That was comforting, because
I just about have those same words somewhere in my message
tonight, just about exactly like that. Good to be with you. Always is. Thank you. Thank you
for having me back, even if it's not the fifth Sunday. It'll be
all right. Lord willing, you're going to
see me on the fifth Sunday. But it's always a pleasure. I'm home. I'm home, and it's
always a delight. The Hansons, Mark, and especially
Regina, they just treat us, I mean, they couldn't do it, couldn't
do it anymore, couldn't do it anymore than what they do. Just
feel so comfortable, so at home, and that would be, I'm sure,
with anyone that Robin and I stayed with. All right, would you turn
with me to First Peter? chapter 2, verse Peter chapter
2. We'll read together the first
10 verses. Verse Peter 2, wherefore laying aside all malice
and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may
grow thereby if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious,
to whom coming, always coming. as unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. and holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore, also it is contained
in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a cheap cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. unto you therefore which believe
he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation. a peculiar people, that
you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were
not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." When I got up
pretty early this morning, turned on the coffee pot, sat down,
in the living room at Mark and Regina's home, opened my phone,
the first thing in the inbox of my mail caught my eye from
Grace Gyms. That's a site, if you're not
aware of it, it's a very good site. But the reading for this
morning was from Brother Don Fortner. And let me just read
a sentence to you. Let us pray as we open the scriptures,
Don wrote. Let us pray. Oh spirit of God,
open this book to my heart and open my heart to this book. That's a good prayer. I hope
we're praying it right now. Take the things of Christ written
up on these pages and show them to me. Our text is verse three,
here in first Peter two. If so be, if so be, ye have tasted
that the Lord is gracious. Psalm 34, from which Peter probably
referred in verse three, it says in Psalm 34 and eight, oh, taste
and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. That is, try for yourself. Taste for yourself, pry and experience
for yourself that God is gracious. God is gracious. The title of
this message is A Taste for Grace. A Taste for Grace. It was probably
a month or so ago. I was sitting in the waiting
area while I was having my car serviced there in Sylacauga.
been going there ever since I moved there almost 13 years ago. Almost 13 years ago. How time
does fly. But a man that I had seen there
many times walked in and he sat down next to me. And we begin
to chat. And of course, he knows I'm a
pastor. And he asked me some irrelevant question. And I told
him, I've never thought of that. I mean, I've just never. He asked me, what if, if, if? I said, I've never given that
a thought. And I said, by the way, where
do you attend church? And he said, well, I don't. I
don't. He said, I had a bad experience in a church years ago, so I don't
go anywhere anymore. He's, I think, about 75 years
old. I suspect that bad experience
probably 50 or 60 years ago. But that's the reason he gave
for not attending. So I invited him to our church.
And he said, no, I won't be there. And I said, I pulled out my phone. I said, would you be interested
in listening in the privacy of your home of the messages I preach
at our church, plus a whole lot of other men? Of course, the
Free Grace website. And at first he said no, and
then Rex, I think he did it just to make me feel better, which
it really didn't. He said, well, go ahead and give
it to me. I hope he listens to it. But it made me realize once
again, once again, that only God Almighty can make a sinner
thirsty for the water of life. Isn't that so? Only God can create
in a sinner's heart a hunger for that grace that only comes
through Jesus Christ. We can't do it for our children.
We can't do it for our loved ones. We couldn't do it for ourselves.
Only God and his majestic grace can give you an appetite, a hunger,
and a thirst for grace. And I was also reminded after
talking with that man of another thing, that only God's free grace
gave me a hunger for grace that allowed me to taste, as Peter
exhorts here, allowed me to taste for myself God's grace. and that he is gracious." Peter
begins and ends this epistle to these suffering believers.
You're probably aware of what was happening when he wrote both
of these epistles, 1 and 2 Peter. God's people had been falsely
accused of burning Rome. You're probably aware of that.
They blamed it on the Christians. Nero had to have a scapegoat. every conceivable way they could
think of. They used them as entertainment
in the arena to feed to the lions. Nero even dipped them in tar
and used them as human torches to light his gardens. They were
drug through the streets behind chariots. Now that's the circumstances
that these people were in that Peter wrote this epistle to.
