Turn back, if you will, to that
passage of scripture that Brother Lowell read from a moment ago,
1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. The title of my message tonight
is Assure Foundation. Assure Foundation. The people
that Peter wrote to was not a particular church, but Christians from various
places, but they had this in common. They were being persecuted. as was the common lot for God's
people in that day. And they were driven from their
homes, property. So Peter addresses them as pilgrims
and strangers scattered throughout the various places. And he gives
them this good news. Regardless of where you may be,
regardless of where God in his providence has sent you, something
will never change. Something will never change.
That foundation upon which you rest hasn't shifted. It's still where it was, still
as it was. Let's look at verse 6 of these
verses from which Brother Lowell read in 1 Peter chapter 2. A
sure foundation. Peter here is quoting from Isaiah
chapter 28. We'll look at that in a moment. He quotes from that verse where
Isaiah the prophet speaks of that foundation and he uses the
word sure, a sure foundation. But Peter says here in verse
6, wherefore also is contained in the scripture, behold, behold,
I lay in Zion, this is God speaking, I lay in Zion. Now that makes
a difference. If God does it, it's done. If
God does it and wills it, it can't be undone. I lay in Zion
a chief cornerstone. This is God speaking of His Son. And He says concerning His Son,
the chief cornerstone, He's elect and precious. And he that believeth,
that's the third part. You have God the Father laying
the chief cornerstone, which is Christ the Son. And then it
says, to he that believeth on him, whoever he may be, that
is, that believes, that believes on him, he shall not be confounded. The word there, confounded, means
put to shame. He'll not be put to shame. The
soul that to Jesus has fled for repose, he'll never, no, never
desert to expose. Turn, if you will, to chapter
5 of 1 Peter. He concludes his letter, his
first letter to these pilgrims, scattered, persecuted believers,
in much the same way as he began it. In verse 12 of chapter 5,
Peter says, by Savenus, that's who's carrying this epistle for
Peter, to its destination. But he says, A faithful brother
unto you as I suppose, I have written unto you briefly, exhorting
and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye
stand. Peter seems to be saying, just
stay where you're at. Just stay put. Don't move. It's not necessary. This is the
true grace of God wherein you stand. Those that believe on
Him, the chief cornerstone, who rest upon this sure and certain
foundation, elect and precious, shall not be confounded. In Revelation chapter 6, when
our Lord appears as He promised He would, He appears to gather
His elect at where they are, or rather where He is, they may
be also. But at the same time, those who
don't know Him look at their reaction in Revelation 6. At the Lord's second coming,
we're told in verse 15, and the kings of the earth and the great
men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty
men And every bondman and every freeman hid themselves in the
dams and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains
and the rocks, fall on us. Strange prayer meeting. Fall
on us and hide us from the face of him that saideth on the throne
and from the wrath of the Lamb. Another strange word, the wrath
of the Lamb. There's such a thing. Oh, yes,
indeed. Yes, indeed. And they realize it, and they
realize it too late. In verse 17, they say, For the
great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Who shall be able to stand in
the light of His righteous indignation? in view of his holiness, who
shall be able to stand?" And Peter answered that question
for us, didn't he? Throughout scriptures to the
believer, they'll never utter such a prayer as that. Oh no,
Peter says, this is the true grace of God wherein you stand. And as we referred to that verse
this morning from Revelation chapter 7, it gives the answer
too. Who shall be able to stand they
cry in chapter 6. In chapter 7, we're told who
shall be able to stand. In verse 9, I beheld and lo a
great multitude. which no man could number, of
all nations, and all kindreds, and people, and tongues. What
a testimony to His free grace! What a testimony to the sufficiency
of His grace! And to what we read in 1 Peter,
verse 2, or verse 6 of chapter 2, that they shall not be confounded,
they shall never be put to shame, they're all brought to glory.
and they all stand before the Lamb. Who? Every believer, every
sinner who was ever brought to Christ to bow before Him and
given the precious gift of faith. They'll be brought to glory.
The same grace that called them is the same grace that'll keep
them. Peter says that in chapter 1
of his first epistle. who are kept by the power of
God, stood before the Lamb. Who shall stand before the Lamb?
