It is so very, very good to be
with you again tonight. I have read a lot of books and
papers about preaching. I studied the subject a good
bit from various sources. I've heard preaching described
in a lot of ways by different men. The best definition I've
ever heard or read of preaching was given by Brother Scott Richardson,
who's now with the Lord, when he was preaching once for me
in Danville. He said, preaching is getting a message from God's
heart to my heart to your heart. That's what preaching is. getting
a message from God's heart to my heart to your heart. If you'll open your Bibles to
the first chapter of Ephesians tonight, I believe God's given
me a message for you. When we open this book of Ephesians,
we immediately open a door that brings us into an indescribable
treasure house of grace. Everything in the epistle is
profoundly delightful and wonderfully sublime. The things written in
the pages of this book are things that could never have been written.
They could never have been written. They could never have been known.
They could never have been imagined were they not written by God
the Holy Spirit in divine inspiration. and the things written on the
pages you have in front of you could never be understood by
any human being except God the Holy Spirit teach you that which
is here written. It is my prayer that God will
be our teacher tonight. The fact that a gospel church
was established in Ephesus is itself a matter of great wonder. It was Ephesus to which the Apostle
Paul was sent to preach the gospel. The city of Ephesus, as I was
working on this message today, I thought, this is a lot like
San Diego, California. Ephesus was in its day a huge
city. Somewhere in excess of 225, maybe
250,000 people in that city. In those days, that was a huge
city. It was a wealthy, luxurious port
city. A city to which people came expecting
to find everything they could desire. A place where philosophers
gathered. A place where intellectuals gathered.
A place where tradesmen gathered. The city of Ephesus was a place
to be envied by all natural standards. And it was a godless, vile, reprobate
society in which to live. I said godless. Actually, they
had many gods. They just didn't know God. Utterly
godless. They had a great temple to their
dung goddess, Diana. And all of the debauchery that
always follows idolatry was found in Ephesus. And yet, among the
Ephesians, there were many of the Lord's hidden ones. people
chosen of God from eternity, redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ, who must be called by God's grace. And so at the
appointed time of love, God sent his servant Paul in accordance
with God's own promises in the covenant. He sent his servant
by the power of the spirit to preach the word and gather his
redeemed ones in that place to the Savior. Now, when Paul labored
at Ephesus, he labored there for three years. And then he
left them, went to preach the gospel elsewhere. But a large,
thriving church was established in the city of Ephesus. And you
read this epistle, everything here as we open the book, everything
in the book talks about grace. The primary things dealt with
here is the everlasting love of God for his elect. God's covenant
mercy and grace in Christ Jesus. The accomplished redemption of
our dear Savior. Work of God's Holy Spirit in
calling sinners to life and faith in him and his preserving grace
Keeping us in the way of life Making us to follow the path
of faith the faith in Christ Jesus the Lord Making us by the
sweet constraint of his grace Conformed to the image of his
darling son the Lord Jesus the Apostle Paul left the city as
I said and went elsewhere and then this church flourished. Oh, it flourished. I said this
to you, I said it to our folks at home Sunday, I can't tell
you how excited I am for what I expect God to do with you in
this place. Brother Frank Hall, his wife
Stacy moving to North Carolina, I can't express how excited I
am, what I expect God to do in that place. Brother Clay Curtis
there in Princeton, I just, I'm just excited, I'm excited. God
made this church at Ephesus in that large city of debauchery
a lighthouse for the gospel of his grace. And it continued such
for many years and was known throughout the church and kingdom
of God for the furtherance of the gospel from that place, Ephesus. But that local church, like so
many since, is no more. For many years, a faithful congregation. Then the Lord Jesus discovered
a very sad fault in the church at Ephesus. The pastor, the angel
of the church, didn't see it. The people in the congregation
were unaware of it, but the Lord Jesus saw it. And therefore,
he sent a letter to the church at Ephesus. You can read it in
the second chapter of Revelation at your leisure. It was to be
read publicly. I can imagine that for some in
the congregation, when they heard that letter read, they just didn't
hear it at all. Others in the congregation trembled