It's no wonder that Peter begins his letter and ends his letter
in the very same way. It's grace, grace, grace, grace. And that's true throughout the
Word of God. Look, if you will, at verse 2
of chapter 1, 1 Peter 1 and 2. He writes that these pilgrims,
these strangers, scattered, scattered everywhere. But he said, elect,
elect, Nero can't touch this. He can't change this. Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace. Oh, can you imagine? how they stood, what great need
they had of God's peace. Everything around them was falling
apart. In the world, the Master said
to his disciples, in the world, and it's good for you and I today,
in the world ye shall have tribulation, there's no getting around it,
but be of good cheer. Peace, he said, my peace. The peace we just read here.
My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not like
the world, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. And throughout this letter his
first letter epistle and his second epistle, Peter reminds
them over and over again of this blessed reality. Not a fairy
tale, Bill. Not a fable. Not a fiction of
someone's imagination. He reminds them of the blessed
reality that God's grace, God's amazing grace, God's reigning
grace, God's sovereign grace, God's free grace, is never subtracted
It's never divided. It's always multiplied. That's true of every child of
God who's ever been called out of darkness into his marvelous
light, no matter what time, when they live in this world. Grace
is always multiplied. One hymn writer put it this way.
And you're familiar with this. He giveth more grace as our burdens
grow greater. He sendeth more strength as our
labors increase. To added afflictions, he addeth
his mercy. To multiplied trials, he multiplies
peace. Is that not so? Is there, every
believer here tonight, Every believer throughout this world
at this hour can say amen to that. God's grace has never failed
him. Has not one time. Has it? Of course not. His love
has no limits. His grace has no measure. His
power no boundary known unto men. For out of his infinite
riches in Jesus he giveth, and he giveth, and he giveth again. Child of God, hasn't that been
your experience? Robin and I, yesterday, went
to do what we always try to when we're here, visit David and Betty
Burge. We probably spent an hour and
a half or two hours with them yesterday, didn't we? And of
course, dear Betty continues to decline. We spoke with her
when we went in, when we left, had prayer. If she was aware
of it, I couldn't tell. But as I said, she continues
to decline. Each time I see her, I think,
God will soon take her home. She's going to be plum well soon. And her dear, faithful husband
continues to be, 24-7, her constant caregiver. Please
remember them before the throne of grace. Remember them. Reach
out to them. But I thought of these words
while I was in their home. And Rob and I talked about it
after we left. I'm sorry, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
12, and whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.
Or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and members in particular. I
told dear Dave, because it's taken a toll on him, I mean,
it would anyone. But I told him, I said, Dave,
you are a testimony. You are a constant testimony. You have been to me and I'm sure
that everyone knows you. You're a testimony to the sufficiency
of God's amazing grace. You're a testimony to the sufficiency
of God's grace. The Lord told the Apostle Paul,
My grace is sufficient for thee. How about that? For my strength
is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, Paul said, most
gladly therefore would I rather glory in my infirmities that
the power of Christ might rest upon me. And I reminded him of
this promise from that one who has loved him and his dear wife
and all of his redeemed with an everlasting love, the prophet
Isaiah 49, seeing old heavens. Sing, O heavens, and be joyful,
O earth, and break forth into singing, ye mountains. For the Lord hath comforted his
people and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said,
I'm guilty of this, I'm guilty of this. Zion said, the Lord
hath forsaken me. Zion is church. The Lord hath
forsaken me and my Lord has forgotten me. You ever been there? Well, sure
you have. Here's God's response. Can a
woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, yea. They may forget, yet
will not I forget thee. Can happen. Behold, I have graven
thee upon the palms of my hands. Peter. again in this letter and
the second, begins and ends with grace. What better message? for these suffering believers.
That grace of God that's always flowing through the Lord Jesus
Christ to his needy people. He ends his epistle with these
words, by Savenus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose
I have written briefly exhorting and testifying, this is the true
grace of God wherein you stand. That's 1 Peter 5 and 12. This
is the true grace of God. I mean, without a doubt, the
devil whispered in the ears of these poor believers. The ones
who hadn't lost their life and lost their property were chased
from their homes, pilgrims and strangers, Peter addresses them
as. What better message to be reminded
of that you're standing in the true grace of God, Rex? Nero
can't take you off that. You're on a foundation which
cannot be shaken, that stands sure. Nero can't do anything
about that. As a matter of fact, his hatred,
his vengeance, his lies are only used by our sovereign God to
usher his people into glory. How about that? This is the true
grace of God wherein ye stand. First, how can I know? How can
I know that that's true of me? That I'm standing in the true
grace of God. That I'm standing in, I'm trusting
the true grace of God. I've tasted his grace for myself. I'm usually standing in the pulpit
of Fairmont Grace Church in Sylacauga, Alabama. Tonight I'm standing
in the pulpit of Grace Baptist Church in Danville, Kentucky,
but am I in Christ? I'm in the right doctrine, I'm
convinced of that, but I could do that and not be in Christ.
