Take your books please, turn
to hymn number 290. 2-9-0. Please stand. Come, all ye chosen saints of
God, whose souls are washed in Jesus' blood. Hear, Lord, He
says His word is true. My grace sufficient is for you. I am your sure, almighty friend,
who loving loves you to the end. I will be near you and will show,
my grace sufficient is for you. are your foes. I know the ways
which they uphold. I know their crony malice, too. My grace, official, is for you. Though Satan tries your souls
to ensnare You're still the objects of my care You're near my heart,
I'll bring you through My grace sufficient is for you Do you
want proof of this, my love? Calvary surveyed, then heaven
above. See how the ransom billions do. My grace sufficient is for you. I'll guide you safely in the
way Through life's dark night to heaven's bright day And there
with wonder you shall view My grace sufficient is for you As everyone knows, we're here
this morning to worship Christ as we normally do. But we will
do so in memorial of our brother Chad Adams that God was pleased
to take home to be with Christ. I want to also thank Pam for
doing it this way so that all of us could be here together
on Sunday. Most of us don't have to work
on the weekends. Of course, thank God that Megan was able to be
here too. So Pam, thank you for doing that. Most people, you know, the scripture
doesn't give us any set way that we're to do funerals and weddings
and those kinds of things. And some traditions are okay. Nothing wrong with some of those
things that we do, but it's not as though we have to follow them
by the letter of some tradition. Paul, now would you come up and
read? You can be turning to Romans
8 and verse 28. Chad Edward Adams 50 of Browns
Road, Kellysville, passed away Saturday, June 23, 2018, at Princeton
Community Hospital. Born April 6, 1968, he was the
son of the late Paul T. and Pearly May Bird Adams. Chad was a former service manager
for Douglas Sporting Goods in Princeton, and later was forced
to retire from ABB in Bland, Virginia, due to his health.
He was a member of Sovereign Grace Chapel and a graduate of
Oakville High School, class of 1987. Survivors include his wife,
Pamela Pendleton Adams of the home, two daughters, Kristen
Justice and husband Calvin of Kellysville, Megan Cooper and
husband Anthony of Princeton, two granddaughters, Lillian Justice
and Zoe Cooper, sisters Deza Brown, Sue Jones and husband
Don, both of Oakville, and Florence Dooley of Roanoke, Virginia.
Brothers Steve Adams and wife Sandra of Oakville. Tommy Adams
and wife Doris of Princeton. Rad Adams and wife Frances of
Princeton. Romans 8, 28. I'm going to read
three verses. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. David, will you lead us in prayer,
please? Most gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you
this day, thanking you for your abundant grace and mercy, asking,
Lord, that you be pleased to have your presence be with us
this morning. Joe and Walter, Lord, as they
prepare, speak, preach the gospel to us, Lord. Give us ears to
hear this message, Lord. And most importantly, Lord, give
us grace to believe this gospel. Give us grace to bow to your
will in all things, Lord. Take away the cares of this world
and the thoughts that consume us on a daily basis, Lord. Give
us grace that our hearts and minds are truly on things above.
Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us what things are worth
asking for in this world. And Lord, give us grace to bow.
when you answer our prayer, how you see fit. Thank you, Father,
for everything that you've given us. Thank you for these, my brethren.
