Well again, it's been. A good
time. Been with you. I was thinking this morning is
for the Lindsay was talking about how quickly. Time. Goes. Tonight. Last time we'll have
a scheduled service in this year. And I was thinking, again, while
Brother Mark was reading, how just a few more setting suns,
now that's just becoming more and more real to me. You know, when you're younger,
these things seem to almost be like a cliche. But you start
to get a little age on you and you start thinking, you know,
This is real. This is serious. Tonight we have a few moments
to be together. And I'll tell you how important
these moments are. The Lord said, where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of you. And you know with a realization
that he's here. I believe that Rex, I believe
that, I believe he's here. And I pray that this evening
the Lord might be pleased to bless this service. I'm gonna
ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs
chapter 21. Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21, verse 21. He that followeth after righteousness
and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. Here our Lord has promised through
the pen of a man named Solomon, a man that Almighty God had given
wisdom. That's what he asked for. The
Lord asked Solomon, what do you want me to give you? He said,
I pray you'd give me wisdom. Wisdom to govern, watch over
your people. The Lord said, because you didn't
ask for money, you didn't ask for victory over your enemies. He said, I'm going to give you
what you ask. I'll give you all these other things too. And here
the spirit of God sets forth a grand promise. He that followeth continues to
follow, followeth after. He that continues to walk, he
that continues to long after, even in the midst of the frailty
of our flesh, a believer follows after righteousness, mercy. And here's a promise, he finds,
he finds something. He finds life, he finds righteousness
and honor. I know this, I know that the
natural man, dead in trespasses and sin, every man, every woman
born in Adam, it's impossible. If Almighty God leaves that man,
that woman to themselves, it's impossible to believe God because
the natural man possesses not the grace of faith. Faith is the gift of God, given. It's given, Philippians 129,
unto you, in the behalf of Christ, graciously granted, graciously
given as a favor, a favor from God Almighty, not only to believe
on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. To experience, I mentioned
this this morning, to experience the blessing of abuse from the
world. The suffering at men's hands
for his sake, for standing, believing, Walking
after, following after Christ. It's not a small or an insignificant
privilege when Almighty God permits. It's permitted unto you, it's
given unto you to suffer whenever Almighty God allows one of His
own to suffer. Now you think, He worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will. The steps of a good
man made so by the imputed righteousness of Christ. They're ordered by
the Lord. We had to be here tonight. We
had to be in this place. And this grace of suffering for
his namesake, what honor. is given unto the Lord. This
grace, this mercy is bestowed upon those that Almighty God
has chosen to show mercy. So don't be disheartened, like
we talked about this morning. Don't be pushed down and feel
abused, which we are, but the Lord said, greatly rejoice. The Almighty God has allowed
them to do just exactly what they want to do, and He's going
to absolutely recompense to them that which is due. Wait on the
Lord. Wait on the Lord. I used to tell
my kids, if you don't know what to do, if you don't feel that
you know the right thing to do, what to do, don't do anything.
That's the safest thing to do. Wait on the Lord. He will direct, He will guide,
He will order your steps. Now, He's graciously delivered
His people. And now He's allowed us the privilege,
granting us faith to believe, to suffer for His name's sake.
The Lord told His people in John chapter 15, We believe this glorious
gospel, and he told his people, he said, the world hates you.
The world hates you, despises you. Do you know why? Listen
to what the Lord says. John 15, 19, if you were of the
world, if you were of the world's religion, If you were of the
world, the world would love his own, but because you're not of
the world, now listen to these words, but I have chosen you
out of the world, because I have been pleased to choose you out
of the world, because I have been pleased to redeem you by
grace, I lay down my life for the sheep. Because the Spirit
of God has called you out of spiritual darkness effectively,
called you by power because I chose you, because I redeemed you,
because I called you, because I'm God, because I'm sovereign,
because I have the right to do as I will in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. Because I am God and
have shown mercy to you, That's the reason the world hates you. We're not saved by works, we're
not saved by our doings, by our will, the scripture declares,
by grace. Are you saved through faith in
that not of yourself? It is the gift of God. But let
me ask you this, how does one know? How does a man know that
the Lord has granted him faith, the faith of God's elect, faith
from above, faith that is said to be the gift of God? How do
you know? One way. You believe God. You believe God. How does Almighty God manifest
He is loved. He gives his people life and
faith to believe him. Abraham believed God. It is not a light thing that
we would be here tonight and believe the Lord. Now, when the
Lord reveals himself, when he reveals man, He gives his people
faith to believe. Now, what has the Lord said about
man? What has the Lord said about
himself? Turn with Mark your place there,
just turn over with John, John chapter six. What has the Lord
said about man? Now, as I said a minute ago,
it's not a light thing, it's not a light thing that we believe
the Lord. That's the evidence of life.