with fear. The letter read like this, the
Savior said, I have found somewhat against thee, because thou hast
left thy first love. And he said, he that hath an
ear Let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Let us
each ask God to give us ears to hear and hearts to obey the
Savior's word to his church. Let us each ask ourselves this
question and answer it honestly. Is there in me a declension from
that first love to Christ? As painful as the question is,
ask it of yourself, not of anyone else, just of you. Not of anyone
else, just of you. Because the Ephesian church left
its first love, because they found something more important
to them. something more important to them
than Christ, his gospel, his church, his worship, his praise,
and his service. The Lord Jesus removed the candlestick
out of its place. And that great lighthouse became
a den of darkness and withered away. What a loud, thunderously loud
word of warning that ought to be to Sovereign Grace Church
in San Diego, California. To Don Fortner and Eric Richards
and to you. What a loud, thunderously loud
warning this ought to be to us. If God spared not that church,
once so greatly blessed, Let us take heed lest he find reason
to remove this candlestick. The church of God will stand.
There's no question about that. It will stand. God will preserve
his witness in this world until time is no more. But the candlestick
is just a piece of furniture in the house. You can take the
candlestick away and do no harm to the house. Don't ever get
the idea that you're real important or even real significant in the
scheme of things. Don't ever get the idea that
somehow the calls of God and the people of God and the church
of God depend on you. Now act like they do. Labor as
they do. But don't ever get the idea that
you're indispensable. The fact is, this assembly and
this preacher, this pastor speaking to you, and the congregation
I serve, is altogether indispensable. It's just a candlestick. It's
just a candlestick. The candlestick is designed of
God for one purpose. God established this congregation
in this place to be a pillar and ground of the truth, holding
forth the light of the gospel in this generation. If you cease
to serve that purpose, the Lord will remove the candlestick.
And sadly, when he removes the candlestick, usually the folks
don't even know it. They just go on functioning just
as they always have. So I urge you, pray for grace,
for continual outpourings of grace, that you and I may be
faithful to Christ. God has answered your prayer
for many years. You met here together and ask
him. Every time we met together, I
remember hearing you men pray, God send us a pastor after your
heart. You remember that? He did that. He did that to feed you with
knowledge and understanding. He's given you a man who faithfully
and boldly preaches the gospel of God's free grace in Christ
Jesus all the time. I commend you, I commend you.
A man you have been anxious to hear, anxious
to come and hear what God would speak next by his servant. How long have you been here now,
two years? Almost two years. I suspect,
I suspect for some of you, you're not always as anxious to come
hear that man anymore. Not always as excited, what's
God going to say next? Not always as full of anticipation
to hear God's word. Ask for God's continual outpouring
of grace to sustain you in utter love and commitment to Christ,
together with your pastor serving our Redeemer. Now, let's look
at our text. Ephesians chapter 1, verses 1,
2, and 3. Paul begins the letter with his
common salutation. But when you read the salutations
and benedictions given in Scripture, don't ever read them as just
a courteous way, a polite way, a proper way to write a letter.
You often hear folks refer to the benedictions and recite them
or quote them. Sometimes they do so with meaning. They do so from heartfelt desire
of God to fulfill that blessing spoken of in the benediction.
But generally, generally, you just read them, hear them, and
you ignore them. The salutation given here in
verses 1 and 2 is every bit as full of inspiration as all the
rest of the epistle. And it is full of instruction.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints
which are at San Diego, California. Read it just that way. That's
taking no license. When you read the scriptures,
yes, it is important to understand to whom the word was written,
to whom it was originally addressed. But don't ever read this book
as if it were written to a group of people in Asia Minor 2,000
years ago, facing different troubles and different heartaches and
different trials and different heresies than you. This book
is the living word of God to Sovereign Grace Church in San
Diego, California, this day, in this place, in this hour. Hear it that way. To the faithful
in Christ Jesus. I wanna just talk to you about
two things tonight. God's messenger and his message. First, let's look at the messenger.
