Everything I know about God my
Savior, everything I have experienced
of His marvelous grace, everything I know about His salvation, causes me to live daily with
three ever-increasing heavy burdens. Three great concerns, desires,
ambitions, overwhelming concerns. Three things for the past 48,
nearly 49 years have motivated and constrained
and governed my life. And those three things, more
today than ever, motivate, constrain, and govern my life. I want, oh my god, I want. to live in total communion with my Redeemer. Always aware of His presence
and always aware that He's aware of me. In total, uninterrupted communion
with my Savior. And I want, oh my God, I want for me, I'm talking about for
the life of what I want for me, I want total, absolute consecration
to the Son of God. My life, my heart, everything
utterly consecrated to him, utterly, utterly. I was talking to Brother
Andre, Brother John, back in the vestibule before service. You've all heard of John Bunyan,
who wrote Pilgrim's Progress and Holy War and Grace Abounding,
so many excellent, excellent books, three large volumes. But as Pilgrim's Progress was
best known for, he wrote that. while he was in bed for jail.
Now let me remind you or tell you what bed for jail was. That
little room right back there as you come in the front door,
if you make it about a four foot high room, that's what bed for
jail was. It was a wooden box suspended
from a bridge over a river. You can imagine the conditions.
The door going in was about the height of this lower section
of the pulpit here, about two and a half feet wide. I've been
there. I haven't seen the jail, but I've seen the door. It wasn't
much. Bunyan spent 12 years in that
jail, 12 years. He had a blind daughter named
Mary, a wife, family. He was allowed to make shoelaces
that his wife could go sell, put bread on the table a little
bit. 12 years. That was for preaching the gospel.
Yes, it was. But let me tell you something about the consecration
I'm talking about. Doug, would you have any idea
what it would have taken for Bunyan to get out of that jail? At any time in 12 years. at any
time in 12 years, all he had to do was agree not to preach
in Bedford. That'd be like saying to Larry,
either you go to jail or quit preaching in Sylacauga
and go down to Talladega and preach. Well, I'll go to Talladega.
That's all there was to it. That's all there was to it. was
give up the post where God had put him for convenience. That's all they had to do. Quit
preaching to the folks trusted to his care. That's all they
had to do. All they had to do. But he couldn't
do that. He couldn't do that because he
was consecrated to the Son of God, God's servant, not a man's. God's servant, not a man's. Our first trip to England, Shelby
and I went over there in 1987. 87, 80, somewhere there. I can't remember for sure. And
we were, I had just read a book by J.C. Ryle, Old Paz. One chapter
of it was why the martyrs were burned. And as we were driving
through Scotland, I saw a little sign, just down the name of a
little inlet. And I recognized it. It was a
place where two women were staked out by the ocean as the tide
was rising. The older woman staked out 20
feet or so closer than the younger woman. This old saint and this
young saint, she was about 20 years old if I remember correctly,
they were put out there to drown. Do you know how they could save
their lives? the papist hoped, the same one
that they're making so much yak about today, that he had changed
in it, that same beast, and put it on the air, I mean for everybody
in the world to hear, that same beast, the same beast that had
him staked out there, put the old woman out there so the young
woman could hear her gasping for breath as the tide gradually
took away her life, hoping she would be scared and then she
would recant. Now, this is all they had to
do to save their lives. This is all they had to do. All
they had to do was say that the bread and the wine we're about
to eat right now and drink right now. All she had to do was say
that's the body and blood of Christ. That's all she had to
do. But rather than do that, they
chose death. Why? utterly consecrated to the
Son of God. I want that. I want that. Utter consecration
to Christ. And I want to enjoy complete
conformity to my Redeemer. My prayer is that I may know
him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings
being made conformable unto his death. I know these things are not attainable
while I live in this body of flesh. But by the grace of God,
I have a good hope that soon They shall be mine. For now,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. And I want to talk to you, as
I've been talking to myself now for the last couple of weeks,
about living under grace. Living under grace. Romans chapter
6, again. Romans chapter 6, verse 14. For sin shall not have dominion over
you. For you're not under the law,
but under grace. Sin shall not have dominion over
you. That's not a command, that's
a promise. Sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you're not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we're not
under the law, but under grace? God forbid. In Christ, God's
people are utterly Totally, completely, absolutely, if I can find another
adjective, give it to me, free from the law. I mean, there's
absolutely no sense whatsoever in which God's people live under
the Mosaic commandments. We are not obliged to the law.
We're not under the law. We don't live by the law. We're
not afraid of the law. We're not obliged to the law.
We're not under the law. We don't live by the law. We're
not afraid of the law. We're dead to the law, dead to
the law. D-E-A-D, dead to the law, dead. But we're alive to God. And I'm calling upon you who
are yet without Christ. to trust my Savior. And I'll
tell you what that involves. I'll tell you what that involves.
