And I don't know what I'll do
next Sunday. I'm thinking awful seriously
about starting to preach on God's sovereignty, the sovereignty
of God in every aspect of life. And I'll preach on that a while,
see what we can come up with. Maybe start next Sunday night.
I don't know. We'll see. But Paul comes to
the conclusion of this letter here, his first letter to the
Corinthians. And you remember he wrote because
there was such division, such schism, had so many problems.
And then he talked about the denial of the resurrection, the
consequences of that, and then he showed us the mystery of the
bodies that would be resurrected, and then the guarantee of the
resurrection, because Christ himself defeated death and fulfilled
the law. And so he ends up this book,
this letter to the Corinthians, with talking about how to receive
offerings, take up collections. And then he talks about how he
intends to visit them sometime again, and exhorts them to being
watchful, exhorts them to courage and to love. And then he starts
out by saying in verse 1, Now concerning the collection for
the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, so
do you. Now Paul's talking about here,
he's talking about offering, collecting money, collecting
things. And these are collecting for
the saints, for the needs of the poor, for the needs of the
ministry, for the needs of those who have great needs. And that's the only reason to
carry, you know, to collect money is to take care of the Lord's
people and the ministry of the gospel. And he says, and when
you do this, and you know, do it, you know, support the gospel
in other lands. And he's taken up an offering
here, and he's talking about what would be taken up to Jerusalem.
And you know, do this for the fatherless, for the widows, for
people in other lands. And you're to do just what I
told the church in Galatia to do. He evidently talked to the
church in Galatia and told him how to take up an offering, when
to do it. And he said, I want you to do
the same thing. And I know this, that the Lord's people are generous
people, and they love to share what God's given to them. Now
look with me over in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. The Lord's people
are generous people. And if you're one of God's people,
and you start with, and I know this without a shadow of a doubt,
there's two things that I personally feel, and I've told you this
before, that reveals somebody that's unconverted. And there's
two things. It's their attendance and attitude
toward the gospel and how they are with their money. Now, you
can attend every service and never give to the cause of Christ.
Never part with any of your money. Be niggardly with God's money.
And that's a dead giveaway. When God saves a man, He saves
him and everything he has. Or else you can be very, very
generous. and never attend the gospel. Be serious about attending
the gospel, and that's a giveaway. But a believer, he loves the
gospel, he loves the Lord's people, and he loves to be generous with
what God's blessed him with. And he has no problem with either
one of those things. And if you are a believer, and
you start with trying to withhold and say, well, I can't afford
to give, God'll go and get it. I don't know, you know, he'll,
he'll make every dollar you have, he'll turn it into a dime instead
of a dollar. I've seen it happen too many
times. But here he said in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 7, he says this,
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the
motive he uses. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. That though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor. you through his poverty might
be made rich. And herein I give my advice,
for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only
to do, but also to be forward a year ago." Talking about giving.
Now, therefore, therefore, perform the doing of it as there was
a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out
of that which you have, which you have. Over here in St. Corinthians
9, in verse 6, look what it says, He's talking about giving, touching
the ministry of the saints. He said, This I say, he which
soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly. And he which
soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. Every man according
as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly
or out of necessity. For God loveth the cheerful giver,
the person who loves to give. And so he's instructing them,
and he takes up an offering to give as God has, as I've instructed
the others. Now look over here in verse 2,
then. We're going down through here. It's a little reading old
thing. We'll just go a few verses at a time. And he says, You do
this upon the first day of the week, that every one of you lay
by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be
no gathering when I come. In 2 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians
16.2 is where I'm at. So it's talking about the first
day of the week. This is when, after the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the church started meeting on the
first day of the week. That's which was Sunday. To the
Jews, that was Sunday. Their Sabbath was on Saturday.
