If you would open your Bibles
with me to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. I was sitting there thinking
this feels like a Thanksgiving evening service, doesn't it?
We've got John Vickie back home. We've got our college kids home.
Feels good. I'm looking forward to what the
Lord has given John for us tonight. Alright, Colossians chapter 2. For I would that you knew what
great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea and
for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their
hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love and under
all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement
of the mystery of God and of the father and of Christ in whom
were hit all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this
I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For
though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit,
joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your
faith in Christ. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Rooted and built up
in him, established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after
the rudiments of the world and not after Christ. For in him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete
in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with you, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Let no man, therefore, judge
you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or
of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things
to come, but the body is of Christ. We'll end our reading there.
All right, Sean, come lead us in our singing, if you would. Okay, if you would, please turn
to song 282, Hiding in Thee. O safe to the rock that is higher
than I, my soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly. So sinful, so weary, thine, thine
would I be. Thou blessed rock, I'm hiding in Thee. Hiding in Thee. Hiding in Thee. Thou blessed rock of ages, I'm
hiding in Thee. In the calm of the noontide,
in sorrow's lone hour, In times when temptation casts o'er me
its power, In the tempest of life, on its wide-heaving sea,
Thou blessed rock of ages, I'm hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee. I'm hiding in Thee, Thou blessed
rock of ages, I'm hiding in Thee. How often the conflict, when
pressed by the foe, I have fled to my refuge and breathed out
my woe. How often when trials like sea
billows roll, have I hidden in thee, O thou rock of my soul. Okay, you would now turn to song
number 232, When I See the Blood. Christ our Redeemer died on the
cross, died he for sinners, paid all his due. Sprinkle your soul
with the blood of the Lamb, and I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood When I see
the blood When I see the blood I will pass, I will pass over
you Jesus will save all he has promised
that he will do. Wash in the fountain, open for
sin, and I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood
When I see the blood When I see the blood I will pass, I will
pass over you Judgment is coming, all will
be there, each one receiving justly his due. Hide in the saving,
send cleansing blood, and I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood, when I
see the blood, when I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass
over you. O great compassion, O boundless
love, O loving kindness, faithful and true. Find peace and shelter
under the blood, and I will pass, will pass over you. ? When I see the blood ? When
I see the blood ? When I see the blood ? I will pass, I will
pass over you Let's open our Bibles now to Matthew chapter
nine. Out of force of habit, I drank
out of John's cup. I'm sorry. Don't want him to
get dry mouthed. Drink after me this time of year.
All right. Matthew chapter nine. We'll begin
our reading in verse 27. And when Jesus departed thence, two blind
men followed him. crying and saying, thou son of
David, have mercy on us. And when he was coming to the
house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus saith unto them,
believe ye that I am able to do this. They said unto him,
yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
according to your faith, be it unto you. And their eyes were
opened, and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, see that
no man knoweth. But they, when they were departed,
spread abroad his fame in all that country. And as they went
out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with
the devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake
and the multitudes marveled, saying it was never so seen in
Israel. But the Pharisee said, he cast out devils through the
prince of the devils. And Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes,
he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted
and were scattered abroad as sheep, having no shepherd. Then
saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous,
but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. Thank God for his word. Let's
bow together. Our father, Oh, how we thank
you that in your goodness and your mercy to your people, that
you have enabled us to gather here together tonight to one
more time hear the gospel of your precious son. And father,
there's so much going on in the world and in our lives right
now. I pray that you'd enable us to set those things aside,
that you put them out of our minds and for this hour, Enable
us to hear the message that you prepared for us, to hear of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to be given the faith to believe him and
cling to him. Father, make your word effectual
in our hearts tonight. Make it effectual to your glory
