If you want to turn with me my
text, it's over in Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah chapter 43. I was talking with Brother David
and he waited until he finished and got out of the pulpit to
drink his water. And he said he couldn't drink
his water in the pulpit, he shakes. And I've never gotten over the
nervousness trying to come to the pulpit and taking God's Word
and preaching it. And just I get extremely nervous
and it's not got any better as I've gotten older. I was listening
to, I don't know what the gentleman's name is, he wrote a biography
of Charles Spurgeon. If I remember this right, it
was his last message in Metropolitan Tabernacle that he had to quit
preaching. He started preaching and asked
to be excused. He said he got extremely nervous
and had to quit preaching his last message. And sometimes I
think if I don't sit down, this will be my last message. And
hearing a message like we just heard encourages me so much.
to try to preach one more time about the Lamb being worthy in
the own feeble way. So let's read this text. I want
to read in Isaiah 43, verses 1 through 7. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that farmed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame candle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom in
Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not,
for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Even every
one that is called by my name, for I have redeemed him for my
glory. I have farned him, yea, I have
made him." Our text begins here rather strangely, but now, but
now, but now, and it refers us back to the 42nd chapter especially
verses 22 through verse 25 where God refers to Jacob and Israel
again. But there He refers to them as
being robbed and spoiled and snared in holes. And He says
they are for a prey and nobody is going to deliver them. Nobody
is going to deliver you, Jacob. Nobody is going to deliver you
from the spoil, old Israel. And even God Himself was the
one that delivered them up. And here in verse 24 of chapter
42, He tells the reason for it. Verse 24, Who gave Jacob for
a spoil in Israel to the robbers? Did not the Lord, He against
whom we have sinned? Well, they would not walk in
his ways, neither would they be obedient unto his laws. And then, in verse 25, he tells
us something as to what it means to be spoiled. What is that about? You're going to be spoiled. I'm
giving you over to the spoilers and robbers. And he says in verse
25, Therefore hath he poured upon him the fury of his anger
and the strength of battle. He has set him on fire round
about. It has to do something with God
being so angry with him, so angry because of their sin that He
said, I'm going to spoil you. I'm going to give you up to robbers.
I'm angry with you. I'm angry with you. And He says there in the last
portion of verse 23 in verse 25, Who among you will give ears
to this? Who will hearken for the time
to come? And he says in the last portion
of verse 25 that they laid not these things to their heart.
Didn't care about his anger. Didn't consider that they were
sinners against God. That he's ready to spoil them
and give them over to the robbers. You know it was the same way
with the Jewish nation when the Lord Jesus came to preach to
it and do great miracles. They hadn't changed at all. Though
he had done many miracles, yet they believed him not. You see a dead man raised by
the voice of another man, you'd think somebody would say, who
is this man? You see a leper that was dying of leprosy and
his skin was rotting off, and some man said, you're clean,
and his skin became back like a little child. You would think
somebody would say, I'm going to listen to this man. I'm going
to believe this man. Who is this man? But they didn't
believe him. He preached the gospel himself,
preached it clearer than anybody had ever preached to those people.
And they said, this is hard to say. We're not going to follow
you anymore. We're not going to listen to
you anymore. We're going to go away from you never to return
to walk with you again. And the Apostle Paul had the
same experience. He said, I pray for Israel that
they might be saved. They're lost. And you know something? They were not only lost, but
they were perishing. I pray for God to save them because
they're lost. They're going about to establish
their own righteousness. They know nothing about the righteousness
of another to clothe the shame of their nakedness. And Paul
said this about it. They're contrary to all men.
They don't please God. And here's what's happening to
them. He said, the wrath of God is come upon them to their uttermost. This is why this text here is
just a little bit strange because he starts our text and says,
but now, Thus saith the Lord unto him that created thee, O
Jacob, and he that farmed thee, O Israel. And then in verse 4
he tells them how precious they are in his eyes, and how he's
loved them and exhorts them, don't be afraid, I am with thee. And it seems to me the only way
that we can understand this is to say this, this must be two
different Israels. This must be two different Jacobs
he's talking about. And when we go over to the New
Testament, we realize that Abraham had two seeds. He had a carnal
seed. He had a natural seed. And then
he had a spiritual seed. And those natural seeds, though
they were the seed of Abraham, they were not the children of
God. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. They are not all Israel
which are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of
Abraham are they all children. They which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God. The children of the promise.