The surrender of your life to God the Son. Take up your cross
and follow Him. The surrender of your life to
the rule of Jesus Christ, because you want Him Lord. He is Lord, but now you're delighted
that he is. For unbelievers, your problem
is not that you don't want to go to heaven. Your problem is
not that you don't want to be saved. Your problem is not that
you don't want to be accepted with God. Your problem is you
want to be God. Your problem is you want to rule
your own life. Your problem is you want to use God. I'm calling
for faith in Christ. And faith in Christ is the willing,
voluntary surrender of your being to God's darling son, trusting
his blood and his righteousness for all your acceptance with
God. And I'm calling on you who know
God. And I'm calling on the preacher
who's talking to you. To devote yourselves to Christ
Jesus the Lord. To live in this world for the
glory of God. And I make my appeal on the basis
of the fact that in Christ we live by grace. We live under
grace. We live in grace. Because we live by the grace
of God, we are entirely free from the constraint or any principle
of legal bondage. Look at Romans chapter 7, verse
4. Now, I know we live in this day
when folks try to talk about grace and law at the same time. And they try to tell you we're
free from the law, but we're under the law. And they try to
tell you we recognize we don't keep the law perfectly, but we
do the best we can. God never called on you. God
doesn't demand that you do the best you can. God demands, Louie,
that you be perfect, that you be holy. And folks who pretend
to keep the law, I get letters from folks, I get telephone calls,
people write me up, folks tell me things they say on the internet,
they write books and write me up in papers and they say, well,
we keep the Sabbath day. Let me tell you something, anybody
who says he keeps the Sabbath day is a liar. Unless you're
talking about keeping it by faith in Christ. He's a liar. I'll tell you what you do with
the Sabbath day. Damn near. So you can keep what you want
of it. You say, well, I try. I do best I can. That ain't keeping
it. That ain't keeping it. And you make a mockery of it.
In other words, he who says I live by the law really is what they
accuse us of being all the time, as antinomian as he can be. He's
against the law. He's against the law, for he
makes the law a standard measured by his obedience so that he can
sit as a judge over top of Darwin Pruitt. That's exactly right. It's exactly right. Not God's
people. We're free from the law. Now,
if there was ever a place in the word of God, ever a place
in the New Testament where some statement ought to be given in
which we're told that we're free from the law, that means we don't
keep circumcision the Sabbath days and Passover and we don't
offer sacrifices morning and night and we don't have a priest
with his garbold and we don't have a tabernacle and we don't
have a temple. We're free from the law, that's
it. But we keep the commandments. We live by the commandments.
If ever there was a place anywhere in the word of God where God
the Spirit might say there is some sense in which we live by
the law, it'd be Romans chapter six. Is that right? Here, the whole subject is living
for God. The whole theme is a life given
to God. And Paul says, you're dead to
the law. And he says, we're not under the law. Just in case you
didn't get it, next verse then says, we're not under the law.
And then in chapter seven, it says, you're dead to the law.
And then in chapter 10, it says, Christ is the end of the law.
See, what'd he say? Now this is the sense in which
we're under the law. You're not under the law. You're not under
the law. You're dead to the law. You're
married to Christ. Christ is the end of the law.
Oh, I can live with that. I can live with that. You're not under the law. You're
not under the law. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. Now let's begin
at chapter 6 in verse 1, where Paul is talking to us about this
life Faith living under grace living for the glory of God He
begins in chapter 6 verse 2 Taking up the challenge that men have
given What shall we say then? What shall we say then shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? Oh, you tell folks
they're not under the law, they live by grace, they live under
grace, they're not motivated by law, they're motivated by
grace. You tell folks they're not under the law, they don't
have to be afraid of the law, God's not gonna judge them for
sin. Oh, if you do that, it'll open the floodgates to sin. Now
listen to what Paul says. Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? There's one thing I borrowed
from Donald Trump, I like it. That's just stupid. That's just stupid. And that's
all the argument he gives. God forbid. Who ever dreamed
of such a thing? Who ever thought of such a thing?
How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?
And then in verses three through 10, God the Holy Ghost reminds
us that in our baptism as believers, we have publicly confessed that
we are now dead to sin and alive to God, and we're now living
in the newness of life in Jesus Christ with Christ under the
glory of God. Know ye not that so many of us,
as we're baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death?
That's what this pool's all about. That's the reason we have them.
That's the reason we were baptized, folks. We are symbolically baptized
into his death. Now, I know we live in this age,
folks, talking about spirit baptism. Let's talk about spirit baptism.
I'll give you a homework assignment. Go home and read this book one
more time and find me a single place in this book where it talks
about spirit baptism. Men talk about it. This book
doesn't say a word about it. It ain't no such thing. God the
Holy Spirit never baptized anybody. He never baptized anybody. Christ
baptized us into his spirit on the day of Pentecost when he
took his seat as the king in glory. And that was his inaugural
act as king. His kingdom now spiritual and
extends into all the world. He's talking about baptism. We're
buried with him in baptism. Somebody say, what mode of baptism
do y'all practice? We don't practice a mode of baptism.