Who is God's messenger? We've got preachers galore. Preachers,
not the case here. First time my wife and I were
out here was back in 1994. Came out here for our 25th wedding
anniversary because I had some frequent flyer miles and this
is as far as I could get free. And we had some time in the motel.
We stayed out here on Hotel Circle. And we drove around and we didn't
go everywhere, but we spent several days out here. And you know what
we didn't see? No, what we didn't see the whole
time we were out here, we didn't see a church building, period.
Didn't see anything look like a church building. No sign said
church building. I know you had them, but we didn't see one.
And after we'd been here a few days, started to leave, realized
we didn't see a single church building. Where we live, you
can't open your eyes and not see one. We don't live in the
Bible Belt, we live in the buckle. And we've got preachers on every
corner. And if we got a prison right down the road from us,
I'll guarantee you there's one on every cell block in the prison.
We've got preachers galore. But who is God's messenger? Who speaks for God? Is there
any way we can tell who speaks as God's messenger and who speaks
as Antichrist? Who speaks for Christ and who
speaks against Him? God the Holy Spirit makes clear
distinctions in this book identifying who God's messengers are. We'll
be wise to pay attention. Let's look right here in our
text. Paul begins the epistle by identifying himself as a messenger
of Jesus Christ. Paul, an apostle. Now somewhere,
make yourself a note. That word apostle simply means
messenger. Yes, Paul was an apostle. He is that one ordained of God
to take the place of Judas. He is that one who filled Judas'
place according to God's purpose. But the apostles are all dead
and have all been dead for 2,000 years. They've never been one
since. Never been one since. I know there are many who claim
to have apostolic succession. The old man in Rome claims to
be the succeeder to the apostle Peter. Well, nothing could be
further from the truth. There are many who claim to have
apostolic gifts. Gifts of healing and speaking
in tongues and visions and miracles and all that stuff. Those fellas,
as your pastor read just a little bit ago in 2 Thessalonians 2,
are clearly identified as Antichrist. Those things that were signs
of the apostles in the apostles day, those things being pretended
by men today, and even should they actually possess them, they
possess them from hell and not from God. Those are signs of
Antichrist. Nobody has the gift of tongues.
Nobody has the gift of healing. Nobody has the gift of inspiration.
Those things are ended. But God still has his messengers. Every man sent of God to preach
the gospel is a messenger. Now watch what it says. A messenger
of Jesus Christ. A messenger of Jesus Christ. Paul didn't say, Paul THE messenger
of Jesus Christ. He didn't say that and he didn't
think that. He said, Paul. A messenger of Jesus Christ. Just one among many. a voice,
a servant of Jesus Christ. That's this man, the apostle
Paul. And that's who God's servants
are. Paul didn't thrust himself into
this office. He didn't seek it in any way.
He was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. But he said,
necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel. His labors, his sacrifices, his
sufferings for the cause of Christ were patiently endured silently. He spoke of them only when inspired
of God to do so for the instruction of God's people. He suffered
those things, endured those things, and labored as he did as a servant
of God willingly because he's the servant of Jesus Christ.
He didn't engage in his work because he wanted to find a livelihood
or secure an honorable name, but because God had called him
to the work, and God put him in the work. No man taketh this
honor unto himself, and yet he who is called of God doesn't
shrink from his responsibilities. He doesn't shrink from the sacrifices
demanded. By necessity, God puts them upon
him. The church today doesn't need
more preachers. We got way too many. Ralph Barnard
used to say somebody ought to put a 10 cent bounty on them,
and I agree. We got way too many. But we desperately
need some men called of God. Pray to the Lord of the harvest
that he would send forth laborers into his vineyard. God's called several men from
our congregation, put them in the work of the ministry. And
you know, I miss every one of them. I miss every one of them.
