Now these are the names of the
children of Israel which came into Egypt. Every man in his
household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. And all the souls that came out
of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls. For Joseph was in Egypt
already. And Joseph died, and all his
brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were
fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding
mighty, and the land was filled with them. Now there arose up
a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said
unto his people, Behold, the children of Israel are more and
mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with
them, lest they multiply. And it come to pass, that when
there falleth out any war, They also join unto our enemies and
fight against them and so get them up out of the land. Therefore
they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure
cities, Python and Ramesses. But the more they afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because
of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children
of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter
with hard bondage in mortar and in brick and in all manner of
service in the field. All their service when they made
them serve was with rigor. Now what we see in the book of
Exodus is we see God's hand. And what a glorious, glorious
thing it is to see God's hand, God's counsel, and God's will
being carried out. Being carried out. To be able
to look at something, not at what is seen, but what is eternal. And that's what God's doing with
Israel here. To all appearances, to all appearances as you read
this, what I just read, Israel, God's chosen people, His coveted
people look hopeless, look defeated, and they're in awful, awful bondage. What we see them is, the Egyptians
say, oh, we've got to keep these folks in bondage. We're going
to have to make them, they're going to make mortar for us,
they're going to make bricks for us, and it says there they
made their lives bitter, bitter with hard bondage. And the taskmasters
was very hard. And then there was a king that
rose up that hated them and despised them and wanted all the male
children to die, to kill them, to murder them. That's what he
wanted. And yet we look at that and God
is working out his will and promise on the behalf of his people.
It looks tough for them. But God's working out His will
and counsel and purpose in their lives. And so these verses 1
through 5, they carry us back to the closing of the chapters
of Genesis. When they got down, you remember,
look over here at Genesis 47 and 6. Look what happened over
here. Remember when they came down into Egypt? And oh, they
were welcomed, honored, and given the very best of the land. Seventy
souls went down there. And though they were so welcomed
and so honored, look what he says in Pharaoh in verse 5. Speak
unto Joseph saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto
thee. The land of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land,
in the best of the land, make your father and your brethren
to dwell. In the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if thou knowest
any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my
cattle. But give them the very best of
the land. Now that's what they had when
they got down there. They were welcomed. They were
treated so well and treated so good. Had the best of all of
this Egypt given unto them. And they were there about 30
years. about 30 years before the Egyptians started manifesting
their enmity towards them. They were shepherds, and shepherds
were an abomination to the Israelites. And they dwelt in peace down
there in Egypt for 30 years. And Stephen, when he was preaching,
before they stoned him to death, one of the things he said was
this. He says, they were evilly treated for 400 years. So now
after 30 years they dwelt in peace. And then a king arose
who didn't know Joseph. And for 400 years, 400 years,
they were treated evilly, very badly, by Egypt and all the pharaohs
in Egypt. And they were going to be delivered
from their bondage. They were going to be delivered
from the awful, awful condition that they were in. But God had
promised and God had purposed that Abraham's children would
inherit Canaan. They would inherit the land flowing
with milk and honey. But yet he sent them down into
Egypt. Jacob and all of his family down
into Egypt. But why in the world did he leave
them down there 400 years to go into such bondage and leave
them down there for so long? So long. Well, I think I know
the reason for it and I hope you know that you understand.
But why he left them so long down there in bondage and why
they suffered so greatly is he did that to prepare them for
their inheritance. And it was through their hard,
hard bondage that they would appreciate a land flowing with
milk and honey. Oh, the heart of their bondage
when God set them free from their bondage. And they was going to
go back into the land of Canaan. Go back into the land of promise. Into that land that he gave to
Abraham. Oh, they would be so thankful
and so grateful and so ready to go and get up out of Egypt.
You see the land of Canaan, Abraham was the one that God brought
into Canaan. Told him to look in either direction he wanted.
He said everything you see is yours, I'm giving it to you.
Too big for just a family. So God sent them down into Egypt
and he left them in Egypt until they become a great nation. A
great nation. And so he left them there to
prepare them for their inheritance. That's what he's doing with us.
I tell you what, when you know the more bondage you go through
and the more trouble you go through and the harder life is for you,
the more you look forward to get your inheritance. We got the inheritance of the
saints in life. People's already got their inheritance.
