If you wouldn't open your Bibles
with me to Philippians chapter three. Philippians the third
chapter. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it's safe. Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, Beware of the concision, for
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of
the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the
law of Pharisees. concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I
count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ,
and be found in him. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."
We'll end our reading there. Thank God for his word. Let's
bow together in prayer. Our Father, we've gathered here
together this evening out of this world and come together
to hear word from thee. We've come together to worship
your matchless name. And Father, I beg of you that
you enable us to do that this evening. Father, give us a word
from thee. Don't let us just hear the words
and thoughts and ideas of a man. But Father, I beg of you that
you would speak, speak to the hearts of your people through
your word, and to give us a heart of true worship, that we may
come before you and worship, not because of what you could
do for us or what blessing you may give us, but Father, enable
us to worship for who you are. Enable us to take our rightful
place at your feet as sinners begging for mercy. And Father,
I pray that you'd be pleased to reveal yourself to each heart
here this evening. I beg of you that you not just
let us know the whys and wherefores and particular points of the
gospel, but Father, that you would reveal him through all
the gospel declares and enable us to believe, to believe on
him and cling to him. Father, we ask that you'd show
your glory, your redemptive glory in the person of your Son in
our midst here this evening by the preaching of your word. And
Father, we pray a blessing for your people that you've brought
into the time of trouble and trial. There's those who are
heartbroken, who are bereaved, who are in sickness and pain
and suffering. Father, we pray you'd be with
your people. Father, I pray you'd comfort your hearts, their hearts,
with your presence. Be with them, Father. Give them
a fulfillment of your promise that your grace truly is sufficient,
that you'll never leave nor forsake your people. Father, that you'd
be pleased to deliver as soon as it could be thy will. In all
these things we ask and we give thanks to that name which is
above every name, the name of Christ our Savior. It's for his
sake and his glory we pray. I've titled the message this
evening, It's Christ or Nothing. This is one of the things I thought
about as I drove clear across the country, 4,000 some odd miles. This thought kept coming to my
mind. It's Christ or it's nothing. And more than anything in this
world, I want you and me to know Christ. I don't want us to just
know about Christ. I want us to know Christ. You
know, I don't care how much stuff we have, if it's material possessions,
if it's knowledge of different things, I don't care how much
stuff we have. If we don't have Christ, we don't
have anything. We've got nothing at all, physically
or spiritually. It's so important for us to know
Christ that we'll perish in hell if we don't know him. If we don't
have Christ, we don't have any life, we have nothing. There's
no forgiveness of sin, there's no mercy, there's no salvation,
there's no acceptance with the Father, unless we know Christ. See, if we don't know Christ,
we don't have any spiritual blessings. Now with Christ, we have them
all, but without Christ, we have nothing. And I know there are things that
we need to have to live in this world. I'm not saying now that
all the things in this world aren't important, because they
do have their level of importance. I know they do, because our Lord
taught us to pray about those things. He taught us to pray,
give us this day our daily bread. Give us today the daily provisions
that we need for this flesh. He taught us to pray about those
things. So they have their level of importance, don't they? But
we need to remember this. Our Lord also told us, He said,
I know you have need of these things before you even ask. I
know. He told us, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
And all these things will be added unto you. You know, I don't
ever want to trade knowing Christ and worshiping Him just so I
can get some more temporary things of this life. Because if I don't
have Christ, I've got nothing. but perishing things, they'll
soon be gone. And I want a correct knowledge
of doctrine and scripture. You know, if I don't have a correct
knowledge of doctrine, I can't know Christ. I want a correct
knowledge of doctrine. I want a correct knowledge of
scripture. I want to know what the scriptures are teaching.
But I'm telling you this, I need a whole lot more than head knowledge.
The Pharisees had a head knowledge of the scriptures, didn't they?
but they still miss the meaning of the scripture. They still
miss Christ. I need a knowledge of Christ. I need to know him. He is life
eternal. If I have Christ, I'll understand
the scriptures. And if I don't have Christ, I'll
never know what the scriptures are really teaching. He's the
key. You know, I told you, I do want
a correct knowledge of doctrine. But I don't want any of us to
ever trust our salvation to our knowledge of the five points
of Calvinism. I want you and me to trust Christ, to trust
him and him alone. I want us to trust Christ who
all true doctrine teaches. So I want to tonight give you
five points to show us this. It's Christ or it's nothing. First, the passage I just read
there in Philippians chapter three. If I know Christ, I have
righteousness. And if I don't know Christ, I
don't have any righteousness. Paul says there in Philippians
3 verse 4, though I might also have confidence in the flesh,
if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust
in the flesh, I more. Paul says if any man thinks he's
done something in the flesh that he can trust in, Paul says I
got more than him. He says I have circumcised the
eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, In
Hebrew of the Hebrews, that's touching the law of Pharisee.