It started at 6 o'clock on Friday night and left at 6 o'clock on
Saturday evening. But the believer, since Christ
resurrected on Sunday morning, The first day of the week, believers
started meeting on the first day of the week. In fact, the
disciples were for fear of the Jews assembled on the first day
of the week when Christ appeared to them upon the first day of
the week. And over in Acts 20, it talks about when the brethren
met and they worshiped and Paul met with them, they had breaking
of bread upon the first day of the week. So it started on the
first day of the week. And then when they were assembled
on this day, upon the first day of the week, Let every one of
you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered them, that there
be no gathering when I come." Now, who's supposed to give when
we're assembled? He said, every one. Every single one. Every
one of you. Every one. And Paul told in another
place, he said, I will that you give, that he that hath more
give more, and he that hath less, there's nothing lacking. Nobody
has more, nobody has less, because everybody gives as God has prospered
them. And then he goes on to say, let every one of you do
it. Let every one of you. And how are you supposed to do
it? You're supposed to do it willingly. Play by him in store. Do it willingly. Do it with a willing heart. A
willing graciousness. And again, look at 2 Corinthians
8.12. You know what? 2 Corinthians 8.12, look what it
says here. He says, you know, doing this,
performing this which you intended to do. He said in verse 12 of
2 Corinthians 8, If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according that a man hath, and not according to what he doesn't
have. A man can't give what he don't have. And that's what Paul's
saying. But he has to be a willing mind
only to give what you have. And I mean not that others' men
be eased, and you be burdened, but by an equality Now, at this
time, your abundance may be a supply for their want, and their abundance
may be a supply for your want. And so, you see, beloved, and
over here in 9-7 it says, let every man according as he purposes
in his heart. Let him give, not virginally,
but out of necessity. Nobody makes you do it, and that's
what he's saying here. You know, you give, and let every
one of you back over in our text, it's 1 Corinthians 16. Lay by
him in store. Let it be a willing thing. And
then how much are you supposed to give? How much are you supposed
to give? Well, look what it says. As God
has prospered him. He says, you out of the abundance
that God has given you, you give out of that abundance. Whatever
how God has prospered you. out of the blessings that He
has given you, out of whatever He's prospered you. That's what
He says. In the proportion that God has
prospered you in and His blessings to you, you give as God has blessed
and prospered you. You can't make it any simpler
than that, can you? You can't make it any plainer than that.
And then look what He says, that there'll be no gathering when
I come. Why did He say that? He says, because if I come, And
I request that you all take up an offer, and everybody will
say, boy, that Paul, all he's interested in is getting money.
All he is interested in, he's covetous. He's just a covetous
man, and he wants money all the time. Always talking about money. But that's not what Paul's doing.
He's just telling them how to do it and keep order in the church. And then here in verse 3, and
let's go down through verse 7. And when I come, and he said,
I'm going to come to you again, Lord, will and whomsoever you
shall approve by your letters," when you send me a letter and
tell me, them will I send to bring your liberality, your gift,
and all the blessings and all the money that you've laid aside
unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also,
they shall go with me if it's enabled that I go. Now, I will
come unto you when I pass through Macedonia, for I do pass through
Macedonia. And it may be that I will abide
ye in winter with you, that you may bring me on my journey with
us wherever I go. But I will not see you now, by
the way. But I trust to tarry a while
with you, if the Lord permit." Now he says, now when I get back,
I want to come again. I want to come and see you again.
Maybe I'll be able to come and visit you through the winter
and stay all winter with you. But he says, now you send letters
to me, and when we take up, and we're going to send all this
money to Jerusalem for these poor saints and those that are
sick up there and under great persecution. And if I get to
go, I'll go with these people. But he says this, and he says
in verse 7, I will not see you now, but I trusted Terry in a
while. And what he's saying was, and
he says this, he says, if the Lord permit. He said, every bit
of this, whether I come, whether I go to Macedonia, whether I
visit you, whether I get to go to Jerusalem, whether these brethren
get through everything is according to the will of God, if the Lord
permit, he says. If the Lord permit. And beloved,
ain't that the way we are? We are subject to the will of
God, subject to the providence of God. You know, look at James
with me just a moment. We're subject to the will of
James, right after Hebrews, James chapter 4. In all of his journeys, and the
apostles, very careful to say that, if the Lord will, if the
Lord permit, I'll visit you, I'll tarry with you, I'll stay
with you for a while if it's God's permit. And that's the
only thing that matters to me, you, or anybody else, the Lord's
will to be done. We only want to do that which
is agreeable to the will of God. We want to be submissive to the
will of God. And he says here in verse 13,
James chapter 4, Go to now ye that say, Today or tomorrow we
go into such and such a city, and continue there a year, and
buy and sell and get gain. He said, Why would you say such
a thing? What makes you think you can go here and go yonder? Whereas you don't even know what
shall be on tomorrow. The writer Proverbs says, this
boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day
shall bring forth. You don't know what's going to
be on tomorrow. He said, well, what do you know? Just consider
your life. Consider how frail your life is. Consider how weak
your life is. Consider how temporary your life
is. And you want to make decisions for yourself as where you're
going to go and what you're going to do, and not consider the will
of God. What is your life? Consider it.