that in this hour we might see thy glory. Father, we're so thankful
that you brought John and Vicki our way. We pray that you'd be
with John in this hour, that you'd uphold him with thy spirit,
enable him to rightly divide the word of truth and the power
of thy spirit to preach Christ to us. Father, at this time when
the world stops to in thanksgiving, we do thank you. Oh, how we thank you for your
mercy and your grace, how we thank you that you have compassion
on sinners, that your heart is moved with compassion at our
knee, how we thank you that you but sends your son to bear our
sin and put it away by the sacrifice of himself. Father, how we thank
you. And on top of that, how you abundantly blessed us with
everything we need in this life. Father, we do thank you and we
beg your forgiveness for the times when we are ungrateful
and murmur and complain. Father, be with us in this hour,
we pray. Give us a word from thee and
enable us to leave here rejoicing in Christ our Savior. His precious
name we pray and give thanks. there came a sound from heaven
as a rushing mighty wind it filled their hearts with singing and
gave them peace within the prophet gave this promise the spirit
will descend And from your inner being a river with no end. There is a river that flows from
deep within. Christ is the fountain that frees
the soul from sin. Come to this water, there is
a vast supply. Christ is the river that never
shall run dry. There was a thirsty woman who
was drawing from a well. Her life was ruined and wasted,
her soul was bound for hell. Then she met the Master, who
told of her great sin. And if you drink this water,
you'll never thirst again. Christ is the river that flows
from God above. There is a fountain that's filled
with His great love. Come to this water, there is
a vast supply. Christ is the river that never
shall run dry. Come to this water, there is
a vast supply. Christ is the river that never
shall run dry. Our speaker tonight, everybody
here knows him, Pastor John Chapman, Bethel Baptist Church, Spring
Lake, North Carolina. John needs no introduction, but
just let me say it would be hard to overestimate
our love and our appreciation for you and what you've meant
to us over the years. Faithful preacher, faithful pastor,
and I hope you just feel right at home and you come bring the
message God's given you. We're glad you're here. Just
delighted. Ashland will always be home.
You know, I've learned that home can be different places where
the people that you love and love you is home. And someday,
you and I will be home. We're headed home. You know,
our homes here are just temporary. Our fleshly relationships are
temporary. I was saying to Vic and Jeremy
coming over here, I said, when I come back to Ashland, I am
flooded with memories, good memories, just flooded with memories. I
said, I go back to my early 20s when I came here and 23, 22,
23 years old. And I said, what a powerful time
that was. I said, man, I can just reminisce
about it from time to time, Vicki and I do. And the Lord just,
it's humbling to me what I sat under and what you sat under,
what we sat under. It's so humbling to me that that
God blessed us so much and was so powerful preaching. And here
we are today. I told Henry last time I talked
to him, I was preaching in Rocky Mount. I said, Henry, I said,
you know, it gives me great comfort and joy that after 40 plus years,
here we are together. Here we are preaching the gospel.
We still love each other. I said, you know, that's just
encouraging to me. And here I stand. And we're still
preaching the same gospel, love the same Lord, same fellowship. I said, you know, that's comforting.
That's comforting. And then someday we'll get to
do it without having to part company. The message I want to preach
tonight, Lord willing, is out of Matthew chapter 9. The title
of the message Do you believe that Jesus Christ is able to
meet your need? Whatever that is. Whatever that
need is, do you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ
is able to meet it? That's what I want to look at
tonight. What is your real need right now? We're a needy people,
aren't we? We are a needy people. What's
your real need right now? Whatever it is, do you believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ can meet it? I know that faith is
the gift of God. And I know that in this life,
in this life, our faith is never perfect because of sin. I know
that. It's never perfect. And it seems
like it's at its weakest when I need it to be its strongest.
When I need my faith to be in Christ at its strongest, it seems
to be at its weakest. I find myself crying, as the
one man did, saying, Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. I do believe. You know you believe. You know
you believe, don't you? You know you believe. And you
cry, Lord, help me to believe. It's like Peter said, Lord, you
know all things. You know I love you. I don't
love you as I ought to love you. But you know. You know I love
you. And it just seems like that when
I need faith to be strongest, it's weakest. But I also know
this. I know this. However weak my
faith may be, The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is never weak.
He's never weak. That's comforting. No matter
how weak my faith is, His is never weak. He's never weak.
And I cannot express how important it is to grow, to grow in grace
and in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The more we learn
of Him, the more faith in Him will grow. He's the lesson. He's the lesson. You know, doctrine
is not the lesson. Christ is the lesson. And if
we learn Him, we'll learn the doctrine. We'll learn His teaching.
