I am nowhere near as sure-footed
as I used to be. I have learned that it is wise
for me when I'm walking, even just short distances, to watch
every step. I'm apt to get tripped up, so
I try to watch where I'm going. This book teaches us to be watchful. watchful, watchful in every step. Our Lord Jesus and his apostles
warned us and warned us frequently to be on watch, ever watchful
over our souls, watchful lest we fall into temptation, watchful
with regard to the snares of Satan and the wiles of the devil. Our Savior warns us more often
about being watchful concerning false prophets and their doctrine
than any other danger we face in this world. Just before he
was crucified in our place, he warned his disciples, be careful,
be careful. There'll be folks coming in the
last day who will say to you, lo, here is Christ, and lo, there
is Christ. This is Christ, another is Christ. He said, beware, beware of the
leaven, the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, two different
heretical religious groups in his day, the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. Both of them slip a little leaven
in to the doctrine of God and thereby pervert the whole message
of scripture. We're warned again and again
to be careful. Pay no attention to any man. Pay no attention to any doctrine,
any idea that would turn you away from the blessed simplicity
of the gospel of God's grace. Salvation by grace alone through
faith alone in Christ alone. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. That's the simple, plain declaration
of Holy Scripture. We're saved by grace through
faith. not of works, lest any man should
boast. This is God's gift. We must be
watchful, ever guarding against false prophets, ever guarding
against the cunning craftiness of those messengers of Satan
who would turn us away from Christ and the gospel of the grace of
God. Just listen, just listen to this. The Lord Jesus says,
watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. You remember
where he said that? When the disciples were with
him on the Mount of Transfiguration and then in Gethsemane, he said,
watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. Take heed,
watch and pray. I say unto you all, watch. Watch ye therefore and pray always
that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that
shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. The Apostle
Paul writes to the Corinthians and says, watch ye, stand fast
in the faith, quit ye like men and be strong. Pray always with
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto
with all perseverance. Continue in prayer and watch
in the same with thanksgiving. Let us not sleep as do others,
but let us watch and be sober. Timothy, he warns as a preacher
of the gospel, watch thou in all things, endure afflictions,
do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
The end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch
unto prayer. He who is made of God and to
us wisdom says, blessed is the man that heareth me, watching
daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors. Blessed
are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching. Be watchful and strengthen those
things which remain and are ready to die. The Apostle Paul concludes
his epistle to the Romans in Romans chapter 16 with this same
admonition. After giving his final words
of salutation, after his final words of commendation to the
saints at Rome, he does an unusual thing. His very last word is
to raise a caution. His very last word is to raise
a caution. At the close of his epistle,
he calls us to watchfulness, but it's watchfulness with a
promise. This is the title of my message, Watchfulness with
a Promise, Romans 16, verses 17 through 20. Now I beseech
you, brethren, I beg you, I pray you, I urge you, my brethren,
mark them, which calls divisions, and offenses. That word offenses
is scandals. Mark them which cause divisions
and scandals, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned,
and avoid them. For they that are such serve
not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. They're motivated
not by faith, but by lust. not by their desire to honor
God, but by their inward ambition. And by good words and fair speeches,
deceive the hearts of the simple, the unsuspecting, those who aren't
watching. For your obedience has come abroad
unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf,
But yet I would have you wise under that which is good and
simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall brew
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you, amen. God's servants, faithful pastors,
are doorkeepers in the house of God. I'd rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
They're doorkeepers, watchmen upon the walls of Zion. Faithful
pastors are men appointed of God to keep watch over your souls,
to guard the house of God, to protect his church from the assaults
of Satan. But as you care for your souls,
you must be watchful for yourself. It is my responsibility to watch
over you, to protect you, to instruct you, to keep you walking
in the way of faith, walking in the path of righteousness,
