I've told you many times the
word salvation, as it is used in scripture, is a much, much
bigger word than we commonly think of when we speak of salvation. Like redemption, salvation involves
the totality of God's marvelous works of grace, lifting sinners
from Adam's fall into the glorious liberty of the sons of God at
last in everlasting glory. Salvation takes in the whole
thing. Salvation takes in all the work
of God the Father, all the work of God the Son, all the work
of God the Holy Spirit, all our experience of grace, all the
grace given us in Christ before the world began, and all the
grace that is promised us that is yet to be experienced in the
days lying before us in this world and in that great eternal
day at our Savior's side. I rejoice in the way salvation
is described in this book. Let me remind you of a few of
them. The first time the term is used in Genesis 49 and verse
18, it is called God's salvation. In the book of Hebrews, We're
told that our salvation is eternal salvation. Jude speaks of our
salvation, the salvation of God's elect, as common salvation, the
common salvation shared, experienced, known by all God's elect, that
salvation that is equally and fully possessed by every saved
sinner. Hebrews chapter 2 speaks of God's
salvation this way, so great salvation. How shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation? I love that term, so great salvation. For it comes from the great God.
It is salvation for great sinners. It comes to us through the merits
of our great Savior. It flows to us from the great
reservoir of God's great grace, the very heart of God, the love
of God, and it secures for us the inheritance, the great inheritance
of heaven's glory. Indeed, our salvation is great
salvation. God promises in Isaiah 45 that
he will save Israel with an everlasting salvation, salvation that reaches
from everlasting to everlasting. He says, Israel shall be saved
in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed
nor confounded world without end. Sinners saved by grace shall
never perish because God's salvation is everlasting salvation. His
love for us is everlasting love. His election is everlasting election. His grace is everlasting grace. His redemption, everlasting redemption. And the seal of the spirit is
an everlasting seal. But turn with me to Ephesians
chapter 1. No description of salvation can be found in this
book that is sweeter, more delightful, more comforting, or more satisfying
to our souls than that which is found here in Ephesians 1
13. Here the Spirit of God describes the salvation of believing sinners,
this great eternal work of our God, this everlasting salvation
as your salvation. Oh, how I pray that God will
make his salvation your salvation. Your salvation. I love that. If you're saved, the salvation
you have in Christ is your salvation. Now, this is what that means.
God devised it for you. Christ purchased it for you. God the Holy Ghost brought it
to you. and wrought it in you. It's yours
forever. If you trust the Lord Jesus Christ,
all that is included in this word salvation, everything included
in salvation is yours, your personal property, your personal possession
forever. It belongs to you by the gift
of God's grace forever. If you're saved, the salvation
God has brought in you is your salvation. Now let's look at
these three verses, these sweet, sweet verses here in Ephesians
1, 12, 13, and 14. God's great goal in all His purpose
of grace and in all His work of grace, God's great goal in
election, predestination, redemption, righteousness. His goal is that
we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in
Christ. In whom ye also trusted after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that ye believed
ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the
earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of His glory." This great, glorious,
eternal, everlasting, common salvation wrought in us is distinctly
ours. God calls it your salvation.
And let's look at these three verses, and I want to call your
attention to five things about your salvation. First the Spirit
of God tells us that our salvation in and by Christ is salvation
designed for divine praise. That we should be to the praise
of His glory. That's why God saved us. He saved
us for the glory of His name. Psalm 106 verse 8 tells us that
He did this for His name's sake. His namesake. Above everything
else, the reason God has mercy on sinners is for the praise,
the honor, and glory of His name. This is the end of predestination. This is the end of election.