There ain't but one way to bury folks, you stick them under the
ground. You don't sprinkle little sand on their face. You don't
throw a little dirt on their face. You stick them in the ground.
Baptism is a burial with Christ, a symbolic picture of death and
resurrection. Look at verse four. Therefore,
therefore, since we're buried with Christ in baptism, we're
buried with him by baptism into death. so that as Christ rose
up from the dead, that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. I call on you who believe God
confessed Christ in baptism. Do it right now, tell the whole
world, I lived with Christ and I died with Christ and I rose
with Christ and now I am his. To walk with God in newness of
life. Read on, verse five. For if we've
been planted together in his death, in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
We're raised up symbolically with Christ with whom we arose
from the grave, but we are raised up in the blessed hope of that
day when we shall be raised from the dead, knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him. that the body of sin might
be destroyed. Our old man died when he died
and soon God's gonna destroy this body of sin. Not only our
old nature, but this nature of flesh and this nature itself
shall be changed from mortality to immortality. That henceforth
we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. Now, if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion
over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Now,
let's pick up verse 11. Here God the Holy Ghost tells
us that we are to reckon as God reckons. Likewise, reckon ye
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Andre, you just read God said
you're dead to sin. God said you're alive to Christ.
God said you're dead and now you have a new life. That's what
God said. Oh, but Brother Dodd, I'm so cold. I'm so sinful. I'm
so indifferent. I struggle so much with the lust
of my flesh. I thought things were going to
change. I hadn't got any better. I was just getting worse. God
said you're dead to sin, alive to heal. Feel it or not. Is that what it said? That's
true if you trust his son. If you've been born of God. Well,
how are we to see things? Folks tell me all the time, they
say, well, that's the way God sees things. Terry, I'm going
to tell you something about it. I went to the best Bible colleges
fundamentalist religion has to offer. I studied at seminaries,
and I never heard anybody address this. Folks say, well, that's
the way God sees things. God sees us in Christ. That's
talking about our state. That's talking about our position,
not our state. That's the way God sees things.
However God sees things, that's how they really are. God sees me in Christ. How come? Because that's where I really
am. God sees me holy, righteous, perfect, redeemed, dead to the
law, risen with Christ, because that's the way I really am. All
this struggle here is soon going to cease. And Paul says, now,
you reckon like God reckons. You reason like God reasons. I'm dead to sin and alive to
God. Look at verse 12. Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it
in the lust thereof. Don't live to sin. Don't give
in to it. Neither yield ye your members
as instruments of unrighteousness under sin. Don't do it. Don't
do it. Don't do it. Well, I just can't
resist. Yeah, you can. Don't do it. Don't
do it. Don't do it. Oh, I have such difficulties.
I sometimes am in circumstances where Somebody says something
or does something, I just want to jack his jaw. I do, I do. And honestly, if God didn't stop
me, I would. I'd do it, I know I would, I
know I would. But I oughtn't to. And so I try not to act out
what goes on in here. Aren't you glad? If I behaved
any worse, it'd be horrible. But I try not to act out what
goes on in here. And that's exactly what it's
saying. But yield your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God. Now that's our responsibility. That's our responsibility. You
and I, who live in this world, having confessed Christ as our
Savior in believer's baptism, have a responsibility to yield
ourselves as instruments of righteousness unto God and not unto sin. I don't care what the world says. That's our responsibility. That's
our responsibility. I know you young ladies just
walked in back there. Listen to this preacher. Listen
to this preacher. I know we live in a world where everybody thinks
fornication is all right and chastity is nothing. They make
fun of it. You cherish chastity. You cherish it. You cherish it. It's honorable. Fornication is
still ungodly. It's like dogs live that way,
not human beings. Dogs live like that, not human
beings. Not human beings. Cherish those
things. That's as important as not robbing
a bank or committing murder. That's just right. Well, Brother
Don, don't you know everybody lives like that? Yep, I do. I
do. Not in my house. Not in my house. Just not in
my house. Not gonna happen. Not gonna happen.
Well, you don't have that to worry about. Go ask my daughter
what happened when she was around. Go ask her. Not in my house.
Not in my house. Why? I have a God to serve. I have a Savior to honor. I have
a gospel to proclaim. Something more important than
my lust and yours. That's exactly right. Now, that
won't cost you anything extra. That's free. Read on. That's
our responsibility. That's our responsibility. How
can we do that? How can you yield yourselves
unto God? How can we do this? How can we
do this? My dear friend, Brother Harry
Graham said to me one time when I was 19 years old, I was sitting
in his house and I was asking him this typical question. What
about human responsibility? What about human responsibility?
He said, Don, son, I'll tell you something about our responsibility.
It's our response to his ability. That's pretty good. Now, here's
his work. Read on. What shall we sin? I'm sorry, verse 14. For sin
shall not have dominion over you. That's God's promise. How come? Because you're not
under the law, but under grace. I'll give you grace, and I won't
take it away. He giveth more grace. That'll be my subject
at home Tuesday night, the Lord willing. He giveth more grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we're not
under the law, but under grace? God forbid. That's just stupid. Know ye not that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey,
whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?
