The title of my message tonight
is A Promise Proved for 50 Years. Almost 50 years ago, I began
dating this lovely lady over here who has been for 48 years,
almost 48 years, my God-given helpmate and companion. Within just a few days after
we started dating, We began to read scripture and pray together,
and one afternoon we read the third chapter of Proverbs, and
the Lord sealed one of his many promises to our hearts together,
a promise to which we have both referred countless times these
many years, and become more and more precious every day. My text is Proverbs 3, verses
5 and 6. Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Those two things can never be
done together. You cannot both trust the Lord
and lean to your own understanding. You cannot lean upon your understanding
and trust the Lord. It's one or the other, always. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
believe him, honor him, seek him, serve him, trust him, bow
to him, and he shall direct thy paths. Oh, God. Teach me in my heart what I have
read with my eyes and read to this people with my lips. Trust
in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths. Is that really wise? Is it really
safe to trust the Lord in all things, for all things, all the
time? Is it really prudent to trust
him with all your heart, with everything? I'm here to tell
you what I know and what I have proved with my wife for 50 years. It is wise and prudent and always
right and best to trust the Lord with all things, in all things,
at all times, in all situations. I know this faith in Christ,
true saving faith in Christ, is nothing less than the willing,
deliberate, voluntary surrender of my life to the rule and dominion
of the Son of God as my Lord and Savior. It is trusting Christ
alone for all my salvation, trusting His obedience alone for my righteousness,
His death alone for my atonement. His grace alone for my salvation. His power alone for my keeping. Faith in Christ is trusting Christ
and not myself. Not my feelings, not my doings,
not my emotions, not my experience, not my knowledge, but Christ
alone. Faith is believing the Son of
God. But the Lord Jesus Christ is
more than a fire escape from hell. Salvation is indescribably
more than the hope of going to heaven and having eternal life
when you die. We often speak of Christ saving
our souls, but that's not Bible language. Christ didn't come
down here to save your soul. He came into this world to save
his people from their sins. to save his people in the totality
of their lives. The Lord Jesus Christ demands
all of you, all of me. If he is not Lord of all, he
is not Lord at all. The Lord Jesus demands that we
trust him with the rule and government of our lives, that we commit
consecrate and devote our lives to him and to him alone. Turn to Mark chapter eight, Mark
the eighth chapter. I want you to see it, Mark chapter
eight. Very familiar text of scripture,
but oftentimes scriptures that we quote a lot, we understand
little. The son of God demands absolute surrender in the city
of Mansoul. he will have nothing less. Mark
chapter eight, verse 34. When he had called the people
unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me. Well, what does that mean? Read
the next verse and you'll find out. For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall find it. Faith in Christ is giving up
your life to the Son of God. It is giving up your life to
the Son of God. Giving up the rule of your life. the control of your life, the
decisions of your life to the Son of God. I'm calling on you
this very hour to give yourself up to Christ, to believe on the
Son of God, to acknowledge that you're His, lock, stock, and
barrel, that you are from this day forward His servant. I'm
calling upon you and God help me, I'm calling upon me to devote
our lives, our entire lives, our families, all our time, all
our talents, all our money, everything to the service, the kingdom,
the glory, and the cause of Jesus Christ alone. Acknowledging that we have no
right to claim anything for ourselves. No right to use anything for
ourselves. No right even to have a thought
or a will of our own. Now, many of you, I've had the
privilege of baptizing in the name of our Savior. If you have
understood what that baptism represents, This is what you've
said in your baptismal confession of the Savior. This is what I
said 50 years ago when I confessed the Son of God in believer's
baptism. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Like Jephthah of old, I've lifted
my hand to God and I cannot, I dare not, God help me, I will
not go back. I have given myself to Christ,
to walk with him in the newness of life. Now I ask again, Is
it really safe and wise to trust the Lord? Some folks think this
is just not practical. It's just not reasonable. Surely
the Lord doesn't expect us to totally give ourselves up to
him. Surely he doesn't expect anyone to trust him absolutely
with everything. I can't tell you that it is physically,
mathematically, economically, or philosophically wise and safe
to trust him. That which is demanded of God
just can't be made to fit any human graph or scale. In fact,
I must honestly tell you, that in all earthly terms, faith in
Christ is anything but reasonable. That's worth writing down and
remembering. Faith in Christ is anything but reasonable in
all earthly terms. As Martin Luther once said, the
first thing that faith does is to knock the brains of reason
out. That's what faith does. Faith
doesn't reason. Faith doesn't try to balance
things out. Faith believes God. That's all, nothing else. Doesn't
matter what the consequences are. Doesn't matter what the
cost is. Doesn't matter who it affects
or how it affects them. Faith believes God. Listen to our Savior's
word in Matthew 6. You're familiar with it, we won't
read it, let me give you a paraphrase. Our Savior says, if the Lord
God, your heavenly Father, watches over and feeds the sparrow, don't
you think he'll watch over and feed you? He who has numbered
the very hairs of your head will meet your every need. If your
heavenly Father, Close the worthless lilies of the field in splendor.
