Turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. 1 Samuel chapter 2, before I read
and while you're turning there, a brief background. Hannah, this woman named Hannah, God
had shut her womb up. so that she could not have children. Her husband's other wife, remember
those words, not because I'm going to talk about that a lot,
but just remember that. Her husband's other wife malked
her persistently every time she went to worship God with her
husband. mocked her that she had no children. Hannah prayed unto God for a
child with the intent of acknowledging to God, not
turning over to God, but acknowledging to God that that child was His. And she prayed that God would
use that child. that child was Samuel. With that in mind, I'm going
to read Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel chapter 2. But with that in mind, think
of religion which makes much of our cries to God, and I'm
not belittling our cries to God. But think about religion, pseudo-Christianity,
which makes much of our cries to God as though somehow our
cries to God moves God to do something that He would not have
done anyway. They acknowledge that God does
respond, or I'll use that word, that God responds to prayer And
yet, you don't find them praising God like Hannah did. Because
here is what Hannah prayed. And the reason I know that is
because verse 1 says, and Hannah prayed. And Hannah prayed and said, My
heart rejoiceth in the Lord. Mine horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine
enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none
holy as the Lord, for there is none beside thee, neither is
there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly,
let not arrogancy come out of your mouth for the Lord is a
God of knowledge and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the
mighty men are broken and they that stumbled are girded with
strength. They that were full have hired
out themselves for bread and they that were hungry cease.
So that the barren hath born seven, and she that hath many
children is waxed feeble. The Lord killeth. That's what
she prayed. The Lord killeth. I heard a fellow
say this morning, God was sovereign, but the Lord don't kill, he just
allows it. The Lord killeth. He didn't pray
that way. He wasn't praying the same way
she prayed. The Lord killeth and maketh alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them
among princes, and to make them, what? Yes, to make them inherit
the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth
are the Lord's. That's what we just sang. For
the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the
world upon them. He will keep the feet of His
saints. and the wicked shall be silent
in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall he thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth. And, here's the close of her
prayer. And he shall give strength unto
his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. What a prayer. What a prayer. That's my subject
this morning, is Hannah's prayer. This prayer, in spite of pseudo-Christianity's
lies about God, This prayer redounds to the praise
and the honor and the glory of the only true and living God. This prayer redounds to the praise
and the honor and the glory of the God of Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob. This prayer even redounds to
the praise and the honor and the glory of the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know that? Her ending
words are this, and He shall give strength unto His King and
exalt the horn of His Anointed. She's talking about the Messiah.
There was no King in Israel amongst men at this time. Samuel was
the one who anointed the first king that the people clamored
for, whose name was Saul. He wasn't king yet. Samuel had
just been born. There was not even a David. David
may not even have existed at this time. She's not talking
about some mere human king. She's talking about Messiah. The messianic claims and glory
and power of God's Christ. and how much pseudo-Christianity
lies. Those people worship God by the
law. We worship God by Christ. Men
and women have worshiped God by Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ,
and through Jesus Christ only. And that's the only way men and
women will ever worship God Almighty is in Jesus Christ. There was
no Saul. There was no David yet. It is
a prayer. This is a prayer which rejoices
in the Lord and His promised Messiah. She starts out with,
Thy salvation. She ends by mentioning who He
is. The King and the Anointed. You see that? And then men will
talk about how much did they know back then? They knew a whole
lot more back then than pseudo-Christianity knows today. Even with the full
revelation of God right before them. She knew much more. She knew Him. So this is a prayer
which a saint, a believer, one called out of darkness into light,
a prayer which rejoiced in the Lord and His promised Messiah.
And this saint could not contain herself. The Lord, she says,
Yahweh, twice in verse 1, again in verse 2, again in verse 3,
again in verse 6, again in verse 7, again in verse 8, and again
in verse 10, Yahweh, the Lord, the self-existent Creator. God did not put the pieces of
this universe together. God created everything in this
universe and He holds them together as He created them. Even after
the fall, He holds them together and they're created by Him and
for Him and through Him and are in Him. He holds it all together. She couldn't contain herself.
