Now the sermon that I have prepared
to preach for you this morning is a sermon I preached in 1986,
21 years ago. And the title of it was, A Reflection
of 60 Years. I just celebrated my 60th birthday
and I wanted to talk about those days. Well, Doris put that sermon
away, the outline, and about three or four weeks ago she took
it out. And she gave it to me and she
said, why don't you preach now in a reflection of 80 years?
That's a true story. So I looked it over and I preached
it. I preached it in Danville. I preached it in Fairmont, West
Virginia. I'm going to preach it to you
this morning. I was in a seminary class in Chattanooga, Tennessee
in 1950. And Dr. Lee Robinson was the president
of the college there and teaching the class. I'd been there two
or three years. And I was sitting in his class
and he said this, he said to the class of preachers, he said,
now men, repetition, repetition. Say it again, say it again, say
it again. You can't say it too often because
Paul said to write the same things to you, to me, is not grievous. What for you to say? But one
of these preachers raised his hand. And the old Dr. Robinson called
on him. And he said, this is what he
said, Dr. Robinson, I don't intend to preach
the same sermon over again. He got real quiet in there. And Dr. Robinson said, well son,
It could be that you'll never preach a sermon worth preaching
over again. I hope this is one that's worth
preaching over again. Let's open our Bibles to Psalm
39. Psalm 39. Here's the title of a reflection. of 80 years. Psalm 39, let's
start with verse 4. Lord, make me to know mine end
and the measure of my days, what it is that I may know how frail
I am. Behold, thou hast made my days
as a handbrake. That's not very long, is it?
hand breath, and mine age is as nothing before thee. Verily,
every man at his best state is altogether vanity." A man said
one time, a man is always as young as he feels. He said, that
may be But a man is never as important as he feels. And David
says that here, right here, verse six. Surely every man walketh
in a vain shuffle. Surely they are disquieted in
vain. He heapeth up riches and knoweth
not who shall gather them. Help me to know how frail I am. But you know it's always profitable. I find this to be true in speaking
on this subject. It's always profitable in our
last days to reflect on the passing of the years and to determine
what we've learned. What have we learned in all these
days? But I'll tell you this. As I
reflect on these passing years, I'm thankful to arrive at the
definite age that I am right now, 81 years old. I'm thankful
that I'm that old. You know why? Because I'm nearer
home today than I've ever been before. For me to live is Christ,
and to die is the best thing that's happened to me. That's
true at this age. You can't say that yet. You've
got too many responsibilities. But I don't have but one responsibility,
and that's to go home. And the second thing that I've
learned, it's necessary to grow old in order to grow in grace. The Lord has taught us as we
grow older, we're to grow in grace. To acquire some patience. That takes a long time. Tribulation
worketh patience. To acquire some understanding
and to learn to be charitable to others. Learn to be charitable
toward others. One man said one time, I see
no fault in others that I don't see in myself. Darcy and I visited John Newton's
home in England years ago. Right across from him was William
Cooper's home. And it was very moving for us
to visit the home of those great preachers and songwriters. But
one day John Newton was sitting in that study where I was standing
that day. He was sitting there and I read
this story years later. He was sitting in that study
and William Jay walked in. You know who that is. William
Jay walked in. He said, Mr. Newton, Mr. Newton, good news. John Smith has been converted. Oh, John Newton said, I'm glad. William Jay said, Mr. Newton,
now that John Smith's been converted, I'll never despair of another
man. Newton quietly said, Mr. Jay,
since the Lord saved me, I'm never despaired of anybody. That's
true. We never, we don't see any fault
in others. We don't see in ourselves. And
then it's necessary to grow old, number one, that we may die. Necessary to grow old that we
may grow in grace. And it's necessary to grow older
that we may obtain some wisdom, some maturity. Peter said in his first epistle,
no, in his second epistle, he said, may the God of all grace
mature you, perfect you. Remember, the God of all grace
perfect you, mature you, establish you, strengthen you, and settle
you. And you can't take any shortcuts.
