What do y'all think about him? Oh, my goodness, yes. Can't even
see over that thing. Me and John, I mean, we got that
small purpose, don't we, John? Well, if y'all turn with me to
John's Gospel, Chapter 18. John's Gospel, Chapter 18. It is such a blessing to be here. And last night, I woke up during
the night thanking the Lord for what we heard last night. And one thing that John said
that I told him a little while ago, I said, you know that our
faith doesn't make the death of Christ effectual. And it doesn't. Whether you're
a believer or not believer, Nothing we'll ever do that'll make the
death of Christ effectual. Nothing we'll do that'll ever
make the blood of Christ effectual. Nothing, absolutely nothing.
And once it's applied, there's nothing you can do to undo it. All right, let me read these
first 18 verses, and I pray that Lord meet with us. When Jesus
had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over
the book Cedron, was a garden into which he entered, and his
disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, knew the place, for Jesus oft times resorted there with
his disciples. Judas then, having received a
band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh there with lanterns, and torches, and weapons. Jesus,
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered, Jesus
of Nazareth. Our Lord said unto them, I am.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon
then as he had said unto them, I am, they went backward and
fell to the ground. Then he asked them again, Whom
seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Again, our Lord answers, I told
you that I am. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled, which
he spake of them which thou gavest me, I have lost none. Then Simon
Peter, having a sword, drew it and smote the high priest's servant
and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheath,
the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Shall I not drink it? Our Lord
Jesus, in every place you find him, everywhere you see him,
in the scriptures, you get a revelation of his character, just a greater
revelation of his character. of His blessed person. And that's
what we want to see. We want to see revelations of
His power, His grace, His mercy, and His blessed person. Never
been a person on this earth like Him. And never will never, you
know, He was the most blessed person that was ever lived on
this earth. And wherever He was, in whatever
situation He was in, His personality, which was so unique, It could
not be hid, he can't hide it. And when he saw a multitude that
was hungry, you know what he did for them? Sit down and I'll
feed you, I'll feed you. And when he heard the cry of
a beggar, have mercy on me, our Lord Jesus Christ stopped, stood
still, commanded him, call him over here to me. And he gave
him his sight. And when our Lord looked on the
fields, He said, these fields, look at these fields, they're
white, ready to be harvested. And He said, I pray, He said,
pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into
the field. And that's what men need. They
need somebody to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. And as
we read the scripture, And listen to me now, as we read, when we
read the scriptures, that's where we hear his voice. It's from
his word where we hear his voice. If he's gonna speak to us, he's
gonna speak through his word. He ain't gonna give us no visions.
He ain't gonna send no angels to talk to us. He's gonna speak
to us through his word. And his word, and you begin to
see, when you see him in the word and hear his blessed voice,
you begin to see what a wonderful, wonderful Savior is Jesus our
Lord. And oh, what a wonderful, wonderful
Savior He is to me. And His wonderful, wonderful
character, His blessed person is opened up before our eyes
of faith. And oh, what a blessed thing
is to see our Lord Jesus Christ. And here in these verses that
I read this morning, I wanna look at just a few glimpses,
just a few glimpses of our Lord Jesus Christ in the garden, and
hopefully see some revelations of his character. I want you
to look in verse two. You know, our Lord, when he went
forth into the garden, we know what garden it was, and it says,
Judas, which also betrayed him, knew the place for Jesus, oftentimes
there resorted with his disciples. You know why our Lord went into
the garden? This is not the first time he went into the garden
of Gethsemane. He went there oftentimes, and he oftentimes
went there and took his disciples, and he went there to pray. Our
Lord was a praying man. You know, one time it talks about
he prayed all night. In fact, here, John 17, there's
a whole prayer that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. When it
said he spake these words, he's talking about the words of this
prayer in John 17. And he had a place that he went
to prayer. He went up on a mountain to pray.
And when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, and that's
what he went in there to, to pray. And he had three disciples
with him. You remember that? And those
three disciples, they fell asleep while our Lord was praying. Could
you imagine falling asleep hearing the Lord Jesus Christ praying?
Could you imagine doing that? Yes, I can. You know why I can?
Because I know flesh. I know human nature. And I tell
you what, it ain't worth spit, as old Scott Richardson said.
