Back in Ephesians chapter one,
what a rich, rich chapter. The verses we read, the first
14 verses pretty well covered it all, didn't they? God's grace
and salvation from before the foundation of the world until
we're gathered together in Christ in glory. The title of my message
is this, Salvation on Purpose. How's that sound, Billy? Salvation
on purpose. We're plainly told throughout
God's Word that salvation is according to God's purpose. How else would it be? In Genesis
1 and 1 concerning the creation of the world, it said, in the
beginning. Well, in verse 4 here of Ephesians
1, it talks about salvation being in the beginning before the beginning.
Before Genesis 1 and 1, before God created the natural world,
He purposed to save a people in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
sort of takes it out of our hands, doesn't it? Doesn't it? And thank God that it does. You
would have to deliberately put on some very big blinders, or
blindfold, I should say, do not see the truth in these verses
that salvation is according to God's purpose. And that's exactly
what people do. They put on blinders, blindfolds,
especially religious people. The drunk won't argue too much
about this, but most preachers will. God doesn't save on purpose,
they say. God gives everybody a chance.
Aren't you glad that's not true? Salvation is not by chance. Nothing's
by chance. It's by God's deliberate act
of grace on behalf of His people through His Son. But that's what
folks do. They put on those freewill glasses,
like I'm doing right here. Thank God these aren't freewill.
But they put on these freewill glasses and then they go to the
Word of God and say, well, I just can't see this. I can't see anything. I don't read anything in here
about God's free grace, about being chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Where is it at? I don't see it.
It's because they're trying to see it through free will glasses,
and it ain't there for free will glasses. They can see free grace
because of those free will spectacles, because their desire is to exalt
man at the expense of the glory of God. God forbid. We're not
going to do that here. Not going to happen. You have
an example of this in John's Gospel, chapter 9. You remember
when the Lord found that blind man whom he had healed, and he
had been called before the Sanhedrin, and they cast him out and said,
Who do you think you are? We know more than you do. So
they excommunicated him, and the great shepherd found him.
And Jesus, upon finding him, said in the presence of the Pharisees,
in John 9, verse 39, And Jesus said, For judgment I have come
into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they
which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words. They heard them, they didn't
like them. And said unto him, Are we blind also? Are we blind
also? They didn't think they were.
They thought they had a chokehold on God. We be Abraham's children,
we're not blind, we're not blind. And this is how the Lord answered
them. Jesus said unto them, if you were blind, you would have
no sin. If you were blind to your own
self-righteousness, if you saw your need, you would have no
sin. But now you say, we see. We don't
have a need. We're not blind. Therefore, Christ
said, your sin remains. It's like old Joseph Hart's hymn.
I never can think of a better illustration when we're thinking
along these lines, then hearts hold him. What comfort can a
Savior bring to those who never felt their woe? That's the Pharisees. A sinner is a sacred thing. The
Holy Ghost has made him so. That's the former blind man that
our Lord said, thy sins are forgiven thee. And that man said, he worshipped
that man. He said, I believe and bow to
the Son of God. Oh, the lengths. Isn't it It's
sad. It's sad. The lengths people
will go to to maintain man's so-called free will, his rights,
they will deny God's sovereign will in order to maintain man's
will. They'll deny God's choice in
whom he saves to maintain man's choice. They'll go to any lengths
to honor man's will. We don't want to upset man to
honor man's will and think nothing, think nothing at all of dishonoring
the God of glory. Hmm? Sad, isn't it? But no matter
how this glorious truth of God's purpose of grace is swept under
the rug, there's a problem. It just leaves a hump too big
to conceal, doesn't it? You can't sweep it under the
rug. Like it or not, and the Pharisees didn't. No rebel does. Like it or not, the fact remains. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. To them who are called
according to His purpose. According to His purpose. Woo! A child of God just falls
right down on that, don't they? Oh, when the storms of life are
raging, we just fall right down on this. I'm a child of God according
to God's purpose. God loved me. God sent his son
for me. Christ died for me. The Holy
Spirit called me to life and faith in Christ. I'm going to
glory. And there's no devil in hell
can do anything about it. It's according to God's purpose.