May the God of all grace, in due time, by His mercy and grace,
may He mature you, and establish you, and settle you, and strengthen
you, and there's no shortcuts. The Scripture still teaches that
we're babes, young men, and elders. You can't cut across. Back in
the Navy, when I was in the Navy, they had a special program for
some college students. They'd get men right out of college
that had a degree and they'd been to school and they'd put
them in the Navy and made them ensigns and gave them A 90-day
course. And in 90 days, they became an
officer. And we used to call them 90-day
wonders. Well, the Lord doesn't have any
90-day wonders. It takes all the time the Lord
gives us to grow in grace and maturity and get settled and
so forth. But here are my five reflections. of 80 years. Here they are. I'll
give them to you. You can remember them, jot them
down as you will. Here they are. The first one
is this. Turn with me to James chapter
4. James chapter 4. James 4 verse 13. James 4 verse 13. Go to now,
you that say, today or tomorrow, We'll go into such a city and
continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain, whereas
you know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? What is your life? It's even
a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. What is your life? Number one,
it's a vapor. It's a vapor. It's very short.
Very short. Life is a vapor. What's a vapor?
It's a mist. You walk out of your house on
a cold morning and you blow your breath in the air. There it goes.
Then it's gone. Just a mist. Just a vapor. Here
for a while, then disappears. Job said this, we are a few days
and full of trouble. And trouble and sorrow goes together. Always. We are a few days and
full of trouble. Sin and trouble go together.
And then life is a shadow. Job said this. He said life is
a shadow. What is a shadow? Well, a shadow
is an empty thing. The light shines behind you and
there's a shadow and it's an empty thing. An empty thing that
has no substance. You see it, but there's nothing
there. And then also life is a shadow, because it doesn't
last very long. It's soon gone. And then life
is a shadow. What's this? It leaves no mark. It's gone. Isn't that something? Life is a vapor, a mist. Life is a shadow. Here today,
gone in a moment. And it leaves no mark where it
was. People want to leave their names
on all these things, you know. Remember me, not for long. And
then life is a flower. Job said life is a flower. Why
is it like a flower? Well, it comes from another flower.
The seed of another flower. I came from my daddy. You came
from yours. And then flowers come from the
ground. My daddy came from the ground.
Adam was my daddy. And flowers bloom for a while,
and they're beautiful for a while. And then they what? Wither, wither,
and die. And then what happens? Back to
the ground. Isn't that something? So teach me to number my days,
that I may apply my heart to Christ who is wisdom. Lord, teach me, teach me to seek
thee while you may be found and to call upon thee while thou
art near. You know, let me tell you something.
The Bible does not say that a man can't seek God. No, it doesn't. It says he won't. He should. But he can if he will. The scripture
tells us this, you'll seek me and find me when you search for
me with all your heart. Seek you the Lord while he may
be found. Call upon him while he's near. That's my first reflection. Life
is short. It's a vapor. It's a shadow. It's just a flower that blooms
today. It comes from another flower.
and goes back to the ground. Doesn't leave any mark when it's
gone. Just that, right, that's it.
Now here's my second reflection. Salvations of the Lord. Salvations
of the Lord. Turn to Romans 8. Brother Frank's
been teaching us that chapter for two or three weeks. Oh, four
weeks. Romans chapter 8. And I want
you to turn with me to Romans 8. Romans 8, verse 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them who love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He
did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. You know, my friends,
like the Apostle Paul, I grew up in religion, just like he
did. A religion of works. And then
I met Christ. When Brother Barnard came to
Pollard Baptist Church in 1950, April 1950, I left Chattanooga Doris and I moved back to Ashland,
and I heard him preach that Tuesday morning, Monday and Tuesday morning.
