after the children of Israel
had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. 40 years in tents. Every evening, every night, they'd
set up those tents. Every morning, take them down
for 40 years. And Joshua, Not Moses, Joshua. Moses was our schoolmaster to
lead us to Christ, but after that Christ has come, we're no
longer under a schoolmaster. The law brings us to our Joshua. And he leads them into the promised
land from Egyptian bondage through 40 years of wandering to that
land that was flowing with milk and honey. Let me read you a
verse concerning that from Joshua 5. This is after the wilderness
journey. And the manna ceased on the morrow
after they had eaten of the old corn of the land. Neither had
the children of Israel manna anymore. The wilderness was over. Neither had the children of Israel
manna anymore, but They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan
that year. And we, children of God, will
be led by our Joshua, our Jesus. Their names mean the same. God's
salvation, the salvation of the Lord. And he will do the same
for us as Joshua did for Israel. bring us into the promised land.
David said the Lord shall give. Did you catch that? Not that
he'll try to give, he hopes to give, he'll attempt to give.
The Lord shall give grace and glory. Have you tasted his grace? You're going to behold his glory.
He'll give both. First to grace and after glory. First the cross, the wilderness,
the journey, the battles, afterwards the crown. But it's that time,
isn't it? It's that time between grace
and glory where the battle rages, isn't
it? My soul. Now, religious folks don't know
anything about this. Certainly, the world knows nothing
about this, but a child of God does. Mr. Spurgeon said, this
is the greatest fight in all the world, the battle not out
here, but in here. What a fierce warfare goes on
daily for every child of God, every pilgrim, who like Bunyan's
Christian in his famous allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, that battle
that commences the very moment that he turns his back on this
world being directed to the celestial city, and he leaves family, if
need be, he turns his back on this world, crying, eternal life,
eternal life, I must have eternal life. His children, wife, are
behind, at home, calling, come back, come back, I must go forward,
I must have eternal life. Mr. Spurgeon said, and I like
this, I perhaps have used it before, but it'll bear repeating.
As I've warned you, I'm going to repeat much of what you heard
in John's lesson this morning. But concerning this verse from
Psalm 37, verse 37, we're told, mark the perfect man. Set your sights on him. Set your
sights on him. Watch him. Watch him. And behold
the upright, for the end, the end, after the journey's over,
after they've went through the wilderness, the end of that man
is peace. Peace of God now? Peace with God now? Oh, but peace
everlasting when they behold at the end of their journey the
Prince of Peace Himself. No wonder Paul said, I press
toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. Mr. Spurgeon said concerning
that verse, with believers It may rain in the morning, thunder
at midday, and pour torrents in the afternoon, but it must
clear up before the sun goes down. Don't you like that? Child of God, it will clear up
when the sun goes down because we'll enter that city that has
no need of the light of the sun or the moon, the shine in it,
for the glory of God did lighten it. And the Lamb, the Lamb is
the light thereof. But until that time, there's
that struggle, is there not? That constant warfare. Paul expressed
it for every child of God in Romans 7 when he said, I see
Now he's writing as a believer. He's not talking about how he
felt when he was a Pharisee, when he was lost. No, he's writing
as a man that had known and experienced the grace of God, had been an
apostle for quite a few years, and he said, oh, wretched man,
not that I used to be, oh, wretched man that I am right now. Paul,
really? At the very moment you're writing
under inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, even then you're a wretched
man? Oh, yes. He said, I see a warfare
going on in my members. The things that I want to do,
that I should do, I can't. I can't. Sin is mixed
with everything I do. There's never been a prayer.
There's never been a message. There's never been a thought.
There's never been a word, a deed that I've ever done in my life
since God saved me that's not been mixed with sin. Pride. Pride. Spurgeon said that's a
wicked weed that'll grow anywhere and oh how it flourishes in the
pulpit. Paul said I see another law in
my members. Warring against the law of the
Spirit and bringing me into captivity of the law of sin and death.
Who shall deliver me?" he said. And he answered, I thank God
through Jesus Christ my Lord, but oh what a warfare that is.
The flesh lusteth against the Spirit. Do you know what I'm
talking about? Can you identify with what I'm
saying? I know every child of God can.
If you know nothing about this, it's because you're not a child
of God. If you don't have this warfare
within, it's because there's nothing to do battle with. You
please the flesh. Paul said, the spirit lusteth against the
flesh. and the flesh against the spirit.
And these are contrary, always contrary. There's never a truce
between the two. They'll never come to peace with
one another until the flesh lies down and we arise in his likeness
forever. And the spirit lusteth against
the flesh and the flesh against the spirit. And these are contrary
one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you
would. Has anybody, brothers and sisters
in Christ, outgrown that? Were you ever told after becoming
a believer, after taking up your cross, did someone, some well-intentioned
but self-righteous, experienced believer tell you,
well, you'll get over that one day? If you try hard enough,
Pray hard enough. Sacrifice enough and give enough.