following the Lord Jesus. But you must be watchful for
yourselves. That's the doctrine the apostle
gives us in this text. I must watch over you as God's
appointed doorkeeper in this assembly, as God's appointed
watchman on the walls of Zion. keeping out those things that
do not belong in the house of God. The doctrine is contrary
to the gospel, bringing in only that which is good and profitable
to the souls of men. You must watch over your own
soul. The primary central thing over
which we must constantly be watchful is gospel doctrine. always guarding
against anything that would turn us away from the blessed simplicity
that is in Christ Jesus. I call your attention to three
things in these four verses. Just keep your Bibles open here
at Romans 16 and listen carefully. May God the Holy Ghost speak
by these lips of clay, his word to your hearts. First, here is
a call to watchfulness. Verses 17, 18, and 19. We must
always be on guard. Always on guard. Watching over
our souls, lest we be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
Always be on guard. Always be on guard. Don't ever sleep, but be watchful. Don't ever put your guard down. Be watchful. Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. Here we're called to watch for
and mark those who would subvert the gospel, and we're called
to avoid them. Those two things. Watch for them
like a man sitting on the walls of a city watching for the approaching
enemy. That fellow looks suspicious. Watch him. He's coming around
this way. Watch him. Keep your eye on him. Watch him as one who's come to
destroy your souls and avoid it. Watch them and avoid them. We are to watch for those who
would cause divisions in God's church and kingdom, promoting
scandals among us and making us scandals before others. The
world around us loves to find something scandalous to say against
us, our God and his church. I, as you well know, I have no
objection to anyone enjoying the, drinking a glass of wine
with their meal or having a beer with their meal. There's nothing
wrong with that. I had been in some of your homes and you would
offer me a glass of wine and I refused to take it. Not because
of, in any way, objectionable to it. But I've got to drive
home. I don't care if it's just driving
across the street. And I'm fully aware that there
are tons of folks who would just be tickled to death to find that
I will stop for speeding or running a red light and I had to take
a breathalyzer. The pastor was drinking and they'd
love it. So I just don't. I just don't. People watch for us. because they despise our God
and despise the gospel we preach, despise the God we worship, despise
the grace of God we declare, despise us for the salvation
we enjoy. They watch for scandals and they
promote them rapidly. Satan promotes scandals often
by creating strife and division within. So watch and pray. Turn
to, hold your hands here in Romans 16, turn over to Book of Acts,
chapter 20. Those who seek to divide the church of God are
never content simply to leave. Shelby and I watch old Gunsmoke
reruns and every now and then Mr. Dillon does something that
the folks in town, the businessmen don't like. And you know what
they never do? You know what they never do? Some of you watch
those things. They never come to him and say,
now, I think this is what you ought to do. But they get a group
together, and they decide we'll come as a group. And now, now
we've got some authority. We've got some backing. Well,
deceivers are always that way. Cowards are always that way.
Cunning, self-serving men are always that way. They are never
content to do things on their own. They've got to have folks
to back them up. They're always determined, these
deceivers in religion, are always determined to draw away disciples
after themselves. Acts 20, verse 28. Paul warned
the church at Ephesus as he was about to leave them. God had
established a strong, vibrant gospel witness there. And he
says, take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and to all the flock
of God, the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers,
and feed the church of God, which he's purchased with his own blood.
Now, Paul says to these elders, he says, you fellows are overseers,
you take care, for I know this. that after my departing shall
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. We've experienced it. Also of
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch. And remember
that by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone
night and day with tears. And now brethren, I commend you
to God and the word of his grace. I commend you my brothers and
sisters to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified. The thing from which Satan would
turn us is the doctrine which you have learned. The doctrine
you have been taught of God. The doctrine by which you came
to know the Savior. The doctrine by which God converted
you. That's the thing from which Satan
would turn you. Don't be turned from it. That's the thing from
which deceivers would turn you. They don't come in saying, I
have come to turn you away from Christ. but rather they come
to turn you away from Christ by bringing in other things.
