Well, we've heard the Word of
God read today. And the Apostle Paul's prayer
for the folks at Ephesus was that they might know. One of
my saddest observations is that so many of God's kids don't know. They really can't sing Blessed
Assurance, Jesus is Mine, Oh, what a poor taste of glory divine. They don't have that joy because
they don't know. So today, I want to talk to you. This is going to be weird. And
by the way, I want you to know this. I had church for three
hours last night. I've already heard this message.
And I want you to know this. It may not happen here today.
But I got filled with the fullness of God in my own study last night.
Just me and God there. So I've already preached this
message. And I've enjoyed it so much.
I'm so happy today to say I was with the Lord last night. It
was great. Actually, I kind of have two
subjects. I want to ask two questions.
Do you know who you really are? Do you know who you really are?
I'd say the vast majority in here do not. You don't know who you really
are. I experienced that for many years
as a child of God. In fact, I used to tell Pam when
we were dating, people made me to be something I'm not. I really
don't know who I am. I was religious. I was an up-and-coming
young evangelist and traveling and people had me on a pedestal
that I knew was a lie. That I really wasn't what they
thought I was and I really didn't know who I was. So, do you know
who you really are? And then the second question
is this, are you a chicken or a duck? Before you leave here today,
I hope you are saying, quack, quack, quack. I want to begin
by telling you a story. When I was a little boy, I would
spend a lot of time in the summer in Kentucky down on the farm
with my grandmother and grandfather. Now, I know sometimes Some of
you may perceive that, you know, if you have a grandfather and
grandmother who are Christians, everything is great. But I want
to tell you, my grandfather was weird. He was a deacon in a Baptist
church, but he was really weird. I didn't like him. I don't think
he liked anybody. But now my grandmother, Tutty,
what a great joy it was to be with Tutty. She loved to fish
and would take me fishing. We'd do so many, many things
together. I really never got to know my
granddad. Any of you have any weird family members? I'm not
looking. But my grandmother, Tutte, she
was full of life. She always had a big garden.
I learned a lot about gardening from her. would still be gardening
if all of those houses weren't built around my house where I
have no room. I know some of you here have never learned to
milk a cow. Teddy taught me how to milk.
I'm going to say udder. Down on the farm we didn't say
udder, but if you... Teddy taught me how to really
get some rhythm going with milking the cow. And these first two
fingers, you start at the top of the udder, and then you kind
of come down to the next two, and you start going like this.
And pretty soon that milk's hitting the bucket. Ting, ting, ting,
ting, ting, ting. I learned to milk the cow. Old
Betsy was her name. And of course, when the cats
saw us headed for the barn with the bucket, all the cats followed
us. So every once in a while, while
I got to milk Betsy, I got to feed the cats, too. They learned to open their mouth.
I'd fill it full of milk. I have wonderful memories about
that. I can remember the first time
I got corn out of the corn crib to feed the chickens. I opened
that crib door, and there was a six-foot black snake laying
on top of the corn. I ran back and I told Tutty,
get the hoe. We've got to kill this snake.
It's in the corn crib. Oh, she said, Kenna boy, that's
Blackie. He's lived there for six or seven
years. He eats the mice who eat the
corn. So, Blackie was off limits. That was an adventure. I saw
Blackie in there many, many times. Many, many times. Say, well,
what does that have to do? Am I a chicken or a duck? Well,
I'm about to tell you. I think this is a lesson that
after 50 years of preaching, I'm just beginning to bring some
of these truths home. It's an unusual story. Teddy
had chickens, and every summer she would have some setting hens. Hens that were determined to
sit on the eggs to make little chicks. And sometimes she didn't
want sitting hens, so she would throw them off the nest every
time we'd go in there, and those old hens would have a fit. But
this one particular summer, I was a little boy, and I remember
that Tutty somehow got a large duck egg. And these old hens
would set on any kind of egg you put under them. So Tutty
took that big duck egg, set it under the old hen with 10 regular
eggs from chickens. The time came when the eggs all
hatched, including the duck egg. Ten little chicks and one little
duck. I got to thinking about that
now that I'm 70 years old. Just thought about it a couple
weeks ago. I said, I'm going to preach on that. Can you imagine
the confusion that that little duck had? Ten little chickens
and one little duck. I'm positive that little duck
at first had no idea who he was. He didn't know he was a duck.
