Now this, this is like turning
the clock back for me. Looking into some faces that
I've looked into and tried to preach to for a long, long time. Some folks I love real, real
deeply and always will. Thank God for you so much. We have one here distant from
England. I looked into her face in 1968
for the first time. It hadn't been that long, has
it, Jeanine? Yeah, it was, too. Brother Pharrell
Griswold and I went to France to visit Brother Bill Clark.
And I met his family, Evelyn, Jeanine, David, and Paul. They lived, were you on 10th
floor? Seventeenth floor. They lived in a condominium on
the seventeenth floor. And everybody carries their bicycles
up the steps, you know, up the elevator. And she liked to lean
over. She was that little girl, and
she liked to lean over and look down, way down at the people.
But her daddy and her mother have been my dear, dear friends
for forty years. More than forty years. And the Lord called Brother Bill home
eight years ago, November, eight years ago. And we traveled all
over the world together, literally all over the world, all over
the world. Moscow, Belarus, Africa, France,
Spain, England, everywhere. Evelyn is still carrying on Bill's tape ministry in French down
in Africa still. Bill still preaches. We were
there at Ivory Coast. Bill and I walked down a street,
a dusty street, and two fellows walked up and said, In France,
French, what's your name? Bill Clark said, Bill Clark.
They said, we've heard you on the radio. You remember that?
And we ran into that in Moscow, Darcy and I did. Some people
recognized his voice preaching the gospel on the radio. And
Evelyn is still sending the tapes. And also Bill started a preacher
school over there in the Ivory Coast with our commentaries. Had 200 pupils, I guess, at one
time in the preacher school. Your mom's still carrying that
on, sending the blessings to them, and it's just, everyone's
a go-getter. She's a dandy. Bill was a true
servant of God. I never met a man that I appreciated
more, loved more, and enjoyed more. We had just perfect, perfect
love and affection and we agreed perfectly. And let me tell you
a little thing here. Bill was a true servant of God,
as was his savior, who said he came to serve him. And Bill was
a true shepherd of the sheep. He nourished the little ones
and fed the sheep, didn't he? And Bill was a watchman who took
his stand lest error cover the land. And Bill was a teacher. He was a teacher. He taught those
black fellows the word of God and did it faithfully two or
three times a year he went down there and ministered to those
people. And I just can't say enough in
appreciation for you and your mom, and Rick was so glad to
have you here. I'm ignoring you, but I don't
mean to be at all. I just think so much of this
young lady and her family that it just comes out. I appreciate
God's servants. I appreciate men who love the
gospel, preach the gospel, and love God's people. I love them
and appreciate them so much. I want to turn to you, in your
Bibles, to Acts chapter 11. Acts chapter 11. Chapter 11. We'll begin reading
with verse 21. Acts 11, 21. And the hand of the Lord was
upon them, and a great multitude believed and turned unto the
Lord. Then tidings of these things
came unto the ears of the church which were in Jerusalem, and
they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch,
who when he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad. And he exhorted them all that
with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he
was a good man, Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith, and much people were added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus
for to seek Sopho. And when he had found him, he
brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole
year they assembled, a whole year assembled themselves with
the church and taught much people. Now watch this, watch this next
line. And the disciples were called
Christians first at Antioch. They've been calling them Christians
now 2,000 years, but at Antioch was the first time they ever
called them Christian. Well, what did they call them
before Antioch? I'll tell you what they called them. From Genesis
to Malachi, they called them the sons of Jacob. The sons of
Jacob. Let me show you that in Malachi.
In Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3 verse 6. Malachi 3 verse 6. Malachi 3
verse 6. For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not considered. A lot of folks are going to be
concerned, but not the sons of Jacob, because they're the sons
of God. Why were they called the sons
of Jacob? Now, I'll tell you why. First, because God chose
him. He said in Isaiah 41, 8, But
thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen. God chose Jacob. and he chose
you and he chose me. We're the chosen ones of God. Christ said to the disciples,
you didn't choose me, I chose you. So they called them the
sons of Jacob because God chose them. And secondly, they're called
the sons of Jacob because God loved Jacob. He said, Jacob have
I loved and Esau have I hated. But he loved Jacob. He loved
him with an everlasting love. He said, Yea, the Lord hath appeared
of old to Israel, saying, I have loved you, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
I have drawn you. And our Lord said, having loved
his own, he loved them to thee." That's why we're called sons
of Jacob. God chose us, and God chose us because he loved us.
