This week, 60 years ago, Darcy
and I were married three months and were moved to Ashland, Kentucky. I became the assistant pastor
of the Pollard Baptist Church. And four years later, they called
me to be their pastor, and we've been there since. And thank God
for His mercy. to us. But we both realize that we're not 21 anymore, we're
80. And we realize we're the oldest
people in this congregation. That's a shocking fact for a
fellow to realize. Most everywhere we go now, Darcy
and I are the oldest people present. She was having a meeting with
a group of ladies not long ago, and my granddaughter was there. And Doris looked at her and said,
do you realize I'm the oldest person in this group? Carrie
said, I realize you're the oldest one driving, I know that. But we talk, Doris and I talk
frequently about this. very frequently, and we can say
with David, we can say with the psalmist
David, as for us, we will behold thy
face in righteousness and we shall be satisfied when we awake
in his likeness. And also with Job, Job said this,
he said, if a man dies, shall he live again? And he added,
all the days of my appointed time, I will wait till my change
comes. And that's what we're doing.
We're talking about it. We're praying about it. We're
rejoicing in it. We're going to be changed. For
this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass
the saying, death is swatted up in victory. So we wait. We wait at his door in prayer. We wait at his feet in submission. We wait at his table rejoicing in the bread and the
wine in faith. We wait with his other children
in worship. And we wait until our course
is fulfilled. It will be very soon. very soon. And Paul said, my
course is finished. And there's laid up for us a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, our righteous judge,
shall give us at that day, and not to us only, but to all them
that love his appearing. That's going to be a glad day.
A wonderful day. So I'm going to talk about it
tonight. Let's open our Bibles to the book of Revelation. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chapter 14. Chapter 14, verse
13. And John said this. Revelation 14, 13, And I heard
a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yes, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. That's my text. That's text enough
for me, isn't it? This is John, the beloved disciple,
writing here. All the disciples were dead except
John. All of them had been martyred
except John. And he was about, we think, maybe
90 years old. And he was in exile on the Isle
of Patmos. And he said, a voice from heaven
said to me, this is the same voice. that said from heaven,
let there be light. This is the same voice that said
from heaven, let us make man. This is the same voice which
said from heaven, and this is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. And this is my beloved Son, you
hear Him. The voice said to me, write.
Don't just hear it, John. Write it down. Don't trust your
judgment, John, to remember it or to repeat it. Write it down. He said to me, write. Write it
in the scriptures, in the infallible, inherent, verbally inspired Word
of God. Write it. Write it for all to
hear and to read and to believe and to heed. Write it like Job
said in a book. There it is. Write it in the
rock. Write it, engrave it on my tombstone,
Job said. Write it in the rock forever.
What? I know my Redeemer liveth. I know my Redeemer liveth. And
He shall stand at the latter day on this earth. And the worms
destroy this body in my flesh. In my flesh. In me. Myself, I
will see the Lord and rejoice in Him. This is eternal truth,
my friends. This is eternal truth. This is
sweeter than honey. This is a treasure richer by
far than gold. This Word will calm your fears. This blessed Word will heal your
broken heart. This Word will give you peace.
The only peace you have on this earth is the word he gave us. It will give you joy. It will
give you hope. This word will comfort you in
your sorrow. And this word will rob death
of its sting and the grave of its victory. O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The voice of God said, John, write. Write for everybody to
hear. Preach it to all men. Tell it to your children and
to your grandchildren. Write this, John. Write it. What do you want me to write,
Lord? I want you to write, blessed are the dead. Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord. Now, listen. The Lord didn't say, blessed
are all the dead. The Lord didn't say, blessed
are all the dead. He said, blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord. Multitudes die every day. I don't
know how many. Thousands and thousands die every
day of whom it cannot be said. They're blessed. They're not
blessed. But the Holy Word of God says
this. Listen to it. Psalm 116. Precious
in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. It's precious. Numbers 23. Let me die the death
of the righteous. Let my end be like His. John said, He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. But he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So this is my message tonight.
Tell it, tell it, and tell it like it is. Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord. Here's the heart of my message.
What is it to die in the Lord? That's the main thing I need
to deal with and I need to talk about tonight. What is it to
die in the Lord? What is it to be in the Lord?
If I'm in the Lord, I die in the Lord. Well, what is it to
be in the Lord? I'll give you five things. You
remember them now. First of all, to be in the Lord
is to be in Him by an everlasting covenant. You see, our God is
a covenant God. The word covenant occurs in the
Scriptures over 300 times. Our God is a covenant God. He
made a covenant with Adam. He made a covenant with Noah.
He made a covenant with Abraham. He made a covenant with Moses.
