Well, as always, it's good to
be back in Sylacauga with you, our dear, dear friends. A good
many years ago, Brother Henry Mahan and I were somewhere preaching
together, as we often did a good many years ago, and he told a
story. He said, when I go off to a Bible
conference, I always like to come back with an outline or
two and a story I can tell. He said, He'd been in a Bible
conference and listened to this preacher who had gotten a little
discouraged. Preachers sometimes do, you know. Folks don't seem to pay much
attention to what he was doing, what he was preaching. His wife
realized something bothered him. She said, what's wrong? And he
said, well, I feel like such a failure. She said, a failure? Why is that? He said, well, most
of the folks I baptized all these years have left the church, gone
back to the world. Most of the fellows I've ordained
have quit preaching the gospel or just quit preaching altogether.
Most of the folks I've married or divorced, I just felt like
another failure. She said, well, you've got some
success, too. He said, name one. She said, well, everybody you
married is still dead. That was Brother Mayhead. What
a delightful man. Turn with me, if you will, to
1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I recall very well the first
time I went to preach for Brother Henry in Ashland, 1976. I had gotten to the church building
earlier, and the first people to arrive after I got there was
an older couple. They were already old then. They
were 70 years old. I was just a young pup, and they
looked old to me. And I walked over to introduce
myself, Brother Am Adkins and his wife, Ruth. And we chatted
just a little bit, and Sister Atkins asked me a question. She
said, Brother Don, how good does a person have to be to get to
heaven? I had never heard such a question.
I'd never read anything where anybody addressed such a question.
So I paused for a moment and replied, as good as God. And she beamed with delight. And she said, not many folks
know that. Gave me a hug and sat down. Here
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, as God the Holy Ghost will enable
me, I want to show you how sinners are made as good as God. Made meat to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light. If you can remember
four words, you can remember The title of my message in all
four points. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Let's read together 1 Corinthians
chapter 1 verse 30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth
Let him glory in the Lord. The text begins with that little
word, but. What a magnificent word that
is in this place. Paul has just declared that God
makes foolish the wisdom of this world. And he has chosen the
use of insignificant, weak, ignorant human beings to confound the
wisdom of the world But of him are ye in Christ Jesus. Wondrous, wondrous grace. God
Almighty has put us in Christ. In Christ. Now I promise you,
you haven't yet begun to get started understanding what that
is. In Christ. As Christ is in God,
you are in Christ. As God is in Christ, we are in
Christ. If ever you come to believe on
the Son of God, it will be because God put you in Christ. If by the grace of God you look
to Christ alone for redemption, righteousness, and everlasting
salvation, you are in Christ, eternally in Him. There never
was a time when you weren't in Him. Eternally in Him. And there'll never be a time
when you shall not be in Him. Immutably in Him. In Him, accepted,
approved of the triune God from everlasting. Immutably accepted
and approved of the triune God. And then he comes in his grace
and gives you life and faith in Christ by Christ moving into
you. And you are experimentally in
him. Blessed in him, saved in him,
one with Christ. John Kent expressed it better
than I've ever been able to express it myself in one of his hymns. Listen carefully. to which Jesus
and the chosen race subsist a bond of sovereign grace, that hell,
with its infernal train, shall ne'er dissolve nor rend in vain. Hail, sacred union, firm and
strong, how great the grace, how sweet the song, that worms
of earth should ever be, one with incarnate deity. One in
the tomb, one when he rose, One when he triumphed o'er his foes,
one when in heaven he took his seat, while seraphs sang all
hell's defeat. This sacred tie forbids our fears,
for all he is or has is ours. With Christ our head, we stand
or fall, our life, our surety, and our all. One with Christ. Are ye in Christ Jesus? Now look
at what the Spirit of God tells us it means to be in Christ.