This is the end of adoption. This is the end of redemption
and calling, that we should be to the praise of His glory. That is to say, God saved us
that His glory might be revealed in us. That His glory might be
revealed in us. What do you have that you've
not received? And if you've received it, why
do you glory as if you had not received it? God saved us that
His glory might be displayed in our salvation. Soon he will
present us before wandering worlds and say, look here what my grace
has done. And glorify himself forever in
the fact that he saved us. He did this that we should ascribe
all praise, honor, and glory to him and to him alone. so that
saved sinners lift their voices in unison and say not unto us,
not unto us, but unto thy name be glory forever and ever. Amen. He saved us that we should give
thanks to God and to God alone for all the benefits of his grace
and all the blessings we enjoy. God teach me, God teach me ever
to lift my voice the voice of my heart in praise and thanksgiving
to you for that which you have done, are doing, and shall hereafter
do in saving my soul. Oh, to glorify God who has shown
such great grace to us. He saved us so that we might
order our lives in all things for his glory. God teach us,
graciously compel us to order our lives, make our decisions
based upon this one thing above all other things, His glory. In our conduct to one another,
in our speech to and about one another, in our attitudes, in
our behavior, God teach us, compel us as only you can to glorify
you. And last, that we should do all
things with this in view ought to be the ambition of our souls,
the glory of our God. God saved us. First and foremost,
that we should be to the praise of his glory. Second, the salvation
of our souls is based upon a divine trust. Now, I won't spend much
time here. I dealt with it a good bit a
couple of weeks ago. But we read here that we should be to the
praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ. The Apostle
Paul, writing by divine inspiration, tells us here that first God,
the triune Jehovah, trusted the Lord Jesus, the God-man, our
mediator. And then he tells us that we
also trust in Christ. trust in him. But before we trust
him, the Lord God from everlasting, the triune Jehovah, God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost trusted our mediator with
our souls. Turn back again to John chapter
6, John the 6th chapter. As you read the scriptures, you
understand the book of God is written by divine inspiration.
Read the scriptures carefully and watch the words. When words
are changed, when you don't really expect them to be changed, there's
a reason. When words are used interchangeably,
there's a reason. Look here in John 6, verse 37.
Our Savior is speaking. He says, all that the Father
giveth That word speaks of that which God is presently doing. All that the Father gives and
continues to give unto me presently in regeneration, effectual calling
and conversion shall come to me. When God gives you to Christ
by His almighty grace you will come to Christ. When God gives you to Christ,
you will come to Christ. Not when the preacher is just
real eloquent. And not when the soul winner
puts the pressure on. Not when you get in trouble and
you decide you need to get right with God. When God gives you
to Christ, you'll come to Him. And you won't come until then.
You won't come until then. I said you will not come until
then. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. I'm often asked,
but Brother Don, how can I come to God? How can I come to Christ? Come any way you can get to Him.
Any way you can get to Him. But you've got to feel this.
You've got to do that. You've got to know this. Him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. That is, you come
to me and I will never for any reason turn my back on you. You come to me and I will never
for any reason cast you out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will but the will of Him that sent me. My reason
for being here is to do my Father's will. And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all, now watch this, which
He hath given me, that which God has done from eternity, hath
given me from everlasting, those the Father trusted to my hands,
those the Father gave to me and said, go redeem them, go and
save them, go and bring them back to me. The Father's will
is that of all He trusted to my hands from everlasting, I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. Thus the Lord Jesus spoke of
the Father's trust in Him. But our text says, in whom ye
also trusted. At the appointed time of mercy,
love, and grace, every chosen sinner redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ, every sinner chosen of God, every sinner redeemed
by blood atonement, no exceptions, every sinner called by God the
Holy Spirit shall come to Christ, being born again by irresistible
power, irresistible grace. We were talking back in the office,
folks, I think it was Mark asked me when when folks started using
the term particular redemption instead of limited atonement.
Well, people do this to make it more acceptable to men. I'm
often told you shouldn't use the word irresistible grace.