I can rest there, can't you? I can rest there, can't rest
anywhere else. In the world I have tribulation,
absolutely. Oh, but Christ, Christ said I've
overcome the world and greater is he that's in you than he that's
in the world. And according to his purpose
and that foundation, or that rather is the foundation, you
know where I just read, Romans 8 and 28. We know. And according
to God's purpose, is the reason for everything else that follows
Romans 8 and 28. Verses 29 through 39 is all built
on that foundation, God's purpose. It starts there. And therefore
Paul said, He called you. He chose you. He justified you. He'll glorify you. And Paul goes
on to say, according to God's unchanging purpose, Paul issues
this challenge. He seems just to fly above these
earthly trials and difficulties. And he says, I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded that neither death
nor life. Why, Paul? Why are you thus persuaded? Did you not have troubles and
trials? He looks back to God's purpose. In verse 28 he says,
I'm lying on this foundation. God's immutable, unchanging purpose. And Paul says, because of that,
I'm persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Sounds like
he's covered it all. Nor height, nor death, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Why, Paul? Because the foundation
of God standeth sure. certain, unchanging, God knows
them that are His. Another example, Paul writing
to his beloved Timothy, before he was most likely beheaded,
wrote from that cold, lonely dungeon cell in Rome. He said,
Timothy, don't forget this. This will sustain you, Timothy.
Oh, this will encourage you. God has saved us and called us
with the holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began, the beginning before the beginning. In verse
3, Paul tells us again, here in Ephesians 1, someone said
Paul mentions the blessings of God Almighty, and he just seems
to fly away. Someone said he goes off on a
tangent. Not really so. But he says, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 3, who has blessed
us. Oh, how he's blessed us. If God
be for us, who can be against us? He that delivered up His
own Son for us, how shall He not with His Son freely, freely
give us all things? God has blessed us and He continues
to bless us and He will yet bless us until we all arrive in glory
and are gathered around the throne of our great God and Savior which
so many others have gone before us. Oh yes, God has blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. The ground and cause of the salvation
of sinners, your salvation, my salvation, is the free grace
of God in Christ. Aren't you happy about that?
Aren't you glad that this doesn't depend on you? Does anybody here
wish that their salvation, any part of it, depended on you?
Raise your hand, because we need to talk. No, no. Thank God, I'm
in the hand of the great shepherd. And my great shepherd said, there's
nobody going to get you, Larry. There's nobody going to snatch
you out of my hand. My father gave you to me, and
you're mine. And I'm giving you eternal life.
And you're never going to perish. Wow. He's blessed us, hasn't
he? Blessed be God, Paul wrote. And
that means we congratulate God. We honor God. We ascribe greatness
and glory to God for His goodness and mercies. We honor Him when
we give thanks to Him for all spiritual blessings. Spiritual
blessings, not temporal blessings. Yes, He supplies our needs. Oh,
but what are those compared to eternal blessings? What's the
riches of this world compared to the riches of God's grace
in His Son? Oh my soul! He's blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. These are special
blessings. Not temporal fleeting vapors,
but special blessings. Their mercy and grace through
that eternal covenant. All things pertaining to justification
and peace and pardon and adoption sanctification and eternal life
are ours in Christ. God purposed that. God decreed
that. And he has given every spiritual
blessing which heaven can bestow, which God himself can require,
and which is needed for every chosen sinner to march into glory. We have all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. All of this Christ our Redeemer
has done for the eternal praise of his glorious grace. That's
what we read a moment ago, wasn't it? To the praise of the glory
of his grace. In chapter 2, Paul said the time
is coming. The time is soon coming when
he will march out before the throne of God, every redeemed
sinner, like a trophy case to his glory. Is that not so? And angels will adore and wonder,
look what he did. Would you look at what he did?
And he'll say, Father, here they are. Here they are. Oh, look
at them. Look at them. You can't count
them. Tens of thousands, hundreds of
thousands, millions upon millions, every one redeemed and every
one made like unto the Son of God. What about that? Oh, it
does not yet appear where we shall be. We know when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him. I'll wait for that, won't you?
That's worth waiting on, for we shall see Him as He is. A couple of weeks ago, I brought
the message to you from Revelation 21, 27, the Lamb's Book of Life. Remember we read from Revelation
chapter 5? Verse 1 of that chapter says,
And I saw in the right hand of him that is God, God Almighty,
God over all, him that sat on the throne a book written within
and on the back side, but it was sealed with seven seals. And as I said then, again, that
book represents the purposes of God Almighty, the decrees
of God, the will of God. Revelation 5, the same chapter,
verses 6 and 7, John says, and I beheld, and lo, in the midst
of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a lamb. Stood a lamb. As it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God,
sent forth into all the earth. And he came. He came. Who's worthy to open the book?
