Scared me there, Don. Shelby,
you don't know this. I don't suppose you know it.
But he's threatened at my farewell, where y'all are debating when
to have, to give me a kiss. You said it. Please don't let
him do it. Please don't let him. I said
the church is going to kiss you goodbye, not me. Shelby, you
can, but Don, please don't. And a word of clarification. My standing here, as he said,
was his idea, not mine. You all expected Don to bring
the first message, and so did I, up to a few weeks ago. And you may be thinking, Those
are big shoes to fill. And, Frank, that's the first
thing I thought when he asked me. And then I thought about
it some more, and I thought, well, that's a big shirt to fill,
too. A big jacket, big pants, big
everything. So shoes, no problem. But it is a delight. to be here,
and as my pastor has said, the folks in Sylacauga asked me to
be their pastor, and I covet your prayers, that God will make
me faithful, faithful to them, faithful to Him, and the gospel
of His grace. I've been given the honor and
the responsibility to be the first one these services this
weekend over the next few days. The first one to blow the gospel
trumpet, will you pray that I'll give no uncertain sound. There's
just too much at stake. Too much at stake to be uncertain. Turn, if you will, to Philippians
chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. I'd like to read the first 14
verses of Philippians chapter 3. Paul writing to the church
at Philippi, and he says, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed, is not grievous, is not tedious, is not tiresome,
is not a burden to me. But for you it is safe, it's
necessary. Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers, beware of the concision. We are the circumcision. We are
the true children of God, God's true Israel, which worship God
in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence,
no confidence in the flesh. I can't think of a better description
of a child of God anywhere in Scripture. Verse 4, Paul says,
though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man
thinketh that he have whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of the
Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisee. concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But there is that blessed word, that divine intervention. But
what things were gained to me, those I count a loss for Christ. Paul speaks in the past tense
concerning those things he mentioned in verse 5 and 6 that he once
trusted in. He says, I counted loss for Christ. But then in verse 8, he speaks
in the present tense. Not only do I count those things
in the past as loss, anything present I count as loss. Verse 8, yea, doubtless, and
I count all things. not just those things behind
me, but all things but loss, for this, for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and who count them but done that I may
win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto this day. If
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead,
not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect,
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended but this one thing I do. For getting those
things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which
are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. During these services, we'll
meet and make new friends, people we've met for the first time.
And we'll renew old acquaintances, people that we've known for years.
And some I only see here this time of the year. Rupert, Darwin,
where's Darwin? I only see them usually this
time of the year. And what a blessing it is to
my heart to have my dear brethren, from Fairmont Grace Church in
Silicon Alabama here. As Don said, most of them are
here, and most of them for the first time. This is such a great
blessing. As the hymn writer expressed
it, blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like the that above. But I want to speak to you about
knowing someone someone far superior to all others, no matter who
they are, no matter how close they are to us, no matter how
many we may embrace as our friends and brethren in Christ. Paul speaks of that one who is
superior in every way. Verse 8, he says, I count all
things but loss. for the excellency of knowing
that one, that one, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord." Excellent knowledge, surpassing everything else. In verse 10 he says again, that
I may know Him. Him. And everything else Paul
says, here and everything else he wrote. It's all about Him. It's all contained in, flows
from, is wrapped up in Him. Having Christ, Paul says, I have
everything, everything I need, all grace, all mercy for time
and for eternity. No wonder he referred to it as
the excellency of this knowledge, of knowing Him. There's a TV
commercial. I think it's local. I think it's
confined to our area here. It doesn't really matter. But
it begins like this. There's a fellow standing there,
and he says, it's good to know. And then they flash to another
individual, a woman, and she says the same thing. It's good