It implies force. Men can't resist. That's what
I intended by it. By a force you can't resist. By a force you can't resist. God the Holy Spirit causes sinners
to trust in Christ. You find yourself believing Him. You find yourself believing Him. You resist believing Him, and
you resist believing Him, and you resist believing Him, but
you can't resist the grace of God when the Spirit calls people
come to Christ. David called for his servants
to go down to Lodebar and fetch Mephibosheth. What a picture. What a picture. God, the Holy
Spirit, fetches chosen redeemed sinners to Christ at the appointed
time of love and causes them to believe. All right, let's
look at the text again. Here's the third thing. If you're
saved, your salvation is a salvation obtained and enjoyed by a divine
gift in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of truth. the gospel of your salvation. Our trust in Christ, our faith
in the Lord Jesus, like all other blessings of grace, is the gift
of God. Faith is not something of human
work. Faith is not something men Managed
to work up in themselves faith is not something that you can
induce people to if you're you put the right kind of Psychological
pressure on them. You can get people to make a
profession of faith You can get people to quit acting mean and
start acting nice You can get people to quit being drunks and
be sober you can get people to quit being irreligious and get
them religious But you can't cause anybody to believe on Christ
Only God can do that Faith is the gift of God. Look at Ephesians
2 verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. It is the gift of God. It is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. Faith is not a human decision,
though certainly the gift of faith causes sinners to make
decisions. Faith is not a work that men
do, though the gift of faith in sinners causes sinners to
work by faith and love. Faith in Christ is the gift of
God. It is that same gift, the same
power rather, by which God raised Christ from the dead that causes
sinners to believe. Look at Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians 2. Now this is not something that's
a little ambiguous. It's not something that's not
clearly stated. Colossians 2 verse 10. And you
are complete in Christ, which is the head of all principality
and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands. I'll say more about this in a
minute, Lord willing, but circumcision in the Old Testament Had nothing
to do with believers baptism had nothing at all to do with
believers baptism Circumcision in the Old Testament was a type
and picture of the new birth the circumcision of the heart
Circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ Buried with him in
baptism wherein also you're risen with him through the faith of
the operation of God so that faith is the operation of God
in us who hath raised him from the dead. Notice that the object
of all true faith, all saving faith, is a whom, not a what. In whom ye also trust it. In whom ye also trust it. Some people have the idea that if you get the right doctrine,
if you get the right doctrine, then you're saved. I've had folks
tell me many times over the years with regard to what we commonly
call the five points of Calvinism are the doctrines of grace, total
depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible
grace, perseverance of the faith. There's a man who can't believe
that who's not saved. Oh, yes, you can. Judas did. Judas did. Oh yes, you can believe
all the facts revealed in Scripture and all the doctrine revealed
in Scripture and not know God. Not know God. When I was in college
years ago, there was a fellow who had memorized the Scripture
and he could literally quote the Bible from beginning to end
and never miss a syllable. Never miss one. And he didn't
know God from a billy goat. He didn't know God from the beginning.
His doctrine was totally contrary to Scripture. It is not what
you believe, but whom you believe. Now, what's involved in this
matter of trust in Christ? Let me give you two or three
things. First, trust in Christ demands
a renunciation of self. It is self-renunciation. Boy,
that's tough. No, it's not tough. It's impossible. You will never renounce your
righteousness, your goodness, your worth, the rule of yourself
until God conquers you by His grace. But there can be no trust
in Christ until we cease to trust in ourselves. The fact is, Christ
is the last refuge of every sinner. He's the last refuge. Our experience
of grace verifies that fact. Let me show you. When we first
begin to be troubled in conscience, when we're first made to tremble
before God's law, we try everything possible to obtain peace. We
start to straighten up, try to live right. We reform our lives. and start confessing our sin,
and we start to perform religious duties, maybe join the church,
countless other things, seeking rest and peace in our souls. Seeking forgiveness. Seeking
acceptance with God. Trying by something to save ourselves. Trying by something to merit
God's grace. And then God comes in mercy. sweeps away our refuge of lies. He comes in mercy and destroys
everything we built. He comes in great mercy and destroys
every hope of our souls. He comes in mercy and fixes it
so we have nothing to trust in. He causes everything on which
we have leaned to be a spear in our souls and causes us to
to come to Christ. He makes our righteousness stink
as filthy rags in our own nostrils as it does before God. We are
the circumcision, the Apostle says. We are those who have been
circumcised in heart. We are those who are born again
by God. We are those who are God's covenant
people, who worship God in the Spirit. rejoice in Christ Jesus
that is to say we trust Christ we boast in Christ we glory in
Christ and have no confidence in the flesh what we know what
we've experienced what we do what we have done what we hope
to do gives us no confidence before God Our only confidence
before God is Jesus Christ died for me. Is that your confidence
or isn't it? Is that your hope or isn't it?