But God be thanked. that you were the servants of
sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin,
you became the servants of righteousness. Paul said, I speak after the
manner of men. I'm talking to you in human terms so you can
get a handle on what I'm talking about. Because of the infirmity
of your flesh, For as ye have yielded your members servants
to uncleanness and unto iniquity, even so now yield your members
servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when you were the
servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. You didn't
know anything about it. What fruit had you then in those
things whereof you're now ashamed? You lived like dogs. You were
fornicators and adulterers and liars and thieves and robbers
and murderers and full of malice and envy and bickering and backbiting
and snickering and you're just full of ungodly shameful things.
For the end of those things is death. That's the end of it all. But now, now, you were headed
for hell as fast as you could run, but now, now, being made
free from sin and become the servants to God, you have your
fruit under holiness and the end everlasting life. And here's
the reason, for the wages of sin is death. Live like hell, you're going
to hell. Live like hell, you're going to hell. And I'm going
to say amen when you do. And so is your mama and your
daddy and your granddaddy. Those who go to hell with you
are going to say amen. And those who are saved by God's
grace are going to say amen. Because God does right. And sooner
or later, everybody's going to acknowledge that God's right.
The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life. through Jesus Christ our Lord. The scriptures speak in human
terms so we can get some idea about God. Well, the doctor said
last night, God never changed. And he's exactly right. God never
learned anything. He never planned anything. He
never reasoned anything. He never thought about anything.
He never did. God's not a man. God's eternal. God's eternal. But the scripture
speaks of our Savior standing forth as our surety before the
world was and thus being accepted in Him, justified in Him, redeemed
in Him, sanctified in Him, made holy in Him before the world
was. Christ is life. Christ is our life. When did that start? Back yonder. Called eternal life. Eternal
life. When we come to experience it,
he gives us, by his omnipotent grace, eternal life. What is
that? Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The son of God comes in. Johnny came in, took up residence
in you. Took the reins of your life. You didn't give them over
to him. He took them, and you were glad for him to have them.
It's Christ in you. That new man created in righteousness
and in true holiness. It is that new nature. It is
that new creation. It is that thing that's born
of God and cannot sin. That's in you. That's eternal
life. God gave you eternal life. Now, we live in eternal life. We walk with God in everlasting
life. Now, here's my question. How
can I live in this world for the glory of God, my Savior?
When I get done, there'll be plenty of room for more preaching.
But this I know, there's nothing in the life of a believer of
such great concern as the will of God and the glory of God. Is that true, Brother Diver?
God's will, God's glory. That's true, Pastor. God's will,
God's glory. God's will, God's glory. Doesn't
matter what it costs me. Doesn't matter what kind of hardship
I have. Doesn't matter how bad things
get. Doesn't matter how pleasant things
are. Doesn't matter if it costs me
friends. Doesn't matter if it costs me everything. My wife
said, well, I won't live like that. I'm sorry. That's the way
we're going to live. We're going to live here. Daughter said,
I won't live like that. Well, you're welcome to leave,
but this is the way we're going to live. Son said, I ain't going to live like
that. I'm sorry, son. This is the way we're going to
live. This is the way we're going to live. For God's will and God's glory. You wouldn't really do that,
would you? Ask that lady whether or not I would. You just ask
her. You just ask her. God's will
is more important, Louie, than what you want. It's more important
than what Debbie wants. More important what sons and
daughters want. More important than the hash you got over there
on the lake. More important than the boat. God's will. God's glory. Something
more important than Louie. And something more important
than Don. You understand that? Nothing more important. How then
can I live for his glory? Whether therefore you eat or
drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. whatsoever you do in word or
indeed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks
to God and the Father by him. If a man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, any man
serve, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that
God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. All right,
let's begin in Colossians chapter two. I want to make four or five
statements, and I'll be very, very brief, I promise you. Colossians
chapter two. If we would live in this world
for the glory of God, we've got to begin in the beginning. We must live by faith in Christ. As ye, verse six, Colossians
chapter two. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. How did you receive
the Lord Jesus? How did you receive him? Well,
I cleaned up my life and I quit cussing and I quit chewing and
quit smoking Go with the girls who do, and I quit going to the
picture show, and I started reading my Bible, started going to church.
After a while, I felt like I could come to the Lord. Well, if that's
the way you received him, you're going to hell with it. That's
not faith. That's not faith. How do you
receive Christ Jesus the Lord? Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked, come to thee for dress. Helpless, look to thee for grace. You received Christ as a naked,
bankrupt, empty-handed, dirty, hell-deserving, vile, wretch
called sin. That's all you are. Walk in it
just like that. My dear Pete, You're getting
close to the century, Mark, aren't you? You've been walking with him
by faith, as a sinner trusting the Savior. Is that right? If
you ever grow one hairbreadth of a step above that, you've
outgrown Christ. But now, as you talked, she was
around here before I came around here. I've been coming around
for nearly 40 years. She's been around a long time. She's been
faithful. She's a mother in Israel. She's
a sinner whose only righteousness is Christ, whose only redemption
is His blood, whose only salvation is His grace. That's how you
walk with Him. Constantly acknowledging your
sin, trusting Him, only Him for all things. How do we Please God. You remember the
fellow named Enoch. Enoch walked with God. And one day he walked into heaven. He was not, for God took him.