But a duck he was. But it seemed all the chickens
knew what he was. He was a chicken. And all ten little chicks told
him, you're nothing but a chicken. One day when the ten chicks and
the little duck was passing the pond, the little duck said, hey, let's
go for a swim. Well, the ten little chicks said,
are you nuts? You're a chicken, we're chickens,
and chickens don't swim. I said, but I want to swim. I feel
the urge to swim. I have the desire to swim. Swim, said the ten little chicks. You can't swim. You're a chicken. You ever been told what you can't
do, but you wanted to do it deep down inside of you? There was
a mystery really forming inside of you as to who you were. The little duck went down to
the edge of the pond and got in the water and began to swim. Have you ever seen a little baby
duck swim? They're natural swimmers. The 10 chicks. stood on the bank
and ridiculed the little duck. You'll get more of this as we
go along. By the way, I made this up. Most of the verbiage
here, I made up. Say, yeah, it sounds like it,
Pastor. You made it up. The other little chick said,
don't swim. You can't swim. You're crazy.
But the little duck swam. It was awesome. It was wonderful. Soon the little duck got out
of the water and began to say to himself, as all the chicks
said, you're crazy. The little duck said, I am crazy.
What was I doing getting in the pond? I'm a chicken. But the
little duck continued to hang out with the chicks, always thinking
he was a chicken. The little duck got older. And
as he got older, he started thinking about flying. Flying? You've already made a
fool of yourself by swimming. Now you think you can fly? One
day he announced to the chicks, I'm going to fly. All of them said, you're still
a crazy little chicken. That's all you are. You can't
fly. You'll never fly. You'll never
be able to fly. You know chickens can't fly. What about you? What do you think
about? What do you dream about? When
you let the secret out that you want to swim, and all the other
chickens are saying to you, you can't swim. You're nothing but
a stupid chicken, like the rest of us. You can't fly. But something
down inside, you even think you're crazy. Do you know who you are? Do you
really know who you are? Maybe it's time to check your
DNA. Maybe You're not a chicken. Maybe you're a duck. Maybe your
father's not a rooster. Maybe it's a mallard. Is that
a duck? Maybe your father's not the devil.
It looks like your father's the devil. I mean, you use crack. You're in a crack house. You've
got the pipe. You're injecting. You're fornicating. You look like a chicken. You
even act like a chicken. But does it ever cross your mind
that you may not be a chicken? Sitting here in the house of
God, listening to this crazy preacher preach the gospel, do
you ever get goosebumps about God has come to earth and God
They just love you. And you may, as crazy as it seems,
you may be a duck. I mean, all the evidence around
you and all of your companions say you're a chicken. I'm about
to get happy here by myself. You don't like my story? I love
it. I had church last night. I screamed and hollered and yelled
and just all by myself. I'm a duck! Yes, you grew up with the chickens,
thinking you were a chicken. But something happened. You found
yourself in a rehab center. Crackhead. Maybe you're not a crockhead.
You ever thought about checking your DNA? Especially when you begin to
look at yourself and you thought the devil was your daddy, but
you don't resemble your daddy. You don't act like your daddy
anymore. Something's changed. In your
life. You need to check your DNA. Say, well, I don't feel safe. I'll
bet that little duck didn't feel like a duck either. It's hard to know you're a duck
when you're hanging out with the chickens. Something happening in here with
you? There you sit. Some of you right now think I've
read your mail. Some of you are going like, how did he know on
number 10 up? I was thinking about God just
the other night. How did he know I was saying
these crazy little duck prayers? Nobody could hear me, but I had
this urge. I must tell Jesus. I must tell
Jesus. I cannot bear these burdens alone. Oh, you sound like a duck to
me. I know all the other chickens
call you a mission person. Even the chickens on the outside
who've never been to the mission, oh, you're one of those people.
Oh, you're a mission person. Even some of you in aftercare
and you graduate, even some of you that are employed by us now,
people say, oh, you graduated from the mission? Tell them you're
a duck! And churchy people will do that.
Oh. You went through the mission. Isn't that wonderful? And then it's like this. Go on
back to the chicken coop. Anybody ever told you you wouldn't
amount to much? I don't know. Maybe it's your mother or father. They didn't know. Really know. Hey, have you ever thought about
this? Maybe you were adopted. Maybe
the DNA that you thought you had, you don't have. Maybe the
mother and dad, have you been begotten by the Word of God?