And when he asked me to quote Romans 8, 28, I told you about
that. You've heard it before. And I
got up and I said, Dan, we know that all things work together
for good to them who love God. And I sat down, and he just stood
there and looked at me. And he said, what's the rest
of it? You know the rest of it? It wasn't anybody there but me
and him. He ignored the rest of the people. And I got up and I said, and
we know that all things work together for good to them who
love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. That's
it. That are called according to
His purpose. Everything God does is on purpose. That's right. And I saw Right
there in that meeting, those two weeks, I saw the majesty
of God. I was in religion all these years. I was pastor of a church for
three years in Chattanooga while I went to school, but didn't
know God, didn't know the gospel. And I met God. I saw the majesty, the lordship
of Jesus Christ. I saw the fall and ruin of mankind. I learned the great confession
of faith. Brother May, what's the great
confession of faith? Well, turn to it. Turn to Ephesians
chapter 1. Here's the great confession of
faith. Here's what I learned. Ephesians chapter 1. Listen to
it. Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his own will, to
the praise of the glory of his grace, where he has made us accepted. That's the great confession.
That's what I learned. I learned how God can be just
and justified. I learned how that salvation's
not an offer, it's a give. That salvation's not by chance,
it's by choice. That salvation's not I will,
if you will, it's by the will of God. By the will of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Dr. Magruder was the son of a
preacher in Missouri, Joplin, Missouri, a long time ago. And
Dr. Magruder's daddy preached the
gospel of grace. And Dr. Magruder went in to daddy's
study one day. Magruder was always a smart man,
intelligent. And even as a youth, he went
in his dad's trousers and he said, Father, I don't understand
how God can hate Esau. God is love. You know what the
old man said? He said, Son, I wrote it down. Son, when you learn God's Word
and see God's holiness, you'll understand how God could hate
Esau. The thing you're going to have
a problem with is how can God love Jacob. And if you ever find
that out, you'll see the grace of God. Old Brother Harrington. You remember Brother Harrington?
Some of you do. Way up years when I met him. When we had our
first Sovereign Grace Conference, I was 28 years old and Brother
Barnard was 52. And Brother Walker was about
80, and Brother Herringbean was about 75, and Brother Muse was
64, and I was just a kid. But I learned something from
those times. And Brother Herringbean told
me how that he met Arthur Pink in 1920. 1920, 21, 22, 23, 24, I didn't matter. The year I was
born, 1926, Brother Herringdean printed the first Sovereignty
of God book in his printing shop in 1926, the year I was born. Arthur Pink wrote it and Herringdean
printed it. But Herringdean didn't know the
Gospel of Grace. This was back in the 20s. Brother, Arthur Pink wrote Herodine
and Herodine was in Cleveland, Tennessee, Cleveland, Ohio. And he was running a print shop
and things like that. And he was a strong prophecy
person, didn't know grace. And Pink wrote to him and said,
I want you to print a book for me called The Sovereignty of
God. And Brother Harrington said, I wrote him back and said, what
do you mean by sovereignty of God? And Brother Pink wrote him
back one verse of scripture. John 6, 44. No man can come to
me except my Father which sent me draw him. And he that is drawn
of God and taught of God cometh unto me. And Harrington said,
I saw what he was talking about. God is on the throne. God is
sovereign. And in that time, they printed
that first book, 1926, The Sovereignty of God. And it's gone all over
the world. But Harry Dean and I became good
friends in 1952. And he helped me begin the Sovereign
Grace Conference, the first one in Ashland in 1954. He became
very close friends. Now here's my third, in my third
reflection. Life is short. Salvation is of
the Lord. And thirdly, Christ is all. Christ
is all. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Christ is all, and in all, and
we are complete in Him. You know that. That's just so. My friends, we don't come to
the doctrine of grace. We come to Christ. We don't come
to a doctrine. We come to a person. We don't
learn a system of theology. We learn of Him. Learn of me,
He said. Learn of me. We don't just believe
there's a God. We believe God. Abraham didn't
just believe there is a God. Abraham believed God. How did
I know he believed God? He obeyed him. That's just so. Look at here in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, not in the doctrine, not in theology,
in Christ. He's a new creature. Old things
have passed away. Behold, all things in Christ
are become new. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. That's what that word is, creation.