It's a vapor. It appears for just a little
time and then it vanishes away. And because of your life being
so weak and so frail and so temporary, for that very reason, you ought
to say, if the Lord will, we shall live. We shall live if
it's God's will. And then if He lets us live,
we'll do this or we'll do that if it's the Lord's will. And
oh my, oh the will of God be done. Now back over again in
1 Corinthians 16. He says here in verse 8 and 9,
he says, But I'm going to tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, for
a great and effectual door is opened unto me, and there are
many adversaries. Now when he talks about I'll
tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, he's talking about Pentecost
here. And Pentecost was fifty days after the Passover. You
remember when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost? Now,
Paul was not wanting to go to Jerusalem at Pentecost, not to
celebrate that feast and enter into that feast, because Christ
fulfilled all the feasts, fulfilled all the Scriptures. That's not
the reason he wants to go. He wants to go up there for the
same reason that Peter stood up and preached on the bay of
Pentecost, and all those Jews from all over the world were
there. And he wants to go up there in order to preach the
gospel to them, because there would be so many Jews from so
many places, and they'll be gathered there, and he wants to go up
there to preach the gospel to them. And all beloved, and he
desired to go there and be there, but he wanted to stay. He said,
but I'm going to stay at Ephesus until Pentecost. And he says,
the reason being here in Ephesus, a great door, an effectual is
opened unto me. A great door. Oh my, God's opened
unto me a great and an effectual door. You know how many people
were converted in Ephesus? God's established a great work
in Ephesus. He stayed there a long, long
time. And he stayed there for, I think,
three years. He said, I've been with you day
and night. And when he was getting ready
to leave, do you remember how they wept and they cried, didn't want
him to leave? And he said, I'll remain because
God opened a great effectual door for me. And wherever God
opens the gospel, it opens a door to preach the gospel. It's an
effectual door. You know why? Because the gospel's
effectual. If God opens a door to preach
the gospel, whether it's here, Whether it's anyplace else, if
he sends somebody to preach it, it's going to be effectual. You
know why? Because God intends for it to be effectual. That
don't mean that everybody's going to be saved by it. That don't
mean everybody's going to be converted. That don't mean everybody's
going to rejoice over it. But it does mean that it's going
to do the work God intended it to do. He said, we're made unto
God a sweet savor in Christ. To some, we're a savor of life
unto life. When we preach the gospel, it's
life to some. It smells sweet, it smells glorious,
and we enjoy it and rejoice in it. But also, the other side
of it is the savor of death unto them that obey it not, that don't
believe it. And so whether we live or whether
we die, and that's why Paul said it's an effectual door. And he
says, I want to stay here in Ephesus unto Pentecost, and look
what he says, and there are many adversaries, I've got a lot of
enemies here in Ephesus. I've got a lot of them. And as
there always is wherever the gospel is preached. And then
he starts talking about Timothy. He says, now, if Timothy has
come, if Timothy comes over to Corinth, you see that he may
be without fear, for he does the work of the Lord just like
I do. And let no man therefore despise
him, but you conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto
me, for I look for him with the brethren." And what he's talking
about, and Paul already told him, he says, Timothy. Timothy
is a minister in the gospel, a co-laborer in the gospel with
me. And he says, and if the Lord lets him come, you make sure
that he's not got any fear, that you treat him right, you take
care of him. And you don't let nobody mistreat
him. Don't despise him just because he's a young man. Because he's
working the gospel. He preaches the gospel. He does
the same thing that I do. And Paul always showed a deep
love and a great concern for others who preach the gospel.
And a strong interest in their work. And he says, now listen,
you see that when he leaves there, you take care of him and you
conduct him forth in peace. Because he's coming to me. And
I look for him to come with the brethren, and why would he warn
people and tell people that? Why would he have to tell people
how to treat a preacher? And a visiting preacher? Somebody
that Paul loves and a young man, and Timothy, why would he have
to do that? Well, I'll tell you why he has to do that. It's because
there's always people opposed to the gospel. There's always
people that like some preachers better than others, like when
Paul said, Whether I'm Paul or Ephesus or Apollos, and that's
what he's saying here. Now listen, when Timothy comes,
I don't want him to have any fear. I don't want you to despise him
and regard him as nobody. And I'll tell you why, because
he's a preacher of the gospel. He works, he's in the ministry
like I'm in the ministry. And when he leaves, you send
him forth, and you send him forth with God's blessings upon him.