Have you ever heard fellows preach about Enoch? Man of life. Read what folks say about Enoch. I've never seen clouds as high
as he walked. Oh, that fellow walked. He walked up and he was
so heavenly, so holy, so good, so righteous. He was just too
good for the earth and he just walked into heaven. We got barnyards around our place
full of that stuff. If that needs an explanation,
I'll give it to you. No. No. Enoch walked with God. He that believeth God believes
that he is, and is a rewarder than that diligently seeketh.
And believing God, Enoch had this testimony before it was
translated, that he pleased God. Sister Enoch looked at him and
said, boy, there's a man who pleases God. If ever there was
a holy man, his brother Enoch, oh, he could pray, he could preach. That man, oh, he was something
else. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Enoch received
testimony from God that he pleased God through his son. That's that
justification about faith in our consciences. He received
testimony from God that he pleased God. And he believed God. How do we fulfill the law? How
do we establish the law? God requires perfect righteousness. God requires complete satisfaction,
utter atonement. And we come to God and bring
him his son. And God says, I'm well pleased. You please me, my son. Well done,
thou good and faithful servant. You bring him your missionary
life. You bring him 50 years of labor
as a faithful gospel preacher. You bring him your reformed way
of living. You bring him your sacrifice
and self-denial. You bring him your holy thoughts
and ambitions, and you will never have testimony from God that
you please him. Bring him his sword, and you'll
walk away with peace with God, for you please him. Number two,
number two. Live by faith in Christ, live
by faith in Christ. Receive him as our Lord and we
walk with him, trusting him. Trust his will, his prophetess,
trust him, he's the king. When Shelby and I were dating,
we latched on to a couple of verses of scripture, been precious
to us and we've proved them now for, oh, we've proved them for
nearly 49 years. 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. That's the first thing. Number two, if we would live
in this world for the glory of God, we must strive to remember
what the Lord God has done for us by his grace. Turn to 1 Corinthians
6. Let me remind you. Mr. Spurgeon told a story of
a young preacher called to a large congregation and he went to visit,
have dinner one day with one of the older men in the congregation
who was quite wealthy. And the man and his wife showed
him their gardens and showed him through the house, just spectacular,
palatial place, furnished perfectly, just immaculately. And he walked
back and saw a door cracked. And he thought he saw a little
dirt. He thought it was outside, so
he opened the door. And he looked in there, and there's just a
dirt floor, unpainted walls with various kinds of wood, whatever
it looked like was pieced together. and just very crudely made furniture. And curiosity got the best of
him. He said, brother, I don't understand. He said, what is
this? He said, oh, pastor, that's my remembrance room. As you see, I had a very poor
beginning. And this is the way we used to live. And every now
and then I come back here and just sit for a little while and
remember where I came from. Children of God, don't ever forget
what you are and where you were when God saved you by his grace.
1 Corinthians 6, verse 9. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Who are you talking about,
Paul? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators
nor idolaters nor adulterers nor fellows who enlighten the
loafers and limp-wristed, effeminate, sodomites, nor abusers of themselves
of mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, folks who are just always striking at folks, always
full of anger, nor extortioners, folks who take from others by
hook and crook what belongs to somebody else. They shall not
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. Such were some of you. Such were some of you. But you're washed. But you're made holy. You're
sanctified. You've been born of God. You're
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit
of our God. What should we conclude from
that? Look at verse 19. What? Know ye not that your body,
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? Don't you know God lives in you?
God lives in you. The Holy Ghost which you have
received of God, that means you're not your own. For you're bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirits, which
are God's. Number three, if we would live
in this world for the glory of God, we must seek the will of
God in all things and above all things. I don't mean that we
should endeavor to show people that we love the Lord. I don't
mean that. I don't make any effort to do
that. Righteousness, other folks can see, not righteousness. They
just didn't. People say, well, I want people
to see Jesus in me. I'm gonna tell you something. People didn't see Jesus in Jesus.
They ain't gonna see him in you. What men call holiness is not
holiness. What men call righteousness is not righteousness. I recall,
I gave him up to a friend by the name of Harry Graham. I went
down to preach for him one time when I was just 19 years old.
We lived in Winston-Salem, Shelby. And I went down with him and
his wife, Nola, down to Asheboro where he pastored. And they took
us out to lunch. And I went through the line first.
And we sat down. And I was sitting at the table
waiting for somebody to cross themselves or pray or something.
You know, you're supposed to don't dare eat any food. Don't.
