All right, if you wish to follow
along this morning, turn to Exodus chapter 35. I hope most of you
at least had opportunity to read Exodus 35 through 40. That's the whole last part of
the book of Exodus. But before I go to my specific
text, let me say this about chapters 35 through 40 in particular. These words are a tremendous
passage because they are a snapshot of the glory and the majesty
of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Now if you had opportunity
to read these chapters, you may concur with me that there is
a part of you when you read these chapters was this is boring. You read of curtains, and chapters,
and rings, and staves, and gold, and silver, and thread, and incense,
and clothes, and it doesn't even give us details about what these
things are for. It just gives us details about
the children of Israel bringing all these things to Moses for
the building of the tabernacle. And yet, we know by the inspiration
of Holy Scripture that these things are Christ in shadow. They are Christ in figure. They
are Christ in type. The tabernacle and all of its
accompaniments are here revealed. They're being gathered up, they're
being prepared, and they're being established. And this was vital. This was vital. Now, I told you
to turn to 35, but actually turn to chapter 40. We see why this
was vital. Exodus chapter 40. In verse 33,
it ends with these words. So Moses finished the work. Everything's
been brought together. All of the gold has been engraved.
The silver has all been made. All the curtains have been made.
All the clothing's been made. The only thing that's left out
of Exodus 35 through 40 are the actual mentioning of the animal
sacrifices. Those we begin to see in the
book of Leviticus, and it begins to all be tied together. But
we read these words. Last part of 33 of chapter 40. So Moses finished the work. Then
a cloud covered the tent of the congregation. And the glory of
the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now this is not type, this was
real. The very presence of God came
down and abode over the tabernacle. It says, and Moses was not able
to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud
abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now here it is. And when the
cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children
of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud
were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that
it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was
upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was upon it by night in
the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. This lets me know one thing.
The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the central theme that
leads the whole of the lives of God's people. If the gospel
is here, in any given place, that's where they want to be.
That's where they will stay. If God moves that gospel and
takes it over here, that's where they must be. And that's just the way it is.
When God says park here, you park there. When God says park
over there, you park over there. Penny and I talked about this
a little yesterday, and of course we are coming upon the anniversary
of 9-11. And some horrific things took
place. And I told Penny, I said, were it not for me believing
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I could go off into some
wild tangent. But I pray my God, my subject,
When I stand in this place and when we walk through this life,
that which governs the believer is the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That is paramount. I did not
say it should be paramount. It is paramount. And if the gospel is not paramount
to you, you don't know the gospel. Now, there are so many glories
here, but I wanna just touch on a few before I actually get
to my actual text. Number one, think about it, chapter
35, the first thing, the first thing God mentions to Moses is
the Sabbath. Isn't that amazing? Look at it,
Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together,
it's in chapter 35. And he said unto them, these are the words
which the Lord hath commanded thee. Ye shall do them. Six days shall work be done. But on the seventh day there
shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord.
Whatsoever doth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout
your habitations upon the Sabbath day. What's the teaching here? Rest in Christ. always precedes
our work for Christ. Rest is paramount. Now, yes, I realize the law says
work six days, then rest on the seventh. But before any work
began, even on the tabernacle, what has God emphasized to his
people? Rest. Rest and Hebrews chapter
4 lets us know one person is our true rest That's Jesus Christ
the Lord and even Paul puts it this way in Ephesians chapter
2 verses 8 through 10 for by grace Are you saved through faith
and that not of yourselves? It is the gift of God not of
works lest any man should boast for we are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. So if your works come first,
you're in trouble. If your works are primary, you're
in trouble. If your works stand in the forefront,
you're in trouble. Rest always precedes work in
the gospel. What does Paul say, Romans chapter
12, when he says, basically he says, I implore you present your
bodies a living sacrifice. Does he not say that? God bought
you lock, stock, and barrel. He bought even your body. It's
his body. Now glorify God in your body. But what does he do it? How does
he implore us? I beg you by what? The mercies
of God. You and I could give ourselves
and our bodies to be burned. for great humanitarian causes. But if we've missed Jesus Christ,
we've missed it all. Second, the gospel work of Christ
was not a haphazard thing. It's precise. Go back and read
it again. Chapter 35 through 40. Everything
is detailed. Everything is detailed. I realize a physically boring
thing to read. Now is it not? Now don't play
real holy now. Don't play real holy now. Like
when you read this, boy, I'm getting all this insight from
God. You go through it and you just read it. It's just bring