Doctrine is teaching. We'll learn His teaching. And
I have learned that there's nothing in this life, nothing, and I've
learned this over the years, there's nothing more important
than knowing Him. than being joined to Him, having
that real relationship, that real living relationship with
Jesus Christ, not knowing some facts about Him, knowing Him,
knowing Him. I can't stress how important
that is, and it's possible. Oh, how possible it is for us
to know Jesus Christ, our God and our Savior. Now let me mention a few things
about these blind men. And the most obvious thing is
this, they were blind. They were blind. I want you to
notice in verse 27, and when Jesus departed thence, two blind
men followed him. These men were blind, they couldn't
see where they were going. Do you know how hard it had to
be to follow Christ blind? Following Christ, now listen,
especially you younger people believe, following Christ will
never be easy. It's never an easy path in this
life. These blind men, they were blind,
they were in the dark, but he made them follow him. He didn't
stop there, he kept going until he went into the house, and they
went into the house. Then he turned, then he turned and he
spoke to them. I know this, everyone whom God
saves, He saves from their spiritual blindness, doesn't He? Every
one of us was living in the dark. We were living in the dark. There
was a time we thought we could see, that we understood, we knew
something about God, but we thought we knew who and what we are,
basically good, what we thought. Isn't that right? Every last one of us in here,
before God saved us, we thought we were basically good, and from
time to time, we did things we shouldn't. No, then God saved
us, and we could see there's none good, no, not one. And you
can write out beside that verse, even me. Even me. We thought we knew how God saves
sinners. Christ did His part, and now
we do our part. He does all the saving. I did
all the sinning. Christ does all the saving. His
part in saving is all of it. It's not His part and my part.
Listen, salvation is not a cooperative effort between me and God. It's
God saving me from my sins. That's what it is. It's God saving
me. And then their knowledge was accurate. They knew what
they needed. Did you get what they first cried
for? Did they first say, Lord, give
us our sight? They said, Lord, have mercy.
That's what they cried for. They cried for mercy. They asked
for mercy. They asked for what they did
not deserve. You and I do not deserve what
we are asking for. I don't deserve forgiveness.
That's why I ask for mercy. Mercy is what I don't deserve. We're not asking for what we
deserve. The first thing they asked for
was mercy. Have mercy, they said, have mercy
on us. If you and I would learn what
that means, you and I would find mercy to help in time of need.
We need mercy. We need God to have mercy on
us first. Now, there's two things they
believed. They believed that Jesus was
the son of David. They had the best sight. You
see, the Pharisees, they had their physical sight, which was
a stumbling block to them. They saw the carpenter's son.
They said, we know you, you're the carpenter's son. They saw
a poor Nazarene. But these men were blind as could
be, they were living in the dark, but they could see, this is the
Son of David. They had the best sight. They
said, the Son of David, they called Him the Son of David,
they knew He was the Messiah? They knew He was the King? And then secondly, they believed
He could give them their sight. You know, faith starts here.
Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? This is where faith
starts. When our Lord asked the disciples
this, some say you're Elijah, some say you're that prophet.
Peter said, thou art to Christ, the Son of the living God. We
need not go any further till we get this cleared up. Who is
Jesus Christ? He's the Son of God. He's the
one who created all of this. He's God revealed, manifest in
the flesh. That's who Jesus Christ is. And
they knew that. They knew that. Now here's the
question. Believe ye that I'm able to do
this? I can just feel their heart beating
out of their chest. They got the ear of God. They
got the ear of the son of David. They got the ear of the king
of kings and lord of lords. I can just feel when he stopped
in that house, and they came in there, and then he asked them
this question. Can you imagine what it is to
have the ear of God? How many times does a psalmist
say throughout the Psalms, Oh God, hear my prayer. Oh Lord,
hearken to me. How many times? And here the
God of heaven and earth stops and He asks them, what's your
problem? What do you want? Mercy. Mercy. They were blind. They knew they were blind and
they believed with all their heart they could see and He could
give them their sight. They believed that. They didn't
doubt it at all. They had no doubt about it. And I tell you what, they gave
the right answer. He said, believe ye that I'm able to do this.