And he came. Who's worthy to take this book
from the hand of God Almighty and to bring everything written
therein to fulfillment? Who's able to do that? Who has
the might? Who has the merit? Who will God
allow to take the book out of His hand? And He came. He came
and took the book of the Lamb out of the right hand, the place
of authority and power, out of the right hand of Him that set
up on the throne, That is absolutely meaningless. That means nothing
at all if what God has purposed Christ cannot perform. Oh, but
when we read, He came, it means that everything God purposed,
He put in the hands of the Son of God. When He takes the book,
it means He's going to do everything God Almighty has written in that
book. No wonder they cry, worthy is
the land. When he had taken the book, they
all began to sing the same song. Elders, Every redeemed sinner,
angels join in. And what do they sing in heaven?
You want to know what they say in heaven? You want to know what
they talk about in heaven? What they sing about in heaven?
Well, read the chapter. It's not about man. It's not
about man's worth. It's not about man's will, man's
worth. It's about the Son of God. And
they all throw their crowns at His feet, and they all sing in
one glorious, united voice, worthy is the Lamb! Won't that be something
to look forward to? Huh? That would be something
now, but it won't happen while the world stands. Wouldn't it
be something if this morning in all the churches that are
meeting, they would preach a message that says, worthy is the land?
Instead of, God's so glad you're here, we're so glad you did God
a favor, or we're just honored that you graced us with your
presence. Hot wash. Instead of appealing
and pleasing the flesh in order to rock up the number on the
brag sheet, you remember those, what do they call them? They
have them in churches. How many was here last Sunday?
How many here this Sunday? How many was here a year ago?
How much money did we get? How much money did we get this
time of year? A Baptist brag sheet. Oh, wouldn't
it be wonderful? And like I said, it won't happen.
Oh, but one day in glory, there won't be any Baptist brag sheets.
No preacher's brag sheets. Oh, it's all going to be about
the lamb. I'm looking forward to that. Most of all, because
right now, right now, I can't do that. I can say worthy is
the lamb, but deep inside, there's something there that Larry wants
to take a little credit. Larry wants to be congratulated. Oh, but then? Larry's going to
want to sing praises to the Lamb. That's all I'm going to want
to do. And I'll have the heart to do it and the ability to do
it. Won't that be something? Won't
that be something when we join in that song? Why do people have
a problem with God's salvation being according to His purpose?
As we said a moment ago, I mean especially religious people.
Most professing Christians I know why, don't you? I know why. It's
like those folks in John 6. Those folks that had experienced
the feeding that Christ by His powerful, miraculous grace provided. The multiplying of the fishes
and the loaves. They got their belly full. Well
now, I like this. Maybe God wants everybody healthy
and wealthy. So I'll follow Him. He crossed
the sea. They got hungry again, so they
followed Him. Remember that? I mean, a lot
of them followed Him. And when they found Him on the
other side, Jesus Christ said, Don't labor for that bread that
perisheth, but that bread that I'll give you. I'm the bread
of life that came down from heaven. And they started bellyaching.
We read they murmured. They murmured. They murmured
at him again when he said, the Father sent me. I'm the true
manna. Moses didn't give you the true
manna. What happened there was a picture of me. I'm the bread
of life. Whoever eats of me shall never
perish. They'll live forever. And they started bellyaching
again. They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know? How can he say he came down from
heaven? Who does he think he is? My soul, just whichever way
the wind blows, how quickly, how quickly they were ready to
start bellyaching. And when he said it, no man,
remember this in John 6, those people that had followed him
with their feet, great sacrifice across the ocean, across the
sea rather, to find him. With their feet, they followed
him. And when they found him, he said, you have to really come
to me. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, wait a minute. I heard
all my life, you take the first step and God will take the rest.
If you'll come out of that pew and come up here and let me put
words in your mouth, accept Jesus as your Savior, it won't matter
how you go out and live after that. It don't make a lick of
difference. You've got eternal life. And Christ said that's
a lie. That's a lie. And he said that to people who
literally followed him with their feet. And he said, you've not
really come to me. You've not really come to me. No man can
come to me except the Father draw him, fetch him, bring him
to me by his powerful, irresistible grace." And man, they murmured
some more, didn't they? All through that chapter we hear,
and they murmured, and they murmured. And finally they said, we've
heard enough of this. I don't have to listen to this.