We're told, they who have washed their robes in the blood of the
Lamb and made them white, therefore are they before the throne of
God. Turn back, if you will, to Matthew
chapter 7, and then we'll come back to 1 Peter. We closed our
message when we referred to this verse of scripture this morning
in Matthew chapter 7, about many standing before our
Lord in that day and saying, we did this and that and the
other, and he to their utter, I can't imagine, the horror that
must take hold of them when he says in verse 23, And then, then,
right up to that time, they entertained a false hope that they would
enter in, right up to the judgment bar of God Almighty. Not till
then do they hear from the lips of him who says, I don't know
you. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? And then, will I profess unto
them, verse 23, Matthew 7, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that
work iniquity. And we didn't read no further
this morning. But the following verses, verses
24 through 27, tell us how that happened. How such a thing could
be. Notice what our Lord says in
verse 24. Therefore, therefore, in light of what you just heard,
in light of this absolute certainty, it shall be this way. He says,
Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon
a rock. There it is. There's that shore
foundation. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew. Children of God suffer the same
things that the world suffers. We're not immune from tribulation
and trial. And beat up on that house. Oh,
but here's the difference. It didn't fall. And the reason
it didn't fall, the only reason, for it was founded, it was grounded
upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these
things of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand." I've heard
some say this was the other foundation. No, this was no foundation at
all. That was the problem. There's only one foundation,
Louis, only one, and Christ is it. Verse 27. And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, just as the other,
and beat upon that house, and it fell. And here's the reason.
And great was the fall of it, because we read in verse 26,
it was built upon sand. Those people who said, did we
not do all these things in your name? Built on sand. They were trusting their own
works. But those whose house was built upon the rock are those
who simply, by the gift of God's precious faith, embrace His Son
and say, I'm a sinner. and nothing at all on it. That's
all I have. I'm a sinner and nothing at all.
All. But here, Jesus Christ is my
all in all. That's the one difference. But
that makes all the difference. They were on that one foundation
that Peter describes as elect, precious, and the chief cornerstone,
and they that believeth on him. Believeth, nothing else. Believeth. Embrace him. Take him in your
arms as Simeon took him in his arms physically and says, now
I'm ready to die. Embrace him in the arms of faith
and say, by God's grace, I'll never let go. I'll never let
go. To him that believeth on him,
he shall not be confounded. He'll never be put to shame.
Paul said, Other foundation can no man lay other than that which
is already laid. We don't lay the foundation.
God laid the foundation. We just fall on that thing. We
just fall down on it and rest. Sweet rest. All to quit working. to quit trying, to quit trying
to earn my way into the presence and acceptance of God like old
George Whitefield, but we all do by nature. He went to the
extremes. But we all do that in one way
or another by nature. It's just what's in us until
God teaches us different. Oh, but then to come as a sinner
with nothing to plead, with nothing to bargain, just a sinner and
cast ourselves down before Him on Christ the solid rock and
believe. Peter says, He that does that. He that believes and nothing
else shall not be confounded. Other foundation can no man lay
other than that which is laid Jesus Christ, Paul wrote, and
nothing else. The other evening I was here
and I went out back to the little storage building looking for
something and unlocked the door, and I had
to be a little careful with the door, a little flimsy, and went
in. I've been in there before, but
looked around, wanted to be careful, but one thing I noticed, Lord,
one thing that didn't cross my mind. I mean, the door I had
to kind of lift up to get it back in place and be careful
in there, but one thing I wasn't concerned about was the floor.
Because I look down and it's solid concrete. It's a concrete
base floor. It didn't cross my mind to be
concerned that something might happen there. The door maybe,
the wall maybe, the roof maybe, but not that foundation. We could
build back on that. And as we sang a moment ago,
Christ is the church's sure foundation. On Christ a solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Remember the hymn that we sang
this morning in the bulletin? I thought of it again as I was
looking over my notes, the hymn that Don wrote. It says, "'His
mercy, love, and grace I know will never, never let me go. The many Ebeneezer's past.'"