But there's another reason. They're called the sons of Jacob
because Jacob got the birthright. His brethren give him. God will
be merciful to whom he will be merciful. He'll be gracious to
whom he will be gracious. And he gave the inheritance,
the birthright, to Jacob. And in Ephesians, in whom you
have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of him. who works all things after the
counsel of his own will. We've got the birthright. We've
got the inheritance. God chose us, God loved us, and
God gave us the inheritance. And I'll tell you another reason
why they call us sons of Jacob. Because God gave him a new name.
You remember when Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord? He
wrestled with Christ. That's who he wrestled with,
the angel of the Lord. And the angel of the Lord said,
let me go. Light is breaking. And Jacob said, I will not let
you go until you bless me. And the angel of the Lord said
to him, what's your name? And he said, Jacob. He said,
your name will be no more Jacob. Your name will be Israel. That's
what they're fighting over there about now. Israel. Your name
will be Israel. For you are a prince with God. Did you know you're a prince?
That's right. We're called sons of Jacob because
God chose us, God loved us, God gave us the birthright, and God
has given us a name. Son of God. Beloved, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called
sons of God. A prince. A prince of God. But there's another reason why
they're called sons of Jacob. Turn with me to Genesis 49. Genesis chapter 49. And here's
old Jacob in his last hours, in his last days, in his last
hours in Genesis chapter 49. And he declares something that
every one of us who are sons of Jacob know. Listen to it. Genesis 49, verse 8. Genesis 49, verse 8. Listen to
it. Judah, this is Jacob speaking. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Now this is the tribe of Judah. And that's the one the Messiah
came through, Dad, was Judah. Not Levi, not the Abraham's folks,
but Judah. That's the kingly tribe. That's
what this read on. Judah is a lion's wealth from
the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he cast
as a lion, as an old lion, who shall rouse him up? And the scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until shallow, who's that? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our Messiah. That's our
Redeemer. The law, the scepter shall not
depart from Judah till shallow come, and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be. Old Jacob believed in Shiloh. Even back, how many years ago? Way back, Shiloh. 4,000 years before Christ came
into the world, almost. 3,000 anyway. Shiloh's coming. He's coming. And God's sons of
Jacob, they look to him. We read that, just look unto
me, be yourself. They wait for him. They believe
in him. And they rest. in the promise
of his coming. Shallow. Well, before Antioch,
what were they called? Called Sons of Jacob. There's
another title given to them. Before Antioch, they were called
the People of the Way. The People of the Way. Let me
show you some scripture. Turn to Acts chapter 9. These believers were not called
Christians. But before then, they were called
something else, sons of Jacob and the people of the way. In
Acts 9, verse 1 and 2, listen. And Saul of Tarsus, yet breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord, went to the high priest and desired of him letters to
Damascus, to the city of God, that he found any of this way. of disbelief, of dispersation. If I find any of this way, listen,
if I find any of this way, whether they're men or women, I'll bring
them down to Jerusalem, put them in prison. The way, the way. Read, look at Acts 19. Acts 19 verse 9, the people of
the way. Acts 19 verse 9, listen to this. In Acts 19 verse 9, But when
the divers were hardened, and believed not, but they spake
evil of that way, they hated that way, and they spoke evil
of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated
the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one tyrannous. Well, that's tied up in Acts
22, the people of the way. That's what they called them
back then. Acts 22, verse 4. And this is Saul of Tarsus speaking
after the Lord saved him. Listen to it. In Acts 22, verse... Let's start with verse 3. Acts
22, verse 3. I am barely a man which am a
Jew, born in Tarsus, the city of Cilicia, yet brought up in
this city at the feet of Gamaliel. That's the chief professor. and
taught according to the perfect manner of the law of my fathers,
and I was zealous toward God as you are this day, and I persecuted
this way. I hated this way. I persecuted
this way unto death. He didn't say I persecuted Christians. I persecuted the people of this
way. They weren't called Christians then. They were sons of Jacob. They were people of the way.