He made a covenant with David. And when David lay dying on his
deathbed, He wrote about that covenant. It was the last words
he ever spoke. Let's turn to it. In the book
of 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter 23. These are the last words of David. And you know what he talks about
in these last words? This blessed covenant in the
Lord by covenant mercies. Listen to 2 Samuel 23 verse 22,
verse 23. 2 Samuel 22, 23. Now, these be the last words
of David. David, the son of Jesse, said,
The man who was raised up on high, the ennointed of the God
of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of
the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God
of Israel said, The rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be
as the light of the morning when the sun rises, even a morning
without clouds, even the tender grass springing out of the earth
by clear shining after rain. Here it is. Although my soul
bold though my house, My house be not so with God, yet God hath
made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow." Oh, what
a blessed, blessed promise. And Paul wrote about it in Hebrews. Chapter 13. Turn to Hebrews 13. This everlasting covenant. The Lord hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, altered in all things and sure. And then
Paul wrote about it in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20. Listen. Now the God of peace
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. You know, a fellow
walked in my study one day. I was sitting at the desk and
a well-dressed man came walking in. And I stood and greeted him,
shook his hand, and he said, you Reverend Lee? And I said,
yes, sir. He said, I'm Lawyer Smith. I forget his name. I've called him Lawyer. I'm a
lawyer from Chillicothe, Ohio. I have some papers for you. I
said, what's it all about? He said, well, this widow lady
in Chillicothe has died. And she left her inheritance
to you and to your friend E.J. Daniels and to the Church of
Christ and to Jimmy Swigert. That's the fact. And I said,
what's this all about? He said, well, he said the family's
going to contest the will. I said, I don't blame them. And he said, what you'll have
to do is get you a lawyer. And he said, I'll be glad to
be your lawyer, and we can contest this thing. I said, I'm not interested.
He said, you're not interested? I said, no, sir. He said, you
don't know what you left. I said, I'm still not interested,
because I'm pastor of a church, and I don't intend to go to court. and fight a dying lady and her
family over her will. That'd be the end of my ministry. He said, I see what you're talking
about. He said, well, just sign these papers and I'll take care
of it. It's the last I ever heard from
her. I watched her laugh, but I'm glad she didn't leave it
to me. My inheritance is secure. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
6. Your inheritance and my inheritance
will never be contested in a human court or in the court of glory. It's signed and sealed in the
blood of Christ and settled forever. Here it is. Watch it. Hebrews
6, verse 17. We're in God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs. I'm His heir. You are too. showing
to the heirs of promise the unchangeableness, immutability of His covenant,
of His counsel, confirmed by an oath. God Almighty took an
oath, He sure did. He confirmed this covenant by
two things. Verse 18, that by two immutable
things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have
a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon
the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of
the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that
within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for
us interleaved, our advocate, our lawyer, Our Mediator, even
Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. We're in Christ by a divine covenant. And then secondly, we're in Christ
by divine choice. It is not that I did choose thee. Lord, that could not be. My heart
would still refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me. My heart
would still refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me. My heart,
though, owns none but thee, and for thy rich grace I thirst,
just knowing that if I love you, you must have loved me first.
Yes, that's right. You must have learned before.
You know, there was an old preacher. All I know is about old preacher
stories. This old preacher out in Texas,
Dr. J. B. Gamble, he was out working
in his flower garden and the next door neighbor came over
and she struck up a conversation. She said, Dr. Gamble, she said,
you're a Baptist, aren't you? He said, yes, ma'am. She said,
you have this bleeding election, don't you? He said, yes, ma'am. Not all of them, but I do. She
said, what is election? He said, well, sister, he said,
are you saved? She said, yes, sir, I'm saved.
Well, he said, who saved you? Oh, she said, God saved me. He
said, well, sister, if God saved you, did he do it on purpose?
Or was it an accident? She thought of me. She said,
he did it on purpose. He said, that's an action. Everything
God does, he does on purpose. To fulfill his blessed will. I had a friend, T.B. Freeman.
You remember T.B. Freeman? In Mims, Florida. I believe that's where he, and
he died not too many, too long ago. T.B. was a good friend of Ralph Barnard's.
And T.B. sent Brother Barnard a tract
that he had written on election. And this is the way he entitled
it, The Hated Doctrine of Election. And he sent it to Brother Barnard
and said, I want you to read this and tell me what you think
about it. Brother Barnard just turned it over and wrote a note
on the back, changed the name, and sent it back to him. He said,
this is not a hated doctrine, this is a beloved doctrine of
election. It's a beloved doctrine of election. If it hadn't been for election,
none of us would be saved. God chose us. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings, and the heaven is in Christ Jesus,
according as he chose us in Christ. before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love, having predestinated us until adoption of children."