He's not the old man reformed. He's not the old man with a new
doctrine. He's not the old man with the
new lifestyle. He's a new man in Christ Jesus. That's what Ephesians 4 says. Turn it over to Ephesians chapter
4. Ephesians 4 chapter verse 21. He's a new man. A new person. Ephesians 4 verse
21. Ephesians 4, verse 20, But you
have not so learned Christ, if so be that you have heard him,
and been taught by him as the truth is in Christ, that you
put off concerning the former behavior, conversation, the old
man, put him off, that old man which is corrupt according to
deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and
thoughts, and put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and holiness, old things are passed away. Not
all old things. They gradually die. But the new
things are in Christ. The old curse of the law is gone. The old righteousness is gone. We win Christ and be found in
Him. The old ways, the old walk, the
old pride, the old companions are put away. We're a new man
in Christ Jesus. Life is short. Salvation to the
Lord. Christ is all. All in all. And number four, God will provide. God will provide. Turn to Psalm
37. God will provide. I've learned that through the
years, that God will provide for His people. In Psalm 37,
listen to this, verse 23. Psalm 37, verse 23. The steps of a good man, a believer,
a righteous man, a new man, are altered by the Lord. They're
established by the Lord. They're planned and purposed
by the Lord. And he delights in his way. Though
he fall, he'll not be utterly cast down. For the Lord upholdeth
him with his hand. I've been young. And now I'm
old. And I'm talking about myself
right here. I've been old, young, and now I'm old. And yet I have
not seen the righteous forsaken. You're not going to see him forsaken.
And I'll not see his seed baking bread. I was in the Navy. I didn't know
Doris. I was in the Navy. She went to
Bob Jones College. Her mother wanted her to marry
a preacher. So she went to Bob Jones College. She married one,
but her mother didn't have me in mind, you know. I came back
from the Navy, and we met, and I fell in love with her, and
I hope she fell in love with me. I believe she did. And we
married. Too soon. I was just home in
the Navy six months, and we got engaged, and we married, and
she worked at the church. She was church secretary. We
had a big Baptist church. My dad was a deacon. Her dad
was a deacon. And I taught the young person's
class and things like that, you know, after I came out of the
Navy. So we married. And I got a job at Steel Mill
where my dad worked, where her dad worked. And she worked at
the church. And we moved in with our parents.
Didn't have no furniture, no car, nothing. We just had love,
you know. You live on that just so long,
you know. But we moved in with our parents. The assistant pastor of our whole
church lived across the street. He was a young man, a single
man. He came over one day. We were all sitting in the living
room, and this was about March of 1947. We'd been married four
months. He came in, he said, Henry said,
there's a pastor friend of mine Don Wells in Ashland, Kentucky,
that wants a song leader and a youth director. And he said
he asked me to, he went to Bob Jones. Darce knew him when she
was there. They were classmates. Said he
wants a song leader and a youth director, and I don't want to
go. Do you want to go? I said, me? That's what I felt for him. Me?
I never saw him alive. He said, I'll teach you. And
I said, we'll think about it. So, he came over at different
days. He'd teach me lead the singing and these things. So,
about two weeks later, we caught a train and went to Ashland and
met with Don Wells. And he, Doris sang for him. That's
what did it. She could sing like a bird, you
know. And he, she, he sang for her.
And he hired us. And so we went back to, got home
and got all our clothes and didn't have anything else but just our
clothes. So she quit her job and I quit
my job. And we got on the train, came
to Ashton, came to that railroad station right down the road here.
19, March, the last start of March, 1947. Got off the train
and Don got us a two-room apartment with Mr. and Miss Abbott. down
about three blocks from the church, Potter Baptist Church, and that's
where we live, and that's where I met Sharon and all those young
people, you know, that are still my friends and buddies, and Don
Fitzer and Russell May and all of them, you know. And I had
a youth club, Uncle Henry's Bible Club, and we just had some good
time. Didn't know anything, but we
had good time, you know. Didn't know any gospel at all.
But after six months, I told Don, I said, I've got to go back
to school. I've got to go back to school.
If I'm going to be a song leader and a youth director and a preacher,
I've got to go to school. So he had me preach for the first
time. And so we left and went to Chattanooga.