The Lord, the Lord. The Lord over and over and over
again. The Lord. This is the one who
said to Moses, Job, I am. That I am. That's who it was. She said that God. That's the
one I'm talking about. That God. Another thing she cried
out immediately when she first starts out. Salvation is His
in its entirety. Verse 1. Thy salvation. Thy salvation. You see it? Now
not Thy salvation in that He needs it, but Thy salvation in
that it is His. Lock, stock and barrel to give
to whom He will or to withhold from whom He will. God does not give salvation merely
because we need it. All men need it. But all men
will not have it. God gives salvation to men and
women because He's pleased to do so individually and personally. And it is His salvation. He owns it, lock, stock, and
barrel. God's never offered salvation
to anyone. Paul puts it this way, this is
the New Testament equivalent, Ephesians 2 verse 10. For we
are His, what? Workmanship. Created, there he's
talking about the Lord. Created, the Lord. Capital L,
capital O, capital R, capital D. The Lord, we are His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. She also cried out this,
he is pure, exclusive, and solid holiness. Verse two, there is
none holy as the Lord, but this is not comparison. You hear what
I said? I said she prayed this, he is
pure, exclusive, and solid holiness. Some may want to take the first
phrase, there is none holy as the Lord. That is, there could
be maybe some secondary holiness. Some holiness that's maybe, no
granted, it's not as holy as him. That's not all that she
said. They do the same way, judge not
lest you be judged, and they stop right there. And then they
say, don't judge me. They don't go on to read the
rest of what Christ said. Listen to what she actually prayed.
There is none holy as the Lord for, there is none beside thee. You see that? This is not comparison,
this is exclusivity. For there is none beside thee,
neither is there any rock like our God. Now, someone says, but that's
her prayer. Well, this prayer is right. This prayer is right. The preponderant
testimony of Scripture cries out, this woman's right. This
prayer is right. It redounds to the praise and
the honor and the glory of God. He is the Lord. And she makes
that clear. Salvation is His in its entirety. She says, Thy salvation. And
He is pure, exclusive, solid holiness. But not only that,
she acknowledges that He has the only say. You see the first
part of verse 3? In other words, what Hannah prayed. That's right. This is what this
woman is telling us. Shut up before God. Exactly. Shut your
mouth before God. Look at it. Talk no more so exceeding
proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth. For. You see it? For. He has the only say. This is
manifest both in the law, that is mosaic law, and it's also
manifest in the written word of God. First of all, the law,
Paul says, Romans 3 verse 19, we know that whatsoever thing
the law says, it says to them that are under the law, that
every mouth may be what? Stopped. And as Oral used to
say, what that's saying is shut up. That's right. Amen. Shut
up. that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world become guilty before God. Look at what James
puts it, and he puts it not as in light with simply mosaic law,
but James chapter 1. This is how important
this is. Think of this. Think of it. Here's
that woman praying. Talk no more exceeding proud out of your mouth.
or proudly, let not arrogancy come out of your mouth. And yet
even people who claim to be Christians, believers in Christ, arrogantly
boast unto themselves what they've done, who they are, right? Look
at what even James says. Remember, we know what the law
says. It says shut up. Okay, now look at what James
says. James 1 verse 18. Of his own
will. Not a combination of his and
ours. of His own will. Brought He us forth. That's the
word of His own will. Beget He us. With what? The Word of Truth. This is the
Word of God as a whole. In particular, it's the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how God manifests forth
His people. This is how they're brought forth.
This is not how they come to life, but this is how life is
manifested. By the Word of Truth. And only
by the Word of Truth. of His own will begetting us.
How? With the word of truth that we
should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. Wherefore,
because this is so, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift
to hear. What? Slow to speak. You see the correlation there?