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
He believed the Lord. Now let me ask you this. I'm
gonna read you a few scriptures here and I'm gonna ask you, you
just answer yourself. Don't raise your hand. Let me
ask you this if you believe God. What has the Lord said about
man? John chapter 6, verse 63. It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh, carnal man, the flesh
profiteth. That means there's no use. That
means there's no advantage. The flesh profiteth Nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. Now let me ask you this.
What has the Lord said about man? Man is spiritually dead. That's what he said. Man was
ruined in the fall. Without me, you can do nothing. Nothing. A believer believes that. Without
him, I can do nothing. The Lord set forth the spiritual
impotence of man and declared that the natural mind, human
wisdom of man is of no assistance in man's salvation. The spirit quickeneth. The flesh
profiteth nothing. What did the Lord say concerning
Himself? Well, look at verse 64, John
6, 64. But there were some of you, but there are some of you
that believe not. You know what He just said? I'm omniscient. I know. There's some of you, Now, I'm
looking at a group of people here tonight, and you're looking
back at me, and all I know is that you're looking at me. That's
all I know. I have no earthly idea what's
in your heart. The Lord knows. The flesh profiteth
nothing, but there's some of you, he said, that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
Who they were that believed not, who would betray him. Now, that
ought to strike fear in every unbeliever. It does in a believer. Because he'll say this, the Lord
knows. I know the Lord knows. I know
that for myself, I think of Peter whenever Peter had said after
the Lord was risen from the dead and he was on the shore of the
Sea of Tiberias and Peter said, I go a fishing. And I know what he said. I know
what he said. You do too. You that believe,
you do too. He said, I quit. I quit. I'm going back. I'm going
back to my old way. And here's the sad thing. The
other disciples said the same thing, we go with you. You say, couldn't an apostle
say that? Yeah, he did, they did. But after the Lord was pleased
to let them stay out all night and fish and catch nothing, children,
you caught anything? No, you cast your net on the
other side. You know, the catch that they
had that came in, no record of any words being spoken until
the Lord said this, Peter, I can just imagine, as soon as
he said that, Peter, lovest thou me more than these? And I think
to myself, Those words to my heart, Marvin, lovest thou me
more than these? And Peter's answer was, Lord,
you know. You know I love you. A believer
is one that is honest. He knows that the word of the
Lord concerning him is right. And then the Lord said something
in verse 65. He related both truths of man's
inability and his absolute sovereignty and salvation. Look at verse
65. And he said, therefore, said
I unto you that no man can come. No man has the ability to come. That word can has nothing to
do with permission. It has to do with ability. No
man can come unto me, and man by nature says he can't, and
the Lord says he can't, and a believer believes God. No man can come
unto me except it were given unto him of my Father. Now, with that statement that
he just made, no man can come unto me except my Father gives
him. That ability, that will in the
day of God's power to come. No man can come, you cannot come.
And the reaction to that statement right there reveals the heart
of a man. With that statement, two things,
one of two things. Man will do one of two things.
His reaction to that statement reveals whether the Lord has
left him to himself or whether or not God Almighty is regenerating
him by grace. Look at that, verse 66. From
that time, from the time he made that statement, many of his disciples,
many of those that were following him, went back and walked no
more with him. That's the reaction of the natural
heart. I'm not gonna have that man to
rule over me. But there's one other reaction,
and this reaction, only by the grace of God. Verses 67 to 71,
I noticed immediately, from that time, verse 66, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him, and immediately, the
Lord turns to his disciples, turns to the 12, and asked this
question, will ye also go away? Will you go? Then Simon Peter
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Let me ask you, believer, where else would you go? Peter
said, Lord, To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus answered
them, have not I chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil? He
spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that
should betray him, being one of the 12. Some went back and
followed him no more, walked with him no more, and but for
the grace of God died in unbelief. And the very words of our Lord
right here that he spoke to them that day will come up again.