The children of the flesh, Abraham's natural seed, have always been
under bondage. They're flocking back over there
now to Israel. Some of them, many of them, still
have their forms of worship, but they're still under bondage.
They're still under the law. But then you have another Israel that's born from above. They're
Abraham's spiritual seed. They're the chosen of God. The
election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded. But now, I tell you, if God never
made a distinction in humanity, if He didn't intervene, interpose
long before He ever created this world and says, here's this mass
glob, mass lump of sin. And I'm going to take a remnant
out of it for myself to redeem them and call them and save them. You know something? There'd be
no hope for any human being. Some people consider election,
and every time they hear it, they get so upset and they think,
boy, that's the worst enemy man ever had. Election is man's best
friend. Without God's electing grace,
all of humanity would perish. But now, God has done something. This is the hope of humanity,
isn't it? But now, take the but now out,
and none of us have any hope. Jew or Gentile. I want you to
hold that text and I want you to look over in the first chapter
how this prophet already says this. Look what he says about
the nation of Israel in chapter 1. He calls them there in verse
4, a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, seed of
evildoers, children that are corruptors. They've forsaken
the Lord. They provoke the only one of
Israel. unto anger, they've gone away backward. And he says nothing
he could do would do him any good. Why should you be stricken
anymore? Ye will revolt more and more, the whole head is sick
and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even
unto the head there's no soundness in it but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. In verse 7, your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire,
your land strangers devour in your presence. It is desolate
as overthrown by strangers. And you leave it there and there
is no hope for them. There is no hope for them. And
he says in verse 8, the daughter of Zion is left like a cottage,
a little booth in a vineyard. They had these huge vineyards
and in the middle of the vineyard they'd set up this little booth
for some watchman to sit there and watch and keep the animals
and people from coming in and stealing the fruit from the vineyard. Can you imagine a little booth
sitting in a huge vineyard? A little tiny booth out there
in the middle of the vineyard? and as a lodge, as a little hut
in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. That's what
Zion is like. That's not seem like very much,
does it? Zion, His people, His chosen, they're like a little
hut, like a little booth. But you know if it wasn't for
electing grace, there'd be no hut. There'd be no booth. And look what he says in verse
9. Except the Lord of hosts hath left unto us a very small remnant,
we should have been made as Sodom, and should have been like unto
the Mara. I heard Brother Henry say one
time, he said, we talk about the remnant, the elect being
little in number. And somebody said, well, they're
a handful. But he said, depends on whose hand you're talking
about. The hand of him who measures the water. And when you compile
the number of every age, of every nation, and tongue, and people,
there's going to be a multitude that no man can number. But without
election, there'd be none. There'd be none. Election is
just as essential as the cross. Election is just as essential
as regeneration. Because without election, there
is no need for the cross. Election is a fallen humanity's
best friend. And you know it is the same in
the Gentile world, is it not? Look at our religious Gentile
world. We've got churches all over the place. Every shape,
color, and size, everything that you can imagine to believe, we've
got churches today that believe. And I just wonder sometimes when
the Lord looks upon it, if He don't say the same thing as He
said to natural Israel. This makes me sick. Away with
your sacrifices. I don't need that stuff. I even
hate it. Ain't that what he said? I even
hate it. And here you and I are this morning,
gathered here to pour out our spirits and praise and worthy
to the Lamb who is worthy. And what has made the difference?
Who has made the difference in us poor Gentiles? God. God has did it. Paul was preaching
to the Jews and preaching about forgiveness of sins. Through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin. What
does that mean to you this morning? How would you like to leave this
place and go out those doors with a God-given assurance that
every sin you've ever committed is forgiven? Wouldn't that be
wonderful? Never be held against you in
this life or in the world to come. He was preaching through
Jesus forgiveness of sins. And they said, we won't hear
this. But there were some Gentiles standing over to the side and
they heard him preaching. And they said, is it possible?
Would God permit you to preach this to us? And he said, you
be here next Sabbath. I'll preach the same message.
