Good morning. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 497. 497. When I can read my title clear
to mentions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear and
wipe my weeping eyes. And wipe my weeping eyes. I'll bid farewell to every fear. And wipe my weeping eyes. Should earth against my soul
engage in fiery, dark spate? While at Satan's rage and face
a frowning world And face a frowning world And face a frowning world Let Satan's raging face a frowning
world. Let cares like a wild deluge
come and storms of sorrow safely reach my home, my God,
my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. ? Safely reach my home, my God,
my heaven, my Lord ? ? There shall I bathe my weary
soul ? ? In Caesar heavenly rest ? ? With a troubled soul ? ? Across
my peaceful rest ? ? Across my peaceful rest ? ? Across my peaceful
rest ? ? In mother with me ? Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
175. 175 Standing on the promises of Christ
my King Through eternal ages let his praises ring Glory in
the highest I will shout and sing Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I am standing
on the promises of God. Standing on the promises that
cannot fail When the palming storms of doubt and fear assail
By the living word of God I shall prevail Standing on the promises
that cannot fail Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing. Standing on the promises of Christ
the Lord, Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord. Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, standing
on the promises of God Standing on the promises I cannot
fall Listening every moment to the Spirit's call Resting in
my Savior as my all in all Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2. Let's start at verse 15 and go
down to verse 22. You remember last week Jesus
was eating with publicans and sinners and the Pharisees were
upset about it. And it came to pass that as Jesus
sat at meat in the house, in Matthew's house, Many publicans
and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples,
for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes
and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said
unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with
publicans and sinners?" There's always somebody upset with what
Christ does and who He does it for, who He does it with. But
that's the very gospel that we find to be our hope, that He
eats with publicans and sinners. I fit more of those categories,
that's for sure. And I'm very thankful that it
says that, that He eats with them. And when Jesus heard it,
He saith unto them, they that are whole have no need of a physician,
but they that are sick I come not, I came not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance. And then the disciples of John,
and they said to him, and the disciples of John and of the
Pharisees used to fast. And they come and say unto him,
why do thy disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but
thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can
the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is
with them? As long as they have the bridegroom
with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they
fast in those days. No man also seweth a piece of
new cloth unto an old garment, else the new piece that filleth
it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And
no man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the new wine
doeth burst thee of bottles, and the wine be spilled. And
the bottles will be marred, and new wine must be put in to new
bottles. Our great and blessed and glorious
God in heaven. Lord, we're so thankful, so thankful
that we can come into your presence, that we can, as we sung, we believe
your promises. We don't look to ourselves for
anything in this world, in this flesh. We look to you and look
to your blessed son and the promises you gave us in him. And oh Lord,
you promised us eternal life and you gave it to us in your
son. You promised forgiveness of sins and you gave it to us
through his blood. You promised us a blessed hope
and you gave it to us through the Holy Spirit. And Father,
we thank you for all of it. Oh, how we thank you. And Lord,
we thank you that you've allowed us to wake up this morning and
our minds still right. We're not confused, we're not
depressed, we're not in despair. We have this glorious purifying
hope that we have in Christ. The world's in a mess, the world
lives in darkness. But Lord, you're the light and
we follow you. You said that those that follow
you won't walk in darkness because you said you're the light. And
so, Lord Jesus, may you be the light in this service today.
May you bring out a darkness into the light. May you bring
dead men to life. May you grant forgiveness to
sinners here today, and do it for Christ's sake. And Lord,
as we attempt to preach this morning, I ask for your presence,
ask for your power. As I often say, Lord, let the
gospel, may it run well here this morning. And oh, Holy Spirit,
come down among us. Come into every heart, come into
every mind, come into every soul, and cause the gospel to be effectual.