That's what flesh is. And I tell you, them fellas fell
asleep. And our Lord Jesus praying, he
got up and told them, wake up, can't you watch with me? Yeah,
yeah, we'll wake up, we'll wake. And they went right back to sleep
in a little while. Right back to sleep. But oh my, and when
he had spoken these words, but here he came to the garden of
Eden, I mean, the garden of Gethsemane, excuse me. He came to the garden
for his personal prayer to pour out his heart before his father.
And then I want to show you something here. What a solemn, solemn warning
for us. There in verse two, it said,
Judas, also which betrayed him, knew the place. He knew exactly
where the Lord Jesus Christ was gonna be on this night. He knew
exactly where he was gonna be. Now let me tell you something,
that's a solemn warning. You know, he had been a companion
for our Lord for three years. He heard our Lord preach. He
ate with our Lord. He went out and done miracles.
He done a lot of things, but he was a son of perdition. And
I tell you, he saw our Lord's miracles, had his private instruction,
professed himself to be a believer. And I tell you what, and here's
what happened was, and every time you hear Judas's name mentioned,
it's always Judas which betrayed him. There's three men that every
time they're mentioned in the Bible, they have something special
about them. Judas, every time his name's
mentioned in the scriptures, Judas, which also betrayed him.
And then there's Nicodemus, every time he's mentioned, he which
came to Jesus by night. And John, when he's mentioned,
it's always that disciple whom Jesus loved. Those three men
are always identified by those things. I'd like to be identified
just as a believer, that'd suit me fine. Oh, and I'd love to
be one of those ones, you know, we talk about our love for Christ,
but oh, I have more and more comfort of him loving me because
my love for him or anybody on this earth won't even compare,
nothing. I could not love him the way
he deserves to be loved. But oh my, let me tell you, see,
that's why, And David said, Lord, what is man? What is man? What is he that you would even
think about him, consider him? What is he? Look up at the stars, and I see
them, and I see the moon. He said, what in the world is
man that you would even look in his direction? And oh, Judas,
which betrayed him. And I tell you what, one little
leek can sip a whole ship. And look what else it says about
our master. In verse four, Jesus, therefore, knowing all things
that should come upon him, went forth. You know, our Lord, he
had perfect knowledge of everything. Perfect knowledge of everything.
I was preaching out a week or so ago, and he told his disciples,
when he's getting ready to go into Jerusalem as the king, riding
on that coat, He told his disciples, there's a street, and when you
get to that street, you're gonna find a colt. And he said, and
you go there, and when you find that colt, you loosen him, and
the man's gonna ask you, why in the world are you taking that
colt for? And our Lord said, I tell you, this is what you
tell him. He said, the Lord hath need of him, and you bring him
to me. Now how in the world did our
Lord know where that colt was, what would be said when they
got there, and what would be done? That's what I'm telling
you about. There's not anything that our
Lord don't know. He has perfect, right now, this
moment in time, our Lord knows every thought that's going through
our brain right now and everything that we think, every motive,
every action we do. Now you say, that scares me.
It don't me. Lord, I'm hoping. Open up, look, look, look. And
all, listen, you know what he's gonna see? He's gonna see himself. He's gonna see his own righteousness.
gonna see his own power, gonna see his own grace, he gonna see
his own mercy, he gonna see what he did for me, nothing I ever
did for him. That's what he's gonna see. Oh
my. And our Lord, and here's what
happened is when he said knowing all things is gonna come upon
him, our Lord went forth to see, to see and guarantee that all
things would be fulfilled concerning himself. He knew, he said, my
hour's not yet come. You know, when our Lord went
forth, he went forth to see that everything that was said about
him would be accomplished and would be fulfilled. The hour
has come. The hour has come. And our Lord
is not hiding from his enemies. He knew that Judas was gonna
come. He knew that Judas would be there. And you know, over
here in John 13, look what it says. 13 what? Excuse me. Three, talking about
Christ knowing all things. John 13, three, Jesus knowing
that the Father had given all things into his hands. Everything
was given into his hands. And over here, not only says
all things given into his hands, but here it says, all things,
Jesus knowing therefore all things that shall come upon him. You know, there he said all things
is in his hands. Here he is, he's emptying himself.
Here he is divesting himself. Here he is, he went forth. Look what it says
there in verse four. All things that come forth, he
went forth. He went forth. What did he go forth for? Since
all things was in his hand, he went forth to be despised and
rejected of men. He went forth to be despised
and rejected. He went forth to be wounded for
our transgressions. He went forth to be bruised for
our iniquities. He went forth for God to put
chastisement for our peace upon him. He went forth as a lamb
led to the slaughter. He went forth to be cut off out
of the land of the living. He went forth to make his soul
an offering for sin. He went forth to be our lamb. He went forth to be our substitute. He went forth to bear our sin. He went forth to face God for
our wrath and our judgment. Oh, he went forth. And he went
forth to all of those things. They said, we're gonna take him.