He will never fail to supply all your needs. That just makes
good sense, doesn't it? That just makes good sense, doesn't
it? So seek ye first. That is, seek this one thing. Seek this, this is the priority
of life. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. Set your heart on Christ and
things above, and all these things shall be added to you. What things?
What you're gonna eat, what you're gonna wear, how you're gonna
stay protected from the weather, where you're gonna live. All
these things shall be added unto you. After all, these things
are the things for which the Gentiles seek. Let them have
them. Let them have them. We don't live for things. We live for God. We don't live
to get. We live for God. We don't live
for the benefit of these bodies. We live under the Lord. Can we
really be expected to trust Christ in everything, for everything?
Not only is it expected, it's demanded. Let's turn back to
Exodus chapter 34. Faith in Christ is never perfect.
Oh, I know that. I know that. Our faith in God
is so full of unbelief, it would sink us into hell if it wasn't
washed in His blood and robed in His righteousness. But true
faith is that which trusts the Son of God for all things. Absolutely. Such faith compels
the believing soul to surrender to the dominion of Christ. But
pastor, if I devote my entire life to Christ, how can I live
in this world? How can I provide for my family?
If I allow nothing to keep me from doing what I know is the
will of God, worshiping God, obeying God, following Christ,
what will happen to my business? Is that really safe? Is that
really smart? Is that really wise? Look here
in Exodus 34 for just a minute. You'll remember that in the Old
Testament, the Lord God required the children of Israel, every
male from 20 years old and upward, to go three times a year up to
Jerusalem and worship God for a week, three times every year
for seven days, for seven days. They required every year at the
specific same time, every year, to go up to Jerusalem and worship
God. Now, Merle Hart, that just don't
make good sense. Not for any sane, reasonable,
thinking, responsible man. That doesn't make good sense.
They live in the midst of a people just like the Jews live in the
midst of a people just like them to this day. They live in the
midst of a people who want to expunge the earth of their existence. They live in the midst of a people
who will, at the first opportunity, erase their names from off the
earth. Now, if those people are watching,
if they're watching, and believe me, they were, if they're watching,
all they got to do is mark the calendar. Let's see now, for
the last 15 years, every year, Mother Lindsay Campbell, had
been leaving his wife and his children and his business and
his house, his property, and he's going up to Jerusalem and
he got no way to have contact with anybody back there. No telephone,
no email, no texting, none of that stuff. Separated from him
every year. He's done it three times every
year for the last 15 years. And I'm told that he's required
to do that. Buddy, when he goes up this time,
we'll get him. We'll get him. We'll come in and take everything
he's got. We'll level his house to the
ground. We'll kill his wife and children. We'll take everything
that we can get our hands on, and he'll come back to nothing.
And then we've got him. We've got him. That just makes
good sense, doesn't it? Well, Buddy Lindsey, you better
not go up to Jerusalem again. You know they're watching for
you. Well, let's see what God says about that. Exodus 34, verse
23. Thrice in the year shall all
your men, children, appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations
before thee and enlarge thy borders. Now watch this. Every time I
read this, if I'm sitting by myself, I just laugh out loud.
Neither shall any man desire thy land when thou shalt go up
to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. I'll
fix it so that nobody wants what you've got. I'll fix it so that
nobody will have any inclination to go down and cut off a branch
from one of your shrubs, let alone anything else. I'll fix
it. How can you depend on that? God
said it. That's simple enough. That's
simple enough. Turn over to Leviticus, Leviticus
25. Let's just camp right here. This
is one portion of the scripture where God gives his law, the
law which was intended by God to teach us spiritual things,
trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. It's very similar to what we
read in Exodus 34. This is certainly one basis for
the admonition that God the Holy Spirit gives us in Proverbs chapter
3 concerning trusting the Lord. Here, the Lord does not require
the children of Israel to neglect their livelihoods for a week,
but he requires them to do it for an entire year. Once every
seven years. During this Sabbath year, they
were not allowed to gather their crops from the previous year.
They were not allowed to sow their fields for the next year.
