Now then, I've called your attention
to the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 10, and verse 15, and
I've announced our subject this morning, and I wish this morning
to speak as plainly and as simply as I can. I hope this morning
that the Spirit of the Lord will enable me to speak very, very
simple, in a very simple way, in order that the message might
go forth, that the Spirit of the Lord would use it in your
heart. The text said, The labor of the
foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not
how to go to the city." Now, in some respects, the Book of
Ecclesiastes, I believe, is one of the saddest books in all the
Word of God. It gives the search of the natural
man for the supreme good under the sun, leading at last, as
he searches to find the supreme good under the sun, leading at
last to bitter disappointment. and the heartbroken cry that
we find in the first chapter from verse 2 to verse 14. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit. There isn't anything
in this world except emptiness. and eventually we'll all come
to experience it and we'll all come to feel it in our souls. There is a city presented to
the eye of faith in the word of God for which every believer
Every believer's heart, I believe, yearns a city toward which the
saints of God in all ages have turned their eyes. We're told
in Hebrews 11, verses 8 through 10, that Abraham, the father
of the faithful, looked for that city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. So dear was this city to Abraham
that he went forth, not knowing whether he would go. And he turned
his back on all worldly prospects, all worldly prospects, that he
might assuredly find that city. And bless God, I believe that
Abraham did find that city, as I believe all those who know
our Lord Jesus Christ in reality and truth shall also find it."
Now in the Gospel of John, in chapter 14, our Lord Jesus told
us, "...in my Father's house are many mansions. If it were
not so, I would have told you, and I go to prepare a place for
you, that where I am there ye may be also." We believe that
our Lord Jesus is preparing this city. We believe that he's building
this city. You know the Lord Jesus was the
carpenter's son, and certainly he will build a place for those
that will afterwards, for all eternity, be with him in that
blessed, blessed holy place. Now, in the 21st chapter of the
book of Revelation that our brother read to us this morning, there
is a description of that city, and this description is beyond
anything that these poor, finite minds of ours can comprehend. Did you not feel that way when
he was reading? Do you think that you can comprehend
all this that our brother read to us? Out of the 21st chapter
of Revelation, very eloquently, it is set forth there to our
hearts, this blessed, eternal, great city, this holy city of
New Jerusalem. It is a city, the scripture said,
with a street of pure gold, as it were transparent glass, with
foundations of precious stones, with gates of pearl and walls
of diamonds. For the jasper is clear as crystal,
the diamond in all its glory." So in and through this chapter
that was read to us, we're given to understand something of what
God has provided for those who love Him, for those who trust
Him, for those that believe upon His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what a solemn thing to miss
the way to that city. What a solemn thing, I say, to
miss the way to that city. We dwell in this world maybe
50, maybe 60, maybe 70 years, and maybe even as many as 80
years. And even after this short life,
which the Bible describes as being as a vapor that appears
just for a little time, and then it vanishes away, we find ourselves
going, going, going out into a dark eternity. What a tragedy! It would have been better for
us had we never been born. It is a solemn thing to miss
the way unto that city. Solomon imagines a man in our
text on his way to the city. But that man has started out
to find his way, but he does not have a map. Neither does
he have a guide. Neither does he have a guidepost.
