If you wouldn't open your Bibles
with me to Psalm 36. Psalm 36. Just before we started,
Gary told me Janie's had a surgery on her eyelid. Was it yesterday,
Gary, she had that? She's home recovering from that.
That's our second person's had that surgery here recently. So we want to remember her in
prayer. Psalm 36. The transgression of the wicked
saith within my heart that there's no fear of God before his eyes.
For he flattereth himself in his own eyes until his iniquity
be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity
and deceit. He hath left off to be wise and
to do good. He devises mischief upon his
bed. He said of himself in a way that is not good. He abhors not
evil. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the
heavens, and Thy faithfulness reacheth under the clouds. Thy
righteousness is like the great mountains. Thy judgments are
a great deed. O Lord, Thou preservest man and
beast. How excellent is Thy lovingkindness,
O God! Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. They should be
abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house. and thou
shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with
thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light. O, continue thy lovingkindness
unto them that know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright
in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let
not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of
iniquity fallen. They are cast down, and shall
not be able to rise. Thank God for his word. Let's
bow together. Our Father, we bow before your
throne of grace this evening with grateful and thankful hearts,
hearts that are full of praise and wonder that sinful men and
women such as we are can come before the throne of grace, not
a throne of justice, but a throne of grace. And Father, we can
come confidently, boldly in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ,
knowing that we'll be accepted in him. And Father, we do plead
his obedience as our only righteousness. We plead his blood as the only
cleansing of our sin. Father, how thankful we are for
a savior who saves his people from their sins. Father, it is
our earnest desire this evening that the name of your son, our
Lord Jesus Christ, be exalted and magnified. Father, I pray
you'd be with our brother Larry as he comes to preach your gospel
to your people, that you'd uphold him with thy spirit. Father,
that you'd speak to his heart and that you'd open his mouth
that he might, in clear and simple terms, preach to us the Lord
Jesus Christ. Father, enable him to preach
far beyond his own ability, but in the power of thy spirit. And
Father, enable us to hear far beyond our ability, but in the
power of thy spirit. How desperately we need to hear
word from thee. Father, I pray you to enable
us to hear it and believe it, and to find our rest and joy
peace and comfort in our Lord Jesus Christ, enable us to look
to him and to keep looking unto him, the author and finisher
of our faith. And Lord, we dare not forget
to pray for those who are sick and afflicted and need you especially.
Father, we freely confess we're the most blessed people on the
face of this planet. You blessed us beyond measure
in every way. Physically, materially, how you
blessed us. Spiritually, you've given us
everything, everything, how you blessed us. But Lord, you know
our frame. You remember better than we do
that we're just dust. We're a poor and a needy people. And Father, we need you. We pray
that you'd be with your people that you brought into the valley,
that you'd comfort their hearts with your presence, and that
you'd deliver them as soon as it could be thy will. And Father,
all these things we ask, and we give thanks in that name which
is above every name. In the name of Christ our Savior,
amen. Well, I'm very, very thankful
to have Robin and Larry Criss with us tonight. I know that
you've gone out of your way going home to come here to preach to
us, but we're very thankful. Larry's the pastor of Fairmont
Grace Church in Sylacauga, Alabama. He's a dear friend and a gifted
preacher, faithful preacher of God's gospel. And Larry, we're
right glad you're here. So you come and preach the message
God's given to you. Am I supposed to do some of this
little gizmo up here? I already did. Okay. So just
don't Try not to touch it. I remember many years ago, I
was preaching at Sequoia Baptist Church. Tim James was away. And they had some little gadget up
there, and they hooked me up with it. I'm not high tech. And
I said, now what is this? One of the brothers. said, if
you preach too long, we're going to zap you. That's why we got
you wired up there. I can't think of his name right
now. But it's good. That was it. Did he tell you
the same thing? No, I just knew it was him. I assumed he was kidding, but
I tried to keep it short. It's good to be here. I didn't
have opportunity this afternoon at the motel. I was going to
look on Free Grace, because my memory's not that good, and see
the last time that I was here. Do you know? I know this is just
the second time, but it's probably been more years than I realize.
At that time, I was visiting my mother or staying with my
mother, and I had preached in Walter Pendleton's conference.