I'd use every one of them. I put them to work while they
were with us, but I wouldn't have one of them back. Pray that
God will be pleased to send forth laborers into his vineyard. But
understand, those who are called of God are men constrained by
the love of Christ, not by the love of money. Men who labor
not for gain, but for the glory of God. Men who do not fleece
the sheep, who do not seek what they can get from God's people,
but rather feed the sheep. Men who are sent into the field,
not men who seek the forefront. Now look what it says here about
God's messenger. He is God's messenger. that man who is sent of God. Any man who puts himself into
the work, who labors from any other motive other than the will
of God, the call of God, the gift of God, the glory of God,
cannot preach the gospel. You can't do it. He can preach
the truth of the gospel. He can entertain you and teach
you with interesting things, but he cannot preach the gospel.
Paul makes that very clear in Romans 10 when he says, how shall
they preach? Except they be sent. I have been praying. I've been
praying all the way out here ever since I finished preaching
at home Sunday evening. I've been praying. God, give
me the message needed for your people this hour. If I'm not sent of God this hour,
what I say here will be just so many words. You understand
that? Pray for your pastor every time
you're scheduled to meet together as he prepares to come to this
place. God, send him with your message
burning in his bones that must be delivered. I don't come here
to share something with you. Oh, I cringe. I want to share
something with you. I'm here to declare God's Word
to you. I don't come here to discuss
doctrinal issues with you. I don't come here to discuss
questions. Let's think about that. I think
this is what that means. My questions I leave in the study.
I seek a word from God and grace from God to declare the word
and come to deliver to you, not something for you to consider,
not something for you to think about, something for you to hear
and heed right now. Understand that? The message
of God and His servant is God's message to you. The man who bears
God's message to God's people must be sent of Him. The prophets
of old understood that. They spoke of it like this, the
burden of the word of the Lord. And they came with that burden
heavy on their hearts. Second, not only is God's messenger
sent of God, he's the servant of God. When we think about a
preacher, turn back to Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one.
When you think about a preacher, you can't find a better example
than the Apostle Paul. In Romans 1.1, we have another
example given by inspiration of how Paul describes himself
and thereby describes all who truly preach the gospel. Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto
the gospel of God. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. Not Dr. Paul, not Reverend Paul,
not even Pastor Paul or Bishop Paul, just Paul. Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ our Lord, called to be a messenger. called and gifted of God to be
his messenger sent with his message. Now let me tell you what that
means. Every man who's called and gifted
of God is a man with a messianic call, a messianic mission, a
messianic purpose, a messianic mandate, if you will. That's,
boy, that's strong language. If you ever run across a man
who has a mandate from God, has a mandate from God, and we
have politicians who think they have mandates from their voters
and they're hard to deal with, but hang on a while, they can
be controlled. You find a man who has a mandate
from God or even thinks he does, You will find a man who simply
won't fit any mold. He won't bow to any pressure.
He will surrender no ground. He will make no compromise. Why
should he? He has a mandate from God. He
has a mandate from God. I'll tell you something few people
know. When the folks in Danville called me as pastor, back before
Amy was born, But I said to them, you find out everything you can
about Don Fortner, from friend and foe. Because if I come here
as your passenger, this is how I'm going to do it, and we're
going to get married, and I don't believe in divorce, and you're
going to put up with me the rest of our lives. That's the way
it's going to be. This is how I'm going to do it.
Now, I'm not saying this is the only way you can pastor a church.