and do what only you can do. We ask these blessed things in
Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Let's sing hymn number 256. 256. When peace, like a river, attendeth
my way, When sorrows, like sea, Thou hast taught me to say, It
is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well With my
soul, with my soul It is well, it is well Though Satan should buffet, Though
trials should come, Let this blest assurance control. that Christ hath regarded my
helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well It is well with my
soul. With my soul. It is well. It is well with my
soul. I sing. I sing. Oh, the bliss. Not in part, not in part, but
the whole. His nail is nailed to the cross,
and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, all of us. Praise
the Lord, O my soul. It is well. It is well. With my soul. With my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. In Lord haste the day when my
faith shall be sighed. ? But clouds be rolled back as
a scroll ? ? But Trump shall resound ? ? And
the Lord shall descend even soon ? It is well with my soul. It is well. It is well. With my soul. With my soul. It is well. It is well with my soul. Let's stand together as we sing
the hymn of the day in the bulletin. How rich the depths of love divine,
Of bliss a boundless store! Dear Savior, let me call Thee
mine, I could not wish for more, I could not wish for more. On Thee alone my hope relies,
beneath Thy cross I fall. My Lord, my life, my sacrifice,
my Savior and my all. My Savior and my all. How great Thy wisdom, power,
and grace, That in redemption shines! The heavenly hosts with joy confess,
The work is all divine! The work is all divine! Before his face they cast their
crowns, Those crowns which Jesus gave. And with ten thousand,
thousand tongues Proclaimed his power, ? Proclaim His power to save ?
Be seated. Back here in Mark with me. We'll deal with verses 18 through
22 this morning, God willing. It starts out there in verse
18, and the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to
fast. And they come and say unto him,
now they're talking to Christ now, why do the disciples of
John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? Jesus said unto them, can the
children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is
with them? As long as they have the bridegroom
with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they
fast in those days. No man Also soweth a piece of
new cloth on an old garment, else the new piece that filleth
it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And
no man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the new wine
doeth burst the bottles, and the wine spilled, and the bottles
will be mired, and new wine must be put into new bottles." Our
Lord Jesus Christ was teaching, and he'd teach great and glorious
truths. great and glorious truth that
He yeasts with publicans and sinners. And only folks that
have a need is the only people that come to Him. Folks that
didn't have a need, they never come to Him. Weak people, sick
people, people that need a physician, people that need healing, people
that need their hearts healed, their minds healed, their souls
healed, they come to Him. And our Lord Jesus taught His
doctrines with power and authority. And I tell you, as He manifests
His power, His compassion, and He done just wonderful, wonderful,
wonderful, great and wonderful works. But they look at a question,
and they, you know, they look at a question He's asked here,
and that's what they said, the disciples of John and the Pharisees
fast. Why don't thy disciples fast?
Why don't they fast? Thy disciples fast. What a question. WE FAST, YOUR
DISCIPLES EAT, AND THEY DRINK. WE DENY OURSELVES, AND YOUR PEOPLE
DON'T. OF ALL THAT THEY COULD HAVE ASKED,
ALL THAT THEY COULD HAVE ASKED, THEY ASKED ABOUT FASTING. THEY
DIDN'T ASK ANYTHING ABOUT GRACE. THEY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT GRACE.
THEY WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FASTING. THEY DIDN'T ASK ABOUT MERCY. Didn't want to know nothing about
mercy. Want to know how about who's doing the fasting. Didn't
ask about what he said about needing a physician, those that
are sick. They didn't talk about God. They didn't talk about heart
issues. Didn't ask about heart issues.
They talked about fasting. About fasting. We do it and they
don't. They were so concerned about
the outward form about what they appeared to be doing, and other
people weren't appeared to be doing. And you know, God only
gave them one fast a year, God himself gave them one fast a
year, and that was on the day of atonement. Didn't give them
any other fast other than that. Just one fast, one day of fasting,
and that was on the day of atonement. But then the Pharisees come along,
And they come along and they add some fast to it. They start
adding a lot of fast to it. And you know, when God brings
a fast on a man, that's a different story. Moses fasted 40 days and
40 nights on the mountain. God caused him to do that. That
was a time of trial and testing for Moses. And our Lord Jesus
Christ, He fasted 40 days and 40 nights, and then he was tempted
of the devil. Trials and testings. And I tell
you, the Pharisees turned it into twice a week. Instead of
one day a year, they turned it into twice a week. That Pharisee
in Luke 18, he says this, he said, I thank you, O Father,
I'm not like that fellow over there. And that's what these
guys are saying. He said, we're different than
these fellows that's following you. We fast twice in the week. We pay tithes of everything we've
got. And so they went from fasting once a year to twice a week.