Eight years? Maybe more. Maybe more. But I
drove from Moms, who lives in West Virginia, Oak Hill, West
Virginia, to here to be in service with you Sunday morning. And
it's not really out of my way, Frank, since you asked me. I
was heading back to Alabama after I left Danville this morning. But since I'm only two hours
from my 95-year-old mother in the morning, Robin and I will
drive up and spend a few days with her. 95. She hears I was
this close to her and didn't come. She's still got enough
spunk to slap me upside the head. So I'm looking forward to seeing
her. Let me try to get some of the
glare off this. Please pray for me. I need it. I need it. I think
my GPS, Eric, from the Hotel and very, very nice hotel. I appreciate that. There had
to be a simpler way. I mean, the last time I came,
I came from the West Virginia side. I don't remember it being
all those curves and left and rights. And Robin and I both
was beginning to think she is steering us wrong. But we're
here, and we're thankful to be here. Would you turn with me,
please, to Psalm 36? When your pastor read Ephesians,
he had texted me earlier and asked if I would like for someone
to have the scripture reading. And then when he read in Ephesians,
I thought, well, either he didn't hear me right or I didn't tell
him right, but then all is well. Ephesians chapter 36. We'll take
a portion, just a portion of verse 8 as our text. They shall
be, that is God's people, they shall be abundantly satisfied
with the fatness of thy house. I like that, don't you? Robin
and I for a little while now, have incorporated Mr. Spurgeon's
morning and evening devotional in our own devotions each morning
before we start our day. And one morning not long ago,
we actually used his evening writing for that morning. And this was his text. His article was based on this.
Psalm 36 and verse 8, they shall be abundantly satisfied. And
a little later that morning, that day, I read the whole psalm,
and it just seemed to grab me, just seemed to grab me, and not
let go, and I didn't want it to. It was a blessing. It reminded
me of a story, and you've probably heard this, that Brother Don
told. Brother Don Fortner, he was my pastor for 20 years before
I went to Alabama, and I've been there almost 13 years. I just
don't look that old, do I? But anyway, Don was, as a young
man working his way through school, he worked in the shoe department
of a store. And he was trying on shoes, trying
to fit this lady for a pair of shoes, a dear black woman. While
he was trying to find something she liked and was comfortable,
Don asked the lady, asked him his name. And he said, Don Fortner. She said, or he asked, what's
your name? And she said, Grace Grabs. Grace Grabs. And he said, ma'am,
do you know that's exactly what Grace does. It grabs you. And
she said, it sure do, honey. Well, that's the way this text
did me. The title of my message is In
My Father's House. In My Father's House. Jesus Christ, you remember, speaking
of his own God and Father, indeed, said in John 14, I'm going to
my father's house. Excuse me, I've got to get this
someplace. The glare is just getting me. I have the same problem at my
church. Excuse me, I just can't hardly
see my iPad. If I hold it up here and read
it, would that be all right? But no, no, no, no. In John 14
and 2, Christ said, in my father's house are many mansions. In my
father's house. You might think, well, that was
Christ speaking. His personal self he was referring
to, being in his father's house. But you remember, you remember
the words that he spoke to a brokenhearted and confused woman Early one
morning, before the sun had arose, Mary Magdalene, three days before
that, she had followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb and
watched him, watched him lay the lifeless body of Jesus Christ
in his tomb and then seal it. And she went back, she went back.
The reason she comes that morning back is because she hadn't finished
preparing his body after he was taken from the cross, preparing
his body for being entombed, because the Sabbath drew on.
So she had to stop that. So she comes this morning, that
I'm referring to, with the spices to finish preparing his body. You recall that, don't you? And for as yet we're told in this
same passage, for as yet they knew not, the scripture, this
includes her, that he must rise again from the dead. Now that
being the case, can you imagine? Can you imagine how confused
Mary was? The last thing they expected
and this includes his very own disciples, that Jesus Christ
would be crucified. He spoke of it, but it just didn't
sink in. The closer the time came for
him to go and obtain eternal redemption for his people, he
spoke plainly of it. Behold, we go up to Jerusalem.
And all things that are written in the Prophets and in the Psalms
concerning the Son of Man must be fulfilled. They'll scourge
him, they'll mock him, they'll nail him to the cross, and after
three days he'll rise again. But this saying was hid from
their eyes." So when he was crucified, that didn't fit in with their
concept of what the Messiah was supposed to do. They knew he
was the Christ. They knew he was the Messiah.
