pleased with our little group. Like all of us, sometimes I wish
it was larger. I wish we had greater strength.
Let's put it that way. Not because of Walter and me,
but that we could possibly do more to get the message out. I'm glad there are still people. Don't be critical of this statement
now, because you've got to accept men as they are. I'm grateful
that there are people like Thomas Mann preaching. And I'll even
go so far, though he does get up on the old church once in
a while, I'll go so far as to say Lasseur Bradley is putting
out the truth. Now, he does believe, he does
actually believe, Lasseur does, that the Primitive Baptist Church
is the only place to be. well of course i believe that
grace uh... that sovereign grace chapel is the only place to be
uh... uh... you know if you're wrong pay
it not the truth though so i can't criticize the sewer uh... and
i'll tell you this and i i i told walter i may just visit this
morning if i were in roanoke and if i had to put up with what
is in roanoke religion-wise i would be in the primitive baptist church
with thomas man Now that's all there is to it. And I wouldn't
even, in fact, I could go down there and feel good. I just could. So, and we had, I want to commend
Walter this morning, because as I told him, I ought to come
up here and preach on what he preached on, but I'm not going
to do it. That subject's been on my mind for weeks on end. And the family will testify that
I was talking about it coming up the highway this morning.
We're living in an age in which there are no lines of right and
wrong. And we're living in an age, if
I would get up here and use plain English in what Paul had written,
there would be some people getting red-faced, right in our group
right now. I'll tell you, the immorality
of the average community today is appalling. It's appalling. I'm talking about sexual immorality.
It's appalling. There is no line drawn, Walter,
by saying this is right and this is wrong. No line drawn. You got to forgive me. No, I
don't. Because God doesn't have to. And there, I'm going to say this. I think when it comes on public,
and comes into public view, and public statements are made, and
evidence is presented, that one out of five middle school boys
and girls are sexually active, I think that's appalling. And I'll go even further. and
say i don't care if you're eighteen or nineteen if it's out of the
bonds of marriage same thing same thing now don't
kid yourself the scripture says that fornicators and adulterers
and liars and thieves and it goes on the whole list shall
not inherit the kingdom of god shall not and it occurs four
and five times in the new and from matthew on into revelation
Don't be duped by this world around us. They gloss everything
over. And they get you to feeling,
if you're this way, then you're the oddball. And that's what they're after. Now, I heard another fellow this
morning, like I say, I don't know, I may get way out of line
here this morning. I heard another fellow say this
morning that we've got to, and he was screaming, we've got to
witness the fields are ripe unto harvest, and the laborers are
few, and we've got to get out here and see that souls are saved.
And he said, all of you are afraid to do that. Well, I'm afraid
to try to do God's work, I'll tell you that. I've been there,
done that, like the fellow said, bought a t-shirt there. But this
fellow was saying, you've got, said, I know brother so-and-so
that he went out to visit the biggest man in the community.
Mean man, nobody would go and see him about his soul. And this
preacher decided he'd go see him and he went out there and
told him, he said, I'm here to talk to you about the Lord. He
said, get off my property. And I said, I'm here to talk
to you about the Lord. You need the Lord. Get off my
property. He said, then the old farmer
grabbed a hoe and said, get off my property. I'm going to chop
you. And the preacher said, I'm here to talk to you about the
Lord. Let me tell you, I don't know a preacher that wouldn't
have been out the gate before he got the hoe down. That's a lie. That's a lie. There's no doubt
about it. And this man, of course, accepted, in his words now, quote,
accepted Christ and became an outstanding member of the local
church. That's a lie. I don't believe
junk like that. I don't care who the preacher
is that tells the story. I just don't believe it. I don't
believe it, period. There's too much of that kind
of nonsense going on, and not what Walter did this morning.
There's a reason That we're in the state we're in, in our communities
right now. You say, well look, we got plenty.
Yeah, we got plenty, outwardly. We got nothing when it comes
to the inside. Unless we're in Christ. Unless
we're in Him. I read to you last week from
Hebrews, the fourth chapter, I believe,
beginning at the twelfth verse. And I don't know where I'll go
with this this morning. For the Word of God is quick and powerful. Now, a great many people will
tell you that, yes, the Word of God is quick and powerful,
and they'll take and hold up their Bibles like this. Now what
that says is the Word of God is alive and powerful. And they say, that's this book.