this, bring that, bring this, bring that, and that's basically
what they're being told to do. But I'm here to say it's not
haphazard. Everything is precise. Considered, I thought once about
writing down all of this and giving it to you, but I've been
here two hours. All of these precise things, God says, here's
what you use to build this tabernacle. Here's what you're going to use
to worship me. Does he not? We know this. The person and work of our Lord
Jesus Christ, nothing of it from eternity, And I know it's probably
even not the right way to say it, but it's the only way I know
how to say it. From eternity to eternity, none of it is haphazard. All throughout the Old Testament,
Jesus Christ is promised to come. He's promised to come. And everything
God did from Genesis 1 all the way through Matthew when it says,
Mary brought forth her firstborn son. Maybe it's Luke. But all
of that was designed to bring Jesus Christ into this world
according to the precise design of God Almighty. Even his death. It's as if, though it's not so,
it's as if those people who did everything they did to our Lord
Jesus Christ, when He was judged in Pilate's hall, when He was
marched before the crowd with that cross on His back and someone
else ended up carrying it for Him, when they nailed Him to
that cross, when they mocked Him and spit on Him and beat
Him and pierced His side, everything was ordained of God. So much
so that it's almost like those people who were murdering Him
were taking the book and saying, what we're supposed to do next?
What we're supposed to do okay, this says we do this next It's
all precise so much so that the Apostle Peter put it this way
in Acts 4 27 and 28 that what evil Wicked men did to our Lord
Jesus Christ was precisely what God? determined before to be
done That's what this shows us Here's another, here's a third
thought. The gospel ministry has God's ordained hand controlling
it. God said, I'm not gonna read
it. you've probably already read it, Exodus 35 specifically, verses
30 through 35, certain people are going to do certain work. Certain people are going to do
certain work. Now compare that with 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, verses four through 11 and continuing on through
the chapter. Every believer is in a specific
place in the body of Christ as God Almighty has ordained it. Somebody said with oh if we could
all be preachers. We don't all want to be preachers
We don't want to be preachers I Could not stand here and do
this without you You know that There would be no need for me
to stand here and do this if you weren't here Every member know what is my
place as one said if two angels unfallen angels the elect angels
of God. If God Almighty were to send
them to this earth, one to rule a city and the other to sweep
the streets of that city, neither one would envy the other for
their position because they would be blessed and happy just to
know that God gave them any position. Any position. There's a fourth
thing. Everything for this worship.
Now think about this, everything for this fortune, everything
for this tabernacle, it was supplied already. Do you understand where
I'm getting at now? Now you remember when there were
no zales where you could go buy diamonds and precious stones,
was there? There was no fabric mart where
you could go get badger skin and fine twine linen, was there?
There was no 84 lumber where you could go find a good of kale
wood. There was no livestock market. They were in the wilderness. Were they not? Everything they
had at any given time, they brought with them out of Egypt as spoils. all of their gold, all of their
silver, all of their linen, all of their wood, all of their animals. Everything came out of Egypt
with them. Now what am I talking about?
What am I getting at? Now maybe this will help you.
You remember what the apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter
one, specifically verses one, two, three, and four, that God
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. in heavenly places
in Christ. These folks had the tabernacle
with them from the get-go. They just didn't realize it.
Right? Everything that would eventually
be erected and stand before them was already in their possession
before they ever recognized it as such. Do you see what I'm
getting at? We are blessed. with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places because we're blessed in Christ
Jesus. It's not simply the potentials
there. What is needed for the whole
thing is already there. God in his wise, sovereign providence
and purpose will cause everything to fall in place at its ordained
time. But it's all there from the get-go. Now that just helped me. I hope
maybe that helped you. Here's number five. God's elect cannot out-give God. Turn to chapter 36. They cannot
out-give God. Exodus 35. Verse five, they spake
unto Moses, saying, the people bring much more than enough for
the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. Moses
gave commandment. They caused it to be proclaimed
throughout the camp, saying, let neither man nor woman make
any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people
were restrained from bringing. Wouldn't it be glorious? And I'll just stop there. It
is. Because we've never out-given
God. Where did the stuff they had
to give come from in the first place? You can't out-give God. Well, I've got to pay my bills
first. Oh, really? Come on, folks. Which is more
important, you paying your bills or the worship and the assembly
of the saints? Come on. Now I am not telling
you not to pay your bills. Mm-mm, far from it. But I'm telling
you, you cannot out-give God. If we give and when we give,
cheerfully, willingly, but sacrificially, that's what God blesses. You
remember the woman, the widow woman? She cast in two little
insignificant coins, right? Compared to the total amount
of monies that was being cast into the treasury, it paled in
comparison. Isn't that what even our Lord
said? But he said she's given more
than they all. Because she wanted to give it.