Well, we're Christians. We don't want anybody to see
we're Christians. And Harry knew what I was doing, he was a smart
old boy. He said, are you thankful, son? I said, yes, sir, I am. He said, God heard that, eat
your food. Who you trying to impress? Who you trying to impress? Don't do stuff to try to impress
me. That's not what I'm talking about. That's not what I'm talking
about. No, no, I'm talking about doing right. I'm talking about
living for God's honor. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. I am saying this, you and I,
chosen of God, loved of God, redeemed by Christ, called by
God, we ought to be utterly consumed
with the love of Christ for us. and utterly consumed with love
for our Redeemer. I mean, totally, absolutely consumed. Ralph Barney used to say, don't
ever lose your sweetheart love for Christ. And he wasn't talking
about the love sweethearts have for each other. That's nice. It's nice to remember it. But
I'll tell you two things about it. It's dangerous and it's full
of emotion. It's dangerous and it's full
of emotion. It's full of passions and emotions.
It's dangerous, it's dangerous. It's good, it's good, but it's
dangerous. And it's full of passion, full of emotions. I've been living
with that lady now for nearly 46 years. And I love her and
she loves me. with that same kind of sweet
heart love that's willing to give up life for one another.
Only stronger now than ever. That's what I'm talking about.
That's what I'm talking about. That sweet heart love, Brother
Larry, that made you gladly give up life for the Savior. God, don't let me lose that.
I'll tell you the secret to satisfaction in this world. Turn to John chapter
4. I'll show you. I'll show you. What would you give? What would
you give really, really? To live in this world with satisfaction. With satisfaction. Everybody
wants more. I've got to have this to satisfy
me. I've got to have that to satisfy me. Get to yearning for a new car,
and you go get that new car, and you, oh, man, smell that
thing. And before the new smell wears
off you, oh, man, I sure would like to have another car. Well,
what would you give for satisfaction? What would it take to satisfy
you? What would it take to satisfy me? I'll tell you exactly. The
secret to satisfaction in this world is serving God and doing
his will. Let's see, John chapter four,
verse 31. In the meantime, while his disciples
prayed, he prayed, he'd say, master, eat. But he said unto
them, I have meat to eat that you know not of. Therefore said
the disciples one to another, who brought him food? Hath any
man brought him out to eat? Jesus saith unto them, my meat
is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Surrender all to Christ and walk
in this world with satisfaction. Call everything but dung in comparison
to him. Take up your cross daily and
follow him. Lose your life to him and you
shall find it. Hang on to it, you'll sure lose
it. You remember how David sent his servant down to fetch Mephibosheth
out of Lodibar? And Mephibosheth's servant, Ziba,
whom David committed again to Mephibosheth, you serve him and
you take care of him while he eats, but you're gonna sit here with
one of my sons. I promised Jonathan I'd take care of him. You go
plow his fields and take care of his corn and pull out his
grapes and mash his grapes and make his wine and bring him everything. You serve Mephibosheth. And then
David had that horrible incident with Absalom when Absalom tried
to overthrow the kingdom. And when David's coming back
in, that conniving Ziba, he read out, he said, David, Mephibosheth
betrayed you. Mephibosheth, he was on Absalom's
side. Mephibosheth, he never forgot
what you did and saw. He never got. And so Ziba was
favored by David. David was overcome with Ziba's
lie. And he said to Ziba, you take
everything I gave Mephibosheth, it's yours. And then David got
back to Jerusalem, and he saw Mephibosheth. And he said, Mephibosheth,
why didn't you come greet me? He said, David, you know I'm
lame. I couldn't get to you. My servant
Zeiba left me sitting here. And David realized what he'd
done. He said, oh, what a horrible thing. He said, Mephibosheth,
I've given Zeiba everything. And Mephibosheth said, let Zeiba
have all. I've got my king. Let Ziba take the world, go to
hell. I've got my key. I've got my
key. His mother saith unto his servants,
whatsoever he saith unto thee, do it. That's the secret of happiness
and satisfaction. I've done the opposite enough,
I know. I know. Paul said, the Lord revealed
himself to me, called me by his grace, and immediately I conferred
not with flesh and blood. Why do you reckon he said that?
Why do you reckon he said that? Because if you confer with flesh
and blood about what you know God would have you to do, I promise
you, you won't do it. You'll never do it. You'll never
do it. Reckon what Abraham would have
done if he had gone home and said to Sarah, Sarah, honey,
I believe the Lord's spoken to me and he told me to take our
only son, Isaac, whom we dearly love. You know, we already threw
Ishmael out of the house. We'll take our only son, Isaac, up
to Mount Moriah and kill him as a sacrifice to God. Reckon
how far he would have got out the door with Isaac. Reckon how
far. Immediately, I conferred not
with flesh and blood. Shelby and I were dating. We
were engaged to be married. And we had decided to put off
our marriage for another year till she finished college. And
I had gone to school in my hometown where she was in college first
summer. Took 12 hours in summer school. And about the second
week of August, I was fully convinced God had me to go to school at
Springfield, Missouri. And I didn't ask her if I could go. I didn't
ask what she thought about it. She's going to leave me here
for a year? This is what God has for me.