All right. The second thing with regard
to trusting Christ, faith in him, trusting him alone as our
savior is the fact that this alone is glorifying to God. He who ordained our salvation
to the praise of His glory causes us to glorify Him in it. By trusting
Christ, we magnify and glorify God in the totality of His being. We trust Christ, honoring all
God's attributes, each in particular, to trust Christ is to glorify
the justice and truth of God, taking sides with God against
ourselves like David did when he said against thee, and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou
mayest be justified when thou speakest and just when thou judgest. Trusting Christ glorifies God's
truth. Hear God's truth. Hear God's
truth. He that believeth on the Son
life. Whosoever believeth on him shall
receive remission of sins. Whosoever believeth in him shall
not be ashamed. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is Christ is born of God. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Is that true? Is that true? I believe on the Son of God. I'm saved. God's salvation is
mine. I know God's salvation is mine
because I believe on the Son of God. I know my name is written
in the book of God, the Lamb's book of life before the world
began because I believe on the Son of God. I know that Jesus
Christ, when he died at Calvary, died as my covenant head, my
surety, my representative, my substitute. I know he put away
my sins because I believe on the Son of God. I know that I've
been called by God's Spirit, regenerated, born again. Not
because of evidences I find in my life. I could camp here all night long,
and enough can't be said with regard
to this. People talk about evidences.
You have assurance because you love the brethren. I do love you, but my love for
you Doesn't give me any confidence
before God because it lacks so much. Understand that? You look at your wife and you
say, I love you. And then you say, I wish I could
love you like I want to. My love for that lady lacks so
much. You can hardly call it love.
There's no assurance in that. There's no assurance in that.
Well, we know we're saved because we started acting right. I know
he's saved because I remember what he used to be. You haven't started behaving
as good as Saul of Tarsus yet. Your behavior is no assurance.
No assurance. I know he's saved. He's so sacrificial. If I give my body to be burned
and don't have Christ, it profits me nothing. Prophets mean nothing.
What's the assurance? He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life. So that in the teeth of all my
sin, in the coldness of my heart, in the hard steel of my soul,
I still believe on the Son of God. And that's my assurance. glory to God alone. That means
if I'm saved God did it and God gets the praise. A remarkable
statement found at the end of Psalm 138 verse 2. Thou hast magnified thy word
above all thy name. Thou hast magnified thy word
above all thy name. God's given us His Word. He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. God has magnified His decreeing
Word, His living Word, and His written Word above all His name. That is to say, God has set all
His glory at stake in His Word. What a statement. God has sent
all His glory at stake in His Word. He'll either be true to
it or He is not God. God said, He that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life. Faith in Christ glorifies God,
magnifying His Word, taking Him at His Word above all things. Turn back to 1 John, 1 John chapter
5. Look at this. This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that
hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. What a simple declaration. What
a glorious declaration. When God graciously causes stout-hearted
rebels to bow before Him, trusting Christ, making sinners saved
by His grace, His glory on the earth. By His free grace, God
makes us His glory. He says, I will place salvation
in Zion for Israel, my glory. I will place salvation in Zion
for Israel, my glory. God looks at us, His church,
His people, sinners saved by His grace, and He says, here's
my glory. Here's my glory. This is the
display of my glory. This is the showing of my glory.