Have you been born again by the Spirit of God? Have you become
a new creature in Christ Jesus? Has something happened to your
mind? It's been renewed? Has something happened where
you hate the things you once did and love God and love Christ? Sounds like a duck to me. I know what other chickens call
you. There are people in here I know for sure. I know this
for sure. And I say this a lot. There are
people hiding in that mission over there. And I know all of
you aren't mission people. I'll get to you in a little bit.
But I know there's people hiding over there in that mission that
have outstanding gifts. You know, I had to come over
and see the steps last night. I had to do that too. Aren't those steps beautiful
out there? Our guys did that. Don Woodward is on the city council. Everybody said he was a chicken.
I even said he was a chicken. But he was a duck. Think about
that. By the way, Don, I pray that
God will touch you Wednesday. Touch your body and bless the
doctors as they do that surgery. What if the DNA comes back? What
if you sitting here this morning began to realize you're not a
chicken? The test comes back and you're
a duck. Isn't this deep theology? I thought last night, people
are going to go away saying that wasn't one of your better messages,
Pastor. What if you're not a goat? You're
a sheep. Jesus said, I know my sheep.
I love my sheep. I lay down my life for my sheep.
No man takes my life from me. I lay it down that I might take
it up again and give them everlasting life. You may smell like a goat,
walk like a goat, talk like a goat, but sitting right here you're
one of God's sheep and He's going to find you. You may be the number
100 sheep. There were ninety and nine sheep
in the fold. But the shepherd left the one
sheep and went through the valleys of sin and over the mountaintops
of iniquity and lay hold on that sheep and brought it home. Where
are you, sheepy, sheepy? Before I get through here today,
we're going to have chickens and goats and sheep and ducks. Yeah! I'm getting to that. That's
in my notes. What if you find out that God
is your Father? What if you begin to find out
who you really are? That you didn't get over there
at that center by accident. You were drawn there. I love
to tell the story. And I don't know who that was.
Maybe Charles Cooper knows. I saw him a while ago. But years
ago, Or maybe that was Daryl, I don't know. Down in Detroit,
higher than a kite, finally reached bottom. This young man began to tell people down there,
I'm bottomed out. My life is useless. And somebody
down there said, you ought to go to Pontiac Rescue Mission
in Pontiac, Michigan. And the person who told him that
said, He said, I don't know anything
about Pontiac. I've never been there before. He said, I'm going
to give you the money to get on the bus. He gave him the money
to get on the bus. Guess where the first stop was
of the bus? Right in front of 35 East Huron
Street. You think that was an accident?
No. You were a duck just waiting
to get found. You know, He finds lost people.
You know, He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
He's a seeking sinner. Even when you're hiding out in
the bushes like Adam and Eve, He'll seek you out. Down in Lodibar,
all camouflaged. Looking like a crack addict.
Acting like a crack addict. Using, trying to destroy yourself. And then God came. and found
you. Have you ever thought about this? That all things work together? And listen to this. And we know. And we know. Do you know? Do
you know you're a duck? Once you begin to find out you're
a duck, life gets better. You become a conqueror. You know
you're more than a conqueror. You know you can do all things
through Christ. You begin to find out who you
really are. Find out who your daddy is. Find out that you're intimately
loved. That before you were formed in your mother's belly, God already
loved you. You're not an accident. Oh, somebody
ought to say hallelujah. You're not an accident. You have
been fearfully and wonderfully made. And before that sperm ever
hit that egg, God had already loved you and wrote your name
down in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the
world. And here you are today. You think you're a chicken. You
don't know God's love. You with an everlasting love.
I want you to find out. And that was Paul's prayer as
Greg read the Scriptures there in Ephesians. Paul said, I pray
that you might know what is the mighty power that's working in
you. The same power that brought Jesus
out of the tomb is working in you. You can't fail. A lot of you ducks in here are
talking like chickens. I can't do that. I'll never get
off drugs. I'm an addict. Who told you that?
Who is it that keeps telling you you're a chicken? It's not
God. Even after some of you make professions
of faith. And let me say this to the relapsers,
which we all are in one way or another. God's never going to
give up on you. You're a duck. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise pass out. He's going to keep on drawing
you. You know why you can't get away from God? Because He won't
let you go. You can mess up. You more than
likely will. But wherever you go, He goes.