If you're in Christ, if I'm in Christ, if we're born of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ is made of God unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. All the true wisdom there is
All the true righteousness there is, all the true sanctification
there is, all the true redemption there is, is what Christ is made
of God to us. Whatever wisdom is, it's mine. Whatever righteousness is, it's
mine. Whatever sanctification is, it's
mine. Whatever redemption is, it's
mine. Because God has put me in his
son. I am one with his son. We're
in Christ by the rich, free, sovereign goodness of God. By sovereign election in him
before the world began. We were and are preserved and
blessed of God in Him from everlasting. This secret union that's ours
from everlasting is made manifest by the operation of God in us,
giving us life and faith in Christ. But it is altogether God's work. Our conversion, our saving union
with Christ, our union of life and faith in Him experimentally
is not the result of something we've done. not because we're
wiser, smarter, more righteous, better, or have made better choices
than others. We are in Christ because God
put us in his son. In other words, salvation is
of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. It
is the purpose of the triune God to make this fact apparent
to all. and to force all to acknowledge
Him. He dispenses His grace in such
a way that He makes men see with regard to others and to acknowledge
with regard to themselves. Salvation is His work alone. Oh, God teach you that and you'll
walk before God with peace. God teach you that and you'll
walk with God in comfort. God teach you that, and when
your days are darkest, you will still have the bright sunlight
of God's grace shining in your soul. God teach you that, and
you can rejoice in the midst of heartache and misery. Now
let's see what Paul tells us about it here by the spirit of
God's inspiration. Number one, though we are foolish
creatures by nature, and foolish we are, I'm 68 years old, and
I finally lived long enough to discover that I'm foolish. I
didn't know that when I was 16. And I didn't know it when I was
26. And I didn't know it when I was 56. And tomorrow, I hope
I know it better. We are foolish creatures by nature. By virtue of our union with Christ,
however, God has made his son wisdom to us. Jesus Christ is described by
the Apostle John as the Word of God. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God was the Word. No man has
seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son who dwells
in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. That word
declared is the word from which we get our word exegete or exegesis. To exegete scripture, these pastors
will tell you, you study and you find out the meaning of a
passage, the meaning of the words within a passage, the context
where it is, and then you stand in the pulpit and you bring out
what's in the word and show it to people. I'm endeavoring tonight
to give you what's in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30. Opening to you
the scriptures Jesus Christ is God in the flesh God stepped
into humanity and says this is what God is This is who God is. He is not like God. He's not
just a representative of God. He is God in the flesh. The word was made manifest in
the flesh. God was made manifest in the
flesh. And he is the one who gives you
and me wisdom and understanding. in all things spiritual making
us wise under salvation so that God the Holy Ghost tells us twice
twice in 1st John chapter 2 you have an unction from the Holy
One and you know all things what a word what a word you know all
things now some of you fellas know a lot of stuff. And Brother
Bruce is a good carpenter, and he can do all kinds of stuff
mechanically. Those hands were made just for hitting things. I can't do anything. I'm a clumsy
an ox. I don't know anything about electricity. I don't know
anything about plumbing. I don't know anything about carpenter
work. I don't know anything about mechanics. I don't know anything
about any of it. But that's not the wisdom he's talking about.
He's talking about wisdom of knowing God. Brother Terry, if
you know God, you know everything. Made wise unto salvation. You know all that God, by his
spirit, through his word, teaches you, day by day, all that he
teaches you, causing you continually to look to his son. And the Lord
Jesus is the shining light that dispels our darkness as we walk
through this world. The children of light often find
themselves in darkness, but in the midst of darkness Christ
is our light. We often find ourselves in situations
of darkness, but in the midst of darkness Christ is our light,
so that in all things we have the mind of Christ. Isn't that
amazing? That's the language of scripture.
We have the mind of Christ, seeing through his eyes, thinking through
his mind, understanding things by his spirit, the opening of
his word, by his grace. You have the mind of Christ. Paul said, we don't know Christ
after the flesh like we once did. We used to. He didn't know him after the
flesh. Yes, he did. He knew where he was born. He knew facts about
him. He did everything he could to
erase his name from the memory of men on this earth before God
saved him. He said, I don't know him like
that anymore. I know him after the Spirit. And now we know each
other after the Spirit. So that if we walk before God
as we ought, we look upon one another as gods, people who belong
to God, men and women who are in Christ, one with Christ. Oh, God, teach me this. Burn
it in my heart. Make it real to me. When I look
at Lester Buckner or think about Lester Buckner, no matter how
he behaves right now, I ought to see nothing but Christ. Is that right? That's how we
ought to deal with one another. Our Lord Jesus said, you give
a cup of coffee to one of these my disciples, you've given it
to me. You visit one of my disciples, you visited me. You offend one
of my disciples, you've offended me. God's people are one with
Jesus Christ. And we now have the mind of Christ
as we walk through this world, number two. Of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God have made unto us wisdom and righteousness. Now we'll look at the word sanctification
in a minute, but you'll notice both words are used in this passage
of scripture and used as two separate things. Many use the
words righteousness and holiness interchangeably as if they were
synonyms. They are not. They are not. Righteousness is primarily a
legal term. It's principally a legal term. He's right at law. Policeman's
involved in a shooting. That was a righteous shooting.
