Take your Bibles now and turn
back with me to 2 Corinthians chapter five. In the two previous chapters,
I thought it might be a little long to read all through those,
but in the two previous chapters, Paul has been dealing with the
power behind the preaching of the gospel. and the necessity of this gospel
to be heard by men. At one time, Paul believed in
speaking. When he worshiped God, it included
a speaker. They had a rabbi or one of the
elders of the church. of the temple and he would come
to the synagogue and he'd stand up and he'd read the word of
God and he'd say a few words to the people. But then Paul
learned what it was to worship God. And he learned something
about God's purpose in the preaching of the gospel. And I do not believe I'm overstating
or exaggerating the point at all by telling you that you will
hear the gospel and believe it, or you'll perish in your sins. That clear enough? That's so,
that's so. And people, I'm telling you,
I've been on this way for a while. And I hear people, when I wasn't
a preacher, when I was sitting in a pew and I'd go outside and
I'd hear men talk and start talking, well, I did this. This is how God saved me. This
is how. Now I'm telling you, you'll hear
his gospel and you'll believe it or you'll perish in your sins. I don't care what kind of experience
you had. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. I'm so weary of men and women
trying to convince me that God will save them by some other
means other than the means that he's ordained. It's foolishness. Who's it foolishness to? To them
that perish. That's what he said in the scriptures. I want you to listen close as
I read for you a few verses of scripture over here in 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, beginning with
verse 18. For the preaching of the cross,
not so much the cross in and of itself, that's a matter of historical
fact. The cross of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, that's
all a matter of history. It's been documented, it's been
written down. But the preaching of the cross,
who died upon it? Why did he die? What did his death accomplish?
The preaching of the cross. The satisfaction of God's justice
and the establishing of God's righteousness. The necessity
of the death of Christ and his resurrection for the preaching
of the cross is to them who are perishing. They're perishing,
they're dying. Foolishness. But unto us which
are being saved, It is the power of God. For it is written, verse 19,
it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and I'll
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Now then, he
asked this question, where is the wise? Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where are those who disputed
with the Lord Jesus Christ, those scribes and Pharisees, where
are they at? Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Where is the man and what are
his credentials who will argue with God over that which God
has clearly stated? Who will dare to dispute the
plain declaration and instruction of God? Paul said, you will say
unto me, why doth he yet find fault? Nay, but O man, who art
thou that replies against God? Hath not, let's continue on reading
here, hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Not so much the wisdom concerning
natural things like medicine and science and art and so on,
but the wisdom of men who will not listen to the word of God,
but insist on doing things their way. Had not God made them foolish? My soul. Knowing the truth, even
when I didn't know the truth. I used to turn on the TV and
they had a channel on there that on Sunday mornings that was the
worship service of the Catholics. And in would walk this man and
he's got a miter on his head and he's got a staff. and he's
got, he's carrying this incense burner and he's swinging it and
you go in there and here's all these images of dead saints and
there's pictures and crosses and flags and there's just no
end to the candle lit room and he goes through all the, and
then he stands up and speaks in Latin and everybody's looking,
what's he saying? If you weren't raised in a Catholic
school, you'd have no idea what he's saying. or what he's doing.