And it became evident because they received their sight. What
if they had said, well, you know, hope you can. Hope you can. You know, I truly
believe and expect to be saved when I die, to end up in glory. I expect it. I believe with all my heart that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is able to save my soul, to put
away my sins. I believe that. I believe that. But here, listen, here is an
obstacle that faith has to overcome. When he asked this question,
here's one of the things that faith has to overcome. Is anything
too hard for the Lord They're blind. Nobody can speak a word
and open the eyes of the blind. Can this man do it? Well, here's
an obstacle that faith has to overcome. Is anything too hard
for the Lord? Listen to these verses. Genesis
18, verse 14. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? At the time appointed, I will return unto thee according
to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Remember,
God said she's going to have a son, and she's behind the door,
and she laughs. She laughs. God hears her. Then
she tries to lie about it. She says, I didn't laugh. Oh,
yes, you did. Oh, yes, you did. And God says to Abraham, Is anything
too hard for the Lord? Is your situation, whatever it
is, I don't care if it's You know, I know our spiritual situation
is our most important. That's the most important need
and healing that I have is spiritual. It's taken me some years to learn
it. You know, my prayers now are far great, far different
at 66 than they were at 26. I can tell you at 26, my prayers
had more to do with temporal things. And I assure you right
now, they have more to do with eternal things. things that are
spiritual, things that I know that if God heals me spiritually,
if things are well with me spiritually, the temporal things will take
care of themselves. They'll be taken care of. I know that. I've
lived long enough to know that. I know my greatest need is spiritual. That's what's important. That's
what's important. In Numbers 11.23, And the LORD
said unto Moses, Is the LORD's hand waxed short? Is the problem
with me? Is it with God? Thou shalt see
now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. And then in Isaiah 50 verse 2,
Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? When I called, was there
none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all,
that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, at my rebuke I dry up to see. Never forget that. You know, I can't tell you how
many times Israel was reminded of this. They came across the
Red Sea, they saw it. And he many times reminds them
of what happened at the Red Sea. I dried up the sea at my rebuke. He didn't build a dam, he just
with his word dried it up, split it. At my rebuke I dried up the sea,
I make the rivers a wilderness. Their fish stinketh because there's
no water, and dieth for thirst. Is my hand short?" See, faith
has to overcome this. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Whatever it is. I don't care
if it's physical, material, or spiritual. There's nothing too
hard for our Lord. I've learned that when he puts
me through a trial, and when he puts any of you through a
trial, that it has its time, its purpose, and its limit. And
when it's done, it's done. You know, and another thing about
when he puts us through a trial, the end is already determined.
That'll give you comfort if you learn this. Whatever you're going
through, The end is already determined. The outcome is already determined.
I just got to get there. I got to get there in a way that
glorifies Him. That's what I want. That's what
it comes to. That I get there in a way that
glorifies Him. And I learn a lesson. Now, as I already said, our greatest
need is spiritual. Compared to our temporal needs,
our material needs, and our spiritual needs. The rest compel in comparison
to our spiritual needs, in all comparison. We need God to save
us from our sins. If God is pleased to save me
from my sins, He saves me from my sins, my troubles are gone. They're over. Am I right? I'm telling you the truth. You
say, but I'm struggling. Well, go ahead and struggle, but your
real trouble's over. Just try to meet God with your
sins. Yeah, that's trouble. That's trouble. If God saves
me from my sins, my trouble's over. Right now, you know what
my troubles are? The troubles I'm going through
right now are just conforming me to the image of His Son. Has
Christ been formed in me? I'm just being conformed to the
image of Christ. Why should I complain about that?
You want to be conformed to the image of Christ? You might think
about that before you answer it, because it's going to be
trouble. Our Lord suffered. We're going
to suffer also. It's not only being given to
you on behalf of Christ to believe on Him, but it's also given to
you to what? Suffer. Suffer. Oh, I need God to save me from
my sins. I need God to save me from His
wrath. I need God to save me from the spirit of darkness that
now works in the children of disobedience. That's what I need.
And I know, I thank God that I have grown enough to know that.
And I'm not still worried about the material things. I'm still
not concerned about retirement and kids. Of course, my kids are grown.
