Open your Bibles first with me
to Romans 4, just for a moment or two. Here in Romans 4, the Apostle Paul uses two Old
Testament believers as our examples of faith. First of all, he uses Abraham. Three, for what saith the scriptures,
Abraham believed God, it was counted to him for righteousness.
And that occurs in the scripture four times. Abraham believed
God. Notice it didn't say Abraham
believed there is a God. It didn't say Abraham believed
in God. He believed God. He believed
what God said. And that's what it says over
here in verse 20 of the same chapter, Romans 4, verse 20. Abraham staggered not at the
promises of God, the word of God, through unbelief. He was
strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded
that what God had promised, he was able to perform. and therefore
it was imputed to him for righteousness. He believed God. And I've brought
a lot of messages on the faith of Abraham, but down here in
that same chapter 4 verse 6, Paul gives us another example
of saving faith, and he uses David. And he says in Romans
4 verse 6, even as David, like Abraham, also describeth the
righteousness, blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works. David also describes the blessedness
of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness by faith without
obedience to the law. And David said, blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not charge sin. So I'm preaching
tonight on David's testimony of faith, and I've selected a
psalm of David, Psalm 27. I think it deals powerfully,
personally, with David's testimony of faith, David's confession
of faith. Psalm 27. It's mine too, and I know it's
yours. In verse 1, David said, the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that is, the Lord Jehovah. You see the word capital L, capital
O, capital R, D, all four capitalized. The Lord, that's Jehovah God,
my Savior. And he says here, the Lord is
my light and my salvation, right away. He tells us about His Messiah,
about the object of His faith, Jesus Christ, Jehovah God. He says, He's my light. I was
in darkness, in the kingdom of darkness, and God commanded the
light like He did all believers. God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to show us the
glory of God in the face of our Messiah. He's my light. He's my light. God sent him into
the world. He's the light of the world.
Then he said he's my, the Lord Jehovah's my salvation. I was
under the curse of the law. You were. And Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law. He made a curse for us. He's
my salvation. He's my deliverance. And then
he says he's my strength. He's the rock of my strength.
Turn to Psalm 62. Psalm 62. Here's another Psalm of David,
and he says here in Psalm 62, verse 6, He only is my rock and
my salvation, my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation
and my glory. He's the rock of my strength,
my refuge is in Him. Trust in him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your hearts before him.
He's a refuge. The Lord Jehovah is my light.
He's my salvation. He's my strength. He's my refuge. Now, notice in that verse, Psalm
27, verse 1, he didn't say the Lord gives me light, although
he does. He didn't say the Lord provides
my salvation. He didn't say the Lord strengthens
me. Now notice it carefully. He said the Lord is my light. He is my light. And if He's my
light, I see. He's my light. And He is my salvation. All of my salvation. And so I'm
forever free. And the Lord is the strength
of my life. He is my strength. And by Him
I overcome. And now notice that verse 1 again,
the Lord is my light and my salvation, then whom shall I fear? Now when
you look at him being our light, the light of life, in him was
life, in him was light and it was the life of men, so we don't
have to fear principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness
and spiritual wickedness in higher places. He's my light and my
salvation. So I don't need to fear Satan.
Don't need to be afraid of Satan at all. He has no authority or
power over me at all. None whatsoever. I don't have
to fear the law. I'm not under the law. I'm under
the grace of God. I don't have to fear the judgment.
I don't have to fear condemnation. Any of those things that have
to do with the spiritual. With the spiritual. He's my light,
my salvation. So whom in that area do I have
to fear? No one. Now watch. He said, He's
the strength of my life. This life. This life. So of whom shall I be afraid
here? I don't need to fear poverty. He's the strength of my life.
He's my provider. The Lord will provide. I don't
need to be afraid of ill health. Don't need to be afraid of old
age. Don't need to be afraid of death. Because the Lord himself
is the strength of my life. You see that? Over here in Joshua,
this is a scripture I have written in front of my Bible. as a servant
of God, as a preacher of the gospel, as one called of God
as he called Joshua to lead people. I feel he's saying this to me
as well as he did to Joshua and to you too. In Joshua 1.9, Joshua
1.9. Now Moses was dead and Joshua
was in charge. Moses was gone. He leaned on
Moses all these years, 40 years. Moses was gone. And God said
to him, Have not I commanded you? Now you be strong, and of
good courage. Do not be afraid, neither be
thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whether so
ever thou goest. Right now in this life. So this
is David's testimony. The Lord, Jehovah, the Lord Jesus
Christ, my Messiah. He's my light. I don't walk in
darkness, I see. He's my salvation. My light,
my salvation, so whom shall I fear? In the spiritual world. I don't have to fear anything.
