition, but not Christ. The glory in the flesh, making
merchandise of the souls of men. I'd rather stand before God Almighty
as a bank robber, as a false prophet. I'd rather stand before
God as a bank robber, as a thief, than a man who made merchandise
out of the souls of men. Paul says, beware, they're more
interested in professions of faith than real conversions. You know, you've been in those
churches where they have their Baptist brag sheet hanging on
the wall here. How many's here today? How many
here was last Sunday? How many was here a year ago?
How much money we got today compared to last week and so forth? Oh,
more interested in that than people really knowing, coming
to know Jesus Christ, the mighty God. Oh, that I might know him,
Paul says in chapter three. that I might be found in Him,
dressed in His perfect righteousness, that alone will enable me to
stand flawless and accepted before God Almighty. Oh, with His spotless
garments on. as holy as God's own Son. How about that? Someone said,
God created us to love people and to use things, but sinful
men, those Paul described there in verses 18 and 19, sinful men
love things and use people. Paul said in verse 19, their
end is destruction. Their God is not the living God,
but their own desires and passions. What they glory in is really
what they ought to be ashamed of. They're concerned for the
carnal, earthly, fleshly things. They don't have an appetite or
relish for the things of God. Christ, by his cross, came to
crucify the world to us and us to the world. And every believer,
every believer, Wouldn't have it any other way, would they?
Oh, thank God for his grace. Thank God for his son. Paul says,
beware of them. But now, look at verse 20. Paul turns from them to verse
20 and says, but you, you, you who have been made to differ,
unlike those, our conversation is in heaven. The word is citizenship. Our citizenship, our interest
is in heaven, not tied to this world. In Christ we are sons
of God, seated with him, heirs of eternal glory, and we wait
patiently for his return. Christians, even while they're
here on earth, have their citizenship in heaven. As if he had said,
we stand related not to the world. We're citizens of that heavenly
city, the New Jerusalem. This world is not our home. There,
there, there is where our home is, where Christ is. That's where
we are citizens of, the life of a Christian's in heaven, where
his head is. and his home is, and where his
hopes are, where his affections are even now, set on things above,
where his real treasure is. His real treasure is, his heart
will be also. We are bound for that better
place, children of God. Aren't we? As pilgrims and strangers,
as those Paul described in Hebrews 11, we're on the journey to a
better place, the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that God had
prepared for them that love him. For the many brethren, The many
brethren the captain of our salvation is bringing there. That's why
there are many mansions and there won't be any empty ones. No empty mansions in heaven.
They'll all be occupied. I prepare many mansions. Why
many? Because there's a multitude that
no man can number that will enter that city. where the lamb is
the light thereof. I say we are bound for that promised
land, bound by the purpose of God Almighty. Hmm? Bound by the purpose of God Almighty. The purpose of that one who says,
I have my way in the whirlwind, and the clouds are the dust of
my feet. The one who says, as I have purpose,
so shall it stand. Bound by the precious blood of
Jesus Christ. Oh, how precious is that. It
was not shed in vain. We've been bought with a price. We're not our own. And Christ
shall have what he paid for. Blessed be his name. He shall
have what he purchased at such a high cost. And we are bound
for that place by every attribute of the triune God. Every attribute
of God is a reason, an argument if you will, while all the redeemed
must be in glory. His everlasting love. His omnipotence,
His wisdom, grace, mercy, His promise are all engaged, bound
for the glory of God to bring us there. Listen to what He says
in Isaiah 48. For mine own sake, even for mine
own sake will I do it. For how shall my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory
unto another. Remember chapter 46 verse 9,
remember the former things of old. For I am God, I am God,
I am God, and there is none else. I'm not that weak imposter that
can't have his way. I'm not standing at your heart's
door begging you to do something for me. I am God, and there is
none else. I am God, and there is none beside
me. You remember King Nebuchadnezzar,
don't you? Remember? We have the record
of that in Daniel. He's walking out and around his
palace, and he's popping his suspenders. Can you just picture
that big, proud rebel? And he looked out at Babylon.
