It is both an honor and a delight
for us to have Brother Morris Montgomery, pastor of the Bible
Baptist Church in Madisonville with us and his family today. I trust that you will be certain
to get by and speak with them before they leave after the services
are over. I want us to look together to
three words, just three words, I believe that God will be pleased
to bless them to our understanding will be most edifying to our
souls. My text is found in 1 Peter 2
and verse 4. 1 Peter 2 and verse 4. Here are the three words, to
whom cometh. To whom coming. Now those three words describe
for us what salvation is in its essence. They describe for us
what the Christian life is in its essence. And they describe
for us what eternal glory shall be in its essence. To whom coming. First, they speak of a person.
The person is the Lord Jesus Christ to whom? And my friend,
that is the essence of salvation, Christ, Christ, Christ. I wish we could understand that.
Salvation is not in this church or in any other church. Salvation
is not in a religious experience. Salvation is not in religious
works. Salvation is not in a religious
creed. Salvation is Jesus Christ. Simeon said, I have beheld thy
salvation. God's salvation, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Salvation is in the person of
Christ himself. It comes by a vital union with
Christ Jesus through faith and it is brought to us on the basis
as a result of the doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is Christ. To whom? Man, woman, you must get to Christ. Until you get Christ himself,
there is nothing upon which your soul can rely. Peter speaks of
all the saints as men and women who are coming to Christ, coming
to him as unto a living stone, coming to him as the only sure
foundation for our souls. Anyone who says that salvation
can be obtained by any means other than simply coming to Christ
simply does not know the gospel. Salvation is in Christ and you
get salvation by coming to Christ. Well, what about this coming?
This is the performance Peter speaks of, to whom coming. Actually, it's, well, it is a
performance, but it's not. It is not a physical act. It is not a physical motion. It is not something we do physically. I'm urging you this morning to
come to Christ. I, sometimes we address ourselves
to sinners as unbelieving sinners, And I'm urging you who believe
not, oh God help you now to come to Christ. But I'm urging every
man and woman here right now to come to Christ. Come to Christ. Merle, come to the Savior. Right
now, come to Him. Buddy, come to the Savior. We
who believe have come here to worship, but we must do more
than come to this place. We must come to Christ! Or we'll
not worship. Come to Him. Now that's not walking
down an aisle. That's not coming into the church
building. That's not doing something. It's not saying something. It's
not even saying a prayer or reading a psalm. But coming to Christ
is an act of your soul, an act of your heart. I'll give you
an illustration. Wednesday evening, or Thursday
evening, I called my wife. And she told me she had had an
accident. If you see her, I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I wasn't here.
I was, let's see, how far away was I? A good long way, about
250 miles away. But immediately, when I heard
her speak on the phone, I changed it. Just like that. Just like
that. I didn't have to get in my car
and drive home. I didn't have to have her catch a plane and
fly to West Virginia. Immediately I came to her. My
heart. You understand what I'm saying?
Immediately I came to her because she was hurting and she needed
me. I couldn't physically be there.
I hope she knew immediately I would be there. Do you understand what
I'm talking about? And right now, where you're sitting, come
to Christ. Without leaving your pew, without
saying or doing anything, come to Christ. What do you mean,
preacher? Let me give you some synonyms that are used in the
scriptures for coming to Christ. When our Lord speaks of coming
to him, when Peter says, to whom coming, this word coming is sometimes
the very same thing as hearing. Hear him. Hear him. It's the
same thing as coming to him. Sometimes it is seeing or looking. He says, look unto me. It's the
very same thing as coming to him. speaks of believers as,
or men and women, as trusting and believing Him. That's what
it is. To look to Christ, to hear Christ, to see Christ, to
come to Christ, is to trust Christ. That's what it is. It's to believe
Him, to live upon Him. This thing is frequently described
as receiving Him, this coming to Christ. But Peter describes
it as coming. To whom? Coming. Again, I stress,
this coming is a spiritual thing. It's not a physical act. It's
not a physical act. Brother Scott Richardson often
says, I want to take fellas and shackle them to the pew, bind
them hand and foot, tie them in their seats and say, come
to Jesus. That's what you must do. Come to Christ, not by moving,
but by your heart. Come to Jesus. Mr. Spurgeon said,
coming to Christ does not mean coming with any natural motion
of the body. For he's in heaven, and we can't
climb up to that place where he is. But it is a mental, a
spiritual coming. It is in a word, trusting in
and upon him. Anyone who believes that Jesus
Christ is God, that he is the appointed atonement for sin,
and that that person, believing those things, relies upon him
as such, has come to him. And it is this spiritual coming
to Christ that saves the soul. Anyone in all the world who has
relied upon Christ and is still relying upon Him for the pardon
of sin and for His complete salvation is safe, he's come to Christ.