I sat through a whole funeral message one time in a Catholic
church and didn't understand a single thing that he said. Hath not God made foolish these
men, these disputers? All you have to do is look. Look
at the foolishness in these Pentecostal churches and the waving of hands
and speaking gibberish and running up and down the aisles and falling
out unconscious on the floor and all that. Has not God made
foolish the wise? Look at the average worship service,
Baptist and otherwise, celebrating a work salvation, walking down
the aisles and signing pledge cards and repeating words after
somebody. Had not God made foolish the
wisdom of the world? One preacher said of these disputers,
they are presumptuous in their office, proud in their assumptions,
and unsatisfactory in their conclusions. I think that's a pretty good
definition. 1 Corinthians 1, 21. For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. God left them a conscience, but
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, so God turned
them over to a reprobate mind. The world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
That's pretty clear. After only a handful of generations,
God said of man, every thought of the imaginations of his heart
is only evil continually. Talking about his thoughts of
God and his thoughts of worship and his thoughts of religion,
only evil continually. And you can also look at what
I'm saying here in 1 Corinthians 3, 5, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 and
14, Romans chapter one, 16 and 17, and Romans chapter 10, 14
and 15. It is the necessity of gospel
preaching that brought upon Paul the afflictions that he suffered
and also the glory of the gospel he preached and its sweet benefits
that made these afflictions seem so light. Now we all suffer these
afflictions, maybe not as much as the Apostle Paul in his evangelistic
journeys through these pagan nations and suffering at the
hands of these unbelievers. But we all suffer afflictions
for what we believe. And we suffer afflictions because
we're sinners. Just because we're born of Adam,
that makes you subject to cancer, that makes you subject to polio
and anything else you can think of. But Paul said that our suffering,
the suffering of a believer is but for a brief time compared
with eternity. It's just a tiny speck compared
to eternity. Seems long now, don't it? Boy,
a day seems long sometimes. Just don't think it's ever gonna
end. But it's just a speck in the light of eternity. And it's
not really as bad as it seems being compared to the far more
and exceeding eternal weight of glory that it works for us.
My soul, when you look at the end of things. David said he
got mad. He got mad at the These unbelieving rebels out
here getting rich. Man, they own the finest bass
boat available. They go fishing whenever they
want to. They got it all. He said, I was just at the prosperity
of the wicked. It just infuriated David. Then
he said, I went into the house of God and discovered their end. Discovered their end. The thing
didn't look so bright anymore. All that we suffer is but for
a brief time in eternity. And it's not very rough if we
consider the exceeding and eternal weight of glory that he's working. Now here's my question to you
this morning. Can a person really be brought
to the place where they can bear these infirmities? and do so
gladly and do these things for the glory
of God, can a person really come to that point? Is this something
that we can really experience ourselves? I hear people say
this so often and I catch myself saying the same thing. As Christians, we ought to do
this and we ought to do that. You ever say that? We ought to
love him more, I ought to pray more, I ought to read more, I
ought to attend more. What I'm saying to you this morning
is that believers can and do feel this way and they're not
satisfied with the idle wish to do it. And that's what I ought
to is. Believers do these things. Paul
didn't say here that he wished he could feel this way. He said
he did feel this way. He didn't say he wished he could
have a desire to depart. He said, I have a desire to depart. The inward groaning of a mature
believer is to be clothed upon with that building prepared for
God for him. He wants that which God has chosen
him to have. He wants it. He longs for this temporary mortality
to be swallowed up with eternity. I dare say that everything in
this life which we once dreamed of having have proved to be a
disappointment. But those things promised of
God have never lost their luster. They never have, not one bit. They've not changed and they
never will. They never will. Well, preacher,
what causes us to feel so much pain and to dwell so much on
our pain, so much discontentment, so much misery? Because we spend all our efforts
focusing on what we can see and what we can feel. That's what
makes us so miserable. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4.17,
for our light of affliction which is but for a moment worketh for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now listen,
while we look not at things which are seen. Not while we look at the things
that we do see, while we look at things not seen. But at the things, while we look
not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, they're just
temporary. But the things which are not
seen are eternal. I see with my eye a healthy body. Healthy body. Don't put any stock
in it. I promise you it'll be short-lived.
Don't put any stock in it. I see with my eye a healthy savings
account and a solid retirement. Don't hope in it. Don't put your hope in it. An
unforeseen illness can gobble it up in just a few months. I
see with my healthy congregation, don't over rejoice in it. I've
seen great congregations, congregations that I consider to be spiritual
Shangri-La. I've seen them split right down
the middle, destroyed in just a few months. Everything that
you can see with these eyes is but temporary at best, and especially
those things concerning these bodies. I'm telling you, there was a
time when I could frame a house and never carry a ladder to the
job. Too big a hurry to use a ladder.