That word comes from 1 Samuel chapter 7. after Israel, by God's
grace and intervention, had been victorious in a battle against
the Philistines. And just prior to that battle,
they told Samuel, God's prophet, don't forget to keep praying
for us. Keep interceding for us. We're going to battle against
these experienced warriors, so you keep praying. And God, of
course, delivered. And after that battle, we're
told that Samuel set up a stone in that place for a reminder
to them that what God had done. And the word Ebenezer means,
hitherto have God helped me. God has helped me hitherto. The many Ebenezers passed. Assure me that free grace will
last. Hitherto we raise our Ebenezers. Hither by thy grace I'm come,
and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home. And if I believe on Christ, it's
not presumption, it's faith to trust Him with my eternal salvation
and believe one day The same grace that caused me, and old
Newton put it this way, through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come. We can all see that, can't we,
can't we? We've all experienced that. But
it's grace that's brought me safe thus far. It's grace that's
brought me to this point. It's grace that's brought me
to this very moment in my life. It's grace that's brought me
safe thus far. And if grace was sufficient to
bring me to this point, why can't that same grace bring me all
the way to glory? That's what Newton said. And
grace shall lead me home. That's not presumption. When
our Lord appeared to His disciples and gave their great commission,
He said, go into all the world, teach every man. Whatever I've
commanded you, teach them. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. Well, that would be a hopeless
and a helpless endeavor. That would end in absolute and
certain failure except for this, Lord. The first thing he said
was not that. When He appeared to them on the
Mount for that last time, Mount Olivet, and gave the Great Commission,
the first thing He said, all power is given unto Me in heaven
and in earth, go ye therefore. Therefore, in light of that,
in view of that, all power is in My hand in heaven and in earth. And in a few moments they saw
Him ascend back to heaven. But that didn't change anything.
He said all power is in his hands in heaven and in earth. Go, therefore,
go, therefore, and the omnipotent power of God, the omnipotent
power of God Almighty, the God-man goes with you. All power in heaven,
on earth, and everything in between, it resides in the hands of our
mighty King. Therefore, go. It's not a fool's
errand I send you on. My word cannot return void because
I send you. And if you go with that at your
back, oh, what an encouragement it is. All power go ye therefore
and preach the gospel to every creature. And listen to how he
finished that. Oh, he preceded his... command for them to go with that
sweet word of promise, all power in heaven and earth is with me. Then afterwards when he said,
go into all the world, he gave them this sweet word, and lo,
I am with you always, even until the end of the world. He goes
before and he comes behind. Oh, surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of our life. He didn't send them
out alone. The captain of our salvation,
whom we serve and obey, goes with us. Lord, I'm with you always,
no matter where you go, Lord. No matter where I send you, no
matter into what lion's den, no matter how much they despise
the gospel you preach, no matter how much they persecute you,
I'm with you. And I that's with you have all
power. Preach the gospel and watch God
Almighty use it to bring His sheep to Himself. That's the
means He's ordained. None other, and he'll bless it. He's promised to bless it. And
bless God, that's why I'm encouraged. Each time I preach, because this
is God's Word, and God says, I'll honor my Word. It will not
fall to the ground. It'll accomplish what I send
it at, just as certain and just as sure as the rain does what
I send it to the earth to do. Thank God, go ye therefore, the
captain of our salvation says, and I'm with you always, even
until the end of the world, until the ages of the ages. And it's concluded with that
word, Amen. Amen. Thank God, yes. Let it be so. The captain does
not send us on our own marching orders. He says, you go, and
lo, I go with you. When I pastored a little church
for a few years, years ago, back in West Virginia, you've heard
of that place. A little town called Anstead,
you probably haven't heard of that. Anstead, West Virginia.
Hadn't been there very long. There were two brethren, patriarchs,
in the church. They said, Larry, I think we
ought to go out and visit in the community. Meet us up here
one evening and we'll go knock on some doors. And I said, okay.
Their names were Harold and Sherman Cole, brothers. tough stock,
just tough stock. And we invited some folks, and
we came to this one house. There wasn't a light on. It was
all dark. And I said, it don't look like anybody's home here.