And you know, he cares so much for preachers and their work
in the ministry. You know what he told Philemon when Onesimus
the slave ran away and he heard the gospel? He told Philemon,
you receive Onesimus just like you would receive me. And I get
back there, you take, you receive Onesimus. If it was just like
if it was me that was done, how would you treat me if I come
on Philemon? How would you treat me? He said,
well, you treat Onesimus like you would treat me. And I'll
tell you, there is nobody... I love the Lord's preachers,
and I know you do. And we're grateful for every
time we've heard the gospel. We love them. We appreciate them.
And we certainly want to when they come. We want them to come,
and we know we don't want them to have any fear that they're
not going to be loved. They're going to be cared for.
They're going to be cared and appreciated. And when they leave,
we want them to leave with peace. We want them to leave in comfort.
We want them to leave with assurance. We want them to leave here saying,
boy, I appreciate being able to go to the Lantana Grace and
preach the gospel and be with the Lord's people there. And
that's what Paul's telling the chorus. You see that. You see
that. And then here in verse 12, he
says now, As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him
to come unto you with the brethren. But his will was not at all to
come at this time, but he will come when he shall have a convenient
time. Now, Apollos knew these people. Apollos came and preached
that. Let's look back at how he done
it in Acts 18. This is one of those really wonderful
things in the Scriptures about how God, in the beginning of
the church, treated and how folks were and how that he brought
people to understand the gospel. And Apollos was known to these
Corinthians and grown to the Corinthian church. He had preached
among them. And he says here in Acts 18 and
verse 24. Now, he's a Corinthian. Now, a certain
Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man. Mighty in the
Scriptures. Came to Ephesus. See how they
describe an eloquent man. Mighty in the Scriptures. Oh,
what a commendation. This man was instructed in the
way of the Lord and being fervent in the Spirit. He spake and taught
diligently the things of the Lord. And this is the only thing
he knew, though. The baptism of John. He had been
baptized with John, and John kept telling him that there's
one coming, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's all he knew. He's
preaching what he knew. No more and no less. And watch
what happens. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
To whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard him, they took him
unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed, they
talked to him about what Christ is here. He's done been here. He's put sin away. And when he
was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting
the disciples to receive him, who, when he was come, helped
them which had believed through grace. For he mightily convinced
the Jews in that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus
was the Christ. Oh, he was a preacher. And so
Paul said, I wanted him to come. I wanted him to come over there
and be with you all. But it says it wasn't his will
to come at this time. But you know, he says that he'll
come when he has opportunity. And you know, he was one of those
ones when they had a division over it. One said, I'm of Apollos.
One said, I'm of Paul. One said, I'm of Vesiphus. Apollos
said, I'm one of the southern preacher. And maybe Apollos left
because of this division. He didn't want this division,
didn't enjoy it. But he says, when I get an opportunity, when
I do get an opportunity, I will come. And watch this right here. This is really an exhortation,
verse 13 and 14. What an exhortation. Watch you.
You watch. Watch. Be on guard against false
doctrine. Be on guard against false teachers. And then watch you. Watch you. Set a watch on your hearts. David
said, I set a watch upon my mouth. Job said, I set a watch upon
mine eyes. He said, set a watch on your
hearts. Watch you. Set a watch on your tongues.
Watch you, your actions. Watch you, your entire conduct. Watch over, not only yourself,
but watch over one another. To encourage one another, to
edify one another, to comfort one another, to strengthen one
another. Do that. Watch you. Then he says, stand
fast in the faith. Stand fast in the faith. Stand
fast in that faith that you receive. Stand fast in that gospel. Stand
fast in the grace of God. Stand fast in what God taught
you. Stand fast and don't depart from
it. Paul told the Galatians, says,
I marvel that you're so soon removed from the grace of Christ
unto another gospel, which is not another. Oh, he says, Demas
hath forsaken us. Don't you just step fast, don't
depart from the faith. Stand fast in the faith. What
faith is he talking about? Look in 1 Corinthians. Look what
he, this is what he told them. Oh, stand fast, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. Believe, don't,
we're not of them that depart from the faith, but believe to
the saving of the soul. And he says, you're more over,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you. which also you received." And
what's that? Wherein you stand. Two places
the Scriptures tell us where we stand. Romans 5, verse 1 says,
the grace wherein you stand. We stand in the grace of God.