He has no authoritative information to tell him which route to take. He's going to the city. He has
it in his heart. He wants to go. He wants to find
the city of God. But he has no way, the labor
of the foolish, you remember, wearyeth every one of them, because
they knoweth not how to go to the city. Now if we think of
that city as heaven, or as the glorious New Jerusalem, then
we see how aptly Solomon's words apply to the myriads of our fellow
man all around us. Many, many, many are wearing
themselves out day by day, trying to find the city, trying to find
the road that leads to the city, and they're not able to find
it. Speak to men about their hope of heaven. Oh, we're all
going to the same place, they'll tell us. We're all traveling
the same road, and you know, there's just one road. and we're
all traveling that same road, never you mind, they say, never
you mind, I will find the way, we will find the way. It is not
so, beloved, that we'll never do. People will not find the
way unless, unless they turn to God's blessed word and unless
they find the way that is spelled out in this book, they will not
find the way. There is I think a great many
who are in a state of confusion about all of this. They will
not get to the city, I'm telling you. They're not going to get
to the city. They have no, thus saith the
Lord. They say every road leads eventually
to heaven and home, but it's not so. They have no, thus saith
the Lord, to back up what they have to say, but that is what
they say. They say eventually, I just believe
it'll all pan out. And eventually, I'll end up in
heaven. Everything will come out alright
in the end. All that they have is, I think,
All they have is, I hope, and my guess is, my chance is as
good as anybody else's, they will tell us. And that is what
they have to say about it. This is not logical, beloved,
nor is it reasonable. It is a principle that does not
work in this life, nor in this world. And what reason have we
to believe that it would work when we come to the heavenly
life and the other world? There was a woman that I heard
about, Sometime ago an elderly woman and she got on a train
in California And she was doing quite nicely. She had a lot of
bags, and she even had a cage with a parakeet in it. And she
got on and got settled on the train, and she was, as I said,
doing quite nicely, until the conductor came around, and he
said to her, Lady, do you have your ticket? And so she handed
him her ticket and he said, Madam, he said, this is not your train. This is not your train. Your
ticket calls for San Bernardino and you're on the train that
goes to San Diego. And she said, you needn't tell
me that. She said, I asked a man before
I got on, and he told me that this train was going to San Bernardino. Well, he said, you got some wrong
information, lady. And she said, I don't believe
it. And pardon me, the man said, I'm the conductor on this train,
and it's going to San Diego. You'll have to get off and take
another train back. And when the train got to its
next stop, she got off and finally got her stuff off, declaring
it to be an outrage and said that she was going to report
it to the company and have the conductor fired for putting her
off of the train. Well, beloved, it's not true
that if you take a train going north that you're going to land
somewhere in the south. It's not true. It is not true. It is not true if you're on the
broad way leading to destruction that you will at last reach heaven
and home. No, no, no, my friend. You must
wake up to the realization that you must be on the right road
or you're not going to come to the city. There is no way that
you will end up in heaven unless you come the way of the cross. Now the labor of the foolish
wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the
city. Well, I want to point out several
roads this morning that many are on, and they think they lead
to the city, but they don't. They don't lead there. Proverbs
14 and verse 12 says, There is a way which seemeth right unto
a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. The first
road that I want to mention this morning is, there is such a thing
in my understanding of the Word of God as what is known as Legality
Lane. Legality Lane. Now this is a
hard road. It's a rock hard road. And this
road, all those who are attempting to be saved by their own personal
obedience to the Law of Moses, to the Ten Commandments, they're
traveling on this road. As you pass along this road,
you hear the heavy thunderings and the frowning. You see the
frowning cliffs of Mount Sinai. You hear the lightning flashing
and see it as it flashes on this road, and you can almost hear
the words. Curse it is everyone that continueth
not in all the things that are written in the book of the law
to do them. Galatians 3 and 10. By the law,
the scripture says that there shall be no flesh justified in
his sight. But you say, Preacher, I will
keep the commandments. I will do my best. I will surely
get to heaven on this road, on Legality Lane. Oh my friend,
you will not get to heaven. The word of God declares that
if a man, listen to me now, if a man shall keep the whole law
and yet offend in one point of it, he's guilty of all of it.
James chapter 2 and verse 10. So if you say, well I've been
quite successful so far, maybe you're just like the rich young
ruler in Luke chapter 18. He said, how can I inherit eternal
life? And Jesus said, you know the
commandments. And he said, I've kept them from my youth up. Yet
Jesus looked him in the eye and said, you lack one thing. You
lack one thing. He was a very wealthy man. Jesus
said, take everything you've got and sell it and give it to
the poor. You see, the Lord knew, the Lord
Jesus knew this man was an idolater. You cannot serve God in mammon. You can't serve God in money.
If you're going to serve God, you must serve God as the owner
of all the silver and gold. And it must all be at His disposal
in His hand. And you must leave it in the
Lord's hands and serve the Lord. And wherever service to God takes
you, then your money either goes with you or it doesn't, but your
service to God must be. And so, beloved, this man went
away sorrowing. He was on this road, but our
Lord throwed a chalk under his wheel, you see, and he couldn't
get to heaven. Doing what he had been doing,
he couldn't get to heaven by keeping the law. No man ever
went to that city on this lane. No man was ever justified by
keeping the law and never will be. Don't you see, through the
weakness of our flesh, it is impossible that the law of Moses
ever justify a one of us. We know that God, through the
weakness of our flesh, he sent his Son in order that he might
condemn sin in the flesh, in order that there might be a way
made for those of us who had broken the law, and that's all
of us. order that we might be able to find a way unto the city. It is utterly impossible that
a man should wash out the stains of sin by his professed obedience
to the law of Moses. Moses cannot take us into the
promised land. It's Joshua, Jesus, which is
another form. The word Joshua is another form
of the word Jesus. Moses, through the weakness of
the flesh, could not take the children of Israel into the land
of Canaan. Joshua had to do it. Jesus must
take us in. The law of Moses cannot take
us in. The law tells us how to behave,
but it does not tell you what to do if you've already failed
and have become guilty before God. And we have and are. We have failed and we are guilty
before God. And the law has no remedy for
an individual that has broken it. There is no mercy in the
law. When you break the law of God,
you must pay the penalty, and the penalty of the broken law
is death, eternal death. And the only way you can escape
that is to be found in a substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, who obeyed
the law and satisfied the law. God has made a way for you, my
friend, and that way is through the Lord Jesus Christ. The law
tells you to run and do, but gives you neither feet nor hands.