You'll one day get beyond that. You won't have that battle. You
won't have that warfare. Where I came from, they referred
to that nonsense as entire sanctification. I'm talking about back in West
Virginia. Entire sanctification. Perfect sanctification. They
said what they meant by that was the old nature right now
had been eradicated. And when I learned better from
God's Word and my own experience, the own experience of my heart,
and I would question anyone that would try to tell me that, they
would prove to me right away that the old nature hadn't been
eradicated. They were ready to fight. No,
it's not so. And a part of this warfare is
also what John taught about in Matthew 6 this morning. Our Lord
said, in light of Your father knoweth. What sweet words. Your
father knoweth. Your father knoweth. Your children are never out of
your heart, oh great God. Never out of your sight. Never
out of the heart of your love. Never out of the hand of your
everlasting care. Your father knoweth. If that's
so, and it is, Our Lord said, then seek ye first the kingdom
of God. That's a struggle, isn't it?
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Get
your priorities in order. First things first. Don't be
like the heathen. Don't be like those who don't
know God. Things, things, things. That's
all their life consists of, things. When they grasp that thing, there's
another thing they want. And our Lord said, in that parable against that very
thing, He said, a man's life doesn't consist in the abundance
of the things that he possesses. And you know the parable that
He gave to enforce that. about the rich fool. He laid
in his bed and said, I've got so many things. I've got all
these things. I'm going to have to build bigger
barns to put all my things. And the Lord said, God spoke
to him that very night and said, you're a fool. This night I require
your soul to view and then whose will all those things belong
to? Our Lord said, don't be like
that. That's the way unbelievers act. That's what they live for.
your children of God. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. A preacher of many years ago
made this statement along this line. I think it's a good one.
He said, how ill it becomes the offspring of heaven to go licking
up the dust of this earth. The woman see to content herself
with the food of the serpent. God forbid. God forbid. Oh may He give me grace not to
deny by my actions what I profess with my mouth. Oh God, give me
grace, lift me up, enable me to look beyond this present,
this temporal, to the eternal. To lift up my eyes from this
light affliction, which is just for a moment. It's not going
to last much longer. And to behold that eternal weight
of glory that soon shall be revealed in us. Our Lord said, you're
not of the world. Why not? Because I've chosen
you out of the world. Did you read the article or perhaps
you haven't had an opportunity yet? by Brother Henry on the
back page of your bulletin. Who's made you to differ? Who's
made you to differ? What's made the difference? Oh,
it's not what, it's who, isn't it? God give me grace to remember
whose I am, who I am and whose I am. Remember what Peter wrote?
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner
of persons are ye to be, in all manner of holy conversation and
godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and
the elements, all these things, shall melt with fervent heat.
Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens
and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may
be found of him in peace without spot and blameless." I would like to have that what
I call perfect vision. I don't have it now, no child
of God does because now we see through a glass darkly. But I
know on one occasion when Peter and James and John were on the
Mount of Transfiguration. We're told they lifted up their
eyes and Moses wasn't there anymore and Elijah wasn't there anymore.
When they had lifted up their eyes, for a moment they had perfect
vision because they didn't see anybody but Jesus Christ. I declare I'm so easily distracted by the things of this world.
I want to keep my eyes on Christ,
but it doesn't take much to get my attention to look away. Oh,
but one day, one day, I'll see him as he is and love him as
I should. God for grace to look up, to
look above, all these worldly things. John again, Colossians
3, set your affections on things above where Christ is, where
Christ said it. Last Sunday, our message was
from Mark chapter 5, our Lord's instructions to the recovered
demoniacs. the man he had found, rescued,
saved. And he said to him, go home and
tell your friends what great things, great things I've done
for you. We often sing the hymn with those
words, don't we? Great things he hath taught us,
great things he hath done. Great are rejoicing through Jesus
the Son, oh, but purer purer with an undivided heart, purer
and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport when
Jesus we see. May God allow us to see that
one from whom all those great things come. They issue from
our great God and Savior. Spurgeon again said, I have a
great need for Christ and I have a great Christ for my need."