He's come to Christ. That's what you did when you
believed Him. If this day, since I've been speaking to you, you
believed Him, you've come to Him. That's what salvation is. And our Lord said, All that the
Father giveth to me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me cometh to me, that is, he that comes and continues to come,
I will in no wise cast out." John Gill explains this matter
of the believers coming to Christ in this manner. He says this
coming to Christ as the Savior is believing in Him and trusting
Him. And it's owing altogether to
the Father's teachings, instructions, and drawing. No man cometh, says
the Savior, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
Now notice one more thing. In these words, we have a present
participle. That's just a fancy word for
saying it keeps on. It keeps on. To whom coming. Peter's talking about perseverance.
He's talking about men and women who have come to Christ, but
they're coming to Christ. Do you see what I'm saying? They've
come to Christ, but coming to Christ. We who believe continue
all the days of our lives coming to Christ. Coming to Christ. That's the difference between
true faith and false faith. That's the difference. The way
of salvation is to come and continue to come, to be always coming
to Christ. It's the way of the Spirit, of
the believer, that he is always coming to Jesus, always relying
upon the Savior. The true believer trusts Christ
just as fully, just as entirely, at the close of his pilgrimage
as he did in the beginning. Let me change that. He trusts
Christ more fully. more entirely at the close of
his pilgrimage than he did in the beginning. At first, we came
to him with a trembling face, like Peter, when he said, Lord,
save me, I perish. That's faith, but it's a trembling
face. As we grow, as we continue coming
to him, we come to him with a confident face, with a confident face laying
hold upon him. The believer comes to Christ
as a guilty sinner. crying continually, God be merciful
to me, a sinner. Today, been well over 20 years
since God was pleased to reveal his grace in my heart. And today
I trust Christ and I come to Christ in exactly the same manner
as I did 20 years ago. I have no better foundation for
my soul than Jesus' blood and righteousness. My hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest frame." That's our tendency, isn't it?
We trust ourselves, our feelings, our sweet frames of religion. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. It's not the man who begins
the race that wins the prize, but the man who finishes. It
is not the man who came to Christ who is saved. but the man who
comes to Christ who saves. To Christ we must always be coming,
and not many people are. Most people have fits of religion. Do you know that? They have fits
of faith, spasms of salvation. Now, whenever they have some
difficulty come up, some heartache, some trial, some burden, or they
just get feeling sorry for themselves, get feeling bad, they get most
religions. And they come to church for a
while, and you can depend on them for a little while, and
then they get over whatever it was that was bothering them,
and they quit coming. They just have fits of faith. And people
not only have fits of faith in that regard, but they just take
religion and salvation and faith in Christ by spell. You know,
they come to church once a month, sometimes twice a month, sometimes
they'll come two or three times in one week, you know, and then
they don't come no more. They don't come anymore. What's
wrong with them? They're coming to church and not coming to Christ.
That's what's wrong. That's what's wrong. And I'm
so happy you're here. You can bear me witness. I guarantee
you, I guarantee you, They'll be the ones that'll squall and
holler because nobody pays them any attention. Well, I've been
sick for a month and didn't nobody come and see me. Well, my soul,
I didn't see you the month before that either. I've been here for
three services a week all month long. Why didn't I see you? Because
you had no interest in the gospel, that's why. And I have no qualms
about saying that. Men and women who are interested
in Christ are committed to Christ, and they're committed to the
gospel of Christ. All of them are. And if you're not committed
to Christ, you're not a believer. Do you understand that? Faith
in Christ is nothing less than faithfulness to Christ. Is that
right, Pastor? Faithfulness to Christ. Commitment
to Christ. Where there is no commitment,
there is no faith. Those who believe are coming
to that, coming to Christ. One thing that Peter is showing
us is that true faith is a persevering faith. Now, we preach with equal
authority, with equal determination, with equal emphasis, the preservation
of grace and the perseverance of faith, for both are true.