to know. They do this six or seven times. And I can't tell
you what they're talking about, for after hearing that several
times, I pick up the remote and turn the channel. I don't know
what they're talking about. It's good to know. But I'll tell
you this, I don't think not knowing what they're talking about has
caused me any great loss that I'm aware of. It certainly doesn't
determine my eternal state. But what Paul speaks up here,
whom Paul speaks up here, it does, does it not? It determines
where I spend eternity. Knowing Christ or not determines
my relationship with God. It determines if I know God. It determines everything concerning
salvation, my knowledge of Jesus Christ. He said, I know my sheep. Well, certainly he does. Thank
God he does. The Great Shepherd knows his
sheep. He knows where they are. He knows how they are. prone
to wonder, oh, but bless God, He's the faithful and great Shepherd
that seeks His sheep and finds His sheep and saves His sheep. Sounds like the Shepherd does
it all. That's exactly right. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad
He does it all? And knowing Him, knowing Him,
Oh, I have all that I need, as Paul said. This is unsurpassing
knowledge. There's nothing to compare to
knowing Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you will, to Revelation
chapter 5. We have a picture. John writes
and says in verse 1 of Revelation 5, in the right hand of him that
sat on the throne, a book written within and on the back side sealed
with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, listen to this question, who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals thereof? Who is worthy
to bring to pass God's eternal purposes and decrees? Who's able
to do that? Who's worthy? Look at verse 3. And no man, underline that, no
man in heaven nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to
open the book, neither the look thereon. Verse 4, John says,
And I wept much, as indeed he might, because no man was found
worthy, able, had enough merit, enough value, enough worth, enough
acceptance before God to open the book. No man. And John says,
I wept much because no man was found worthy. to open and to
read the book, neither the look thereon." Verse 5. And one of the elders said unto
me, Oh, weep not. John, you can quit crying now. You can quit crying now. Wipe
away the tears. Clear your vision. And look at
this. Look at this. Weep not. Behold. Behold, behold, the lion of the
tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed. He has prevailed. He always does. Always does. He doesn't attempt to open the
book. He doesn't take a stab at opening
the book. Thank God He has prevailed to
open the book and to loose the seals thereof, to fulfill God's
Word, to satisfy divine justice, to bring in an everlasting righteousness,
to save His people from all their sins, to enter in one time into
the most holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. What a Savior! No wonder John
was told, Weep not. And no wonder Paul declared back
in Philippians 3, He's the only one worth knowing. Worth knowing, Jesus Christ. Someone here, as our brother
prayed a moment ago, and I echo this prayer in my heart that
God would be pleased to grant it. Someone here for the first
time in their lives may be brought by God's mighty grace. It won't
happen otherwise. But they may be brought by God's
mighty grace to know Him. That is Jesus Christ. Nobody else they meet these next
three days will compare to that. And you know what? If the God
of glory through the preaching of His Word and the work of His
Holy Spirit, is pleased to open your blinded eyes, and in order
for you to behold His Son, that's who He'll direct your attention
to, His Son. Behold My Son, hear ye Him, in
whom I am well pleased. If He opens your blinded eyes
to behold Him, I believe I can safely say, you'll never get
over it. That's right. No, you won't. You'll never get over it. You
can meet me and get over it. You can leave here and forget
my name. That's okay. Get over that. It doesn't take
long to get over me. Oh, but if God is pleased to
open your eyes, to behold His Son, and like Simeon, with the
arms of faith, embrace Him and take you to be His Savior, or
take Him rather to be your Savior, You'll never get over it. Oh,
bless God. That's what grace does. That's
what happened to this man, the Apostle Paul. He never got over
that. Repeating what happened to him
when Ananias came to him in Acts 9. In Acts chapter 22, he's repeating
the story. And he said, Ananias came to
me. He told that angry mob and told me, Saul, The God of glory,
the God of Israel have chosen thee. Isn't that something? Donnie told him that right off
the bat. Huh? God's chosen you. Ooh, election,
I thought that was deep. I thought that's for older, mature. No, Paul, listen, Saul, know
this. God chose you. to hear his voice
and to know his will. And Saul never got over it. Never got over it. He even said,
one time he landed on the shores of Kornuth, that center of intellectual
learning. There were some wise acres in
that place. They were some smart people there.