Be with all your messengers, Lord, as they meet in this place
today and all around the world, Lord. Give them an answer, Lord,
to truly preach Christ. May we hear Christ this moment,
Lord. May we not hear from men, but
we hear from God himself, the word, the truth. Lord, may we
bow to it. Thank you, Father, for all things
that you've given us. Amen. Just wanted to mention to everyone
that Paul made some CDs. There's a message here by Henry
Mahan, The Missing Note in Present Day Preaching. And it is an excellent
message. So I would encourage you that
if you need a CD copy, there's several right there. Uh, Pam
is asked to say something. So, Pam, you go ahead. I just want to personally thank
everybody here for everything and appreciate all the support
and comfort to you. Joe, come on. Morning. I'll say it. I'm glad to be here. Walter called me and let me know
about Chad. It's like I'm glad and I'm sad
at the same time. And Pam, you're very welcome
and wish it could have been more. But glad for Chad. Sad for us. because he's the one that reaps
the benefits from this. We get to see God's hand in it
and God's glory. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. I'm not gonna preach on that,
so. If you would, if you don't mind,
I wanna look at Hebrews chapter 11. I'm gonna try and be very short here for
me. But I think there's something
here we need to hear and I need to say. Chapter 11 verses one and two
of the book of Hebrews. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it
the elders obtained a good report. Well, verse three, through faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. And that's Jesus Christ, and
that's his voice, the word of God. So that things which are
seen were not made of things which do appear. We are here remembering our brother,
Chad Adams. And we are here, as Walter said,
to worship the God that I think Chad believed. Because I believe
Chad was faithful to Jesus Christ, and I know he was faithful to
this assembly. And I want to preach the truth
of God in Jesus Christ, just like I did however many weeks
it was, for how many years it was, that Chad was here. So today
I want to speak about faith and believing. Because these are
two inextricably, totally linked things. And they are separate
things, faith and believing. But they are completely and utterly
tied together. There is no possible way to separate
faith from believing. And there is no way in this world
to believe without the faith of God's elect. They are different. There's different
as the source and the result. But they are tied together. Because there's no possible way
to separate believing from faith. And there's no possible way to
separate grace from faith and believing. Many may try. But you don't believe
to get eternal life. You do not believe to get grace. It takes the grace of God that
you believe his son. because faith is the gracious
gift of God. And by his faith, we believe. So what is faith? Verse one,
now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. I am not going to get in depth
or theological here, but I do wanna say this. Faith is the
substance and the evidence of things that are hoped for and
of things that are not seen. What do I wanna say here? I cannot
prove faith or believing to the world. It's not possible because
the evidence of it, the proof of it is faith. You understand? No one without
faith is gonna understand anything I would say about faith. It's like trying to describe
colors to a blind person. It doesn't work. There's no way
to make it work. Because there are things hoped
for and there are things not seen. What's that mean? You've got to have eyes to see.
You've got to have ears to hear. And you have to have a brain,
heart to understand. No one without faith will believe
what I say about faith and believing, even though they say they believe
the Bible. So what does the Bible have to
say? Verse six of chapter 11 of Hebrews. But without faith,
it is impossible to please him, and the him meaning God. For
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Now what's that mean? Very simply,
first thing, it means that you can't believe who you don't know. Now how you gonna hear? Well
you'll hear it from a preacher. You'll hear the gospel. But why does Paul write here
that it's impossible to please God without faith? Well, that's
because it is. Simple reason. Because have you
ever stopped to consider these words? What Paul is actually
saying here, he is truly saying that man must, must believe. And It's impossible to believe
without the faith given by Jesus Christ. You understand, you don't
believe. All men have not faith. I say
that for the broadcast if we do it. All men have not faith. Paul's quite clear about that.
And without faith, it's impossible to please God. Because you must
believe. And you can't believe without
faith. Jesus told us the exact same
thing. You don't have to turn there, but John 8, 24 said, I
said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins for,
why, for if you believe not that I am. Now it does say he there,
but that's interpolated, so I'm gonna leave it at if you believe
not that I am. If you believe not that I'm God,
you shall die in your sins. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God because you must believe him, him. Because that's not all Paul's
writing here in verse six. Because he's also truly telling
us this. Unless God works in you, both to will and to do of
his good pleasure, you will never believe Jesus Christ. because
believing Jesus Christ, and here's the thing the world doesn't understand,
by any shape of the imagination, and they don't want, and they
won't like, and they won't have it, it takes the power of God
to believe God. It's not in man to believe Jesus
Christ to the saving of the soul. Because if he doesn't work in
you, if he does not give you life and faith, you will never
believe. That's why it's impossible to
please God without faith. It's his gift. Unless God gives
you faith, you will never believe. And you must believe that Jesus
is he. That Jesus is the great I am. that Jesus is Yahweh, God,
manifest in the flesh, lived on this planet, died a substitutionary
sacrifice, resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven,
and seated at the right hand of the Father, expecting in his
enemies to be put under his feet. because of one who came who was
born. He was born king and is the savior
who is Christ the Lord. We believe and know and preach
that we are saved by grace, through faith and that not of ourselves,
it is the gift of God. Because we preach Jesus Christ
saves. He's not attempting to save,
he's not making it possible that some be saved, and he's not making
it available, salvation available. Because he is the Savior, who
is Christ the Lord. He saved, he saves, and he shall
continue to bring his people in. And Paul was clear about this
even before that verse about by grace through faith. If you
look at Ephesians 1 and 19, you don't have to look now, and what
is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe
according to the working of his mighty power. It takes the exceeding
greatness of his mighty power to believe Christ. He said that
before by grace through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. Why? We are his workmanship.