And He's the strength of my life, right here. He's strong, He said,
of good courage, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of anything or
anybody. For I'm with you. Of whom shall I be afraid? Alright,
verse 2. Now he says here in verse 2,
when the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, and you know believers,
believers are peaceful people. Believers are not looking for
strife, they don't enjoy strife. Those who love Christ and who
have, know something about that sweet peace we were singing about?
They don't enjoy strife, they don't enjoy conflict, they don't
enjoy discord. But believers have enemies. We
have enemies just like our Lord had enemies. The Lord Jesus Christ
had enemies. He said, they hated me without
a cause. And he said to his disciples,
marvel not if the world hates you. They hated me before they
hated you. So we have enemies. We read about
them over in Ephesians, if you'll turn there for a moment. We do
have enemies. We do have enemies. In Ephesians
chapter 6, we have enemies in high places. Their objective
is not particularly to destroy us, but to destroy our Lord.
Enemies of Him. He says in Ephesians 6 verse
12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood. That's not our enemies. But we wrestle against principalities
and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world against
spiritual wickedness in the high places. Well, we have those enemies. We do. We don't have to fear
them because he's our light and our salvation, but they're there.
I'll tell you another enemy that the believer has, and that's
people who despise the gospel, the gospel of God's grace. We
have friends and we've loved ones and we have neighbors And
we have folks that do not love the gospel of God's sovereign,
redeeming grace in Christ Jesus. It's just so. I wish it were
not so. But they despise that message. And then we have enemies
not only in high places and enemies of the gospel all about us, but
we have enemies within us. Did you know that? Let me show
you that over in Romans chapter 7. Paul talks about enemies within. He said the flesh lusteth against
the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. He talks about these
enemies here in Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7 verse 20. He said now, verse 19, he said
for the good that I would do, I would be perfect, I'd like
to be, but I'm not. The evil which I would not, that
I do. more in thought than any other
way. Now, if I do that, I would not. It's no more I that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me. Now, if sin dwells in us, we've
got an enemy dwelling on us, because sin is the enemy of God,
the enemy of truth. And I find then, verse 21, a
law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. So we
have enemies above us, around us, within us. This world is not the friend
of grace, not the friend of God. Well, what are we going to do?
Well, let's read. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Why?
Because the Lord is my light and my salvation. He's the strength
of my life. Though in host and in camp against
me, my heart will not fear. Though wars rise against me,
In this will I be confident. In what? That Lord is my light
and my salvation, the strength of my life. I don't have to be
afraid. These enemies have no claim on
me or you. And they'll touch not his anointed
without his permission. All right. Now let's turn back
to Psalm 23. Here is our confidence. Psalm 23. One page back in your
Bible. Psalm 23 verse 4. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, this life,
this world, I will fear no evil. Why? Thou art with me. Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. I'll anoint my head with oil,
my cup runneth over, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, this life, right here, and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. In this will I be confident.
He's my light, my salvation. He's the strength of this life. I don't have to be afraid. All
right, the next verse, verse 4. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, and that what I seek after." Now you know this is interesting.
David was a ruler, a leader of men. David was a builder
of a kingdom. David was a soldier. David was
a family man. David was all these things. In his heart and mind, he's brought
his whole desire down to one thing. One thing. Solomon asked
for wisdom. But David's brought it down to
one thing. That's what he says here. One thing. One thing. Have I desire of the Lord? And
that's what I'm going to seek after. And you know, this is
interesting. Though he lived on this earth,
as we do, among people, as we do, that David was a man of who loved people, who enjoyed
his family, his friends, and the good things that God provided.