He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Does that mean
if you go in the bar, he's there? Yep, he's there. Don't be taking
him in the bar. If you go in the crack house,
is he there? Oh yeah, he's there because you're there. And greater
is he that's in you than he that's in the world. Crack. Drugs are
no match for Almighty God. You are a winner. In fact, you
are more than a winner. You are more than a conqueror. I don't know what that means,
but I think it means you win, you win, you win, you win. You're
a winner. You're not a loser. Oh, if you
could only find out who you are. And I want this church to learn
this vocabulary. Quit talking about what you can't
do. Quit telling other people what they can't do. Let's start
a rally like, I can do anything I want to do with Christ's help.
I'm more than a conqueror. I'm a child of the King. I'm
a joint heir with Jesus Christ. Amen. With Jesus my Savior, right? I'm a child of the King. Do you
know who you are? You're not poor. All things are
yours. The problem is you keep believing
you're a chicken. And everybody tells you a chicken.
Well, get out your birth certificate. Start telling them your birthday. I was 8 years old when God gave
me my birth certificate. He borne me again down on my
knees in the parsonage of Grace Baptist Church. I was there when
it happened. Something happened. The burden
was rolled away. I got a birth certificate. Listen,
I'm going to cross the border one day. I got a passport. I'm heaven bound. I started singing
last night. We're bound for the promised
land. Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised
land. I'm bound. I'm going. I'm a duck. Now, it's true, once I was lost,
but now I'm found. See, once I was blind. There
are some of you are totally blind. You have no idea who you are.
That's why I preach the Gospel. One day you're sitting there
blind in both eyes. Plumb blind. Blind as a bat. There are none so blind as those
who cannot see. Or something like that. But when God takes the scales
off your eyes and you find out who you are, You start asking
things like this. What am I doing in the hood? What am I doing in here? I don't
belong here. Did y'all just send me a message? You know, I wouldn't mind if
you just got saved if you text me. I'll wait here a minute. Wouldn't that be something? I'm
here in your church listening to you preach. I just got paid. Oh, you're a duck. You're not a buzzard. You're an eagle. You're not a
goat. You're a sheep. You're not a
chicken. You're a duck. And some of you are gasping back
there like, are you sure? I'm more sure than you are. I'm
trying to get you to see. Hey, I never heard anything like
that in my life. My daddy told me I was no good.
Never amounted to anything. Never got as good grades as my
brother or sister. Always played down. I'm telling
you this, you're a duck. And you know what? I passed out some of these tickets
that other people bought for you. Be careful when I'm around
because I'm interested in one thing, finding out if you're
a duck. When I come to the thrift stores,
it's really not about sales. My greatest thrill Friday was
to get to talk to Tracy there as the greeter. Just to clarify, I'd like to
go to the concert. Many of you don't know her story.
Once she was lost. Now she's found. Where's my greeter out at the
Warren store? Where are you? Where are you? There you are, way back there.
See, you thought I would forget you. Stand up back there and
let me see you. When I walked into the... Now, you got to say it good and
loud, because so people up front can hear. When I walked in and
shook your hand, you said, Hi, Pastor Clark. And you said, I'm
a... You said, I'm something about...
I'm rough on the outside, but I can talk good. Is that what
you said? Something like that? Is that what you said? I put
him on the spot. He doesn't want that speaker. What did you say,
exactly? That's all right. You can sit
down now. That's right. You know what I said to myself? What I
said to myself? He's a duck! I love... Yeah, we're all going
to be quacking before we leave here. Quack, quack, quack, quack,
quack, quack. Don't you know you're in the
will? Don't you know you're in the will? And He promised never
to take you out of the will? Your name is written down. You're
in the will. He's promised never to leave
you nor forsake you? Or say, why am I in all this
mess? See, you're talking chicken talk now. You see. If you never got lost, you can
never get saved. If you were never lost, you don't
need a Savior if you're not a sinner. Jesus is a friend of sinners.
I mean, are you really bad? Have you sunk so low that you
know you're a chicken and God knows you're a duck? God chooses the low-borns, the
nobodies of this world. to magnify His grace. Don't you
know it's well with your soul? I want you to know it. So bad,
I want you to know it. The devil's greatest ploy is
to bring up your mess. For you to be thinking about
your mess. Let me tell you, there's nobody
in here that doesn't have mess. Don't listen to slewfoot. Always
talk back to him. You can't fool me. Don't throw
that stuff at me. There's no condemnation to those
that are in Christ Jesus. I'm not going to hell. I'm heaven
bound. I've passed from death to life. Find out who your daddy is. Check
your DNA. All right, it must be getting
close to quitting time. A lot of moving going on. All
right, now I want to just say this last thing. Now, this is
tough. I want to address you chickens
who think you're ducks. Oh, you're not one of those mission
people. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. You claim
to be a duck, but you're really a chicken in duck clothes. You
know what I mean by that? You go to church. You're full
of yourself, literally. You claim to be a duck, but really,
you're not a duck. You're just a Baptist, a Catholic,
a Methodist, a Presbyterian, a Lutheran. That's all you are.