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Boy, I didn't just
disagree with somebody. Boy, if they disagreed, I persecuted
them. Persecuting the church. Touching
the righteousness, the outward righteousness which is in the
law. Paul says, I was blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I
count all things, I count everything I've ever done, everything about
me, loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and I
do count them but done, that I may win Christ and be found
in him, in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, All these things that the Apostle
Paul counted as horse manure, you know what they were? They're
all the works of the law that Saul of Tarsus did, trying to
earn his own righteousness. And I don't think that Paul is
overemphasizing himself here. I bet you all those things, I
bet you he did them all out. I bet he really did. I bet if
we knew Saul of Tarsus, we couldn't put our finger on one thing that
man had done wrong outwardly. But those works never made him
righteous. All those works, you know what
they were? Sin, because they're full of self. They're full of
self-righteousness and self-glory. That's why Paul counted them
as horse manure. The only way any sinner can ever
be righteous, it's not by what we do, it's by being in Christ. Christ is the righteousness of
his people. That's why Jeremiah called Christ
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. That's his name. That's who he is, the Lord our
righteousness. And do you know if you're joined
to Christ? That's your name too. That's what Jeremiah said in
Jeremiah 33. This is the name where with she
shall be called. The bride shall be called Jehovah
Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. If you're joined to Christ, you
are what he is. That's the only way you can be
righteous. That union with Christ, that's
the only way we can be righteous. I tell you this all the time.
I just don't think it can be overemphasized. Righteousness
is not a thing. Righteousness is not a legal
standing before God. Righteousness is a person. Jehovah
said, if a sinner like you and me would be made righteous, we
must have Christ. And if I have Christ, I have
righteousness. If I have Christ, I'm righteous
in Him. And if I don't have Christ, I
don't have any righteousness, none. It's as simple as that. Paul goes on in verse 10. He
says that I may know him. Paul didn't want to know about
him. He didn't want to know facts about him. He said that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings be made conformable unto his death if by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Now I'm like Paul. I don't want to just know some
facts. about the resurrection of Christ. I don't just want
to know that Christ died on a cross and they buried him, and three
days later he rose from the dead. Nearly the entire world knows
that. And most of the world, scripture tells us, lieth in
wickedness, doesn't know Christ. So I don't need to know just
about the resurrection of Christ. I want to experience the resurrection
of Christ. I want to experience that same
life-giving power that raised Christ from the dead. See, I'm
dead. You're dead. We're dead in sin.
That's the way we come into this world, dead in sin. And the only
way any of us can have spiritual life is if God the Holy Spirit
moves in power that only God has and gives life from the dead. Gives new life, spiritual life
in the heart of the sinner. And he's gonna do it by the very
same power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. He's gonna
do it with the same power that raised Christ from the dead,
and he's gonna do it for the same reason that Christ was raised
from the dead. The reason that Christ was raised
from the dead is because his sacrifice put away all of the
sin that was laid on him. He couldn't stay dead. When the
father made him sin for his people, that sin demanded the death of
Christ, didn't it? God's justice demanded that Christ
die. because he was made sin. But
now, when the sacrifice is over, the atonement has been made,
all of that sin is gone under the blood of Christ. Now, I want
to be joined to Christ, so I have life, because his sacrifice put
away my sin. I want to be made conformable
unto his death. My sin has been put away by the
death of Christ, by the blood of Christ, And God's justice
demands I have life for the same reason Christ was raised from
the dead, because my sin is gone. I don't want to just know about
the resurrection, Earl, I want to experience that, experience
that by God's grace. See, that's the only way a sinner
like me can ever be made righteous, is if Christ took my sin and
took it away from me and made it his on Calvary's tree. And
in exchange, He traded me His righteousness. That's the only
way I could be made righteous. For He had made Him sin for us
who knew no sin, that we, His people, might be what? Made righteous. Not declared righteous. Not somebody's
gonna say you're righteous even though you're not. Made righteous. Made the righteousness of God
in Him. I can only be made righteous
through the obedience and the sacrifice of Christ. I need him. See that I need him. I want to
trust him. I want to be found in him. And
if I don't have him. I've got nothing. Now friends, that's not just
religion. That is a vital you in a vital relationship. With
a person. and I must have Him. And if I
have Him, I have all righteousness, the righteousness of God. And
if I don't have Christ, I've got nothing. No righteousness
whatsoever. All right, number two, look at
1 Peter 1. It's the blood of Christ or it's
nothing. 1 Peter 1 verse 18. For as much as you know, that
you're not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation, perceived by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot. Now I need to be redeemed from
my sin. Paul says, you know you're not
redeemed with corruptible things. You know that up here, don't
you? I need to be redeemed from my
sin. And my sin debt is an astronomical
debt. It's an infinite debt because
all of my sin is open rebellion against an infinite eternal God.