But the gospel, my friend, is that blessed truth which provides
everything for you that God demands for you. We say the law is a
one-way street. You can't turn around on it.
If you're going by the way of legality lane, my friend, you
can't turn away. You can't turn around on that
road. Once you break the law, you've got to go on to the end,
and the end is eternal death. It's eternal judgment. You cannot
escape the justice and wrath of God when you follow legality
lane. God's going to demand of you
perfection, and that that perfection be according to your personal
obedience unto the law. Are you on that road? If you
are, my friend, you're not going to heaven. you're not going to
heaven. Legality Lane will never lead you to the New Jerusalem,
to the city. It will not. Secondly then, you
say if Legality Lane will not take me to glory, I'll try Reformation
Alley. I'll try Reformation Alley. It
is true Preacher, that I have failed, it is true that I have
sinned, and it is true that I have come short of the glory of God,
but I will turn over a new leaf. Believe me, preacher, I mean
to turn over a new leaf. I'm going to put away my bad
habits, and I'm going to cultivate some good ones, and this robe
must surely lead me to God in heaven. My friend, this road
will do no such thing. This road will do no such thing.
It will lead to eternal disappointment. For there is a solemn word found
in this same book that reads like this. Listen to Ecclesiastes
3 and verse 15. God requires that which is past. Even if you turn over a new leaf,
the old sinful record is still there. And they will have to
be faced. All of your sins that you've
committed in the past, you say, I'm going to live perfect from
now on, preacher. Aren't you glad? Well, I am glad.
That's wonderful that you're going to live perfect from here
on out. But what about that old record? What about all those
sins that you've committed? They have to be faced in the
Day of Judgment unless some means can be found that that book will
be blotted out. Unless the record is blotted
out, you're going to have to face your sins in the Day of
Judgment. God requires that which is passed. Your bill collector, he does
that, doesn't he? He does that, and it's perfectly
right that he should. You run up a bill for a month
or two, and then you say to yourself one day, that will never do.
This buying on credit will get me head over heels in debt, and
I don't want to go there, and so I'll pay cash from now on.
From now on, I'll just pay cash. I am not going to get in any
more debt. Good, says your creditor, glad to hear it. And when will
you be able to settle your old bill? When are you going to be
able to come up with what you already owe me? Now you see,
God requireth that which is passed. Well you say, surely now you're
not going to hold the old account against me. Surely you're not
going to make me pay up. I've already made new resolutions,
and I've already changed my mind about buying on credit, and you're
going to hold the old bill against me? Well, you say, surely, surely
you won't do that. He says, I cannot afford to do
business that way, the businessman said. He said, pay up. I expect
payment, and I expect it now. I'll be delighted to have you
as a cash customer in the future, but business makes it necessary
that I should require that which is past, and God will demand
that which is past. And I know some of you are thinking
about how you can get out of the fix you're in. But you're
not going to get out of this fix on Reformation Alley, my
friend. You can travel that road all
the way to the end, and you will not get out. The old debt is
still there, payment will be demanded, and you must come up
and pay the bill. The bill must be paid for all
of your old sin. That is, my friend, even if you
could live perfectly from here on out, which you're not able
to do, and nobody else can either. So keep on Reformation Alley,
you'll torrow the rest of your life only to end up in the end
having the voice of God saying unto you, depart from me, I never
knew you, I never knew you. There's another highway that
runs very close alongside this last one, and it's called Morality
Road. Morality Road. Now, there are
many excellent people that travel along this particular way, people
whom you'd be glad to have in your home. They travel this road. These people seem to have no
tolerance for evil. They pride themselves upon their
morals and upon their ethics. They are what the world would
term good people. But they have no place, you see,
in their thinking for Christ or the gospel. These people think
that you start acting like a Christian and then you just become one,
you just grow into being one. My friend, that's fallacy. They
think they're Christians because of their morality and because
of what they have not or what they have been doing. Now listen
to me, my friends, if morals could have saved men's souls,
if ethics could fit you or make you meet for the inheritance
of the saints in life, then God would have never sent his Son
into this world to die on the bloody cross. He would have never
sent his Son into the world to be made a spectacle and to be
shamed as he was and to die on that gory tree. He would have
never done it if morals and ethics could fit a person for the city. He cried in absolute honesty
and soul soberness in Gethsemane's garden, and he cried in the agony
of his soul, Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me. And if there had been any other
way of saving sinners, then through the sacrificial death of the
Lord Jesus Christ, it would have been made known. Believe you
me, there would have been another way. God would have never, God
loved his Son, and God would have never put his Son through
what he did if there had been any other way. Morality will
not do. My friend, you must be born again. You must be changed on the inside. Thank God it can work out from
the inside. It can work to the outside. I
believe God's people ought to be moral people. I believe that.