Philosophers. Just puffed up. When Paul wrote
to him, he kept mentioning that, didn't he? You're puffed up.
You people are all puffed up. You got no reason to be puffed
up. I saw a cartoon on the office wall of somebody I was talking
to the other day. And the cartoon said, the reason
I'm fat, and it had a little picture of a fat man. It said,
the reason I'm fat, I'm so smart that my head can't hold all that
anymore, so it's gone down to my body. And I know this guy,
that ain't so. It just ain't so. Oh, but Paul
took it all in. All these big-headed, puffed-up
intellectuals, and he says, I'll tell you what, I'm not even interested
in your philosophy. I'm not even interested in all
your intellectualism. As a matter of fact, you can
mark this down. I'm determined to know nothing
among you people save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. all that superior
knowledge. And this is what Paul prayed
for, for other believers. Did he not turn, if you will,
to, rather, Ephesians chapter 1? Ephesians chapter 1. Paul not only was determined
to know nothing else but Christ and Him crucified, he prayed
the like for other believers. In Ephesians chapter 1 verse
15, He says, wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith,
there are already believers, as Paul was when he wrote Philippians. In the Lord Jesus, in love unto
all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention
of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in what Deep mysteries? 666? Who is that? No, no, no. May give unto you
the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This is what Paul longed for.
This is what Paul desired. Thirty years after that Damascus
Road experience, he writes and says, Oh, my heart's desire is
still that I might know Him. Nothing else. Nothing else. Paul saw Christ to be an inexhaustible
subject, something that he could never get enough of, never learn
enough of. Oh, to know Him. Again, in Philippians, those
things Paul mentioned, that righteousness that he once trusted in, self-righteousness,
He said, if anybody's there thinks they've got a reason, the trust
in the flesh, trust in the flesh, he said, I'm over. And he mentions
all those things in verses 5 and 6. I ask you, would Paul cast
that all off for a mere head knowledge of Jesus Christ? Just a notion? Would he count
all that as dumb, as he put it? Do you think Saul would throw
aside all he once trusted in as the grounds of his acceptance
before a holy God? He did at that time. Religious
and lost. Oh, but you think he would cast
that aside? It took him years to weave that
robe. I mean, it took years of religious
observances and duties living after the strictest sect of Pharisee. Do you think he would cast that
off and call it done for nothing? Oh, no. So, what happened to you? Why this change, this change
in your very thoughts, in your very way of thinking. What happened
to you, Saul? Did you get some religion? Saul, are you having a religious
spasm? Most people do that's lived any
time at all, you know, have a religious spasm or two. Can we expect you
to soon be over it? Oh, no. You know what Paul would
say in answer to the question, what happened to you, Paul? We
hear that you're preaching the gospel that you once destroyed,
that name that you once thought was the name of an imposter,
the greatest deceiver mankind ever knew, Jesus of Nazareth.