Be swift to hear. But here's what I think. It don't
mean squat what you think. Here's what I think. It don't
mean squat what I think. Be what? Swift to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to wrath. Why? Why slow to wrath? Because
by nature we hate God's truth. It offends us. It offends our
sensibilities. It offends our will. It offends
our self-supposed righteousness. Slow to wrath. Why? For the wrath
of man worketh not the righteousness of God. If you're angry against
God's Word, you will not know God. Wherefore? Because this is so. He's laying upon foundation,
laying upon. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness
and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with what? Meekness. The engrafted word. And as Joe
said, it's not just about reading this Bible. Though reading this
Bible, God can use that, but it's not just about reading the
Bible. It must be the engrafted word. Receive with meekness. The engrafted Word which is able
to what? Save your souls. It's a solemn
thing. Together, together, whether it's
here or in any other place, whether it's two individuals or whether
it's hundreds of individuals, it's a solemn thing to come together
to hear the Word of God testified to and preached and proclaimed. Be ye but, but, be doers of the
word and not hearers only. Why? Deceiving your own selves.
For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he's
like unto the man that beholding his natural face in the glass.
For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway
forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into
the perfect law of liberty, that's why I know he's talking about
the gospel of Christ. But whoso Looketh into the perfect
law of liberty and continueth therein. See it? Continue, not
fighting, kicking against it, but continueth therein. He be
not a forgetful here, but doer of the work, this man shall be
blessed in his deeds. If any man among you seem to
be religious, bravest not his tongue. In other words, again,
what? Shut up! Put the clamp on that
piece of meat. Shut up before God. God don't
need our opinion or our thoughts about the matter. Shut up and
listen. If any man among you seemeth
to be religious, and browtheth not his tongue, but deceiveth
his own heart, this man's religion is what? Vain. That's serious business. Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless. and widows
in their affliction. This don't mean talking about
going to see them in the hospital. Certainly nothing wrong with
that. To visit, what? Take care of your people. Take care of
the people of God. That's what he's talking about.
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep
himself unspotted from the world. In other words, we're back to
Hannah's prayer. God has the only say. For, she
says, for, she says, his opinion only matters. That's what she
says in verse three. For the Lord is a God of knowledge.
Now go back and look up that word, knowledge. In other words,
knowledge here, if you look at the base word, it comes from
the word opinion. His opinion only matters. As a matter of
fact, when we talk about our opinion, you know how the New
Testament translates that word? Heresy. That's right Because
it's not about our opinion. It's not about how I see it.
It's about how God says it What it's about His opinion only matters
for his for the Lord is a God of knowledge and not only that
his scales You know what I mean, but scale not skills fishy scales
this way His scales his scales alone matter and by him actions
are weighed And let me point out this, He is the scale itself. The law is God's command for
us. We can't even stand up to that,
let alone Him Himself being the scales. You see what I'm saying? Let me show you these four scales
here. She mentions them all. Here's
the scales. Here's the first one she mentions. Here's the
proof of it, verses four and five. His first scale, it's futile
to fight. It's futile to fight. The bows
of the mighty men are broken. Go ahead and fight all you will. And men fight day after day,
year after year. They fight against God, but it
is futile. God Almighty's giving them the
very mind and breath with which they think they fight against
Him. She says it's futile to fight.
That's one of the first proofs of this. Here's the second proof
of this, another scale. It's futile to hope in yourself.
They that were full, they that were full, now what are they?
Have hired out themselves for bread. You see that? It's futile
to fight. It's futile to hope in yourself.
Here's the third one. Human, wait a minute now, human
ability is not the key. Look at it. They that were full
have hired out themselves for bread and they that were hungry
ceased. That's the opposite of it. So
that the barren hath born seven, and she that hath many children
is waxed feeble. Human ability, she knew this
by experience. Now she's applying this to much
more than just the fact I had a son. But she is, this is heightened
in her mind and experience by the fact God hath withheld her
womb. But then God opened up her womb
and allowed her to rejoice over her enemy. Who was her enemy?
Her husband's other wife. Go back and read the account.
Whoever time she went to offer up sacrifice to the Lord, the
woman mocked her. Her sister wife. Isn't that what
they call it on the television today? Her sister wife. Even
back then it caused trouble. And let me tell you, it will
still cause trouble today. Two cannot walk together except
they be agreed. That's difficult enough. Let
alone you add in a third and a fourth and a fifth. Now that
is thus saith the Walter, but I still tell you it's a sound
advice. What's she saying? Look at it.