I put one foot on a sawhorse, bounce up on that wall, and run
down that two-by-four like a squirrel. Health is a bear. I pick up eight,
10, two befores at a time, and two or three sheets of plywood
carry two bundles of shingles up a ladder by myself. And now
I'm in pain just to get out of my car and get into the house. Carnal men are carnally minded. Everything is based on the here
and now. Everything is based upon what
they feel and they see in the present. I want that to soak in. Believers
look not on the things which they can see, but at the things
which they're not seeing. Does that mean I'm not going
to suffer? No. It just simply means your suffering ain't gonna
be as bad when you got your mind set on this. Does that make sense? It's those things which you cannot
see that'll be of great benefit both now and then and for eternity. Peter spoke of this in his first
general epistle. He spoke of it concerning Christ
and all which has been given us in him. He said, whom having
not seen, you love him. Who do we love? We love somebody
we've never seen. I've only heard of him. I've
only read of him. I've never seen him. having not seen your love in
whom though now you see him not yet believing. I believe on him
I've never seen. Yet believing you rejoice with
joy unspeakable and full of glory. There's nothing that a believer
hopes to have or has right now which he's seen. Think about
it, nothing. This is what frustrates me so,
so much about young people who hear the gospel and they, I know
what it is, you've heard this your whole life and you hear
it from people even in our own congregation. It's talking about
this feeling, you're gonna get this feeling, you're gonna get
this. Believing is believing, not feeling. And I'll tell you what you discover,
when you believe, you'll feel it. That's right, but you'll
believe it first. You'll believe it first. Think
about what salvation takes in. Think about the glory of it,
the magnitude of it, the scope of it. It takes in eternity past and
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. David
never got over that. That's the last words that came
out of his mouth. This prophet of God, this sweet
psalmist of Israel. The very last words, he said,
although it be not so with my house, yet God hath established
with me an everlasting covenant. And it's ordered in all things
and sure. And he said, this is all my salvation
and all my desire. It takes in eternity past and
everlasting covenant. It takes in our election and
predestination. It takes in the appointments
of Christ. It takes in the one mediator
between God and men. It takes in the Redeemer. How
come He can redeem? He was appointed to be the Redeemer. It takes in the prophet, priest,
and king, the surety of the everlasting covenant of grace, the head of
the church. It takes in all of creation and
providence, takes in the garden, takes in the flood and Babylon,
the coming of Christ into the world, his birth, his life, his
death, his resurrection. The gospel commission. the local
church, the calling out of his elect, the completion of Holy
Scripture, everything from the day God spoke this world into
existence to this very hour. And what about the future? Anybody
here who can tell us what lies ahead? Is there someone who can
pin down the details of our death? Tell us what we're yet gonna
face. And what about after death? Many of us have lost those close
to us, those that we cared for, mothers and fathers and sisters
and brothers and wives and husbands, preachers of the gospel, Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, anybody here see what happened
after they died? You didn't see anything, did
you? You didn't see their spirits
go to be with the Lord, did you? Uh-uh. You didn't see them getting gathered
into the pole? Everything a believer claims
to know and believe, he cannot see. Faith, now listen to me,
I'm gonna give you, this is Paul's definition of faith. Faith is
the substance of things hoped for, now watch this, and the
evidence of things not seen. You see how important that word
is? It's the things which are not
seen that are eternal. We have a father, an everlasting
father, an eternal father, a father who is God. And as our father, he loved us
and chose us, made provision for us, predestinated our adoption. ordained all the means to bring
it to pass. Those Jews murmured because Christ
said he was a bread come down from heaven. He said, don't murmur. No man can come unto me except
he be drawn of the Father. As it is written, they shall
all be taught of God. Huh? Believers know and believe in
an everlasting Father. They believe that every good
and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no wearableness, neither shadow of turning. They believe
that God the Father chose them in His Son, and thereby blessed
them with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
And as their loving Father, He made provision for them, predestinated
Him, appointed Christ to all of His offices. And it's the
Father's will that chose us, and the Father's love that drew
us, and the Father's wisdom that taught us, and the Father's power
that made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of enlightened
saints. And believers not only believe
in an everlasting Father, but they believe in Christ, who is
God our Savior. He is the God-man, God with us,
God in union with us, one with us. They believe all that the
Father has written about Him. They believe it. They believe
it. They believe His appointments
of the Father. They believe concerning his eternality
and his incarnation and his strict obedience to the law, his death,
his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, and his present
reign and glory. He is our sovereign savior. All
power in heaven and earth, he said, given unto me. Sound like
a sovereign to me. You see, I listen to men, and
they're talking about this poor, defeated reformer who came down
and did all this work and sacrificed his life and humiliated himself
by taking to him our pledge, and he's going down here now,
everything he did is going to be for naught if you don't let
him say it. But I can't find that in the
Scripture. What I find in the Scripture is a sovereign Lord,
all power in heaven and earth given unto me. Now you go preach. Don't you doubt the results.