Binding them and delivering them into prison, both men and women.
The way. What is the way? It's the way
of life. In a simple, plain way, it's the way of life. It's
the way of life. Thomas said to the Lord, we know
not where you're going. How can we know the way? How
can I know the way? And our Lord Jesus said to him,
Thomas, I'm the way. I'm the way, I'm the truth, and
I'm the life. He's not merely a prophet pointing
the way. He's not merely an example pointing
the way. He's not merely true. He's the
truth. He said, I am the way, I am the
truth, and I am That's the way, the way of truth, the way of,
the way, the truth and the life. Old Warburton, I forget his first
name, but he was a great writer many years ago, Warburton. He made this statement about
the difference in religion and the way of life. He made a difference between
ceremony and love and the way of Christ, the way of life. And
this is what he said. Ceremony and religion is to know
some facts about God. But saving faith is to know the
living God, the way, the truth, and the life. He said ceremony
and religion is to know what I believe. Saving faith is to
know whom I believe. It's all the difference in the
world. It's the difference in life and death. Ceremony and religion is to be
baptized into the church. You can do that without any problems.
But I'll tell you this, saving faith is to be baptized into
Christ by the Spirit of God. That's a totally different thing. The way, the truth, and the life.
Ceremony in religion is to be reformed. I'll quit my meanness
and quit this and start going to church. Ceremony in religion
is to be reformed. Saving faith is to be regenerated,
born again, made in Christ a new creature, born in the Spirit
of God. Ceremony in religion is to make
a man a new convert, Saving faith is to make him a new creature
in Christ. If any man be in Christ, the
way, the truth, the life, he is a new creation. And when,
by the grace of God, any person hears this gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ and believes on Him and walks with Him, He'll walk that
way, the way of Christ, the rest of his life. Yes, he will. He'll walk that, once he really
hears that gospel in his heart and receives the Lord Jesus Christ
as his prophet, priest, and king, and looks to him and loves him,
he'll walk that way the rest of his life. And not only that,
but he'll grow stronger and stronger and stronger. Can I read that
to you? Turn to the book of Job. The
book of Job. Chapter 17. Chapter 17. This is what Job
wrote years and years ago. Listen to it. Listen to it carefully. The righteous. Who is that? The righteous. I'll tell you.
Let me just read it to you. You just stay right where you
are now and let me Let me turn over here to Jeremiah. Listen
to this. Listen to this. Jeremiah, chapter
23. Listen to this. In those days,
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this
is his name. This is his name, whereby he
shall be called the Lord of Righteousness. The Lord of Righteousness. Now
listen to this. Ten chapters over. In Jeremiah 33, he calls somebody
else the Lord Our Righteousness. Listen to this. In Jeremiah 33,
16. Same scripture, a little different
word. In those days Judah shall be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name
whereby he shall be called, no, whereby she shall be called. Not only is Christ called the
Lord Our Righteousness, So is His church, so are His people. She shall be called, the church,
the bride of Christ, she shall be called the Lord our righteousness,
because He was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. And so listen to my text now,
in Job 17 verse 9, the righteous, Are you afraid to use that word
in reference to God's people? God wasn't afraid to. They are
righteous. That's right. We're righteous
in Him. He made us righteous. The righteous, the believer,
also shall hold his way. And he that hath clean hands,
I'll get to that in a minute too, he'll grow stronger and
stronger. The righteous, the righteous
shall hold his way. The way of life, the way of truth,
the way of the cross, the way of the blood, the way of eternal
joy. He'll hold it. And he'll grow
stronger and stronger. Now he may, listen to me, he
may not travel with equal speed all the time. It didn't say he'll
hold his pace, but he'll hold his way. There's a difference
there. He didn't say he'll hold his
pace. but he'll hold his way, the way of Christ. He didn't
say he'll travel with equal enthusiasm. He did not say he'll travel with
equal zeal and excitement, but he'll hold his way. Even when
he's down, he believes Christ. Even when he's low, he believes
Him. Even when things are not going so well, he's not departing. They'll not depart from me, I'll
not depart from them, they'll not depart from me. He may not
hold his pace, and he may not hold his enthusiasm, but I guarantee
you he'll hold his way. He'll hold his way. And I'll
tell you something else, he won't travel with equal success. But whether he's rich or poor,
he trusts Christ. Whether he's rich or poor, he
loves the Savior. Whether he's successful or a
fool, he loves Christ. That's right. Whether he's in
sickness or health, whether he's in agony and in hospital, he'll
hold his way. That's true, or this is not true
at all. He'll hold his way. He'll hold his way. And he that
hath clean hands, Clean hands. Who has clean hands? You do if
you're a believer. Christ said that. He said, you're
clean. Let me show you. Turn to John 13. John chapter 13. Our Lord was
going to wash the disciples' feet. And He came to Peter, and
Peter said, you're not going to wash my feet. And the Lord
said, if I don't wash them, you don't have any part with me.