But they kept looking for him to set up some sort of earthly
kingdom to bring them out of the tyranny of the Roman Empire
and set up his kingdom and I'm sure give them a prominent place
in that kingdom. And that perhaps was in Mary's
thoughts as she came to the tomb that morning. You remember what
the angel said to her? There were two angels that she
encountered first at the tomb. Woman, why weepest thou? Why weepest thou? She answered,
because they've taken away my Lord. I've come to finish what
I was forced to stop three days ago, and now I want to finish
it. But the tomb's empty. They've
taken away my Lord, that one I love. They've taken him away.
I don't know where they've taken him. Again, I ask you, can you
imagine the turmoil in her mind, the confusion, in addition to
the heartbreak? She loved Jesus Christ. And can you imagine the marvelous
change that took place, the burden that was lifted from her heart, Confusion in her mind suddenly
cleared up when she hears somebody behind her, and as she turns,
she hears, Mary. Mary. Oh, my soul, the power, the glory
of a risen Savior. One word, Mary. Before she even
saw him, she knew that voice. And she turned and said, oh,
Ribona, master. Master, there's my master. Oh, yes, she knew that voice.
That was the voice of that one who had commanded seven demons
to come out of that woman. You think she'd ever forget that
voice? Oh, she followed him. She ministered unto him. She knew as she turned, that's
my master. That's my great God and Savior. That's the captain of my salvation. That's the voice of my beloved,
Jesus the Christ. That's my all in all. He's everything
I want. He's the reason I came to the
tomb this morning. And she felt alive again. That blessed hope flowed into
her heart simply by him speaking her name, because never a man
spoke like him. Did he not say, my sheep, hear
my voice? and they follow me." That's justified. If they don't follow him, it's
because they're goats, they're not his sheep. They've not heard
the voice of the master. And she realized what Peter would
afterwards write in his epistle, whom the Lord said, go tell my
disciples. Peter wrote, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy have begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection from the dead. And old him, I know you know.
It just out dawns on me, the last of this month is Easter,
right? Easter. Christmas, so much of it I don't
like, but my wife and I still enjoy it. I can't find nothing
in that nonsense to relate to. Up from the grave he arose with
a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose a victor. He arose a
victor. He's not that imposter you hear
about. that requires you to take the
first step before his redemption becomes effectual. Now up from
the grave he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose
a victor, because that's what he is. He arose a victor from
the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign.
He arose, he arose, hallelujah, Christ arose. I imagine if Mary
knew that hymn, Mary Magdalene, she'd have been singing it when
she heard his voice, Mary, Mary. So when Jesus Christ says to
every one of the children of God chosen in him and gave to
him and entrusted into his God entrusted into His hands all
those He chose, and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, agreed
to be responsible for them. Don't you like that? Don't you
like that? The covenant of God's grace.
Jesus Christ. I find great comfort in this,
pastor. Jesus Christ has to answer for me. Jesus Christ promised
His Father. He became responsible for me. He took that responsibility upon
himself. He is responsible, he always
has been, he still is, and he always will be. It's no wonder
that a child of God can sing, it is well with my soul. How
can it not be? If it is well with him, the head,
it's well with every member of his body, the whole family. So
when Jesus Christ says, In my father's house are many mansions."