Do you know what I'm talking about? I hope somebody finds
out today that being a Baptist won't take you to heaven, honey.
You're still a chicken. And watch how you talk about,
I'm this, I'm that, I'm the other. Talk more about this. I was lost
and he found me. He came to me when I wouldn't
come to him. You claim to be a sheep, but
you're really a goat. You claim to be a horse, but
you're really an ass. You're more religious every morning,
near hell every night. You claim to be saved when you
never really thought yourself to be lost. Let me tell you something.
You've got to get down and low and know who you are without
Jesus Christ. Lost! I love to hear people say,
I've bottomed out fast and I've gone as far as I'm sick and tired
of being sick and tired. Oh, you're about to get saved.
That's the way people who get saved talk. They don't brag on
themselves. You never were a sinner in your
own mind. You've got to become... Listen.
Listen to me really close. God only saves chief of sinners. You've got to be number one sinner.
You can't be pointing at somebody else and say, well, you know,
I do drink a little liquor, but I don't use marijuana. And I may smoke a joint or two,
but really I'm not as... No, you're not. Right now, you're
not in the saving mode. You're a chicken. You look like
a chicken. You act like a chicken. But you
are a religious chicken. You never said, Thy will be done.
It's always your will. You have never bent your knee
to His Lordship because you think you're captain of your own ship
and master of your own soul. You've never seen Him as the
way because you're trying to make your own way. You have never
seen Him to be life because you've never seen yourself to be dead.
You have never seen Him to be the truth because you would rather
believe a lie. You have never seen Him to be
the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon, because you had rather
have a bouquet of thorns and thistles. You have never seen
Him to be the mighty counselor because you take counsel with
yourself of all things. Now, I know that sometimes self-talk
is good, but not when it comes to saving yourself. Don't be
doing self-talk. You know, I'm a Presbyterian. I'm a good Presbyterian. I've
been a Presbyterian for years. I've been sprinkled ducks and
poured. I've taken Holy Communion many, many times. You're sounding
more like a chicken every day. You've never seen Him to be the
Prince of Peace because you're busy fighting life's tempest. And you have no peace. You have
not seen Him to be your everlasting Father because you're of your
Father the devil. You have not seen Him to be the
door because you're standing in the way. You have not tasted
Him as the bread of life because you're eating devil's food. You've got to be lost. I wish
I could find a real bona fide sinner. I mean a real sinner
who had a pedigree. I wish I could find somebody
here today that was lost and empty and undone and helpless
and hopeless. If I could just find somebody
like that. I've got some good news for you.
There is a Savior. There is a Savior. Oh, I love
the Savior. I was thinking about Him this
morning. He's the living head of an undying family. His family
find in His death their significance, in His life their example, in
His cross their redemption, and in His resurrection their hope.
In this large family of his, there are many of different occupations. To the artist, he's the altogether
lovely. To an architect, he's the chief
cornerstone. To an astronomer, he's the son
of righteousness. To a baker, he's the living bread. To a banker, he's the hidden
treasure. To a biologist, he is life. To a carpenter, he's the sure
foundation. To a doctor, he's the great physician. To an educator, he is the great
teacher. To a farmer, he is the lily of
the valley and rose of Sharon to the florist. To the genealogist,
he's the rock of ages. To the jeweler, he's the pearl
of great price. To a philosopher, he's the wisdom
of God. To a Christian, he's the son
of the living God, Savior and Lord. He is our kindest friend. He is our unworried benefactor.
He is our patient teacher. His wisdom is our guide, His
power our defense, His sympathy our consolation, His approval
our reward, His salvation our highest hope. He is the sun who
enlightens us. He is the physician who heals
us. He is the wall of fire that defends us. He is the friend
who comforts us. He is the pearl who enriches
us. He is the ark who supports us. He is the rock who sustains
us. He's the true Deliverer. He's
the Prophet, the Priest, and King. He's the White and Rudy
One. He's the Lion and the Lamb. He's the Servant and the Lord.