He said, well, Lord, don't just wash my feet. Wash my hands and
my head and all of it. He said, Peter, John 13, 10.
He that is washed, washed in the blood, washed in the blood
of the Lamb, washed in the sacrifice of Christ. He that is washed,
needeth not save to wash his feet. He what? Is clean. Every whip. Every whip. He is clean. He is clean. And you clean. But he said, not
all of you. There's a crook in the lot named
Judas. He's not clean. Christ didn't
wash him. He didn't bathe for him. He didn't
put away his sand. He put away Peter's sand. And
Peter stumbled around and stumbled around like I have all my life.
But he's still clean by the blood of the Lamb. All clean. That's right. And he that's clean,
you're clean through the Word. You're clean through the Word
of God. Word of God, you're clean. Turn
to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse
11. Listen to this. 1 Corinthians
6, verse 11. And such were some of you that
you washed. See that? He talked about these
covetous drunkards, revilers and so forth. They're such were
some of you, but you're washed, you're sanctified, you're justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. You're clean. And old Job says here, the righteous
shall hold his way, and he that has clean hands, what's going
to happen? He's going to get stronger and
stronger. In faith, in love, in peace, in joy, in humility,
you'll grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what I gave 53 years of my ministry to tell you. We grow
in grace. We grow in grace. We grow up,
the scripture says, and he'll grow stronger and stronger, desirous
in this here milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. Our Lord said, your faith grows
exceedingly. Anything that's alive is going
to grow. This poor 50 cents of man, it's
not going to grow one thing. It's not going to grow a branch
or a leaf or a tree or a pattern. It's dead. But when God saves
a sinner, he's alive and he lives and he grows in grace. Speak
the truth in love that you may grow up In Christ, in all things,
who is your Hegel? Jesus Christ. And I get a little bit provoked
with preachers who says everybody hates God. I don't. Do you? I love God. Like I ought to. I love God. Other preachers don't know the
difference between a saved man and a lost man. They apply the
same Condemnation to both. And God made a difference between
Israel and the Egyptians. There is a difference. I'm looking
into the face of people who are different here. God made the
difference, but they're different. They're gracious. They're generous. They're kind. They love Christ. They love each other. Yes, they
do. Not room in his heart for hatred
for somebody. Not for no Christ. No, sir. I'm going to tell you why. I'm
going to tell you why the believer, why the righteous, who has clean
hands, is going to grow stronger and stronger and stronger every
day. I'm going to give you five reasons.
All right, stay with me now. I'll tell you why. Why this verse
is good. The righteous shall hold his
way and he'll grow stronger and stronger. Number one, He will
hold his way because of the work of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit on his behalf. Brother Todd preached on that
just about four or five weeks ago from this pulpit, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Watch Ephesians Chapter 1. Ephesians
Chapter 1. An old brother, George Fletcher,
came to Ashton in 1954 and preached a sermon on salvation by grace,
and he brought out these three points. The work of the Father,
the work of the Son, the work of the Spirit. Verse 3 of Ephesians
1. Here's the work of the Father.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heaven and places
in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in Christ before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will, all of this to the praise of the glory
of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
That's the Father. That's the reason the righteous
are holding his way. God made him righteous. God put
him in Christ. Now watch the second, verse seven
now. the work of the Son, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of his will." You see why the righteous was hold on?