Look at verse 9. Am I right? Hold on. Yeah, verse 9. Look at that last
part of verse 9. For by strength shall no man
prevail. Talk about your righteousness? Talk about your will. No. No. People are so confused. There
are some people who think we're teaching man doesn't have a will.
When we deny free will because they think free will is such
a known automatic gimmick that we must be saying man doesn't
have a will. No. Man's got a will. His problem is it's corrupt in
everything that it is. Human ability is not the key
and this woman way back yonder Understood that did she not? She probably could have wrote
the bondage of the human will better than Martin Luther himself
did She understood that And she knew it wasn't up to her that
all this had taken place Because she says what? What? The Lord killeth, the Lord maketh
alive. He bringeth down to the grave
and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and the
Lord maketh rich. He bringeth low and He lifteth
up. Now He worked together with me
and my husband. This is why I even have trouble now with the word
procreation. I know it's an attempt by man
to somehow sort this thing out. But let me tell you, even when
a man and woman come together and a child comes into being,
it is God Almighty that creates that living being, not the man
and the woman. Because God can withhold your
womb. God can withhold the seed of
a man. It's in His hands. He can kill
it in the womb. He can kill it after it's born,
can't he? Because why? The Lord killeth.
The Lord maketh alive. Now here's the proof. It's futile
to fight. It's futile to hope in yourself.
Human ability is not the key. There are people who think free
will is the answer to every hard question in Scripture. Did you
know that? They do. When Hollywood touts free will,
you know it's got to be wrong. Hollywood don't know no truth.
They don't know God. Just like when the whole world
believes God loves everybody, that ought to make a red flag
go up in anybody's mind. They hate everything else about
God, but they believe God loves everybody. You know why that's such a problem?
Because it's a lie. God don't love everybody it would
just said about us Yeah, that's right said about us by one who
just previously professed to be a part of us you people talk
about love But you preach hate Scripture says Jacob I loved
Esau I hated and I am NOT ashamed of my God Here's the fourth scale He holds
man's very being in His sovereign hands. That's what she prays
and what we have is verses 6 all the way down through the first
part of verse 10. That is God holds man's very being in His
sovereign hand. Look at it. The Lord kills. The Lord makes alive. He bringeth
down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and
maketh rich. He bringeth low, and lifteth
up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the
beggar from the dunghill, to sit them among princes. Who does?
He does, his Lord. and to make them inherit the
throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth
are the Lord's. What are we talking about? We're
talking about the support of it. The pillars. Don't try to think of
that in some scientific way, but in purely this. Here's God.
God Almighty set this world on pillars. It has a foundation. And what? And He has set the
world upon them. In other words, the foundation
of this world rests in God and God only. And Joe Dunn told us
about that this morning. No matter how much we may dislike,
no matter how much we may be perplexed by the things that
are going on in this world, God Almighty has sovereignly purposed
them all. They have a reason. The pillars
of the earth of the Lord, He set the world on. He will keep
the feet of His saints. Aren't you glad? He will do it. If it ain't up to the saints,
who's it up to? Him. Well if I believe that,
well that's the problem, you don't. Well if I believe that
then, that's your problem, you don't. You don't believe Him. He will keep the feet of His
saints and the wicked shall be silent. Where? Even in their
darkness. No one's talking by Hannah here
that God's doing his best trying to bring them out of darkness.
No, God's gonna shut them up right where they're at, in their
darkness. Four, by the strength, shall
no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord.
There's them two different kinds of peoples that Joe was talking
about this morning. Saints and adversaries. For the
adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Out of heaven
shall he thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends,
that means all the way Every single one. So in other words,
what Hannah said here in all of this is he holds man's being
in his sovereign hand. Let me give you just a few things
about this. First of all, salvation is an act of God. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust. He lifteth up the beggar from
the dunghill. Well how does a man ever come to know, understand,
comprehend that he's poor? The Lord maketh poor. Do you
see that? The Lord maketh poor, maketh
rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up. Do you see it? Man don't
come to understand where he is by nature by an act of nature. Man can only come to understand
where he is and what he is by a sovereign act of God's mercy
and grace and compassion. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust and lifteth up the beggar for the dung he'll want. How
did they get there? God Almighty is in control of
all that too. She's already said that, right?