We've got the same inheritance there. We just not got there
to get it yet. But I tell you, we're going to
get it. It's incorruptible, undefiled,
and it don't ever fade away. And I tell you another reason
why is the iniquity of the Ammonites was not yet full. Look here at
Genesis 15. You know, I don't fully understand
this. I really don't. But evidently, God called them Amorites. He
called them Syrians. He called them Egyptians. But
here in Genesis 15, in verse 13, look what God told them. The iniquity of the Amorites
was not yet full. Evidently, God had a cup. And when those people, those
Amorites, before Israel would ever be brought up out of Egypt,
that cup had to be full of sin. And when it was full of sin,
God said, I've let you go far enough. I've let you mistreat
my people long enough. I've let you abuse my people
long enough. And when that cut, God's plumbed
full of sin. God said that's enough. Then
he takes that cup of sin and punishes Egypt for that cup of
sin being full. They said put all the sins they
could possibly foot in and God said that's enough. And I'm bringing
my people out and you're going to suffer for it. And they did
suffer for it. Which we'll see. But look at
what he said here in verse 13. And he said unto Abram, know
of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that
is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict
them four hundred years." That's a long time to be afflicted,
four hundred years. And also, you know America is
not even four hundred years old. And they were down there longer
than we'd be. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I
judge. And afterward they shall come out, I said I'm going to
bring them out with a great sustenance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers
in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good
old age. But in the fourth generation
they shall come back into the land of Canaan again. Back into
their inheritance again. For the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet full. So when it happens, He said,
I'm bringing you back out of here and you're coming out of
here in peace. And another reason they were treated so cruelly
and so harshly and afflicted so greatly in Egypt was, is they
was reaping what they sowed. You know, God Himself said, you
reap what you sow. Our Lord said that. He said,
what measure you meet out, that's the measure that will be measured
to you. With what bushel you measure out something, He said
it will be measured to you. Now always remember that. God
said you sow the flesh, you're going to reap the flesh. Sow
the Spirit, you'll reap of the flesh. And God said that whatever
you sow, that's what you're going to reap. Well what they did,
they took Joseph, which is a certain type of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You don't find any sin in Joseph, no way, under any circumstance,
you see, Jacob, Joseph with any sin. But God had done told his
mother, his father, and his brethren that Joseph was going to reign
over them. They said, no, no, we're not going to have this
boy reign over us, we're not going to have this man reign over us.
So what did they do? They was going to kill him, but
then they saw somebody coming through and they said, listen,
they got 30 pieces of money and they sold him as a slave. And
he went into Egypt as a slave. And here's typical of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that we hate our brother Joseph. We don't want
our brother Joseph to reign over us and we're not going to bow
down to him. But they did. They did. And I tell you what,
and they made our Lord, they took Him down there like our
Lord Jesus Christ. And they're ready tonight. He became sin for us. He took our place, our bondage,
everything that was due us, He took. So that we could have everything
that He had, His righteousness and obedience become ours. So
they sold Him into slavery. And He suffered down there. And
now they themselves are becoming slaves. And you know it's like
when they said, Pope, Pope, Pope said, I won't let him go, there's
no sin about it, let him go, let him go, let Christ go. And they said, oh, no, no, no,
no, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate put his hands in a bowl
of water and washed his hands and said, I'm free of this man's
blood, I want you to know it. You know what they said? And
this is what they did with Joseph. His blood be on us and our children. And it was. It was. And I tell you what, beloved,
they sold Joseph into slavery, so they became slaves. They had
to reap what they sowed. And they suffered so, being typical
of sinners, being under hard taskmasters. The hard taskmaster
of sin, the hard taskmaster of slavery, the hard ship of bondage. And I tell you what, they was
in an awful, awful state when God come to deliver them out
of Egypt. And I tell you, He don't deliver them until they
start crying out either. He brings the bondage to make you cry out
and ask for deliverance. He gives you the cry and then
He answers the cry and saves you. He makes you cry and then
He saves you. Oh how in the world did Abraham's
descendants get down into Egypt? Look what it said here in verse
1. How did they all get down into Egypt? He said in verse
1, these are the names of the children of Israel which came
into Egypt. Now listen to this. Every man and his household came
with Jacob. Every man with his household.