You know, I don't have that problem, but I'm not overly concerned
about those things. I'm not concerned about what's
going on out there in the world. I'm not. I'm not saying I'm blind
to it. I couldn't tell you when the
last time I watched the news. I'm telling you the truth. I have
learned this is my direction. This is what leads me and guides
me and gives me comfort. I'm not going to let somebody
take that away from me because I'm goofball doing something
out there and they're trying to make something out of it.
So they can get some ratings. I ain't going to do that. They're
not going to mess up my day. I can mess that up myself. I mean, that belongs to me. Someone said that one of Satan's
greatest tools is his 24-7 news channel. It disturbs your peace. And that
what? It disturbs your peace. Don't
let that disturb your peace. Who's running all this? Jesus
Christ. And He's running it for our good.
It's bringing about the eternal purpose of God Almighty. That's
what's going on right now. I don't know all this other stuff
going on, but I know what's going on from the Word of God. I know
right now that Jesus Christ is running everything. Every nation,
every leader is under his authority. Every one of them. You say, well, some things look
way out of hand. No, it's in his hand. It's out
of your hand, right, my hand, but it's in his. It's in his. All right, now let me get to
the message. Here's the question. Do you believe that I'm able
to do this? Whatever this is for you. Whatever
it is for you. Whatever this is for you. Everyone
in here has a this. The first one. And I want us
to look in the word of God how this word able is used. Do you
believe that Jesus Christ is able to save you, first of all,
from your sins? Let's start there because we
don't need to go any further if we can't do this. If we can't
do this, we don't need to go further. Hebrews 7.25, I'm going
to read these off as I go. Wherefore, He is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him.
Why is it He's able to save them and no one else is able to save
them? No one else has been able to do it. Well, first of all,
it's this. He ever lives to make intercession
for them. He's at God's right hand for
them. He intercedes for them. We have
a living sacrifice. This is what it's telling us.
We have a living sacrifice before the throne of God. We have a
sacrifice that stands before God. John said, I saw a lamb
standing in the midst of the throne as it had been slain.
We have a living sacrifice. All those other sacrifices in
the Old Testament died. They slay a lamb. They had to get another one.
Had to get another one. but not with this lamb. This is God's
lamb. This lamb died, put away our
sins, rose again from the grave, ascended to glory, seated at
God's right hand, and get a hold of this. He's praying for you. You. And I desire your prayers. I tell the people this down in
Spring Lake, down at Bethel, I desire your prayers, but I
tell you, there's one that prays for me that's always heard. There's
one that prays for me for exactly what I need, when I need it.
And he intercedes for me. Isn't that something? God provided
a mediator for me. And for every one of his people. He provided a mediator for us.
A high priest, one who intercedes for us. And here's a second reason
why. He has an unchangeable priesthood,
it says in verse 24 there of Hebrews chapter 7. There's no changing of the guards.
Aaron was a priest and Aaron died. And another one took his
place, he died. Another one took his place, he
died. This one's not going to die again. This one's not going
to die. He ever lives. He has an unchangeable
priesthood. It's unchangeable. There's no
changing of the guards. The vilest of sinners have hope
in this priest. They have interest in his intercession. You know that? They have a real
interest in his intercession. He's able to save to the uttermost
of sin. You don't know how bad I am.
You don't know how bad you are. What are you talking about? You
know, I used to think when I was young, I said, man, I'm such
a bad sinner. I don't know how bad I am. And
I don't want God to let me know that. There's not a person in
this room that can handle how bad you really are. You would
go into utter despair. There's only one person who knows
how wicked, how bad you are. And that's Jesus Christ, because
he was made to be sin. And when that happened, he's
the only one that knows the real depth of sin. You and I just
know what we can handle. God lets us know in order to
save us. He gives us an understanding
of our sinfulness. But you don't know how sinful
you are. You just don't know that. You
can't go there. Jesus Christ is the only person
that was able to go there and put it away. The only one. He can save us from the uttermost
sin. He can save us from Satan's power
because He lives. Thank God He lives to make intercession
for us. Now, you believe He's able to
help you through every trial. You know, there's some heavy
trials that God puts on His children. He makes some of His children
cry and cry hard. David said he swam in his tears. His couch was just wet with his
tears. And some of you know that. Some
of you know what it is to cry all night. You know that. Is he able to bring me through
this trial? It's so, so difficult. Well,
it says in Hebrews 2, 17, 18, Wherefore, in all things, it
behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people, for in
that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to
succor, to help, to help them that are tempted. Tried, tempted. Is there anyone here tempted?
