All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to Numbers chapter six. Numbers chapter six. I do also
welcome those who may be with us on the live broadcast. Numbers chapter six. I want to
read this whole chapter, well, most of the chapter. I will stop
with verse 21. But I want to read to you Numbers
chapter six, verses one through 21. I will make some brief statements. Some of them will be historical
in context, that is the context of this in historical light,
and I will make some other comments of which some of these comments
I will go back and deal with after I read the text. I hope
that what I'm trying to point out will become clearer as I
continue. Numbers chapter six, let's begin
reading. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when either
man or woman shall separate themselves, and if you notice, the word themselves
is not there, but it's, by what I understand, the Hebrew it's
certainly appropriate because this was a what this this vow
this Nazarite vow if you will was that which a man or a woman
willingly took upon themselves it was not compulsory we might
say. Speaking to the children of Israel
and saying to them when either a man or a woman shall separate
themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite to separate themselves unto the
Lord. He shall separate himself from
wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar
of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes,
nor eat moist grapes or dry." So we see that everything that
pertained to the grape was to be avoided when under the Nazirite
vow. Verse four, all the days of his
separation shall eat nothing that is made of the vine tree
from the kernels even to the husk. That is, from the seed
all the way to the skin. That's what he's talking about.
All the days of the vow of his separation, there shall no razor
come upon his head until the days be fulfilled in which he
separated himself unto the Lord. And I'm told by the writers,
many people who write books about the Bible that there was no set
time. If a person, Mason, vowed the
vow of a Nazirite for 30 days, then 30 days it was. 60 days,
then 60 days it was. A week, whatever it was. That's
never stipulated as to the Nazirite vow. That is the time. Okay,
let's go on. In the days of his vow, so Days
of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon
his head until the days be fulfilled in which he Separated himself
under the Lord. He shall be holy and shall let
the locks of his hair of his head grow All the days that he
separated himself under the Lord. He shall come at no dead body. So here's another stipulation
about the Nazarite vow avoid grapes altogether in any kind
of form any kind of form, alcohol or grape juice, either one, and
they are to come at no dead body. Verse seven, he shall not make
himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother,
or for his sister when they die. This is strong language. But if you took the Nazirite
veil, if one of your immediate family members died, then you
were not to partake in preparing of the body for burial. That's
a simple way of putting it. Because the consecration of his
God is upon his head, all the days of his separation he is
holy unto the Lord. And if a man die very suddenly
by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then
he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the
seventh day shall he shave it, so thus. If you even accidentally
come in contact with a dead body, you had to go through a eight-day
period to cleanse yourself ceremonially from this touching of the dead
body. You are to shave your head, and
as we go on, you have to start your vow all over again. And it goes on, and on the eighth
day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons to the priest,
to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the
priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other
for a burnt offering. Remember, this is in light of
even accidentally coming in contact with a dead body. A neighbor
fell out in the field, and you run to that neighbor's aid. and
maybe that neighbor's laying flat of his back or flat on his
stomach and you roll him over and he's already dead, if you're
under the Nazarite veil, you have defiled yourself. But Mason,
from your standpoint, it was totally blindside. And yet, and
yet, a sin offering must be offered. Now think about that. And the
priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, the other for
a burnt offering. Notice the two separate offerings.
One is a sweet-smelling savor unto God. The other is, what,
a sin offering. And the other for and make an
atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall
hallow his head that same day. In other words, once these sacrifices
are offered, then you can start all over again. Yea, you must
start all over again. And then we now go on. And he
shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and
shall bring a lamb of the first year, for trespass offering,
but the days that were before shall be lost because his separation
was defiled." So we see then he has to go back and start all
over. And this is the law of the Nazarite. Now he's basically stopped and
paused for a moment and tells us If you're under the law, the
vow of a Nazarite, and you become defiled, you have to start all
over again. Now he's going back to if nothing
happened in between. And he says, and this is the
law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled,
he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation, and he shall offer his offering unto the Lord. Now
this is if nothing has even happened. Nothing incidental, nothing.