Remember, that's good for the whole family. He told his disciples,
yes, I go to the father's house, but in my father's house are
many mansions. Many mansions. Remember again
what he told Mary after his resurrection. Mary, touch me not. I'm not yet ascended to my father,
but you go tell my brethren. You go tell my brother, I send
unto my father and their father, my God and their God. So when he says, in my father's
house are many mansions, remember, that includes for the family
as well, for every child of God. What did he say in John 14? If
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also." How about that? I hear people
talk about heaven, I want to get to heaven because I'm going
to get a bigger crown than you and I'm going to have a mansion
next to mother. I actually saw two fellas, profess
to know Christ, profess to be believers, almost come to blows. Because one said, those streets
are pure gold. I'm not making this up. The other
one says, no, they're simply gold-plated. Huh? My soul. Did you hear what I
just read from John 14? Christ said that where I am,
there ye may be also. My soul. What could compare to
that? to be in the presence of Jesus
Christ himself. Here in verse 7 of Psalm 36,
look at it. It refers to his people, his
children, as the children of men. I heard someone say, no
matter whose family tree you shake, old Adam's going to come
falling out of there. no matter who it is. So, when
he speaks of the children of men, we all, by nature, were
children of wrath, even as others. Yes, he's speaking of God's people,
but all were children of men. Who's made us to differ from
another? But, as amazing as it is, here
in our text we're told they, the children of men, who by God's
grace are the children of God, they shall abundantly be satisfied
with the fatness of thy house." Behold. Behold. Don't rush by. Don't rush by. Pause. Pause. Think about this. This is a wonder. This is a wondrous
fact that I just I just have to bow to. Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All God's children one day As
this text tells us, as the verses we refer to in John 14 and so
many other places, all God's children one day will be under
one roof, one roof, in the father's house with their elder brother. David here refers to that glorious
time in that text and following. at that time when all God's children
are gathered with Christ around the throne of God. Romans 4 and
8, we read, blessed is the man to
whom the Lord will not impute sin. How can that be? How can that be true of any sinner? How can that every believer in
it. How in the world can that be
true, that God will not impute sin to you? Indeed, blessed is
such a man, but how can it be? On what grounds can God do such
a remarkable thing for a sinner? How can God be just when he justifies
the sin? Remember what Paul went on to
write in Romans 4? Concerning Christ, here's the
answer. Because, who was delivered for because of our offenses and
raised again because of our justification. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the cause, that is
the reason, all but what a cause. When I was thinking about that
this afternoon, I remember as a boy growing up at home, and
I would do something dumb, something I knew better to do, thinking
somehow Dad won't find out. Well, he did. And I was a boy,
man, I thought my dad was the biggest man in the world. And
Mom would rat on me. When Dad got home from work and
he'd Say, Larry, why did you do that? What possessed you to
do such a thing as that? Now, brother, when you're about
eight or nine years old, that's pretty serious business. And
I knew I wasn't going to get a timeout. My daddy, he didn't
give me timeouts. It wasn't no going standing in
a corner for 30 minutes. No, I knew what was coming. I
knew what was coming. And you know when he demanded,
Larry, why did you do that? I knew that his strap, if I didn't
have a good reason, was going to be on my behind. And you know
all I could come up with. When he would say, Larry, why'd
you do it? I'd say, just because. That didn't help my case right.
That didn't help my case. Just because when God Almighty
justifies a sinner, he doesn't do so just because he does so
because he would not be just if he didn't do so. Because Jesus
Christ bore their sin. I believe you had an article
in your bulletin about that reason. God is faithful and just to forgive
us of our sins. Remember, God's mercy, someone
said, always comes to us on the wings of satisfied justice. Not one of those multitude of
children before the throne of God shall not be there on any
merits of their own, but because Christ satisfied every claim
of his people. That's why God the Father rose
him from the dead. It was if God said, Amen, son,
three days before when Christ cried, it is finished. When he
rose from the dead, it was his father saying, Amen, it's finished. I'm satisfied. I can demand no
more. Come sit on my right hand until
I make every enemy your footstool. They will bow to you. He's Lord
of all and King over all. When all the redeemed are with
their glorious Redeemer, when all are under the same roof.
And Jesus Christ invites each individual in that vast multitude
to sit down with him at the table of what he has prepared and provided,
says, children, come and dine. All things are ready. That's
what our text speaks of. We'll be satisfied with the provision,
the fatness of God's house, and our elder brother, Our king,
our captain, our redeemer, our everything, he'll be at the head
of the table. Wow! What a day that will be. And it's a day that will never
end. It's an everlasting day. That's
why that city has no need of the sun. Oh, because the glory
of God will lighten it, and the Lamb, the Lamb is the light thereof. Come, my children, our Lord will
say. Enter into the joy prepared for
you. All this is for you. Sit down with me in my Father's
kingdom and eat your fill. We'll never be concerned that
there'll not be enough. Join with me, our master will
say, at my father's table. Come and dine. What a banquet. What a buffet. What a buffet
of good things. Sweet savor. Being in the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ and feasting our eyes upon him forever. We'll just have to go see what
that's like, won't we? John, one of the remaining disciples,
or rather Andrew, one of the remaining disciples of John the
Baptist, and he and another disciple, doesn't give his name, but they
saw Jesus Christ walk by. And John the Baptist said, behold
the Lamb of God. And they did exactly what John
wanted them to do. John said, he must increase,
I must decrease. And he soon did after that. But
they followed Jesus then. And the Lord turned and said,
whom seek you? And they said, Master, where
do you dwell? Where do you live? Remember what
he said? Come and see. Come and see. Oh, brothers and sisters in Christ,
as wondrous, as wondrous as his grace is now, It's just a taste
of what it will be in glory when we go there and see for ourselves. I often think about what the
hymn writer said. I don't recall his name now.