And you know what happened? He preached the message to them
and the Bible says this, as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed. As many as God had set aside,
as many as He had chosen to salvation in Jesus Christ, they believed. And if there had been no setting
aside, it wouldn't have been said as many, it would have been
said not any. Not any. That's how essential
God's work is in election. And you hear this morning, we're
listening to the gospel, we're rejoicing in the Lamb that was
slain. You're blessing Him, you're praising
Him, and why is it? Such a blessing as this, where
do you trace that to? What's the fountainhead of every
blessing that you'll ever receive in this life and in the life
to come? Trace it all the way back. And
you will find it, heads up, in God's electing grace. He hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. But now, but now,
apply that to yourself. But now, He made a distinction,
didn't He? He has intervened. He's done
something. But now, because of God's grace
in Jesus Christ, you who sometimes were for all are made nigh by
the blood of Christ. He says you're in verse 1 of
my text. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee. That created thee. That's what
salvation is, isn't it? It's a creation. That's the way
this world came into being by creation. God made everything
out of nothing. And that's what salvation is.
You can't create anything but a mess. That's all we can create. But He creates new creatures
in Jesus Christ. There's a new creature down in
the Buddhism of every child of God. He's created anew. And He said, I have farmed thee.
And I love this because it tells us that He doesn't just make
a new creature without any farm. In the beginning, as He began
to create, there was a period when the world was without farm.
He was in the midst of creating. But it's not so with this new
creature. It's not a process. Immediately when He creates this
new creature in Christ, that new creature is formed in the
very image of God's Son. This is the most mysterious thing,
one of the most mysterious things about the Gospel, about being
in Christ, this new birth. That when we're begotten of God,
that not only a new creature, but it's a complete creature. Just like a little baby that
comes from its mother's womb. It don't grow any new organs.
It don't grow any new limbs. It's complete, isn't it? It just
matures. And in this new creation, when
God creates a new creature, it's in the form of Jesus Christ. And it just develops. It develops. And David said, I will never
be satisfied until I awaken His likeness. That is our hope, isn't
it? Oh, I have farmed thee. I have
redeemed thee. I have redeemed thee. David quoted
that passage, didn't he? Not by corruptible things, the
silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You're
bought with a price. I have redeemed thee. And he
says, I have called thee by thy name. I've got your attention.
I've spoken to you. You've heard me. And I've called
you out of your darkness unto my marvelous light. And why did
he do all this? He said, because thou art mine.
You're mine. And I'm going to have mine. I'm
going to have them. The Father gave them to me. And
if I cast them away, if I disregard them or treat them with indifference,
I'll be despising the gift of my Father. You're not worth anything. I'm not worth anything. Our worth
is determined by this, that we're His by gift. That's what makes
us worth something. My son, these are yours. Oh,
my father, my father. I'll give my blood for them.
I'll give my breath for them. I'll give my labor for them.
I'll give myself for them. They're mine. They're mine by
election. They're mine by purchase. They're
mine and I'll have them. They're mine. Isn't that wonderful? Old Jacob and old Israel. I want you to notice this and
here's what I want to get at this morning. Three things. First of all, the past. The past. Everything He says here in verse
1 is in the past. It's in the past. I have created
Thee, I have formed Thee, I have redeemed Thee, I have called
Thee, I have. This is something that God has
done and that cannot be undone. It's something that God has done
and no man could put anything to it or take anything from it.
And God has done it that men might fear before Him. And I
want you to think of this, dear child of God, the benefit that's
in this first verse. Because of all of these things
we must consider in past tense. Consider this this morning. Isn't
this reason to be so encouraged? So comforted? that all of your
past, whatever has been involved in it, shame, disappointment,
sin, what has been involved in your Christian past? Not just
your lost past, but in your Christian past. I look back in my Christian
past sometimes and it is a mess. It is a mess. And I almost despair. How could I have continually
thought on that for so long? Why did I say that? Why did I
do that? What a mess I've made. But here's
something that really encourages me. No matter how ashamed I am,
sometimes almost driven to despair about it, God has done something
that makes void, no, my entire past. It's gone. It's gone. Don't be afraid. Fear not. I've redeemed you. Oh, that sin
that you sometimes confess and weep over and feel so guilty
over, fear not. It's gone. I have redeemed thee. You're mine. Doesn't that take
care of the past? Oh, bless His name. Fear not. That takes care of the past.