I'll go somewhere else. I won't hear that. What's he
mean? It's not of him that willeth.
Well, I don't have to listen to that. What's he mean that
God's grace makes men new creatures, and if they're not new creatures,
they haven't tasted God's grace? I don't care how loud they may
profess they have. They'll say, well, I don't listen
to that. I don't have to listen. I'll go somewhere else and get
my ears tickled. And that's what they did. That's
what they did. From that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. You know why? You know why? The very same reason
multitudes are doing the same thing today. Because the message
of God's free grace insults them. that tell them their filthy rags
eat all their best works. All their righteousnesses are
filthy rags in the sight of a holy God that tell them it's not of
Him that willeth. It's not of Him that worketh
or runneth. It's God that shows mercy, and God has that mercy
on whom He will. Man, you can hear the belly aching
going on. And they'll say, I won't listen
to that. And they walked away from the Son of God. They refused
to bow to the Son of God because the message of God's sovereign
grace is offensive. It was from the lips of the Son
of God Himself and it still is today. That's why folks have
a problem with God's purpose in salvation. Oh, but, but for
a believer, for a true believer, for someone that God Almighty
has put in their mouth and in their heart the taste of His
grace. Oh, Christ is precious. They
don't have a problem with He has mercy on whom He will have
mercy. They won't argue with God about
that. They'll stand in humble, adoring worship and say, my soul,
He chose me. He chose me. Jacob have I loved? Why did he
love that conniver? The wonder is not that he hated
Jacob. He had all good reason to hate
Jacob. Or I mean Esau. Oh, but Jacob. But Larry? I've visited eight of my brothers and sisters
and talked to them. Not much as I wanted to, didn't
get the opportunity in private. I did my oldest brother. And afterwards, and as I was
driving home, I thought, oh, Larry. And I was burdened about
it. I love him. I love every one
of them, Pete. And they don't know God. Jimmy, he's older than me. I
reminded him of it. But at the same time, I thought,
Larry, who made the difference in you? Who made you the different? Why
do you believe on the Son of God? Christ. Because God has
blessed me with all spiritual blessings in Christ. And with
David I join in ascribing all the glory to that one from whom
I've received all the grace. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sakes. A genuine believer, not a mere
professor, but a real possessor of the true grace of God rejoices
in this blessed truth of salvation on purpose. The other day, a
week before last I guess it was, right before we went to West
Virginia, Delilah had called Robin to see what the doctor
had to say about this issue, and then she wanted to talk to
me. And she started telling me, Bobby,
you need to listen to doctor. Don't you make that trip. Well,
you need to pay attention. And I said, Delilah, I am. I
am. I'm not going. I'm not going. Take it easy. But then I saw the wound care
doctor. And I asked him, like I told
you. And he said it would be OK. I did like you, Delilah.
I found me a doctor to tell me what I wanted to hear. And so
he said, go. And I did. When we were having
the conversation, when I thought that I wouldn't be able to make
the trip, when the doctor told me not to, I said, Delilah, this
didn't take God by surprise. And she said, of course not,
Larry. Nothing takes God by surprise. And she said, if I didn't believe
that, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. I told you I
didn't use that. Oh, I like that. If I didn't
believe that, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. This
glorious truth of God's purpose to save, we read in verse 3,
verse 9, verse 11. Oh, that's what enables us to
face each day, trusting our Heavenly Father that He knows what's best
for me. Whatever I face, when I rise
to face another day, it's going to be what's best for me. Your
Heavenly Father knows, Christ said, He knows what you have
need of. Thank God what a comfort that
is. Wherever I go, wherever I be, it's still God's hand that leadeth
me. I have yet to hear anyone give
a who objects, rather, to God's purpose of grace, to tell me
the alternative. Like they say, you know, people,
they come to church, you heard Don say it, they park their brain
at the door. Everybody, you know, it may no
difference what you hear, it's all the same, you know, like
they just turn it off. But those who deny God's purpose
to grace, think about this. How else could God act? I mean,
how else could God do it? What would they prefer? God doing
something he never thought of doing before? Hmm? Or does God
sneak up on a sinner? Henry said these ambulance-chasing
preachers, you know, they try to sneak up on a sinner's blind
side, get him saved without them even knowing it. Is that what
God does? Sneak up on a sinner and somehow
not save him on purpose? Not do it deliberately? How could
God act that way? That sounds like something I
would do. Even our Lord said that some who profess to follow
Him, He said, let me tell you this, you better count the calls
first. He didn't sneak up on their blind side, did He? He
said, you want to follow Me? You better think about this.