Tried? God putting you through anything?
The Lord putting you through it? Because if you're going through
it, He's putting you through it. He's putting you through it. You just
don't go through it. Not His children. They're not... He knows every hair on your head. He's putting you through it. Are you tempted to doubt His
power as you go through these things? You tempted... You ever
tempted to doubt His love? Would God do His child like this? Would He do His children like
this? Would He take 10 children away from one of His children,
Job? Would He take His health away?
Take everything He's got away? Would God do that to His child? Yes, He would. Look what He did
to His son. Yes, He would. And when it's
over, you'll thank Him. I promise you, we'll thank Him. You ever tempted to doubt His
righteousness? To doubt that Christ is enough? Now let me tell you this. He
knows where you are. He knows where you are. For it
says, for in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, tried. And it says in all points, but...
but... Ain't no but to it. In all points. Anybody here that's got a...
First grade education probably knows what that means. In all. In all covers all. That's very
simple, isn't it? That's just very simple. In all
points. In all points. He has been there and conquered
it already. He's already conquered my trial.
He's been there and already conquered it. He identifies with me in
my trial. We have a high priest who can
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Some of you
are going to go through something I've never been through. It's
not that easy for me to be completely touched with something I haven't
experienced. He's experienced it. Whatever
it is. Whatever it is. I assure you,
He doesn't look down on you, He looks after you. And then,
is He able to keep you in the widest sense of that word? Is
He able to keep you? You know, we're going through
a wicked world, aren't we? We live on the enemy's turf.
This world hates God. And it hates you as a child of
God. He said, if they hated me, they'll
hate you. Listen to 2 Timothy 1.12. With which cause, Paul said,
I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed.
I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of what I'm going
through, for Christ's sake. I'm not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He's able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. What have I committed unto Him?
Absolutely everything. Everything. Everything I need to stand before
God, accepted, I've committed it to Him. My daily bread includes everything
I need. I've committed it to Him. Give
us, Lord, our daily bread. And the one that's really got,
that I see now that I never saw when I was young, the greatest
trial, the greatest trial is old age. Is old age. My parents, my dad's about to
turn 91 and my mother close to 90. You know, they're feeble
and they're starting to get mentally, you know, weak and the greatest
trial It will be old age, if God lets you live long enough. It's to see that, watch that,
and have to deal with that. My dad said to me, he said, once
a man, twice a child. It's that old age. What is Solomon?
What is Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 12? What does he call
old age? Does he call it golden years? His old age, your golden years. Here's how he says it. Remember
now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days
come not. And then he begins to give the
breakdown of the body. And several of you in here, you've
watched your parents go through it. And now I told Vicki, I said,
I turned 66. I said, man, we're getting to
the dying age now. Three score years and 10, I said,
we're getting to the dying age, 70. We're knocking on the door. She's not far behind me. We're knocking on the door. But
I realized this, and this gives me real comfort. As David said,
my times are in your hands. I've learned, you know, someone said one time, they said
they didn't want to live to be old. And I said, well, what age
do you want to die at? And it was complete silence. I didn't
get an answer. I tell you what age I want to
die at. The age God has determined, because I will have fulfilled
my day and my course. As Paul said, I have run my course.
I finished my course. That's the age I want to die
at. the one God has determined. My times are in His hand, and
listen, my spiritual well-being is committed to Him. It's committed to Him. Can He
keep me spiritually healthy? Yes, He can. Yes, He can. He's the great physician. He's
the balm of Gilead, is He not? He's the balm of Gilead. He can keep my faith from failing,
my hope from perishing, my faith from falling, and my love from
dying. He can keep me. He can keep me. Oh, that's so comforting in a
world that's so chaotic. He can keep me. He can keep me. He can keep me. He can keep your
children. He can keep them. Commit them. Paul said, I've
committed everything. Well, everything you have, your
children, your home, your job, everything. Committed all to
Him. There's no better hands for it
to be in His hands. And then, do you believe, fourthly,
do you believe He's able to supply all your need? He's able to keep
you. Do you believe He's able to supply
all your needs? Paul says this in 2 Corinthians
9, verse 7 and 8. He's speaking to them about giving.