And they said, oh, yeah, that so-and-so lives there. He's the
meanest man in town, they said. Meaner than a junkyard dog. Said
all he does is sit in there and drink, get drunk, and cuss, and
threaten anybody that comes to the front porch. I said, is that
right? They said, yeah. But we think
he ought to be invited, at least invited to hear the gospel. I
said, I agree. And they said, you go on and
we'll stay back here and pray for you. I said, say what? They said,
we'll stay back here on the sidewalk. The captain of our salvation,
and by the way, I won't leave you hanging, I did go up and
they were right, he did cuss me and threaten to shoot me and
I turned around and backed off. But the captain of our salvation
does not do that to us. He doesn't say, I send you. He
says, go and I'm with you. I go with you and I'll be with
you until the end of the world. I'll be with you until I'm done
with this world. I'll be with you in preaching
the gospel and calling out my sheep until I've called the last
one and this world's done and I'm gonna fold it up. As easy as I did that and lay
it aside and time shall be no more. And then we'll all be gathered
together unto Him. That's our solid rock. That's
our sure foundation. I said that Peter quoted from
Isaiah chapter 28. Turn there if you will. Isaiah
chapter 28 verse 16. Verse 6 of chapter 2 in verse
Peter. It's where that is taken from.
And it's a little different here. Here the prophet says it's a
sure foundation. But if it's an elect foundation,
a chief cornerstone, precious, then it's sure, is it not? If
it's all those things and more, adjectives would fail to describe
all that he is. Oh, but he is sure. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation,
and he that believeth shall not make haste. Just calm down. Everything's all right. Everything's
on schedule. The King of glory is still ruling
this world. He's still having his way in
the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
None can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? The foundation of the church
is still sure. It's still solid. It's still
impregnable. It's still immutable. It's still
Christ Jesus the Lord. Oh, could Peter give them any
more encouraging news than to remind them of the foundation
on which they rest their soul? Look at your foundation, brothers
and sisters. Someone reminded me today, most
of our trouble arises in all of our doubt concerning our relationship
to God from looking within. look within. There's not much to do but be
discouraged. Oh, but look without. Look without. When we first had peace spoken
to our hearts. We weren't looking within. We
were looking to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the
world. Looking unto Jesus. Always looking. Always looking. Always coming. This is what our brother read
a moment ago in verse 4 of 1 Peter 2. To whom coming. Always coming. Always. Just keep coming. Come unto me,
and keep coming unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." We come in time, being drawn by
the Father. Oh, but we just keep coming,
do we not? Again and again and again. We come sometimes boldly, but
much of the time not boldly at all. We come fretting. We come crying, that's all right,
but come. We come after denying him, Peter,
but come. Come unto me and I'll give you
rest. I'll do the giving, you just
come and I'll give you rest. If I would give you opportunity,
each of you right now could stand up and bear witness to that again
and again and again. How many times, God, when you've
come to Him, with your heartache and your tears and your failure
and your hopelessness, He's taken you up like a little child and
wiped your tears away and reminded you on Christ the solid rock
you stand. And He said, I'm never going
to leave you. I'm never going to forsake you.
He that believeth in Him shall not be put to shame. He won't
do it. Bless God, it would be a reflection
on His honor, on His character, if one of His sheep were ever
put to shame that put all of their trust in Him. It's not
gonna happen. A living stone, Peter says in
verse 4. A living stone. Remember what
our Lord told His disciples on that same night from which we
spoke this morning? in chapter 14, but it was the
same night. He said, Because I live, ye shall
live also. He's a living stone. Brothers
and sisters, the same life that's in the branches is that life
in the vine. Christ is divine. The same life
in the body, His body, the Church, is the same life that's in the
head. Think about that. Think about
that. Because I live, ye shall live
also. Ye also, Peter says, verse 5,
as lively stones. Living, living, just like Christ
our head and our foundation. He told the religious leaders
one day, destroy this temple. And of course he was speaking
of his body. Destroy this temple and in three
days I'll raise it up again. He said, on another occasion,
no man takes my life from me. He said, I'll lay it down and
I'll pick it up. He said, I have power to lay it down and I have
power to pick it up. When He died on the cross, it
wasn't from what they did. He bowed His head and before
He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. And he,
not by force, he gave up the ghost. I had power to lay it
down and I had power to pick it up. But they thought he was
talking about that earthly temple. And they said, man, what are