And there's nothing that's valuable enough to pay the price of my
sin debt except the blood of Christ. The perfection of Christ, that's
what makes his blood so precious. There's no other blood like it.
All other blood is tainted with sin. It's spoiled with sin. So
only the precious, sinless, spotless blood of Christ can pay for my
sin. And if Christ shed His blood
for my sin, then Eric, I don't have any. It's the blood of Christ. The
entire debt is paid. All of my sin has been blotted
out by the blood of Christ. I have no more sin separating
me from God. It's your sin, your sin, your
iniquity that's separated between you and God. But if the blood
of Christ has been shed for your sin, there's no sin left between
you and God. Nothing's separating you from
God. It's the blood. And if Christ did not shed his
blood for my sin, then the entire debt is still on me and I can't
pay it. You see, in this matter of the
atonement, of redemption, It's the blood of Christ, or it's
nothing at all. Now again, I don't want to just
know about the blood of Christ. I bet you this is true. I bet
those three year olds in Sabrina's class know about the blood. About
the blood. The blood being offered on the
altar. It's the blood. It's the blood
that puts away sin. They know about the blood. They've
been taught that. They're not able to believe it
yet, but they've been taught it. I don't want just to know
about the blood. I don't want to just know what
the blood of Christ could do. I want to know Christ. So I know
his blood was shed for me. Now what I'm talking about is
so far over my head. I hope we never get over what
a precious thing it is that the son of God shed his blood to
put away the sin of his people because he loved them. He loved
them so much he willingly shed the most precious thing that
ever existed on this planet. the blood of God, the precious
blood of Christ. That's so precious. That's so
loving to think who he did that for, isn't it? Now think about that for a second. That makes me need him and want
him. I don't want to just know about
him. I want him. I want his blood, need him. Look
at 1 John 3. or chapter one, excuse me, 1
John chapter one. I need an atonement for my sin. Redemption, price paid for my
sin. But you know, my sin is not just
a violation of the rules. My sin is also a defilement of
my soul. See, I have a debt that I can't
pay, but I also have a filthy disease that I cannot cleanse
myself. I'm defiled through and through
with sin. and nothing can take it away. Nothing can take that
stain away. Nothing can take that disease
of sin away, except the blood of Christ. That's our only hope,
it's the blood of Christ. Look what John says here, 1 John
1, verse seven. If we walk in the light as he
is in the light, we have fellowship, one with another, and the blood,
the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. The only way my sin can be cleansed
so that my soul is made white as snow is by being washed in
the precious blood of Christ. If I have the blood of Christ,
I'm washed, I'm cleaned, there's no defilement. And if I don't
have the blood of Christ, I'm still defiled by my sin and the
holy God can never accept me. My sin has racked up a sin debt
that I can't pay. It's created a disease in my
soul that I cannot cleanse. And I also need my sin to be
taken away from me. Somebody's got to come separate
me and my sin. And I'll tell you what, the motions
of religion aren't gonna get the job done. Now, I'm not just talking about
people out there in false religion, they're going through all this
false religion, all this stuff, trying to get rid of their sin,
trying to have less sin. I'm not talking about them, because
I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to us here tonight.
