Good morning. It is good to be with God's beloved,
chosen, gospel called people. And even those who may be live
streaming with us. One thing I would ask you to
do, please, is check your phones, make sure they're muted. I asked
everyone at chapel to do that here a couple weeks ago, and
thank God nothing happened, but when the service was over, I
rushed down to turn my sound back on. I never turned my own
sound off. Wasn't listening to my own instructions,
was I? Let me give you a song. My dear brother in Christ, Joe
Galusik, the one that God was pleased to first bring me the
Gospel of Christ. He always sends me, on Saturday
evenings, a song, and wherever I am, I read that song to those
whom I'm preaching to. This is from John Bradford. John Bradford was a minister
in the Church of England. He lived from 1510 to 1555. On January the 30th, he was jailed
for crimes against Queen Mary, the queen at that time, Roman
Catholic. He was jailed for crimes against
her because he was preaching the gospel of Christ. On July
the 1st of that same year, he was burned at the stake. Now this is what that man wrote.
His title was a just God and a savior. He has a couple passages
to go with it, it's Isaiah 45, 21. Romans 6, 22, Bradford wrote
these words, oh the power of love divine, who its heights
and depths can tell. Tell Jehovah's grand design to
redeem our souls from hell. Mystery of redemption this, all
my sins on Christ were laid. My offense was reckoned his,
he the great atonement made. Fully I am justified, free from
sin and more than free. Guiltless since for me he died,
righteous since he lived for me. Jesus, now to thee I bow. Let thy praise my tongue employ. Saved unto the utmost now, who
can speak my heartfelt joy. I don't know exactly when that
song was written, but I have no idea what it's like to be
knowing that you're facing being burnt to death. But if it's for the cause of
Christ, I am assured there will be comfort there. And I don't
mean to sound a sour note or sound as
though I'm sounding some kind of warning, but my brothers and
sisters, the world in which we live right now, I have no idea
what things are coming to. I just have no idea. On that
note, my wife Penny sends her love. She could not make it. Since I'm staying till Tuesday,
God and his providence just did not work that out for her to
come with me. But she does send her love. I know she would love
to have been here. I bring you greetings from Paul
and Paula, which God willing you will see next week. from
Joe and Debbie, the other preacher, and his wife, and of course all
the other, your brothers and sisters that gather at Sovereign
Grace Chapel. And I want to thank Mark, back
over there, and Regina. Thank you for your hospitality. Kindnesses. And if you want to
ask me later about some of the things that happened to me the
first day I was there, Talk to me later. You made me feel at home. You
told me to feel at home. You have, and I'm sure you will
continue to do that. All right, be turning to Micah,
the prophet Micah. If you're like me and you need
a little help with that, it's find Matthew and go back seven
books in the Old Testament and you'll find Micah. While you're turning to Mike,
I have one other thing to read to you. It's not necessarily
a part of my message, per se. My dear wife sent this to me
the other day. And this will be our first Sunday
together in the New Year, of course. Brother Eldridge preached
on Tuesday night, I think it was, the first message of the
New Year. But my wife sent me this quote by Augustus Toplady. He did not live to be very old
at all. He wrote this evidently from what's on this here, December
31st, 1757, last day of the year, 1757. Augustus Toplady wrote these
words. Upon a review of the past year, I desire to confess that
my unfaithfulness has been exceeding great, my sins still greater,
God's mercies greater than both. My shortcomings and my misdoings,
my unbelief and want of love would sink me into the lowest
hell. Was not Jesus my righteousness
and my redeemer? I ask anyone here this morning,
can you relate to that? Can you enter into acknowledging
that in this new year about your past year? I'm sure you can. I can too. Alright, are you in
Micah? Micah chapter 7, find chapter
7. I will not read the whole chapter. But I do want to begin in verse
5 and just read a few verses. Let's consider what Micah said
here. Micah 7, verse 5. Trust ye not in a friend. Put
ye not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from
her that lieth in thy bosom. For the Son dishonoreth the Father.
The daughter riseth up against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are the men of
his own house. Therefore, I will look unto the
Lord. I will wait for the God of my
salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice
not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall, I shall arise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord
shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of
the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my
cause and execute judgment for me, for he will bring me forth
to the light. and I shall behold his, excuse
me, his righteousness. I thought of several titles,
a few taking statements directly from what our brother Micah wrote,
but then my mind finally settled on this, confirmations of God's
work. If you're like me, and I suppose
you are to the most degree, I often have concerns about my soul.