If the vow goes for say 30 days and no defilement takes place,
you're still to do this at the end of your Nazirite vow time. And he shall offer his offering
unto the Lord. one he lamb of the first year
without blemish for a burnt offering, and one you lamb of the first
year without blemish for a sin offering. So see that the offering
for sin must still be made, Mason, even if you've carried out fully
your Nazarite vow. and one ram without blemish for
peace offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of
fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread
anointed with oil, and their meat offerings and their drink
offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and
shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, and he
shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord. With the basket of unleavened
bread, the priest shall offer also his meat offering and his
drink offering. And the Nazarite, now, we see,
the time's come, the end of the vow's come, the offerings is
offered, and the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and he shall
take the hair of the head of his separation and put it in
the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. Notice
the hair was very important. It was a symbol that you were
vowing your separation and consecration unto God. And at the end of the
allotted time, when the sacrifices are made, then you shave your
head, but you do not burn your hair on top of the sacrifice. The head of your separation,
which is now being shaved and put in the fire, must go in the
fire under the sacrifice. God willing, I will mention that
more later. And the priest, shall take the sodden shoulder of the
ram, and one unleavened cake of the basket, and one unleavened
wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after
the hair of his separation is shaven. and the priest shall
wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. This is holy
for the priest, with the wave breast and the heave shoulder,
and after that, the Nazarite may drink wine. Now that's what
the book says. This is all it says. This is
the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and his offering unto
the Lord for his separation. Beside that that is in his hand
shall get, that is, more may come into his possession when
he's under the Nazarite vow, and if he while is under the
Nazarite vow, vows to give this to the Lord also, then they are
to give this as well, according to the vow which he hath vowed.
So he must do after the law of his separation. Now that was
a reading and a brief summary of the historical aspect and
kinda having a few highlights during this. Now, clearly we
see that a Nazirite was one who separated and consecrated themselves
to God for a specific time. Do not confuse this with a Nazarene. I say this because it's a little
funny and I'm about here trying to make light of what some people
think, and it's also serious as well, because I have actually
listened to one fellow who was trying to prove that Jesus of
Nazareth, since he was a Nazarene, that he was under a Nazarite
vow, and the town of Nazareth has nothing to do with the Nazarite
vow. But on the other hand, I read
an article by a preacher who preached Christ, believed the
truth of Christ, and yet tried to say that a Nazarene and a
Nazirite is the same thing. And it's just not so. Some commentator
may say it's so, but they don't make it so. But anyway, don't
confuse this with being a Nazarene. The scripture never teaches Jesus
of Nazareth took the Nazirite veil. Never. The one guy said,
well, this is why Jesus had long hair. And that was his way of
saying, because he believed the man was supposed to have short
hair, 1 Corinthians, right? But it was okay for Jesus, because
he was under a Nazarite veil. But this same person then said,
but he didn't drink wine, because he was under a Nazarite veil.
When the New Testament clearly teaches that he not only made
wine, or drank wine, but actually made it for other people to drink.
So what happens is when men try to force Christ into the text,
They end up with a discombobulation of various problems that they
must deal with. Don't do that. Don't do that. The scripture never teaches,
as I said, Jesus of Nazareth took the Nazarite vow. Now he
was, don't you get me wrong, he was the only man that ever
truly consecrated. separated himself unto God in
a most absolute way. He's the only one that ever did
that, but there's much more here than just the consecration and
separation and consecration. You see, the law of the Nazirite
is not about a type of Christ. This is what the other fellow,
a fellow I respect very much, tried to force Christ into this
as a Nazirite. This law expresses a believer's
devotion and dedication to God. And this devotion and dedication
to God is to be engaged in wholeheartedly, willingly, knowingly, lovingly,
sincerely, we are to devote and dedicate ourselves unto God. There is nothing wrong with that. Do you understand what I'm saying?
There is nothing wrong with that. But, but, and I gave you the
title, but self-separation and consecration is not enough. You hear what I said? Self-separation
and consecration, as important as it is, and even, Paula, as
God-honoring as it is, it is not enough. Christ is in the text, but he's
not the Nazarite. We are. Christ is in the text
in two aspects. We see him in the first sacrifice,
sin, and burnt offering in verses 10, 11, and 12. Even if you come
into contact with a dead body unintentionally, you meant no
defilement, but something happens and you find yourself in a pickle.