God made known to him the mystery of God's will. Gave him an understanding
of who Christ is. Verse 10, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of time, he might gather together and want all
things in Christ which are in heaven already and which are
on the earth even in him, in whom also we have already obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Watch this now, that we should be to the praise of the glory
of his grace who first trusted in Christ. What's the work of
the Father? He chose us, predestinated us, accepted us to the praise
of his glory. Christ Jesus redeemed us, illuminated
us, enlightened us to the praise of his glory. Now what's the
Holy Spirit? Verse 13, in whom you trusted
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
in whom after you believe, you heard and believe, you will see
you with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest, which is
the token, which is the pledge of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession." Watch it, to the praise of His
glory. It's all done to the praise of His glory. God the Father,
God the Son, God the Spirit, to the praise of His glory. And
it's not one point, between the time that God set his love upon
us in eternity to the time that we'll be perfectly conformed
to the image of Jesus Christ is not a time between those two
points that we can't say, salvation is of the Lord. Not of me, not
of you, it's of the Lord. Now here's the second reason
why the righteous will hold his way. He'll hold his way because
of the promises of Christ in the Word of God. The promises
of Christ. You know, your dad used to say,
talk about the book of Hebrews, he said, the book of Hebrews
is hedged about on both sides, one with warnings and one with
promises. Warnings, lest we presume, and
promises, lest we despair. Those promises of Christ. That's
the children's brand. That's what keeps us going. That's
what makes us happy. That's what gives us hope. All
right, turn to 1 Thessalonians 1. The promises of the Word. Here they are, right here. Promises of the Word. 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 4. The apostle Paul, writing to
the church at Thessalonica, he said, verse 4, Knowing, brethren,
beloved, your election of God. You got it? 1 Thessalonians chapter
1 verse 4. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. How can a man know he's elected?
Paul knew it. I know it. You know it too. I'll tell you why. Listen. Verse
5. Because our gospel came to you
not in word only, not in doctrine only, not in catechisms only,
but it came to you in The power of the Spirit of God.
It came to you in the Holy Ghost. It came to you with much assurance,
as you know what manner of men we were among you. All right?
Verse 6. And you became followers. Something
happened. It came in power and you became.
It came and you became. You see that? When the Gospel
comes, you become a different person. They grow stronger and stronger.
And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. Verse
7. And you became examples. God's people are examples. They're
an example. All of you are taking up money
to buy missionary trucks, Walter and Cody. And I think there's
$50,000 contributed already. These people love God. They're
examples. They're examples. They don't just talk about it
and do it. They're examples to all that believe, whether it's
in the mission field or wherever. Look at verse 8. From you sounded
out the word of the Lord. You became witnesses. I know,
brethren, you're lecturing because the gospel came to you in power,
because you became a follower of me and the Lord. You became
an example. You became a witness. You can't
help but tell people about the Lord if you know Him. You can't
help it. And verse 9, For they themselves
show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you
turn from, you turn to God. You turn to God from your eyes
to serve the living God and to wait for His Son. He's
coming. He's coming to me a lot quicker
than He's coming to you. And I know it, and I'm loving
it every minute of it. Just waiting until He comes.
Like He came to Bill and says, come on home. Come on home. It's
a difference. It's a difference. And the righteous will hold their
way because of the Word of God, the truth they believe. It never
changes. I learned the gospel in 1954,
and I've tried my best to preach as best I can, and I've grown
a little bit, and I'll tell you this, the same gospel I started
with, that kind of, you know that, same gospel I'm preaching. Not another. Didn't change. Feelings
come, feelings go, feelings are deceiving. Our warrant is the
Word of God. Nothing else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel
condemned, for want of one sweet token, I know one greater than
my heart, whose word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging
word, till soul and body sever, the words of me it'll pass away,
but God's word abides forever and forever and forever and forever. It's the word of God. Thirdly,
let me give you this, the believer shall hold his way, listen to
me now, the believer shall hold his way thirdly because Christ
dwells in him. Christ dwells in him. Christ
in you, that's the hope of glory. Not outside you, not an influence,
the person of Christ dwells in the believer. Brethren, Paul
said, I prevail till Christ be formed in you. Christ be formed
in you, not a doctrine person. Listen to this, I'm crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live in the flesh, but there's a new one that lives
in me, that's Christ. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Let me give you three verses.