I'm saying this is the only way I'm going to do it and it's not
going to change no matter what comes up. And the reason I did
so is because I'd spent nine years butting heads with hard-headed
Baptist in a church because somehow I thought I had to do something
because I was in the ministry. And I finally came to the understanding
and the realization I was serving God when I was loading freight
at McLean Trucking Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
on the, what do you call it, the third shift, what do you
call it, the midnight shift. Yeah, graveyard, that's it. Yeah,
and it was just that. But I was God's servant then,
just as much as I am now. Understand that? Mike, if you're
God, you're just as much His servant as I am. And just as
responsible as I am. Whether I serve God loading freight
or serve God preaching, it's my responsibility to serve Him
honorably. It's my responsibility to serve
Him and not bend an inch. not budge for anybody. You see,
a man sent of God can't be controlled by anybody but God. You're not going to control the
man sent of God. It's not going to happen. It's
not going to happen. Moses. I try to put myself in the place
of men in the scriptures when I read what they did or were
commanded of God to do. Can you imagine what must have
been going on inside Moses? First time he came back to Egypt
as a wanted man and marched right up to the gates of Pharaoh's
palace where he was wanted. Where he was wanted to be put
to death. And he said, I'm here to see
Pharaoh. My name Moses. He's been looking for me. And
he walks in and he says, the Lord God sent me and says, let
my people go. Can you imagine what's going
on inside him? Okay, okay, I just, God, are you sure you want me
to go say that to this man? You know what's going on? You know
what he's had to do to me? He walked in with boldness as
a lion, with confidence in God as the meekest man on earth in
his day. That's called meekness. He knew
he was God's servant and knew what he had to do as God's servant.
He said, God said, let my people go. And Pharaoh said, who's the
Lord? He said, hang on, buddy, you're fixing to find out. You're
fixing to find out. He couldn't be controlled, not
by Pharaoh and not by the folks in Israel who said, Moses, go
back to where you came from. He couldn't be controlled. John
the Baptist was a man sent from God. He walked right up to Herod
and said to Herod, it's not lawful for you to have your brother's
wife. And it cost him his head, but it didn't quiver. He is a
man sent from God. I'll tell you something else
about a man who truly preaches the gospel. He's the servant
of Jesus Christ, a divinely called messenger of Christ, and he is
separated under the gospel. You see that there in Romans
1.1? Separated under the gospel. Gospel preachers are men separated
under the gospel. Now, I could spend a lot of time
there. A lot of time needs to be spent there. But let me be
brief. God's servants are separated to the gospel from eternity in
God's decree. Separated from their mother's
womb. The apostle Paul speaks of it
just that way. Jeremiah speaks of it that way. Separated from
their mother's womb so that all the formation of their lives
is God's work in providence, preparing them for the place
where he would set them in his kingdom. Brother Eric, I believe
that, as much as I believe your name's Eric Richardson. God,
before you ever came into this world, ordained your parents,
the place of your birth, the place of your rearing, and every
experience of your life, and marrying that girl there from
Danville, Kentucky, everything preparing you for this place.
For this place. Separated under the gospel. Separated
by the call of God. and separated by their own constant
determination not to be turned aside from it. And I promise
you, my brother, you will find much to tempt you to be turned
aside to one thing or another. I promise you. We hadn't been
in our building in Danville long. I had my office in the back,
but the downstairs was still dirt and gravel. We hadn't done
anything downstairs. And a friend of mine from high school had
gotten in business making booze skoodles of money. And he found
out I was in Danville. He was in town. He came by and
wanted me to take a position with him in his company. And
we talked a little bit, and I said, Steve, no. He died just a few
years later, but I said, no, no, I'm not interested. But do
you know what I'm offering you? I said, I'm not interested. But
don't you know how much you can make? Do you know what you're
turning down? I said, I don't care and I'm
not interested. I have one work to do. It's called
preaching the gospel. That's all. That's all. Nothing
to turn aside from that. Are you there in Romans 1? Look
at verse 9. Paul said, I'm separated under the gospel, for God is
my witness. Don Fortner, either be honest
or don't read this. God is my witness, whom I serve
with my spirit in the gospel of his son. that without ceasing
I make mention of you always in my prayers making request
if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey
by the will of God to come unto you for I long to see you that
I may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end that you may
be established That is, that I may be comforted together with
you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now watch verse
13. Now I would not have you ignorant,
brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let,
hindered hitherto, that I might have some fruit among other Gentiles
also. Paul said, I long to come to
you by the will of God. I'm anxious to be there. I'm
sure God's gonna arrange this. You know how he finally got there?