Am I truly one of God's? How could someone and something
like me truly be loved of God? But our brother Micah says these
words. Rejoice not against me, O my
enemy. But what was shocking is when
I read this text, I thought, okay, rejoice not against me,
O my enemy. But as I read this, I realized
that the enemy is not some outsider. The enemy's not some stranger
from some faraway land. The enemy is not someone that
I have no connection with, no understanding of. Let me say
it. Trust not in a friend. Put you
not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from
her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoreth the father,
the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies. are the men of his own
house. Our Lord gave us some insight
into this astounding truth. Now when I, I've been preaching
quite a while, but I read this, I mean I've read it over and
over again, I've preached on it before, but it dawned on me
once again, we might say, why is that? Why is verse five
and six with verse seven through nine? Why that in particular? We'll turn to Matthew 10, we'll
see why. Matthew chapter 10. And once I'm there, we're gonna
read a few words of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
the Master, our Redeemer, gave us some insight as to this astounding
truth. And before I read his words,
and I will only read a portion of them, you can study the total
context later. But I am going to sum up what
our Lord Jesus Christ says in these verses I'm going to read.
Christ declares without question, no argument, no debate, Christ
Jesus will compete with no one and no thing. It's not just Christ here and
someone else is here. When it comes to Christ, no one
else is in the picture. Now listen to what our Lord said.
Are you with me? Matthew 10. These are our Lord's
words himself. Think not that I am come to see
in peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. Now that is directly opposed
to most thoughts by most professing Christians in our day, especially
in the season we've just come through in December. They think
that Jesus came to spread peace amongst all the inhabitants of
the world. Do they not? Am I building a
straw man? Am I lying on them? I am pointing out what they truly
believe. And at the time of Christmas,
this is truly accentuated everywhere. Love, love, peace, peace, as
though the Lord God of glory came down to try to get us all
to get along. Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am come, do you see that? These are his words, our master's
words. I am come, not this is a sad
consequence of my coming. Not that this is even a sad consequence
of man's rebellion, though man's rebellion stands at a forefront. For I am come to set a man at
variance to divide in two. I am come to set a man at variance
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law. What? From a child, I was never raised
hearing such a thing from the lips of the master. And yet,
this comes directly from the lips of the master. And look
at what he says. And a man's foes, it's gonna
ring a bell, isn't it? And a man's foes shall be they
of his own household. But then look at the reason for
this fact. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. No one else competes with
Jesus Christ. And he that loveth son or daughter,
and God help us, we ought to, right? We ought to. It's the right thing to do. But
compared to Christ, it's detrimental to our souls. And he that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his
cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. And I can just... I know or I
remember some of the feelings I first had when I read this
passage, and I don't remember the date or the time, but I remember
reading this passage at least for the first time when God just
kind of opened my eyes to it. And I was shocked. I was taken aback. I mean, some
of these people here, and I'm sure it's not an exhaustive list,
All other filial relationships, whether it's blood or marriage,
no matter what it is, all of them apply. Christ will compete
with nothing and no one. They all apply. And I thought,
I love these people. But He didn't tell me I can't
love them, does He? He that loveth father and mother
more than me. They're not on the same page.
We love them, but they are equal to us. We are equal to them.
We're to love him because he deserves to be loved and adored
and worshiped and obeyed. So now, we see a little bit of
the context of when we read our brother Micah's words when he
says this, rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. So rejoice not against me, even
my own dear kinfolk, my spouse, my wife, my husband, my brothers,
my sisters, my grandparents, Rejoice not against me. Oh my
my own very dear kin But listen to me now This is not our brother Micah
groveling or pleading for consideration from the enemy You hear me This
is not our brother Micah groveling or pleading for consideration
from the enemy, even in light of his own blood kin. This is Micah warning the enemy,
even family members, do not malt me. God is at work here, even
when I fall. See the context? See it? Therefore, I will look unto the
Lord. Why? Because I have enemies and
they're right in my own household. Now I thought about going on
to other enemies. We have Satan, we have the world,
there's an enemy down in here. But let's just stick with this
for right now. Remember, Christ competes with nothing else. He
won't compete with nothing else. Either Christ And I will say
it this way, so don't be angry at me. Either Christ is Lord
to you in your experience, or He's nothing at all. He can't
be your Savior, and then later you make Him your Lord. And God
bows you by the gospel, you bow to Him as Lord and Savior, both. At the same time, and all the
time. You can't pick one or the other.