And the government paid all my tuition, books, and gave me $95
a month, and we rented a furnished Then had a furnished house, moved
in. What did we pay for the house? $95 a month. Mr. Robinson said, you can't live
on $95 a month. You give it all rent. I said,
I plan to preach and lead the singing. And they find places
for me to lead the singing, give me $25. We took in a board or
two, another student. And got along fine for about
two months. And the president of the school
called me and said, I want you to go to the Oakwood Baptist
Church and preach next Sunday. It's one of the oldest churches
in Chattanooga, 1848. It was founded. It was a place
where the Union soldiers, I mean the Confederate soldiers had
a hospital. And so I went and preached my
second sermon to them. And the pulpit committee wasn't
there. And they said, well, she'll come
back next Sunday. I came back next Sunday for the third sermon.
And the pulpit committee still wasn't
there. I came back the fourth Sunday. And they said, why don't
you be our pastor and we find one? So I was their pastor for
about two months. And they called me. And we bought
our furniture and moved into Parsonage. And I preached there
three years. And then I learned the gospel.
Came back to Ashland and learned the gospel. I tell you, God will
provide. He will provide for his people. Always has and always will provide. They had a big split over the
gospel of grace at Ashland Church, Potter Baptist Church, 1955.
It split. I resigned that Sunday morning
and 45 men, 46 women and 20 some odd
young people moved down. And I was standing at the front
of the church when I resigned and the people were standing
around and a man came walking up to me, Lawrence Gilley, your
neighbor, Sharon lived across the street from you. Lawrence
Gilly came up to me and handed me a check for $1,500. He said, here's the first offering
on the new church. And I said, Mr. Gilly, I said,
we're going to meet in a Armco, what do they call those things,
shelter house. Armco shelter house. You can
take this money. I don't know whether we're going
to have a church or not. I just don't know. Well, he rang my
bell. He said, take that $1,500, and
if you don't find a church, get out of town on that $1,500. God will provide. He always will. Always will. Always will provide. Somebody wrote a poem one time.
Though troubles assail, dangers affright, Though friends shall
all fail and foes all unite, one thing assures us whatever
betide, his promise guarantees us that he will provide. The
birds without barns or storehouse are fed, from them let us learn
to trust for our bread. His saints, what is fitting,
shall never be denied, as long as it's written, the Lord will
provide. no strength of our own nor goodness
we claim. Our trust is all thrown on Jesus'
dear name. In this strong tower for safety
we hide, the Lord's my keeper and he will provide. When life
sinks to pace and death is in view, the word of his promise
will comfort us through, not fearing, not doubting, with Christ
as our guide. I plan to die shouting, the Lord
will provide. He always will. He always has. I had a friend, this lady, Burnell,
came to the first Sovereign Grace Conference, 1954. Mrs. Burnell Spears, Mrs. Powers, and Ms. Bunn. They stayed with Russell May,
I believe. And she just fell in love with the Gospel of Grace.
This lady there, Burnell. And she came to every conference.
Her husband didn't give a flip to the preaching or the conference
or anything else. But she came. And he died. And she married again, a Mr. Burke. But he wouldn't come to service.
He never came to us. meeting. He died. She married the third one, Mr.
Jackson. And she wrote me a letter. And
she said, brother man, she said, pray for me. She said, I'm just
down in the dumps. And she lived over in Richmond,
Virginia. I'm just down in the dumps, you
know. And my husband, none of them have ever come to church.