Every one of Jacob's sons. With his children, with his wife,
with everything they had. Every man with his household.
And they came with their father into this land of bondage. They
came with their father into this land of bondage. He dwelt in
Cana first. He dwelt in the land of peace,
the land of promise first before he went down into Egypt. And
they everyone came down with Jacob. And he dwelt in Cana first. And you know this is how we came
in bondage. Through our father. You know
how we became slaves? And became sinners? And became
dead? And became rebels? And got in
such hard bondage? That such a bondage that we could
not bring ourselves out of this bondage. We couldn't bring ourselves
out of the bondage of sin. Couldn't bring ourselves out
of the bondage of the flesh. And here's the thing about it.
Our Father He didn't always live in bondage. He wasn't always
in bondage. He started out in the Garden
of Eden. He started out in Paradise. Jacob started out in Canaan.
And I tell you, when he got down there, him and his whole family
was brought into bondage. All of it was destroyed. And
our Father dwelled in the Garden of Eden. And when He rebelled
against God, all of us had to go into bondage with Him. When
he got naked before God, we was naked before God. When he died
before God, we died before God. When he went into bondage, we
went into bondage. Bruce preached this morning out
of John 6, verse 44. He said, and this is his text. No man can come unto thee except
the Father which sent me forth. And you know the first reason
why a man can't come to God? The very first reason. Cause he's dead. He can't see, he can't hear,
he can't feel. Second reason is, is that his
carnal mind, his enmity against God, he's got hatred in his heart
against God. Nobody would admit that, except
somebody that God's opened their heart and they say, yes, that
was the time I had enmity in my heart against Him. And the third reason is that
the natural man, the natural man, the man that don't know
God, don't know Christ, he cannot receive the things of the Spirit
of God. And he can't know. Well, how
in the world is he going to, how is anything going to happen?
And all I love is, he said, except no man can come unto the Father,
come unto me, Accept the Father. Accept. Boy, thank God for that
accept. I remember when the priest said,
Accept! Thank God for that accept. God
come down here and accept God. And said, I'm going to bring
you up out of this spot. He told them before they ever
went down there. He said, you don't go down there. He told
Abraham, your descendants are going to suffer 400 years. And then, I'm going to go get
them. And that's why I said, Accept!
My Father, John. And oh, thank God. And it says
that word, accept. Huh? And listen to this. And every one that called on
the Father, says, listen to this, they shall all, every single
one of them, shall be taught. Who of? The Father. And everyone
that has heard and learned of the Father, what do they do?
They come to Christ. That's the only place God's going
to bring them in. And these folks are in this bondage
here. And just like our Father Adam, he dwelt in Canaan. But boy, when he fell, all of
our households, all of our households, listen, I got a household. Got
a wife. Got children, she's got children,
I got grandchildren, I got a household! I got descendants! And when my father went into
bondage, my household and everybody that's related to me went right
in there with him. Ain't that right? Oh boy. Thank God he don't leave us there. We had another man. Another man
who had never been in bondage without sin. His blessed son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look what it says down here
in verse 7. And the children of Israel were fruitful and increased
abundantly and multiplied and waxed greatly. Waxed greatly. And the land was filled with
them. This is the fulfillment of God's promise. Made to Jacob. You know what God said to Jacob?
He said, I'm going to send you down there and I'm going to make
a mighty nation out of you. A mighty nation out of you. He
said, you're going to go down there but I'm going to make a
mighty, you ain't got but 12 sons now. But he said, I'm going
to make a mighty, mighty nation out of you. And we have, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, exceeding great and precious promises.
Our word unto you is not yea and yea, and nay nay. Our word
unto you is yea, yea, yea. Everything God promised us, He
promised us in His blessed Son. And I tell you our word is sure,
just as God's word is sure. His word is not yea and nay,
but yea. And when God said I'm going to
make you a nation, you mark it down. He's going to become a
nation. And you know why He calls His people? He said, we are peculiar people,
a holy nation. Called out of darkness into His
marvelous light. And we're the nation of God now.
God's select people, God's people are His nation now. That's where
He dwells in. And beloved, we can rest on God's
Word. Look with me, Psalm 119. Gary
read in Psalm 119 tonight. But look here at Psalm 119 and verse 89.
Psalm 119, verse 89. Look what David says over here.