created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And let me tell you
folks, believing Jesus Christ is a good work. It's a good work
of God. Or it's not a good work at all. Because without faith, his faith,
believing is impossible. But here's the point I wanted
to get to. These all died. in faith. This is verse 13 of
Hebrews 11. These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This is the summation for me
of this whole chapter of Hebrews 11. It's right in the middle. There's
still more to come after it, but this is the summation for
me. This is what people call the
heroes of faith, and I understand why they say it. The list in
here is glorious. But this is the summation that
Paul used to tell us what to make of the life of the saints
of God. This is it. These all died in
faith, in faith. And what's he said? Believing
what? Not having received the promises
but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and
embraced them and that they were strangers and pilgrims on the
earth. They died in faith. believing the promises of God. Forget about everything else. Forget about everything else.
When it comes to this, in this chapter, there's some great people
here. There's some people that God used greatly. Abel, Enoch,
Abraham, Noah. How's Paul sum it up? These all
died in faith. As I can tell you this, it doesn't
matter what you've done. It doesn't matter what you haven't
done. Here's what matters. These all
died in faith. And I'm not denigrating and I'm
not putting down anything these people did by the power of God.
They did some great and glorious things. But that's not what's
important when it comes down to dying. The source of these things that
they did is Jesus Christ and his faith that he gave them.
He gave it to his saints. I believed, I believe that Chad
believed God. And I can't say anything better
of a person than that. Now we're not heroes of faith. Those that have gone on, Daryl
McClung, Union Earl, Chase Smith, now Chad. I can remember where
they used to sit. And they're not there anymore.
And it gets you sometimes. Jesus Christ said, he that liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. But those people I just
named, Daryl and Uni, Earl, Jay Smith, Chad, they're not here
anymore. Well, here's the thing. You'll die here, but to be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord. You understand? This life here, physical life,
is not all we have. By God's glorious grace, it is
not. Chad was not a hero of faith.
A good husband, father, grandfather, brother, yes. But he didn't move mountains.
He wasn't translated like Enoch. He didn't build an ark. He didn't
deliver Israel from Egypt. He didn't subdue kingdoms, stop
the mouths of lions, or turn into flight the armies of the
aliens. However, I can tell you this,
I believe with every fiber of my being, that the world was
not worthy of Chad Adams. Look at verse 38 of Hebrews 11. Of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and
in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. And we didn't
have to do that. We will if we have to, but we don't have to
by God's grace. But still, here's the thing.