She lovingly give it and she give all she had She give all
she had Oh God work within me that spirit My brothers and sisters, I'm
not preaching down to you. I Am here as your in sample Christ
is our example. I at best can be an in sample
I can show you how to do it and how not to do it You could watch
me and see how it ought to be done sometimes, and maybe see
how it ought not to be done sometimes. Christ is our example. He shows
us always how it ought to be done. But I'm saying we cannot
out give God. What have we wrought here in
this place that we deserve from God? Nothing. Now, let's move on. Here's my
subject, though. Chapter 35. Chapter 35. Verse 21. And they came. Right here. And they came. But not everybody without exception
came. But I'm not going to deal with
that in particular. And they came. whose heart stirred him
up. But it's more than that. Whose
heart stirred him up and everyone whom his spirit made willing. And they brought the Lord's offering
to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation for all his
service and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women,
as many as were willing-hearted. Willing-hearted. We see again,
let me find it. We see again now verse 29, this
is mentioned. The children of Israel brought a willing offering
unto the Lord. Every man and woman whose heart
made them willing. We see it again in chapter 36.
Then wrought Bezalel and Aholab and every wise-hearted man. in whom the Lord put wisdom and
understanding. And I'll just stop there. The gospel ministry is primarily
a heart work. Now hear me, I am saying to anyone
who hears my voice, the gospel ministry is primarily a heart
work. Now we ought to help one another
out when we can. We ought to help others out,
monetarily, physically, emotionally, whatever it might be, when we
can. But this thing about the gospel
ministry is a heart work. If we could so feed everyone
in Raleigh County so that there wasn't one hungry child amongst
the inhabitants of Raleigh County, if we're not preaching the gospel,
we have wrought nothing. Nothing. I remember Henry said
it years ago. And it caught me off guard because
God had just brought me out of religion. I still had a lot of
baggage. I still had a lot of that rubble
laying around the walls of Jerusalem, if you know what I mean, that
needed to be moved out of the way. And he said, the Shriner's
Crippled Children's Hospital is one of the most glorious things
in this world among men. But it will earn you, supporting
it will earn you no merit before God. You hear what he said? He's telling the truth too. It'll
earn you no merit before God. It's a heart work. The heart, the heart and thus the wheel. Do you hear what I just said?
The heart and thus the wheel is the chief concern. But even
more, the heart Thus the wheel is my chief problem It's my chief problem now if
any man Sadly I got to say it in this day didn't used to be
so years ago or any woman for that matter Stands in a pulpit
and tells you that your heart is bad But your wheel is free. They are lying on God They're
just not holding up some particular denominational creed. They are
lying on God. Because here, the first mention
of heart and will together in scripture is this, whose heart,
whose heart made them willing. And that's just the way it is.