And I packed up and went to Springfield School. Packed up and went to
Springfield School. I came down to Danville to preach. And the
first time in my life, I found a congregation that needed a
pastor and wanted a pastor. And I called my wife. And I said,
honey, we're moving to Danville. Pack your bags. They called me.
We're coming. And they're going to call me. Don't you think you ought to
pray about that with her? No. I knew what God had me to do.
I knew what God had me to do. I conferred not with flesh and
blood. Well, how are they going to take
care of it? I don't know. Head over heels. Where are you going
to be? I don't know. How are you going to live? I
don't know. I'm going to live where I've
always been living. God's going to take care of me. That's how. That's how. Immediately, I conferred not
with flesh and blood. I'll tell you a fourth thing.
If we would live in this world, For the glory of our God, we
must deal honestly with ourselves about ourselves. Look in 1 John
chapter 1. Brother Donnie so well dealt
with Romans 7 the other night. I'll leave that alone and say
go back and listen to the sermon again. Romans chapter, I'm sorry,
1 John chapter 1, verse 8. If we say that we have no sin,
We deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. You tell
folks they're sinners, that's not me. Well, everybody's done
a little wrong. You say that, you deceive yourself.
Well, I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not like a lover. You
say that, you deceive yourself. The truth's not in you. You don't
know God from a bit ago. If we confess our sins, and that
doesn't mean walk down here and tell the congregation your heart's
been full of lust, and you've been going places you ought not
go, and you stole your neighbor's or his wheelbarrow, or his watermelons,
or his apples. That's not what we're talking
about. That's not. Let's talk about confess your sin. Talking
to me about your sins is easy, because I'm just like you. And
I don't need to hear about your sin. I don't want to hear about
sin. Please don't come confess it to me. I don't want to hear
about it. I don't want to hear about it. What's it talking about? You get alone with God, and you
rip open your heart to God, and you hide nothing. God, this is
what I am. As soon as you confess your sin,
he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Now, now, if we say that we have
not sinned, now he's talking about an action, Larry. We've
had this Bible conference. You ladies been working, you
men working, making sacrifices, had this Bible conference, and
you said, boy, we've done good this time. You get done reading your Bible,
you pray, have a little liberty to pray, and you say, well, now
I have a sin. That was one good thing I did.
If we say we have not sinned, I don't care what you've done,
we make God a liar, and his word's not in us, because sin is mixed
with everything we do. All our righteousnesses are filthy
rags before God. And we acknowledge it. Now, one
more thing. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
4. Ephesians chapter 4. If we would live in this world
for the glory of God, we must walk in love for God
our Savior and for his people. Ephesians 4 32 Be ye kind one
to another Tenderhearted Forgiving one another Even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you Be ye therefore followers of God. You
know what that word is? Did you ever imitate anybody? I remember when I was a boy,
my dad was a pretty good-sized fella. Well, I used to think
he was. I got to be a lot bigger. But I thought he was a pretty
good-sized fella. He was a truck driver. He was about 6 foot 2.
And he'd walk through the snow, and I'd try to walk behind him.
I tried my best to put my feet where he put his feet. And I
never could do it. I'd look back behind me, and
it'd just look like I'd drove something along through there.
Couldn't see a footprint anywhere. Because I just couldn't get my short
legs to stretch as far as his would. And I couldn't get my
little boots anywhere near big enough to fill his boots. But
I was seeking to imitate him. This word followers, John, the
word is imitators. Imitate God. Imitate God. Children of God, in everything
you do, imitate God. Love one another, forgive one
another, forbear with one another. I have a beautiful example of
it. Somebody referred to it the other
night. You remember when Ham saw his daddy drunk in the tent?
Ham looked at Noah and he said, I knew what he was like. I knew
it. Shem, Japheth, come here, boys.
Come here, brother Shem. Come here, brother Japheth. I
want to show you something. I've been telling you all along
that he was a fake. He's a hypocrite. He'd been deceiving
us. Look at him now. There he lays,
buck naked. He's so drunk he can't get out
of bed. Look at him. Look at him. And Shem and Japheth. Shem representing God's elect
among the Jews. Japheth representing God's elect
among the Gentiles, Ham representing the reprobate of this world.
Sham and Japheth would not look on their father's nakedness.
Do you know how that's used all the way through scripture? All
the way through scripture, nakedness refers to personal sin. Is that
right, Darwin? All the way through the book,
all the way through the book. But Sham and Japheth got him
a quilt, and they went in backwards. and covered up Noah. Covered
him up. Not only would they not look
on his nakedness, they wouldn't let anybody else look on it.
You know what that's called? That's called love. Love covers
evil. It doesn't expose it. Love covers,
say it. Read the book. Read the book.
It doesn't talk about it. It covers it up, covers it up. I know you won't believe this.