I think perhaps it was McShane. He said, when I see thee as thou
art, and I love thee with an unsinning heart, we can't do
that now. It's impossible. We're distracted. There's too much in the way. The best we can do, I mean, the
very best we can do, even during those blessed mountaintop experiences,
it's still looking through a glass darkly because of the old man. I mean, as the hymn writer said,
oh, Lord, I'm prone to wonder. That's the experience of a believer,
isn't it, Pastor? I'm prone to wonder. I know it's
so. I'm prone to leave the God I
love. How can I have a clear vision
of Christ when I have that constant battle with the old man? But
then, when I enter the Father's house, I will see him as he is. When I see thee as thou art,
and I love thee for the first time in my life with an unsinning
heart, I'm going to have perfect vision. My last year of high
school, I went up to a place called Wildwood,
New Jersey. Some friends of mine had been
up there during every summer, and they said, Larry, you ought
to go. You will have the time of your life. I'd like to starve
to death. But working on the boardwalk,
right on the boardwalk, I got a job there in a—just trying
to scan people is all the manner to, but we would all shout at
people as they walked by. Hey, hey, look over here. No,
no, don't go over there. Come over and try this. I ran
a little show throwing darts at balloons. You'd have to spend
$50 to get a pencil. But we were all vying for the
attention of those folks on the boardwalk. Come over here. No,
look at this. Isn't that what the devil does?
Isn't that what the devil does to us, child of God? Oh, stop,
stop. Look at this. Doesn't he do that
to preachers? Praying. Oh, now wait a minute. What about this? What about this? What about this? Huh? Look at this. Take your eyes
off Christ. Look at this. Oh, I won't be
distracted in glory anymore. I won't want to. And I won't
be able to, to see nothing but the Son of God in all His glory. Oh yes, the Master said, come
and see. What a day, glorious day that
will be. Will it not? We're all in the
kingdom of our Heavenly Father. We're all in the Father's house. When I was again referring to
the time I was at home, if you've heard me at all, very much at
all. You've heard me refer to that
time that I was at home when we were all still together for
the last time, four brothers and four sisters. My oldest brother,
he was the first to leave home. He joined the Navy when he was
17. I think Mom and Dad had to sign for him. But my forefather
never did have a job where he made a lot of money, paid very
much. So there never was second helpings
at our house. No, no. When we sat down and
ate once, there was no second helpings. But no leftovers. But in my father's house above,
Jesus Christ has already prepared a place at the table for every
one of the children that God gave him. And when he brings
them home to glory, When? Not if, not maybe, not perchance. When he brings them home to glory
and says, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, John, write
this down. These are true sayings I want
my children to know. These are the true sayings of
God. When all the redeemed are with
their glorious Redeemer, when all are under the same roof,
And Jesus Christ invites each individual in that vast multitude
to sit down with Him at the table of what He has prepared and provided. My soul, what a day, glorious
day that will be. There will be no concern, no
thought will ever enter our mind that there won't be enough. Won't
be enough. Just as here below, He giveth
and he giveth and he giveth more grace. What will it be? What
will it be when grace gives way to glory? Frank, I don't know,
probably four or five times since I've been preaching, I've tried
to preach from that text in Isaiah, I'm sorry, Matthew, we'll get
it right in a minute, Revelation 22 and 4. and they shall see
his face." You ever tried to preach from that prayer? I've
tried several times, several times. I can't find an illustration
for that text. I can't think of anything to
compare it to. Maybe I shouldn't even attempt
to preach from it. If you know a good illustration
about how to touch someone, give us some idea of what that would
be like. They, who are they? All those that the Father gave
Christ before the world began. They, who are they? All those
that He redeemed. All those for whom He trod the
winepress alone. enduring the fierceness of the
wrath of a holy God, when he looked for help and there was
none, when even the inner circle, so to speak, he came back because,
remember, he was a man. Yes, he was God, but he was a
man. And three times, all of a sudden, he came back seeking