Even the motions of correct religion, even spending years sitting under
the sound of the gospel, hearing the gospel of God's grace, hearing
the truth, even going through those motions of religion, That's
not gonna take my sin away from me. The Jews, they had all the
right motions and right forms of religion, didn't they? But
most of them were still lost. The sacrifices they offered year
by year, continually, they went through all those motions. They
offered those sacrifices year after year, after year, after
year, and those sacrifices didn't take away one sin. Because the
writer of Hebrews said, it's not possible. that the blood
of bulls and goats should take away sin. But the blood of Christ
takes away the sin of his people. Just going through those motions
of religion, offering those animal sacrifices year after year after
year after year. The writer of the Hebrews says,
you know all that did is remind the people of their sin. It just
reminded them that last sacrifice we offered, that didn't put away
our sin. My sin's still on me. That's why I gotta offer another
sacrifice. But the blood of Christ takes away the sin of His people
so that by His one sacrifice, they're sanctified forever. His one offering for sin took
away the sin of His people forever. Now if Christ shed His blood
for me, I am completely cleansed, sanctified and made holy. And
if Christ did not shed his blood for me, I'm left in my own defilement
of sin and unholiness. It's the blood. It's the blood. It's the blood of Christ or it's
nothing. All right, now look back at Romans
chapter nine. Here's the third thing. It's Christ's love or
it's nothing. Romans chapter nine, verse 13. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now God said he hated Esau. How did Esau end up? Well, humanly
speaking, people would say Esau's a pretty good guy. He ended up
being rich in the things of this world. But he ended up having
so much stuff, he told Jacob, all this you're sending to me
to give me as a present, you just keep it, I got enough. I
can't even spend everything I ever, I don't need it. He was so rich
in the things of this world. But Esau also ended up being
a reprobate, got sent to hell. Jacob, on the other hand, was
a scoundrel. I mean, Jacob hardly ever did
anything right the first time, did he? Even after the Lord saved
him, even after he met the Lord at Bethel, Jacob still never
did anything right the first time. Jacob, I mean, you just
really examine this guy's life and what he did, he just never
did anything to deserve any good from God. Certainly not the love
of God, but Jacob ended up being blessed of God. with every spiritual blessing
that Almighty God has to give to a sinner. Even though he never
did anything right, when Jacob got to the end of his life, he's
a very old man, he told his son, Joseph, the Lord has fed me,
he's shepherded me, he's led me and guided me, kept me from
falling off the cliff, kept me from getting eaten by a wolf
or a bear my whole life long. Why didn't the Lord ever desert
Jacob? Because he loved him. He loved
him. And when Jacob died, we know
this from scripture, Jacob went to be with the Lord. Genesis
49 verse 33 said that Jacob, when he died, was gathered unto
his people. Who are his people? Abraham and
Isaac. Where are they? In glory. So
is Jacob. And it's not because of anything
Jacob ever did. Right? Anything he ever did right
or anything he didn't do wrong, it's because God loved him. That's
the reason. God loved him. Is that the only difference,
isn't it, between Jacob and Esau? The only difference between those
two boys is a love of God. They're born of the same father,
the same mother, at the same time, they're twins, born one
right after another, and the only difference between them
is the love of God. It's the love of God that makes
the difference between being saved and being lost. Between
heaven and hell, between life and death, it's the love of God
that makes all the difference between a saint and a reprobate. Now, I want to know Christ. I
want Christ to know me. I want His love. I want His love. That's the only way that I can
be saved. You know, if Christ loves you,
if Christ loves you, He sacrificed Himself to put your sin away. Now you think about it. You know
why He did that? You know why He suffered? The humiliation
of being made sin. The humiliation of appearing
naked before his father. The humiliation of having his
father plunge the sword of justice into his heart. You know why
he went through all that? Because he loves his people. If he went
through that for you, it's because he loves you. John 15, verse
13. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Now, I
sure am glad the Lord said this, and you're my friends. And you're
my friends. I can understand that God loves
his people and he laid down his life for his people. This is
the thing I must know. And you're my friends. Oh, that's
what I need. In this matter of a sacrifice
for sin, it's the love of Christ. Or it's nothing. It's nothing. I must have him, I must have
his love. Do you know if Christ loves me?
He's going to teach me and he's going to feed me spiritually.
He'll take care of me physically too. But you know, if he loves
me, he's going to teach me. He's going to feed me. In Mark
6, verse 34, we read that Jesus, when he came out, saw much people
and was moved with compassion toward them because they are
a sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many
things. You think that here's the Lord.