You're already mine. You're already mine. You can't
do anything to become mine. You're mine by choice. Will that
ever be undone? Can anybody go to the cross and
undo what's already been done there? No. Is the calling of
God not without repentance? It's not. He cannot repent, can
he? The past is gone. You may have
trouble forgetting, but it's gone. It's gone. Look over in the 44th chapter. Look in verse 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. I have formed thee. Thou art my servant, O Israel.
Thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgression, and as a cloud thy sins, return unto
me, for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O heavens, for the Lord
hath already done it. I think there's something to
that old song we sang sometime, Prone to Wonder. Lord, I feel
it. Wrong to leave the God I love
in my thoughts. We say that to our own shame.
And sometimes we hear a voice in our head, no sense even trying
to come back. You've done this too much. You've
grieved Him too often. And then we hear this. I've already
blotted your sins out. Those thoughts you're having,
that you're almost despairing of. I've blotted them out. They're
gone. Return. Return. Not to take them away, but because
they're already blotted out. I don't know of anything, brothers
and sisters, that will encourage me to keep returning and keep
coming back. But to remember and live in the
faith of this, that 2,000 years ago, all my sins were born in
the body of the Son of God and punished and purged away. They're gone. Okay then, I'll
come back. I'm coming back. You're my father
then. I am truly yours. You've done
this. You've interposed. You've done all of this already
and it can't be undone. No matter what I've done, I won't
despair. I'm coming back. You may be here
this morning as lost as you can be. Never have you been unable
to give up yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of this.
All He requires has already been accomplished. He doesn't require
nothing of you. Quit thinking about it in those
terms. Come to Him and give yourself
up to Him who has already did the work. And when you do that, you'll
say, oh, the past is gone. It's all gone. It's all gone. There have been people who kill
themselves because of their past. There have been people who live
in torment every day in their conscience because of their past. Here's the perfect remedy. I've
redeemed you. I've created you anew. I've formed
you in the image of my Son. I've called you. Has He sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart, crying, Father, Father? Then look what He's did for you.
Trace all of that back from right now. Well, you're crying, Father,
Father. He's called you to that. He's
called you to this new birth and this transforming you into
the image of Christ. And He's done that because way
back yonder in eternity, He chose you to that. I have done it. Oh, the past. The past. In verse
2, let's look to the future right quickly. Notice what He says
in verse 2. Isaiah chapter 43. When thou
passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Here's the future. And he doesn't
say if you get in some waters. He says when. When. Dear child of God, you're in
trouble. I'm telling you, you're in trouble. The Lord don't save
you to take you to heaven on a bed of roses. He's going to
afflict you sore. He's going to put you in some
deep waters, swift rivers, and into fire. When? When? I want you to turn to three
scriptures with me concerning these afflictions. Future afflictions. And I want you to turn over to
1 Thessalonians chapter 3. Turn with me quickly and I won't
take so much time. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. Here's what I want to think about
when you think of these afflictions, this water, this fire. Look in
1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and look in verse 1. First thing
I want you to remember about these afflictions, these deep
waters and this fire is this, that it's all known of God aforetime. It is all known of your heavenly
Father aforetime. Now that is comforting, isn't
it? One of the things that scares us, He doesn't know where I am
at. But it goes one step farther than that. He knows it because
He has appointed it. Now look what He says in verse
1. 1 Thessalonians 3. Wherefore, when we could no longer
forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone, and
sent Timotheus our brother and minister of God, and our fellow
laborer. in the gospel of Christ to establish you concerning your
faith, that no man should be moved by these afflictions. For yourselves know that we are
appointed thereunto." Appointed. Who appoints things? God does. Only God can appoint things and
bring them to pass. Isn't this wonderful? Isn't this
so encouraging that our Heavenly Father appoints everything His
child goes through? There's no such thing as accidents.
We say that. It's just out of habit we say
that. Boy, did you see that accident? And we'll continue to say it.