He got there as a prisoner. He came by the will of God. Now
watch what it says. I'm a debtor, both to the Greeks and to the
barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. I'm a debtor. I have in my hands the gift of
life. I have in my hands the Word of
God. I have in my hands the message
of everlasting salvation by which God saves sinners. That makes
me a debtor, a debtor to everybody. Read what it says. So as much
as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at
Rome also, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God under salvation. That man who preaches
the gospel is like Abraham's servant Eliezer. You remember
in Isaiah, or in Genesis, what is it, Genesis 23? Yeah, Genesis
23. Abraham sent his servant Eliezer
to get a bride for his son. He said, now don't take her from
among these folks. You go down among my kinsmen
and get a bride for my son. and it went down and found rebecca
and went to rebecca's brothers and the brothers uh... they received
a very quick then they were anxious to get what they could get as
laban always was and they uh... they tried to hinder hinder liaison
everywhere set things forth let's do this let's do that he said
i got one mission we're not going to eat until i get an answer
we're not going to have a good time until i get an answer we're
not going to go fishing until i get an answer will she go with
me or not That's what I've come for, to fetch a bride for my
master's son. That's the mission of God's servants.
They won't be turned aside. One more thing in this regard.
God's servants are men who faithfully serve your souls by the will
of God. They faithfully serve your souls. There's just one of two possibilities.
There's one of two possibilities. I'm here tonight either for your
benefit or for mine. Only possibilities. I'm either
here selfishly or selflessly. Only two possibilities. I'm either
here for you or to get something from you. God's servants faithfully serve
your souls. They seek not yours, but you. They seek your everlasting good
for the glory of God. Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter
4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Paul said, let a man so count
of us as the ministers of Christ, stewards of the mysteries of
God, knowing that it's required a steward that a man be found
faithful. Now look in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 1. Therefore, seeing
we have this ministry, this service, as we have received mercy, we
faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully,
but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God, If our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, not from ourselves,
for ourselves, or about ourselves, but Christ Jesus, from him, for
him, and about him, the Lord, and ourselves your servants for
Christ's sake. Now, go back to chapter one of
Ephesians. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to
the faithful in Christ Jesus. What a way to describe God's
people. Saints. Saints. Saints. That's it. Saint Iverson. That's it. St. Mark, there he sits. Or Mike,
excuse me. There he sits. St. Eric and St. Amy. Saints? Saints, how do you
do, how do you say that, bad buddy? Those who are God's people
are holy people. holy people made holy by God
in the gift of His Son imparting that righteousness to them which
He accomplished for them in the very nature of His Son making
them partakers of the divine nature so that they are saints
sanctified sanctified in union with Christ. Your pastor wrote
a great article on that subject just a week or two ago. Sanctified
by our union with Him. Being one with Him, we are as
He is right now, saints. I'll tell you something else
about God's people. They're faithful. They're faithful. Faithful. I have the privilege of spending
my life laboring in the word, studying scriptures, and I am
very little exposed to the people you butt heads with every day. Now, I don't have to listen to
the filth. I don't have to be around them. I see them in the grocery store
if Shelby talks me into going to the grocery store, or if she
cons me into going to Walmart instead of her, or if I'm pumping
gas and running into somebody, that's about it. I just don't
see them anywhere else. I spend my life here. And here
you are, you men and women, been all day long walking in the sewer of this
world. And here worshiping God on Tuesday
night, rush home to get a bite to eat, maybe couldn't do that,
had to get something on the way or get something going back.