All you need do is preach the word. It's a good deal like,
I will lift up mine eyes under the hills from whence cometh
my help. It's a good deal like that. It doesn't mean what people
take it to mean. For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. Now, these fellows that say this
is the word of God that I have here, I'd like for them to explain
that. the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents
of the heart. Neither is there any creature, and that includes
all of us, neither is there any creature that is not manifest
in his sight. You can't do a thing but what
God sees it. And I read that there's a record
kept. Nothing. can be done. Every idle
word recorded, every thought, you say, well then, none of us
will, we're all lost. That's why we urge men to seek
Christ. to believe the gospel. Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but
all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do." There's a statement in the Old Testament, thou God
seest me, and he does. Seeing then, now we're changing
tense, see? Seeing then, we have a great
high priest. that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. And
isn't it strange that he's talking about the word of God and then
in verses 12 and 13, and then personalizes it in verse 14. Jesus, the son of God, that's
the living word with whom we have to do. Not just Walter's
word or this old preacher's word, but with the word being the living
word, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to do with him. Let us
hold fast our profession. Oft times, God's people forget
their profession. I mean, things can happen. Let's
face it. While we're in this flesh, things
can happen. And things that you're not proud
of. And it doesn't pay to keep on
maintaining an appearance. So that everybody thinks certain
ways. What is real is our relationship
with the Living Word. Nothing else, nothing else really
matters. Then he goes on to say, for we, that is believers, have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings
of our infirmities, and our weaknesses, our sins, but was in all points
tempted, tested, like as we are, yet without sin, apart from sin. let us therefore come boldly
under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in the time of need somebody says there's an
invitation url no that's not an invitation that's counsel
to god's people let us come boldly that is without any
without any quivering or without any doubt without any fear just
come boldly into that throne of grace. You know, I don't know,
I can't go very far here, but what I'd like for you to do,
and I don't know whether you will or not, but it would be
nice, if you would go back, don't do it now, if you would go back
to the 28th, and, yeah, well, let's just make it the 28th,
the 28th. Go back to the, when you have
time this afternoon sometime, go to the 28th chapter of Exodus,
and read it through. Read what Aaron had put on him. before he went into the Holy
of Holies. It's a fabulous thing. I mean, golden chains, and ephods
of fine twined linen, and belts, that is girdles, of embroidery. It was a tremendous sight. High
miters on his head. Of course, some people try to
imitate that today, but it won't work. Because it's not under
the command of God. Aaron's dress was under the command
of God, and I may do this. Everything that he put on had
a meaning Had a meaning for today For instance and I'll just mention
this he he puts on this Breastplate and on it are 12
stones and on each stone there is engraven a name of a tribe
in Israel. And Aaron bore them upon his
heart as he went into the holy place. Each one of the tribes,
all of them, collectively, he bore into the holy place. And
he bore them not only outwardly, but on his heart. And when Christ is, he is a type
of Christ. And as Christ entered in to the
holy place for us, as our forerunner, when he entered in, he entered
in with the names of every child of God, Jew and Gentile, from
eternity to eternity written in his hands. He did that. You see, Christ is Not only the
great high priest, not only that, but this great high priest is
sovereign of the universe. He wasn't someone that they drug
to the cross and executed as a criminal, the Roman government
executed as a criminal. No, no. No, no here here what
John writes of him and these verses will be familiar, and
I'll not be long John writes of him in John 13 3 and says
Jesus knowing that the father Had given all things into his
hands That makes him sovereign of everything
Oh Mahalia Jackson, I don't know whether any of you remember Mahalia
Jackson or not, was a singer, black singer. And she used to
sing a song called, He Got the Whole World in His Hand. And
then he'd go, he got you and me, brother, in his hand. And
he got the little bitty baby in his hands. That's sovereign
of everything. He's got it all. For the father, had given all
things into his hands. God did it! And that he was come from God
and went to God. He came from God as the only
begotten Son and he went to God, surely, as the only begotten
Son, plus the fact that he was a great high priest of God's
people who had sacrificed himself. The sacrifice And the priest
were one in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, of course,
the preacher, he was dead, yeah, but he was in the flesh. Come
and touch me and feel me and see if I am not what? Flesh and
bone. That was after his resurrection.