Fate? Fate's as blind as a bat. Fate
has no eyes. God appoints them. And what does
that mean when we read that He appoints your affliction? That
means He says when they come. When they start. What day, what
hour, what moment is this particular affliction coming? That's what
scares us isn't it? I just got a feeling something's
coming and I don't know what it is. And I am scared to death. And sometimes I don't realize
it's coming. I just sort of go happily along
and all of a sudden I'm shocked. I'm shocked. David says, someday
Saul's going to kill me. I know he's going to kill me.
That never came to pass. God hasn't pointed that, but
I tell you Job said, that which I feared has come upon me. And
it's devastated me. It's come so suddenly and I've
lost everything. I didn't know what was coming
or how it was coming, but you know something? Our Father in
Heaven knew when it was coming. I'll tell you something else
he must know about it since he's appointed it. How deep it's going
to go. How deep is this affliction going
to reach in my soul, in my family, in my life? He says how deep
it will go. He says how long it will last. Don't give in to these afflictions.
Don't start murmuring and complaining about them. I tell me that when
I tell you. Don't give up living by faith
and hope in Him because they go on so long. He knows! And He says when they end. And
you know it may be a lifelong affliction, but they'll not leave
this world with you. There'll be none in Heaven. And
if He lets you go through all of these things your whole life,
He'll give you grace. Nothing is going to hurt you
eternally. He wouldn't appoint us to anything
that would hurt us past this life, would he? Our Father appoints
these afflictions. Fear not. I have appointed these
things. You say, Bruce, you just don't
know what I'm going through. My whole family's turned on me.
They've turned on me. Joseph's family turned on him,
didn't they? Yeah, but I've been falsely accused and it's so embarrassing. And I can't even go out into
the community. People's looking at me. Joseph was falsely accused. I've lost my liberty. I'm sick.
I've lost the liberty of my body. I've lost the liberty of my soul.
Joseph lost his, didn't he? They put him in prison for years.
But you know the conclusion he come to? God meant this. God meant that? How in the world? All the sin? How could God work
in the midst of all this sin of betrayal and false accusation,
work in the midst of all that and yet not be justly accused
of being the author of sin? I don't know how that works,
brothers and sisters. I just know this, everything that happens
in your life, dear child of God, He has appointed it. And just
because you can't see it, is no sign it's not true. So, live
in the faith of that. Second thing, look in 1 Peter
chapter 4, just over to your right, in 2 Peter chapter 4,
and look in verse 12. It's 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse
12. I know what we often think when
some of these deep waters come and swift waters. Here's what
we often think. Man, this is strange. We think that, don't
we? Nobody's ever been here before.
This is so strange. This is so unique to me. Nobody
has ever suffered like this before. And Peter says here in 1 Peter
4.12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which
is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. You know afflictions, they are
not unique to you. They are common to all men, aren't
they? There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common
to man. But what scares us to death sometimes
when we get in some of these deep waters or some of these
flames is to think nobody's ever been here before. And since nobody's
ever been here before, I don't know if I'll ever get out or
not. But if you'll just look around, you can see footprints
of saints that has been there long before you. And if you can't
see any saint that's been there, I'll tell you one that's been
there. Our Savior has been there. He was tempted in all points
like as we are. He has been there. One more thing, and look in 1
Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13. Look in chapter 10 and verse
13. When, when you go through the
waters and the rivers and the furnace, when, Here's another
one, 1 Corinthians 10, 13. There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted, above that you are able to bear. But will with the temptation,
with the trial, the affliction, also make a way to escape, that
you may be able to bear it. a way for your escape, God will
make. That'll give you some hope and
help when you're in the midst of trials. You can almost just
wait, just anticipate, what's He going to do? How's He going
to get me out of this? And just wait on Him. He'll make
a way, and it'll be a miracle in your eyes. You remember when
Israel were at the Red Sea? There was no way. They had soldiers
behind them, mountains on the side, and the Red Sea in front
of them. And they said, what are we going to do? And the Lord
said, stand still, and I will make a way. And he opened the
Red Sea, and they went on dry ground. He made a way. When they
were ready to go into the land of Canaan, they had such a burning
heart to get over there into that new land of promise, but
there was one way, one thing that stood in their way, and
that was a raging river. It was down pretty low, and they
were getting ready to go over in a week or two, and God spoke
to the clouds and said, ìGive some rain.î And He said, ìGive
more, give more, give more.î And man, that river overflowed
His banks. How in the world are they going to get to the land
of promise? And the Lord sent the priest with the ark and he
said, when your feet hits that water, they're going to part.