The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men, Paul wrote in Titus, but it's appeared to men just in
word, but to you who believe, It's come to you in the power
of God, teaching us, educating us, causing us to know that we
must live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,
this gospel. has taught us to live in the
blessed hope of Christ's second coming, who loved us and gave
himself that by his sacrifice of himself, he might purify to
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Paul wrote to
the Galatians. He said, he said, Christ came
to redeem us. Christ loved us and gave himself
for us. Christ died for us. I marvel! I marvel! that you're so soon
turned from the gospel of Christ to another gospel. I marvel that
you listen to men who come and bring you something that's not
even similar to the gospel and by that subvert your souls. Paul
wrote to the Corinthians and said, I fear, I fear for you. Lest by any means as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety. So your mind should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ. I read that simplicity
to you earlier. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Somebody comes in and slips a
little something extra in that, or a little something here, or
a little something there, and now it is not whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, but whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ, and believes this, and does that,
and experiences that, and believes that, now he's born of God, oh
no. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, he is born of God. Paul was inspired of God
the Holy Ghost. to put this call to watchfulness
at the end of this warm, loving salutation list he gives in Romans
16. He puts it at the end of this
warm, loving list of salutations because nothing could be more
expressive of his loving, affectionate care than this, that they abide
in the truth of the gospel. that no one turn you away from
the doctrine by which God has saved you. The gospel of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Mark those who would add something
to the gospel and thereby turn you away from Christ. Mark them.
Take aim at them as you would an approaching enemy. Mark them
as dangers to be avoided. Beware of them. Beware of them. Don't just hold them in suspicion. Beware of them, as you would
beware of poison. Beware of their designs, no matter
how they approach you. And then Paul says, avoid them.
Now I know what I'm saying to you this morning, as I speak
to you the very Word of God, is contrary to the opinions of
this warm, fuzzy, gushy, loving society, and this warm, fuzzy,
gushing religious world that talks about love, love, love,
love, doesn't matter what you believe or do, love, love, love,
People today have the idea that there's no such thing as truth. If you've read the newspapers
or watched the news in the last two weeks, you're keenly aware
of that in the civil political world. There's her truth and
his truth. What's stupidity? What's stupidity? Two things contrary to one another
are not truth. One's a lie, the other's truth.
One's fact, the other's fable. Mark those, mark those who would
turn you away from the truth of Jesus Christ. And marking
them, avoid them. Stay away from them. Stay away
from them. I can't say this enough. I can't
say it plainly enough. I can't say it forcefully enough.
Don't allow yourself in any way to be influenced by men who would
turn you away from the gospel of Christ. Don't do it. Don't
do it. When they attempt to contact
you, ignore them. Ignore them. Ignore them. Don't respond to them. Don't
even tell them you're ignoring them. Just ignore them. Just
ignore them. Don't allow them into your house.
We read that in 2 John. Don't invite them into your house.
Don't receive them into your house. That's foolish. Well, I just want to
be nice. No, that's being foolish. What idiot would bring a dog
with rabies into the house to play with the children? That's
foolish. That's foolish. Don't bid them Godspeed. Well,
here, I'll help you a little bit. No, don't. Well, let's pray. I'll pray for you. No, I'm not
going to. No, I'm not going to. Don't bid them Godspeed. If you
do, you're partaking with their evil deeds. and when they approach
you, push them aside and walk away. That's exactly the instruction
we're given here. Avoid them, avoid them. Don't
investigate their doctrine, avoid them. Turn back to Deuteronomy
chapter 12, Deuteronomy 12. I don't know anything at all
much about the way things are done among the various cultic
groups that live in isolation like the Amish and the folks
live in communities and so forth, but I've observed a few things.
Do you know one of the great powers they have in their community? If somebody is disciplined, they're
shunned. They're shunned. Now, buddy,
you talk about shunning. I mean, you may as well move
away, because nobody's gonna speak to you. Nobody's gonna
have you over for supper. Nobody's gonna walk down the
street with you. They're shunned. That's exactly what Paul is telling
us to do with those who would subvert the gospel of Christ.
Look here in Deuteronomy 12. Our Lord gives a clear, crystal
clear word of instruction. Verse 30. Take heed to thyself
that thou be not snared by following them. He's talking about the
Canaanites, the idolaters in the land. After that they be
destroyed from before thee. and that thou inquire not after
their gods. Listen to me now, listen to me.
Some fella comes up with some crackpot notion, and I can't
tell you, the episode went on here a couple weeks ago, I can't
tell you how many dozens of people I got calls from, where do they
get that in the Bible? Well, they don't, obviously.