All of God's elect are preserved in Christ. I know that. I believe
that with all my heart. You know I believe that, don't
you? The Lord Jesus Christ has his sheep in his hands. He will
not lose one of them. They shall never perish. No sheep
of Christ shall ever fall away. No true believer shall ever become
an unbeliever. None of God's elect can perish.
I know that. I rejoice in that. But I'm going
to tell you something. I'm going to tell you something.
If you dare presume that because at some time back yonder when
you was a little boy, or sometime back there when you were a grown
man, or sometime yesterday, you experienced something that you
look at and you say, well, that had to be real salvation. If
it doesn't make any effect on your heart and life for the rest
of your life, my friend, you missed it. You just missed it. Coming to Christ will not allow
you to cease to come to Christ. Persevere in the faith. They
all do. Let me show it to you in the
scriptures. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 13. The apostle Paul has been describing
the men and women of faith. He's describing how they believed
God, how they followed God, how they walked with God. Now in
verse 13. These all died in faith. That's the thing I want you to
see. These all died in faith. I don't want to do anything to interfere with a real believer's
assurance before God. Please understand me. But assurance
is the result of faith. The result of faith. If your
assurance before God is based on something that's happened
to you or something that you experienced or some change in
your life that took place back yonder, my friend, your assurance
is on a foundation of sand. Assurance is believing God. Do
you believe God? That's where assurance is found.
Believe in Christ. These men and women were called
of God, and they believed Him. And they walked with Him, believing
Him. And when they came to close their eyes in death, buddy, they
still believed God. They still believed God. They
died in faith. Turn back to the book of... Back
here in Hebrews. Just stay there for a minute.
Look back in chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 14. For we are partakers of Christ."
What an astounding statement. Wes Roseboom, partaker of Christ. A partaker of Christ? If, do
you see it? If we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast to the end. Turn to chapter 10 of Hebrews,
verse 38. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38. Now, the just shall live by faith.
The just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith.
But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him. I said to you a moment ago, most people have fits of faith.
The believer lives a life of faith. He lives a life of faith. He believes God today and tomorrow
and all the days of his life. And it's not just a matter. It's
not just a matter of believing God for salvation. It's not just
a matter of believing Christ for the pardon of sin. That's
included, and that's the predominant thing, yes. It's not just a matter
of believing Christ for righteousness. That's included, yes. But where
there is faith in Christ for salvation, there is faith in
Christ continually as we walk on this earth. How do you hope to eat your banner
tomorrow, today? I believe God. I just believe
God. How do you handle the trials
of life? I believe God. I believe God. How do you handle
difficult situations? I believe God. Does that make
sense to you? I believe God. That's what it
is. The just shall live by faith. Live by faith. I wonder, do we
or don't we, live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Well,
I want you to look at these three words this morning, and I'm going
to just give you three different stages of the believer's life,
to whom coming. First, these words set forth
the salvation of the believer. This is what salvation is, it's
coming to Christ. This is the experience of every
true believer. Our Savior said, Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
And we have come to him. We have come to him. It was truly
a very simple thing for us to come to Christ. In our foolishness,
we all made it a very difficult thing. We all made it something
far, far more difficult than it was. We went here and there,
we did this and that seeking salvation, refusing to submit
to the simple command of the gospel, come unto me. We went
about seeking to establish our own righteousness, refusing to
submit to the righteousness of God that's in Christ by faith. And that's the reason we had
the struggles we had. Man, you see, prefers anything
to pure grace. Anything. Man will do anything
rather than be saved by Christ's charity. We don't like to bow
our necks to the mercy of God. Man refuses the gracious invitations
of the gospel because man's determined somehow or another to get his
finger in the work of salvation somewhere. It doesn't really
matter where. Just get him someplace, put his finger in the work so
he can get something he can point to and say, look here, I did
that. And that's the reason men miss
us. You're going to have to get your finger out of the whole
world, or you're not going to experience this thing of salvation,
eternal life, and grace from God. Far too often, preachers
place before sinners huge obstacles that bar the way of salvation.