I'm sending you. And I'll go with you. Believers believe when God raised
him from the tomb, they're raised up with him and they're seated
with him even now at the right hand of God. I'm gonna tell you
something. Believers are not struggling
to work out a salvation. Is that what you're doing? Believers
are not struggling to work out a salvation. They're struggling
to rest in the salvation which already been accomplished by
Christ Jesus. I'm struggling to rest. That's
what I want. I want that rest. Believers are begotten again
by the Holy Ghost unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance. Now listen to this. incorruptible,
undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. I'm gonna tell you something,
you can't believe those things and see those things and think
about those things and there's, oh poor old me, huh? You're looking in the wrong,
you're looking at things that you can see, that's what the
problem is. You have to look at those things
which you're not seeing. We look at those things, that's
where your assurance is. My soul, you come to die, what
is it that you can see is gonna give you any help? Oh, I got a good bank account.
That won't do you any good, Dan. The only thing you can draw from
then is up there. Why don't we draw from it now? All day. Faith is the gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. And believers know that
if the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, we've
got a building of God. So you mean you'd rather stay
in this body? You'd rather stay in this body?
Sometimes you can't even get it to the car. And when you do,
you don't know if you can drive or not. Huh? You mean you long to stay in
this old body? Sometimes I look at myself in
the mirror and I don't even know who I'm looking at. How'd you
get so old so quick? You mean you'd rather be here?
You'd rather be here in this body than to be clothed upon
with all the glory of God, immortality, Believers know that if the earthly
house of this tabernacle is dissolved, we got a building of God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heaven. Now, I'm gonna
tell you something. Believers don't run around hoping
to die. Paul said, we don't want to be
unclothed. That's not what I'm saying. He
said, our hunger is to be clothed upon. Not to be unclothed. Nobody's running around here
hoping to die, but they do have a deep desire to be clothed upon
with this house which is from heaven. Which is the eternal
residence of our soul. Let me tell you something. Nothing
I preached to you this morning can be seen with these eyes. Nothing. I can't take you over
and say, now see, see this? This is it right here, no. No,
you're gonna have to take God at his word. We see these things with eyes
of faith and we see them through the word of God. You know what
the last book we read is when we're suffering? The Bible. That's why our suffering's so
intense. You want to ease up your self-suffering,
I tell you the best medicine there is the word of God and
the hearing of the gospel. Best medicine there is. That old cancer doctor told Kathy
way back when she was first diagnosed with cancer. the chemotherapy
and all that. He couldn't explain it. She went
right on past that time that they gave her. They told her
18 months, that was it. She went 18 months, and then
a year, and then two years, and then three years, and four years,
five years. He said, you sure are one lucky lady. She said, luck's got nothing
to do with it. We walk by faith, by faith, not
by those things which we see. We see these things with eyes
of faith from the word of God and the hearing of the gospel.
Believers believe God. Now look here at 2 Corinthians
5 verse 7. Here's a summation of everything
that he's been talking about. We walk by faith, not by sight. We walk by faith. Believers believe God and they
take God at his word. Now turn with me to Colossians
chapter three and I'll wind this thing up. Colossians chapter three. In
verse three. For you are dead. Did you know that? We died in Christ, didn't we? Yeah, we died in him. You're
dead. And your life is hid with Christ in god when crying to his our life shall
appear then shaggy also appear with him in global or may the lord be pleased to
enable me to preach to you in such a way that you won't be
able to do anything else but believe on him and believing on him to rejoice. Listen to the words of these
hymns that we sing. We don't just sing any hymn in
the book. We sing hymns that glorify God. We sing hymns that
glorify Christ. We sing hymns that pertain to
the salvation of our soul. And we sing them that we might
rejoice in him. Rejoice in him. Oh, may the Lord. give you that faith to trust
you. Thank you.