He comes out, he sees his people, and his heart is moved with compassion,
moved with love to these people. So he taught them. The Lord teaches
the people that he loves. If the Lord loves me, he's gonna
teach me. And you know what he's gonna teach me? Himself, himself. This may not be an exact quote,
but it's close enough. It's something Brother John Chapman
said many years ago that has just stuck with me so much. Christ
is the teacher, and Christ is the lesson. He teaches us Himself. Himself. If He loves me, He's
gonna teach me. I'm gonna know Him. I'm gonna
know Him so that I trust Him, so that I believe Him, so that
I love Him. And if the Lord doesn't love me, I'm gonna stay in my
ignorance. It all depends upon the love
of God, doesn't it? Christ's love for his people.
That's not just going to be something we talk about here in this life.
Christ's love for his people is the theme of the song of heaven. Unto him that loved us and washed
us in his own blood. He washed us in his own blood
because he loved us. We're gonna be more amazed about
that in glory than we are here. We're gonna be so amazed. That's
what we're gonna sing about. That's the song of the saints
in heaven right now. Well, I can't sing it as well
as they can, but I wanna join them. I wanna start singing that
song right now, don't you? It's the love of Christ, or it's
nothing. Number four, Christ's presence. is all to his people. If I have
the presence of Christ with me, if I have a sense of his presence,
I've got everything. And if I don't have his presence,
I've got nothing. You know, this world is a hard,
hard place to live for everybody, but especially for the believer.
Every son of Adam, believer and unbeliever alike, We've got to
endure the effects of sin in the world around us and the effects
of sin in our body. But the believer also has to
endure the hatred of this world, being misunderstood by this world. The believer has got to go through
this world and endure trials and troubles and correction sent
by the Lord that he only sends to his people while we're in
this world. The writer of the Hebrew says,
if you're without chastisement, you're a bastard and you're not
a son. So every son, every believer
endures not only the effect of sin in our bodies, but the trials
and troubles that the Lord sends our way to teach us. Now let
me ask you, what's your comfort? What comforts your heart? what
calms your soul when you're in the midst of a trial. Now, I
don't mean a stubbed toe. I mean a trial. I mean deep waters
out there where you can't see land, and as hard as you row,
you can't get to land. You think, sure shooting, I'm
going down this time. I see no hope. I'm going down. What is the only thing that will
comfort your heart at that time? What is it? Is it more money? Is it a bigger house? Is it more
possessions? It's the presence of Christ.
Let me show you that, Isaiah chapter 43. Try as I might, I have tried
and tried and tried to wear this scripture out. I've read it so
many times and I can't do it. Here is the comfort for a believer. But now, thus saith the Lord. It's not some preacher said this,
it's not some theologian said this. Now thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
you fear not. For I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. You belong to
me. And when you pass through the
waters, I'll be with thee. He's not saying you won't pass
through the waters. He's saying you will. And when you pass through
those deep waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers,
they shouldn't overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee, I moved nations, I destroyed
nations to save you, to keep you. You know why? Thou was precious
in my sight. Thou hast been honorable and
I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men for thee and
people for thy life. Now you fear not, for I am with
thee. I'll bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I'll say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Now, we go
through these deep waters and the rivers and the fires, and
oh, we're so worried about what's going on in the world. What does
the Lord tell us? Fear not. And there's a concrete
reason to fear not. It's not, oh, well, you know,
fear not, everything's gonna work out all right in the end.
Fear not, God's got a plan. Fear not, because I'm with you. Well, Adam, I got nothing else
to worry about then, if he's with me. If you're a believer, if you
haven't found this out yet, you're gonna find it out before you
leave this world. That you can endure any trial as long as you
have a sense of the Lord's presence with you. Now, I talked about
that stubbed toe, Hariri. You can't endure that without
the Lord's presence. But you think of the trials that
people go through. It's unimaginable suffering of
mind and soul and body. How do they go through that?
How do they keep living? How do they keep putting one
foot in front of the other? It's the presence of the Lord. John
Newton wrote, when Jesus no longer I see, when I don't have his
presence, sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flowers, They
all lost their sweetness to me. There's nothing good in them
for me. The midsummer sun shines but dim. The fields drive in
vain to look gay. There's nothing pleasant at all,
Newton said, when I don't have a sense of his presence. But
Newton went on to say, when I do have a sense of his presence,
December, it's as pleasant as May. And prisons do palaces prove. if Jesus would dwell with me
there. You see, Christ is who I need. Christ is who I need. I need Christ's presence more
than I need the trial to end. I need his presence. I wrote that down this afternoon,
I thought about it. And the more I think about it,
the more convinced I am this is true. I need Christ's presence
more than I need the trial deed. The Lord's presence is so precious
to the hearts of his people. In his own way, this is what
David said. Psalm 51, verse 11. Cast me not away from thy presence
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Don't take your spirit
from me. Don't take your presence away
from me. That's the constant cry of every believer. If I have
the presence of Christ, I have everything. If I have
his presence, there's nothing I'm wanting. If I have his presence,
and if I don't have the presence of Christ, I've got nothing. All right, here's the last thing.