Didn't mention the blood, did it? the life is in the blood
that's what's that that's what the book says but the life is
in his blood eternal life and then again in john seventeen
two see another thing as thou hast given him power over all
flesh uh... people people say well uh...
i can't live like that like the bible says i i i i can't do that
That's why Christ died. That's why Christ died. That
he should given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. As many as God
gave him, he would give eternal life. You know, I get queer questions
on email, Walter, from preachers that I know. I had a question
this past week, among others. How is it? No, that's not right. When is a man regenerated? When? Because you know what I
preach, and Walter preaches it as well, that we are regenerated,
that we're given the gift of life before we receive the gift
of faith. Life comes before faith. And
this question was when, and then I got another letter, I wrote
a long answer, Walter, and then I got another two-liner about
that, two or three lines, said, you don't know what I'm talking
about, I'm talking about when. Well, I don't know. I just simply don't know. But I'm
going to tell you this, now I've been accused of this, and I expect
Walter has too, if he hasn't yet, he's been in long enough
to have been accused of it, let me put it that way. They say,
well, what you're saying is that a person then is born a child
of God. That's what I'm saying. That's
what I'm saying. Why, that can't be. It can be
if you're not Armenian. And like I told you, my mother
used to tell me, she'd tell me to do something. I'd say, oh,
mom, you kids have done this, haven't you? You know, didn't
want to do it. Oh, well, I gotta. She'd say,
get up and do it. If I had a lazy drop of blood
in my body, I'd take a knife and let it out. Well, if I had
a drop of Arminian blood in my body, I believe I'd try the same
thing. Yes, when the child of God comes into the world, God
has chosen him in Christ because he chose him before the foundation
of the world, and he is a child of God and guaranteed eternal
life. Even if he doesn't know it, that's
exactly right. even if he doesn't want it god will bring him to the place
where he does and i don't want you young people
here to get the wrong idea now that the preacher saying you
know it doesn't matter what i do uh... god's gonna rescue me sooner
or later if i'm a child of god and if i'm not it doesn't really
matter that's a that's a tough one isn't
it The point is, the point being,
that God rescues us out of the hand of the devil and he does
it by his own power. Now you can walk a long way in
rebellion, and ultimately when God brings you down... We sung the song this morning.
When God says to the Holy Spirit, Sovereign Grace, arrest that
man, that man, woman, that boy, that girl. Stop dead. And you know something else? We pay. We pay for past. You say, well, doesn't Christ
forgive him? Yes. Yeah, He does. But we reap. The natural returns. And God doesn't say, no, you
know, this is all right. Everything's fine. You're not
going to have any more problems. No, no. You reap the resowing
of your life in this world, one way or another. I had somebody
say to me, and you would recognize the name, I had somebody say
to me one time, how long does pain go on? When will the debt
be paid in God's own time? But it hurts, yeah. It sure does. No chastening is pleasant for
the moment. No. That's why I believe that
God teaches corporeal punishment. You know, the Board of Education
applied to the seat of learning. That's the best way to learn. But, this great high priest,
who is all of the things that I've been talking about, gives
eternal life to whom? You've heard it many times, to
as many as God has given him. Who, this word now, is the image
of the invisible God. Now how could that be a book? He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature. It changes there. It goes from
it to Him. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by Him and for Him. I'll just I'm doing this on purpose. I'm just interjecting things
Created for him and one day he'll rule over everything And he is before him and He is
before all things and by him all things consist and that's
Colossians 1 verses 15 and 16 By him all things consist you
know Well, we all know what would happen if the power of gravity
all of a sudden were cancelled. Say it no longer existed. What
would happen to us? Poof! Just like that. We'd fall
off the earth, literally. By Him all things consist. Hold
together. Another one of those words that
just doesn't give the full meaning to the passage. Everything holds
together. We're held here this morning
by the power of gravity because it consists of his power. The river flows. He holds that together. And Walter and I were just talking
about the fantastic things they do medically today, things that
are just unbelievable. I was telling him, and you all
have heard it already, they drilled a hole in the back of Uni's eye
and put a filter in and a draining tube. And she said, well, how long
will it be there? He said, for the rest of your
life. And she didn't even have a black
eye. To me, that's amazing. That is
a gift of God. I don't care if the man, and
I don't know Dr. Cotter at all, he did the surgery.