He had a powerful kingdom. He was a man who was faithful
to his responsibilities. He was a man who was faithful
to his duty to his country, to the defense of his country, to
his home, to his family. He was a man who was grateful
to God. He's a man who praised God for all that he had as much
or more than any writer. He praised God for all he had
physically, how wonderfully I'm made, all he had materially,
and all he had spiritually. Yet, here he is, here he is declaring
unto this that one thing have I desired of the Lord, one
thing. There's one thing, there's one
great desire of my heart, there's one chief goal of my life, there's
one thing above all else that means most to me. One thing. Well, I'd love to know what it
is. Well, here it is. Number one. One thing. If I desire the Lord, that will
I seek after. Number one, that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I might
dwell how? as a son. The servant doesn't
abide forever, the son abides forever. That I may dwell in
the family of God, in the house of God all the days of my life
as a son and as a living stone built upon the chief corn stone.
That's my desire. Secondly, that I may behold the
beauty of the Lord. What is that? Well, turn to Psalm
90. The beauty of the Lord, Psalm
90, verse 17. Psalm 90, verse 17. And let the beauty, Psalm 90,
verse 17. Verse 16 says, Let thy work appear
unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children, and let
the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. What is that? That's His righteousness. When
you were robed in my righteousness and robed in my comeliness, your
beauty and your renown went all over everywhere. Let the beauty
of God, the Lord our God, be upon us, and establish thou the
work of our hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands, establish
thou it. Here's another verse over it. Isaiah talks about this beauty
of the Lord. Isaiah chapter 61. Isaiah said,
this is the Lord Jesus speaking, Isaiah is writing this. This
is the Messiah. The Spirit of the Lord guards
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the good tidings
unto the meek, sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, the opening of prison to them that
are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day
of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto
them who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for their ashes. Beauty, the beauty of God, the
oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness. They may be called trees of righteousness,
The planning of the Lord that he may be glorified. My, my. All right, there's a third thing
here. One thing. And you know how the Lord said
that about, I quoted this Sunday, about Mary, who sat at his feet
and heard his word. He said, Martha, you are cumbered
about with much care, but one thing is needful. And Mary had
chosen that good part. One thing. It will never be taken
from her. One thing. And that's what David's
saying here. One thing. I desire of the Lord,
that will I seek after. I may dwell in his house all
the days of my life to behold the beauty of God, the beauty
of the Lord, and to inquire. To inquire in his temple. And I've never been satisfied
with anything I've read on what that meant, to inquire in his
temple. But I think I found it today in 1 Corinthians 13, to
inquire in his temple. Right here, 1 Corinthians 13,
inquire in his temple. It says here in 1 Corinthians
13, verse 9, I know in part I prophesy in part. When that which is perfect
is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Won't
that be good? When I was a child, I speak as
a child, understood as a child, thought as a child. When I became
a man, I put away childish things. So now I see through a glass
dimly in a riddle, the thin face to face. Now I know in part. Then I'm going to know as I have
been known. I'm going to inquire. I'm going
to be learning. I'm going to be soaking up all
of the beauty and glory of God for eternity. That's my desire,
he said. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and all these things will be added
to you. That's David's faith. One thing of our desire to the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell. Paul said this,
oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him, that I may have
his righteousness and not mine, that I may attain to the resurrection
of the dead. That's those three things right
there. Now watch this verse five. In time of trouble, and you know,
I don't know why that religious preachers, Today it seems like every time
I turn on the television and watch one of these fellows, they're
talking about we're supposed to never be sick and never be
sad and never be disappointed and never be, always have everything
we want, financially secure and all that. But you know the Bible
talks about trials. The Bible talks about the winds
and the storms of life and the drought. and the dry places and
the weary places. And the Word of God tells us
that Christ is our hiding place, our refuge from those storms.
Let me show you a verse over here in Isaiah 32. Turn over there just a minute.
Isaiah chapter 32. Isaiah 32, verse 1 and 2. This is talking about the coming
Messiah, the Lord Jesus. In Isaiah 32 verse 1, Behold,
a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, a covert from the tempest, a river of water
in a dry place. And a shadow of a great rock
in a weary land. We know something about the wind
and the storms and the dry places and the weary places, don't we?