God didn't ask them to do that. God never told them to do that.
And our Lord Jesus Christ says, when you do fast, don't be like
them Pharisees, disfigure their face, then act like you're all
sad and act like you're suffering and act like you're doing something
and just go down with your head all cast down. Don't do that. Don't do that. And God said this
in Isaiah 58. He said, do you think this is
a fast that I called? I didn't call this fast. I didn't
call it. You do it to make yourself look
good. You do it to go like your head's down like a bull rush.
You want everybody to see how sad you are and how tough you
are and how self-denial you are. And they made a show out of it.
They made a show out of it. And I tell you, it s always hypocrites.
Let me tell you this, it s always hypocrites who point out what
the Lord s people are doing and not doing. And you know, they
said, We re fasting, we re not eating, we re not drinking, and
here you are, all your people s eating and drinking, and they
re enjoying themselves. They ve got some joy, they ve
got some peace, they ve got some happiness. We re over here suffering.
We re over here suffering. And hypocrites always. You know,
when our Lord David asked him, he said, why does your master
eat with publicans and sinners? You know, there's always somebody
fault finding, always somebody, a hypocrite, always pointing
out something that's wrong with somebody else. But I tell you, it's easy to
find fault with somebody else, but I tell you, the fellow I
find fault with more than anybody else is myself. I'm the one that
needs straightened out more than anybody else does. I'll admit
that. But I tell you, the only person
I believe that can straighten me out about anything, that'd
be God Almighty Himself. If Christ don't do it for me,
it ain't gonna be done. You know, I can be... That's
why Paul said, we don't measure ourselves among ourselves. We
don't do that. Who do we measure ourselves to?
To Christ. To Him. And when you do that,
then you say, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, I need you. Let's do
it then like that Pharisees, I thank you that I'm not like
him. We say, I thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord, that I'm not
like you, but I miss, people say, well, you need to walk like
Christ and you need to act like Christ. Listen, they didn't see,
as Scott Richardson said several times, they didn't see Jesus
in Jesus. And here they go, and they're
finding fault. Your people and our Lord is answering
them, and listen to what He does. He gives a new revelation of
Himself. He gives a new revelation of
Himself. And that revelation is the character of a bridegroom.
And that happens several times later in His ministry. He says,
I'm a bridegroom. He presents Himself as a bridegroom. He never has done this before.
And that's what He said here. when they ask you and your disciples
fast? But Jesus said in verse 19, said
unto them, can the children of the bride chamber fast while
the bridegroom is with them? As long as the bridegroom's with
them, they cannot fast. And so he said, the bridegroom's
with them. The bridegroom's with them. They said, why don't your
disciples fast? The bridegroom's with them. The bridegroom's with
them. And you know, it's called the
bride's men. And it says, you know, they go
into the bride chamber. And the bride's groom and attendants,
that's what it amounts to, they were invited to the wedding.
You know, there was a wedding one time and fellas got in there
and everybody's in there dressed in the right dress. There was
a fella in there that didn't have the right wedding dress
on. And our Lord said, well, why are you in here without a
wedding garment on? But they come, they were invited to the
wedding, and it says children of the bride chamber. Did you
notice he called them children of the bride chamber? That's
a place where the bride is, and they're called children. He calls
them children. and they have ACCESS into the Bridegroom s
presence, and they re acquainted with His will, acquainted with
His purposes, acquainted with what the wedding is going to
happen, and who s in that wedding? Oh my! And what this is telling
us of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. He s the Bridegroom,
we re the Bride, and He calls them children. You know why He
calls them children? You know how we become children?
by a new birth. We're children by a new birth.
How else you gonna be a child? How else you gonna be a child
of the bridegroom? I could be born. And they call
some children. Oh, listen, look over with me.