comfort, seeking companionship. Somebody, somebody, can you not
wait with me just for an hour, Peter? And he went back and prayed. Come back and they're sleeping
again. Oh, but he abideth faithful. The great shepherd of the sheep
trod the winepress alone, and of the people there were none
with him. Can you imagine the loneliness
that the Son of God suffered? We can't enter into that. Isn't
it in the Proverbs, Pastor, that speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the eternal Son of God, being brought up before creation. He was always before God as his
delight. He told the disciples that night
before he entered the garden, you'll all leave me tonight. I'll be left alone, yet I'm not
alone because the Father is always with me. I and the Father am
one. And yet, yet on the cross, he said, my God, my God, You've
forsaken me. Why have you forsaken me? Can
you imagine the loneliness? No, I cannot. The loneliness
of a son of God being forsaken by his everlasting Father? and
left alone to trod the winepress all by himself. I looked for
help and there was none. Therefore, my own arm reached
out and brought salvation unto me. Glory to his name." Who did
he do that for? He did it for all of his sheep.
And because he did, every one of them for whom he suffered
and died shall be with him in glory. There is no question about
that. Aren't you glad, brother, sister,
brother, aren't you glad that your acceptance before a holy
God for entering heaven doesn't depend on you? Huh? It's not up to you. It's up to
him. It's up to Christ, and he got
the job done. Did he not? Thank God that it's
not dependent upon me any part of this glorious salvation. Sometimes,
not sometimes, every day, every morning. I did this morning before
we left Danville. I pray, God, keep me through
this day. Don't allow my heart to wonder
too much. Don't allow this world to be
too much of an attraction to me. Don't let me dishonor you
today. When we get back to that motel
and I lay down in bed, I'll look back over and I won't be able
to count the times I did that. And yet, he abideth faith. If
my acceptance before a holy God was dependent upon me, I don't
have a hope. This comes to mind. Years ago,
Brother Lindsey Campbell, in the church at Danville, song
leader, teacher. Brother, thank you for leading
the singing. It's nice to hear somebody that knows how to do
it. I have to do it at our church. Nobody likes it, but there's
nobody else to do it. That's just how things are. But
Brother Lindsey Campbell, he would have included in his family
reunion every year, he and his brothers, cousins, children,
would have a golf event. And he invited me one time. They
would play, Frank, two different courses on Friday, 18 holes in
the morning, 18 holes in the afternoon. And it was a contest. We would be taking on the Campbells.
I think the deck was stacked against us, but I thought, that'll
be good, that'll be good. And then on Saturday, we played
two other different courses. And this one Saturday, Lindsey
arranged for us to be at the course that he was a member of.
It was a private club. I'd never been there before.
They wouldn't let riffraff in. So I got there early. I wanted
to see the place. I drove by it. That's as close
as I got. It's in Danville, private place.
And so I got there early, and I was waiting for Lindsey and
him to show up. Man, I was just walking around there, checking
things out. And this guy was in the clubhouse.
And this fella kind of come up to me. He said, how are you doing? I said, I'm great. Well, I'm
so-and-so. I said, well, I'm Larry Criss.
He said, who? I said, Larry Criss. He said,
you a member here? I said, no, I'm not a member
here. He said, you can't play here. I'm a member. He said, you've got to be a member
to play here. About that time, old Lindsey
came through the door. And I said, I'm with him. He
said, well, that's OK. When I stand before God Almighty,
that just and holy God, you know where I'm going with
this. If I should be asked, what gives
you the right to enter here? How dare you think the doors
of heaven are going to open to you? I'm going to point to my
glorious Redeemer, and I'm going to say, I'm with him. I'm with
him. Welcome home. And the captain
of our salvation will lead a multitude of sinners that no man can number,
no man can number except the God-man around the throne of
the Father who gave them to him before the world ever was. And
he's going to say, Father, here they are. Here they are. I'm
bringing them back to you. I'm presenting them to you without
spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Father, they're all here. I lost
none. What are we going to do, Frank?