This is the manifestation of my glory. In his indescribable
condescending grace, our great God stoops to be glorified in
us. Trusting his darling Son, sinners
glorify the triune God. I've told you many times, and
I know you who know God share the concern and care. I want
so much to glorify God. I want to glorify God. How can
you glorify God? By believing Him. By believing
Him. Whoso offereth praise glorifyeth
me. To him that ordereth his conversation
aright, I will show the salvation of God. The sweet incense of
faith, trust, and gratitude ascends day and night from the altar
of love in the believing heart to the glory of God. But how
did we come to believe? Listen to this, in whom ye also
trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. God saves sinners by the hearing
of the Word, by the preaching of the Gospel. Brother Mark and
I were talking at the service this morning a little bit. We
have many, many avenues of ministry God's given us in our day. I
spoke to Brother Ranere about the book, Discovering Christ
Day by Day. What I do in preaching and writing,
all of it I do for you. for this congregation. If others
benefit by it, I'm delighted. But it's written, it's done,
the study is done for you, for your benefit, for the benefit
of your souls. Because God is pleased by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The preaching of
Jesus Christ crucified, the preaching of the gospel is the preaching
of this book. This book is not preached except
as the gospel of God's free grace in Christ is preached. But this
text of scripture might be read this way. Look at it again. In whom you also trusted, after
that you heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation. so that we come to know God. When God comes in grace by the
preaching of the Word and calls His sinners to know their salvation,
He declares to you your salvation. He declares to you your salvation. God the Holy Spirit takes the
things of Christ and says this is yours. This is yours. He declares to you your salvation. He sprinkles your conscience
with the blood of Christ, causing you to believe and thereby rejoice
in his salvation. The works were finished from
the foundation of the world. They're brought to light in the
experience of grace by faith in Christ Jesus. And thus, we
are once more instructed here in the fact that by the preaching
of the gospel, God saves sinners. For that reason, Satan sets his
assault upon the pulpit. For that reason, Satan sets his
assault upon preachers. And he is not bothered by preachers
debating doctrine and issues and creeds and history and all
that nonsense. That doesn't disturb his kingdom.
That which breaks the gates of hell is the preaching of the
gospel of God's free grace. Pray for your pastor and for
every man that God has put in this blessed work. And pray that
God will raise up others to proclaim His grace so that we might declare
to men and women everywhere the simplicity that's in Christ Jesus,
the gospel of the free grace of God. Look back at our text.
Here's the fourth thing. Our salvation is a salvation
secured. made sure to each believing sinner
by a divine seal, in whom ye also believed. I'm sorry, in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
Having believed, you're sealed. Now this is not talking about
a second work of grace as the Pentecostal heretics would teach.
It's talking about that which comes with faith. When God the
Holy Spirit gives the sinner faith, He seals to you all the
promises and blessings of God's grace in covenant mercy. All
the blessings of God's salvation. He says, this is yours. Giving
you by the seal of the Spirit, the blessed assurance of faith. The full assurance of faith. This is something that only God
can give. No man can. I was chatting the
other day with Brother John Thornberry. He's, I think, 80 years old.
I called him the day after his birthday just to chat with him
a little bit. And he was telling me about his first encounter
with Roth Barnard. Roth had come to Ashland preaching
and folks were, oh, they were disturbed. Oh, they were disturbed.
Just tore it up. One of John's companions, Don
Fitzer, I know him well. A young man in the church, the
young people are all disturbed. He was tore up and just convinced
he was lost, and John went up to comfort him. And Roth was
listening. Wrong fellow to be hearing him.
He was listening. And John was trying to assure
Don that he was saved. You've been saved for a long
time. I remember when it happened. And Roth tapped John on the shoulder. He said, young man, Nobody will
try to convince a lost man he saved except another lost man. You can't do that. You can't
do that. Only God gives assurance. And when God gives faith, God
gives assurance. And as we are given faith, as
God graciously increases faith, the greater the assurance comes.
The only time we lack assurance, have trouble with assurance,
the only time, you, me, everybody else, is when we start looking
here. You start looking to yourself,
but how can a believer be like I am? How can that be? The fact is,
Merle Hart, Every believer is just like I am and just like
you are. Every one of us. Every believer
still has Adam's heart by nature. Every believer still has raging
in his soul coming up from his heart like an oozing fountain
of corruption Flashing out everywhere, adultery and fornication and
murder and blasphemy and deceit and lying and hypocrisy. That's
what we are by nature and it will never change while we live
in this world. Our assurance doesn't come from
looking to ourselves. Our assurance comes from looking
out of ourselves to Him who's finished our salvation. And God
the Holy Spirit in the gift of faith seals to us this blessed
work of grace. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. A seal
identifies ownership and a seal preserves the thing sealed. We haven't raised a garden in
a few years but When we raised the garden, Shelby would go out
and pick the beans. She did about all the work, as
I had been reminded by most people who'd been around. She did about
all the work. But I would help her a little.