We stand by grace. We stand because of grace. And
we stand in grace. And here he talks about standing
in the gospel. Standing. Standing in the gospel
of the grace of God. The gospel that's been preached
to us. And this gospel by which you're also saved, if you keep
in memory, and then the margin says, if you hold it fast. Hold fast that I preached unto
you, unless you have believed in vain. Oh my, believe in vain
to end up finding out and going so far and then quitting, going
so far and then stopping, going so far and going off to another
gospel, going so far and then departing from the faith. Paul
talked about men who made shipwreck of the faith. And oh, you imagine
a shipwreck. People on the ship, and they
got everything they own on that ship, and they're going to a
destination to go to. And they don't get to that destination
because they have a wreck, and the ship gets tore all to pieces,
and everything that's on the ship gets wasted and carried
out to sea. He said that's what people do in the faith. They
make shipwreck of it. They have a destination to go
to. But they don't get there. Why?
Because they get in them shoals. They get in them winds. They
get in them trials. They get in them storms. And
they can't take it. They can't stand it. And their
ship is torn to pieces. And you say, look at them. Where
is that faith they preach? Where is that gospel they preach?
Where is that gospel and grace that they talked about? And they
stood in. Where did that happen? And you look, and everything
about them is a shipwreck. The homes are shipwrecked. Their
lives are shipwrecked. Their children are shipwrecked.
The church that they pastored once made us shipwrecked. Oh, stand fast. Oh, what an encouragement. Stand fast. Brethren, if I could
say anything, God help us. Ed Elmore said this when we was
building this building. He says this, I pray that before
another gospel is ever preached in this building, that God would
burn it down, tear it down, or send a tornado to destroy it
before another gospel will ever be preached in it. I remember
where this building is. He had a little old bucket. He'd
go from outlet to outlet. He was putting in the outlets
and working up here. And he says, oh, and he prayed. He says, God, if the gospel ever
ceased to be preached in this building, would you destroy it? Don't let another gospel ever
be preached here. That's the one we've first been.
Don't ever let another gospel be preached here. Never let another one. I'll be
gone one of these days. Some of you'll still be here,
some of your kids and some of your grandchildren. May God always
keep them steadfast in the gospel. And then he says, and then he
says, watch you stand fast in the faith, and then quit you
like men. Be strong. What does he mean by quit you
like men? That means behave yourself like men or quit yourself like
a man. Be strong. Behave like mature
men. Don't act like children, terrified by things that oppose
you. and get thrown down, but be courageous,
be strong, act like a man, be courageous in the face of adversity
and trials. And then look what he says there
in verse 14, and then let everything you do, let all the things you
do, and ever what you do in the gospel, what you do among yourselves
and how you act among yourselves, let all things, let all your
things be done with love. Now, I tell you, if those two
verses of Scripture was all we had, wouldn't that be something
for an encouragement and an exhortation? Let all your thanks be done through
charity. My, my. What an exhortation. And you know, it's the love of
Christ that constrains us. So let our love to our Savior
and our Master and our love to one another motivate everything
we do. And then in verse 15 and 16,
I beseech you, brethren, you know the house of Stephanus.
Stephanus was the first man converted at Corinth. You remember when
Paul told in 1 Corinthians 1, he says, you know, I baptized
Stephanus. Whether I baptized anybody else,
I don't know. And here he says, you know, you
know, the house of Stephanus, you know, his family, you know,
that is the firstfruits of Achaia, of Asia. And in fact, now listen
to this. that they have addicted themselves
to the ministry of the saints. Addicted themselves. What a wonderful addiction to
have. Addicted themselves to the ministry, not just to preachers,
but to all the saints. Every saint they come in contact
with, they try to minister to. They fed, they clothed, they
housed them, they done everything they could to the ministry of
the saints. He said they addicted themselves to them. They devoted
themselves to the service of God's people. And then look what
he says. And I exhort you that you submit
yourselves unto such people as this. Oh my. Respect such leaders. Submit yourself to such one.