you talking about? Do you know how many years it
took to build this temple? And you're going to tear it down
and build it back in three days? Oh, but he spake of the temple
of his body. What does Peter say? We're the
temple. We're the temple of the living
God. To destroy this temple, his body,
you have to destroy him. You have to take the life from
the head before you take the life from the body. How impossible
is that? Oh, no. Because I live, he said,
ye shall live also. The same life that flows through
the veins of our dear Savior, is the same life in His body,
every member. Every member. This is life eternal,
that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou didst send. I give Thee eternal life now. I won't have eternal life when
I get the glory. I have eternal life now. I'll
continue in glory, but I have it now because I derived my life
from the head, Jesus Christ, and He says it shall never die. Never die. Turn, if you will,
to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2. Look what Paul says about this. or one with Him, one with Him. Christ tread the winepress alone. He acted alone. He did it all
by Himself, but He didn't do it for Himself. He was a representative,
wasn't He? He was acting as a substitute
for His people in all that He did in life, in death, He was
acting as the substitute in the place, in the room, instead of
His people. And God treats His people as
though they did what Christ did. In chapter 2 of Ephesians 2,
look what Paul says at verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together. Together. Together with who? With Christ. Hath quickened us together with
Christ. By grace are ye saved. Verse
6. And hath raised us up. There
it is again. Together. and made us sit, well,
there it is again, together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Together. Three times in those
two verses, together. We're one with Him. That's what
He prayed. Remember we read it this morning
in John 17? Father, I will that they may be one. One with me,
just as I'm one with you. They may be one with us together. One when He died. One when He
arose. One when He triumphed over His
foes. One when in heaven He took His
seat and heaven sang all of hell's defeat. That's just now what
we read. We rose with Him. We're quickened
with Him. We sat with Him in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. What a foundation. What a foundation. Say, well, I don't always feel
like it. Well, I'll let you in on a little
secret, which won't be a secret to you at all. Neither do I.
Neither do I. But what is more trustworthy,
my fickle feelings or God's word to me? What shall I rest my soul
on and draw comfort from? My fleeting, changing feelings
or God's immutable, eternal Word? Oh, you see what I'm driving
at? Feelings come, Luther said, and feelings go, and feelings
are deceiving. My hope is in the Word of God. None else is worth believing. Back to 1 Peter chapter 2. Verse
4, he says, concerning this sure foundation. Yes, he was disallowed
indeed of men. Disallowed indeed of men. They sure did, the leaders. Those who should have been the
first to point the people to the Lamb of God were the very
ones who said, he's nobody. When they saw him, they saw no
beauty that they should desire him. The builders refused. This is what David prophesied
in Psalm 118. The stone which the builders
refused, disallowed, is become the headstone of the corner.
How did that happen, David? How can that be? This is the
Lord's doing. It's God's doing and it's marvelous
in our eyes. And this is exactly what Peter
says. Disallowed indeed of men. What's going to happen? Just
exactly what God intended to happen. Chosen of God, but, but
chosen of God and precious. Matters not what men do, but
chosen of God. Men did not change one iota of
God's purpose. As a matter of fact, God used
them to accomplish His purpose. Oh yes, He used them and the
devil. God uses everything to His own
glory to accomplish the purpose He has concerning the salvation
of His people. But God. But God. Indeed, that makes a difference. Look at verse 6 of chapter 1.
I remind you to whom Peter wrote and what
they were passing through. Peter says in verse 6 of chapter
1, Wherein ye greatly rejoice. Rejoice in that. Our Lord said,
In the world ye shall have tribulation. Again, that same night of his
arrest, just right before it. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. He says the world's going to
rejoice. Oh, they're going to rejoice. When they see me hang
on the cross, they're going to rejoice, especially the religious
leaders. They'll lead the crowd in rejoicing,
saying, well, we're done with him. He said, the world shall
rejoice. He said, but you're going to
lament. You're going to have sorrow. But remember what else
he said? but I'll see you again. But I shall see you again, and
your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man, no man taketh
from you. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, if need be, there's a needs be. that ye are in heaviness through
manifold temptation, if need be. God doesn't afflict His children
unless there's a need be. We don't pass through any trial
or heartache unless the good and wise heavenly Father that
we serve sees that there's a need be for us. If need be. You remember what Paul wrote
in Romans 8? We all know that verse by heart.