Am I in Christ? For example, I believe and rejoice
in the blessed, glorious truth that Jesus Christ obtained eternal
redemption for his people. It's a done deal. It didn't depend
on anything would be done by us in time. It was done, it was
effectual at the time he offered himself to God without spot.
I love that document. I rejoice in it. I find comfort. May I lie down at night? If I
look back over today, Bill, my soul I couldn't begin to calculate
how many times in a day since I opened my eyes this morning
that I've sinned against my God, that I forgot my God, that my
mind has wandered out into this world, as well as my heart sometimes. Aren't you thankful that your
eternal redemption, your salvation doesn't depend on you? We'd be
in trouble. No, he obtained our eternal redemption. He laid down his life for his
sheep. That's true whether people like
it or not. In other words, redemption was
a particular redemption, an effectual redemption. There's no question
about that. But do I know the Redeemer? I
can know the doctrine. But do I know the Redeemer that
redeemed his people, Jesus Christ himself?" In the second epistle
of Peter, in chapter 1 verse 10, Peter wrote this, his second
letter to these suffering believers, 2 Peter 1 and 10. Wherefore,
the rather, brethren, give diligence. Give diligence. Give diligence
to make your calling and your election sure. Your calling,
your election, not somebody else's. Not Sammy Wall, no. God says,
Larry, you make your calling and election sure. For if you
do these things, you shall never fall. I want to share with you
two statements. by two of God's faithful messengers
that we all knew and heard preached so many times. They preached
the glorious gospel that concerned God's Son, Brother Don Fortner and Brother Henry Mahan, faithful
men now in glory. And we've known many other faithful
men. that preached the glorious gospel
of God, but first Brother Don. From a message he preached on
1 Peter, from 1 Peter rather, chapter 1, the first 10 verses,
but this is how he began his message. This was the introduction.
If I remember right when I read it, it's in the 90s I believe,
but this is what he said. This ring of bells, you can say
amen to this." That's exactly what he did. But he said, it
is the salvation of your immortal souls that I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about earthly, temporal things. but about spiritual,
eternal things. I'm not talking about your house,
your property, your money, your health. I'm not talking to you
about politics, history, or even church dogma. I'm talking to
you about something of real importance. I'm talking to you about your
soul. What shall it profit a man if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" And Don wrote,
Real salvation causes saved sinners to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again,
doesn't this sound just like him? I'm not talking about giddy,
giggly, ha-ha, he-he joy. I'm talking about real joy. joy
in the very depths of your heart, joy, joy in God your Savior. When we have nothing else in
which to rejoice, we can and should rejoice in our Lord God
and His great salvation." Doesn't that sound familiar? Brother
Henry Mayhem, he said, anyone who is serious Not like the man
I encountered in the garage, but anyone who is serious about
a knowledge of and relationship with the living God ought to
question today's religion, which makes salvation only a profession
and not an experience. God's grace must be experienced
and received by faith, Henry wrote. I'll never get across
the river by simply believing that a certain bridge can take
me across or that others have been successful in using the
bridge. I must experience the bridge's
deliverance and power for myself. As Peter exhorts, taste and see
for yourself. A taste for grace. And that brings
us to our second thought. Our text gives us the answer
to that question. How can I know that I'm standing
in the true grace of God? Have I experienced? Have I tasted? Is it become a part of me? Is that not what he told the
woman at the well? I'll give you a drink and it'll be a spring
within you, springing up into everlasting life. As newborn
babes, verse two here of chapter one, or I'm sorry, of chapter
two in 1 Peter, verse two, as newborn babes desire the sincere
milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. And God's people
will desire the sincere milk of the Lord. And Peter says,
if you will, you will, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord
is gracious. Has God created in me? Do I have an appetite for his
grace? Have I experienced it? Listen
to these words of our Lord Jesus Christ. verse from this conversation
that he had with that woman at the well. But listen to this
from John 4. Jesus answered and said unto
her, If thou knewest, now she knew some things. She began to,
you know, she got nervous because he was putting his finger on
her sword spot so she brought out her fig leaves. He wasn't
impressed. He brushed them aside. And he said, Lady, if you knew
the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to
drink, thou wouldst ask of him, and he would have given thee
living water. Whosoever, he said, whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again. Oh, if God gives you a taste
and appetite for grace, that only grace will satisfy. But
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst, shall never thirst. If thou knewest, that's the question,
isn't it? Do I know who it is that speaks