These all died in faith. And I believe Chad Adams died
in faith. And that means the world was
not worthy of that man. Now he would have told you himself
if he was here that it wasn't in him. It's in Christ. It's in Christ. Because he, Christ, is the one
who chose us and brought us out of the world. We're in it. but we're not of it. And Chad
was in it, but he wasn't of it, and therefore the world was not
worthy of that man. Verse 39, and these all, and
I include in this every saint believer that ever died to this
day, these all having obtained a good report through faith,
through faith. They were believers. They were
believers. Receive not the promise, God
having provided some better thing for us, that they without us
should not be made perfect. These all died in faith, that
is a good report. It doesn't matter what the world
says. It doesn't matter what the world
thinks. These all died in faith. Let's all stand and sing number
108. 180. When peace like a river attendeth
my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, thou hast taught me to say it
is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Though Satan should mob, faith
of trial should come. Let this blast assure Brad's
control. Christ has regarded my health,
blessed the state, and has shed his own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. My sin, oh, the blessing of this
glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the
whole. is oh it is well ? It is well with my soul ? With
my soul ? It is well, it is well with my soul ? And Lord hates
the day when the faith shall be sighed ? The clouds be rolled
back as a scroll The trump shall resound, and
the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is
well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. I want to read one verse of the Gospel according to Luke,
chapter 1, verse 1. Luke began by writing these words,
for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order
a declaration of, now listen to these words, those things
which are most surely believed among us. My brother, Chad Adams, and I
say that in the present tense. He didn't used to be my brother,
he is my brother. My brother, Chad Adams, was no
religious zealot. There are a lot of religious
zealots. And as Joe Abley pointed out, it's not religious zeal,
even if it's good religious zeal, that counts. It is believing
God. It's not just believing in God,
though believing in God we do. But it is believing God. Nor was Chad, Chad was not an
adherent to free willism. And free willism so dominates
our society. And it's a shame. And it's a
sham. Yes. But Chad Adams did not promote
himself. Chad Adams did not promote any
religious decision or owl walking, though he had done both. Yet
God called him out of that and called him to bow at the feet
of Christ the Lord. Thousands are walking aisles. Many will probably do it even
today and make decisions and will still hear one day, sadly,
depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you. I know this. If Chad Adams was in Christ,
when his soul left his body, he seen Christ with his eyes
in person. And that's what Bruce Crabtree
meant when he said, I envy Chad. Not the suffering, not all that
he went through, not that horrible last day, but that. To open up your eyes and see
him there in the flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, God's Christ, And
to hear him say, well done, now good and faithful servant. And then maybe, I can't prove
this, this is just my emotion. But then just maybe, Chad looks
and there's Earl Cochran. And Earl said, you made it, brother. Just maybe, come over and give
him a big hug. It's done with. The battle's
over. This is what it's all about. Chad's religion was not to be seen of men. Do you hear what I'm saying? Because our Lord Jesus Christ
said about this, those who do what they do, no matter how good
it might seem, if they do it to be seen of men, they have
their reward. That's all they get. They got
what they wanted, that's all they get. Chad's faith was about
a person. The things which are most surely
believed among us, if you read Luke, it's all about a person.
What we believed is summarized in who we believe. Christ's person and Christ's
work are the things which are most surely believed among us. Chad's faith was about eight
person. What Chad believed is encapsulated in the proclamation
of the person and work, singular, that primary work that he accomplished
on Calvary's tree. What Chad believed is encapsulated
in the proclamation of the person and work of Jesus Christ the
Lord. Chad believed this, that God the creator was made flesh. That's what he believed. If he
was a believer, he believed this. It's not because he had to go
around telling everybody this all the time, but he believed
this. God called Chad out of religion. I believe it began in Providence,
simply because others he knew, and when he was married to, and
she being knowing others, had to leave out of religion because
of God's power. But later, that message got a
hold of him. It got a hold of him. And he
believed it. Not with fanfare. Not with, hey, look at me. It's
look at Christ. Secondly, Chad believed this,
that God, that God who has made flesh is God indeed, not just
in name. You see, God is God. That means he controls everything
in any part of the universe, whether it be a speck of dust
that floats at this moment in this building, or whether it
be a far distant galaxy spinning. out in space. God Almighty controls,
ordained, and purposed it all. Chad, like me, was no theologian. But God taught Chad. God taught
Chad. And that's what Christ said God
would do for all his people, and they shall all be taught
of God. And they shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and learned of the Father, what do they do?