Look what he said here now. 119 and
verse 89. He says, Forever O LORD thy word is settled in heaven. Oh my. When God says something,
it's settled. And you know where it was settled?
It was settled. In heaven. Before you ever gave
it, it was settled. Forever, oh Lord, thy word is
settled. You know, I was talking to a
fellow last night. His name's Louis Case down there.
Big old boy. And, uh, And he was talking to somebody
about God's Word. And this person, Steve, told
him, said, you know, named off a bunch of stuff they agreed
with, they agreed with, they agreed with, until he got to one point.
He said, oh, no, no, I don't agree with that. I don't agree
with that at all. You know what he said? He said, I don't care.
God don't either. That don't change nothing. Does it? Just because a fellow
don't believe it, that don't change it. You can take a pair
of scissors and cut that verse out of the Bible. Just cut it
out. Forever, O Lord, Thy Word said in heaven. Does that change
the fact that God's Word settled in heaven? No. And that's what he's told them.
He said, I'm going to make of you a great nation. And then
look what here in verse 8 what happens. Now there arose a new
king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. Didn't know anything
about Joseph, didn't remember anything about Joseph. Not knew
how God had used him, how high he was set up in Egypt. And then when it says here another
king, that means another king of a different kind. A different
kind altogether. This is a mean man, a cruel man,
a hateful man. And I tell you, beloved, he had
another king that knew not Joseph. That means he didn't care about
Joseph. He didn't care about Israel. He didn't care about
how Joseph was honored. He didn't care about that. And
he was a king of a different kind. Another king. A different king. A different
kind. Not like Pharaoh was with Joseph and his family. And oh
my, look what he says then in verse 9. Now I want you to notice
here now. He's talking about two different
people here. And he said unto his people, the king of Egypt
said unto his people. He got a people. The world's
got a people. Satan's got a people. And behold
the people of the children of Israel That's God's children. That's a different children.
He's got His people. God's got His people. Egypt's got their
people. God's got His people. He said,
He said unto His people, Behold, the people of the children of
Israel are more and mightier than us. Oh, His people and them people.
And oh what a difference there is between his people and our
people, God's people and his people. And they said they're
mightier and more than the Egyptians. But oh my, he was scared to death
that if they got in a war, that all these people would get on
the side of those people that's in war and fight against Egypt.
That was his whole point behind it. But look what he said down
here in verse 22. Again, talking about his people.
And Pharaoh charged or commanded all his people. His people said,
every son that is born, that means every child of Israel that's
born, you shall cast into the river and every daughter you
shall save alive. In other words, we're going to
thin this bunch out. That's what he's saying. But
oh, look at his proud, proud reasoning here in verse 9. Look
at his proud reasoning here now. He said, and it comes down to
verse 10. Oh, come, talking to his people,
let's deal wisely with them. Let's deal wisely with them.
You know what God thinks about the wisdom of this world? He
counts it as foolishness. He takes the wise in their own
craft. The wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. He said, let's deal wisely with
them. I tell you what, God looked at this world and its wisdom
and old Scott Richardson said one time, he said, you tell me
one person, one person that's ever, ever benefited and saved
and learned of God and benefited and grew and was saved and kept
by any wisdom of this world. You can't find one of them. They
may be PhDs and may be well known all over the world. They may make millions and people
go flat to them and say, show me how wise you are and how you
got this. But you know the only wisdom
that God has that saves His people? That's the wisdom of Jesus Christ. That's how God can be just and
justify them that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the wisdom of God. God took His Son. Sent Him into this world. To represent us and to become
one with us and identify with us. And then when it came time
to die, God took our sin, put it on Him, and then took all
of His obedience and all of His righteousness and gave it to
us. And we so identified with Christ that when He lived, we
lived. When He died, we died. When He
rose, we rose. When He ascended, we ascended.
When He sat down, we sat down with Him. Oh, that's the only wisdom God
I'm interested in, ain't you? I'm interested in the wisdom
of God, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. They said, let us deal
wisely now. Oh my, look what he says now.