Turn to Isaiah 43. Isaiah chapter 43, verse 1 and
2, also in this scripture. Isaiah 43, verse 1 and 2. And the Lord says here, He says, In Isaiah 43 verse 1, But now,
thus saith the Lord, that created thee, O Jacob, he that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called you
by your name, you are mine. And when you pass through the
waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they
will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire,
when is all this going on? Right here in this walk through
the valley of the shadow of death. Not here in this life. Thou shalt
not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For
I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel. I'm your Savior.
I'm your light, your salvation, the strength of your life, your
refuge, your hiding place. Covert in time of storm. He says
here, I'll write my text again, verse 27. In the time of trouble,
in the time of trouble, He will hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me and set me on a rock. You know what that's
talking about? In the time of trouble. In the
time of trouble, conflict and danger. He'll hide me in the
king's pavilion. Now David is writing here in
the language of his day. Our kings don't have pavilions,
they have castles. and palaces, but the king's pavilion
was a tent, a shelter. They lived in desert countries
and they lived in tents. And the king had a pavilion,
his beautiful tent, beautiful shelter. And it was always in
the center of the whole army, the whole army out there, thousands
of men in their tents all around. And the king's pavilion was right
in the middle. And all these mighty men of battle
and valor surrounded. Only way you could get to the
king's pavilion is through all those people. And that's what
David's saying. He'll hide me in the king's pavilion,
in his pavilion. I'm safe. And then he said he'll
heal the secret of his tabernacle. You know where that is? You know
where the secret of the tabernacle is? We're talking about that
tonight, Ron. It's behind the veil. The Holy of Holies. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
cherubim on the mercy seat. That's what David's talking about.
You think he doesn't know about those things. I do. I know he
did. I know he knew about the temple and the He brought the
iron back from where it was captured. He'll hide me in time of trouble
now. If you don't have any trouble,
why do you need this? These folks that are so religious, happy
all the time, why do they need to be hidden in the king's pavilion? That's where he hides. And in
the secret of his tabernacle, in the holy place where the blood's
on the mercy seat. That's where you'll meet us.
And then he said here, And he has set me on a rock. That's
the Lord Jesus Christ. I rest in his sovereignty. He's
my king. I'm his son. I rest in his sacrifice,
the blood on the mercy seat. And I rest in the rock. Christ
the solid rock. All right, let's move on quickly.
Verse 6. And now shall my head be lifted
up above mine enemies round about me. King's Pavilion, and I can
just look out there and see all those enemies. They don't bother
me. Therefore, when I offer in that
sacrifice, in that tabernacle, sacrifices of joy, I'm not afraid. I'm in the King's Pavilion, and
I'm in the secret place of the Most High. And I'm offering sacrifices,
not blood sacrifices, now. That's for Him to offer. But
I offer sacrifices of joy, and I'll sing. I'll sing praise. unto my God." Then David turns
to prayer. He turns from praise to prayer.
He says in verse 6, I will sing, and then in verse 7, I will pray. There's a time for praise, there's
a time for prayer. There's a time for rejoicing,
there's a time for instruction. There's a time for fellowship
and there's a time for meditation. And we need a balance. So here
he says in verse 7 and 8, you know, I like outlines. And when
I run up on a good outline, it helps me understand the verse,
pass it on to you. Now here's an outline by Charles
Spurgeon called The Definition of Prayer. definition of prayer. All right, here it is. Number
one, to whom is prayer addressed? Verse seven, hear, O Lord, when
I cry with my voice. My Lord, Jehovah, the one I've
been talking about. Hear. All right, secondly, how
is prayer presented? I cry with my voice. Sincerely,
I cry. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord, hear my voice, addressed to him from a sincere,
though unworthy, but believing heart. On what basis? Here it is, have mercy on me. That's the basis. I don't deserve
it, I haven't merit of it, but according to your loving kindness,
be merciful unto me, O God. To whom? God. Sincerely, on the
basis of mercy. And why? Here in verse 7, he
said, answer me. I need to hear from thee. I need
to hear from God. Don't you? Hear me, O Lord. Answer my prayer. Speak to my
heart. And here's the reasons for prayer,
verse 8. Because you said, seek my face. You said, seek ye my face. Therefore
my heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek. You said, seek my
face, and I will. That's my reason to pray. And
then verse, now this is interesting, verse 9 and 10. Here's another
verse that's not the easiest in the world to teach. Listen to this. He says, number
one, hide not thy face far from me. These are mysterious and
interesting statements. Hide not thy face far from me.