That's what he's speaking to them about. He says, Every man
according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly
or of necessity. Like, well, I have to give. It
says so. No. Not out of necessity, but God
loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace
abound towards you, that you always have in all sufficiency
and all things may abound in every good work. God's able to
supply your need. You say, I really can't afford
to give you this. You might want to rethink that. I
might want to rethink that. He says in Philippians 4, 19,
but my God shall supply all your need according to His riches
and glory by Christ Jesus. Now how? Someone said if you can count
it, you're not rich. You know everything about God
is infinite. Nothing about God can be counted, measured. According to His riches, That's
immeasurable. We're talking about immeasurable
riches. That's what we're talking about. Are you afraid you're
going to go broke? Let me tell you something. You
haven't lost anything until you've lost your life. And our Lord assures us that
in giving, we're not going to go broke. He's able to make all
things, all grace, He says, abound. He's able to do that. When you
get time, when you go home, I want you to read 1 Kings. This is
your homework assignment. 1 Kings 17, 1 through 6. It's
the story of Elijah. You know how God fed him with
the raven? That raven fed him. And then after that, the widow
of Zarephath, or however you say that, she had this one barrel
of oil. Remember this? Remember this
story? And Elijah goes there, and he asked her to fix him something. And she had just one barrel.
And she just says, well, I'm just going to paraphrase. Let's
just go in and use it up, you know, and feed the man of God,
and then we'll just die. That barrel never went dry. That
barrel never went dry. It just, every day, that barrel
was Filled with what? Has God changed? Has God changed? God hasn't changed. Our God is still the same God. He's still the same God. The
same one who split the sea, who dried up the rivers, who led
Israel through the wilderness, who fed them with manna, is the
same God. Our God's the same God. And now fifthly, I don't have
any more, I'm not done. Do you feel cast down right now? So weak in faith? When you go
home it seems worse. It just doesn't seem to get any
better, does it? Do you believe that Christ is
able to build you up? Do you believe He's able to lift
you up above all that? Do you believe He's able to do
that? Paul says in Acts 20, 32, And
now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His
grace, which is able to build you up. When you're cast down,
it's able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among
all them which are sanctified. In this life, though we be cast
down often, He's able to build us back up. And you know how
He does that? His Word. His Word. See, this is the foundation for
everything we believe. Just take God at His Word. When
you can't see, when a child of God sits in darkness, take God
at His Word. He has magnified His name above
His Word. saturate yourself with the word
it's able to build you up listen this the word of god is able to build
you up even when you don't realize it's building you up because
the word of god the scripture says works in you worketh in
you continually now listen that word worketh is continually worketh
in you continually And it says, it works in you continually,
effectually. It's effectually working, it's
getting the job done. God said, my word will not return
to be void. It's getting the job done. Even
when you can't perceive it, it's working in you. Listen to 1 Thessalonians
2.13, For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because
when you receive the word of God which you heard of us, You
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the
word of God, which is, which effectually worketh also in you
that believes. The word of God is working in
you. You're not just sitting here listening to another book. This is God's word. When Frank
read this scripture, God was speaking. You realize that. We ought to get on the edge of
our seat when the scripture's read. God is speaking. It's his
word. You say, well, it's the Bible.