You better think this over, because I require that you deny yourself.
I demand that you take up your cross and follow Me. Now, you
sure about this? And He said, which of you intending
to build a tower seteth not down first and counteth the cost,
whether he have sufficient to finish it." That wouldn't be
very smart to do, would it? That's what a mere mortal man
would do. And you were told to believe
that that's how God does. Attempt something he knows won't
happen. Hogwash. That doesn't sound very God-like,
does it? It sounds very ridiculous, sounds very absurd. I wonder
when the angel told Joseph, on the discovery that Mary was expecting. And the angel set his mind at
ease by telling him this, when he's born, Joseph, call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Was that
a premature statement? No, no. Because that's why he
came into this world, to save his people. from their sins.
There's no question about it. Listen to what God said hundreds
of years before Joseph received that message. Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have
put my spirit upon him. This is God speaking of his Son.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
fail. And the angel said, Joseph, he
shall not fail. He shall save his people from
their sins. And the Lord Jesus Christ, again
in Revelation, appeared to poor exiled John. He was an old man
then. I've been told what many commentators
feel. When he was cast out on the Isle
of Patmos, that rocky, deserted, there he is. And Jesus Christ
gave him one of the greatest revelations a man ever had. All
things work together for good. And while John was out there,
nobody else around, Jesus Christ comes to him and says, John,
I'm he that liveth. And was dead. And behold, I'm
alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and death. And John, the things I'm about
to tell you, you write down. Things that must be hereafter. Must be. Thank God. Thank God for that. Paul, in
Romans chapter 11, verse 32, considering God's wondrous method
of grace, he says, God hath concluded them all, Jew, Gentile, and unbelief,
that he might have mercy upon all. And Paul just pauses right
there. He just stops. And he thinks
about that. Paul, how did that make you feel? How did that miraculous, wondrous
purpose of God to save sinners, what's your response to that,
Paul? And Paul said, this is it. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and his ways past finding out. Who had known the
mind of the Lord? Who had been his counselor? who
hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him
again. And Paul says, of him, and through him, and to him are
all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. That's the response
every redeemed sinner gives to God's amazing grace. I am what
I am by the grace of God. Yesterday, I received an email
from Tom Harding. He pastors the Zebulon Grace
Church in Pikeville, Kentucky. I get his bulletin, and also
there'll be one that includes a transcribed message by Brother
Henry Mahan. I'll be more than happy to forward
those to you, or ask that you be put on his mailing list if
you're not already. But yesterday it came to me,
a message that Henry had preached on January 20, 5th, 1976, and
it's transcribed. It's put out in written form. And in a lot of ways, I prefer
it that way. That way I can stop and read it again, stop and think
about it, go back and read it. And Henry's text was from Isaiah
46 and 4. Even to your old age, I am he. This is God speaking to his people. And even to whore hairs will
I carry you. I have made, and I will bear,
even I will carry, and will deliver you." The title of Henry's message
was Old Age. Oh, it's good. It's good. He
used Mr. Spurgeon, and that's the part
I want to share with you, in a good deal of the message. And
then, of course, his own thoughts. But he said, concerning Mr. Spurgeon, that when he was about
18 years old, he began to pastor. And there was a time when After
that, when he was about 23, he was preaching in a church and
he walked up to an old believer, one of the old men of the church,
and he told this man, brother, there's no man in the whole church
that I envy as much as I envy you. 23-year-old telling
an 83-year-old. The old man looked at this young
man, 23 years of age, this promising young preacher, pastor of one
of London's largest churches, Young man, you envy me? Why in
the world would you envy me? I'm 87, I got it wrong. I'm 87
years old. Why would you envy me? And Mr. Spurgeon said, Old believer,
I envy you for many reasons, and the first of which is this,
you are nearer the Father's house than I am. In a very short time,
you're going to see the Lord. In a very short time, you're
going to share His glory. In a very short time, this weary
journey of sin is going to be over for you while I'm still
down here laboring in this veil of tears. You're going to be
basking in the glory of God's smile. I envy you." And he went
on and said, secondly, old man, I envy you because the old believer
can talk of the experience of God's grace while the young believer
can only talk of the promise of grace. The old man can say
with David, I have been young, and now I'm old. And I've never,
I've never seen the righteous forsaken. I've never seen God's