Look, therefore, I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for
the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice
not against me, O mine enemy. When, when, not if, a fall's
coming. A fall's coming. A fall's coming. When I fall, I shall arise. When I sit, that's an amazing
thing to think about. When I sit, I, Micah, me, you,
we sit. What's that mean? To be comfortable
in. Come on now. When I sit in darkness,
it's how bad I am by nature. Even as God, one of God's redeemed,
regenerated converted people, my flesh still loves to sit in
dark, not run from darkness, not avoid darkness, to relax
with it. Our brother Micah felt that way
too, didn't he? You're not alone. I'm not alone. Rejoice not against me, O my
enemy. When I fall, I shall arise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord
shall be light unto me. And I'm not gonna deal with that
in particular, but he don't just give me light, though that's
certainly true, but he is my light. Our brother Micah here provides
us with some great comfort Though the context has some chilling
facts associated with it. Family members become your enemies. One of the greatest shocks to
my system as a whole, when God first saved me and called me
by the preaching of his gospel, was that my very blood relationships
turned on me. I was a young preacher in a church
building. God saved me and I began to preach
what God had done for me. And some of my own family cried out
these words in that church building, tar and feather them. I'd only heard that in the movies
about way back yonder, right? This came from my loved ones. It scared me to death. Shelby, it frightened me. Is this what it's all about?
Christ would say, yes, my son. This is what it's about. But
I am preeminent. When it comes to me, they don't
matter. They are mine. I will do with my own what I
will. But as I said, in spite of that
here, and it being a reality in our lives, what our brother
Micah is providing for us here is great comfort, especially
in light of verse nine. I will bear the indignation of
the Lord. because I have sinned against
him. Then notice these words, until he plead my cause and execute
judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the
light and I shall behold his righteousness. Now consider these
four thoughts. All of these four things are
confirmations that God is at work. If I can find myself there
in the text, if I can, and I know salvation's not an experience,
but when God saves you, you will experience it. If I can find
myself saying, that's what God's doing to me and for me, it provides
some hope, even in light of and in spite of myself today. So all of these things, these
four things are confirmations that God is working upon me,
within me, and for me. So remember, confirmations of
God's work. Number one, we never, if God's
really working on you, you'll never ever be able to get over
the corruption that is your own flesh. Because not only are these
out here your enemies, you got an enemy that's still right down
in here. My true worst enemy is not even
Satan himself. My true enemy is me. Me. And our brother cries out these
words, I will bear the indignation, not I bore. This is not something
that just happened back there in the past. I will bear the
indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him. Two
thoughts here. This is not some one time initial
confession at initial gospel conversion. I'm not going to
turn to these, but I'll give us the gist. Paul in Philippians
3, 3 says this, we have, not had. Now that had's certainly
true, but it's longer than that, it's more than that. We have,
well he wrote the words. We have no confidence in the
flesh. Romans 7, 24. You can look at
it later sometime if you wish. Romans 7.24, the Apostle Paul,
a man who was given visions from God, whom Jesus Christ spoke
to personally. Whom Jesus Christ had changed
his life from a blasphemer, a hater of God's church, to a preacher
of the Christ of God. And as he pinned down what we
know as Romans 724, or someone was doing it for him as he dictated
to him, that's what some people say, but that's neither here
nor there, but Romans 724, as an apostle, writing down inspired
words while he was writing the very words being moved by the
Spirit of God, wrote these words, and it came from in here. Oh,
wretched man that I I Will bear the innate indignation
of the Lord because I have sinned against him Of course, you know
of the psalm psalm 51 David's penitential prayer after that
fiasco with Uriah Bashi If you ever grow beyond the need for
God's mercy you've grown too far I That may not be good English,
but it's the truth. You see, it's a good thing for
us to be ever reminded by God, though sometimes it hurts. It's
embarrassing. It's embarrassing. But it's a
good thing to be ever reminded by God of the corruption that's
in my flesh. You know why? Because God's at
work here. And if God's really there, that flesh is gonna be
constantly, constantly, constantly exposed. It'll never be covered
up. It'll just one day, either in
resurrection or being caught up, it'll just be done away with.