They come to Christ. They come to Christ. God taught Chad that Jesus Christ
the Lord is the only man who can lay hold of a corrupt sinner
and not be defiled in doing so. And to lay hold of the thrice
holy God and not be consumed. And to bring those two totally
diametrically opposed persons, a sinner and a holy God, and
he could bring those two together in himself. In himself. Christ is how a holy, thrice
holy, with the angels. Remember, there's this group
of angels. All they do is fly around the
throne crying. That's all they do. Holy, holy,
holy, holy. Holy. Mason, they're doing it
right now today. Holy, holy, holy. Christ is the only way that this
thrice holy God can be just and justify such sinners as we are. Chad believed that. Chad believed
that. Chad believed that God must judge
and condemn sin And he'll either do it in me or he'll do it in
a substitute. That substitute was Jesus Christ the Lord. He
believed that God saves sinners. And only sinners. God never saved,
God's never saved not one good person. Not one. Not one. Chad believed this. It's not about articulating it
all well. I understand, I don't even always
articulate it all well, and I've been doing this publicly for
30-something years. But Chad, believe this, every
sinner for whom Christ died, they were, when he died, reconciled. They were, when he died, justified
by his blood. They were, when he died, sanctified
and perfected. Then, forever. And that was Chad's
hope, not just that he'd had this experience of God calling
him out of false religion into the worship of Christ, but his
hope, if he had any hope, and if I have any hope, it's in that
man that died 2,000 years ago, whom God raised from the dead
and he ascended and now sits at the right hand of God Almighty. Chad believed this, every such
sinner will be called by the gospel to bow in submission to
Christ. Not make a decision about Jesus,
but to bow in submission to Jesus Christ as Lord. Actually, I guess
Chad was a theologian after all, huh? I guess he was a theologian
after all. Not in the technical sense of
one, theology simply means the study of God. but you don't find
God by study. Here's what our Lord Jesus Christ
said about the matter. I'll read it, make a couple comments.
These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,
Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son that thy son
also may glorify thee as thou hast given him power that is
authority and might. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh that he should give, just give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. If Chad had eternal life,
it's because God just gave it to him. He gave it to him. Well, what he got to do to get
it? You can't get it, it has to be given. It has to be given. Well, that leaves it in God's
hands. You're finally coming around if you're seeing that.
but leaves it in God's hands. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee. You don't know God and then get
eternal life. God gives eternal life that you
might know, what? Thee, the only true God and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent. Chad knew that. That's all the
theology you need. That's all the theology you need
and you don't get that by study, you get that because God says
life. Life. He sends his gospel to you and
you'll hear it and you won't be able to help but believe it.
Believe it. And Chad knew by experience. I'm sure he did, although we
never spoke about it. Chad knew this by experience
because I know every true believer does. I believe. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine
unbelief. Let us rejoice in this. Let us
rejoice in this. A few days before God snatched
Chad out of this world, we sang a song to Chad. He was
in pain, he was hurting like he'd been doing for a long time.
And we sang this song afterward, and he wasn't able to speak a
whole lot, and of course he was in and out on the medication.
He said, that's a good song. He said, I like that song. Something
along that line, didn't he, Pam? So let's, in closing, sing this
song. Let's sing it to the honor of
our Lord. And let's sing it in remembrance of Chad. And remember,
one of these days, folks, our Lord's coming back. And if it's
while we're still living, all those people you mentioned, they're
gonna be right there with Christ. They're gonna be right there
with Christ. All right, let's stand and sing
number 99. Number 99. God be with you till we meet
again. By His counsel guide, uphold
you. His sheep securely fold you. God be with you till we meet
again. Till we meet again. Till we meet.
Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till
we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we
meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till
we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till
we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till
we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet.
Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we
meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we
meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till
we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet.
Till we meet. Till we meet. Till we meet God be with you till we meet again. Needs His wings protecting by
you. Daily manna still provide you. God be with you till we meet
again. Till we meet, till we meet, till
we meet at Jesus' feet. Till we meet, till we meet, till
we meet, till we meet. God be with you till we meet
again. God be with you till we meet
again. When life's peril stiff confound
you, Put His arms unfailing round you, God be with you till we
meet again. Till we meet, till we meet, till
we meet, till we meet at June. Till we meet, till we meet, till
we meet. God be with you till we meet
again. God be with you till we meet
again. Keep love's banner floating for
you. Smile, death's threatening wish
before you. God be with you till we meet
again. Till we meet, till we meet, till
we meet, till we meet at Jesus' feet. Till we meet, till we meet, I'll
be with you till we meet our ends.