It's primarily a legal term. It may be used and is used to
refer to a person's character, but primarily it refers to his
deeds. Righteousness refers to that
which is right in the eyes of the law. Particularly, as it's
used in this book, that which is right in the eyes of the law
before God. Holiness, on the other hand,
is a word that's used to describe a person's character. The word
of God makes it abundantly clear that none are righteous, none
are right before the law, and none are holy in character, sanctified,
except the Lord Jesus Christ. And he alone is the righteousness
and the holiness, the righteousness and the sanctification of his
people. Find me a righteous man and you've found righteousness.
Find me a holy man and you've found holiness. Christ is made
of God and to us righteousness before God. He is our righteousness. How can that be? How can that
be? This is the blessed doctrine
of the gospel revealed in Holy Scripture. The Son of God came
into this world to bring in everlasting righteousness. Not for himself. He didn't need it. He came here
as a representative man, as a man carrying a whole race in his
loins as his seed, whom he represented and who lived in him while he
lived in this world, obeying God. This man who broke his mother's
womb is called the firstborn. The firstborn, he broke his mother's
womb. That doesn't happen in birth. That happens in conception,
except in his birth. He broke his mother's womb as
he came into this world saying, lo, I come to do thy will, oh
my God, and do the will of God. I did in him. You didn't get that, did you?
Do the will of God. Don Fortner did in him, lived
in this world, the full age of a man, 33 years, in perfect obedience
to the word of God, the will of God, the revelation of God,
trusting God with perfect faith. The life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. That's not what
the book says. I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave himself for me. We walk before
God as God commanded us to walk before him. When he said to Abraham,
walk before me and be thou mine. It must be perfect to be accepted. That's what God requires. The
Lord Jesus did what no man could ever do. He walked before God
all the days of his humiliation in absolute perfection, totally
obedient to the will and law of God, and he did it for his
people. When he died upon the cursed
tree as our substitute, he met and fully satisfied every demand
of God's holy law and God's strict justice for his elect and made
us by his obedience unto death the righteousness of God. So that just as we were ruined
in our father Adam, Adam being created by God as a type of the
Lord Jesus, Romans 5 says so, He was created by God as a type
of the Lord Jesus, typical in that he was a representative
man. representative not of all God's creatures, representative
not of all rational creatures, only of fallen human beings,
not of foreign angels, a representative of all his fallen race. And when
he sinned against God, we sinned against God in him. And when
he died spiritually, the race died in him. And when he became
sin, we became sin in him. so that every man, woman in this
world, every child born of a woman is born in sin and goes astray
from the womb, speaking lies with the nature of his daddy,
Adam. There's another Adam, the last
Adam, the last man. His name is Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. And he came here a representative
man. He did not represent all creatures. He did not represent all rational
creatures. He didn't even represent all
men. He represented a specific group of men. He came and passed
by the angels that fell and took hold of him, the seed of Abraham,
his covenant people. And he lived here in obedience
to God and suffered the wrath of God in the room of his covenant
people, and you and I suffered the wrath of God in him. We died
in him. I am crucified with Christ. I have already satisfied God's
law, both the righteous requirements of obedience and the righteous
requirements of satisfaction. And then he was buried. And the
book says we're buried in him. By similitude, we're buried in
the waters of baptism, but that's just similitude. Our Lord said
to John, said, suffer to be so now, for thus it become us to
fulfill all righteousness. How on earth does getting ducked
in a river fulfill righteousness? The river's dirty. How does it
fulfill righteousness? It doesn't, except by picture. John, this is what I'm fixing
to do. And by what's symbolized in the
waters of baptism, a living man put to death, buried and risen