We have to deal with ourselves until the end of this thing.
And somebody says, why does it have to be that way? It calls
God said so. I believe there's some great,
but God said so. My daddy used to tell me, he'd tell me to do
something. I said, well, why do I have to do that? He wouldn't
explain all that. He said, because I said so. Here's a second thought of this.
We never get over this corruption of our flesh. Where God is at
work, where God is at work, a person continually takes sides with
God against themselves. Now that's actually, words of
scripture, but what I want you to do is actually turn to Luke
chapter 17. Now hold Micah, turn to Luke 17. I said continually,
we continually take sides with God against ourselves. Luke 17,
I'll just read one verse and we'll look at the facts here,
the association of this statement from our Lord concerning what
I'm talking about. Verse 10 of Luke 17, Christ speaking to his
disciples, not the Pharisees, no, not Sadducees, not the scribes,
so likewise ye. when ye shall have done all these
things, all these things which are commanded of you. And I have
to stop for a minute and say, I don't even know if that's ever
been true of me up to this point. But taking our Lord as what he
said, look at it. Ye, when ye shall have done all
these things which are commanded you. Say this, we are unprofitable
servants. We have done that which was our
duty to do. You know why? Because Christ
competes with no one or no thing. This is not me and Jesus working
together. It's definitely ain't me working
for Jesus. This is God is at work here. God's at work here in spite of
me. Here's the second thought. I
want you to listen to this second thought. Where God is at work, God does the work. Pretty simple,
ain't it? Where God is at work, God does
the work. Now, I'm sure you folks here,
you've heard this for years and years and years and years, and
you think, well, that's pretty simple, but these folk out here,
these other buildings that are meeting this morning, they talk
about God being at work, and then they talk about what they
do. So the simplicity of that very point where God is at work,
God does the work, goes right over their heads. They can't
relate to it down in here. Because they really think this
thing is really a synergistic thing between them and God. Even
if God gets 99.99% of the credit, we at least get a little bit. but Christ will compete with
no one or no thing. Where God is at work, God does
the work. He will bring me forth to the
light, right? He will, he will. Psalm 65 and
four, it's in the book. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and causeth to approach unto thee. So God starts the
work. Paul says, he that has begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Settled, doctrine's done. No debate. What about this verse?
No debate, it's over with. If you think there's a verse
that contradicts that one, you misunderstand that verse. The
precedent is set. He who began the work will finish
the work. When God does a work, God does
the work. No debate. Luke 15, you have
a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. Granted, the third one shows
the activity of the son, but that's only because of the work
of the son of God first. Because in the first two illustrations,
it's a lost sheep. And the shepherd goes out and
he looks for the sheep till he finds it. He lays hold of the
sheep and doesn't just say, come on with it, lays it on his shoulders. And he carries it all the way
home. And then says to everyone else,
rejoice with me, because I did the work. Isn't that what it
says? Again, where God is at work,
God gets all the credit because He deserves the credit. This is not us giving, just placating
God. Well, He did most of it. I know
I helped Him out, but I kind of, we just kind of let God have
all the glory. No, you don't let God have anything. He gets
the glory because He earned the glory. Here's the third part. Here's the third confirmation
that God is at work. Have you been able to relate
to this thus far? I hope so. I hope so. Here's the third confirmation. Where God is at work, a person
beholds, beholds. Not a little glance. Oh, that's
nice. Oh, that's nice. No, a person beholds. their eyes get fixed on. Behold,
a person beholds God's righteousness. Now, you and I know this is not
about us physically looking at God's righteousness. Although
some people had, the disciples actually beheld God's righteousness
with their eyes. They handled the righteousness
of God. So how do we behold him? The only way we can, by the grace
of God, is by faith. But bless God by faith, we do.
We do. You see it? Where God is at work,
a person beholds God's righteousness, and I shall behold his righteousness. Look at Psalm 71. First time I ever heard this
quoted, or correction, first time I ever remember hearing
this quoted or read from was Brother Bruce Parks, Daniel Parks.