Larry, Mike, Darvin, Mike, they're not as nice to me as you folks
are. But sometimes I don't always do like I ought to. Sometimes I get bent out of shape. But I'll tell you who really
knows about that. Tell you who really knows about
that. She knows, oh my, how she knows
me. I'd be ashamed, John, for you
and your wife to know what she knows about me. I'd be ashamed. I'm ashamed for her to know it.
But I'll tell you something I know. You'll never know it. You'll
never know it. I have never heard anyone insinuate,
anywhere I've ever been in my life, that that woman said something
bad about me. And you know what? Let me see. I think I've got
$200 in my wallet. I'll bet you my $200 in my wallet.
And I'm not much of a gambling man. Maybe a little bit once
in a while, but not much. I'll bet you my $200 in my wallet
against $2 in yours. If I live to be 100 and she's
still there, you still won't hear her say anything bad about
me. You're not going to hear it? You're not going to hear
it? Not from her. Not from her. Larry might tell
you. And Darvin might tell you. Not her. Not her. How come? Because that lady loves me. She loves me. And if I love you, folks aren't
going to hear me talk bad about you. Is that right? And if I
love you, folks aren't going to hear me talk bad about you.
And I know y'all love me because I'm just picking at you. How
can you be sure? That's how God acts. And that's
how God's people would act. If you live for God, walk in
love one for another. What can I do for the Savior? There was a woman, Larry read
about her earlier. There's another account in Mark
chapter 14, where this woman came to wash the Savior's feet
in Judas. began to deride her, what a waste. And the other disciples
all joined suit. They all joined in. We're so
much like them. We'll follow a bad example, 20
to what? 20 to what? We'll follow a bad
example. And they all joined in, and they all said, all of
them, they said, why this waste? And the Lord Jesus said, he said
something about that woman. He never said about another act
of any human being Let her alone. She hath wrought a good work
on me, for she hath done what she could. What can I do for my Redeemer?
He's about to suffer and die for me. He's about to rise from
the dead. What can I do for him? Oh, I
know what I'll do. I've got this box of perfume. I've been saving it. I've been
saving this thing all my life. for the day when I retire from
being a prostitute. And he saved me by his grace.
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Oh, Lord, I know what I can
do. I can sneak in there, and I can take the lid off his thing,
break it open, and I can anoint him for his burial. That's the
one thing I can do just for him, just because I love him, because
I trust him. That's the one thing I can do
just for his glory. And the master said she did what
she could. She wrought a good work on me. Go, my brother. Go, my sister, in the days that
remain. And do what you can for him. I was talking about retirement
the other day. Somebody asked me about it a while back. And I
said, no, I don't have any intention of retiring. Don't look to retire.
As long as I can walk around and if somebody has to help me
with a cane, I'm going to continue to do what I'm doing. And I'm
not looking for less to do. I'm 65 years old, and I'm looking
for more to do. Looking for another way to serve
the Savior. I've been engaged in more meetings in the past
four or five years than I've ever been engaged in in four
or five years of my life. And as God opens the door, I'll keep
on doing it. Keep on doing it. Boy, you must go to huge places.
You won't believe how many places I go where I preach to two, three,
four, five people. How come? Because God opened the door and
there are immortal souls in need of hearing the gospel of God's
free grace. Well, how would you go there when you go to preach
to 5,000 or 6,000? Well, you find me a place where I can preach
5 or 6,000, I'll do that, too. But I can do what I can. I can
do what God put in my hand to do. Live, my brother. Live, my sister, for Christ,
who loved you and gave himself for you. Got to tell you one
more time about my daughter. Oh, I love that girl. So proud
of her. I've been away in meetings one
time. She was about four. And we used to have CB radios in
those days. And I called home, when I'd get
on top of the mountain, tell Shelby I'd be home in about 15,
20 minutes. And Faith had been out in the yard when she found
out Daddy was coming home. And she had gathered up, it was
in the springtime, and we had more dandelions than we had grass.
And she gathered up a fistful of dandelions. You all have those
things down here? Just the fuzz. Just blow them and you get 1,000
more. Just dandelions. And she had them behind her back
sitting on the porch, right on the front porch. I was right next to that porch
and the steps going into my office. And she saw me drive up in my
truck. And as soon as she saw me drive
up, that little girl jumped up and came running with her dandelions
just smiling at me. And by the time she got to me
and I got the door open, there was nothing there but the ugly
stems of those ugly dandelions. And she began to bawl because
she was so sad. Her dandelions looked so rotten. And I began to bawl, because
I was so glad those dandelions looked so pretty. I'd give you $1,000 for them
right now. I'm telling you the truth. I'd
give you $1,000 for them right now. How come? Well, I'll tell
you how come. That little four-year-old girl did what she could. She did what
she could. Her mama fixed me some macaroni
and cheese inside. Her mama fixed me some country-style
steak inside. I hadn't forgot that either.
But she could do a lot. That little four-year-old girl,
all she could do was bring me some dandelions, and they were
messed up times. She got them to me just because
she loves me. Take my life. and let it be consecrated,
Lord, to Thee. Amen.