And that meant that they had to trust the Lord whom they worshiped,
whom they served, whose honor they sought, whose will they
did. They had to trust him to somehow,
supernaturally, miraculously, provide everything they needed
for three years. That's just not smart. That's
just not smart. It's not if you don't know God. On the other hand, if you know
God, smartest thing you can do, smartest thing you can do. God
required them to trust him. God required them to obey him
because they trusted him. Is that safe? Is that wise? Look
at verse 18, Leviticus 25, 18. Wherefore you shall do my statutes,
obey me, and keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell
in the land in safety. and the land shall yield her
fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say, what shall
we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor
gather in our increase. Then I will command my blessing
upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for
three years, and ye shall sow the eighth year. And eat yet
of the old fruit until the ninth year. Until her fruits come in,
ye shall eat of the old store. Now look what God promised him.
The Lord said, I want you to just leave everything to me. this whole year, this whole year. Don't gather anything out of
the field, don't gather anything out of the vineyards, leave everything
to me this whole year. Don't plow the field, don't sow
it, don't fertilize it, leave everything to me this whole year. And I'll take care of you for
three years. Now watch what he promised. He promised them safety
in verses 18 and 19. He said, you shall dwell safely. You shall dwell in the land in
safety, safety. That word safety implies more
than being kept secure. It implies more than being kept
from harm. It implies not only security,
but a sense of security. Not only that you're safe, but
you know everything's all right. Everything's all right. I have
been asked many times over the years if I didn't worry about
my wife out here on this hill. And when Faith was living at
home, I didn't worry about leaving Shelby and Faith by themselves
in the mountains of West Virginia, over in Junction City back here,
leaving them by themselves while I go off places. And I can honestly
say to you and before God, I've never had the least concern of
anything happening to them while I was away preaching the gospel.
Never had the least concern. But don't you care about them?
You know better than that. You know better than that. I've
never been the least bit concerned for them at any time. How come? Because God our Father sent me
to do His bidding. And He will not fail to take
care of me when I'm doing His bidding. He won't do it. He won't
do it. The Lord says, you shall dwell
in the land in safety. I recall many years ago, I was
going down to Kingston, Jamaica, and the news reports came out
about rioting breaking out. all over Jamaica, especially
in Kingston. And my wife and several of you
were very concerned about me going. Let's change the time
and go another time. And I responded this way. I responded
to you publicly and privately and to her. Honey, this is God's
doings. This has been planned. And there's
no reason I shouldn't go. Maybe this is just time to go.
And let me tell you what happened. Tell you exactly what happened.
We flew down to Mexico and the plane landed. I got off the plane,
picked up my bags, and there wasn't a gunshot or an explosion
or a rioting or a killing or injury done, to my knowledge,
to anyone in the whole of Jamaica for an entire week. I got back
on the plane, took off, and it all started up just like it was
before I got there. Well, that just, you were lucky. If that
satisfies you, live with it. God promised them safety, and
God promised them plenty. You shall eat your fill, verse
19. God said, I'll take care of everything
you need. Paul wrote to the Philippians
when he was a prisoner, and he said, people out of your great
need gave generously to supply my need." Oh, it's astounding. I can't tell
you how many times over the years I've received a check or $2 or
$3 or $10. Somebody wrote and sent an envelope
and said, put this to the work where you think it's needed.
And I realize these folks are poor. Most of them I know, they're
poor. They have a tough time making
it. And I think, my soul, what do
you do with that? For their good and their honor
as God's people, you take it and use it exactly where they
intended, where it's needed. And my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I've corresponded with a lot
of prisoners. I don't usually correspond with them for very
long because they're always cons and looking for something. And
I'm aware of that. And some of them will hear this
and be upset with me. That's the way it is. That's
the way it is. They're always wanting something. Always wanting
something. Except for one. I've just had
one prisoner in all my life as a pastor didn't do that. I presume
he's with the Lord now. I used to write to him at least
once a week to once or twice a month, and did so for better
than 20 years. He was in prison for murder,
never going to get out, and God saved him, a black man, big fella. And he had diabetes, and I presume
he's with the Lord now. Every now and then I'd get a
letter from Tom, and he'd have think the most he ever sent was
about $6. He'd send $2, $3, $5, $6 and
said, put this where it's needed. Give it to a missionary, do this,
that with it. And I never refused to do so. How come? God supplies
all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You use your life and what God
puts in your hands for His glory for the cause of Christ, for
the benefit of His people, and God will see to it you have what
you need to continue using for His glory, His cause, and the
benefit of His people. Look at verse 21, the Lord God
promised that His people would not lack provision during that
year in which they neither sowed nor reaped. He said, I will command
my blessing in the sixth year and it shall bring forth fruit
for three years. It was a standing miracle of
providence. Every seven years, God would
take that land in which he had settled his people and calls
that land every seven years to bring forth fruit enough for
three years, and it didn't do it any other time. That's a standing
miracle of providence. I'm often asked, Mother Fortner,
do you believe in miracles? I think to myself, what an absurd
question. I believe God, of course I do.