The question this young man asked was, what like I yet? What like I yet? And again, I
remind you from Luke's account, chapter 18, verse 22, our Lord's
answer, yet likest thou one thing. Go to the fountainhead trace
all the streams of those marvelous truths, those marvelous acts
of God's great salvation. Trace all those that are necessary,
the wisdom, the power, the atonement by his own blood, the mighty
calling out of darkness, the grace that reigns over sin, the
preservation of all of his sheep, all those wondrous things needed
to bring a sinner from the depths of their sin, from the pit, into
their entering into heaven itself. Trace them all back and you'll
find every one of them flowing from one source. Every one of them have their
source, their issue from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And he showed me a pure river
of water of life, clear as crystal. John tells us that this was for
the healing of the nations. What virtue, what worth, what
power, where did it come from, John? proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb. Come unto me, our Lord said,
all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He's
always full of grace and truth. Why do you spend? Again, John,
you referred to this. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
Mr. Scott Richardson used to say,
Anybody thirsty? Ho! Everyone that thirsteth,
are you thirsty? If you're not thirsty, you won't
be interested. Everyone that thirsteth, come
ye to the waters, buy wine and milk without money and without
price. Why do you labor? Why do you spend your money for
that which satisfieth not? Come, come! All things are now
ready. What like I yet? The young man
asked. And he liked everything. He liked
everything. Because he liked the Lord Jesus
Christ. You remember the woman with the
issue of blood? Who pressed through the crowd.
Who pressed through the crowd. That's what grace does. Enables
those awakened to press through the crowd. willing away all the
religious rubbish, pushed through it to get to the fountain filled
with blood, draw from Emmanuel's veins that we might plunge beneath
that fountain and lose all our guilty stains. She pressed forward
and she touched the hem of his garment. That fast she was made
whole. Who touched me, disciples said,
or rather, bewildered at our Lord's statement, who touched
me? Lord, Master, we're being pressed
upon from every side and you asked who touched you and you
remember what he said? Someone had touched me. You remember
what he said? Because I felt virtue go out
of me. Virtue will go out of me. In
another place we're told, they brought all that were diseased and he healed them all because
virtue went out of him. Thank God, the blood of Christ
will never lose its power. Think about that. It'll never
lose its... The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
us. from all sin. It's just as fresh,
so to speak, just as valuable, just as effectual as that day
he cried, it's finished. They've not got over that in
heaven. We seem to get over it here, but they've not got over
the wonder of that in heaven. They're still singing about it.
The angels are still marveling about it. They're still crying
unto Him that have loved us and washed us from our sins in His
own blood. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. What lackest thou? Turn now for our answer here
in Luke chapter 18. if you haven't already. Verse
22, here's our Lord's answer. Yet lackest thou one thing, one
thing, Jesus Christ himself. This young man didn't lack religion. Being a ruler very much may suggest
that he was a teacher, perhaps like Nicodemus. The Pharisees,
He didn't like religion, but he liked salvation. He didn't
like some knowledge. Did you notice how very quickly
he acknowledged that he knew those commandments our Lord spoke
and that he had kept them all. He wrongly thought. He didn't
like knowledge and he didn't like a good moral life. I've
done all these things. But he liked eternal life because
he liked the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said, this is life eternal
that you join the Baptist Church. This is life eternal that you
become a five-point Calvinist. No, this is life eternal that
you might know me, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. And this young man didn't know
Christ. He lacked the one thing needful. Even the disciples were exceedingly
amazed by our Lord's words when that young man walked away. As
a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Where your treasure
is, that's where your heart will be also. And the young man went
away, Mark tells us, grieved. He went away grieving. He went
away exceedingly sorrowful. You know why? Because he couldn't
follow Christ on his own terms. That's exactly right. That's
why he went away sorrowful. He thought that he could serve
Christ, inherit eternal life on his own terms. I'm willing
to bow so far. Oh, but not that far. Sell all
that I have. Give to the poor. You're putting
me down in the dust. Can't bow that far. He wanted
to hold the world with one hand and Christ with the other. And
notice what happened. I wish most preachers would learn
this today. Christ sent him away. Christ
let him go. Christ let him go. He didn't
run after him and say, now wait a minute, maybe we can reach
some kind of compromise. If you're not willing to bow
to me as your Lord, I'll still be your Savior. We'll just call
you a carnal Christian. That's those people that profess
faith in Christ. that have no love for the gospel,
no love for God's people, no evidence whatsoever that they
even have a clue who God is, but they're carnal Christians
because they made a decision for Jesus. No, they're not carnal
Christians. They're rebels against God. If
a person has never bowed to the Lord Jesus Christ, they're not
a carnal Christian. They're lost. No exceptions,
no exceptions. Our Lord said, except the man
take up his cross daily and follow me, he cannot. Not that he'll have a tough time
doing it. He cannot be my disciple. Cannot be my disciple. Oh, this
young man lacked the one thing needful, did he not? This is
what our Lord said to Martha. Martha, You're worried about
all those things. You're rattling those pots and
pans. One thing needful. And your sister Mary, she's chosen