Lest they multiply and it come to pass that if there falleth
out any war, they'll join our enemies and fight against us
and so get out of the land. Now this is what he called being
wise. So they sent taskmasters over
to afflict them with their burdens. They built for Pharaoh treasure
cities. And that means cities that he
built just to put his treasures in. Had to build two great big
cities because he had so much wealth and treasures. He said
you build these two cities and that's just where I'm going to
put my silver and my gold and my jewels. And look what he goes
on to say. This is the way the Lord does.
This is the way God does. But the more they afflicted Him,
the more they multiplied and grew. I tell you what, the more God
afflicts His people, the more they grow. That's the way He
brought us to grow. That's the way, you know, the
more they afflicted Him, The more they grew, the more they
multiplied, and the more they multiplied, it grieved them. They said, oh, what have we done?
What have we done? And the Egyptians made the children
of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter
with hard bondage and mortar and brick, and in all manner
of service in the field. And all their service when they
made them serve was with it. Oh, you know what this is all
about? This is about that seed, that the servant tried to destroy
the seed of the woman. That's exactly what's going on
here. Satan has always tried to destroy the seed of the woman,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he tries it here. Look what
he says now. And the king of Egypt spake to
the Hebrew midwives. He said he's done this. Hebrew
midwives, which the name of the one was Shipra and the other
name was Pua. He said, and these were midwives,
you know, women that helped, of course, they used to have
them all the time, I reckon. I guess they still got them in
places. And said, when you do the office of a midwife to the
Hebrew women and see them up on the stools getting ready to
have their babies, if it be a son, kill him. Kill him, kill him,
kill him. But if it be a daughter, save her life. That's what That's
what Herod said when he found out Jesus, that there was a child
born King of the Jews. He said, go kill everything under
two years old until you find that boy. That's what he said.
And that's what they're doing here. It's the enmity of the
serpent against the seed of the woman. And you know, if they
had succeeded, if they had succeeded and killed all these male children, the channel The family through
which our Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ was going to come
through had been destroyed. There had been no David and there
had been no David's son. But who in the world is going
to fight God and win? You know, it's one thing to fight
a man and trouble a man. But man, don't get your sword
out and start fighting God. You ain't gonna win. You hit
him with a sword, all he's gonna do is break it. Oh my. And he goes on to say
now, verse 17. I love this right here. Look
what it says. But the midwives feared God. They feared God. Ain't that what he said about
Moses, that he feared, that he counted the reproach of Christ
greater than all the riches in Egypt. And they said they feared
God. And did not do what the king
of Egypt commanded them. They just ain't gonna do it.
I'd rather do what God says, and listen to that king. And
you know what it says? They saved a million children
of mine. Got them all. Saved them all. Oh my, the enemy
of God is proven. They tried to defeat God and
these women stood up against the king. Here was a worm. Here was a worm standing against
God. I want to show you something.
Look here in Proverbs. Proverbs with me. Proverbs. Chapter 21 in verse 30. Look here in Proverbs 21. Oh
my, here's this worm. He might have been a king, might
have had a throne, and might have been a mighty man, but he's
still just a worm. And he's going to stand up against
God? and kill all these children. And them women feared God. They
said, oh no, we're not going to listen to that king. We're
going to save these children. Look what he said here, Proverbs 20,
verse 21, verse 30. Listen here. There is no wisdom,
no understanding, nor counsel against the Lord. And then what's
in Psalm 2? He said the kings of the earth
And the mighty men, they all got together and said, let's
cast his bands asunder. Let's quit. Let's get God out of here. And
you know what God said? He laughed at him. And you know
what He said? Let's destroy his key. Let's
destroy his son. And God said, I set my teeth on my holy heels. And that ain't nobody. I don't
care. People get together. That's what the Jews did. They
all got together and said, what are we going to do with this
Jesus of Nazareth? I know what we'll do. We'll kill him. But just in case, he's who he
said he was, let's put some guards over here on his grave. Lest our first mistake be worse
than our second mistake be worse than our first. Oh, they said,
well we killed him. But bless his holy name. He wasn't
fixed to stay dead. Now God said, my holy one shall
not see corruption. Oh my. And that's the way it
is. These worms of the earth trying
to stand against God. They ain't going to beat him,
they ain't going to do it. Now look here in verse 20 and 21,
and I'll wind this up. Oh my, in verse 18, let's go
back up here to verse 18, let me say this first. And the king
of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, brought them
up, come up here, I've got something to say to you now, are you going
to listen to me? Why have you done this thing and saved these
men and children of the world? Now listen to what these midwives
say now. Why did you do what I told you to do? That's what
he's saying. I gave you a commandment, you
didn't do it. He called them up, Barrett. You know what the
midwives said under Pharaoh? Because the Hebrew women, they're
not like Egyptian women. They're not like them at all.