Rush here, build this congregation, support the ministry, faithful.
Faithful. Faithful in Jesus Christ. That's
the key. In Christ. In Christ. We are sanctified in Christ. Saved in Christ. United to one
another in Christ. Blessed of God in Christ. Now
watch the next line. Verse two. Here's Paul's desire,
the desire of his heart for God's elect. Every faithful pastor's
incessant, anxious desire for the people trusted to his care.
He seeks the everlasting welfare of their souls. Grace be to you. Grace be to you. God, pour out
on this people your grace. Grace. The grace you need now. Brother Bob's at home. I've known him probably longer
than any of you have. I knew him when he was strong
and healthy. And he got some tough times.
God give him grace. Brian back there, that's difficulties
none of us can know about. God give you grace. You and your
family got some tough times ahead of you. God give you grace, give
you grace. His saving grace and sustaining
grace and that grace that gives you peace. Peace in your conscience, because
Christ has taken away your sin, made you the righteousness of
God in Him. Peace in God's providence. Peace that comes from confidence
in God our Savior. Peace that comes from confidence
in God our Savior. A few years ago, Eddie, God shut
down your kidneys. God did it for you. For you. How's that gonna be
good for you? I don't know, but God does, and
that's good enough, isn't it? That's good enough. That gives
us peace. Peace, whatever comes down the
road. peace that is the result of the
experience of God's grace in our hearts. Oh, yeah. Let me briefly show you what
the message is of God's messenger. I'll give us three. This man
who was called and gifted of God sent to preach the gospel
has a message to deliver a message that burns like fire in his bones. a message he must declare. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus. Turn back to Isaiah 40. I'll
wrap this up. I'll come back to Ephesians 1,
3 another time. If you want to take a trip up
to rescue Friday, might even preach up there, but sometime
you'll hear it. Some years ago, I was speaking
to a young pastor. I'd recommended him to the church
where he was pastoring. And he was just mean. He'd get up and preach, and he'd
find the dullest pocket knife he could get, and cut real slow
and deep and get him a salt shaker, take the top off and just pour
in the salt and rub it every time he preached. I mean, he'd
take the hat off, folks. They just tortured listening
to him. You go to church, you're gonna
get beat. Go to church, you're gonna get beat. Go to church,
you're gonna get beat. And I said to him one day, thankfully,
he's not preaching that in a long time. It's a good thing. I said,
I recommend to you that you have your wife to make you a plaque
of some kind and put on the plaque. Isaiah 40 verses 1 & 2. Don't
just put the reference, put the verses there so that when you're
preaching, hang it up in your office so you can't help but
see it every time you look up. As you prepare your messages,
keep this in mind. Brother Eric, keep this in mind.
Set it in your heart. This is God's Word to every preacher. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Comfort, comfort, comfort, comfort,
comfort, comfort, my people. Well, sometimes folks need reproof.
Yeah, but be sure you comfort them. Sometimes they need correction. Yeah, but be sure you comfort
them. Speak to the heart of my people and they will get instruction
and direction and inspiration from the message. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem. Speak to their heart. Speak to
their heart. I can't do that. But if God speaks
by me, I can. Speak to their heart and cry
to her. Why should I cry? Her warfare's
accomplished. Her iniquity's pardoned. She
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Tell
her everything's all right. God's taking care of everything.
Tell her all righteousness is hers. All forgiveness is hers. All acceptance is hers. Declare
that to my people all the time. And the prophet said, what shall
I cry? You read the rest of this chapter.
He says, I'll tell you what you do. You tell them they're grass. Tell them they're grass. What
do you expect from grass? What do you expect from grass? I'll be 66 in June, and I really
don't mind it. I kind of enjoy doing it, but
when it comes to a choice between mowing the grass or going fishing
with my grandson, guess which I'd rather do? What do you expect
from grass? You cut it down, and if you let
it get too high, you gotta rake it up, and you throw it away.