Now turn to Jeremiah for a moment. Jeremiah chapter 17. I'll give you just a moment,
it's just a verse or so. But this is very important. Jeremiah
chapter 17. Our heart is, hear what I just
said. Our heart is. I'm not pointing my finger at
you. This is one sinner speaking to other sinners. I don't care
where you are, who you are, how high in society you are, how
low in society you are. I don't care if you're locked
up behind bars. Our heart is, Jeremiah 17 verse nine, deceitful
above all things. Now it's not just deceitful to
everyone but its owner. It's deceitful to the owner of
it. Your heart is deceitful to you. Your heart deceives you. My heart deceives me. The heart is deceitful, but it's
more than just deceitful. It's the worst kind of deceit
there is. Do you see it? The heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. And we just don't know
the totality of it. Who can know it? I'm sitting
here preaching it to you, but I still don't know the depths
of it. I can read through this book and talk about the depravity
of man, corruption of man, and I will have but scratched the
surface of how bad our hearts are by nature. And yet, I still
hear today men and women making statements along this line. Well,
so and so did that. I know that's not real good,
but God knows their heart. Yeah, it says here. Verse 10,
I, the Lord, search the heart. And I try what governs you. You
know what I'm saying? Yeah. I, the Lord, search the
heart. I try the rains. I know what makes you tick. I
know what governs you. I know what rules you. Isn't
that what God said? That ought to frighten every
one of us out of our wits because he knows our desperately wicked
hearts far more than we do. Because our hearts deceive us. It cannot deceive him. Psalm 24. Listen to what Psalm
24 says. I know most moralistic religious people would love for
me to stand here and just preach against things. But I am declaring
the corruption of who I am and who you are by nature. I'm not just trying to frighten
you about things you do. As Earl Cochran used to put it,
there are preachers in this world that preach more against a pack
of cigarettes and a can of beer than they do for the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. Look at what it says, Psalm 24. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullest thereof. The world and they that dwell
therein. God owns you. Amen. Whether you
know it or not. Amen. God owns you whether you
like it or not. Amen. God owns you whether you're
a believer or not. Yes, sir. Because he is the creator. Amen. And the creator owns his
creation. For he hath founded it upon the
seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend
in the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy
place? In other words, who's going to
approach God? Didn't nobody ask you? Who's
going to approach God? The tabernacle is talking about
how you approach God. Does it not? This is how you
approach God. This is how you worship God.
All of these precise details. But then look, here it is. Here's
the answer. He that hath clean hands. Let's
see a pair of those. Mine's not. Now I got this OCD
thing about my hands. When they get sticky, I just
cannot stand it. I just gotta wash my hands. But these are
dirty hands. You got dirty hands. He that
hath clean hands? Oh, there's more than that. And
a pure heart. Let's just see one of those this
morning. Tell me about what you, everything,
now tell me about everything you thought about in the past
five hours. No, wait a minute, let's just make it two. No, no,
wait a minute, let's just make it one. One. Who hath clean hands and a pure
heart? Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity? nor sworn deceitfully. But here's how deceitful our
hearts are. We will read that and say, oh, OK, only those can. But at least I'm not as bad as
so and so. No, don't we? You're right. Well,
at least I haven't done that. Or, well, I used to do this or
that. And now, I don't. And we find
comfort in that. We find self-justification in
that. And the flesh cannot but do so. Because if you're unregenerate,
that's all you can do. In other words, you will seek
to justify yourself. Most religious people are taught
to read that and then say, well, I'm working on clean hands. I'm
working on a pure heart. That's not what it says. Well
preacher, that in effect shuts us all out. That is exactly right. That shuts me out. And only if
God Almighty has given you a new heart and only until God has
given you a new heart can you begin to own the sin and sins
of the old heart. Because the old heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked and you can't fathom how
bad it is. Even today. Even as believers,
we must beware, lest the old heart deceive us. For the old
heart is still in us, so much so that there are times that
God lifts his restraint just a little. And when he does, and he will,
all Satan's gonna do is maybe desire to sift you with his wheat.
If that's in God's purpose, you will get sifted as wheat. And
you and I, when that happens, we'll plunge into a downward
spiral from which we cannot recover ourselves unless God Almighty
stops us in our tracks. And this is exactly what we see
in our brother King David. Is it not? God just had to lift
his restraint on him for a moment. Once God Almighty had brought
his prophet to Nathan, pointed, as one preacher said, his bony
finger in David's face, said, David, you're the man. You're
the one that's guilty. What did David cry out? You can
read it in Psalm 51 if you wish. Create in me a clean heart. Oh, God. Oh, God, create in me a clean
heart. Job put it this way in Job 9,
30, 31. He said, if I wash myself with snow water, to where I'm
as clean as I've never been clean before. Job's talking clean,
as clean as I can get myself. If I wash my body in snow water,
yet, yet, my clothes, my clothes will abhor me. My clothes, what are you putting
me on that dirty body for? What's he talking about? No matter
how much I do with these, I cannot cleanse myself before God. Before God. You see, the heart
and thus the wheel is always the chief problem. And God must
do the heart work. The preparations of the heart
in man, in man. And the answer of the tongue,
and remember what happens. The tongue brings forth what's
doubted here. The preparations of the heart
in man, and the answer of the tongue is what? Of the Lord. It's of the Lord. Now, it's of
the Lord in both ways. Either God leaves you with your
old heart, and you're gonna manifest it with your mouth. or God's
gonna give you a new heart. And you'll start confessing Jesus
Christ as Lord. To the glory of God. And I mean,
you'll confess him and mean it. He'll actually be recognized
and submitted to as Lord. You can say all day long, I believe
God's sovereign. You go out and live like he's
not, you don't know what you're talking about. Now you hear what
I'm saying? You can say it with your mouth
all day long, but if your heart and your conduct don't back it
up, you're just talking words. We're no different when we're
in that state than the old Jews that draw nigh unto God with
our mouths. But our what? Our hearts are
far from Him. God must do this heart work.