No, they didn't take him. He went forth. There they are,
a big crowd. And it says they had lights and
weapons. Why do you need a weapon against
somebody that never did anything to anybody? Why would you need
a weapon against Christ? That meek man, that lovely man,
that compassionate man, that Savior who needs a weapon against
the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he went forth to the
agony of betrayal, went forth to the shame of becoming a prisoner
and having a purple robe put on him, crown of thorns put on
his head. He went forth to be treated as
a common criminal. Went forth to be spit on in his
face. Went forth to be slapped. Went
forth to be mocked. Went forth to be derided. And he went forth to the humiliation
of being left to the devices of the most wicked men. And yet
the last thing he said before he said his finish, he said,
Father, forgive him, forgive him. Father, forgive them. They don't have any idea what
they're doing right now and who they're doing it to. Don't have
any idea. And oh my, and Jesus knowing,
it said there again in verse four, Jesus knowing all things
as you come upon him, his knowledge was perfect. There were no surprises. He had no surprises. He knew
his suffering and he went forth to endure them. And when it says,
I, Lord, knowing all things, all things, oh my, all things
decreed by God Almighty. Let me just say something about
the decree of God. We talk about decrees, but there's
only one decree. One decree. He declared the end
from the beginning. One decree. He don't have decrees. God don't have to say, well,
I'll decree this for that day. Everything from way back yonder
to way out yonder, he declared the end from the beginning. And
oh my. And I tell you, he went forth
to all things decreed of God, all things agreed upon in the
eternal covenant of grace, and all things predicted in the Old
Testament scriptures. Oh, it was time for him to crush
the serpent's head and the time for our Lord Jesus Christ to
be led as a lamb to the slaughter. Look over in John 19, eight. No, excuse me, John 19, 18, 28,
28, 28, 28. It's what we're talking about. And this is what knowing
our Lord doing all things. After this, Jesus, and he's on
the cross now. He's on the cross. He's nailed
there. Blood is everywhere. And after
this, Jesus, knowing all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled. You know what he said? I thirst.
You know why that? Because the Bible said that's
what he'd say. And he's on the cross. Knowing all things that
was gonna happen. All things is fulfilled now.
Give me that drink. Why you gonna give me the drink?
I'm gonna give you some vinegar. I'm not gonna give you no sweet
water. I'm not gonna give you nothing that's gonna make you
feel good. I'm not gonna give you anything that's gonna comfort you or help
you in any way. I'm not gonna do anything to
do you any good at all. I'm gonna give you some vinegar.
I'm not gonna give you no water. And I tell you what, our Lord
Jesus Christ He knew all things that was predicted of him in
the Old Testament. And we don't know all things.
And I sure am thankful. I met people that think they
know everything. But I tell you, we don't know all things. And
I thank God we don't. Somebody say, what are you gonna
do tomorrow? I'll know when I get up. I'll
know when I get up and start. But here's the thing. We don't
know all things. Thank God we don't have to. but
we do need to know Him. But we know who knows everything,
and we know who orders all things. And bless His holy name. Now,
you may do something that surprises you, and you may do something
that surprises somebody else, but you'll never do anything
that surprises God. Never. Never do anything surprising. And then look what our Lord said
about Himself. And there in verse five, excuse me, in verse four, he
said this, I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. John 18, four. And you know, when he went forth,
he said unto them, whom seek ye? Who you looking for? You
got all these people out here, who you looking for? And you
know what they said? And Jesus saith unto them, they
said, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. They didn't say,
we're looking for the Christ. They didn't say that. We're looking
for the Lord. We're looking for that deceiver. No, we're looking for Jesus of
Nazareth. Just a man, a man born in Nazareth. But what did he
say? He said, whom seek ye? They said, we're looking for
Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord spoke two one-syllable
words. I am. I am. That's all it took. I am. I am. And oh my, and look what
it said in verse six. As soon as he said unto them,
I am, them fellas start backin' up. And they bumped into fellas,
and that fella bumped into another fella, bumped into another fella,
next thing you know, a bunch of them all over the, they're
all over the ground. They're all knocked down, they're
all fallin' all over one another. They never dreamed that somebody'd
walk up to them and say, dude, they're lookin' for, walk up
to them, look them right in the eye and say, I'm right here,
it's me. And they knew exactly when he
said, I am what he's talking about. I am. They come to take
him and he challenges them. They didn't acknowledge him as
the Christ, but as the Nazarene. That's his name of humiliation.