But they gotta have some scripture for it. What's that talking about?
Don't ask after their way. Well, I wonder if they're telling
the truth or not. If they turn you away from the simplicity
of Christ, they're not telling you the truth. They're not. I
don't care how they quote scripture or misquote scripture. I don't
care how they recite scripture or don't recite scripture. I
don't care how they speak reasonably and logically or speak with utter
irrationality. Don't listen to them. Don't inquire
after their gods. Say, how did these nations serve
their gods? I'm just curious. Curiosity killed
the cat. Curiosity will kill your soul.
I just wanna know. You don't need to know. Ignore
it. Avoid them. Just as sure as you
say, how did they serve their gods? You will also say even
so, Will I do likewise? Someone rightly said, heresy
does not bludgeon us into unbelief, we're seduced into unbelief. Look at verse 18, Romans 16,
18. Here the apostle tells us why
we must mark and avoid these heretics. For they that are such
serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. Well, I
think he's sincere, don't you? No. I think he really means well,
don't you? No. No, he wouldn't lie to you
if he meant well. They serve not our Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches
deceive the hearts of the simple. That word simple doesn't mean
simple-minded. It means those who are naively
unsuspected. Unsuspecting. Just naive and
unsuspecting. I just didn't expect that. That's
the folks being deceived. And they're deceived with good
words and fair speeches. Words that sound appealing and
speech that seems irresistible. They don't serve our Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own bellies. They don't preach Christ. They
may use his name, but they're preaching something else. They
don't serve our God. They don't seek your good. They're
self-serving men, gratifying nothing but their own evil lust
by seeking to destroy your souls. They deceive unsuspecting, unsuspicious,
trusting souls by good words and fair speeches. They use words
from the Bible. They quote the Bible and they
talk good. Do you know the greatest heretics
in history, the most well-known heretics in history, were men
who lived almost blamelessly. They were men of high moral reputation,
learned men who spoke with great piety and devotion. and by their
deceitfulness turned thousands, untold thousands in every generation
away from Christ. It's been the practice of heretics
throughout the ages to use the very words that faithful men
use and obviously to use them with more effect upon those who
follow them than faithful men. but they use them only to cover
up their deceit. They're called dogs. Dogs. Dogs. Dogs are male prostitutes. That's how the term is used in
scripture. Don't bring the price of a dog into the house of God.
It's talking about a male prostitute. Paul said, beware of dogs. And
he's not talking about the barking kind. He's talking about dogs.
male prostitutes, men who have sold their souls to hell and
care nothing about taking you with them. This call to watchfulness
is pressed upon us by the fact that God has been so gracious
to us. Look at verse 18. For your obedience
is come abroad unto all men. I'm glad therefore on your behalf
But yet I would have you wise under that which is good and
simple concerning evil. What Paul says here of the Romans,
I say to you. Grace Baptist Church, Denver,
Kentucky. We must be watchful. Because
our faith is known and spoken of throughout the world. Our
faith in Christ. Our doctrine, the doctrine we
preach, our dogmatism with regard to that is known and spoken of
throughout the world. If any of our own are snared
and taken by Satan, the scandal spreads overnight. I've seen it many times. I make it my purpose to speak
as little about such things as possible because I know the scandal
runs wild overnight, overnight. Something comes up and folks
like to yak. I'm thankful beyond words, beyond
what words can express for God's great grace in granting to us
the obedience of faith in Christ. And I'm thankful beyond what
words can express for God's great mercy in allowing us to be instruments
of usefulness in his kingdom around the world. For reasons
known only to God, he's given us a voice that's heard by many
around the world. What a privilege. But children
of God, that makes us to be the objects of Satan's most ardent
assault all the time. Marks with targets for Satan's assault. Because you're sheep in the midst
of wolves, our Savior said, be wise as serpents and harmless
as doves. Now this is no unusual thing.