seed begging bread. The old man can sing, through
many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. His grace
has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The old man can sing, when through fiery trials my pathway shall
lie. His grace all-sufficient has
been my supply." What does the young man know about this? Spurgeon
said, that's why I envy you. The old believer can talk of
the experiences of grace. My friend, I can only preach
the promises of grace, Spurgeon said. I've yet to be there. I've never walked that road,
and I envy you. And then he went on and said,
I envy you, my friend, because the old man can take out the
counsel checks of mercy. and checks of grace, and the
promises of God, and he can say, I know these are true. I've cast
every one of them. I've used them all. The old man knows it so. God
says, I'll never leave you, nor forsake you. The old man knows
that's true. God who said, I'm with you always,
even to the end, he knows that's true. Spurgeon said, I envy you. Let me tell you, young man, how
God brought me, the old man said, how God brought me to my knees
in conviction and repentance. Let me tell you how God revealed
my inability. Let me tell you how God revealed
the substitute, Jesus Christ, to my heart. Let me tell you
about that. I love to tell the story to those who know it best. Let me tell you how his peace
has been my portion and his blood has been my confidence through
all these years. Let me tell you how. At the cross, at the
cross, where I first saw the light,
and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received
by sight. Now I'm happy all the day. And
the old man said, and I'm still at the cross. I've not got beyond
that. Let me tell you how good God
was to me when I lost my job and had a family to support.
Let me tell you. How he never failed me, never
left me. Let me tell you how God comforted me when I lost
my dear companion of many years and faced those hours and weeks
and months of loneliness. Let me tell you about God's sustaining grace
when my child was killed. And Henry could identify with
that. Let me tell you about God's sustaining
grace when my child was killed. Let me tell you of the comfort
of the days of sickness when I faced death's door. Oh yes,
let me tell you his promises are sweet and they are true and
they are steadfast." And then Mr. Spurgeon went on
and said, Oh believer, I envy you because the old man who knows
God's mercy in Christ who knows God's mercy and grace is in the
substitute Jesus Christ, who knows something of the partnering
blood, of the ransoming blood, of the cleansing blood, that
old man does not have the doubts about the doctrines of God's
word like so many young people have. The old man needs no new
gospel. He doesn't want to hear about
a new gospel. Christ's gospel has met his need
and he's found it to be sufficient. The old man needs no new revelation. Christ has met his every need.
Christ is sufficient. He's searched at the old paths.
He doesn't need anything else. The old man needs no proof of
God's presence. He can sing. He's walked with
me. And he's talked with me. And
he's told me that I am his own. The old man is not driven and
tossed with every wind of doctrine. Every new Messiah that comes
along, every new leader that opens his mouth, every new revelation
that's pushed off on the people. No, he can sing, my hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. And after I read that and copied
it to share with you, I wrote, God make me be a believer like
that old man. I've got every reason to, don't
you? Child of God, remember, if the shepherd loses one of
his sheep that God entrusted into his hand, it won't be their
fault. It'll be his fault. I found great
comfort in that. Christ in John 17 prayed, Father,
those that you have given me, they were yours, and you gave
them to me, and I've lost none. I've lost none. We don't give
Christ enough credit. We just don't. That's just true.
I don't. I don't. We measure our acceptance before
God by what we do. We do good, oh, God loves me
more now. We do bad, oh, God loves me less.
Oh, no. I'm accepted and we love. It
never changes. It doesn't matter what I do or
don't do. I like that. Fannie Crosby wrote an old hymn,
one of her many hymns, on page 385 of her hymn book. Let me
finish this, and then we'll observe the Lord's table. Take the world,
but give me Jesus. Take the world, but give me Jesus.
All His joys are but a name. But His love abideth ever, through
eternal years the same. Take the world, but give me Jesus,
sweetest comfort of my soul. With my Savior watching over
me, I can sing though billows roll. Take the world, but give
me Jesus. Let me view his constant smile.
Then throughout my pilgrim journey, light will cheer me all the while.
Take the world, but give me Jesus. In his cross my trust shall be,
till with clearer, brighter vision, face to face, my Lord, I'll see. That's going to be soon, isn't
it? It's not going to be long. for any of us. Face to face,
my Lord, I'll see. Oh, the height and depth of mercy.
Oh, the length and breadth of love. Oh, the fullness of redemption.
Pledge of endless life above. Thank God for salvation on purpose. Amen. Amen. Okay. God bless you.