And to everyone that helpeth with us. You submit yourselves
unto men and women that's like. Men that's like this. People
that's like this. Households that's like this.
and to everybody that helps us and everybody that labors with
us. Respect them, follow their example, for they're helpers
with us in the gospel. And then he said in verse 17,
and I'm glad, he was in Macedonia, and he said, I'm glad of the
coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus. I'm glad that they
come to visit me. I'm glad that they come where
I am. Oh, I'm so glad to see them come. I'm so encouraged
by them. For that which was lacking on your part, they brought to
me. The love that was lacking on your part, the generosity
that was lacking on your part, the attention that was lacking
on your part, the love that was lacking on your part, they brought
it and manifested it. And watch this, for they have
refreshed my spirit. And not only mine, but they did
yours too, because when they came back, They told you about
what was going on with me." And then he says, what's this? Therefore
acknowledge ye them that are such. What he's saying is such
men are to be appreciated, acknowledged, and honored. Men like Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus. Men who love the Christ, love
our Lord Jesus, love His preachers, and refreshes their spirit. And then he says in verse 19,
ìThe churches of Asia salute you.î Now, how many times do
preachers get up here and say, ìYou know, the saints and such
and such, you know, they told me to give you their best regards
and express their love and appreciation for you.î Thatís why Paul says,
ìThe churches in Asia, they salute you, Corinthians.î The church
here, Corinth. Aquila and Priscilla, how many
times have they been mentioned in the Bible? Aquila and Priscilla. Paul labored with them, building
tents, and lived with them for over 18 months. Aquila and Priscilla. Aquila and Priscilla are the
ones that Apollos took him apart and assorted unto him the way
of God more perfectly. Aquila and Priscilla salute you
much, and watch this, in the Lord. In the Lord. And not only them, but everyone
in the church that's in their house. All the saints that meet
in their house, that's where they met. They met in the houses.
They met in the church. And you know, the church, that's
what he's talking about. He didn't talk about the building. He's
talking about that body of believers that was meeting in their house.
Their house wasn't the church. The church met in their house.
This building's not a church. The church meets in this building. That's what he said. And then
he said in verse 20, All the brethren greet you. They all
greet you. And so when you greet one another,
you do it with a holy kiss. And this is mentioned so many
times throughout the Scriptures. You greet one another with a
holy kiss. And what He means by a holy kiss is that pure motives. You have genuine love for Him.
Pure motives. You have pure thoughts about
Him. You love Him. And look over here at 2 Corinthians
chapter 13, verse 12 with me. Just a moment. 2 Corinthians
12, 13. 1312, excuse me. And he told them over
here, he says, he said again, greet you one another with the
holy kiss. The brethren ought to do that.
And I do that. There's men when I meet them
and I love them and I really, you know, you're so happy to
see them. Oh, my. And it's called a holy
kiss because it's pure. It comes from a heart of love
and a love of appreciation for him. And then he says this, unless
you think somebody else wrote this letter, somebody else is
writing in my name, he says, I wrote this to salutation of
Paul with my own hand. He signed this thing with his
own hand. They say that he wrote it with
his own, Paul, Paul, Saul, Paul. And oh, listen to this. This is really a great, great
warning. He said in verse 22, if any man
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, if any man in Corinth, if any
man in Ephesus, if any man in Philippi, if any man in Colossae,
if any man in Thessalonica, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,
let him be anathema maranatha." What does that mean? That means,
let him be cursed. Let him be damned at the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he says. And then
he says, the grace, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
grace Oh, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And ain't that what we want?
Oh, Lord, let Your grace give us Your grace. Let Your grace
go with us wherever we go. And then look what He says, And
my love be with you all. Where's my love at? In Christ
Jesus. May my love be with all of you
in Christ Jesus. Oh, what a blessed thing. Wonderful
way to close a letter. Oh, blessed Savior, blessed,
blessed Master, our Lord, our glorious Savior, our Redeemer. Oh, Lord Jesus, we've seen such
expectations here to stand fast, to be watchful, to manifest your love. And Lord, the Apostle says that
the grace of Christ be with you. Lord Jesus, fill us with your
grace and may your grace go with us. May you increase us, our
hearts in love. May we abound in love. May we
abound in the grace of God. May we abound in the love of
the Lord Jesus Christ. May we abound in the things that
Lord Jesus Christ would honor you more than anything in this
world. Father, I thank you for these
dear saints. Pray your great blessings upon them and that
the grace of Christ would be with them in their homes, on
their jobs, but especially in our hearts, especially in our
thoughts, especially in our troubles and trials. May the grace of
Christ be with us. meet the needs of these people
as they go home. Those among us that are sick,
that are weak, that are feeble, that are tried, we know Your
grace is sufficient, and You'll bring glory to Yourself through
it. We bless You in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.