And they went in to the land of promise. God wrought a miracle. He made a way for your escape. The flame, haven't we heard about
somebody being in a fiery furnace before? Trials of fire. They are coming. They are coming. And sometimes
you think they are going to burn everything around you up. They
are not going to leave you anything. Family, all your graces, everything
is going to be burned up. The three Hebrew children were
thrown into a fire that was heated seven times hotter than they
usually heated it. Killed the men who threw them
in there. But a way was made for their escape. There is no
temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God
is faithful. He says, Fear not, O Israel.
I will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not, I
will help you. Fear not, thou worm Jacob. You men are miserable. I will
help you. I will help you. I know who you are. I have not
put any trust in you. You are a worm. But I'll hold
your right hand and I'll help you. That's the future. That's the future. Look back
over at the present. Isaiah chapter 43 and look in
verse 5. Here's all he says about the
present. Fear not, for I am with thee. There's the present. The
past is gone. You've been redeemed, chosen,
redeemed, made new. Your sins are purged. The future,
afflictions, he's going to make a way. And now the present, all
he says, but this seems to be enough, I am with thee. I am
with thee. What else matters, brothers and
sisters? What does it matter how deep the waters are? Or how
swift they are? What does it matter if he puts
you in the furnace for a while, if he's with you? That's all
that matters. I am with Thee. Boy, we sometimes, we get in
trouble, we're sad, and we're going through some things, and
we want to call somebody, and nobody's home. Did you ever have
days like that? You call five or six people,
and nobody will answer the phone. I've got to talk to somebody,
and you go out driving around, and nobody will answer the door.
You know, I think the Lord does us this way sometimes. I think
He shuts out all our friends. He shuts out help from anybody
else. That we're left with nobody but His presence to help us. Paul said it in my first answer,
nobody stood with me. All men forsook me. Notwithstanding,
the Lord stood with me. He's enough, isn't He? He's enough. The Lord stood with me. Nobody
in that den of lions was Daniel but the Lord. But He was enough. He shall deliver the needy when
He cries. The poor also, and him that hath
no helper. One more passage and I'll close.
Look in Hebrews chapter 13. When you first come to the Lord
Jesus, you came alone. Nobody came with you. And you're going to die alone. Maybe a bunch of people around
your bed, but you're going to die alone. You're going to stand
before Him alone. And I think He's teaching us
right now is when we want to know His presence. I want to
know He's with me now. And if He's with me now, then
He'll be with me all along the way. at death and at the judgment. He'll be there with me. And that's
what He's saying here in Hebrews chapter 13 in verse 5. Let your
conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things
as you have. For He hath said, He hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may
boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear. what man
shall do unto me. I've often said this, I'd rather
be in hell with Jesus Christ than to be in heaven without
Him. Hell would become a heaven. Heaven would become a hell without
Him. Oh Lord Jesus, be my friend. Stick closer to me than a brother.
His presence, if we have His presence, we're safe. Once I was poor in the eyes of
God, poor for my sins against me were charged. My debt only grew with each passing
day. The price the law demanded, I
just could not pay. Jesus, come save me. Save this poor man. I cannot pay the price. You only can. He heard my cry. made me understand. He paid with his life's blood
to save this poor man. You see, for so long, by my hopes
and dreams, I thought by my good works God's balance would swing. But could I obey to his last
command? It would be but my duty, it can't
pay for sin. Jesus, come save me, save this
poor man. I cannot pay the price, you only
can. He heard my cry, made me understand. He paid with his life's blood
to save this poor man. Now I am rich through Christ
God's Son. The faith that He gave has made
us one. No longer do I stand in my filthy
dress, but I'm clothed in the garments of His righteousness. Jesus, come save me, come save
this poor man. I cannot pay the price, you only
can. He heard my cry, made me understand. He paid with his life's blood. to save this poor man. Thank you, folks. Thank you.
Thank you, dear pastor.