And in the bride chamber, how do you get to be children of
the bride chamber? Look in Ephesians five with me. Let's look at this
over here. Look at this over here in Ephesians
5. We use this, everybody here knows it, we use this all the
time in weddings. And oh, it's so plain, it's so
plain. Look down in verse 30, Ephesians
5.30. And this is what he's talking
about, you know, we're children of the bride chamber. We're not
only with the bridegroom, but we're children of the bride chamber,
in that place where you go in. And look what He says here, For
we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. Now I've got a body, I've got
flesh, and I've got bones. He said, Well, we're members
of His body, of His flesh, of His bones. So that means, how
could you get any closer than that? And then look what He goes
on to say, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one
flesh. And this is what He goes, this
is what He's saying, this is a great mystery, but I speak
CONCERNING CHRIST AND THE CHURCH. THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
I'M TALKING ABOUT CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH, HOW CLOSE THEY ARE
IN UNION. AND THIS TELLS US OF IT ALL.
CHILDREN OF THE BRIDEGROOM IN THE BRIDECHAMBER IN THIS WONDERFUL,
WONDERFUL PLACE. AND I TELL YOU, WE'RE CHILDREN
BY NEW BIRTH. AND LOOK WHAT OUR LORD SAYS.
HE CALLS HIMSELF A BRIDEGROOM. HE SAID THE BRIDEGROOM IS WITH
THEM. You know, that's what's so wonderful
about it. The bride grooms with them. We're the bride. We're the bride and the bride
grooms with us. And then look what he says in
verse 19. And he says, can the children
of the bride chamber fast while the bride grooms with them? And
what he's saying is can, you know, can they fast while there's
a feast going on? There's a feast going on here.
This is a joyful occasion. This is a wonderful occasion
here. I mean, these weddings are joyful. You know, they're
wonderful things. Lots of food, lots of rejoicing,
lots of happiness. And I tell you what, he said,
Can the children fast while the bride? You want them to fast
and we got a feast over here? When people's gathered up with
a feast, Lots of food, and he says, can they do it when the
bridegroom's with them? And when Christ is with somebody,
why should they be sad? Why should they be sad? I don't
get sad very often. I don't get sad very often. And
I'll tell you what, you know, when you understand that Christ
is with you, you're talking about joy. peace and joy in believing. And I tell you, why should this
be said? John's disciples, they didn't
say John fasted, but John's disciples fasted. And the disciples of
the Pharisees, they fast, but Christ's children, they're not
under the law. They're not under the law, they're
under grace. They don't have to go under the law. They don't
have to deny themselves of anything. And I tell you what, the only
thing we deny ourselves of is our self-righteousness. Oh, we
deny that. But now I want you to listen
now what it says here in verse 35, or excuse me, verse 20. But the days will come, But the
days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them,
and then shall they fast in those days. What happens when he's
not there, when he's not with them? What happens? He says the
days will come. The days will come. He said the
bridegroom shall be taken away. Who's going to take the bridegroom
away? Who's going to take him away? Our Lord Jesus Christ is
talking about Him being taken away and taken to the cross.
That's what He's talking about here. He's talking about, listen,
I'll have to leave these. I'll have to leave the bride.
I'll have to leave the bride and I got to be, and this says
He's taken away. He's taken away. He's talking
about going to the cross, going into the hands of sinful men,
being taken by sinful men. And then He says, Then shall
they fast in those days. Oh, my! They'll mourn. I want
you to look with me in John chapter 16. John chapter 16. Oh, He's talking about, He said,
Whenever the bridegroom shall be taken away, you remember they
come to the garden of Gethsemane to get him. And they come with
about 500 men with sticks and stones and holes and lights,
and they was looking for him. 500 men coming after one man,
and he walks up to them and said, Who are you looking for? Jesus
of Nazareth. He said, I am. They fell backwards. You know, he walked right up
to those enemies. He walked right up to those that wanted him.