I don't know him at all. He may be a reprobate. I hope
he isn't, but he may be. But God takes the talent and
the gift given to a reprobate for the use of God's people while
we're here on Earth. And if a man tells me, I'm not
going to see a doctor anymore because I got no, well, I don't
have much confidence. Our confidence is supposed to
be in God. But that talent has been given. Every
good and perfect gift cometh down from the father of lights,
in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow or turning. Every
one of them. he is before him before all things
i don't know why i want to say him there he is before all things
and by him all things consist now that that means that he is
totally and absolutely sovereign over everything you see a bug
god is sovereign over that bug he created it i don't care how
ugly that bug is god created it The serpent he created. No matter how poisonous it is,
he created that serpent. Oh, I need not go further. But
I want to bring it down into the microscopic idea that everything
that we have, touch, see, feel, smell, hear, or believe is of God. What do you say, suppose
a man believes wrongly? Well, God just left him where
he was. He believes wrongly anyhow, so he'll just leave him set there. Doesn't give him anymore. Doesn't
know him. Doesn't know him. What an awful
thought. I want to become impressed that
this sovereignty extends to everything. God is sovereign over nations. He's sovereign over people, and
you've heard that from Walter and me for a long time, but he's
sovereign over nations. You know, nations are exactly
right now where God's placed them, for one reason or another. There are people who think to
be an American is the same thing as being a Christian. Well, that's not true. You know
that. That's not true. And I'll say another thing while
I'm here. Now, don't take me wrong in these
statements. Like I told you before, when
this thing in Iraq started, I've got a brother that lays in Europe
dead from World War II. I have another brother whose
life was messed up completely in World War II. But just because a person dies
in combat doesn't mean that they go to heaven. And yet there are
people that believe that. In World War II there was a song.
Did I ever tell you about that song? There's a star-spangled
banner waving somewhere in a distant land that's far across the sea
and only Uncle Sam's brave heroes get to go there. In that heaven
there must be a place for me. And they sang it all the while. That's how perverted a mind can
become. Now I should say something about
Jessica Lynch, I suppose, but I won't. Now, God is sovereign over people. He's sovereign over countries.
He's sovereign over Iraq. He's sovereign over those Muslims
that have no more sense of right and wrong than that cat laying
under the table? Maybe not as much. And rulers are placed in their
position by God's power. God has ordained them to their
position. And as God ordains them, you
know, God also ordains the way they are taken down. And every
one of them are taken down. Oh, but this is a righteous country. Ho-ho. Not hardly. Not hardly. Now, God rules over
the actions, and I know that I'm contradicting myself because
I can get upset about politicians. But nevertheless, this book says
one thing, whatever I might feel. God says that he has ordained
rulers for our good. Now, I don't understand that. I see in Africa, I see thousands
of children with flies drinking out of their eyes. and pot-bellied
from starvation, legs about this big around. No history, and so far as I can
see, no future for them. They die unknown and unwanted. And there's nothing, it seems,
that anybody can do about it. And it's all due to the rulers.
They even take our relief money and our grain and so forth that
we send over there and sell it, and the rulers take the money.