again. That's what's gonna happen when
I go to Calvary. And that's what happened when
we went to Calvary in our Savior. He was buried, buried as the
object of God's wrath. bare head under the load of sin,
which he bore his body on the tree. And he lay there in an
unjustified state for three days. And three days later, he arose
justified in the spirit. God the Holy Ghost said, look
at him, he has no sin. And he points directly in the
face of Don Fortner. That's what he said. That's what he said. He bore
my sin. and my wrath in his body on the
tree and bore it away and I was crucified with Christ, quickened
with him, risen with him, seated with him at the right hand of
the majesty on high, made the very righteousness of God so
much so that he changed my name. He changed my name. Is that what
it did with Jacob? He said, we won't call you tricky
anymore. We'll call you Israel. Prince
with God. A man that has power with God
because you prevail with God. What? Jacob prevailed? Yeah. He prevailed with God when
God broke his leg. He won the match. God pinned
him. God broke his leg. He's Emmanuel
and Jacob. Not anymore, it's Israel and
the Lord God Almighty. declares of his church that you
will believe. Wherever they're found in this
world, rich or poor, young or old, male or female, black or
white, this is your name, Jehovah seeking you, the Lord our righteousness. Is that what the scripture said,
Bruce? Jeremiah chapter 33, verse 60. This is the name by which
God calls us. Now all the time, all my life
as a believer, Ever since God saved me, I've been hearing folks
say, that's the way God sees things. And I've said this to
you, I hope you hear it before I die. However God sees things,
that's how they really are. That's how they really are. Did
you get it? However God sees things, that's
how they really are. Our vision's messed up, not his.
We see crooked, not him. We see things darkly. He sees
everything crystal clear. And God says, your name is Jehovah
Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. When the Son of God was made
sin for us. He was made worthy of death and
judgment and damnation under the wrath of God, for He was
made sin. And now, Brother Terry, in Him,
we're made worthy of the smile of God forever. Because He has made us the righteousness
of God. Now this is not something to
be learned after you've been saved for 50 years. Literally,
listen to me, I just met you tonight. God gives you faith
in Christ right now. It's because God made you perfectly
righteous in His Son. And the first thing He teaches
you is that. That's the first thing he teaches
you. Our Lord Jesus said, it's expedient for you that I go away.
If I go not away, the comforter will not come. But if I depart,
I'll send him to you. And when he, the comforter, has
come, when he, the comforter, has come, as soon as he comes
to you, he will convince the world. He will convince his people
wherever he finds them in the world of sin, because they believe
not on me, All of a sudden, you're stricken with the fact that my
soul, my sin is not my adultery or my theft or my lying or my
cheating. My sin is my rebellion to God,
my refusal to trust His Son. Of sin, because they believe
not on me, and of righteousness, because I came down here to bring
an everlasting righteousness. And I could not go back to my
father as his obedient servant until I finished what I came
here to do, of righteousness, because I go to my father. And of judgment, because the
prince of this world is judged. This is what I'm convinced of.
Would to God he would convince you of this. Would to God he
convince you. I am nothing but sin. And I am
perfectly righteous. And there's no possibility of
me suffering for sin. Judgment is over. Judgment is
over. Here's the third thing. Of him
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification. Now wherever you see that word
sanctify or sanctified or sanctification, read this, holy. Holiness, made holy. The words are from the exact
same word in the Greek language. Sanctification is holiness. I
know people have the idea that holiness is like, I thought he
used to be an Indian, he was named Mahatma Gandhi, who ran
around with thong, sandals, and a dirty white cloth, and he walked
like this. Oh, he's such a holy man. Or
like that fellow over in Rome dressed in drag, got rich clothes,
and he's holy. Or you don't go to the picture
show or watch television or drink beer or smoke cigarettes. He's
holy. Oh, he's so holy. You can't be
so holy. Either you are or you're not. Either you are or you're not.