He walked right up to those. And they come to take him. They
come to take him. And our Lord Jesus Christ didn't
stop them from taking him. He said, I could call 12 legions
of angels. I could have a multitude of people
here to save me. But then shall they fast in those
days, they'll mourn, they'll be troubled, but they won't be
mourning very long. Look what he said here in John
16, 16. He's talking to his children,
now his disciples. He started with them back in
chapter 14. A little while, and you shall
not see me. And again, a little while, and
you shall see me, because I go to the Father. Now, what does
He mean, in a little while, you won't see me no more? And then
again, after a little while, you'll see me again. What's He
talking about? Well, then says some of His disciples
among themselves, what is this that He's telling us? A little
while you shall not see me, and again a little while you shall
see me, because I go to the Father. They said, therefore, what is
this that he said, a little while? We can't understand what he's
saying. Now our Lord Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask
him, and said unto them, do you inquire among yourselves of that
I said, a little while you shall not see me, and again a little
while you shall? He said, verily, verily, I say
unto you, yet you shall weep and lament. But the world's gonna
rejoice. And they did, they rejoiced at
the death of Christ. They was happy at the death of
Christ. Crucify him, crucify him. And you shall be sorrowful,
and your sorrow, listen to this, shall be turned into joy. A woman,
when she is in travail, she has sorrow. But her hour, because
her hour's come, but as soon as she is delivered, of her child,
she remembereth no more her anguish, for that a joy a man is born
into the world. And now therefore you have sorrow,
because I said I go away. But I'll see you again." Now
what is he talking about? He's talking about after his
resurrection. He said, a little while you won't see me, and I'm
going to go to the Father. And after his resurrection, he
said, you'll see me again. And after His resurrection, they
saw Him again. And He said, now, you know, you
saw it when I left at the cross, but He says, now you see me.
And what happened when they saw Him? Your heart shall rejoice and
no man taketh it from you. Now, I want to show you in Luke. Look in Luke chapter 24. I'll
show you just exactly what happened here. You know, one of the first
messages that I heard Scott Richardson preach was that he said, what
would make you glad? And it was talking about the
disciples when our Lord Jesus appeared to them and they saw
him and they showed him his hands and his feet and what happened
to him. And then it says they were glad when they saw him. He said, what would make you
glad when they saw his hands and his feet and his body? He
said, what makes you glad? The same thing that made them
glad to see Christ. To see Christ risen from the
dead, to see Christ in His appearance. And here in Luke chapter 24,
and look in verse 51. Or verse 50. And He led them out as far as
to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And
it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them
and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy. Is that what causes us great
joy? Seeing him? Oh my. Oh, he lifted his hands
and he blessed them. Christ blesses us. He blesses
us. And let me show you something
about the nature of his work. You know, the children, They
don't have to fast long as the bridegroom is with them. Oh,
they're rejoicing, they're feasting, they're having a wonderful time. I'll tell you marriages, you
know, we've seen some wonderful marriages and some wonderful
joy, but look at the nature of His work. Look at the nature
of His work. You know, our Lord Jesus, He
says, Now as long as they have the bride chain, verse 19, They
cannot fast, but the days will come when the bridegroom shall
be taken away from them. God takes him away, man takes
him away, baron Arsene was what took him away, then shall they
fast in those days. And look what he says, look what
a work, the nature of his work. No man also soweth a new piece
of cloth on an old garment, lest the new piece that filleth it
up take it away from the old, and the rent is made worse. What
this is talking about here is the grace of God given us in
Christ, revealed here in two things, two things. And first
of all, I want to say He didn't come to renovate us or reform
us. That's not what, we don't need
reforming. I don't understand these people calling themselves
reformed this and we don't need reforming. We need regenerated. We need new birth. We need new
hearts. And that's what our Lord's talking
about. He came to make new creatures in Christ. And it's like new
cloth. This work of grace that Christ
does, it's like new cloth. He doesn't take a piece of new
and add it to the old garment. He makes a brand-new garment,
and all He does is takes a new piece and adds it to this OLD
piece that we are. All it's going to do is make
it WORSE! It's going to make it worse, it's going to rip it
apart! And that's what our Lord says, You know, you don't put
a new piece of garment, and when you do, the risk is made worse.