That's the name of his reproach. Oh, here's the name of that rejected
one, despised one. And oh my. And lo, they went
backward and fell to the ground. One place it said there's over
500 people come after him. 500 people come after one man.
And then he asked them again. After they got back up, these
fellas got their, kinda got their nerve back up again, you know,
got the feeling a little better. And they came to him, they asked
him again. And then he asked them again,
whom seek ye? And again, they said, Jesus, an answer. He said,
I am. You know the first time I am
was ever said? God spoke to Moses out of the
burning bush, and that burning bush was our Lord Jesus Christ.
And here's the thing about it, you know, and Moses, he said,
you're gonna go down and tell them that I want my people to
go. He said, who am I gonna say sin
to? Just tell him I am that I am. That's all you need to tell him,
just I am that I am. Well, who's I am? Same one that
was. Same one that will be. Same way it always was and always
will be and never has changed. You know, that's what some people,
David's talking about last night, you know, about how people think
about God. But here's the thing. All it
takes for the Lord Jesus Christ to say I am, And I tell you what,
He has never changed. He never will change. He never
had to think of anything. He ain't never forgot nothing.
He ain't never had to make one decision. God does everything
and never moved a muscle. He created this world and never
moved, just spoke. And when if He's gonna save you,
all He's gonna do is just speak His word and He's gonna speak
to you and something's gonna happen. That's just how, that's why our
Lord is. All he's got to do is let you know I am that I am,
and you know what you'll do? You'll do just exactly like Moses.
God said, take off your feet, you're on holy ground. You know
what you'll do? You'll say, oh Lord, oh Lord. You'll fall down
before him. You'll fall down before him.
And oh my, instead of falling down before him and worshiping
him, they fell back. Oh, you're talking about a display
of majesty, a display of power, a display of his quiet exhibition
of his power, just saying I am. And that power has such force
that it made people back up, back up, his enemies back up.
You know what it does for us? It makes us wanna get close.
We wanna get close, we wanna get close. But why in the world
did our Lord act this way? Why'd he act this way? When they
come seeking Jesus in Nazareth, he acted this way, said that
I am to show us clearly, clearly, that he was God Almighty, that
he was God manifested in the flesh. All could clearly, clearly
see that what they're doing, they're not coming to take him.
He is voluntarily, voluntarily, going before them. He's actually
delivered into their hands instead of him being delivered into his
hands, their hands. Oh my, they didn't apprehend
him. He submitted himself to them.
He was not captured, he gave himself up. Our Lord Jesus Christ
says, no man takes my life from me. I've got the power to lay
it down. I've got the power to take it
up again. He said, that's what I've got. Look over with me in
John chapter seven. I want you to see a couple of
things about our master over here. Talking about our Lord and how
people treated him and how he treated them. They come to capture
him and I tell you what, they all fell down. Instead of worshiping
him, they fell against him, from him. What it said in verse 32,
John 7. The Pharisees heard that the
people murmured such things concerning him that he done miracles, and
the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Well,
now look down here in verse 44. They sent these men to take the
Lord Jesus Christ, and some of them would have taken him. Now
see, they come to get him here. Some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. And that's the same situation
here. And then the chief priests and
officers said to him, said, why have you not brought him? You
know why? He said, nobody ever talked like that man did. I've
never heard anybody say things like him. And that's exactly
the way those fellows acted. I never heard anybody come out
and face his enemies and say, here I am. It's me. You want
me? Come on, get me. You know why? Because Jesus, knowing all things
as you come upon him, he has power over his enemies. It's
like John said last night, God's gonna do what he wants to do
and he ain't gonna ask our permission or nobody else's. And I tell
you, he has power over his enemies. He can fill these fellows with
just I am. He can fill a man with a word
He can fill a man with a look. After Peter had denied him three
times and our Lord Jesus was being led out, going over to
Pilate, he looked back and there was Peter. And he looked back
and he looked at Peter. And when he looked at Peter,
you know what happened to Peter? He just looked at him. Peter went
out and wept and wept and wept and wept and wept and wept and
wept. Just Christ just looked at him.