Number one, the new nature, that new man is born of God. That old man born of the flesh
is going to be put to the ground some day, but there's a new man
creating Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ comes in
to dwell. And he'll never die. He'll just
go on to go away. The body's going to die. Got
to put that thing in the ground. But not me. That's right. Look at 1 John 3. 1 John chapter
3. 1 John chapter 3 verse 9. 1 John 3 verse 9. Listen to this. 1 John 3 verse 9. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin, for his seed, whose seed? God's seed remains in him. He
cannot sin because he's born of God. This flesh can sin, but
this man Christ Jesus, the new man, does not sin. Does not sin. He's born of God. Secondly, the new nature is actually
the divine nature of Christ himself. Peter said that. He said we are
made partakers of the divine nature. What's divine? Christ
is divine. And his nature is divine. And
you are made partaker of his nature. Let me show you that
in 1 John 4, over one page. 1 John 4, verse 13. Listen to
this. Hereby, or you got it? 1 John
4 verse 13. Hereby know we that we dwell
in Him and He dwells in us. Not next door. In us. He dwells in us. He dwells in
us. And because He has given us of
His Spirit. His Spirit. And we have seen
and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior
of the world. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he dwells in
God." I don't see how that could be any plainer. It's not just
a doctrine you've learned and memorized and a different walk
or something. It's a new life. It's a life
of God. In us. I'm 80 years old, I'm
still trying to preach, and when I get up here, I get new vitality. I believe this, I know this,
it's God in me. I know that. If I didn't know
that, I'd quit. If I didn't know it's Christ
speaking, not me, He's speaking through me. John the Baptist
said, Mr. Bush, that's all I am, I'm nothing. But I'm a voice. I'm His voice.
It's the life of Christ. And you have the life of Christ
in you. All right, watch this. This new nature. This believer
will hold his way because this new nature will overcome the
world. 1 John 5. 1 John 5, verse 3. Listen to this. This is the love
of God. This is the love of God. 1 John
5, verse 3. that we keep His commandments.
His commandments aren't grievous. They're not grievous. But whosoever
is born of God, he overcomes this world. And this is a victory
that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh
the world? That he that believeth that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. The believer shall hold his way
because It is the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ that dwells
in him. And then fourthly, the believer
will hold his way because the Lord Jesus intercedes for us. He intercedes for us. Turn with
me to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. Listen to this.
Luke chapter 22, verse 31. Luke chapter 22, verse 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat, but I pray for you. I pray for you that your faith
fail not. It's not going to. Not if it's
one he gave you. A lady asked me one time, do
you believe the Be saved and then be lost. I said, who saved
him? If his mama saved him, yeah,
he's going to be lost, or his daddy, or the preacher. But if
God saved him, that's an old, new ballgame. And that's what
our Lord Jesus said, I prayed for you that your faith fail
not, and it's not going to. And when you're converted, when
you get straightened out on this thing, you know, and see that
you're not one of the greatest fellows in the world, well, you
strengthen your brethren. You grow in grace. You grow in
grace and you strengthen your brethren. There's a difference
in salvation and conversion. Did you know that? Salvation
is instantaneous. Conversion is something that
takes a while. That's what he told Peter. Peter, when he met
Christ, he said, Christ said, what do men say? He said, what
do you say, Peter? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. He said, blessed are you, Simon. Barjona, flesh
and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father. He was
saved back then, wasn't he? But I'll tell you, when he denied
his Lord, he was still saved. But he needed a conversion work. He needed some growth in grace. And he got it too. Read on. And
he said, Lord, I'm ready to go with you to prison or death.