Look at John chapter six. John chapter six. the believer clings to Christ
alone. And if we're not clinging to
Christ alone, we're clinging to nothing at all. And I want
you to think about that for a second now, because everybody is clinging
to something. Everybody is clinging to some
hope of eternal life for themselves, some hope that they won't be
damned when they die. I mean, maybe they're hoping
That God's like, you know, they've heard the false preacher say,
you know, maybe my good outweigh my bad. Maybe I've done enough
good things, you know, that God will feel sorry for me and won't
name me. I'm clean to Christ, or I'm clean to nothing at all.
John chapter six, verse 65. And he said, therefore said I
unto you, this is the end of this long message that the Lord
had preached to his many followers, disciples. Therefore I said unto
you, no man can come to me except it were given unto him of my
father. You are completely dependent
on God to do all the saving for you. That's what the Lord's telling
you. But from that time, many of his disciples, his followers
went back and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto
the 12, will you also go away? The Lord's not gonna have any
unwilling disciples. You're free to go if you want.
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. Now, the only people who are
gonna be crowned are those who finish the race. And finishing
the race, here's how you finish the race. Like all those brothers
and sisters, we read about Hebrews chapter 11, they died in faith. They died believing God. They
lived believing Him and they died believing Him. And if I
quit believing Him before I die, all that shows you is I never
did know Christ in the first place. But every believer can say this.
The Lord has been committed to me. He hasn't left me just like
He never left Jacob. He chose me even though I never
did anything to deserve it. He loved me even though I'm unlovable.
He sacrificed Himself for me. He revealed Himself to me and
called me to come to Him by His grace. And He gave me faith in
Christ so that I'll believe Him. And He's the one that kept me
all the way to the end. Now that's commitment, isn't
it? The Lord's committed to His people.
He will never leave nor forsake His people. But you know what? I want to
be committed to Him too. Just like Peter said, Lord, I'm
not going anywhere. To whom shall we go? I trust
you. You. I know this. I know that the Lord will not
let me go. I know that. But I don't want
to try to believe in him. Do you? I want to be committed
to him. I want to be like Jacob and said,
I will not let you go. I will not. Now I know that the
security of my salvation depends entirely on Christ. We know that
don't we? But I still want to be completely
committed to Christ my Savior. I know the security of my salvation
depends entirely on Christ hanging on to me. No man can pluck them
out of my Father's hand. That's my security. I'm so thankful
that he said that No man can pluck them out of my hand. But
I still don't want to try to be jumping out. I want to be
found clinging to Christ because Christ is my all. If I'm clinging
to Christ, I have everything. And if I'm not clinging to Him,
I've got nothing. I've got no hope, no expectation. You and I as a little boy, I
can't tell you how many preachers I heard make this statement when
I was a little boy. If I'm gonna perish, they said,
I'm gonna perish at the feet of Christ begging for mercy. And little boy Frank heard that
statement and it kind of scared me a little bit. Because doesn't
that sound like it's possible that somebody could perish begging
for mercy at the feet of Christ? If I'm gonna perish, I'm gonna
perish at his feet begging for mercy. Here's what little Frank
didn't know. And this is why I want you to
know. Nobody has ever perished at the feet of Christ begging
for mercy. Nobody has ever perished clinging
to Christ as their only hope. Nobody. And you won't be the
first. Now I know the security of my
salvation depends on Christ's hold on me. But I want to hang
on to Him for everything I've worked to do. I want to snuggle
up as close to Him as I possibly can, because I need Him. I need Him. If we've got Him,
we've got everything. If we don't have Him, we've got
nothing. I hope I'll be a blessing to
you. Let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you for a savior who has fully and
completely saved his people from all of their sin. Father, we
thank you. Father, I pray you'd bless your word as it's been
preached. Father, use it to reveal your
son to our hearts and cause us to believe on him. Give us the
faith to believe on him, the life to cling to him, to trust
him and him alone. Father, in his precious name,
for his glory and his sake, we pray, amen. All right, Isaac.