Those words, listen to this, John 12, 47, 48. If any man hear
my word and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge
the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me." What does it mean to reject the
Lord Jesus Christ? The next words out of the Lord's
mouth tells us what it means to reject Christ. Christ, he
that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day. In the last day, the books are
going to be opened and the book And all who are found not written
in the book of life, written from the foundation of the world,
they're gonna be judged out of the books of their own works. That very thought is so fearful
in my mind that Almighty God would open, God who knows, Jesus
knew from the beginning, who believed him not, he knew, he
knows, he knows. I'm not hiding anything from
him, he knows. I'm not getting away with it,
in myself, I know I can do nothing. Left to myself, I'm gone. Oh, but 11 out of the 12, Judas
excluded. The Lord had truly shown kindness
and compassion, and they truly were found doing just exactly
back what Proverbs 21, I turn back there now, declares. Will you go away? Will you go
away also? Pete said, Lord, where are we
gonna go? He that followeth after righteousness. He that followeth after the righteousness
of God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. He that followeth after
mercy. That verse that I quoted, I love
that, Exodus 33, 19. I love that verse of scripture. Lord, show me your glory. Show
me your glory. Here's the glory of God. I'm
gonna have mercy and compassion on whomsoever I will. Oh, what
glory. Lord, that you would show mercy
and compassion to me. He that followeth after. He that
longs after. He that followeth. And I looked
that word up. He that followeth. Here's what
it means. He that fervently. followeth. He that constantly
followeth. But here's the one I'm so thankful
was in that explanation of that word. Here's the one I love. He that needfully followeth. I love that song. I need thee
every hour. Every believer, they follow after
Christ. They follow him. The Lord promised that. He said
that. He said, look, my sheep hear
my voice. Now you that believe, do we not
hear the voice of the master? When you hear Christ proclaimed,
Christ honored, Christ exalted, Christ praised, Christ extolled,
You hear the voice of the shepherd. You hear the voice of the master. When he's honored and man is
amazed, you say that's my master's voice right there. My sheep hear
my voice and I know them. I know them in mercy, in compassion. I know them in love and they
follow me. They follow me. How do they follow? They fervently follow. admitting
all the while. Lord, without you, I can do nothing.
I know that. They follow constantly. Will
you go away? Lord, where am I gonna go? Where
am I gonna go? And they follow needfully. Lord,
don't leave me to myself. Lord, you promised. You promised
that you'd never leave me, you'd never forsake me. So to continually
follow after righteousness and mercy is to continually follow
after Christ by faith, admitting, I need Him. I need my righteousness. I need the mercy of God. I need
Christ. John said in 1 John 2 1, my little
children, these things write I unto you that you sin not.
And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ, the righteous. The righteous, we have an advocate. I want one. I've given this illustration. I'm sure I gave it here, but
I'm gonna use it real quickly. But I lived in Franklin, Tennessee,
had a good buddy of mine who worked at a little store. And
a young man came in one night and my buddy sold him some beer. He looked old enough. The boy
wasn't old enough. He was underage. My buddy didn't
check the ID. Police caught him. Asked him,
where'd you get this beer? Told him about this store. Went
back, walked up to my buddy that was there, and asked him, did
you sell this beer? Yes, I did. He said, you check
his ID? No, I didn't. He said he's underage. Gave him a ticket. Gonna show
up in court now. He's on the docket. A man walks
into the store a few days after he's, you know, it's been known
that he's gonna be there. Walks in, he tells him, he said,
listen, I see where you're gonna go before this judge there in
Franklin. And he said, I'm an attorney.
My buddy said, I can't pay you. I don't have any money. He said,
oh, don't worry about it. I'll do it pro bono, no charge.
I'll take care of it. Last time my friend saw that
attorney, last time he saw him, well, here comes a day of court.
Two or three cases come up. People stand up. They're going
to answer for themselves against
the judge, and every time, They would come up and the judge would
ask them, do you have an attorney? No, I'm going to represent myself.