We're going to throw our crowns at His feet and say, worthy is
the Lamb. Hallelujah. What a Savior. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Psalm 34, verse 8. We read these words. Oh, taste
and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. I believe that's what Peter referred
to in 1 Peter 2 and 3. Oh, taste and see, taste for
yourself that the Lord is gracious. A taste for grace is not natural. It's not inherent. It doesn't
come from the old man. No, no. God gives you an appetite
for grace. If you're thirsty, God makes
you thirsty. If you hunger for the bread of
life, he made you hungry. If you seek Christ, it's because
he sought you. Brother Dave Coleman, many of
you knew him, probably have his CDs. Oh, he was a gifted, gifted
man. I miss him so much. He was in
the church in Danville. But now he's in glory with so
many others out he would sing this song. All my life long had
panted for a draft from some clear spring that I hoped would
quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the
husk around me till my strength was almost gone, longed my soul
for something better, only still the hunger on. Sounds like someone
that God had created a thirst and hunger in, doesn't it? Poor
I was and sought for riches, something that would satisfy.
But the dust I gathered round me only mocked my soul's sad
cry. Have you ever been there? Remember
that? Remember that. Remember when
God did what only God can do, got you lost? Got you lost. My grandmother tried to get me
lost. She couldn't do it. Preachers tried to... I'm not interested. I'm not interested.
Oh, when God got me lost, I was lost. I was lost. Poor I was and sought for riches,
something that would satisfy, but the huts, the dust I gathered
around me, the decisions, the altar calls, all these things.
I went to my dear grandmother. I was ignorant. I didn't know
a thing. All I knew I was lost. Grandmother, what should I do?
She'd been professed to have been a Christian for a long,
long time. She might have said all her life, like Brother Henry
would say, lady, that's too long. You know what my dear old grandmother
told me? What you need to do, Larry, is go get a haircut and
get you a bible. I was a hippie. I didn't have
no better sin. Well, if this will please God,
if this will entice him to show mercy to me, I'll go get a haircut.
So I went and got a haircut. There were men at the barbershop
in front of me, had their hair cut, but they didn't leave. When
I got in the chair, they sat down and watched. Oh, you're
looking like a man now. You look like a man. My problem
wasn't my hair, the length of my hair. My problem was this
depraved, dark, sinful heart. And all those things I were told
to do, I trotted the altars. I said the sinner's prayer. Did
all those things. And they slapped me on the back
and said, young man, we appreciate it. You're saved. I lay down
at night and God said, no, you're not. You're lost. You're lost. You're lost. Well of water ever springing,
that's what I wanted. Bread of life so rich and free,
untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me. Hallelujah,
I have found it. I have found it. Whom my soul
so long has craved, Jesus satisfies my longings. Through his blood,
I now am saved. You've probably heard this story. You've not heard it from me.
William Guthrie. visited a dying woman. He was
a pastor many years ago, and he visited a dying woman who
at the time was lost. She was ignorant of the gospel.
She didn't know God. Guthrie preached the gospel to
her, and she joyfully believed. Before Guthrie left, the woman
died. And when he got home to his family,
he said, I've seen a strange thing today. A woman whom I found
in a state of nature, I saw in a state of grace and left in
a state of glory." How about that? That's God's amazing grace.
Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with
singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head,
and they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning
shall flee away. There'll be no more tears. God
will wipe away all tears from their eyes. Well, my children
were small. And to me, there was no reason, but I would say
maybe you parents have done the same. Why are you crying? You've got no reason to be crying.
In glory, we'll have no reason to cry. No reason to cry. Brother Frank, thank you for
having me. It's been an honor. It's been
an honor. Thank you folks for listening. God bless Egypt. Can I take this with me? One thing I particularly love
about the gospel, and I love when a man preaches it this way,
it just takes all the pressure off. Justice is satisfied. Justice
is, this sum I wrote down, I'm going to look at this often.
This is what you said, Larry. Jesus Christ is responsible for
me. What's there to worry about?
What's there to fret about? I appreciate that, Larry. Thank
you. Sean, you come lead us in our closing hymn if you would,
and I know y'all will greet Larry at the door afterwards.