That just looked at him. And oh my, he could have sent
these men to hell as easy as they fell to the ground. It's
kind of like Cora and Dathan, you know, when they decided that
they was as holy as everybody else and they had as much authority
as Moses did and them and God said, oh no, you don't. He said,
I'm gonna open up. He said, old Barnard said, he
opened up hell, opened up the earth, sent them to hell without
giving them an opportunity to pack their suitcases. And that's
what God could have done to this outfit right here. Oh my, he
could have left them right there, walked away and left them laying
on the ground, left his enemies without anything to say. They
come, thought he was at their mercy, But really, they were
at his mercy. They were subject to his power.
Oh, they lay there helpless on the ground. He could have destroyed
them right then and there, but he didn't. Our Lord did not come
to walk away. And thank God he didn't. Thank God he didn't. Then look
what he says here in verse eight. back over in our text. Our Lord, He said, they said,
Jesus answered, and Jesus answered and said, I told you that I am.
I told you that I am. And look what He says about His
own people. He said, I am, if therefore you
seek me, let these go. You can't have me and Him at
the same time. Having loved his own, he loved
them right to the very end. Oh, if you seek me, let these
go. He loved his own. Oh, how he loves his people.
How he loves his people. Oh, Paul said, having loved me
and gave himself for me. Oh, we as his, God gave us to
him in the covenant of grace. Christ came to you here and bought
us with his own precious blood. Bought us and saved us by his
power. You read it this morning. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest. That's a wonderful thing. Election's
a wonderful thing. But just election's not enough.
You know what he says? And causes to approach unto me. If he chooses you and you wanna
his elect, you know what he's gonna do? He's gonna cause you
to be brought unto him. I'm gonna tell you something.
When I, you know, it says over in John 6, 44, no man can come
unto me except my father which sent me draw him. You know what
that word draw means? Same word as drag. And I'm, Lord, drag me all you
want to. And I'm grateful that he got
ahold of me. And you know, you see somebody get ahold of somebody's
coat and drag him around. Lord, get me, go ahead and get
me and drag me, drag me, drag me. And I'm glad he got ahold
of me and dragged me to himself. And you know what? He ain't never
let go. Did he drag you? Huh? We call it irresistible
grace. It affects your calling. Call
it what you want to, but when He needs for you to come, you're
coming. Oh, down home people used to
say, Boy, turn loose of that bitch and let Jesus have his
way with you. Listen, a bitch ain't gonna stop
him from saving you. You don't own anything you want
to. And I tell you what, he needs
to call you and bring you to himself. You're cutting. And I tell you what, everybody
that he's ever done that for, They think, oh God, thank you. Blessed be your name. I'm so
thankful that you did. Oh my, I wasn't even conscious
of God Almighty, but boy, he is always conscious of me. And
one day, one day he got me by the nap of the neck, and oh,
he brought me to his self, brought me to his feet, brought me to
his mercy. and brought His mercy to me,
and brought His grace to me, and brought His love to me, brought
His pity to me, and oh, brought everything that I need, He brought
it to me. And do you know what He's still doing? Still doing
the same thing day in and day out for me. It's an amazing thing. It's an
amazing thing that anybody saved Oh, it's an amazing thing that
he saved me. Oh, thank God for his power.
Thank God for his grace. Thank God for his love. Thank
God for his mercy. And thank God for the Lord Jesus
Christ who loved me and gave himself for me. And our Lord here, his thoughts
are not about himself, but his own, his own. He didn't think
about his own sufferings. He's thinking about his sheep,
his love for his sheep. It's the shepherd protecting
his sheep. He said, I'm gonna suffer. But you gotta let these go. You
know why he had to let them go? Because our Lord has to tread
the winepress alone. He has to bear the judgment of
God alone. He's got to purge our sins by
himself. And you think about this. The
last thing they would remember about our master was that he,
before he was ever taken as a prisoner, their love, his love for them,
you got me, you can't take these. And that's exactly what God says.
He got Christ, he gotta let us go. He got God's wrath so we'd
get God's mercy. He got God's judgment so we could
get God's grace. He got God's hatred for sin so
that we could have the love of God shown to us. Oh, my. And here our Lord doesn't act
like the captive. You know what? He actually commands
these men. Let these go their way. Take me, but let these go.