And I was there. And I watched that judge get
madder and madder and madder. I didn't know her personally.
I knew of her. She was fair. Boy, I'll tell
you what. Man, in about three or four cases
before my friend's name was called, And she was hot, she was mad. And about that time, this man
stood up and called my buddy's name, James Beasley. And listen, my heart, I could
feel it in my throat, and there to here, see him, not me. And
he started to get up, and that attorney that didn't show up
at that one time there at the store, told him he'd be there,
stood up and said, Judge, I represent that man. I'll talk to you after
court. And the judge looked at him and
said, that'll be fine. Next, I thought, I need an advocate. I need one
that speaks the language of the judge. I need one that knows
the rules. I need one that will satisfy
Almighty God, my little children, these things I write unto you
that you sin not. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, one that the Father loves, one that the Father
chose, one that the Father has sent, one in whom the Father
is well pleased. That's who I need. Will you go
away, Lord, where am I gonna go? Without you, or what have
I got? God's people, the Lord's people,
they follow after him. But to follow after righteousness. And to follow after mercy is
to know I need a righteousness before God. I need mercy. I'm unable to produce a righteousness
that God's gonna accept. And he who follows after righteousness
and mercy is the one who cries out. It's that publican we read
about this morning. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. There's a true hunger for God
to be gracious because of the misery of something that I know
myself to be. I'm a sinner. I need help. I need, Lord, for you to show
mercy to me. When everyone that's found with
a heart to seek after righteousness. This is what it says, he that
followeth after righteousness in mercy. And it's only by the
grace of God that a man does, a woman does. You follow after. Tell me one more time. Tell me
one more time how God has been merciful to me. Tell me one more
time how God grants faith to believe. Tell me one more time
how the Lord keeps his people. Tell me that again. I know I've
heard it again. Tell me again. Paul says that's safe for you.
He says that's not grievous for me to tell you the same thing
over and over and over. We got one message. That's all
God's people want. Tell me one message. You tell
me of him. Tell me of my righteousness.
Tell me of God's mercy. Tell me how long-suffering, tell
me of his gentleness and kindness. Tell me again how he bore my
debt in his own body. Tell me how he was made sin. He who knew no sin. Tell me one
more time. If you knew that tonight was
your last night, if this was the last time he's ever gonna
hear, if he's laying on your deathbed, The doctor said, you
know, you have just moments left. What do you want to hear? You
just tell me one more time. Tell me one more time how God
has mercy and compassion on whomsoever He will. And out of your heart
that Almighty God would give you a heart to say, Lord, have
mercy on me. Not one instance in all the scriptures
did anybody ever come to the Lord asking for mercy and they
didn't get it. He that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out. Tell me that one more time. One
of these days is gonna be the last time I ever hear that. He
that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life. Life. I am the way. I'm the truth. And I'm the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me and they that continually follow after. They find it. That's what the
Lord said. They find him who is their life. spiritual life, eternal life,
continually find Him who is their righteousness. Never in themselves,
but in Him that robes them in His righteousness, the one that
they realize has put on His obedience upon them. And they lay hold
of Him and they rejoice. And the scripture says, They
find one other thing, honor. They find life, Christ. They find righteousness, Christ. And they find honor, Christ. Being found in him, they find
being found in him, We're sons of God. What honor that we should be
called the sons of God. Let me tell you just in a closing
statement concerning the honor of those that follow after righteousness
and mercy that find life and righteousness and honor. We're heirs of God. What honor? I don't even know what to say. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. Sometimes we say that so quickly. And I'll be the first to admit,
I don't know what to say about
it. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, it has never entered
into the heart of man. Heirs of God in joint heirs with
Christ, he hath made us kings and priests
unto God. Those who offer the sacrifice
of praise unto him, the fruit of our lips, those who shall
receive a crown of glory being found in him. Lord, that you'd give me a heart to continually and keep me, keep
me, and not let me go. Keep me following after righteousness,
mercy, that I find life and righteousness and honor. Lord, as you say it
is, it is. May the Lord bless our hearts
and give us a renewed remembrance and thankfulness for that which
he's been pleased to do by his infinite mercy and compassion
for Christ's sake and for our eternal glory.