Some of our brethren preachers, though, they were afraid that
some of the non-elect might possibly get saved. Let me tell you something,
my friend. You heard me well this morning.
Come to Christ, there's salvation in Him. And you come to Christ,
there's salvation in Him for you. There's salvation in Him
for you. What's the best way to come?
Just come. Just come. How can a man get
faith in Christ? Just believe. That's the only
way everyone does. You get faith in Christ, just
believe. We exhort men to seek faith,
or pray for faith, or wait for faith. Do you know the Word of
God? Now, yes, we seek the Lord. Yes, we pray for grace. Yes,
we call upon God. But do you know the Word of God
never admonishes a man to seek faith? Never. Never admonishes
a man to pray for faith. It never admonishes a man to
wait for faith. The Word of God says, Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The way
to get faith is to believe God. You can stand back and argue
about it and debate about it, investigate it and study it all
you want to, but you'll get faith when you believe God. That's
the only way you'll do it. You'll come to understand the
truth of Scripture when you bow to the truth. You'll get faith
when you believe God. That's the only way. There's
nothing for a sinner to do but just come to Christ. All the
fitness he requires is to feel your need of him. And this he
gives you. He's the only one who can. If
you're hungry, you're fit to eat. If you're thirsty, you're
fit to drink. If you're filthy, you're fit
for a bath. If you're naked, you're fit to
be clothed. If you're a sinner, you're fit
to come to Christ. I ask you then, are you? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you naked? Are you filthy? Come then to the Savior. He's
bread for the hungry and water for the thirsty, life for the
dead, clothing for the naked, cleansing for the filthy. Come
to Christ. That's where salvation is. Come
to Christ. John Bunyan once raised the question,
what kind of coming is it which saves the soul? And then he answered
the question. any coming in all the world if
it does but come to Jesus. Come to Christ. He's got life. Come to Christ. He's got pardon.
Come to Christ. He gives life and pardon to all
who come to Jesus. Oh, God help you. But, preach,
is it really that simple? It really is that simple. It
really is. Bobby, you sat there and struggled
with it for a long time, didn't you? It really is that simple
if you just quit struggling. You just quit fussing. You just
quit arguing in your mind with God's salvation. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. Nothing will ever give your soul
peace except coming to Him. You can have trouble with assurance. And I frankly confess I do. I
do at times. I expect anybody else who has
any sense at all of spiritual things has struggled with assurance
at times. But I want to tell you something.
The struggles come when I look at my coming rather than at Christ.
We sit down and look and examine our coming. Well, how did I come?
When did I come? What talks in my coming? All
of those things. Quit looking at your coming and
just come to Christ. Just come to Him. Sometimes we
want to examine our knowledge. Well, do I know enough? Or did
I know enough? Or have I the proper kind of
learning and instruction? Quit looking at your knowledge.
Just come to Christ. Just come to Christ. Sometimes
we look at ourselves. Brother Hubert and I were talking
last Sunday night at church I preached to you on Christ's letter to
the church at Sardis. Oh my God, sometimes my heart's
so dead. So dead. How can a man with such
a heart as mine have life? Quit looking at your heart and
come to Christ. Come to Christ. I don't come
to God bringing my cold, dead heart. I don't come to God bringing
my weak, frail knowledge. I don't come to God bringing
my experience. I don't come to God even bringing
my repentance to faith. I come to God bringing Christ
and only Christ. And I'm accepted to God. I'm
accepted to God. And I'm going to tell you, every
time, every time I start looking here or there or there or there,
I have no assurance for God. Can't have. If I do, I'm deceiving
myself. If I do, it's a self-righteous
assurance. But I've never yet looked to Him. I've never yet
come to Him and failed to have assurance for God. Never. Trusting Him, how can I have
anything else? Leaning on Him, how can I doubt Him? Oh, I can
doubt my heart. I don't want to doubt it. I can doubt my experiences, and
I do. I question my knowledge, and
I question my doings, and I question my motives. But I can't question
Him! Come to Him and peace, life. That's what faith is. It's simply
giving up all confidence and everything else and coming to
Christ. Casting yourself entirely into the Savior's arms. If you
can do that, If you can do that this morning, God Almighty chose
you for the world's beginning. He made you to be His son before
ever you drew your infant breath. Can you come to Him? And once
we did come to Him, our Savior didn't cast us out. We came with
fear and trembling, empty-handed. We came in desperation. Yeah.