Look at Proverbs chapter 20. preacher that sounds like you're
just saying it, nobody's ever gonna be saved unless God Almighty
does something for them first. I hope you're really getting
that. I hope you're really, I hope that's just not a thought that
comes to your mind and you're like the roadside and the seed's
fallen on it and then Satan comes and whips it right away. I hope
that's sinking into good ground. And you know what the good ground
is, don't you? We don't have to speculate. We don't have to
go to the Baptist Theological Seminary. He said the good ground
is a good and honest heart. Now where in the devil does that
come from? That's not even the right way to say it, is it? Where
does that come from? It comes from God. Look at Proverbs
chapter 20. Who can say I have made my heart
clean. The answer is rhetorical. No
one. No one. Who can say I have made
my heart clean? I am pure from my sin. Singular. Yes, you may put away
certain sins. You may. But if you have to put
it away, then it means you're already guilty of it. You're
already guilty of it. And some, we may say, well, but
I haven't done that sin. Okay, I'll just give you that
for a moment. I haven't done that sin. Oh,
but we've done plenty more. Who can say I've made my heart
clean? I am pure from my sin. I cannot
change what I am. And I think it was the prophet
Jeremiah that put it this way. You want to talk about your own
will and your own power? He said, when the leopard can
just wheel to change his spots, and when the dark-skinned man
can just wheel to change the color of his skin, then ye which
are accustomed to do evil, then you can do good. It don't happen. It don't happen. Now look. Who can say I've made my heart
clean, I'm pure from sin? But what do men do? They want
to then put this on scales. They want to use this scale at
one time, and then another scale another time. They want to use
this scale maybe all the time, but maybe put a little false
weight on one side at another time. Seeking to weigh these
things out. finding some way to justify ourselves. But what does God say right here
in Proverbs chapter 20? Who can say I've made my heart
clean? I am pure from my sin. Diver's weights and diver's measures,
both of them are like abomination to the Lord. It is God's scales. And you're
gonna have to meet up with the standard of two things. God's
holy law. and God himself. And God himself. That's the standard for me. Stephen told some people, it's
recorded in Acts chapter seven verse 51, these people stoned
him to death for what he said. Now he said much more than just
verse 51, but here was their chief problem. Let me tell you,
I don't want to misquote that one. Acts chapter seven, here's
the chief problem. Acts chapter seven and verse
51. Ye stiff-necked, remember last
week? Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised
in what? In heart and ears. How does someone like that always
conduct themselves? They always resist God Almighty. They always resist God Almighty. And let me tell you something,
God never breaks that resistance. Do you hear me? God never breaks
that resistance. Your old man will never bow to
the authority of Jesus Christ. It is only in the new man that
men and women are enabled to bow to the authority of Jesus
Christ. Therefore I believe Mason in
a depravity that resists God But I believe in the grace that
is yet at the same time irresistible And I'll just explain to you
how that's so you see God even when God When God comes back,
I'm gonna say God Christ is God even when Christ returns The
dead in Christ are raised first. Those who are still living, they're
in Christ. They'll all be raised up together. He's not going to
make our old man better. It's going to be left behind. I'm going to tell you something.
We already have the nature we're going to have in heaven. Now the body is going to be different.
The nature's already there. If it's not there here, you're
not going to make it there. The glory's gonna be, the old
one's gonna be gone, and then we're gonna know the real difference. He talks about the glory that's
gonna be revealed where? To us, yes, but also in us. See, there's a glory that's gonna
be revealed, not given, revealed, and then we'll see it like it
really is. Does not John say that the one that's born of God
cannot sin? I just have a hard time distinguishing
between that which is born of God and that which is born of
Adam. I can't see, because they're
in one person. That's me. That's me. Bless God, our hearts are our
problem. Our will is in bondage to our
heart, for it must be the heart that makes you willing. And that's
whether you're regenerate or unregenerate. The heart's what
makes you willing. The heart's what makes you willing.