The man that used to be in the palm trees in St. Croix and now
is in snow in Montana. Look at what? Psalm 70. Look
at what the psalmist wrote. Let's begin in verse 70. Now I've got the wrong one. 71. Yes. Did somebody say that? You already knew, didn't you?
Look at what it says. Let me find my spot. Okay, verse
14. Psalm 71 verse 14, but I will
hope continually and will yet praise thee more and more. Why?
Because he's the only one that's done anything that deserves any
praise. I've sinned against the Lord.
I've got to bear his indignation. But I will hope continually and
will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth
thy righteousness. and thy salvation all the day,
for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness."
But you can't stop there. All these people out here make
mention of His righteousness. But what does the psalmist say?
Even of thine o-n-l-y. Only. Because when I do mention my
righteousness, I am forced by the Spirit of God to say, it
is nothing but menses." Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul
said, what? Not having my own righteousness. I don't want it. I count it but
done. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Jesus Christ, the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. Anyone get a glimmer of hope
now? Let me tell you something, if God gives you just a glimmer
of hope, it's better than all the false hope of religion. If you get this glimmer of hope,
God's working in me. God's at work in me. And that's
not presumption. It's a fact. It's a fact. Somebody says, preacher, you
skipped something. Yeah, I did. I did. Hear me now. Don't prejudice your mind about
what I'm about to say before you even hear me say it. Yes,
I skipped something. And I'm not going to deal with
this in detail, trying to prove this, but our brother Micah was
looking for the Messiah to come. So he cried out until he pleaded
by cause. The Messiah has come. And the Messiah has pled our
cause. He said, Nails, nails in his
feet. The crown of thorns pushed down
his head, beaten beyond recognition. And then the father turned his
back on him while he hummed there. You know what he cried out? It
is finished. Folks, listen to me. Don't prejudice
your mind. Don't say, until the Lord pleads
my cause, he already has. Religion's talking about until
he pleads my cause. And they think they're in line
with Micah. No, they're not. Micah was back
yonder, we're over here. It's done, as the songwriter
said, it's done. The great transaction is done. Now, I'm going to throw the bombshell
out. Now, Brother Mark took me to the shooting range yesterday,
so a lot of the frustrations I have were loose down and all
that. But I'm going to get a grenade
out and pull the pin and I'm going to throw it right here to the floor.
All of your recognition of your corruption before God. Him bringing you forth to the
light and to behold His righteousness. Seeing who God is listen to me These three things mean nothing
apart from this last confirmation God had to plead actually plead
our calls and execute judgment for us Apart from the cross work
of Christ all of my repentance and faith in the world even from
God would have meant nothing Boom religion says that's crazy. No, that is gospel God can give you faith from him
and you believe but believe what I You believe the record God
gave of his son. Here's the fourth confirmation. God must act for me. And he has. But listen, look
at what our brother said. Until he plead my cause and execute
judgment, aren't you glad it says, even Micah said it, for
me, not against me. He judged his son. The judgment
against sin was toward his son, but that judgment was for me. all confessions of corruption,
all bringing forth to the light, all beholding of God's Christ,
his righteousness, is of no value apart from the doing and dying
of Christ the Lamb on the tree. God is just. And for even God
to be a savior, he has to satisfy that justice. And he did. He has pled our cause, brothers
and sisters. He has executed judgment for
us. When he said it is finished,
you know what he said it is finished? Reconciliation is done. I remember reading Romans
5, 6-11. Go home and pour over that and
look at exactly what it says. When did he reconcile me? Not
when he brought me forth to the light. Not when I beheld his
righteousness, but when I was in rebellion against him, when
I was an enemy. Yet he reconciled me to God through
the death of his Son. Colossians says even when we
were engaged in our wicked works, of course we were not even born,
but as soon as we were, we went forth doing what? Speaking lies. And Paul to the church of Colossae
said this, even in your wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death. Listen to me, not even
through preaching the gospel, though that is absolutely vital. If all it took was for us to
believe the gospel, then Christ wouldn't have to die. But then
there would have been no gospel. Because the good news is, it's
finished. It's finished. He's pled our
cause. He's executed judgment for us.