When Stephen preached the gospel in Acts 6 and 7, there were a
few folks in the crowd who stirred up the crowd and wound up stoning
Stephen to death. When Paul and Silas were at Philippi
and they preached the gospel, folks stood up in the midst of
the people to whom they were preaching and accused them of
vile things and had them arrested. The same thing happened in Thessalonica
and Corinth. When Paul was at Ephesus, folks
came in the crowd while Paul was preaching and stirring up
an uproar at Ephesus, denying everything Paul had said, accusing
the man of false things. This man has told you, you ought
not walk according to the law. So that all Jerusalem at last
was in an uproar and tried to kill the apostle just for preaching
the gospel. Our Lord says to you and me,
as he said to those of Paul's day and before, because you're
sheep in the midst of wolves, be wise as serpents and harmless
as doves. Paul says here in our text in
Romans 16, be good, wise concerning good gospel doctrine. Be simple
concerning false evil doctrine. This is what it's saying. Be
so good as to be too wise to be deceived. With regard to good
doctrine, be too wise to be deceived. Don't be tricked like a child.
Just don't be. With regard to evil doctrine,
be too simple to be deceiving. Don't do anything underhanded.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't seek to be
crafty like a serpent. Don't be as harmless as a dove.
I love the story Spurgeon used to tell of a fellow he called
Happy Jack. He was just an ignorant, unlearned
peddler. And one day as he was walking
down the road peddling his goods, he heard some lady singing a
little ditty. I am a poor sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. And Jack just couldn't
get that out of his mind. He kept going over and over again.
And finally, the Lord was pleased to sink the truth of it into
his heart. And Jack decided that he would go and join the church
nearby. And as he did, it was back in
those days when folks examined people, make sure they were fit
to be at the church. And he went to the pastor and
he told him he wanted to join the church. And the pastor said,
well, I'll have to ask you some questions. Come by the study
and we'll meet. So Jack made an appointment and
went by. And the pastor said to him, well, what do you have
to say for yourself? He said, not much, only this,
I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my
all in all. And the pastor said to him, you
must tell me more than that. He said, I can't tell you any
more than that. I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus
Christ is my all in all. And the pastor said, well, I
can't refuse your church fellowship, but you'll have to come before
the church meeting. And so they made an appointment and Jack
appeared and there were some old deacons in there who tried
to find some fault with him. And one of them stood up and
said, tell us your experience. And he said, I am a poor sinner
and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. And
one old deacon said, Is that all you had to say? And Jack
said, yes, that's all. And another one asked him, said,
don't you have doubts and fears? And Jack said, no. I am a poor
sinner and nothing at all, I can never doubt that. And Jesus Christ
is my all in all, I can't doubt that, he says he is. And one
of them asked him, said, sometimes I lose my evidences and my graces
and then I get very sad. And Jack said, I'd never lose
anything. I am a poor sinner and nothing
at all, what can I lose? And Jesus Christ is my all in
all, who can rob him? He's in heaven. And then another
of the deacons said, Jack, don't you sometimes doubt whether you're
a child of God? Well, he answered, I don't quite
understand you, but I can tell you, I never doubt, but that
I am a poor sinner and nothing at all. And Jesus Christ is my
all in all. And they finally gave up and
admitted him in the church. After that, he was known forever
as Happy Jack. because nobody could drive him
from this fact. I am a poor sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. Let no one rob you
of that blessed gospel. Now, look back at our text, verse
20. Here is a promised triumph. As surely as we trust the Lord
Jesus Christ, As surely as we are not moved away from the doctrine
of Christ, we shall triumph over our adversary, the devil. And
the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Those words shall bruise do not
indicate a desire or even a prayer. Rather, this is a declaration
of fact. As surely as Satan's servants
stir up division and raise scandals against us, the God of peace
shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. Often when things come
up, my dear wife and others express great concern, and I have great
concern, but the concern is, oh, what damage they could do. Let me tell you something. I refer again to my dear friend,
Brother Harry Graham. One time I was sitting out in his carport,
and Harry was a slim, muscular fellow, even when he was an old
man. And he, I guess he liked to play tennis. I never saw him
play tennis, but he always had tennis balls wrapped. And we