through his written word? Do I know this one who is the
incarnate God? Christ, praying to his heavenly
Father, said, Father, this is life eternal, that they might
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou didst
send. Do I know this one who is the
incarnate God, that one, that eternal God? That's pretty much
more than my little pee-wee brain can grasp. But that word that
was with God was God, that created all things that are. That one
who was made flesh, that word, that very breath expression of
God was made flesh and dwelt among us. Wow. If you can answer it, you can
tell me how that could be, or if you know how that could be,
you tell me. I just bow to it and wonder and say like we sang,
hallelujah, what a savior. Do I know this one who comes
to his elect when they're dead and trespasses in sins and raises
them up to newness of life and they say, wow, behold, old things
rather are passed away and everything, everything becomes new. I'm seeing
things through a different set of eyes than I ever did before. Oh, this world, which was once
all I ever cared about, all I spent my energy for, I wipe my feet on it. Because
now I press toward the mark of the calling of the high, or the
prize of the high calling of God. I reach toward Jesus Christ. Oh, suffering believer, look
what's waiting at the finish line. The captain of our salvation
himself. In other words, Christ said,
lady, are you thirsty? I know everything about you.
I know you've got some religion. I'm not interested in that. Are
you thirsty? No one has ever really thirsted
for grace that God didn't create that thirst in them. It's against
human nature. It's just not in fallen Adam,
never. Remember who the Lord spoke these
words to? Many of the multitude that actually
partook in John 6 is where I'm thinking of. What was it, 5,000
men besides the women and children? I mean, these people sat down,
they watched him take those few fishes and loaves and feed 15,000
people. I mean, they weren't just observers
standing by, they sat down and actually ate the bread and the
fish. And then our Lord left. And many
of them, perhaps thousands, they came looking for him. When they
saw that he wasn't there where he had fed them, they came looking
for him. And when they found him, this
is what Jesus Christ said to them. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because
you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for that
meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto
life everlasting, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for
him hath God the Father sealed." Jesus said in that conversation,
I'm the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger once he tastes my grace. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. And you remember what happened.
Well, sure you do. What was wrong with them people?
They turned on their heels and said, we will not listen to him
anymore. You know why? They had a hunger
for natural bread. They got hungry. That's the only
reason they sought Christ. And when he said, you've not
really come to me, you can't come to me unless God my father
draws you to me, they turned around and walked away. Doesn't
that sound familiar? They had a hunger, but not for
grace. They didn't want that bread that
came down from heaven, Jesus Christ himself. They had no appetite
for that. No hunger, no thirst, no desire
for that. That's not what they came for.
Not for the bread of life, but for natural bread. I think it
was two or three weeks ago, you had Who was it? He preached a couple
weeks ago from the psalm about the pit. And I listened to some
of it as much as I could because I was getting ready myself, but
on my PC. Y'all know who it is. I'm having
a senior moment. Perhaps y'all don't know and
y'all were hearing. But I was watching it on my PC. Who was
it, Shelby? There you go. Thank you, Shelby.
Luke Colby. It would have come to me by 9
o'clock tonight. But, oh, he had such a great message, it
caught my attention. He talked about sinners being
in a pit. Where are we? We're in a pit.
And he said, how are we going to get out? I told Robin, that's a great
outline. But while I was looking at it
on my laptop, you know how that is. I'm listening to y'all's
live stream with Luke. And right here on the right,
this caught my attention. Here's this fella looks like
something out of the 60s or 70s, a hippie looking fella. And it
said, it had this title under his picture, the immense weight
of playing Jesus. I guess he was some nutty actor.
Maybe that's a TV show or something. And then under that one was another
one. An Air Force vet dies and meets Jesus and is given the
power to heal. Hmm. And then there was another
one. Holy Mass in honor of Our Lady
of Fatima. I can't pronounce that word,
Fat Mama or something. On the anniversary of her abortion
in 2023. Wow. It reminded me of that last
one. One time I was talking to my
mother and my baby sister, who now has four sons, married to
Kathleen, all that, but when the, First son graduated. They had his graduation service
at Sunbeam Cathedral. She lives in Virginia and worked
at the Pentagon, blah, blah, blah. But anyway, Mom was telling
me about it. She said, you know where it is,
Larry? You've seen it on TV. It's where one of those Supreme
Court justices, they had his funeral. I said, is that right,
Mom? What was the name of the place? Mom said, and just seriously,
it's a heart attack, I think it was the Church of the Holy
Michael. I say, well, why not? What difference does it make?