He's the true scapegoat, the true brazen serpent. He's my
mercy seat. He is my joy and my comfort. His blood is my pardon. His righteousness
is my justification. His strength is my support. His
promise is my cheer. His grace keeps me. His power
presents me. Faultless, His bond is love and
His burden is light. When I fall, hallelujah, He lifts
me up. When I fail, He forgives me. When I'm weak, He is strong.
When I'm lost, He's the way. When I'm afraid, He is my courage. When I stumble, He steadies me. When I'm hurt, He heals me. When I'm broken, He mends me.
When I'm blind, He leads me. When I'm hungry, He feeds me. When I'm persecuted, He shields
me. When I face loss, He provides
for me. When I face death, He carries
me home. His ways are right. His word
is eternal. His will is unchanging, and His
mind is on me. He's everything for every elect,
everywhere, every time, and every way. Since He is the way, there
is no other. Since He is the truth, everything
else is a lie. Since He is the life, everything
apart from Him is death. He is the architect of the universe
and manager of all times. He is unmoved, unchanged, undefeated,
and never undone. He was bruised and brought healing.
He was pierced and eased by pain. He was servant and brought freedom.
He was dead and brought life. The world can't understand him,
yet no one can ignore him. The armies can't defeat him.
Herod couldn't kill him. Nero couldn't crush him. The
Pharisees couldn't confuse him. Hitler couldn't silence him.
Phil Donahue can't explain him. The New Age can't replace him.
And salvation by work people can't control him. He's keeper
of the creation, and the creator he keeps. His name is Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise our God. Amen. Amen. Hey, don't get me started here. He is the resurrection. He is
the resurrection. He's the key holder. His name
is reverend and holy. He's the image of the invisible
God. He's the first begotten of every
creature. He's the head of the church.
He's the firstborn from the dead. He's the pearl from paradise.
He's the gem from the holy land. He's time's choice's theme. He
is life's strongest cord. His blessed name is like honey
to the taste, harmony to the ear, help to the soul, and hope
to the heart. He precedes all others in priority. He exceeds all others in his
superiority. And he succeeds all others in
his finality. He's the master of the mighty.
He's the captain of the conquerors. He is the head of the heroes.
He is leader of the legislature. He is the overseer of the overcomers. He is the governor of governors.
He is the prince of princes. He is the owner, for he's Lord. Even though he didn't put his
initials or signature in the sunset, he's still the owner,
though he did not put his mark On the meadow, he's still the
owner. Though he did not carve his initials in the side of the
mountain, he's still the owner. Even though he did not put a
brand on the cattle of a thousand hills, he's still the owner.
He did not take a copyright out. on the songs the birds sing,
but he's still the owner. He had no servants, yet they
called him master. He had no degree, yet they called
him teacher. He had no medicine, yet they
called him healer. He had no army, yet kings feared
him. He won no military battles, and
yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet he
was crucified. He was buried in a tomb, but
got up on the third day. Hallelujah! He is Christ the
Lord. Oh yeah. You see what happened
to me last night, right? That's what happened to me last
night. And my friend, you're a duck, not a chicken. Let's
start acting like it around here. Let's stand together and praise
his name. Go high like the most high. You
don't know what high is. Look what heroin did for you.
Messed up your health. Made your teeth rot. And a few
other things. Look what Christ will do for
you. You're wandering around in this dark world. No light. Every addict in here with regard
to drugs, you're depressed. You know you're depressed. You're
struggling over there. You can't even keep those little...
I'm talking to somebody today. Who am I talking to here? I'm
talking to somebody today. You can have life and have it
more abundantly. in Jesus Christ. That's why when
they called with the 500,000 and asked us to take the gospel
out of that piece of paper where we were appealing to the bank
for that money. Absolutely not. We're not taking
the gospel out of anything here. We're putting more in, more in,
more in. Because that's our only hope
and that's your only hope. I wonder if you could just do
this. I know what you're thinking about. You're thinking about
your own history. That preacher doesn't know what I've done.
I've wallowed in the stables of sin. I'm as black as all hell. Well, let the preacher tell you
something. The blood of Jesus Christ will make you white as
snow. The blood of Christ will take away your past. The blood
of Christ... The blood of Christ... will remove
your sin as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered
against you anymore. Saints, are you glad you're saved?
Are you happy today? Are you rejoicing in Christ today? I pray you are. Let's stand together
and sing the praise of our God.