Now you say that at that name, Jesus, every knee is going to
bow and every tongue confess. Paul, what happened? And he'd
say, when it pleases God. You won't be saved when it pleases
you. You're saved when it pleases
God. Saul of Tarsus, what happened
to you? When it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me, called me. Bless God, he called me to himself. Not with pretty please, Saul,
open your heart, but Saul, come down. That's far enough. You're
not taking another step in your rebellion against me. Come down. Lord, what would you have me
to do? Now that's grace. Louie, that's
grace. That's effectual grace. Walking down a church aisle won't
do that, will it? Or making some kind of decision. Decision. Bruce, I was preaching
one time up in Newcastle while you were away. And, you know,
decision's not good because I had a few people decided to get up
and walk out in the middle of the mess. A decision. No, a decision won't do this
work that the Apostle Paul speaks of. Oh, no, we're deciding to
be a Calvinist. Oh, no, no, no, no. Oh, that
can happen without grace. Oh, but Christ revealed to the
heart of a needy sinner, that requires nothing less than God's
mighty conquering grace. And bless God, that's exactly
what it is. the operation of the great physician. Great sinners need a great savior,
don't they? People that don't have much of
a need, you know, those folks say, I don't want to go to hell. I want to go to heaven. Hmm. Don't have much of a need. All
but for a sinner, a poor beggar at the footstool of mercy that
has nothing to pay, to hear that God's grace reigns, to hear that
Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost, from the guttermost
to the uttermost, that's good news. And nothing else is, is
it? Nothing else is. Oh, great sinners
need a great Savior. Hmm. Any great sinners here tonight? Old Scott Richardson used to
ask that, didn't he? Any sinners in the house? Oh,
have good news for needy sinners. Those that have need of the great
physician. Those that need more than that
imposter that calls himself Jesus. Or is called that by preachers
who can't have his way. That's not him. That's not the
one Paul wanted to know. That's not the one he preached. That's not the one you'll hear
about these next several days. Oh, no. Paul talked about that
one who was King Jesus, mighty to save, that has his way in
the world win. It's on the throne all the time. That's who Paul spoke of. And
that's the only one that can help a needy sinner. That other
fellow just can't. He's an imposter. This afternoon,
I was out running an errand or two, and my phone rang. And I looked at it, and it said,
Louie Cates, one of the brothers from Sylacauga, big Louie there.
And I grabbed him and said, what do you say, big man? It was his
wife. You shouldn't do that. I'm glad
I didn't say more than that. But Debbie just laughed. And
I apologize to you, Debbie. But that wasn't Louie. That wasn't him. Thank God they
don't look anything like him. Oh, and this fellow, that's being
pushed on our society today. This so-called savior that needs
my help. David, if he needs my help, we're
both in trouble. He's in trouble and I'm in trouble. If he needs my help, oh no, that's
not the one that Paul spoke of. Oh, that some here may come this
night, this day, to know Him, whom to know is life everlasting. Salvation is seeing Him. This is what Paul spoke of. It
comes only by divine revelation. That's right. It comes only by
divine revelation. Oh, Paul said that I might know
Him. know him. You mean a sinner like
this one that's standing before you right now? This sinner can
know him? Man, what a contrast, Carter. I can know him? I, Larry Criss,
son of James Criss? You never heard of him, did you?
Son of a coal miner? You see, what's her name, Loretta
Lynn, she's not the only one whose daddy was a coal miner.
No, you mean I can know him, Jesus Christ, I, Larry Criss,
a nobody, a sinner? I can know that One that all
the prophets spoke of. I can know that One of whom Isaiah
said, He's the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace of His Kingdom. There shall be no end. You mean
I can know Him? Oh, yes. If God is pleased to
open my blinded eyes to see Him, Paul says, Oh, that I may know
Him. On down he says, oh, or rather
after, between verse 8, the latter part, he says, that I may win
Christ. Christ said, which man? What
man? What merchant? Seeking treasure. If he finds
a pearl of great price, doesn't go sell everything he has, count
it as done, that he might have that one pearl. That prize that Paul pressed
forward for, that pearl of great price, Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Paul said, I want to know Him,
win Him, and be found in Him. I love that, don't you? In Him. In Him. Think about that. Him. Believers in Christ are
in Him. My soul, what a word. How secure believers must be
in Him. How accepted before a holy God
they must be in Him. How loved by God they must be
in Him. Oh, this is a pretty good crowd. And there's probably some here
that's not. Heard this illustration. Oh,
being in Christ, what comfort, what security? I think it was
the key and living up at hollow holler. Holler is what it was. Oh, lived in the last house in
the hopper. Me and my friends would caddy
and make a few dollars and we'd go to the movies, Merle. Go see
The Wolfman. Lon Chaney. That's a while. The Wolfman. We'd be walking back home, half
a dozen of us. And they lived on down in the
camp, it was called, where the mines was, lived in the holler. Say, hey, Larry, what are you
going to do when you've got to walk up that holler by yourself?