And what that means is that people try to get, they get reformed,
and it ain't long, but they're right back where they started,
and that's what He's talking about. And I tell you what, He
brings up a brand-new garment. Old and new don't go together.
The old and the new don't mix. That's what he's talking about
here. The old garment of self-righteousness, the old garment of pride, the
old garment of person trying to justify themselves, that old
garment of self-righteousness. All of our righteousness is a
filthy rag. And oh my, listen, those days
of fasting to produce acceptance with God, to impress God in man,
And I tell you, that's as old as Adam is. You know, every man's
been trying to impress God ever since Adam. And the first thing
Adam done was, was he put a fig leaf on and said, listen, I got,
I got my nakedness covered up. I'm not, I'm not uncovered now. Oh my, our Lord said, listen, I
didn't come here to fix you up. I didn't come here just to mend
you. I didn't come here just to fix you up and mend your old
ways. Mend you and make you just a
little bit better. I didn't do that. I come here
to make you a brand new garment. I come here to make you a brand
new dress. I come here to put a new garment
on you. I'm not trying to just fix you
up. And that's all religion can do is just fix you up. Oh, listen, I said years ago,
either you're washed white in the blood of Christ or you're deceived by the devil, you know.
You're either washed white or whitewashed, and the devil whitewashes
you and Christ washes you white. Oh, and I tell you, I don't want
to be washed white. That's what our Lord's telling
here then. Oh my, the old man in Adam, he
had his righteous and had his fig leaves, and our Lord said,
your fig leaves, I don't need them. I don't need anything. And it's a work, it's a whole
brand new garment, new clothes. It's the righteousness of Christ
Himself. He doesn't patch up the old garment
of works. That's what people say all the
time, you know, they're patching up the garments of works. When
the prodigal came home, when that prodigal son left his father's
house, left his father's house, went out there and got him a
job, spent all of his money, and ended up becoming a beggar
and feeding a whole bunch of sorry stinking hogs, and he got
to stinking all over, and he said, What in the world am I
doing here? And that's the way it was with us. We seen our stinkin'
self-righteousness like a bunch of stinkin' rotten corrupt hogs. And I'll tell you, and people
think that they can come to Christ smellin' like that? No, no, no,
no. He said, I'm gonna go back to
my father's house. And away he went. And he was
willing to do, he was willing to be a servant, he was willing
to work, he was willing to do anything when he got back to
his daddy's house. He didn't expect his daddy to
do anything for him. Cause he had already, already
dishonored his father. Already spent everything his
father gave him. Spent his strength, spent his
money. And he said, I'm gonna go back.
He said, I'll just do whatever he wants me to do. But his father
seen him coming, run out there to meet him. Went to kissing
him, kissing him. And when he got back there, he
didn't say, now listen, take him and wash him up and get him
some new clothes. No, no. He said, bring forth
the best robe. And listen, what else? He said,
put it on him. Don't tell him to hold out his
arms and try to see if it'll fit. Put it on him. Put a ring on his finger. I want
him to know that I love him. I've got an eternal covenant
of grace with him. Put some shoes on his feet, cause
he's a son. And I'll tell you, that's exactly
what happens to us. Oh my, bring it forth. And the
old, you can't patch it up. Christ's works and our works
don't mix. Oh, no, it's either all of grace
or all of works. You can't mix them up. And if
you think for a minute, if you think for a one moment that you
could perform one work in your whole life that God would accept,
you're lost as a white goose in a snowstorm. If you think that one thing you
can thank, say, or do that would please God Almighty, Apart from
what his son did, I tell you, it's like a white goose in a snowstorm. You
couldn't see it. I tell you, you don't know nothing
if you believe that. Paul said, If righteousness come
by the law, if righteousness come by our works, if righteousness
come by our obedience, if righteousness come by our deeds, then Christ
is dead and vain. There was no reason for Christ
to die. But if Christ died, And if Christ
rose again, if Christ's righteousness is all we've got, then I tell
you what, you need to have Christ's righteousness or you're still
as naked as you was the day you was born in God's sight. Ain't
that right? Oh my. There's no middle ground. It's either Christ's righteousness
or ours. No middle ground. No mixing them. And then look
what else he said in verse 22. And no man put his new wine into
old bottles, else the new wine doeth burst the bottles, and
the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred. But new wine
must be put into new bottles. Now what in the world is he talking
about here? You know wine, when you hear about wine, and you
know our Lord, the first miracle He performed in the New Testament.
in his life, in his ministry, was turning water into wine.