And we ought to hate evil, hate what is evil, and love what is
good. But my friend, doing that will
not save you. It's Christ that saves. Now then,
Morality Road will not lead to the city then, which hath foundation,
whose builder and maker is God, the one that Abraham was looking
for. Now by the side of Morality Road
there runs a boulevard, and that boulevard is called Self-Righteous
Boulevard. It is a magnificent boulevard
indeed. Here are the scribes, and here
are the Pharisees, and here are many of the church dignitaries. Here they travel on this road. Self-righteous boulevard, you
see. Listen to one of them crowing
about his own perfection as he goes on his way on this boulevard. He says, I thank God that I'm
not like other men. I'm not a drunkard, I'm not a
blasphemer, and I'm not an adulterer. I fast twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess. And God said to that man, he
said, I know his heart. And God said, that man is not
going down to his house justified because he thinks that he's good
in and of himself. And he's got all this stuff down.
I thank God I'm not like other men. Well, I'll tell you what,
every one of us is cut out of the same piece of cloth. Every
one of us were born into this world sinners. Every one of us
have went astray from our mother's womb, speaking lies. Every one
of us are dead in sin when we're born into this world, and we
must be quickened, made alive by the living Spirit of God.
And we cannot, by our self-righteousness, raise ourselves up to glory.
And this man would say, surely, if anybody gets to the city with
streets of gold, I will, because I'm not like other men. Oh, I'm
different than everybody else. Ah, but hear the solemn declaration
of the Word of God, not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy. He saved us by the washing of
regeneration and the renewal brought about by the Holy Ghost.
By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast to
Him that worketh not. But him that believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. This man had no faith in the
Son of God, therefore he had no righteousness. Now, the Word
of God says that all of our righteousness are as filthy rags in God's sight. That's God's description of what
you are in a state of nature. I don't care how polished you
are, and I don't care how you have worked on this and got it
all straight and in line, your righteousness, self-righteousness, all as filthy rags in my sight."
And that expression, filthy rags, does not simply mean dirty linen,
dirty clothes. It has two meanings in the Hebrew.
One, it refers to the robes that is tainted and made unclean through
the inward corruption that has excluded from the sores of lepers. Let's say that Naaman the leper,
you've all read about him in the Word of God, and he wore
magnificent robes. And he was a man that the Scripture
says he was a great man. He was a leader in the army,
a general in the army of Syria, and he was a great man. But let's
say that Naaman took his magnificent robe and threw it off and said,
look, I want to make you a gift. Take this. Would you thank him
for the gift? Would you like that gift? Now,
I'm sure you would say, keep it. Keep it away from me. It
is contaminated by the leprosy that is in your body. that has
come out, that has excreted out of your leprous body onto that
robe, that magnificent robe. Now, my friend, I would like
to say to you this morning that as God looks upon you, you that
are outside of Christ, you're very self-righteous. Oh, you
think God owes you something. You think that God owes you something. You think that you're a step
higher than most people. My friend, I want to tell you,
God looks on that garment that you're wearing and says, that
garment is contaminated. I don't want it. That's filthy
rags in my sight. And the second meaning of that
word is that it's like a minstrel's cloth in the sight of God, impure
and defiled and tainted. This is what our own righteousness
is like in God's sight. Everything that we do when we're
unconverted, it comes from a corrupt and evil heart, and therefore
these things can never justify a guilty sinner before God, not
by works of righteousness which we have done. The Lord saved
us, called us, not by our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Jesus said that he came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus looked at
the Pharisees and said that the publicans and the harlots, they're
going to the city before you will. You're not going to find,
you Pharisees, you're not going to find the city because you're
on morality road and you're on the self-righteousness, you're
on the self-righteous boulevard and this boulevard does not lead
to the city. And you're not going to find
it and you're going to wear yourself out trying to stay ahead of everybody