We're in Christ by divine covenant, by a divine choice. And we're
in Christ thirdly by precious, precious blood. Turn to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. Oh, I love this Scripture. What
can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me holy again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flood that
washed me white as snow. No other favor do I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, listen to this. 1 Peter 1, verse 17. And if you call on the Father,
if you call Him Father, who without respect to persons judges according
to every man's work, you pass the time of your sojourning here
in fear, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with
corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversations
received by tradition from your fathers, that you were redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish
and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifested in these last days for you who
by Him do believe." You who are in Christ, by Him you believe. that God raised him from the
dead and gave him glory that your faith and your hope might
be where? In God, in the precious blood
of Christ. I went to Chattanooga, Tennessee
in the latter part of 1947 and went to school at Tennessee Temple
College. I wanted to be a preacher, and
I felt like I needed some training. So I went to Tennessee Temple
College for two and a half years while I pastored a church in
Chattanooga. And the president of the college
was my pastor when I was a boy growing up, Dr. Lee Robinson
in Chattanooga. And I used to go with him in
meetings to lead the singing part. And I had an old Packard,
an old 1935 Packard. It was a straight eight, you
fellas remember that, with those spare tires on either side and
that lady in front, you know, and it looked like a tank, you
know. Big, long thing, 1935. And I took a bunch of young people
with me in the service where Dr. Robinson was preaching, and
I led the singing. And on the way back, it poured
down rain. And we were driving along, and
I couldn't see real well. And I missed a stop sign. S-T-O-P. I flat missed it and
ran into a Model A Ford and turned it over. A bunch of young people
in it. One of them was hurt. The girl
was cut. The police came and wrote me
a ticket. And I went home that night and
it had on there I was to appear at a court before a judge a certain
day. And I called my father and I
said, I think I'm in trouble and you come up here at that
certain day with me and we'll face this judge and see what
I have to do. And I said, you better bring
your checkbook because I think I'm in trouble. And so he came. At a certain date, we went down
to the court. And I took my place right over
here. I can see it like yesterday. I took my place over here. My
dad, the sideman, the judge on the bench, and the recording
secretary, and the policeman, all those people. And he started
calling names and judging people. They'd come up and deal their
sentence or pay their fine or something. And after a while,
everybody was gone but my dad and me. And he turned and said,
what can I do for you? I said, well, your honor, I had
a wreck a few weeks ago and I turned the car over and some people
were hurt. And I got this citation to be in court today. He turned
to the secretary and he said, you got a record of that? She
said, no, sir. He turned to the policeman and
said, you fellas writing tickets that night? He said, yes, we
were writing tickets, but I don't have a ticket on him. The judge
said, well, I got nothing to do but let you go. Everything's
all right. And I floated out of there. I didn't walk out. Free! Somebody paid my fine. Somebody satisfied the court's
justice on my behalf. And Christ did that for me. Jesus
paid it all. All the debt I owe. Sin left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. We're
in Christ. We're in Christ by divine covenant. We're in Christ by divine choice. We're in Christ by precious,
redeeming, satisfying, eternal blood that flowed from the Savior's
vein, put away all our sin. And therefore now, there's no
judgment for them who are in Christ Jesus. He said, you're
free to go. Oh, boy. Won't that be wonderful? To realize, to realize permanently,
perfectly, we're free. Like people used to say, free
at last. That's what we are, free at last. All right. Fourthly, to be in Christ is
to be there by saving faith. To be in Christ by saving faith.
Turn to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4 verse 1 through
5. Let me ask four questions. What did Abraham find? Alright,
let's read it here. Romans 4 verse 1. What shall
we say then that Abraham our father as pertaining to the flesh
hath found? What did he find? He found God.
Abraham didn't know God. Abraham was raised in in idolatry. He was raised over there with
his brother and his father, and they were idol worshipers. And
God called him, and God spoke to him, and God revealed himself
to him, and Abraham found God. He found righteousness in God. That's how he found, what he
found. How'd he find it? Verse 2, For if Abraham were
justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
What says the Scripture? Abraham believed God. It was counted to him for righteousness. That's how Abraham found righteousness
and found God. By believing. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life. Wrath of God abideth on him. When did Abraham find this righteousness? Was it after he was circumcised?