He said, man, would you check this out? Look at this. And all
this is mine. I've done this. I've done it. All this glory of Babylon is
mine. And God Almighty did to him what
my daddy used to do to me. Son, I'm gonna change your tune.
The next time we see Nebuchadnezzar, he's down on all fours like an
animal eating grass. God changed his tune. And Nebuchadnezzar
after that says this. At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned
unto me, and I blessed the Most High. I gave glory to whom glory
is due, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth. The celebrities,
the somebody's, the who's who, all of them are reputed as nothing
and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand,
Larry. Oh, the rebel don't like that.
If he had any sense, he'd be uncomfortable, fearful with that.
Oh, but the child of God loves it, doesn't he? Oh, we love to
hear about our mighty. We love to hear our God say,
none can stay mine. None can stop me from doing what
I will or saying to me, what doest thou? Oh, I like that.
I can trust that God. At the same time, Nebuchadnezzar
said, my reason returned unto me. And for the glory of my kingdom,
mine honor and brightness returned to me, and my counselors and
my Lord sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom, and
excellent majesty was added unto me. Now, now, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, the King of heaven,
all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those
that walk in pride he is able to abase. He's able to bring
down every believer is a child of that great God, citizens,
as Paul said, of his everlasting kingdom. Our conversation, citizenship
is there, and our affections have already gone before while
we live below. Like my dear wife, I miss her.
She's been gone a couple of weeks. She told me she'd be back Friday.
Can't hardly wait. But she said, Larry, I'm a little
bit homesick to see my son. And I said, well, honey, I can't
be gone three weeks or so. You go ahead. I understand. Oh,
child of God, we get homesick, don't we? Don't we, Dirk? I mean, that's just a fact. Oh,
what will it be? when we step into that city,
whose builder and maker is God. I like these lines by old John
Newton. He wrote this. He said, and when
the weary traveler gains the height of some overlooking hill,
his heart revives if across the plains he sees his home, though
distant still. While he surveys that much loved
spot, he slights the space that lies between. His past fatigue
is now forgot, because his journey's end is seen. Thus, when the Christian
pilgrim views by faith his mansion in the skies, the sight his fainting
strength renews and wins his speed to reach the prize, the
thought of home his spirit cheers. No more he grieves for troubles
past, nor any future trial he fears, so he may safe arrive
at last. The second thing of our citizenship
in heaven, so is our Savior. Look at verse 20 again, the second
part from whence. Also we look for our Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is Lord of that better
country. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, we're
always on the lookout for, who shortly will come by the grave
or in the air to take us home, and so shall we ever be with
the Lord. As your pastor, I heard him say,
I'd never heard anybody say it like this, Donnie was preaching
for us one time, and he said, so we just keep looking out the
window. We just kept looking out the
window for Christ to come. And soon faith will give way
to sight. And we shall see him as he is.
When he comes for us, to take us to be with him forever. Paul says in verse 3 of chapter
4, he speaks of those whose names are in the book of life. There
are a people whose names are in the book of life. That's true
of every believer before they were believers, before they were
ever born. Their names are written in the
man's book of life from eternity. The finger of God Almighty wrote
them there and nothing's going to erase them. Nothing's going
to take them out. This is the register book of
those who are citizens of the heavenly kingdom. I mentioned
before, last time, last couple times, not this time, but the
last few times we were here had a problem at the motel and so
forth. Donnie called me the other day
and said, Larry, I'll straighten them out. He said, you won't
have a problem. Your reservation is there. He
even sent me a confirmation number and so forth. He said, it's all
taken care of. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
our reservation in heaven is all taken care of. It's all taken
care of. We're written in the register
of the book under the name of Jesus Christ. Isn't that something? Your names are written in heaven,
and they can never be removed. They can never be erased. They
can never be scratched out. They can never be lost. I think
it was this past January or February, early part of the year, Robin
had to have some outpatient surgery. And we went to the hospital.