30-something gallons of it. He had 30-something gallons of
water there, and they went out there, and they dipped their
cup in there, and they said, my goodness, that's good wine.
I believe that's the best wine I ever drunk. And I tell you,
it wasn't grape juice now. It wasn't grape juice. It was
wine. It was real stuff. And that's what they say, went
and told the fellas running that, and it was a wedding. That's
when I told the fellas, I said, my boy, you really something.
You saved the very best wine till the last. And everybody
said, my boy, that's good wine. Hi, Lord Jesus. Everything he
does is the best. Oh my, I had a neighbor down
in the country. He made wine, three or four kinds
of wine. He'd give us a bottle of that
stuff, and I'm not a wine drinker. I don't like wine, I just don't
like it. And the more you taste that,
oh it's so sweet. It wasn't no good, just didn't
like it. Didn't like it. But I tell you
what, you know our Lord said, he told his disciples, said,
We'll drink new wine in the new kingdom. He said, this old wine
that we got on this earth. He said, I'll no longer drink
with the fruit of the vine with you until we're new in that kingdom. Huh? Oh my. But anyway, it's like new wine.
New wine won't abide in old bottles. You know what happens when you
start new wine? It starts fermenting. When you
start making wine, you start making it, it starts fermenting.
And you put it in, they've had their wine in skins and things,
and then these big thing, and then they start fermenting. If
you put them in an old one, that's going to ferment and would go
to ferment and then bust that, bust it out. So what you had
to do, you had to make new bottles. You had to make new skins to
put it in. So it would, as it ferment, it
would expand. No, am I. And you know what that
tells us? Let me show you in Ezekiel 36.
Ezekiel 36. You know when, oh, new wines
put in new bottles. Grace is put into new hearts.
Ezekiel 36. Well, if I can get there myself.
36 and verse 25. Oh my new wines
put into new bottles Grace is put into new hearts You know
these folks tell y'all time give Jesus your heart what in the
world would he do with it? It ain't what wasn't more good
to you is as it was old was it your old heart ain't no good
You hear people say boy. He got a good heart and The only
people who know they ain't got a good heart's believers. They have to have a new heart.
They have to, this old heart of flesh here is awful. The heart's
deceitful above everything and desperately wicked. Who can know
it? And our Lord Jesus said here,
look what he says in verse 25. He said, then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you And you shall be clean from all your
filthiness and from all your idols, and I'll cleanse you.
And listen to this, a new heart will I also give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you. I'll take away that old sorry
heart out of your flesh, that one that's so stony and so hard.
People talk about soft-hearted. Well, right here it says man
by nature has got a stony heart. And look what he says. And I'll
give you a heart of flesh. Oh my. That's what he's talking
about, wine. Giving you a new heart. Putting
joy in that new heart. Oh my. Oh, the natural man, he
can't receive the things of the Spirit of God. How can you receive
the things of the Spirit of God unless you got a new heart? The
old bottle of fallen human nature, it can't receive the things of
God. IT CAN'T RETAIN THE THINGS OF GOD. THEY CAN'T PRESERVE THE THINGS
OF GOD. AND THAT'S WHAT FOLKS DON'T UNDERSTAND. I MEAN, YOU
KNOW, THAT OLD HUMAN NATURE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GET
IT. JIM BIRD, EVERYBODY KNOWS JIM
BIRD. HE TOLD US ONE TIME THAT HE'S BEEN IN RELIGION ALL HIS
LIFE. When he started out, he was on what they called the cradle
road. That means before he was ever born, they put his name
on the road. Then when he was born, they put
his name on the cradle road. And then he had to learn verses
of scripture. He said they'd have to go and
they'd all have to have memorized scripture. And he'd have to memorize
the books of the Bible. And he'd done all that as a natural
man until God saved him and gave him a new heart. And he counted,
you know what he said about all that? That was rotten as hell. You can memorize books of the
Bible. You can memorize verses. But do you know what they mean?