But when I saw these things on the side of the brother preaching
the glorious gospel of God's grace, I couldn't help but wonder
how many people would rather feed on that garbage than to
feed on the bread of life that that brother was preaching, about
God's dear Son, the only name given under heaven, whereby we
must be saved. In John chapter 7, our Lord said
this, after for seven or eight days watching a feast of the
Jews, watching them go through the motions, the traditions,
He observed. He observed that, didn't he?
You can read it in John chapter 7. Here are those words. In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, cried, saying, are you
listening? If any man thirst, let him come
unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water." I don't know if anybody did. In that vast multitude of
Jews going through religious tradition, and there's the water
of life right before them saying, is anybody thirsty? I don't read
in that chapter that anybody came to it. Perhaps they did. And that was the problem, wasn't
it? The same as today. They weren't thirsty. People
have an appetite for a little religion, a little religious
spasm, but not thirsty for the water of life. Not hungry for
the bread of life until God in grace makes them so. And aren't
you glad he did you, child of God? If he hadn't made you hunger
and thirst after righteousness, you never would have. If he hadn't
drawn you, you would have never came to him. The true believer
not only goes into the vineyard and sees the wine, he also goes
into the wine cellar and tastes the wine, and it's good. Nothing
like his grace. Listen to what the psalmist said.
As the heart paneth after the water brooks, so paneth my soul
after thee, O God. When's the last time you talked
to somebody that felt that way? My soul thirsteth for God, the
living God. The Living God, when shall I
come and appear before God? Psalm 63, O God, thou art my
God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water
is. I don't think such a man as that
would be satisfied trotting up an aisle and making a decision
for Jesus, do you? It just wouldn't do. I want to
know God. God's created in me a thirst
that only God can give me the water that I'll never thirst
again. Thank God that he would not allow
you, believer, or me, to be satisfied with anything less. He won't
do it, will he? Thank God he won't do it. Oh,
when he makes you thirsty, he's not playing games, he's not tantalizing
you. He's made you thirsty, so you'll
call out to his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and say, oh Lord,
let me taste your grace. Be gracious unto me. How did
old Newton express it? Oh, it was grace that taught
my heart to fear. Why? Because if it didn't, I
would have never known my need. And God did that, but he didn't
stop there. And that same grace relieved
that fear, didn't it? That same wondrous grace relieved
that fear. Oh, do you remember? Do you remember?
Sure you do. You remember what a relief that
was? Sure you do. You remember, child,
what a relief that was? Remember the fear? Remember the
torment? Remember the anguish? Perhaps
like me, people directed you to everything but Christ, to
altars and decisions, and Granny told me to get a haircut, and
all these things. Oh, but, but, when I lay in bed
and couldn't sleep, God, have mercy on me. I didn't know if he would or
not. He didn't have to. I deserved the opposite of mercy,
but he had taught my heart to fear so that I would cry out
for mercy. And oh, what a relief it was.
Oh, my soul, what a relief it was when King Jesus said, Larry,
Chris, thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee. What a
relief. Oh, what a relief that was. Thank God that if he's created
a hunger and thirst in your soul for him. Again, Psalm 38, 34
and 8. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. You remember that woman, I think
I referred to it Sunday morning with that issue of blood. We
read that she had spent all of her living on many physicians
and was not any better, but rather grew worse. That's what religious
quacks do. That's what these fellows that
say, you take the first step and God will take the rest. They're
lying religious quacks. They may think it's so, but it's
not so. You don't come to Jesus with
your feet, asked that multitude that got hungry and came searching
for him. Oh, she'd suffered so many things. Oh, but what happened? What happened?
What happened just like that? When she touched the hem of the
garment of the great's physician. There's never a case too hard
for him. Robin and I think about, pray
for our families. Her son is white, religious and
lost. Grandchildren, same on my side. And then we get discouraged and
I said, oh honey, remember nothing's too hard for God. We can't get
their attention. They won't listen to us. But
if he says, come down sinner, they're gonna fall down in the
dust and they're gonna cry for mercy, just like Saul the Tarsus. That's encouraging, isn't it?