Either you're sanctified or you're not sanctified. If you're in
Christ, you're holy. You're sanctified. Because he
is made of God unto us sanctification. You see holiness is perfection. Sanctification is perfection. God demands that we walk before
him and be perfect. Find me anywhere in this book,
anywhere in this book, where God ever accepted anything less
than perfection. Well, those Old Testament sacrifices,
he didn't accept them. No, no, no. Those sacrifices
could never take away sin. They just represented one who
could. Find me anywhere in this book where God ever accepted
anything that wasn't perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted.
How can a man who's nothing but sin be made perfect? Well, understand
this. Whatever God demands, God performs. Whatever God requires, God gives. You can't earn it. We are made
perfect in Christ by these three things. First, perfection requires
perfect obedience. I've already shown you that in
Romans chapter 5. Christ obeyed the law of God
for us. Second, perfection requires perfect
satisfaction. complete atonement and our Lord
Jesus fully satisfied all the demands of God's justice so that
with one tremendous draft of love he drank damnation dry. The sword of justice God the
triune Jehovah drew forth and wore it out on his sword. and
buried it in his son, and said, justice can require no more. Justice, fully satisfied in him. But perfection requires something
else. Perfection requires a holy nature, a holy nature, a perfectly
holy nature. Follow peace with all men and
holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That is Christ
without which no man shall see the Lord. That's not talking
about obedience to this or obedience to that. That's talking about
holiness, Christ Jesus the Lord. You can't see God without Him.
How on this earth can a man be as good as God? He's got to have
the nature of God. He's got to have a new nature. This is what Peter tells us.
We are made partakers of the divine nature. Partakers of the
divine nature. Several years back, I read a
biography of George Whitefield and Whitefield attributed his
conversion, his knowledge of God, to the reading of a sermon. It's actually a booklet written
by a fellow by the name of Henry Scroggill. Scroggill died when
he was just 26 or 28 years old. This is the only thing that was
ever written or published by him. And so I found a digital
copy of it. Later on, my friend Lord Sprinkle
up in Harrisonburg, Virginia reprinted the book. But the title
of the book was The Life of God in the soul of man. That's what
salvation is. It is God living in you. It is God living in you. Christ comes in, takes up residence
in the heart before you ever know you want him or need him. And the first time you know he's
there, he's already in sitting on his throne. The Lord Jesus
does not beg for entrance. He binds the strongman, casts
him out, and takes up his throne rightfully in the heart. And
we're made partakers of the divine nature. And the believer, being
made to have the nature of Christ in him, now has hope. Christ in you, the hope of glory. So what does the book say? Christ
in you, the hope of glory, you have no hope of eternal life
until Christ is formed in you. And when Christ is formed in
you, you have that new man formed in you, Ephesians chapter 4 verse
24, created in righteousness and true holiness. But Brother
Don, I have so much Trouble with sin and unbelief. Ungodliness. Ungodliness. I don't have too much trouble
acting like I ought to act most of the time, but you can do that
without grace. A drunk can get sober if it just
cost him enough. An adulterer can quit running
around with his wife if it just cost him enough. A dope head
can get off drugs if it just cost him enough. It can be done.
I've seen folks do it. They don't have to know God to
get away from those things. A fella who's a thief can quit stealing
if he just realized what it's going to cost him. Oh, I know
he's been converted. I know what he used to be. No,
you don't. You look on the outward appearance.
You can't look inside a fella. The believer, every man or woman
in this building, young or old who knows God will tell you that
his heart's as black and as vile and corrupt as ever it has been
and worse. I don't speak of that with any
sense of glee or even contentment. That's just the way it is. That's
just the way it is. The flesh lusting against the
spirit and the spirit against the flesh so that you cannot
do the things that you would. Let me tell you what I would
do. I would never sin. I'm either
telling you the truth or I'm lying to you and lying before
God. I'll tell you what I would do.