You see, the heart that honors God, the only heart that honors
God, the psalmist put it this way in chapter 34 of Psalms,
verse 18, it's a broken heart. And let me tell you something,
God's gotta do the breaking. God's gotta do the breaking.
God's gotta do the work. Look at Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61 and this is of course
a prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ You see there are preachers today
who think it's their job to break men's hearts It's their job to
do you know can just convince them they're a sinner you can't
do it. That's the Holy Spirit's responsibility Christ said I
will send him when I'm gone. I'll send him back he will reprove
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now yes, he
uses ministers to sound forth that truth, but Paul says we
just speak it. The Holy Ghost must teach it.
Isn't that what he says? We speak it, but the Holy Ghost
gotta teach it. Look at Isaiah 61. We are in
a desperate plight, folks, by nature. Yes, sir. We are in a
damnable plight by nature. We are in a condemned plight
by nature. But there is hope. There is hope. Isaiah 61, the spirit of the
Lord God is upon me. And that's Jesus Christ because
he quoted that about himself. and we see it recorded in the
New Testament. So Mason, I know that's Jesus Christ, and I ain't
gotta worry about making that fit to anybody else. The spirit
of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek. Pride won't cut it. There's two
things God does with proud people. One, Either God will resist you,
God will resist you, or God will crush your pride. One or the
other. God will leave you in your pride,
and resist you in your pride, and let you go your own way,
and you'll perish under the fruit of your own doings. Or God will
crush your pride. Because the Lord hath anointed
me to preach the good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me
to bind up the, what? Here's the question. Have you
ever been brought there? I'm not asking you to believe
the doctrines of grace. I mean, there are people, I know,
I've seen them, I've seen it happen. They're brought up under
the doctrines of grace and they believe the doctrines of grace
just like people who truly believe the doctrines of grace. And you
can't convince them any different. They believe the doctrines of
grace, but they've never been broken by God. They believe what
they believe simply because they've always been taught that all their
life. And that's a dangerous place to be. Because our Lord
said, if the light be in you, be darkness, how great is that
darkness. Now, some of us are preachers,
I'm not so sure about myself. Then cry out to God to crush
you. Cry out to God to break you. Cry out to God to open your
eyes and open your ears and open your heart and break it before
his holy son, because he, and he alone, binds up the brokenhearted. He does it. To proclaim liberty
to the captives. So don't come to me talking about
free anything. You ain't free! Your heart ain't
free, your will ain't free, your actions ain't free, your mind
ain't free, your feet's not free. There's nothing about us that's
at liberty by nature. He, Christ, come to set the captives
at liberty. And to opening of the prison. That's not freedom. I see them
five days a week. That's not freedom. All but when
they open them gates and say, all right, here, you go out. That's a different story. I'm
glad, Joe, every evening they can open the gates and let me
out. Because if I had to live there,
that's not freedom. I'm talking about prison, real
prison, folks. If I had to stay there, Red, I wouldn't be free.
Well, you can work here, but you got to live here 24 hours
a day. Sorry, I don't want that job. You understand what I'm saying?
Being in prison means you're locked up. You're locked up,
and you don't escape out of this prison. You have to be liberated. You have to be liberated to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord. And the New Testament said our
Lord took that scroll and he rolled that thing up, handed
it back to the minister and said, Al, so this day, that scripture
is fulfilled in your ears. Now, folks, that's my only hope,
is that he has done, is doing, and will continue to do that
liberation for me. If it ever stops, it wasn't him
that did it. That's right. Somebody just opened
up a window in your prison cell, and you seen a little light,
and you thought you had it. Woo, I'm out. No, you're just seeing
light from out your underbody. You still behind the bars. But
bless God, if he ever sets you free, you will be what? Free
indeed. Mack, would you close us in prayer? Father, we thank you for this
day that God has given us. We thank you for the preaching
of the gospel that we've heard. Lord, we thank you for the men
that you sent to preach this gospel to us. Heavenly Father,
we realize and know that salvation is on the Lord. and only He can
set us free. Father, we ask Thee to forgive
us of our sins, and we ask Thee to bless those in our church
who are sick, and those who don't know Thee, and to free them from
sin. Heavenly Father, the ones that
You will quicken, we ask Thee to reveal this to us and show
us as they come forth. Be your children. Lord, again,
we ask that you give us mercy. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Ellen, would you play that
song? Number 307.