Christ gives an appetite for himself, which we never had before. And we long for his grace. Let
me hurry along. Let me get on down here. A good
old hymn speaks of this thirst to know the living God, to know
His Son for myself, not by proxy, not repeating, learning words
I heard somebody else say, but to know His Son, to taste His
grace for myself. In our church, our little flock,
for a good while now, we've been using CDs. Dear Brother Dave
Coleman. Judy, Judy Estes. Regina gave
me David Edmondson's today. Robert and I listened to some
of that, so we'll be using that. But this one is by Dave. Used Dave a lot, Dave Coleman.
Oh, God gifted that man, didn't he? All my life long I had panted
for a draught from some clear spring that I hoped would quench
the burning of the thirst I felt within, feeding on the husk around
me, remember that? Till my strength was almost gone,
longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger
on. Sounds like someone had created,
God had created a hunger and a thirst in that soul. Poor I
was and sought for riches, something that would satisfy, but the dust
I gathered round me only mocked my soul's sad cry. I've been there. Well of water
ever springing, bread of life so rich and free, untold wealth
that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me. Hallelujah, I have
found him. whom my soul so long has craved,
Jesus satisfies my longings. Through his blood I now am saved. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is gracious. The church not only enters the
vineyard, oh, but it partakes of the sweet grapes of his grace. Shelby, this morning, I've been
hinting at it every time I'm here, Might as well tell the
truth, Shelby. But she invited me and Robin
to breakfast. Oh my, that sure did bring back
memories, I'm sure, for both of us. Don, that rascal, you
know what he used to do? He would call me up and he would
say, Larry, guess what I'm having for supper? Shelby's fixing me
one of her breakfasts for supper. And you know how Don was. He'd
start describing it to me. Oh, Larry, he'd say, sure wish
you were here. We're having sausage and that
gravy and biscuits, eggs. Oh, I wish you were here. He
knew I was 400 miles away that I couldn't get. Oh, but I did
have meals with him. Oh, good groceries, good groceries.
I often wished that I was in visiting L.D. 10 minutes away
and he would call and tell me that and I'd be knocking on the
door. But childhood gone. You notice what the text says?
As wondrous as God's grace is, it's only a taste. That's amazing,
isn't it? His marvelous, wondrous grace
is only a taste of what's in store for every child of God.
What a joy it is to experience the riches of God's grace here
below, but it's only a taste. compared to the everlasting satisfaction
when we sat down at the table of our Lord in glory. Christ
feeds all of his people with grace overflowing from his throne
of grace now until he brings them the glory. For as often
as you eat the bread, this bread," Paul wrote concerning the Lord's
Supper, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
do show the Lord's death till he come. After that, you won't
need it. You won't need the reminder. You'll see him as he is and be
like him. Then grace will step aside. and
will enter glory." Oh, yes. It kind of boggles my mind. I mean, but that's what he said. This is just a taste. A taste
of grace. Great things he had taught us.
Great things he has done. And great are rejoicing through
Jesus the Son. Oh, but purer and higher and
greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. When I was a young boy at home,
still at home, we were all, you've heard about the holler, that
was the last time we were all together. My brother was 17 years
old, my oldest brother, and he joined the Navy. But when we
were still all at home, that still left eight of us kids,
but I had four brothers and four sisters. And my dear old father,
he never had a job that paid very much money. So when we sat
down to eat, there never was a second helping left on the
table. We took care of that the first time. But in my father's
house, in my father's house above, Jesus Christ has already prepared
a place at the table for every one of his children. That God
chose in him before the foundation of the world. When all the redeemed
are with their glorious Redeemer, when all are under the same roof
in the Father's house, Jesus Christ invites each individual
in that vast multitude to sit down with Him at His table in
glory. Oh, what a banquet! What a banquet
of rich things! What a banquet! I'll be satisfied. Rex, I won't desire nothing. that I won't have. I'll never
crave anything. It'll all be there at the table
of our elder brother, William Guthrie, a preacher of many years
ago, and you've probably heard this story. But he visited, he
was a pastor, and one day he visited a dying woman, one who
was ignorant of the gospel and unconverted at the time. Guthrie
preached the gospel to her and she joyfully believed. God granted
that woman faith before he left. Before he left, the woman died.
When he got home, he told his family, I've seen a strange thing
today. A woman whom I found in a state
of nature, I saw in a state of grace, and left in a state of
glory. A taste for grace is a certain
prelude to glory hereafter." Children of God, won't that be
something? Come and dine. Come and dine.
All this is for you. God bless you. Thank you for
your time.