It's his word. It's God speaking. Every time
it's being read, he's speaking. Listen to it. Listen to it. And then listen. Do you believe
that Christ is able to subdue your indwelling sin? Powerful, isn't it? This thing's
more powerful to me now than it did when I thought it was
powerful when I was in my 20s. But this thing's more powerful
now. I don't think it's powerful, but I know this, it's more deceptive. It's more deceptive now. You
have to be careful because you think, well, I don't do this
and this anymore. You're getting settled down, you know, and you're
just... Then that self-righteous takes
a self-righteous turn to it. It's more deceptive. That's the
danger of it. Listen to this. Now unto Him
that's able to do exceedingly, exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in
us. He's able to subdue our sins,
that sin nature. He's able to raise us from the
grave. He's able to present us faultless before the presence
of His glory. He's able. He's able. And last of all, do you believe
that Jesus Christ is able to keep you from falling away? Do
you fear apostasy? I've seen some fall away that
shocked me. Scripture said, let him that
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Listen. Jude. Jude 1, verse 24. Now unto him that's able to keep
you from falling. You know the only reason you
and I have not apostatized? He's kept us from it. You know
the only difference between me and Judas? The grace of God. The only difference between Peter
and Judas? They both denied Him. One denied Him, one betrayed
Him. The grace of God. That's the
difference. Unto Him that's able to keep
you from falling and present you faultless, before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy. You won't stand there trembling,
scared to death. You'll stand before God with
exceeding joy. Because you're faultless. You
don't feel it now, but you will then. You'll know it then. Our
Lord said in John 10, My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and
they follow Me. I give unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. If you can say yes, yes, to all
the above. And he says in verse 29, says,
Them touched he their eyes according to your faith, so be it. And you know what happened? In
verse 31, they became a flaming witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't help but become a flaming
witness of Christ. I tell you, you can't help it.
If He has opened your eyes, your ears, and raised you from the
dead, and given you faith, and hope, and love, you can't help
but being a flaming witness of Christ. Christ said, don't tell
nobody this. You know what they did? They went out and told everybody.
They went out and told everybody. It was good to see you again. John, that was so good, thank
you. Oh, I hope we believe, don't you? Believe Him. Believe Christ. That's a good question for us
to ask ourselves. I try to ask myself that often.
Do you believe? I mean, do you? I ask myself
this, because I don't want to be playing games. I don't want
to be playing games. I want to worship God. I want
to hear from God. Henry used to talk about the church being
a poor man's country club. I don't want to be in a country
club. I have no interest in that. I want to be in Christ. Do you
believe? Well, if you do, this table's for you. It'll be a blessing
to you to observe it and to remember our Savior. So Wayne, you men
come and distribute the bread if you would. Thank you. The Apostle Paul says, for I
have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed,
took bread. And when he had given thanks, he break it, and said,
take, eat. This is my body, which is broken
for you. This do in remembrance of me. Eric, would you give thanks
for the bread, please? Our God, we apologize. Thank
you for this opportunity. Remember our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. He was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities. Lord Jesus Christ, you made a
sale for us. You might be made very righteous
to God. called us to take a look at your
home. We thank you. Thank you for our
sin. Bless us to know that we've committed
sin. In Christ's name, we pray for
you. Paul continues, after the same
manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying,
this cup is the new testament of my blood. This do ye as often
as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat
this bread and drink this cup, you do show, you do tell throughly,
the Lord's death till he come. Why don't you give thanks for
the blood. Great. I keep those services
deep in my heart. Show us, and the public,
and believe that you're able to do all things. I keep her. Shed blood for me
to be in the process. The blood of five is what I'm bursting
into. I pray that you walk with me in blood and dress with vigor
on this day. continue to put us together.
I'm job-born. I had this nervousness in the third year with this.
Three years to come. Honestly, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad a
lot of people have come to see you. We thank you for everything. I'm glad it was you. I'm glad
we were open to that. Same for you. Very nice. Well, we began our service asking
that the Lord bless us. I believe he did, don't you?
Bless us with his word, bless us with a message from him to
be able to worship him, and I'm very thankful. So Sean, you come
lead us in a closing hymn and we'll be dismissed. If you would, turn in your hymnal
to song number 351 and stand as we sing. Near the cross. Jesus, keep me near the cross. There a precious fountain, free
to all a healing stream, flows from Calvary's mountain. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory ever. Till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river. Near the cross a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me. There the bright and morning
star Sheds its beams around me In the cross, in the cross Be
my glory ever Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the
river. Near the cross, O Lamb of God,
bring its seeds before me. Help me walk from day to day
with its shadows on me. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory ever. Till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river. Near the cross I'll watch and
wait, hoping, trusting ever. till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the
river.