The Lord maketh poor, the Lord maketh rich. He bringeth low
and lifteth up. That's the first thing. Salvation
is an act of God. Somebody says, I don't believe
that. The reason you don't believe it is because you haven't experienced
it. If you had experienced that salvation, you would say, that's
the way it is. That's why, see, it's not about
arguing people into which is right and which is wrong. It's
about God starting to do it to them, and then when you preach
it to them, they'll be saying, that's the way God's doing it. That's what it's about. It's
not about trying to convince somebody this way's wrong and
that way's right. It's about God Almighty saving
somebody. And when you tell them this is
the way God saves somebody, they'll say, wow, that's what's taking
place with me. That's what it's all about. This
thing of pseudo-Christianity's way of trying to preach Christ
ain't nothing but a lie on God. Do I know spiritual poverty?
Yeah, you could talk about this. He raises up the poor out of
the dust. Whether that is physical, natural,
or spiritual, it's still all true. You see, that's the whole
point. Somebody said, well she's talking
about this. She's talking about God who is L-O-R-D. Lord of all, the creator of all.
Do I know spiritual poverty? Do I know what it is to be a
spiritual beggar? Do I know the dust? Have you
tasted the dust? Look, He lifteth, He raiseth
up the poor out of the dust. You see it? I mean, down there,
you're in it. In other words, you're in it
so deep you can taste it. You ever been on a dusty road?
Walking by and a car go by and all of a sudden, just that brown
stuff come out and you can taste it in your very being. Do I know the dust? Hannah's
not content just to say we're in the dust. She's tough. He raiseth up the poor owl of
the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill. Can you taste
the dung? Do I know the dust? Do I know
the dunghill? But! Do you hear me? That's not the end. The taste
of dust and dung is not the goal. It's the process to the goal. Now you hear what I'm saying
this morning. A lot of people talk about tasting the dust and
the dung, but listen to them, the way they talk, look at them
at the way they live, they're still in the dust, And they're
still on the dunghill. They're perfectly content to
be in the dust and to live in the dunghill. You understand
what I'm getting at this morning? Why do I say that? Because He
lifteth up, or raiseth up, how? What? Out of the dust. He lifteth up from the dunghill. You see it? But does what? And then sets them. And then
what? Sets them among princes and makes
them to inherit the throne of glory. Do you see what I'm saying? Do you see what Hannah is saying?
Do you see what the book says? Yes. I know you taste the dust
and you can taste the dung and you can smell it, but God doesn't
leave his people there. You hear what I'm saying? God
doesn't leave you there. You hear the New Testament equivalent.
Second Thessalonians chapter two in verse 13. Once you hear
that, does it surprise you? I would go to that. Now listen,
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, But we are bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you. And that is true. Because, by
nature, every man's in the dust. And by nature, every man's on
a dunghill. The problem is, we as men on
the dunghill, we look at the dunghill and say, here, God accept
this. No, by nature, it's what we do.
A beggar on a dunghill and pouring
in the dust, and we expect God to accept that. It is, it's true. God chose a people. But look,
Because God has from the beginning chosen you, what? To salvation. Through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. Where unto He called you by our
Gospel to the obtaining of the glory, do you see it? Of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast. Where you are now, not where
you used to be. You see it? Because God's chosen
to save you. And there's a specific way in
which God's chosen to save you. First, the Spirit of God's got
to do something for you. And secondly, He's going to manifest
that work of the Spirit through you believing the truth of God.
And the only way you're going to come to that is not through
circumstances, not through bad things happening to you. You're
going to hear the Gospel of God preached, and you're going to
believe the truth of that Gospel. That's what he's talking about.
If you believe God just because you had bad vibes and bad circumstances
in life, you're still in the dust and you're still on the
dungeon. I've got to turn back there.