That's a proven fact. But we keep on. Not only that, but we're supposed to pray for
them. All right, now I can just hear
it. I can just hear it in some meeting house on a Wednesday
night. Lord, you've told us that we've
got to pray for our rulers, and we pray for them, that you'd
get in there and stir their hearts, and open their eyes, and open
their ears, that they can see, and that they might... That's
not what Paul said here. Listen to what he said. He said, prayer should be made
for kings and those in authority. Why? that we may live peaceable
and quiet lives. In other words, let us alone. That's what he's saying. Absolutely, that's what the Spirit
of God put on Paul's heart to write. Live quiet lives in all
godliness and holiness. God establishes governments,
He establishes who is to rule in these governments, listen,
the most high, and this is the NIV by the way, Joe, the most
highest sovereign over the kingdoms of men, and gives them to anyone
he wishes, and sets over them the lowliest of men. A fellow asked me one time, Earl,
are you going out to the Beckley airport to greet this person?
He was running for the President of the United States. I said,
no. Well, he said, why not? This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
You can shake his hand. I said, why should I? I said,
if he walks down the street, comes up, speaks to me, tells
me who he is, I'll shake his hand. But I'm not going to make
a trip out there just to look on his face and shake his hand
and then not wash my hand for a month. I'm just not going to do that. And you ought to go over to Daniel,
the fourth chapter, and read the whole thing. That's what
you ought to do, because that's where that comes from, 17th verse. You should read the whole thing.
You should read about old Nebuchadnezzar. He was the greatest king. He
was king over Iraq, over Babylon. And you know what? He said, I'm
the greatest thing that ever stood on the face of the earth.
Now that's my words. There's nothing like me. And
God took his mind and made him crazy. And his fingernails grew
as long as eagles' talons, and he went out and ate grass like
an ox. But you know something even greater
than that? Nebuchadnezzar repented, and God put him back in full
power again, and he said, now I know, I know that God is in
heaven. I know it. You ought to read
that, just for your own good. Well, you ought to read the whole
thing for your own good, for that matter. You know, when I think
that there are mean, evil, and wicked tyrants that have ruled
and do rule right today in this world. We might well be amazed that
they rule by the sovereign will of God. But that's what the scripture
tells us. And we have to see this thing
from God's eternal perspective, from His sight, what He says.
Psalm 76 10 says surely the wrath of man shall praise thee Speaking
of to God now now listen shall praise thee the remainder of
wrath shall thou restrain He's able to restrain that wrath
Matt asked me a question one time and I He said Dad, if God leaves the heathen
in darkness, and he does it by his decree, what do western nations
go over there and try to change their way of life into ours,
and to make them Christians? Well, you know, China, we were
in China for years. Well, what's her name? Tell me,
up on Hillsboro. Pearl Buck. Pearl Buck was about
a year old when she was in Hillsboro, by the way. She didn't stay there
more than a couple of years. And we've got that house settled
for her. Anyway, her parents were missionaries
in China. And I believe now I'm right in
this. They were driven out by the Boxer
Rebellion, which was a rebellion that started amongst the Chinese
themselves, and they hated whites, with good reason most of the
time. But the point is this, that we spent literally millions
of dollars and lives in China, and you know what they were?
They finally got the idea that they were rice Christians. What
does that mean that means if you'll give me rice to eat I'll
believe your doctrine And that's the same thing that's
been true in Africa I've heard missionaries from Africa since
well since I was old enough to go and listen to a missionary
from Africa They are always always telling about the great need
yes, there's a need but God is sovereign Now sure the scripture tells
me if I see my brother hungry I gotta feed him, my brother. And let me tell you something,
all men are not my brothers. God will allow, and I'll be done
in just a minute, God will allow people, whether they're strong-willed
tyrants, dictators, or weak-kneed politicians, which we've had
a belly full of, He puts him in a position in which ultimately, sooner or
later, that position is going to result to the glory of God.