Will they do something for your heart? Will they do something
for your soul? Will they do something for your mind? Will they change
you? And that's what he talks about.
He said, first of all, you've got to have a new righteousness.
Then you've got to have a new heart to go with that righteousness.
That old heart. Ain't you grateful that God knows
your heart and nobody else does? And listen, I know everybody's
heart in here just like mine. And if God didn't give us all
new hearts, I don't know what we'd do. We'd just be without,
wouldn't we? But bless his holy name. He gives us a new nature,
gives us new clothes, gives us new hearts, and he makes us new
creatures in Christ. Oh, my. Do you remember when
you first heard the gospel and you said, oh, my. You heard election,
said, oh. God chose me. And then you found
out when? Before the world began. Then
you found out why? According to the good pleasure
of His will. And then you find out it's to
the praise of the glory of His grace. And oh, when you find
out that you didn't have nothing to do with it, you say, I'm gonna
keep hands off of that. I'm gonna keep my hands off of
that. I'm gonna trust Christ and Christ alone. I'm gonna trust
Christ and Christ alone. Oh, he puts new wine, new wine
into new bottles. And look what it says. The new wine must be put into
new bottles, and they both are preserved. It says over in Luke,
they both are preserved. Oh my. They're preserved under
his coming, under his kingdom. Oh my. They asked our Lord, said,
why don't your disciples fast? He told them why. Because I'm
the bridegroom. We're in a wedding. And my children
are here. We're at a feast. There's joy
here. There's dancing here. We're eating
wonderful things. And you wanna come in here and
start talking about, listen, as long as I'm with them, they
don't have to do nothing. But look to me, trust me. But
when I'm gone, they're gonna mourn. Then he said, but listen,
I'm coming back. I'm coming back. And I tell you what, a little
while, I'm gone. And it's just been a little while.
A day with the Lord is as 1,000 years, and 1,000 years is a day.
So today, when we get to the end of it, that's just 1,000
years to God. So how many days you reckon before
the Lord's coming? Another day? Another week? I don't care. I just want Him
to come. I don't care when he comes, but
I sure am looking for him to come. If he don't come to get
all of us, he gonna come get us one by one, and that's all
right too, ain't it? Amen. Our blessed Savior, our great
and glorious God, how blessed, how holy, how wonderful and precious
is thy name. Oh Lord, your gospel's so powerful.
Oh Lord, when you do a work in a man's heart, put that wine
in new hearts, makes that heart rejoice and full of joy. You put that new cloth, put that
new clothes on your people that they're clean, righteous, perfect
before you. We thank you for these precious,
precious truths. And we thank you that you call
us your children. We thank you for it. Blessed
be your holy name. Save sinners in this place. Cause
the gospel to bring glory to you in the salvation of sinners. For Christ's sake, amen. I think
it's 267, I think. No, 67, I believe. Let me see. 67. How can it be? Yes. 67. Let's
stand together, and we'll sing this, and you'll be at liberty
to go. O Savior, as my eyes behold The
wonders of Thy might untold, The heavens' glorious light arrayed,
The vast creation Thou hast made. ? And yet to think thou lovest
me ? My heart cries out, how can it be? ? How can it be? ? How can it be? That God should love a soul like
me? Oh, how can it be? As at the cross I humbly bow
and gaze upon thy thorn-crowned brow And view the precious bleeding
form by cruel nail so bruised and torn. Knowing thy suffering
was for me, if I cry, how can it be? How can it be? How can it be that God should
love a soul like me? Oh, how can it be? How can it be, how can it be,
was ever grace so full and free? From heights of bliss to depths
of woe, in loving kindness thou didst go. From sin and shame
to rescue me Home of divine, how can it be? How can it be? How can it be? That God should love us so like
me? Oh, how can it be? Every believer has asked themselves
that question countless times. Love you and see you tonight
at six o'clock, God willing.