else, trying to stay a little better than everybody else. in
order that you might be able to finally find the city. And
you're not going to find it. Your labor is going to weary
you and wear you out. And I hope that you'll become
weary this morning and that you'll lay down the effort and look
to find the right way. Well, all of these different
roads, and certainly this self-righteous boulevard will bring you to the
lake of fire. All these different roads and
these pathways which we have indicated this morning are ways
that seem right unto men, but the end thereof ends in outer
darkness. Well, I want you to turn in your
Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 14. And we want to say
a few words here at this time, which I believe will help us
to see the way clearly, to see the way to the city. Now, as
we look here at John 14, I want to read verse 4 down through
verse 6. And Jesus is speaking. He has
spoke here in these first few verses wherein he tells us that
there are many mansions in his father's house and that he's
gone to prepare a place for us. And then in verse 4 he says,
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Whether I'm
going, you know where I'm going. I'm going to that city, I'm going
to my father's house, and the way you know. And Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know
the way? Now Lord Jesus, you remember
he had told them over and over again about where he came from,
and where he was going, and who he was, that he was the door,
and by him if any man entered in he shall be saved, and shall
go in and out and find pasture, that he was the bread of life,
he was the water of life, and that he came down from heaven,
and that he was going back to heaven. He had told them that,
but they were a whole lot like us. We hear, and we hear, and
we hear, and we hear, and then somebody says something, and
they say, well, is that in the Bible? Did I ever hear that before? I think I might have heard that
sometime or other. May the Lord enable us to get
the wax out of our ears so that we listen and hear what the Word
of God says. Now then, Thomas saith unto him,
Lord, we know not whether thou goest, and how can we know the
way? How can we know the way to where
you are going? And Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way. I am the way, the truth, and
the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Now, then
Thomas, as he asked this question, he got a very plain and straightforward
answer from our Lord Jesus Christ. He answered him and he said,
I am the way. And so what he said in a nutshell
was that if you want to know the way to the city, Jesus, or
I am the way. I am the way to the city. There's
an old song. that we used to sing some time
ago. The name of it is, The Way of
the Cross Leads Home. The Way of the Cross Leads Home.
It is sweet to know, as I onward go, that the Way of the Cross
Leads Home. And so, beloved, do you want
to know the truth? in regards to the way. If you want to know
the way, the way is the way of the cross. And you're only going
to come at last to the city as you go with the Lord Jesus Christ,
as you go in faith to the Son of God. Do you want to know the
truth in regard to the great problems of time and eternity? If you do, Jesus said, I'm the
truth. I'm the truth. You say, well,
I've been wearing myself on all these roads, and I've been listening,
like the woman did, said, this train is going such and such
and so and so. You've been listening to a lot
of people down through the years. God pity you. Some of you listen
to people that ought to have been more straightforward with
you and ought to have told you the truth, and God have mercy
on them for failing you when you were children. Some of you
were failed because you were lied to about the way and about
what the truth is. Now, beloved, the truth is the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the truth. He's God's wisdom.
And if you want to know the truth, Jesus is the truth personified. He's the truth, and if you want
to know it, then you can know it when you have him. Do you
want to know where life eternal is found so that you may be a
new creature? Jesus is the life. He said, I'm the way, I'm the
truth, and didn't he say, I'm the life? Now my friend, you
cannot have life unless you have Christ. You cannot have life. And I say it again. You say,
Preacher, you're narrow-minded. I just tell you what the Word
of God says. You cannot have eternal life
without having Him who is life. And Jesus has life in himself. And when you believe on him,
you are joined to him. And you and Jesus are one in
the Spirit. And until that happens, my friend,
you're not saved. And the Bible says it plainly
in 1 John 5, He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life. Now if God's life is in a person,
Can't you see that you've got to be joined to that person?