They're lively. When they get ready to have a
juggernaut, before they even get there, they bop them. They
bop them out. That's what he said. He said,
we are not like the Egyptian women. The Egyptian women have
a hard time. But these Hebrew women, we will
get over there and try to help them. And they have not got their
babies before we can get there. We can't do nothing about that.
That is what they are saying. Oh, they are delivered and the
midwives come under them. And listen to what he says now.
Therefore God dealt with the midwives and the people multiplied
and waxed for her life. God blessed them. God blessed
them. God honors them who honor Him.
And listen to this, and it came to pass in verse 21, because
the midwives feared God, that He made them houses. He established
them, and homes for them, and houses for them, and children
for them. And this tells me, beloved, them that honor me,
I will honor. And I'll tell you what, and the
last thing I'm going to say is this in verse 22. And Pharaoh
charged all of his people saying, every son that is born, you go
find them and you cast them into the river and every daughter
you shall save alive. This shows us that God bears
with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.
You know, we watch this world, and we watch these politicians,
and we watch wickedness abound, right before our very eyes. Right
in front of our very eyes. And men think they're smart,
they think they're wise, and they think they're powerful,
and they think they're mighty. And all God is doing is He isn't
endearing them. He's just endearing them. He
just endeared them right now. Their vessels of wrath fit for
destruction. But he just endeared them and
endeared them. One of these days, his endurance
will wear out. That's it. And that's what happened to old
Pharaoh. Old Pharaoh, you know where he is? Nobody knows where
he's at. This guy mistreats the Lord's
people. Where's he at? Take me to his
grave. Take me to his tomb. Tell me how great he is now. And that's the way men are going
to find out one of these days. Tell me how great you are now,
Senator. Tell me how great you are now,
President. Tell me how great you are now,
King. I remember, I will hush, I remember
Herman, me and Herman was going across over Jumping Branch one
time, going back across, going toward Clifty. And we got down
on Jumping Branch, Herman said, there used to be a church building
here, community building here. We'd have high suppers in here.
And have meetings in here. Had lots of meetings in here.
And there wasn't nothing there but a creek and a bridge. No
evidence, and people lived around there. Had houses around there.
There's no evidence that anything ever existed down there. And
then he went on up on the hill and he said, there used to be
a whole community of people up here. He said houses was everywhere.
People was doing coal, they was cutting timber. I mean a whole
big community. And now it's just a field that
had a few cows in it. And that's the way it's going
to be. We're all going to be one of these days. A tale that's
been told. Oh, I remember that. Well, then
after about four or five generations, nobody will even know who we
were, where we were born and raised. Oh, listen. But here's the difference between
them and us. God knows us, God knows where
we're at, God knows where we're laying, and God knows when to
bring us out. That's the difference. That's
the difference. Our Father, oh blessed, blessed
Savior, how blessed, how gracious, how kind, how patient, how loving,
how tender, how pitiful you are towards us. Lord, thank you again
for your great and abundant mercy towards such a weak vessel as
myself. Thank you, Lord Jesus. And Lord,
I thank you for this blessed time to be together again with
your people here. Thank you for Brother Gary and
using him this morning and for Houston leading the singing.
I thank you for these dear brethren. Thank you for those who came
out and prayed for him, listened to him, and rejoiced in the gospel.
And Lord, bless our time together. Give us love for one another.
Increase our love. Increase our love, first of all,
for you. And Lord, we pray now for those
who are greatly burdened, greatly tried. We pray for Patsy and
Joe. Lord, that you would be with
them as they go through this trial that they go through. We
pray for Kyle and Annie as she goes through surgery Thursday.
Pray for Dorothy and Bill, others among us whose bodies are weak,
who has troubles in their homes with their children, and have
great trials. God, you know, you know, and
you'll care, and you'll take care of us all. And we thank
you and bless you in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Let's sing
that old standby. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look
full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow
strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Amen. See you Wednesday, God
willing.