Hebrews 1, the writer there, verses 1 through 6, he purged
our sins. Now if it's purged, it's what? Purged. not can be purged, not
might be purged, purged our sins. What did he do? Sat down on the
right hand of the majesty on high. So when were my sins purged? If they are purged, would he
died on that tree. Though they were and still very
real to me, they're gone before the sight of the Father. And
then, that same epistle, same letter, chapter 10, it said Jesus
Christ sanctified a people when he offered up himself. And having
sanctified them, when he offered up himself, that same time, that
same act, he perfected them. So folks, while I was born absolutely
corrupt and totally depraved, I was still perfected in God's
sight by the work of the Son. Somebody says, I can't believe
that. I know. But I'm not asking you just to
believe that. I'm calling on you to believe Christ. You really bow down to Him, you
submit to Him, then these things, you'll be brought forth to light.
You'll start seeing these things. You'll start seeing them. Do I find myself shut up under
the person of Christ and his cross work at Calvary? When I
was in religion, I wasn't. That was just a, that was kind
of the way to kind of get things jump-started. Right? Just like
when you got a dead battery. Then you find either another
car with a good battery or a kick-starter and you start up that battery,
but then you do what? You take the cables off and let
that car run on its own and make its own. We don't make our own
juice. We gotta have the Kickstarter all the time. Our Lord said,
without me, ye can do what? Nothing. Nothing. I find some comfort here in our
brother's words. I can relate to this. Not because
I'm a wise man. Not because I'm a smart man.
But because God Almighty's at work in me. He shut me up into
this. In spite of myself back then,
and even right now, turn to Galatians. And I'll close
with this. Galatians. And in particular,
Galatians chapter 6. While you're turning, drink a
water. Galatians chapter 6, but look
at this. And let's do note the order here.
Remember I explained to you, or at least mentioned about how
Micah would say, until he plead my cause. He has. He has. But look at what Paul says. But
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And he's not talking about that
piece of wood upon which he hung, but the sufferings he endured
while he hung upon that tree. He was made a curse. Somebody says, well, that's a
bad thing. No. No, that's a good thing. He willingly took it upon himself,
poured upon me, made me a curse. And he was when he hung on that
tree. He was made sin, not kicking and screaming against it, but
for the joy that was set before him. He endured the cross. He despised the shame. But he
did it, F-O-R, Us. Us. So Paul said, but God
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross sufferings of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Let me tell
you something, everybody for whom Christ died will be made
a new creature. Somebody says, that's that old
limited atonement. Yeah, it's limited in the purpose
of God, but it is unlimited for this sin, sick, corrupt sinner's
soul. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature and as many
as. If I'm in that part, I'm in good
shape, but if I'm not in that one, I'm out here somewhere,
right? That's what it says. And as many
as walk according to this rule, what Christ and his cross works,
everything. That's where I glory. And the
evidence of the fact that he did that for me is God Almighty
is at work in me. See it? And I said, see, I didn't
have to tie this together. God's word's like this. I just
don't always see it. It's like this. Hmm and as many
as walk according to this rule, so that lets me know this it
ain't just a one-time thing Is it? It ain't just walking the
aisle praying the prayer Repenting and then going on about your
merry way It's being conquered by Jesus Christ. I can't get
over him Can't get over him As many as walk according to this
rule peace Be on them and mercy and upon all of God's elect people. From henceforth, now think about
what Paul said, from henceforth, let no man trouble me. Talking
to the Galatians, these men have come in and bewitched them. He
said, don't you trouble me no more with this. It's settled. It's done. We're not going to
debate this. We're just going to preach it.
It's up to us to convince somebody. No, that's the work of the Spirit
of God. That's what religion is trying.
They're trying to really do God's work. They think it's up to me
or you, when you're soul winning, when you're witnessing, to convince
somebody that they're a sinner. No. When he has come, that's
the spirit of truth, he will convince the world of sin. Just preach Christ. Magnify Christ. Tell people of what Christ has
done for you. From henceforth, let no man trouble
me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren,
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. And that
says it all. Amen. Heavenly Father, I pray that
these words will, Lord, not only that they may have encouraged
us right now, but kind of stick with us. Not my words. Your words. Your truth. And may they stick
with us as we part our ways and go back out there among the world.
But Lord, when we leave here, we're still going to have ourselves
with us. Help us, Lord, by your grace, in Christ's name, amen.
Okay, I'm done.