I came to him in desperation. I did. I came to him because
I was sinking. Sinking in the deep mire where no standing is. I was slipping down into hell
and hell was reaching up to grab me. But I came to Christ in desperation. And he saved me. He received
me. He wouldn't cast me out. Our lesson this morning had to
do with repentance. I didn't come to Christ bringing
repentance to him. I came to Christ and he gave
me repentance. Do you see that? Oh yeah, nobody's
going to come to Christ who doesn't know themselves a sinner, but
you're never going to know yourself a sinner until you come to him.
I didn't come to Christ with a broken heart. I came to Christ
and he broke my heart. All I brought to Christ was my
sinful, condemned soul, and he gave me salvation, life, and
righteousness. And if you ever come to him,
he'll do the same for you. He'll do it. This is how it all
began. I've come to Christ. Ignorant,
I come to him as my prophet to teach me. Sinful, I come to him
as my priest to cleanse me. Weak, I come to him as my king. Guilty, I come to him for justification. Condemned, I come to him for
pardon. Weary, I come to him for rest. Naked, I come to him
for dress. Blind, I come to him for sight.
Dead, I come to him for life. This is where salvation begins.
To whom cometh Now secondly, these words describe the believer's
life. To whom coming? The true believer
is always coming to Christ. We don't look upon faith as something
we did back in the past. We come to Christ today and we
shall come to Christ tomorrow. I have come to Christ, I am coming
to Christ, and I shall come to Christ. We continually come to
him exactly like we did in the beginning. Exactly like we did
in the beginning. This is the daily experience,
the hourly experience of every believer. We have no sufficiency
in ourselves. We come to Christ again and again
and again. Always coming to him. Look in
Hebrews 10, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Paul tells us how that Christ
has opened up a new way for us. He says, therefore, having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. How do you come to God? By the
blood of Jesus. That's the only way. That's the
only way. Look in chapter four, verse 16. Paul says, Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, find
grace to help in the time of need. Now, Paul is not saying that
we come to Christ, come to the throne of grace with cocky arrogance. That's not what he's saying.
You hear these fellows on television, radio, Talk about demanding things
from God and claiming things from God and all that stuff.
When Paul speaks of us coming boldly, he's simply saying you
come and speak freely to God. You speak freely to God like
a father with his son. You come to God and speak freely
to him. How do you do so? In order to
obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. We
come more boldly, more freely than we used to come. At first
we came as cringing slaves. Now we come as accepted sons.
But we still come to the cross, to the Savior, to the throne
of grace. We still come as sinners in need
of mercy. We still come by the blood of
Christ, only by the blood of Christ. We come more closely
than we used to come. It's still coming, but it is coming in a far nearer
fellowship and communion than once it was. People often mistake spiritual
growth, growing in grace, for sanctification, but let no one
misunderstand our doctrine. While we do not by any means,
allow that believers become, by their experiences or by their
works, more holy before God, but that we are perfect and accepted
and holy in Christ. God's elect grow in grace, and
they grow in faith, and they grow in love, so that as the
believer comes to Christ, the more he comes, the nearer he
comes. Does that make sense to you?