He is there in the text. He is the sacrifice, both for
sin and a sacrifice for honor toward God. He's also in the
text in the other sacrifice, that sacrifice which must be
offered up at the end of the consecration in verses 13 through
20. Think of it, two things briefly. Christ provides both judgment
for sin, yea, judgment against sin, Yea, even more judgment
for and against my sin, my sin and your sin. Christ provides
both judgment for sin and meritorious honor. That's what the burnt
offering is in the peace offering. They're not related per se. I'm not saying they're not related
at all, but they're not related per se to sin. They're related
to the meritorious honor that Jesus Christ offered up to God
in his sacrifice on Calvary's tree. The sin offering clearly
is because of our shortcomings, our sin, and our sins before
God. So again, Christ provides both
judgment for and against our sin, and he provides meritorious
honor to God when we fail, even unintentionally. You know that? Yes, we are corrupt beings. Yes, our flesh is always set
on edge against God. But if we are born of God, the
new man is not. And there are times when God
enables us and we, through a willing, sincere, knowing love for God,
seek to walk in true devotion and dedication to Jesus Christ. But sometimes things blindside
us. I guarantee you when Peter followed
the Lord Jesus Christ to far off, when they arrested Christ
in the garden, remember, I'm sure he had no intention of defiling
himself. Mason, I guarantee you he had
no intention of denying Jesus Christ. He had been told he would
three times. And deny him he would three times. But I'm sure he had no intention
on doing that. But he did. He did. When a little girl spoke up,
you're one of them. You're one of them. He said,
no, I'm not one of them. I don't know the man. And later,
it's again, you're one of them. No, I don't know the man. He wasn't going down there intending
to do this. And again, the third time, you're
one of them. I don't know the so-and-so, he may have said.
But aren't you glad? Thank God. Jesus Christ. Turn to Psalm 19, just there's
one verse. Psalm 19, listen to this. And
I have, I'm gonna try, I'm gonna try to make a point here. Psalm
chapter 19 and verse 12. Who can understand his errors?
You see that? We really don't understand ourselves
very well. We think we do. I know, I think
I do. Most of the time I think I got
a pretty good handle on self and what self's all about. And
then all of a sudden something will come along when I have no
intention on defiling myself before God and something will
come along and blindside me. But I'm still guilty. I'm still
guilty, look. Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Now that includes ones I know
of and may try to hide from God. Ones I know of and may try to
hide from God in my brothers and sisters. Or it may be those
things that are even hid from me. You remember in the Song of Solomon,
it's the little foxes that spoil the vines. Most people think
of falling You know, the word, I believe, backsliding is some
great catastrophe. It don't always begin that way.
Have you ever been with another brother or sister in Christ?
Maybe a spouse, or a good friend, or maybe it's your son or your
daughter, or whatever, and you have no intention of any kind
of defilement before God, no intention of getting into an
argument, and the next thing you know, out of seeming nowhere,
then you become at odds with one another, and you're sitting
there arguing with one another. Ever had that happen? We're still
guilty. and we still need the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ. Verses 10, 11, and 12. Number two, Christ provides both
judgment for sin and against sin, and he provides meritorious
honor to God when we have done even what we ought to do. You
hear that? Now this is something that men
have a hard time dealing with. Because if I have done what is
my duty to do, how can I still need a sacrifice? But this teaches
us we still need that even if we perform our vow. Does it not? Does it not? You
remember what our Lord Jesus Christ said, Luke chapter 17,
turn there if you wish. Luke chapter 17, brief context. Luke chapter 17, our Lord Jesus
Christ said, and I think I have the long,
let me look. No, I have the right one. Now
here, our Lord, the context is this. Our Lord said, here's a
man who owns servants. He has slaves. He uses this example. Will that master say to his slave,
well, you eat first, then you come and tend to my needs. Is
that what the master says? No, the master says you, to the
servant, you prepare my food for me, and I will sit down and
eat first. Then after you have provided
that which I rightfully have the right to, then you may eat. Now that's a brief summary of
the context. And then he says, so, in verse
10 of Luke 17, so likewise ye, when ye shall have done He said,
when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you,
say, we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which was our
duty to do. In my flesh, if I'm honest, in your
flesh, if you're honest, And your flesh, if you're honest,
rises up in rebellion against that. Because if I do what was
my duty to be done, you either owe me merit or you owe me reward. Do we not? Think about it. Let
us not fall into the trap of the merit mongers and the religious
mercenaries because they demand merit or reward for their effort. That is the crux of most of what,
especially in this country, that is the crux of what most people
understand to be Christianity. You do what you're supposed to
do and you will earn God's favor. That's not what this book teaches.