And we'd stay up until late at night canning beans, breaking
them up, putting them on, boiling them, take them off. But putting
them up, I had one job to do. My job was to salt and seal. Salt and seal. put in a teaspoon
of salt, whatever that spoon is of salt, whatever she gave
me, that's what I put in there. And then she'd give me the lid
out of a boiling water bath and the ring and I'd tighten it down
and we'd put it in the canner. Let them boil for 20 minutes
in that pressure cooker. Used to have to let them boil,
what was it, an hour or two hours, three hours. We finally got us
a canner, had to boil them for 20 minutes and then take them
out and set them on the shelf and listen. I heard just six pings. One of
them didn't take. As soon as that thing pinged,
it was sealed. And you know what she'll do?
I won't tell you how long we have kept green beans that were
canned, she would be embarrassed, but I've seen her do it many
times, just to be sure the seal didn't break. She'll remember
a can, and before she'd ever give me one, she'd taste one,
be sure it was all right. And when I saw her dump it in the
pot, I knew it was all right, the seal kept them. The seal
preserves things fresh. That's what God the Spirit does
for us. He preserves us in Christ Jesus. He seals to us God's grace, declaring
in us God's ownership, and causing us to know, I am my beloved's
and my beloved is mine. And he preserves us unto the
day of redemption. God the Holy Spirit is that blessing
of the covenant promised to Abraham which we have received because
of redemption in Christ Jesus. Now, one last thing. God the
Holy Spirit dwelling in us is the pledge of resurrection glory
until the redemption of the purchased possession. Ours is a salvation Assured by
this divine pledge, he is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of
his glory. The earnest, we refer to it as
earnest money, or down payment. Shelby and I got married June
1st, 1969, and moved into a little camper. They called it a trailer,
but it wasn't as big as most Wasn't anywhere near as big as
Camper Claus and Ruth Avenue. You could put it inside that
camper. But it was a trailer. And it came furnished. Rented
it for $65 a month. Had to pay $45 for the trailer
and $20 to park it. But it came furnished. And then
we found out she was expecting Faith. And we had to find us
a place to live right quick. And we went out and rented an
apartment. Didn't have any furniture. Didn't own a thing. And I had
to go out and find some furniture. And I started looking around.
Man, where are you going to buy furniture? Fill up a bedroom
and a kitchen and a living room? Find furniture? Where on earth
am I going to find furniture? I don't have any money. And finally,
I went out to a place that sold trailers. And they had a great
big huge warehouse stuffed full of junk furniture they had taken
out of the trailers. And I started negotiating. I said, I need a
kitchen table and chairs. I need a bedroom suit and a living
room suit. And we went out and found something.
He said, you can have all three for $500. I said, I ain't got
$500. And he said, well, boss says $500. I said, I'm sorry,
I can't afford that. And he came back. He went back,
came back, went back, came back, went back, and came back. Finally,
he said, what can you give? I said, I'll pay you $250 for
it. And he went back, finally, last time. And he said, all right,
boss, we'll set it to you for $250. Give me $250. I said, I
don't have $250. I just got $50. I'll give you this 50 and come
back Friday and get it. Okay. That meant I either come
back and pick up the furniture or I lose the 50 bucks. And I
wasn't about to lose the 50 bucks. I went back and picked up the
furniture. We used it for years. Bob used it to teach Sunday school
downstairs at that table down there. We used it for years.
And that was mine and it was pledged to me by the earnest
money I put down for it. God has given us his spirit, causing us who believe to trust
his son. And that's God's pledge. That's
God's pledge. This ain't over yet. This ain't
over yet. There is a day coming. called
the glorious liberty of the sons of God when Christ shall come
again and raise these bodies from the dust and salvation will
be finished. Then, oh, blessed anticipation,
oh, good hope of grace, we will no longer struggle with that
Adam heart and that Adam nature. that causes us so much pain now. We will not even have any sorrow. I can't even imagine that, can
you? I can imagine no sorrow for the
grave and no sorrow for sickness, no sorrow for the pains of being
children or being parents. I can imagine that. I can imagine
no sorrow for all the stuff that goes on around us and causes
us sorrow. But when God gets done, there's
not even going to be a tear shed for sin. He will show us that all He has
done has been for your salvation. for your everlasting enjoyment
of God in resurrection glory. Amen.