He means more than he used to, doesn't Yeah, he does. If he
doesn't mean more to you than he used to, something's wrong
with you. Something's suspect about your faith. Faith grows
in its apprehension of Christ, in its love for Christ, in its
devotion to Christ. We come to Christ in such a much
dearer way than once we did, that sometimes you have to look
back on what you did experience and wonder whether that was coming
to him at all or not. Is that right, Bob? You come
in a much dearer way. There's more love in our coming
than there used to be. At first, we came not so much
out of love as out of desperation. We simply ventured our souls
upon Him. But now we come to Him as the
best of friends, the dearest companions. I've got things I talk to my
Savior about I wouldn't dare talk to my wife about. That's right. She's a dear companion,
but she's not that dear. I got things I explained to him
I can't possibly explain to you. You're dear friends, but I can't
possibly explain to you things I explained to him. Our Savior,
we come to him in faith and confidence, in love. And it's an ever increasing
thing. It's an ever growing thing. First
we came Trembling, now we come in confident love. We come now in a somewhat different
way, but we still come to the same person, our Lord Jesus Christ,
our Savior. And in great measure, we still
come the same way. I still come to Christ, a poor sinner to a mighty Savior. I still come to Christ a guilty
wretch to an all-sufficient refuge. I still come to Christ empty
to him who has all fullness. I come to him and seek great
things of him." You want to really seek some
great things from God? Folks, talk about real prayer,
real prayer, real faith, believing God for something great. Let
me turn your thinking a little bit. May God turn your thinking
a little bit. You want something great from
God? Ask Him to give you a heart like Christ. Huh? Oh, Lord God, give me a
heart like Christ. and of love, kindness, generosity,
a forgiveness, mercy, a grace of understanding. We come seeking
those things, desiring those things, asking God to make us
like his son. And yet still, I come leaning
the whole weight of my soul upon Christ. See that clock right there on
the wall? You don't have to turn around and look, you've all seen
it. You know how that thing's there? It's hanging on a nail. Hanging on a nail. That's how
we hang on Christ. Hang everything on Him. Everything.
It has no support on that wall except that nail. I've got no
support before God, no support for my soul. But Christ, I hang
my helpless soul on Him. Can you? Can you? Dare you hang
the weight of your soul on the crucified Savior? That's coming
day. That's coming day. To whom coming? Let me give you
this one thing thirdly. These three words give us a description
of the believer's departure from this world. Very soon Thank God
very soon we will all lay aside this house of clay. I hope that
you've learned to look upon the time of your departure without
any fear or dread of any kind. I know that in this world there is nothing that should
hold us, nothing that we should cling to, I know there's nothing
here that can satisfy our souls. I know that there's nothing here
but that which is decaying before our eyes, and it's well for us
who believe that there is an end to this life. Here I struggle with this body
of sin, and I don't mean the physical flesh, though that too is a burden.
I mean the nature of flesh. I mean the struggle of my heart
against my nature, a struggle of my heart against myself. Oh,
thank God there's an end to this. Truly, these three words are
a blessed description of that end. To whom I'll tell you something. I'm right anxious for that. I'm
right anxious for that. I've often told you the story.
It'll bear repetition. Old Richard Baxter, the old preacher,
he had suffered so much in his life. The state took his goods,
took his property, ransacked his estate, took everything away
from him. He lived on the charity of a
friend in his old age. Had a little room, a little bed
in the room, a little table, and that's where he spent the
last years of his life. When he was dying, one of his
friends came in and talked like Most battlers do. You go to the hospital, some
fellas lay in there with a, his pants on his legs, and his body
in traction, turned upside down, got a wire holding his face together,
and you come in and say, well, how are you today? One of his
friends came in, old Baxter was dying, and said, well, brother
Baxter, how are you today? And Baxter looked at him, raised
up just a little, and he said, almost well. And that day he
was made well. He went to be with the Savior.
That's what it is to leave this world, buddy. We're coming to
Christ. Nothing to be afraid of that.
Nothing there to cause us any fear, any turmoil. For the believer
departing from this world is coming to sit with Christ upon
his throne. He said, to him that overcometh,
I will grant to sit with me in my throne. Once we've left this
world, There's nothing left of conflict but only conquest. No,
the conquest is even over just the crown and the coronation.