Even when you do, What is your duty to be done? And we should
still do our duty, which is to be done. Even then, we are still
to confess we are but unprofitable servants. And the blood of Jesus
Christ must cleanse my best efforts as well as my worst failures. The religious mercenary says,
well, I'm not going to do that if I don't get something out
of it. Isn't that a mercenary? That's what a mercenary does.
We usually think of a mercenary as a group of men or people that
are hired maybe in a military setting. And they're hired to
come in and do a job that maybe the government wants to kind
of keep their hands clear of. And they hire this mercenary group
to come in and do this job. Why does the mercenary do his
or her job? To get the reward. They don't
do it for honor. And I'm not a mercenary. They
don't do it out of love. Oh, they may say they do, but
that don't mean squat. Don't give them the bucks. Don't
give them the Benjamins. They won't do the job. But this
is the crux of so-called modern-day Christianity today. When I do
what I'm supposed to do, God owes me something. and all that
God owes me is hail. That's all that God owes me.
Think of it, even John the Baptist, which some say was under a Nazarite
veil, and that may be. It says he did not touch strong
drink. Does it not say that? He actually lived in the wilderness. Mason, he didn't even live in
a community somewhere around the normal folk. And he came
out preaching in the wilderness, and he had to be a wild-looking
man. And he ate, what was it, grasshoppers
and honey. You know what it was? And his
hair grew long, and he did not partake of any alcoholic drink. And yet, and yet he had clearly
acknowledged his need. When Christ came on the scene,
he said to John, baptize me. And John said, no, I will not.
He said, he forbade Christ. He said, I have need to be baptized
of thee. Now John's doing what God sent
him to do, was he not? And among prophets, our Lord
said there was none greater than John. Now is that not what our
Lord said? And he said more, of course,
but John was doing what he was supposed to do, yet he said,
I'm not gonna baptize you. I have need to be baptized by
you. And Christ said, you suffered
to be so for now. Did he not? As a matter of fact,
he also confessed his inferiority. And remember, he's doing what
he vowed to do. He is preaching the gospel of
the coming Messiah, and he says in John 1 verse 27, it is recorded,
I'm not even worthy to bow down and untie his shoes. Isn't that
what he said? You see, true separation and
consecration is about doing to God's honor, doing to honor God
because God deserves it. because God has the right to
it, because God has earned the right to the honor. And true
separation and consecration is about doing toward God or to
God's honor, not my merit and not my reward. But do not misunderstand
me. God is not unrighteous to forget
our what, not just our duty. God is not unrighteous to forget
what? Our work of what? Faith. Because if you do your duty outside
of faith, you haven't even really done your duty. You haven't even
really done your duty. But God is not unrighteous to
forget our what? Our work of faith and our what? Our labor of love. Most people in professed Christianity
would say, why should I do this and that, these right things,
if I don't earn something from it, right? And even if I do these
things, how can you say those things still need the blood of
Jesus Christ? And yet, hundreds of years before
Christ even came on the scene in human flesh, The prophet Isaiah
says to us that even our righteousnesses are as menses rags in God's sight. So again, consider true separation
and consecration. It must be willing. It must be
willing. God doesn't force us kicking
and screaming against our wheels to believe him and to love him. He makes us willing in the day
of His power to believe Him and to love Him. And true duty to
God, doing one's true duty to God, being or separating yourself
and consecrating yourself to God must be in faith and love
toward God. And also, think of it, in the
Nazarite veil, yes? It was not compulsory. It wasn't
compulsory. A man or a woman, simply because
they were moved by the Spirit of God, would say, I desire to
devote myself to the Lord for X amount of days. That's the
historical context, isn't it, Mason? But when you did make
the vow, then it's not up to you what you will do. You ever
think about it? There are certain things you're
supposed to abstain from. Why? Because God said so. Isn't that what this teaches
us? You see, if you took, let me
put it that way. If you took the Nazarite vow,
you took it because you chose to do so. But you weren't the
one that determined what you were going to do when you took
the vow. And the flesh again, my flesh
if I'm honest with myself, and your flesh if you're honest with
yourself, and your flesh if you're honest with yourself, rises up
and says, how can that be? If it's my choice, ain't it really
my choice? No. People choose to believe God.