were sitting out there, and all the time we were talking, he
was throwing that tennis ball against the wall. Catch it, throw
it, catch it, throw it, catch it, throw it. He just kept bouncing
it off the wall. He'd bounce it off the floor, on the wall,
and catch it. Just over and over again. And
I asked him one day about something somebody was doing, some doctor,
he said, Brother Don. He said, you see this ball? He said, I can throw this ball
at that wall, till I wear the ball out and go get another ball
out of the tube and wear it out and into the tube and wear them
all out and you won't even see a mark on that wall. This tennis
ball can't hurt that wall. Satan will never harm God's kingdom. It will not happen. Satan will never injure God's
elect. It will not happen. Impossible. Satan will never
demolish God's truth. It will not happen. But what
happens when heresy abounds? This is what the book of Inspirations
says. There must also be heresies among
you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Those who are affected by it just never knew God. It's just
that simple. They went out from us because
they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not of us. The God
of peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly, suddenly,
unexpectedly, soon, God will brew Satan under your feet. Not
you will brew Satan under your feet, the God of peace will brew
Satan under your feet. I read again this week the 10th
chapter of Joshua. Joshua had those five kings brought
out of the cave and he called the men of Israel, come here,
come here, put your feet on the necks of these, your enemies. And our great Joshua will call
all who follow him to battle to put their feet on the neck
of their adversary, the devil, in utter triumph. The triumph
is his, the glory is his, but we shall enjoy the triumph. You and I, God's people, my brothers
and sisters, we, when we are harassed with temptations and
we groan within thinking, how long shall my enemy afflict me? The Lord God promises the God
of peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. He doesn't
do it all at once, but little by little. When the children
of Israel were going to the land of Canaan in Deuteronomy 7, the
Lord told Moses, he said, tell them now, I'm not going to destroy
the Canaanites all at once. I'll drop them out little by
little. If I destroyed them all at once, the evil beast in the
land would override you. And the Lord God leaves us in
this world struggling with our inner corruption. And he doesn't drive them out
all at once, but little by little rules over them. And he will
at last give us the victory. But along the way, we constantly
struggle with wickedness within and adversaries without. that
we may continually look to our Redeemer and trust His grace. He does it that we might not
be overrun with those enemies within, horrid pride and self-righteousness,
but that we ever look to Him. If our Lord so speaks, let us
be at peace. The Lord keeps his people humbly
looking to him, seeking his grace. And yet he promises the God of
peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. Sickness comes. I just got a message last night. My dear friend, Brother Larry
Perryman, Tim James' brother-in-law, Larry and Tim, his wife Debbie,
We all grew up south side of Winston-Salem together and known
about all their lives. God saved Larry when he was grown.
After a while, God saved him. He'd been a faithful member of
the Church of Madisonville for many years. And the God of peace
has now bruised Satan under his heels. The long sickness is over. You have sickness come and God
will brew Satan under your feet either by giving you recovery
for a while or quick recovery all at once. Either way is all
right if you're his, either way. You have family trouble. I thank God since Shelby and
I have been married, we've never known anything about any kind
of family trouble. But my soul, we've got friends
who deal with it every day, all the time. Friends who are faithful
men and women. The God of peace will brew Satan
under your feet unexpectedly, suddenly. And he'll do it soon. We have
our falls and failures. Yes, we do. Shortly, suddenly,
unexpectedly, completely, the God of peace will brew Satan
under our feet. And we have our implacable foes. Shortly, suddenly, unexpectedly,
soon, the God of peace will brew Satan under your feet. That's the promise he gives.
That's the promise he gives. And he gives us this sweet word
of assurance. Look at the last line in our
text. In all things we who believe
God are assured of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Now he's not at the end of the
chapter yet, he's not at the end of the book yet, but he says,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, amen. As if to say, this is a matter
of certainty. His grace is with you and will
be with you until the God of peace has bruised Satan under
your feet. And this is what it says about
His grace. My grace is sufficient for thee. My grace
is sufficient for thee. My grace is sufficient for thee. I've proved it, and proved it,
and proved it, and proved it, and proved it, and proved it.
My grace is sufficient for thee. Amen.