I would love you as I love myself. I really would. I really would,
but I can't. I strive for it, but I can't. I beg God to give me such grace,
but I can't. I can't. I would love God with
all my heart, soul, mind, The Son of God, Terry Holt, loved
me and gave himself for me. I wouldn't withhold from him
any thought, any emotion, any deed, or any sacrifice. But I do all the time. God forgive me. That's what I
am by nature. Just see. And everything I do
is marred by sin. I can't pray without sin. I can't
confess my sin without sin. I can't beg for mercy without
sin. I can't speak well of you without
sin. There's always something evil
about it because these dirty hands touched you. You see, the believer is a person
with two diametrically opposing natures. One is flesh, nothing
but flesh. Sin, nothing but sin. Corruption,
nothing but corruption. Vileness, nothing but vileness. And the other is spirit. Righteous,
holiness, perfection, goodness, love, joy, peace. That's all he is. This is what
John tells us about it, if you're born of God. Christ came to take
away our sin. He would manifest, take away
our sin. And in Him is no sin. And if you're born of God, that
which is born of God, anybody know what it says? Cannot sin. Now I know the commentators,
even Goodwood said it means he doesn't habitually practice sin.
The fellow who wrote that knew better. I'm telling you, the
fellow who wrote it knew better. That's not what it says. It says
he cannot sin. He can not sin. He can not sin. It is not possible for the divine
nature to sin. It can't happen. That's like
saying Christ can sin. It can't happen. It can't happen.
And that which is born of the devil,
he can't do anything else. He can't do anything else. He's
just all corruption. all unrighteousness, all sin. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who God has made into us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification,
holiness, holiness, holiness. With his spotless garments, O,
I am as holy as God's own Son. My God, what do you require of
me? I require of you righteousness,
complete obedience and satisfaction before my law. And I require
of you holiness, perfect holiness. My God, I bring you your son. And I do so with the full assurance
of faith. The full assurance of faith. When Abraham carried that paschal
lamb, his blood into the holy place, you think he was shaking?
You think he was scared? He was doing what God told him
to do. Bringing what God required. What God gave. And God said,
you bring it and I'll meet you on the mercy seat. And I'll commune
with you. of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Oh, I love that word redemption.
The particular word here translated redemption means complete deliverance
by ransom. Complete deliverance by ransom. But we tend to think of things,
I know folks, Tell me what, I'll tell you, Fortner, he gets justification
and sanctification and redemption all confused, makes a mess of
it. No, Paul got it right. Paul got it right. Christ has
made us redemption. And redemption is like the word
salvation. It refers to more than what happened
to Calvary. It refers to the whole deliverance
of God's elect by the blood of Christ and the power of his grace. Has the lamb slain? from the
foundation of the world. Christ was made to us redemption.
God looked on him and accepted us in him because the works were
getting started before the foundation of the world. No. The works were
finished for the foundation of the world. Well, I can't understand
that. I'm not talking to you about
a man. I'm talking to you about God. When you understand God
and his work, come talk to me about it. The works were finished
with the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And
we were made of God in Him then, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Sanctified in Him from eternity,
redeemed in Him from eternity, accepted in Him from eternity,
glorified in Him from eternity. And then the Lord Jesus came
here in this world. and obeyed God. And he did everything
that Daniel the prophet said Messiah must do. He made an end
of sin. He finished transgression. He
brought in everlasting righteousness. And in time, he sends his spirit
and anoints the most holy. He anoints the most holy. Listen
to me. I hope I can get my talk in person. didn't do two years ago. He came to Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, and anointed the most holy. This one, whom he declared holy
before the world was, he flooded with his spirit. But something else is required.
These bodies must be redeemed. We're sealed until the redemption
of the purchased possession. That's talking about resurrection
glory. This is what you read about just a little bit ago.
This is the consummation of this thing. Soon, Christ will come
again, and these bodies, sown, now listen, a natural body. shall be raised a spiritual body. These bodies, so corruptible,
shall be raised incorruptible. Who ever heard tell of a spiritual
body? I know just one. 2,000 years ago, men saw him
float up to glory. He didn't take off like Superman,
he just ascended. Ascended. in a spiritual body. Oh, but it's flesh and blood.
It was, his body, they touched him. They put a hand in his,
put hands in his, and his fingers in his hands, and hands in a
hole in the side of his heart. And he's a physical man. But
that physical body is a spiritual body, incorruptible, with no
possibility of any injury ever being done it again. No possibility. And he is freed from sin. He owes God's law nothing because
of sin. Sin has no power over him. And he will never know again
any of the evil consequences of sin and in heaven's glory. When I have breathed my last
breath I will never know again any of the evil consequences
of sin. None. You too. You too. Oh, if God will just give you
faith in His Son. Amen.