The wolfman. Wolfman's come out. Ooh. I'd say, let the wolfman come
out. I'll lay that on him. But we'd come to the mouth of
that hollow, and they'd go down, and I'd be walking up by myself.
Oh, man. The last house in the hollow,
and I thought, oh, the wolfman. And something would happen. A
leaf would move, rustle something. Man, I'm gone. I'm gone. The
next thing I know, I'm around at last being in the road, the
road into there. And there's our house. And there's
that light. And I run in. I get ready for bed. And my mama
comes to tuck me in. And that blanket, You got it
in Montgomery wards or war wars, you know, that had that little,
had those little strings around it and those little cotton balls
on the end. She would throw that thing up
and it would come floating down and just wrap around me. And
that felt so good. I wasn't scared anymore, David.
I felt so secure, so safe. In that day, when I stand before
God Almighty, I'm going to be found in Him. And with His holy
garments on, as holy as God's own Son. Oh, that no wonder Paul
said, that I may know Him. Him. Christ Jesus, my Lord. My Lord, Paul said. Mine. I am His and He is mine. Jesus Christ the righteous, John
wrote, the propitiation for our sins. Isn't that amazing? The Lord of glory. The only mediator between God
and man. looks down from the throne of
sovereign majesty tonight and looks at men and women redeemed
by His blood, called by His grace, and He says, I say unto you,
they're justified. They're justified. That publican,
they couldn't hardly say anything at all except, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. Had nothing to brag about. Not
like that Pharisee. But Christ said, I say unto you,
Billy Graham's not saying this. No preacher's telling you this.
I say unto you, He's going home justified. He's going home in
the sight of God, not guilty. My soul. My soul. What a Savior. No wonder Paul
said, I want to know Him. Through His name. Through faith
in His name. We're justified from all things
from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. I'm so glad
that's so, aren't you? If you know you're guilty, you
don't mind hearing about free grace. If you've got nothing
to pay, you don't mind hearing about the banquet doors being
flung open and the King of Glory said, come and welcome. Come,
anybody thirsty, come, take the water of life. It's free. It's
free. If you know you're guilty, you
don't mind hearing that. If you know you're dead in sin
and helpless, you don't mind hearing that He's the resurrection
and the life. Only if I know Him can I know
God and the way to God now and forever. I go and prepare a place
for you, He told His heartbroken disciples that night. I'm going
away. But I go to prepare a place for
you. And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I'm coming back
for you. That where I am, there you may
be also. And the way you know, the way
you know. We don't know the way. We don't
know the way. And Christ said, I'm the way
and I'm the truth and I'm the light. If you know me, you know
the way. Oh, I declare, at that time, they were ignorant of many things,
were they not? But you know what? They knew
Him, didn't they? There's a lot they had to learn,
but they knew Him, and Christ says, you know the way. If you've
seen Me, you've seen God. And no man comes unto the Father
except by Me, the hymn writer said, I'm not skilled to understand
what God had willed, what God had planned. I only know it.
His right hand is one who is my savior. Let me close all to
know him is the only way to be prepared to leave this world. Our brother read it in the study. A little bit ago, Paul said,
I know whom. Paul is always whom with you.
It's never what. That's right. What won't prepare
me to meet God? Oh, no. But I know whom he will. I know whom I have believed in
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed
unto Him against that day. And John says, for we shall see
Him as He is. We hear the expression, perhaps
have used it ourselves, what a sight for sore eyes. Oh, John
says we are going to see Him. What a sight for sore eyes. Eyes
made sore from weeping. And our great physician says,
the captain of our salvation says, come ye blessed of my father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. And he shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Then, then I'll see him as I ought
and love him well. an unsinning heart. Love Him with an unsinning heart. Do you know Him? May God open
your eyes to see Him. God bless you.