That's all they're set in place for. God not only determines who rules
in these nations, He also sets the time, how long they rule. Isaiah 40 and verse 23 says he
brings princes to naught, to nothing, and reduces the rulers
of this world to nothing. And I must say that God's people
are not to be impressed by the rulers of this world. They're
not to be impressed by Hollywood stars, God forbid. They're not to be impressed by
athletes. I mean that. uh... i think it's been very
evidence been before our eyes for the last several weeks for
about a year two or three weeks till it's become nauseating and
yet you've got people that nearly worship athletes the the obsession i've i've seen
men cry when a football team lost i mean grown men that's
about the dumbest thing i ever saw in my life i was embarrassed a grown man. And of course, same
thing. Did you know that when this race
driver was killed, tell me his name, I don't remember these
things. Who? Dale Earnhardt. Did you know
that when the Winston Cup race started, that there was D-E written
in stars? Yes, there was. And that meant
that Dale Earnhardt was in heaven because God made the stars to
spell out D-E. And that's Dale Earnhardt. This
kind of garbage is total paganism. You say, well, you and Walter
spend a whole lot of time talking about other people. Well, yeah,
they sure do, and more, and more. But unless we say it, schoolteachers
are not going to. Politicians won't. and you'll
be lied to day after day, week after week, and month after month,
until your head's filled with things that aren't true. You
say, well, you're cynical. Yeah, I am when it comes to this
world. Most governments have their cabinets,
you know, they have their councils, they have their parliaments,
they have their senates, and their congresses, and their supreme
courts, Proverbs 16.3 says that the lot
is cast into the lap. But every decision is from the
Lord. They think they're making up
their minds. God's doing it. Throughout the Old Testament,
all of it, all of it, we find men and kings included, listening
to poor advice from councils and from cabinets and from parliaments,
and they suffer the consequences. Some of the decisions made by
the government in this country have been so foolish that it's almost impossible
to express it. And we see and hear about these
things on a daily basis. And we are in a, and this is
why I told Walter I was going to preach on what he preached
on. We are in a time of moral decline such as this nation has
never before experienced. And I say morals. I'm saying that it's immoral,
and I'm going to preach about something that really burns me.
I'm going to say something about it, let me put it that way. that
a dentist can do a root canal in less than thirty minutes and
charge somebody five hundred and ten dollars. That's immoral. There's an immoral that is not
sexual immorality. That's immoral. And the fact
that some woman sitting grinning silly-like on a television program,
supposedly doing the news, can be worth seven million dollars
a year, that's immoral. And we have no part in that. And for God's sake, don't take
part in their giddy, foolish worship. Just tell it like it
is. Just tell it like it is. To anybody. Anybody starts bragging
on one of these heathens, just pull it down right now. Oh, I
don't want to do that. Well, I do. You send him to me. Total chaos reigns in our schools because
of this moral decline. There is one thing that is predominant, and one thing that is touted,
and one thing that is displayed, and that's a capital S and a
capital E and a capital X. And Americans feed on this. The television, I just told the
family the other day, I'm going to have to do what Walter did.
I'm going to have to throw this machine out in the backyard and
beat it up with an axe. And I'm just about serious. If
I could get, if I could get, and oh I get tired of polar bears
and seals, but if I could get National Geographic and one news
broadcast, and a couple of documentaries when they come out, That's all
I'd need. In fact, they can put a documentary
on for five hours and I'll watch it. And let's see, what's his name? Ralph Stanley. He's all right. He agrees with us, by the way.
You know who I'm talking about? After he finished singing, he
wasn't in, I don't think he was in the movie, Oh Brother Where
Art Thou Yet, was he? Just his voice. When he finished
the movie, I think he was 70, 70 years old. And this is, I
read this in a magazine. And a fellow went and had an
interview with him. And he said, we hear, and they call him Dr. Stanley, and I don't know why.
I don't know what he's a doctor of. all right nasty worry practices
uh... but uh... uh... it's a doctor
stanley uh... i hear that you've recently made
a a step of faith yes it did is that you know people think
you can be saved just a willy nilly just when you want to be
said you can't you don't want to be that's a problem he said
you're not trying to be you just don't want to be Well, he said,
a few months ago I heard a message. And that message was to me. And I knew, and these aren't
the exact words, I knew what God had done. He said, I called
the preacher at 2.30 in the morning wanting to be baptized. And he
was baptized the next day. Because I don't think any preacher
wants to get out and get in that water at 2.30 in the morning. But I'm
saying, We're not making an impression
because we're not radical enough. A Muslim will tell you right
up front what he is. And I know believers that'll
keep their mouth shut. We want to be a part of the social
order. Thank you.