that good part that shall not be taken away from her. And that
good part, the one thing needful, is the one thing that this young
man lacked. But children of God, remember,
if you have Christ, If you have Christ, you have enough. You have enough. Did you hear
that? If you have Christ, as Bobby
sang earlier, you have that which is sufficient to justify you
before God Almighty. Wow! Wow! Money can't buy that. My soul,
the peace, the peace. Oh, the sweet rest that that
gives a sinner. Oh, I am his and he is mine and
nothing can separate me from him. Nothing in this world, nothing
in my past, nothing present, nothing that might enter in my
future, nothing can separate me from the love of God that's
in Christ Jesus. Oh, he's everything. Christ is
enough to justify, to cleanse, to save you to the uttermost,
to keep you, and to present you without fault before the throne
of God. If you have Christ, you have
enough because Christ is all. Christ is all. It please God
that in Him should all fullness dwell. And if you're in Him,
You possess all fullness. I listened to the message John
brought here when I was in Danville last month. Psalm 23, the good
shepherd. And John spoke much about this. The Lord is my shepherd. So what? So what? So what? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. I shall not like. God has made
him to be unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Paul said all those things that
he once trusted in Philippians 3, all of his religion, all of
his blamelessness as touching the law, all of that zeal to
keep the tradition of the fathers, All of that touch not, taste
not, wear not, go not, mingle not, Paul said of all that that
he once was 100% convinced was pleasing God Almighty, when God
turned the light on, Paul saw it for what it was, rubbish and
filthy rags, and Paul said, I cast it all aside. For what? Paul said, those things that
once were gained to me, I count them lost for Christ. And everything's
lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord. Oh, that I might know Him. Nothing
else compares to that. That I might know Him and be
found in Him. with his holy garments on, as
holy as the Holy One. Every child of God can say the
same. Thomas Brooks wrote this. He
said, the law cannot condemn a believer. Christ has fulfilled
it for him. Divine justice can't condemn
him. Christ has satisfied him. His sins can't condemn him. They're
parting through the blood of Christ and his conscience upon
righteous grounds cannot condemn him, because Christ, who is greater
than his conscience, has acquitted him." I realize that I seldom
preach a message that I don't refer to Luke 18, where our Lord
said concerning that publican who stood with nothing to pay, stripped, He wasn't a bragger
like the Pharisee. He was a beggar before the throne
of God. And Jesus Christ said, mark that
man. Mark that man. He's going home
just to find. You might not go to the biggest
house when you live here. You might not go to the fanciest
house when you live here. Oh, but my soul. You're going
home justified. God Almighty, for Christ's sake,
has forgiven you. And he looks and says, not guilty. Not guilty. Oh my soul, he that
has Christ has everything. The Lord our righteousness. What
mercy from His bosom flows to every true believer. He put away
the countless woes of us poor needy sinners. Oh, blessed are
His saints indeed. Christ Jesus is our Savior, and
everything that we can need is ours in Him forever. I jotted this down to share with
you. I thought it was good. Brother
Joe Terrell wrote this. He said, do not let the light
of earthly joys distract you from the glory of what lies ahead,
nor let the darkness of the present hour blind you to the light of
the glory that shall be revealed in us when we shall see Him. When I was in Danville last month
and spent a night or two with Larry, my oldest son, and a night
with Raj. One night, one morning, I was up having coffee and my
youngest granddaughter had slept on the couch. They let Paw Paw
have their bed and I appreciated it. And her older sister was
waking her up, perhaps to get ready for school. But anyway, Soon as Allie's eyes
popped open, I mean she was sleeping like a log, Laura wakes her up
and Allie opens her eyes and says, what did I miss? What did
I miss? Child of God. We're not going to miss a thing. The psalmist said, I'll be satisfied
when I awake in his likeness. Turn if you will to 1 John chapter
3. You know this. You probably know this by heart,
but let's look at it together. We won't miss anything that Christ,
our glorious Redeemer, has prepared for us. 1 John chapter 3, Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Stop my
soul, pause, consider. Oh, what great love for thee.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we, we, of all people, we, Larry, Chris, whoever heard of
him, who would have ever thought that that little barefoot runt
of a boy running around that coal camp In the son of a coal
miner, who would have ever dreamed that God chose him in Christ
before the world ever began? Who would have ever dreamed? And that Christ took into his
hands this sinner and promised God Almighty I'll do everything
you require for him. In the fullness of the time,
Father, when you send me, I'll go to do thy will, O God. Who would ever thought that Larry Chris will be one
of those that gather around the throne And the Son of God says,
Father, here they are. All that you've given me, I've
lost none. Behold, that we should be called
the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not beloved. Now are we the sons
of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall
be like him. Well, that's all I need to know.
We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. One hymn in our book says, face
to face with Christ my Savior, face to face what will it be,
when with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me.
Only faintly now I see, with the darkening veil between, But
oh, a blessed day is coming, Louie, when his glory shall be
seen. Face to face, oh blissful moment,
face to face to see and know, face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ, who loved me so. God help us to remember him as
we observe the Lord's Supper. God bless you.