We know that all things work together for good. The them who
love God, the them who are thee called according to his purpose. How do we know that? How do we
know that? Because as Paul goes on to write,
it's God that's doing the work. We know that all things work
together for good to the called, to those who love God, because
it's God himself that's working all things, not one thing. Don't take one incident in your
life and say, well, I just don't see the good in this. He said
he takes all these things together. I called in a prescription the
other day and had to go down and pick it up. I've been taking
this certain medication for several years. I don't know exactly what
it does, but the doctor said it's for cholesterol, some cholesterol
medicine. And it's a mixture of stuff. I don't know. I don't need to
know. But the pharmacist knows. I mean,
he mixes things and gets it all right. If he leaves out something,
it wouldn't be good for me. If he adds too much of another
ingredient, it wouldn't be good for me. They're great. I Am, our all-wise Heavenly Father. He knows how to mix just so much
sorrow, so much joy, so much time in the valley, so much time
on the mountaintop, working all things together for our good. And you know what the result
will be? Look what Peter says in verse 9. You're in heaviness
now, if need be, but it's only for a season. It's only for a
season, in verse 6. It's not going to stay. How often
we read in Scripture, and it came to pass. One brother said
to another who was facing a difficult time, Brother, you see what it
says? It came to pass. This has not come to stay, Louis.
It's come to pass. And by God's grace, it shall
pass. Oh, but look what Peter says.
Receiving the end, that is the outcome, the purpose, the consummation. Receiving the end of your faith,
all that precious faith, that's what the trials do. Even the
salvation of your souls. Oh, then that makes it all right,
doesn't it? That makes it good. If my Heavenly Father is working
all these things together to increase my faith, to bring me
to that place where I look up and I see Him, that's good. That's good, is it not? Oh, that
outcome? That's why He works all things
together for our good. And Paul says it produces a song
that nothing else could of Him. and through Him, and to Him are
all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I've got to wrap
this up. Peter could speak, and I think he does
in this epistle, especially in the closing chapter when he warns
them to beware of the devil as a roaring lion walking about
seeking whom he may devour, but he said, the God of all grace.
Peter rather experienced both of those things, did he not?
He could tell them something about this sure and certain foundation,
Christ precious, Christ the chief cornerstone, Christ the sure
foundation. If there was ever a night in
the life of Peter and the other apostles, A night of utter chaos
and confusion of mind, it was that night in the garden when
that mob came, that bloodthirsty mob, led by that traitor, and
took Jesus. They didn't take him. Jesus,
knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, therefore,
and said, here I am. He went to meet Judas. Knowing
all things, he went forth, we're told. But as far as the apostles
were concerned, what confusion, what chaos in their minds and
in their hearts and in their actions, they run off. But Peter
said, you know what? I look back on that and I see
the captain of my salvation and he's just as calm He's just as
in control. I mean, read again John 18. Here
comes that mob with their weapons, bloodthirsty, cursing, and here's
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Peter tries to control
the situation with the arm of the flesh. You know what happened.
He draws the sword. The Lord said, put that away.
Don't need that. Don't need that. And then they persecute. But
Peter said, he's in absolute control. I mean, he's not weary. He's not fretful. I mean, among
us, chaos. Among the mob, chaos. But look
at Jesus Christ. As calm as in control, He acts
like He's got everything in His hand. He acts like He's controlling
it all. He's not acting like it. He is. He is. It's me you seek. Let these go their way. And they
did. Now why did they do that, Louie?
They wanted Christ and they wanted those guys, they were with Christ.
But Christ said, I'll go with you, I'll go, but you're not
taking these. And they did. You know why they
didn't? Because Christ said, you're not
going to. You're not going to. The first time He said, I am
He, they fell down before Him. Fell down in the dust. Oh yes. He leads his dear children along,
some through the water and some through the flood, some through
the fire, but all through the blood, some through great sorrow. I was getting ready to say, I
can tell you personally, and you can tell me personally too,
can't you, brother and sisters? Some through great sorrow. But God gives a song, doesn't
he? He giveth songs in the night. Thank God for such a sure foundation. Brother Lowe.