And the only way you can be joined to him is by faith, by faith
in the Son of God. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life. But the wrath of God abideth
on him. Doesn't make any difference what
road you're on, my friend. The wrath of God abides on you
if you're not in the way, the truth and the life. If you don't
know Christ, if you're not in that way that ends at the celestial
city, that ends in that place where all of the saints of God
have already gathered home and those that are left on earth
The living body of Christ will someday be gathered. Surely you
want to find the way to that city. And that song that I quoted
a few minutes ago goes on to say, I shall never get sight
of the gates of light if the way of the cross I miss. I shall
never get sight of the gates of light if the way of the cross
I miss. Now when at last you lie down
and the doctor tells you it's all over, You're soon to pass
from this world, and you must say goodbye to your friends and
your loved ones. Surely you want to be able to say, as one dear
saint of God did, Earth is receding and heaven is opening for my
soul. Surely you want to be able to
say. If you do, you need Christ, my friend. You need Christ, for
he alone is the way to the city of God. Come unto me, he said,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, all of you that have wore
yourself out, trying to find the road, trying to get on the
road, trying to stay on the road, trying to keep it up, just trying
to keep on keeping on, just trying to keep it up. He said, come
to me, all you labor and heavy laden, and I'll just give you
my rest. I'll give you rest. It's like
a little boy, he came to his preacher one time, and he said,
preacher, he said, I have a memory verse that I'd like to quote.
And so the preacher said, stay on, young man. And so he stood
up and said, come to me, all you that labor in the heavy laden,
and I'll do the rest. And I'll do the rest. Well, I
tell you, once you understand that Jesus is salvation, it won't
be long before you know he done it all, even the coming. was inspired by the Holy Spirit. You were drawn by the Spirit
of God unto him that you might find rest. But I thought that
was cute. If I ask him to receive me, the
hymn writer said, will he say me nay? Will he say me no? Not till earth and not till heaven
pass away. If you come in your true character
as a sinner, owning your guilt, Forsaking every other refuge,
turning your back on every other road, forgetting about all these
lanes and boulevards and alleys we've talked about. You people,
you know what I'm talking about. Forgetting all of that, every
other refuge, and put your trust in Him alone. He will save you
according to His purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began, and you will know Him as the
only way that leads to Jerusalem begolden with milk and honey-blessed. Now, if you find yourself on
one of these roads that does not lead to that eternal city,
don't be ashamed to admit it. Don't be ashamed to admit it.
You may say, well, I just am afraid, preacher, of what people
will say. I'm just afraid of what they'll say. You know, I've
professed to be something for a long time, and I'm just worried
about what people will think. I'm worried about how they'll
react and how they'll look at me. I'm so worried about that. Well, let me illustrate this
to you. There was a king one time who had an army, and the
enemy came against this king and defeated his army and took
him captive. And so the enemy, they had one
day sent out a decree in the city that all of the city must
come and stand along the street because their army was going
to be marched barefooted through the city in their presence, and
their king was going to be behind them, behind the army, barefooted. And so the crowd gathered. The city came out. to see this
sight. And this king, he pleaded with
his captors and said, you know, this is so degrading for me to
have to walk barefooted behind this defeated army. Wouldn't
you spare me this indignity? Spare me all of this shame! And
they said, no way. No way. You're going to march
behind your army. We've defeated you, and you're
going to march behind your army." But they said, it will not be
any problem for you. They said, we're going to give
you a bowl of milk, and you're going to carry that bowl of milk
in your hands. It will be full to the brim,
and you're going to march behind your army carrying that bowl
of milk, and if you spill one drop of that milk, we'll take
your head off with a sword. when you get to the end of the
march. And so the king and the army marched through the city,
and they went out on the other side. And this king, he did not
spill one drop of the milk. And his captors said, What kind
of an expression did you see on the faces of your people gathered
alongside?" And he said, I saw nothing. I had more important
considerations. More important considerations.
He had to watch that bowl and that milk. And my friend, you've
got more important considerations. than to be worried about what
people are going to think, what your wife or your husband is
going to think, or what your friends are going to think, your
business associates, what they're going to think, if you admit
you've been on the wrong road. And the road you've been on leads
to eternal destruction. My friend, you've got more important
to consider. Your soul is at stake. And I
pray God this morning, in the name of Jesus, I pray that you
might be moved in your heart to turn and turn off of that
old road and forsake those false refuges and look unto the Lord
Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. Brother
Larry, if you would, would you come? My empire with joy increasing
And with gratitude unceasing Lift it up to me With Christ
eternally I will join the hosts there singing With the anthem
ever ringing To the King above who ransomed me Hallelujah, what
a Savior, who can take a poor lost sinner, lift him from the
fiery clay and set him free. I will ever tell the story, shouting
glory, glory, glory. Hallelujah, Jesus ransomed me.