Let these go their way. You got me. It's not just for
me to suffer, and them suffer me suffer in their stead, and
them go. They, oh my, they can't suffer with him. He has to enter
into the holiest of holies by himself. And oh my. And then let me show you this.
Look what he says down in verse 11. Look at his submission to
his father's will. He had his love for his own.
Look what he says. After Peter drew his sword, going
to try to defend Christ, and he said, put up your sword, and
listen to this, the cup, the cup which my father hath given
me, shall I not drink it? Shall I not drink it? Look at
his submission to the father's will. He submits himself to man
and to God. Here's his perfect supremacy,
got the power. Everybody sees there, he's got
this power. He's supreme over everybody that's there. And yet
he turns around and in perfect submission and subjection, he
submits to these men, he subjects himself to men, and yet he subjects himself to God Almighty,
his submission to God. Here we are, here's the sovereign
and yet the servant. Here's the lion and the lamb. And our Lord said, the cup, the
cup, which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Shall I not drink it? He doesn't
say a necessity's laid upon me to drink this cup. He doesn't
say my father commanded me to drink it. But he says it like
this. Would you think for a moment
that I wouldn't? Shall I not drink this cup? Shall I not drink this cup? And
oh my. I don't know what was in that
cup. I don't know what was in that cup. I don't, you know,
I can surmise. But whatever it was, our Lord
was willing to drink it. If it was God's wrath, He's gonna
drink it. If it's God's judgment, He's gonna drink it. If it's
our sins, He's gonna drink it. If it's our hatred, it's our
animosity. If it's our enmity, He's gonna drink it. Oh, shall I not drink it? Oh, our Lord's heart. Oh, our
Lord's heart. Here shows His heart. Shows His
Spirit. Shows us He didn't know how to
do anything, anything other, other than to do what His Father
willed for Him to do. He couldn't help but do it. And
that's the highest willingness that could ever, ever possibly
be. And He submitted to Father and
His cup. And you know, shall I not drink
it? And let me say this and I'm through.
What a lesson, what a lesson our Lord teaches us here. He
said, my father gave me this cup. My father gave me this cup. My father gave it to me. My enemies
never did. My father gave me this cup. And
I'm gonna drink it. I'm gonna drink it. I'm gonna
drink it down and I'm gonna drink the dregs at the bottom of it.
I'm gonna do that. And every once in a while, God'll
put a cup in our hands. He'll put a cup in our hand. He'll put a cup in our hands,
and I'll tell you, it's got some bitter stuff in it. Bitter stuff. Diagnosis from a doctor. Child being taken. My first funeral
when I come to Tennessee was a six-year-old girl, little blonde-headed,
blue-eyed girl. Died of leukemia, six years old.
Six years old. And then I preached at daddy's
funeral. That little girl's daddy's funeral, he died drunk in a car
wreck. But you think about putting a
bitter cup, you know, I'm gonna come and take your wife. I'm
gonna come take your husband. I'm gonna come take your child.
I'm gonna come take your health. I'm gonna make you an invalid.
I'm gonna put you in bed and you're gonna stay in bed the
rest of your life. I'm going to do this for you. That's what
I'm going to do. But if He puts it in our hands,
I'll tell you what He'll do. He'll give us the grace and He'll
give us the mercy and He'll give us the strength to take it and
say, Lord, it's yours. It's your hand. It's your hand. I said, you know, my wife, I
love my Shirley, I love her. Oh, she's so precious to me,
and she loves me, and she takes care of me, and I love her and
try to take care of her. But when my wife Mary got sick,
you know what she said? She said, I've kissed the hand
of God's providence, and I'm gonna live and not die. And that's
the way we do. Lord, whatever you put in our
hands, it's your providence, and we'll kiss your hand and
bless your holy name, and we'll take it. And you know what we'll
do? We'll act like we just go on, and God, you're on your throne,
and we're not gonna murmur, and we're not gonna complain, and
we're not gonna let everybody know what a shape we're in. We're just gonna say, Lord, it's
you. And God gives us the grace to do that. He's done it for
this man right here, done it for his wife. Oh, how many, cancer? Twice? God gave them grace, and look
what they went through. Did you hear every one of them
ever complain? Did you hear the one of them say,
Lord, I don't think it's right you treat me that way? God, God, God is not that way. He's not that way. And He gives
us that. If He puts a cup in our hand,
He don't mean for you to sip at it. He means for you to drink
it. And no matter how bitter it is,
you'll drink it. And you know what you'll say?
Blessed be the name of the Lord.