Was it after he had Isaac? Was it after he was tempted and
tried? Was it after he went to Mount
Moriah and offered to sacrifice Isaac? No, sir. You're the one
Abraham found God and found righteousness and was saved when he believed. I want to show you that. Turn
with me to Genesis 15. Genesis chapter 15. Abraham was
saved 15 years before he was ever circumcised. In Genesis chapter 15. Listen
to this. Genesis 15 verse 5 and 6. Genesis
15 verse 5 and 6. Listen to it. Verse 4. Genesis 15 verse 4, And behold,
the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This shall not be
thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels
shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad,
and said, Abraham, look towards heaven, tell me, tell the stars,
if you are able to number them. And he said unto him, So shalt
thou see. And he believed in the Lord,
It was counted to him right thing, right thing for righteousness. If a man believes, if a woman
believes, hears this gospel, receives this gospel, lays hold
upon this gospel, believes it, he's saved right thing. Well,
the fourth question. What did Abraham find? He found
perfect, pure holiness and righteousness. He found God. How did he find
it? He believed God. When did he
find it? When he believed God. Not when
he did this, that and the other. Isn't that right, brother? He
believed God. How did I know that he found
it? I'll show you. Turn to Hebrews
11. Hebrews 11. I know exactly how
I can show you that he found it. Hebrews 11. Verse 8. Alright, ready? He was left made
by faith Abraham. When he was called, right then,
when he was called to go out into a place where he should
have to receive inheritance, he obeyed. And he went out not
even knowing where he was going. He believed God and he minded
God. And he obeyed. That's the proof
that he believed God. He minded the Lord. That's the
fruit of faith. Obedience. That's the proof of
faith. Obedience. That's the evidence
of faith. Obedience. He believed God. And
he acted upon the Word of God. Isn't that true? Certainly it
is. He obeyed the Lord. All right. To be in Christ. Turn
back to the text. Revelation 14. Revelation 14,
verse 13. To be in Christ is to be in Christ
by a divine covenant, is to be in Christ by divine choice, is
to be in Christ by precious blood, is to be in Christ by saving
faith, obedient faith. And fifthly, to be in Christ
is to walk in Christ and to work in Christ. Now watch this. Revelation 14, 13. I heard a
voice from heaven saying to me, write, blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. What he's saying is this. Those
who know Christ and those who love Christ and honor Christ
and serve Christ do have works. They do have works. That's the
fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering,
meekness. These things are the fruit of
God's Spirit who dwells within us. Even so, faith, if it has
not works, is dead. Well, what does the Lord say
here? He says, Yea, said the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors. And their works do follow
them. Now, Du Bois didn't say their
works go before them. Their works go before them to
introduce them in the presence of Christ. No. Christ did that. Christ said, I go to prepare
a place for you. All the work that needs to be
done by preparing for us a place is done by Christ. All right? Their works do follow them. They
don't go before them. Their works do not even accompany
them into God's presence to plead their case. Christ is the one
that intercedes. There's one mediator between
God and me, and that's the man Christ Jesus. And there's one
mediator, and that one advocate is Christ. And so he doesn't
need any works on our behalf to plead for us. He's the one
that intercedes. Well, let's follow it home more.
Their works do follow them, not as a reward. The Lord said to
Abraham, I am your exceeding great reward. Why do their works
follow them? Their works follow them to the
praise and glory of Christ, as a good evidence of God's grace,
but to give God all the glory. They follow. There are some wonderful
people in glory, and they're there because of Christ, but
there's some wonderful people in glory that Almighty God said
to them when he brought them to glory. He said, well done,
well done, my good and faithful servant. I spend faithful over
a few things. I'll make you ruler over many.
We've got an exceeding great reward, but it's up there waiting
for us. It's not going to precede us. It's not going to go with us.
It's going to come to the glory of our Lord who redeemed us. And when I stand before His throne
dressed in beauty, not my own, when I see Him, when I see Thee
as Thou art and love Thee with an unsinning heart, then Lord,
I really know And not till then, how very much I owe. Chosen not
for good in me, wakened up from wrath to flee, hidden in my Savior's
side, by His Spirit sanctified, teach me, Lord, on this earth
to show, by Thy love, how much I owe. I think we show that,
and we'll talk about this We'll talk about this tomorrow morning,
this love of Christ on behalf of his people. Over here in Philippians,
turn over there just a minute, Philippians. We'll talk about
this in the morning, the Lord will in Philippians. No, it's
Titus, Titus, that's where I was. I've got to find out where I'm
going to preach from. in Titus chapter 3. You know I am going to preach
in Philippians. Let's turn back. I like that. Philippians chapter
2. Here it is. This is my text. I promise I'll study it and find
out where it is. 4 in the morning. Philippians
chapter 2, if there be any consolation in Christ, is there? Yes, there
is. If there's any comfort in the
love of Christ, yes, there is. Is any fellowship, real, genuine
fellowship in Christ? Oh my, yes. Any vows, that's
a depth of emotion and expression and feeling and affection. Is there any vows and mercy?
There is. Then you fulfill my joy that
you be like-minded, having the same love, being one of accord
and one mind. We'll talk about that in the
morning. That's those God's people. I keep saying that God's people,
they know their centers. There's not anybody here in this
building that believes in works for salvation. Not one living
soul here. But I'm telling you this, the
Lord has chosen us to work for his glory and serve his people
in a kind and merciful and tender and gracious and generous and
loving way. And we need to talk about it
more than I used to. Thank you, brother Doug. So glad I was here to hear that,
and able to hear it.