I don't believe that men had the gifts to perform miracles.
That ended with the apostles. That ended with the apostles.
And every time somebody says something to me about it, they
always want to express to me something that they have prayed
for and experienced a miracle. I can't find any evidence of
that in New Testament either. Can't find any evidence of that
in anywhere in New Testament. But miracles, oh yeah. I've been experiencing God's
wonders in the land of Ham for nearly 50 years, every day of
my life. Every day of my life. Once in
a while, He lets me see it. But every day of my life, God's
providence, David, is a miracle of His grace for you. Every day. the way God supplies and provides
and protects and opens doors. Now let me wrap this up by calling
your attention to some important spiritual lessons from this passage
here in Leviticus 25. First understand this, obedience
to Christ arises from and is the fruit of faith in Christ. Look at verse 18. Wherefore ye shall do all my
statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them, and ye shall dwell
in the land in safety. Skip down to verse 55. Throughout
the books of Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, from
the time that God brought Israel out of Egypt, throughout the
books of Moses, Moses writes down for us over and over and
over and over and over and over again why we should obey our
God. Look at verse 55. For unto me
the children of Israel are servants. They're my servants. whom I brought
forth out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. You're my servants. I brought
you out of Egypt, I bought you. I redeemed you with power and
I redeemed you with blood. You're mine, you're mine. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. You're not your own. you're bought
with a price. So glorify God in your body and
in your spirits, which are God's. Last week, Shelby called my attention
to an article that Brother Jeff Schwinn had sent out, and whether
it's true or not, I don't know, but it illustrates the story.
An Englishman described a young girl who was being auctioned
off in the deep south during the days of slavery, and she
apparently had been abused and mistreated and she was standing
on the auction block, and a man looked at her and realized that
she was terribly, terribly fearful, frightened, and he bought her,
and he took her home, and he did, she was trembling as he
took her home. But for years until she died, for years until
she died, she served that man with delight. And even after
she had the opportunity to go free, she stayed right there
and served that man with delight. And folks would ask her, why
do you serve him so willingly? She said, he redeemed me, he
redeemed me, he redeemed me. Do you need another reason for
any sacrifice? service, for any consecration,
for any devotion? I hope not. Obedience to the
will of God is always costly. It always causes problems. It
always requires that we make choices, choices that are sometimes
painful. But God still requires obedience.
And as we obey him, he takes care of the problems that arise
because of our obedience. I can't tell you how I proved
that. I can't tell you how I proved
that over and over again. Second, learn this. We must never
allow the cares of this world to keep us from the worship of
God and from obedience to God our Savior. People talk a lot about worldliness. And it's right that we should
have some care that we not behave particularly as this insane ungodly
vile world around us. I used to say to my daughter,
well I still say to my daughter, 46 years old now and every time
I get a chance to say to her and to the grandchildren But
I told her growing up a lot a lot. I said, honey, you've got to
understand this Outside these four walls just these four walls
right here where you and me and your mom are just outside these
four walls The whole world is absolutely bedbug insane crazy
everybody everybody and it's wise to take care that you don't
behave like them and When I talk about worldliness, I'm not talking
about the way you dress or the way you comb your hair or going
to the movies or watching television. I'm talking about the love of
the world. If any man loved the world, the love of God is not
in him. The wise man gives us God's word. He says, I've seen travail, which
God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful
in his time. Also, he hath set the world in
their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end. Nothing is more dangerous, no
poison more noxious to your soul. than the deceitfulness of riches
and the care of this world. The way riches deceive a man,
possessions, and you don't have to be rich for riches to deceive
you. You don't have to possess much for possessions to deceive
you. And the care of this world, the care of taking care of a
wife and children, the care of the grandbabies, the care of
this world. Don't let the love of this world
keep you from obedience to Christ about anything. Third, the Lord
our God pledges his providence to protect and provide for us
as we seek to worship, serve, and honor him in this world.
Verses 18 and 19, we've already read. Look down at verse 21.
Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and
it shall bring forth fruit three years. Our Lord Jesus clearly
refers to this passage in Matthew 6 and Luke 12, where he tells
us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Our master tells us that our primary purpose on this earth
must be the will of God, the glory of God, and the kingdom
of God. your heavenly Father knows what
you have need of. Oh, how little we credit God's
faithfulness. How little we credit God's faithfulness. Should we not leave all our cares,
all our difficulties, all our problems into his almighty hands,
who cares for us. Has he not promised that he works
all things together for our good? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Besides, it is God's blessing
not our industry or our skill or our foresight. That's the
source of all our safety and all our provision. Have a look
at Leviticus 25, 20. And understand this, it's the
hindrance of fear, the hindrance of fear that more often than
not, keeps us from obeying God without hesitation. If ye shall say, what shall we
eat in the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor
gather in our increase. If I take what God's put in my
hands, for which I'm responsible, and use it as I know God would
have me use it, be it property, money, time, talents, abilities,
thoughts, choices, decisions, family, whatever it is, and I
refuse to use it as I know God would have me to use it for his
glory, for his people, for his gospel, because I'm afraid somehow
these things are gonna be gone. Oh, what foolish fear. Zedekiah,
the whining, wimpish king of Judah, discovered that he would
have been far more safe, far more wise to obey God than to
have been kept from obeying God by his fear of the Jews and of
the Babylonian king. Jeremiah told him, said, you
go do this. You go down to the Babylonian
king, do this. If you don't, you're gonna regret
it. And he feared the Babylonian
king and feared the Jews, said, they'll do me harm. And he refused
to do so. And 11 years later, they plucked
out his eyes and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. One last
thing, verse 21. I'm not looking for something
to say. I'm waiting to be sure I got
your attention. We will never impoverish ourselves
or suffer any loss by honoring God our Savior. It can't be done. It can't be done. I will command
my blessing upon you in the sixth year. and the land shall bring
forth fruit for three years. Let me read some scripture to
you. I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed baking bread. I sit in his office every day,
long hours, And I don't have many folks stop by anymore. The
word gets around, I reckon, but I still get telephone calls and
folks begging. And we try to help folks who
are in need. I want to help folks who are in need. But I'll tell
you what I've never experienced. I'll tell you what I've never
experienced, not in this country and nowhere in the world, what
I've never experienced. I've never seen anybody out begging
who worshiped God. Have you? Have you? I've never seen it happen. I've
never seen it. Well, where do you worship? Well,
I don't remember the preacher's name. I can't remember the name
of the church. I've never seen anybody out begging to worship
God. I've been young and now I'm old
and I've not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging
bread. In Proverbs 3, be not wise in
thine own eyes, fear the Lord. and depart from evil. It shall
be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord
with thy substance and with the first fruits of that increase.
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall
burst out with new wine. Our Lord said to his disciples,
when I sent you without purse and script and shoes, You go
preach the gospel. And I don't want any of you to
take anything for your own provision. You go do what I've said, do
it. Did any of you lack anything? That's the Lord's question. And
they all said, nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. God called Abraham to go out
to the counties. Abraham, where you going? What
you gonna do when you get there? I don't know. How you gonna provide
for your family? I don't know. I believe God,
that's all. That's all, that's all. Our God has promised us safety
in the path of obedience, in the path of faith, in the path
of honoring him. He's promised us plenty. And
God's as good as his word. God's as good as his word. That
fact ought to be forever in our minds and forever eradicate from
our minds every doubt, every fear, every hesitation. Our brother Walter Gruber, 47
years ago, I think it is now, took his wife and young children,
quit his job at Armco Steel, not Armco Steel, the steel place
down in Houston, I forgot the name of it, Cameron Ironworks,
and took off to Mexico with not anybody supporting him. Just took off, just took off. Just took off. Nobody supported
him. Nobody. Did he go on deputation? No.
God didn't call him to go on deputation. God called him to
go to mission field. And he went down there preaching the gospel.
And he raised five children down there. Is that right? There's
four children down there. Five children. Raised five children
down there. And an adopted one. And they all managed to eat pretty
good. put good clothes. I never did
see one of them naked. And I never did go down there
and see if they didn't have anything to eat. Never did. Somehow God
managed to provide. Raised up churches. Taught men
the gospel. Called out preachers. Had to
live. God just drops it down from heaven,
that's all. I've never seen the righteous
forsaken. seed-begging bread. We've proved this promise for
50 years. God helped me to prove it tomorrow.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct thy paths. and he'll knock anybody out of
the way who gets in the way. He'll do it, he'll do it. He'll
knock anybody out of the way who gets in the way. You can't
fail following him. Our God, our God, our God. Thank you for being our God,
making us your people. Will you make us faithful to
you in all things, to our last breath for the glory of him who
loved us and gave himself for us. Amen. Let's have a hymn,
Lindsay.