And the Lord said, Peter, the cock won't crow this day before
you've denied me three times. Conversion. He was saved, wasn't
he? He was saved. The Lord prayed. He prayed for his own. He said,
Father, I pray for them which thou hast given me. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me. I pray not for the world, I pray
for them which you gave me. They're dying. They're all dying
of mine. Here's the last part. The believer
will hold his way because he's already dead and buried with
Christ. He's alive forevermore. That's right. He's already dead. Let me show you that in Romans
chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. Romans 6 verse
5 through 11. Now let's go back here. Let's go
to chapter 6 verse 1. Let's look at all this. What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. How can we that are
dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us
were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death?
Therefore we are buried with Christ by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, so we should walk in newness of life. We've been
crucified with Christ and risen, risen for young. For we've been
planted together in His likeness, In the likeness of his death,
we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing
our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, then henceforth we should not serve sin. For
he that's dead is free from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with Christ. We're dead.
And you know, when our Lord went to raise Lazarus, and Martha
said, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. He
said, your brother will rise again. And she said, I know he'll
rise again at the resurrection. He said, Martha, I'm the resurrection.
He that, he that believeth on me, I am the resurrection. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And he that believeth on me,
who's living, he's already living with Christ. He died with Christ
at the cross. I was holding a meeting out in,
I'm preaching too long, but it's my last shot, maybe. Richard Baxter said, I preach
as one who may never preach again. I preach to dying men, as a dying
man to dying men. But I was holding a meeting down
in Louisiana years ago, and there was a Jewish couple on the front
row. Sid Horn and his wife Linda. This had been 15 years ago, I
guess. And they were attending the church
where I was preaching for Brother McKinney. And they'd been faithful,
faithful attenders of that church a long time. And I was impressed
with Sid. He was a lawyer, and his wife
was some business. But anyway, we went out to eat
together, the pastor and Sid and I went out to eat together. And I said to him, I said, you
are Jew, you're Jewish, aren't you? Yes, he said, full-blooded. I said, well, how come your name's
Horn? Horn's not a Jewish name. He said, my name was Bernstein. And he said, my granddaddy, years
ago, was 17 years old, in Germany. I'm a German Jew. He was a German
Jew. Bernstein. He's 17 years old,
and it was 1917, and the war was just about over with Germany,
1918. And they were going to draft
him into the service. And he told his mother, he said,
I'm not going to go up to the front and get killed over nothing. This war is over. I'm running
away. So his granddaddy, Mr. Bernstein,
left Germany and started towards Switzerland. And he ran away
and he kept going and kept going. It was late one evening and before
he crossed the border, he saw a farmhouse and a light was in
the window. And he said his granddaddy just
was so weary and broken and tired. He just cast himself on those
people's whatever. He knocked at the door, and the
lady came to the door. He told her, he said, my name's
Bernstein, and I'm running away. I'm going to leave Germany because
I'm not going to go in this war. And she said, you don't have
to. So I said, come on in. And she took him in and fed him
and told him he could sleep there that night. And then the mother
and father said to him, said, son, they'll catch you. They'll catch you. And they'll
execute you. And I'll tell you what you do.
Our son died not too many months ago. Our son, Horn, John Horn,
died not too many months ago. And he's buried right out here
in the little Fagner Cemetery. And what we're going to do is
we're going to take his name off the plaque and put your name,
Bernstein. We're going to put Bernstein
on the little cross out there and give you my son's papers.
And you're now no longer Bernstein, you're now Mr. Horne. And Mr. Horne left that family the next
day, came to America. Mr. Horne. Bernstein's dead. The new man is Horne. And he
came to America and he became a successful lawyer, and so did
his son, his grandson. His son and his grandson. And
that day he sat there. He said, no, Bernstein's dead. Horn lives. And I'm telling you
this, Henry Manning's dead. It's just marking time right
now to go be with the Lord. It's already, the life's already
there. It's Christ in you. The life
of glory. Christ in you, the life of glory. And I have an old Bernstein these
days. I got the papers. Here's the
papers I have. The Word of God. My papers. My
Magna Carta. That's what they used to say.
All right. Thank you, Pastor. Well, what could you say to that? I
thought, in the Psalms, when something profound is said, it
is followed by Selah. Think about that. You think about
what we just heard tonight.