Because he does what? He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust. He lifteth up the beggar from
the dunghill. But not just that. They're not
just in limbo. They're not just in some neutral,
undusty, undung-filled place now. Where are they taken to?
And set them among princes and make them inherit the throne
of glory. And after he does that, he'll
still keep their feet. You see, we don't hope in election, we
hope in Christ. You know what I say? There have been some, even from
this assembly, and I say this with sadness, you ask them about
themselves, or you ask them about someone they care about, and
they say, well, I hope they're one of the elect. Maybe they're one
of the elect. I think they're one of the elect.
I hope, I think. Do they believe the truth of
the gospel? Has the gospel of Christ gripped
a hold of them? Has it conquered their heart
and mind and soul? That's what Paul said. We say. I've said it before.
We can't know who the elect are. That's not so. No, we do not
know who God elected, when He elected. But in time, He sends
forth His Spirit and His Gospel and He manifests who the elect
are. So that Paul says to these very
Thessalonians, Brethren, knowing your election of God. Why? Because
our Gospel didn't come to you in word only, but it came in
power and much assurance and in the Holy Ghost. And you became
followers of us and of the Lord. He set you among princes and
made you inherit the throne of glory. You see, there are people who
are hoping an election, but they never talk about conversion.
Why is that? Because they've never experienced
conversion. Because if you ever experience
conversion, if He ever lifts you up out of the dust, and lifts
you up off the dunghill, and sets you among princes, and makes
you to inherit the throne of the Father's glory, you'll quit
talking about the dust and the dunghill, and your glory in the
princes and the throne. It'll change your outlook, and
what you look at, and what you rejoice in. You can be the worst
sinner that ever walked and acknowledge it, but until God Almighty, and
unless God Almighty sets you among princes and makes you inherit
the throne of the glory, you'll perish if you die there. It's sad to talk about election,
election. They might be elect. I think
they're one of the elect. I hope they're one of the elect. They
could be one of the elect. Maybe they're elect here, maybe they're elect
there. Who knows? No, that ain't what it's all
about. No, the hope's not in election. The hope's in Christ.
Election didn't redeem you. Christ redeemed you. Election
didn't die for you. Christ died for you. Here's my conclusion. There are
no piecemeal participants in this kind of salvation. God brings
His own all the way out of the dust and all the way from off
the dunghill. You live there. Talk about in
the dust and on the dunghill. You live there and you die there. In the dust and on the dunghill.
You will be judged in the dust and on the dunghill and there
will be no remedy for you. I don't care how much you cry
about election, predestination. If when God Almighty judges the
world, you are still in the dust And on the dung hill, you'll
perish. Because those He chose, He does
what? He lifts them up out of the dust. Takes them off of the dung hill. Sets them among princes. And
makes them to inherit the throne of His Father's glory. You live
there. You die there. You will be judged
there. That's just the way it is. God,
if God Almighty does not convert you, He will condemn you. That's the summary of it all.
Now hear what I said. It's that simple. Boil it all
the way down. If God Almighty doesn't convert
you, I'll just regenerate. There are some who talk about
people being regenerated, but they're not all converted. I
don't find that anywhere in this book. No sir, if God Almighty
does not convert you, He will condemn you. That's where it's
at. There are times, and I'm not
trying here to make everything seem to be theologically fit. There are times when I can still
taste dust. When I look inwardly at me, The
old me, the Adamic me, I still smell the dunghill. But God Almighty
took me out of the dust. Didn't He? He raised me up out
of the dunghill, off of it. And He set me among princes.
He made me to inherit the throne of God's glory. I want to be
there, not back in the dust, and not on the dunghill. So again I say, if God does not
convert you, you can talk all day, well I believe God chose
me. Based on what? Conversion is the manifestation
of election, choosing. If God doesn't convert you, He
will condemn you. And it is that simple. Father, may it be that we're
enabled by your grace to think to pray, and Lord, even to live
and to walk in the truth of our sister Hannah's prayer. May it
be true of us, God. For your glory and for our good,
I ask you in Christ's name, amen. That's good. Thank you, Joe.