We will enter into the royal dignities of Christ himself. For the believer departing from
this world is coming. Turn over to John 17. Let me show you this. For the
believer departing from this world is coming to behold Christ's
glory. John chapter 17, verse 24. Our Lord prays, Father, I will, this
is what I want, that they also whom thou hast given me be with
me where I am. that they may behold my glory. That'd be good. I'm anxious for that. To see
the Savior like Peter, James, and John saw him on the Mount
of Transfiguration. I don't know what they saw, but
it was something else. They saw him transfigured so that he was
as bright as the sun shining in. But there's more than just the
visible glory of his physical being. Our Savior is saying,
Father, I want Merle Park to be with me so that he can see
my glory. the glory of my being, and the
glory of my work, and the glory of my salvation, and the glory
of my name, the glory that God gave you. Augustine used to say there were
two sites he would like to have seen. He said, I'd like to have
seen Rome in her splendor and Paul in preaching. But here is
a site I would prefer above all sites. Christ in his glory, the
King in his beauty. My friends, we ought not behave
as the ungodly do. Whether we have to bury others
or whether we come ourselves to face the time of our departure,
we should deal with it as men and women who believe God. Now, listen to me. Listen to
me. You're all going to experience it. I am too. From the pulpit
to the back door, we're all going to experience it. You're going
to lose loved ones, friends, family. Some are going to be
believers and some unbelievers. Now, don't mock God by pretending
that the unbeliever is a believer. Don't do it. And don't mock God
by acting as though the believer died without hope. Don't do it. When you go to the funeral parlor, it's the will of your father.
It's the will of your father. That ought to make it bearable,
father. That'll make it where you can at least walk with some
measure of comfort into the midst of sorrow. It's your father's
will. And if the one that you're losing
is one of God's elect, well, no need to mourn for him. No
need to mourn for him. When I'm gone, don't weep for
me, my soul. I'm going to have all my prayers
answered. I'm going to get what I've been
seeking after. I'm going home. No need to sorrow
for me. Oh yeah, we sorrow because they're
taken from us. We sorrow because we'll miss
them. We sorrow because we feel the absence of them, and we miss
all the things they've done. But don't sorrow for them. Sorrow
not as others that have no hope. And even when one who is taken
in death is an unbeliever, we submit to God's prophecy.
We submit to God's providence. When Abraham prayed for Sodom,
he got up early in the morning and prayed for that city. And
he was diligent. He was diligent while there was
any life left. He was diligent. Let us be the
same. Let us be diligent. Be diligent. Seek. Seek the salvation of sinners
while they live. But when God poured out his judgment
upon that city, Abraham answered, not a word, not a word. Let us be like Abraham, submit
to God's providence. But there is more for the believer. Departing from this world is
coming to share Christ's glory. Let me show it to you, Romans
chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, verse 16. The Spirit himself bears witness
with our spirit that we're the children of God. And if children,
then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together, glorified together Whatever Christ is. Now you talk
about mind-boggling theology. You can jot this down and meditate
on it for the next 20 years. Whatever Christ is, his people
shall be. Whatever he is, we who believe
shall be. Whatever Christ has, his people
shall have. He chose us before the world
began. He bought us with his own blood.
He wrapped us up in his own righteousness. He espoused us to himself forever. And we shall be full partakers
of all that he possesses. I jotted down something Spurgeon
said. I want to read it to you. When the miser's wealth has melted,
when the honors of the conqueror have been blown away, are consumed
like chaff in the furnace. When sun and moon grow dim with
age, and the hoary pillars of this earth begin to rock and
reel with a stern decay, when the angel shall have put one
foot on the sea and the other on the land, and shall have sworn
by him that liveth that time shall be no more, when the ocean
shall be licked up with the tongues of fire, and the elements shall
melt with the fervent and the earth and all the works that
are therein shall be burnt up. Then, then shall you be forever
with the Lord, eternally resting, eternally feasting, eternally
magnifying him, being filled with all his fullness to the
utmost capacity of your enlarged being, world without end. Imagine that. That's the believer's salvation.
That's the believer's life. That's the believer's end. Does
that describe you? Lord, God grant that this day
we may come to Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen. I want us to stand together and
sing number 249. Number 249. David, you come and
lead us in this. Go ahead and stand up with me. Now, I know about all the time
you hear this song, folks are asking you to come to the mourner's
bench, or come to an altar, or come to the front of the church,
or come to the preacher, or come to something. I'm asking you,
as we sing this, every one of us, God help me, God help me
do this. I'm saying, children of God,
and you who want to be children of God, believers and you who
want to be believers, you who