And when they took her in, she gave me her wedding ring. She
said, hold on to these. I said, I sure will. I had a
jacket with a zipper. And Larry, I put them in that
jacket and zipped them up. Well, a little while, they were
finished. And she was in recovery. And after a few hours, I took
her home. I don't know, I think I went
out to get her something to eat. Then I came back home. She said,
Larry, she was lying down. She says, where's my wedding
rings? I said, oh, right here. I unzipped it. There was the
band, but that rock was gone. That diamond was gone. I said,
oh, my soul. I said, babe, I can't find them. I can't find your wedding ring. And man, I backtracked. I went
to the hospital. Went down the hall, went up to
the floor where she was. I tried to remember the steps
I took to the parking lot. I couldn't find her. I couldn't
find her. She was in tears. And then I
remembered. Sometimes I would put my wallet
in the console. I have it here, you know, and
I put it in the console. And I thought, I just wonder.
And I opened that console, and there it was. There was her ring. It wasn't lost. It wasn't lost.
Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, he never loses
one of his sheep, does he? He knows where we are. He knows
how we are. And this is what he said. Nothing.
Listen, child of God. Nothing. Nothing. No one, no
time, no how, no way will ever pluck one of my sheep out of
my hand. They're mine, and none can pluck
them out. Oh, thank God our citizenship
is in heaven, for whence we look for our savior again, old Newtons. Newton's lines, it says, the
thought of home his spirit cheers. No more he grieves for troubles
past, nor any future trial he fears, so he may safe arrive
at last. Tis there, he says, I am to dwell. With Jesus in the realms of day,
then I shall bid my cares farewell, and he shall wipe all my tears
away. Jesus, on thee our hope depends
to lead us on to thine abode, assured our home will make amends
for all the toil while on the road. The last thing here in
verse 21. Who shall change our avowed body
that it might be fashioned like unto his own glorious body, according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself. He will complete the work he's
begun, That's what he said in verse 6 in chapter 1 of this
epistle. I'm confident, Paul said, that
he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it, will
carry it on till the day of Jesus Christ. This is much what Paul
said in 1 Corinthians 15. Let me wrap this up. Verse 50
of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote, Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, that is, die, but we shall all be
changed. We shall be changed. In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. And the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when, not if, but when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be unto God which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And just
as Paul did here in Philippians 3 with the certainty of those
wondrous words, likewise Paul does here in 1 Corinthians 15
when he says, therefore, in light of the truth, the promise, the
certainty of it, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast. unmovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord. Therefore, my brethren, dearly
beloved, and long for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the
Lord, my dearly beloved. Just stay put. Oh, for grace
to trust him, Lord. Blessed Jesus, every day keep
us in the narrow way. And when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last. Where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds thy glory hide. In that heavenly country bright,
need they no created light. Christ it's light, it's joy it's
crown. Christ it's sun which goes not
down. There forever may we sing hallelujah
to our king. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. I'll close the message as Paul
closed his epistle. Chapter four, verse 23. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Amen. God bless you. God bless Egypt. Better not. Let's have a word of prayer. Our Most High and Heavenly Father,
Lord God Almighty, we thank you for the messages we've heard
today. Lord, we thank you that you preserved the word over the years,
and that you've always sent men to preach your word, to teach
it, or that you've given them and understanding that they can
stand before us and proclaim it. Lord, pray that you would
continue to do this. We thank you for bringing Brother
Larry Chris to us today. Pray for our pastor as he travels,
Lord. We ask that you would keep us
as we go our way. Lord, be with Brother Larry as he goes home
and as his wife travels back at the end of the week. Lord, continue to teach us thy
way. For Christ's sake, we ask these things, amen. Amen. I'm going to try to sing something. Either you or mom or Pam, I don't
know. One of you have sung it before,
but thought of this during the message. This is unrehearsed,
and I sang way too much yesterday, so hopefully this won't be a
burden. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
come unto me and rest. Lay down, thou weary one, lay
down thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus as I was. weary and worn and sad. I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one, stoop down
and drink and live. I came to Jesus and I drank of
that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my soul
revived, and now I live in him. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
I am this dark world's light. Look unto me, thy morn shall
rise. and all thy day be bright. I looked to Jesus and I found
in him my star, my sun. And in that light of life I'll
walk till traveling days are done. You're dismissed. We'll ask to be back with us
Wednesday evening, as far as I know, Lord willing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.