That's all. And if you let it grow long enough,
it'll get a little bloom on it, but it's not much, because as
soon as its clone comes out, it'll wither up. And it's blown
away. What do you expect from grass? Nothing. Nothing. That's what I expect from you
and me. That's just what I expect. Just grass. Nothing. The best
you can do is just grass. The best you can show is just
grass. but a people called of God and
precious. It was received that the Lord's
head double for all her sins. And declared to my people, who
is grass, behold your God, omnipotent, holy, sovereign, and gracious.
Show them who I am. Now look what it says in verse
27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, my way
is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from
my God? Why do you act like God's forgotten
you? Oh, Don, why do you act like
God's forgotten you? Hast thou not known Hast thou
not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There's no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint,
and to them that have no might, he increases strength. Oh, there's
something there for me. Even the youth shall faint and
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. Now watch this
last word. But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their
strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. And they shall walk and not faint. I love the order he gave, don't
you? Soaring is for young folks. young eagles soar, soar in the
sky and show off. Running. That's for young folks. They run. Run here and there.
I spoke to Christy Parks earlier today. Her little boy had to
have his pacemaker replaced yesterday. And she said it's hard to keep
him in bed, but he was scared to get out. Because the doctor
told him he couldn't constrain himself and finally wanted to
get up and walk around some. She said he got out of bed, can't
get him back in bed. He's just running here and there.
That's just the nature of them. That's just the nature of them. But after a while, they walk. They walk. I probably told you
this, but it'll be a repetition. When I was a boy, I grew up in
a different age than fellas today. Boys didn't admit fear. You didn't tell your mama you
was afraid, she might whip you. You didn't tell your daddy you
was afraid, and you sure didn't tell brothers and sisters or
friends you were afraid. You just didn't admit fear. And we
used to go visit my grandparents. Actually, my grandmother and
my great aunt lived together up in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
That's way up in the Smoky Mountains. You drive down a crooked, narrow
road till you get to a dirt road that's even more crooked, more
narrow, and go up the mountain. Not a light anywhere, unless
somebody happened to turn one on the porch. And where I slept,
the girls all slept in a pallet on the floor in there together.
And my great aunt and my grandmother said, Dodd's a big boy, he won't
sleep with those girls. I would have given my right arm to have
slept with those girls. They put me over on a, what they
called the pantry. Didn't have any paint on the
walls, just a big closet, and a cot, and the moon stars shining
through that little window there. And they'd tell stories about
convicts escaping from prison and going up that road, and they
couldn't find them. And I'd lay back there all night long and
count the cracks in the walls, hoping I didn't go to sleep,
scared to death. And then sometimes they would
send me on up the road to my aunt's house to fetch something. And I, man, I'd get out the door. And they had a, maybe a five
watt bulb on the back porch. And I'd, I'd go out the door,
just act like I wouldn't least bit scared. And I, I mean, as
soon as I got out of what I thought was their sight, I ran as fast
as my legs would carry me up that mountain, till I, I would
just break out in sweat. And then I'd stop when I got
up, before I got to my aunt's house, so I could cool off a
little bit, hope they didn't see how much I was sweating.
And I'd go in, I felt like I wasn't afraid of anything. And then
I'd get whatever it was and run back down, stop, wait, and go
back in. As I got a little older, walk
up through there, and they'd get concerned something had happened
to me, I'd be going slow. I'd stop to have a smoke or something,
you know, they wouldn't allow it, and they'd think something's
gone, because I wasn't scared of anything. I realized there
wasn't anything on that mountain I couldn't whip. I was just perfectly
at ease. Well, I don't know much to give
me much fright anymore. And they walked. You walk when you're comfortable.
You walk when you're at ease. You walk when you're not afraid. You walk when you've got somewhere
to go. That's your walk and not fate. Teach me, oh God, teach me to
wait on you. and thereby to walk with you
in the blessedness of your grace and peace. Amen.