We don't choose God, God is. And whether we choose him or
not, God is who he is. We don't choose God, we don't
choose Christ. God, the Father, chose Jesus
Christ. He is the elected one. But men
do choose to believe. They do choose to follow. They
do choose to repent. But if you do it for merit or
reward, you're doing it in the flesh. But if you do it out of faith
and love, you're doing it by the spirit of God. My trouble is, sometimes I don't
know the difference. Oh, I know, as a preacher, I'm
supposed to just make you all feel great about yourself. But
again, I tell you, self-separation and consecration, it's good,
it's right. It's our duty. It's our duty. But it's not enough. It's not enough. So again, it's
always according to God's ways, not man's. There's a third thing.
God's honor is preeminent, even over our most dear relationships
in this world. All right? Mommy, daddy, brother,
sister, that's pretty close. That's about as close, Mason,
as you can get. But God Almighty will have the
preeminent, God Almighty, I'm about to say it wrong Mason,
God Almighty will have the preeminence. He will be acknowledged as preeminent
and everything else is not even secondary. It's way down the
line. God is to be served and honored
because God deserves service and honor, does he not? He deserves
to be worshipped, and I've said this before, and I realize it's
maybe an open-ended statement, maybe it needs more qualification,
but as I've told you, I like to pull the pin every once in
a while, just throw out the grenade and see who runs and see who
stays. But God deserves to be worshipped
and served and obeyed, even if I still have to go to hell afterwards. You understand that? Now, I don't
want to go to hell. And there's a part of me that
wants that merit and that reward. But Mason, I know it's not based
upon me. I know it's not based upon my
duty and my service or my consecration or my separation or my devotion
or my dedication, but it doesn't make me want to abandon those
things either. Consider repentance in our context.
If a person took a Nazirite vow, wasn't there a change of mind
somewhere that took place about something? You're going along
in your everyday life. You're actually camped right
there. They're camped at Sinai. They haven't even really moved
out. They've went from Egypt to Sinai, but they've been stuck
at Sinai for about a year. They traveled a long time, a
good while to get to Sinai. They're there for in between
a year and two years. They've not even moved out yet,
and God says, if you take a vow of the Nazarite, you will be
separated and consecrated unto me. And here's the rules, okay? And here's the rules. Somewhere
along the line in your everyday life of just eating, drinking
some water, and taking care of the family, and taking care of
the animals, and washing those clothes on your back that don't
wear out, and wouldn't that be an amazing thing? And yet you
decide you're going to consecrate So separate and consecrate yourself
to the Lord. A change of mind comes into play. But think about this, a change
of mind and a true change of mind. A true change of mind always
includes a change of action. Now don't you, those of you,
I repented. If you ain't starting to turn from what you're supposed
to repent about or concerning, if there ain't some action backing
up that so-called emotion of turning or that thought of turning,
it's not that repentance that comes from God. But consider
repentance, a change of mind, a change of action. No one is
truly separated or consecrated unto God who does not repent. Is that right or wrong? except
ye repent, you'll all likewise perish. That's what the book
teaches. God now commandeth all men everywhere to do what? Repent. And God don't repent for you
because God don't need to repent. Not in that sense. God don't
need to repent. God grants repentance. God gives
repentance. But repent we do. But think about
it. Man, no one, a woman, is not
truly separated and consecrated unto God who does not repent
of three things. One, of his or her sin, of what
I am. Oh, if I could just quit being
what I am. But I can't quit being what I
am. But there's a part of me that
despises, that despises what I am. We repent of sin, but we also
repent of sins. That is those things, those actions
that flow from that wicked fountain. And some of us have more success
with some of those things than others. Now don't we? I mean,
there are some folks got no, there are some husbands got no
problem with wanting to step out on their wife and other men
have to struggle with it every day of their life. Yes or no?
It's just a fact. But no one is truly ever repented
unless they repent of their sin, unless they repent of their sins.