None of them ever loved God. And I'm just so, I wrote her
back. I said, Bernal, you've got yourself
in this proposition. I warned you about marrying these
unsaved people. Now you're just going to have
to make your bed and lie in it and quit complaining and finding
fault with God or me or anybody else and just forget it. That's
the last thing I've got to say to you. But I thought, we're
done. Not if you love God. Just a little
while later, I got a letter from her, and she said, I own a piece
of property. I'm going to sell it for $300,000. And I wanted to will it to you
and the elders. And this man is going to pay
for it, $2,000 a month, until he paid off $300,000, and you
can help support the missionaries with that $2,000 a month. God
will provide. He always has. He always will. God will provide. I want to tell you something
else. Darcy and I have prayed and sought
the will and leadership of the Lord in moving to Rocky Mountain
to be near Paul and me. We're getting old and we've got
to be where our children are. and doctors and hospitals and
all these things, rest homes, whatever God orders for us, we
need to be where our children are. And so we went over there,
we prayed about it and sought the Lord's will in this matter
and it took a long time, but finally we got on the same page
and we're going. So we went over
there, we put our house up for sale on Saturday and sold on
Tuesday. That's the evidence of God. And
then we went down to Rocky Mount and met with Paul and I found
out that houses there are a lot more expensive than they are
here. A whole lot more expensive. Paul took us around and showed
us different houses that he wanted us to live near him, you know.
And we just sat down and I said, Paul, I can't afford these houses. There's no way in this world,
no way in this world that I can afford a house that you've been
looking at. He said, Dad, a friend, he didn't tell me who
it is, a friend who loves you very much, who's known you for
many, many years, told me to tell you to get your house, pay
for it, what you have, and I'll finish the rest of it. So that's
how we've got such a nice place to live in Rocky Mountain. God
will provide. He always has and He always will. His servants are just special
to Him. I want you to turn to the book
of Job, and I'll close. I've preached too long, but this
may be the last shot. It could be, you know. Job chapter
5. Job the fifth chapter, verse
26. Now watch this carefully. Thou shalt come to thy grave
in a full age. Let's look at that a minute.
Our death is inevitable, isn't it? You're going to come to your
grave. That's where we're headed, to
the grave. It's the part of the man who
wants to die. You're going to come to your grave. And Adam
Aldine, when I watched this, he said, you shall come to your
grave. The believer's death is not only
inevitable, but it's acceptable. You're going to come. He's not
going to drive you. You're not going against your
will. We're willing to die. We choose to be absent from the
body, Paul said, and to be present with the Lord. That's our goal. We're not forced to leave this
earth. We're willingly, Paul said, I'm in a straight betwixt
the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is
far better. Thou shalt come. The unbeliever,
he's not coming. He'll fight it to the last day. And the Lord said this about
unbelievers. He said this, thy soul shall be required of thee. Don't take it away. We're not
going to take it. He's not going to take it. We're
going to give it. That's right. You'll come to your grave. Watch this third thing. In a
full age, the believer's death is inevitable. It's acceptable. It's timely. When am I going
to die? When the Lord wills it. That's right. Thou shalt come
to thy grave in a full age. What is a full age? As long as
He gives me. He gave my son 21 years. Gave
my daughter 42 years. He's given me 81. This may be
the end. In a full age. You know what
somebody said about that? If corn is harvested before it's
ripe, it's not fit for use. If corn is left in a field too
long, it'll come to nothing. But when his purpose for us on
this earth, in his church, is finished and complete, we'll
be plucked from the fields and seated at the table for the marriage
feast, a full age, in the Lord's good time. And then look this,
thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age like a shock of
corn cometh in his season. Like it comes in his season.
Lo, this have I found. So it is. Hear it and know thou
it. Are you good? It's good. It's good. It's good. You quoted a scripture in your
message, Frank, last week before last, or last week. It's good
for me, I've been afflicted, that I might learn this statue. It's good for me. But I hope
that is a blessing to you, and I'm thankful for the Lord's mercies
and grace, and my love for you goes back a long ways. And your
friendship and fellowship is just unbelievable. I'm grateful. So we're about to pray. Our merciful, faithful Father,
You've taught us and we believe that this life is of April, soon
to be gone. But we know that our life is
hid with Thee in Christ Jesus. We know that salvation is Your
gift to us in Christ, and we know that Christ is all in all,
and we're complete in Him. And Lord, we're so grateful and
so thankful You've provided for us all the days of our lives. You've blessed us and provided
for us And we do love Thee, and we believe Thee, and we rest
in Thee, and we know that Thou hast laid up for us a crown of
righteousness in Christ Jesus, not only for us, but for all
them that love Thy appearing. Lord, we're grateful. We give
thanks. In the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, amen.