And here's the last one, unless we repent of our best deeds. Our best deeds. As one preacher
said, even my repentance needs to be repented of. Because it's
so short and so faulty, it doesn't truly meet the mark. We all, as believers, we all
all too often knowingly step into defilement. Now don't we? Sometimes our eyes are wide open.
We step into defilement. I need the sacrifice of Christ.
Don't you? I need the sacrifice of Christ.
But also, there will be times that we will be blindsided by
defilement. We have no intent on crossing
the line. Do it. No intent, but you find
yourself on the other side of the line. By no fault of your
own other than this, we don't see things as we should. If I had known that fellow was
really dead, I wouldn't have touched him. He dead, what can I do for him?
Huh? And no man knows anything yet
as he ought to know it. Hmm. As Tim James once said,
and it may not be an exact quote, he said, there are times when
you think you've served God, you think you've done what was
right, and then the next day or whenever it is, after that,
you find out it was shot full of hail, shot full of self, shot
full of ego. And there are other times when
you think you've fallen flat to your face, you think you've
failed God miserably, and God later on after that will send
something or someone along to you and say, I really appreciate
what you did, that really helped me out. And you find out it wasn't
so bad after all. This thing ain't simple, is it?
You know why? Because we're such a contradiction. We are old man and new man both,
and these things butt heads all the time. Our best efforts have
flesh that defiles them. But Christ, my brothers and sisters,
Christ, my brothers and sisters, is our sacrifice. Intentional
defilement, unintentional defilement. Mason, he's my sacrifice. Somebody says, well, if I believed
that, I'd just live like the devil. I know you would. I know
you would, because you believe that by the flesh if you live
like the devil. If you believe by the spirit
of God, our seeing, and our sins and our best deeds are all seen
for what they truly are. We are but unprofitable servants. We have done that which is but
our duty to do. I remember Tim James as a fellow,
a very educated fellow. This fellow's wife became very
ill. And he had had to feed her and clothe her and bathe her. She finally became so ill, she
had to go to the hospital or a rest home or something of that
sort. He had to even move her out of the home. And he'd go
there, I guess, almost every day, Mason, and be with her,
still help her, feed her, clothe her, and bathe her. He asked
him. He liked Tim's preaching. Tim
said, I think he liked my style more than he did my message.
But he asked Tim, he said, now, preacher, I've heard you a lot.
And he said, I know you say that our deeds, our good works, they
don't mean anything when it comes to merit before God or to earning
rewards from God. He said, but do you mean to tell
me that all of this that I've done for my wife doesn't mean
anything? And Tim said, that's exactly
what I mean to tell you. He said, I'm glad you do that
for her. That's the right thing to do. But it doesn't gain merit
or reward before God because it must be perfect. Perfect. Think of it, I've done
mention, even the most prevalent symbols of our separation and
consecration. And what was it for the Nazarite?
What was the main thing that stood out for the Nazarite? It
wasn't the wine or the avoiding the grapes. He could drink that
later. Once the separate, once the vow
was over, he could go back to having some wine if he wanted.
What was the one thing that he offered of himself to God? Shave
your head and cast that hair, where? On the fire upon the altar,
but under under the sacrifice. Think of it, my brothers and
sisters. Even the most prevalent symbols, real thing, and not
just symbols, of our separation and consecration are to be burnt
before God on the altar. Our prayers, our study of the
scriptures, our gathering together, our repentances, our giving,
our witnessing, and I am not. Don't be like the merit mongers. Don't be like the religious mercenaries
that say, I got to get something out of it or I ain't gonna do
it. We do these things because they're the right things to do.
because they honor God, because they are means that God has ordained
to bring to himself glory and honor and for the aid of God's
people. But let me tell you again, our
prayers, our study, our gathering, our repentances, our giving,
our witnesses, et cetera, et cetera, all of those good things,
keep doing them, but all of them must, needs be bathed under the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But don't ever abandon those
things. Don't ever abandon them. Mason, would you close us in
prayer, please? Almighty and holy, righteous God, God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, it
is upon Thee that we call, Heavenly Father, go with us. Lead, guide,
and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit. Teach us to walk in a way acceptable
in thy sight, yes, through the blood of thy everlasting sacrifice. In whose name we ask Jesus Christ,
amen.