Number two, put not away thy servant. Put not thy servant
away in anger. Number three, you've been my
help, don't leave me. And number four, and don't forsake
me, O God, of my salvation. How am I going to handle that
and how are you going to handle it? David knew that God would never leave
his people. He knew it as well as Isaiah,
I mean as Jeremiah. Jeremiah said over here in Jeremiah
chapter 40. Turn over there just a moment.
Jeremiah chapter 40. David knew that the Lord God
would never forsake his people. Here in Jeremiah chapter 40,
that's where it is, chapter 39, let's sit back down, I know where
it is. Yeah, here, chapter 32 verse
40, that's where it is. Let's look at this a minute in
the light of what I just read. David said, Lord, don't hide
your face from me, don't put me away, don't leave me, don't
forsake me. All right, Jeremiah 32, verse,
I'll start with verse 38. There be my people, I'll be their
God. I'll give them one heart and
one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them,
their children after them. And I'll make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good. I will put my fear in their hearts
and they'll not depart from me. How do you preach? interpret
David's cry there in verse 9 and 10 where he says, Lord, don't
hide your face from me, don't put me away in anger, don't leave
me and don't forsake me. Well, here's what I believe.
Just like in Psalm 51 that we'll read in a minute. David was so
keenly and so consciously aware of his sinfulness. My sins are
ever before me, against thee the only have I sinned." He was
so conscious of his failures, of his unworthiness in the flesh,
that were it not for God's great love and grace, that he not only deserved to
be forsaken, but he would be. God not leaving him, not forsaking
him, didn't depend entirely in any way upon what he did or said
or professed or was. If God Almighty should charge
iniquity, he said, who shall stand? So Lord, don't leave me,
don't hide your face from me, don't forsake me, although I
ought to be. I don't merit your love or your
grace, but our union is from your side alone. I don't deserve
it. Because you turn to Psalm 51,
see that's not what he's saying over here in Psalm 51. In other
words, David was so conscious of his sin, his failure, his
unworthiness, that were it not for the grace of God and the
love of God, he deserved to be and would have been forsaken.
Psalm 51, look at this. Verse 1, he says, Have mercy
upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies. Brought out my transgression.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge
my transgression, my sins ever before me. Against thee and thee
only have I sinned, done this evil in thy sight, that thou
mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou
judgest. Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and sin my mother
conceived me. He goes on down here in verse
9, he says, and Lord, hide thy face from my sins and brought
out my transgressions, my iniquities. Down in verse 11, cast me not
away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. I think he's saying the same
thing here in chapter 27 that he says over there in chapter
51. Now here's an interesting thing
to it. It goes right along with it. Verse 10. When my mother
and father forsake me, the Lord will never forsake me. He'll
take me up. Now the time will come when your
mother and father will forsake you. There'll come a time when
even your mother and father feel like you ought to get out. Go
to your own place. You ought to have your own family.
They're tired of supporting you. That's right. It's like a bird
that kicks him out of the nest. It's time for you to fly. It's
time for you to be on your own. I had some birds last, some robins. I went out one morning, one of
them was walking around on the ground. I picked him up and put
him back in the nest. Went in the house, came back, I got kicked,
kicked him out again. That's right. And the mother and father Rarely,
but sometimes they do forsake their young ones. But what I'm
talking about is the time will come when your mother and father
will leave you for good and die. Who's going to help you? The
Lord. See, he's not like even a mother and father. Never forsake
me. That's what that says. The Lord
never forsakes me. And those two verses go together.
And that's the reason I say when he says, hide not your face and
don't forsake, he's not going to. But if it's left up to me
deserving it, he'd have to. Or me meriting it, he'd have
to. It's all because of his love and grace. He loves you more
than a mother and more than a father. He's a friend that's thicker
closer than a brother. So here, let's wind this up. Teach me
thy way. Give me about five minutes. I
want to show you something at the end. Teach me thy way, O
Lord. That's what Moses prayed, show
me your way. He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the children of Israel. Teach me your way, lead me in
a plain path, the simplicity of Christ, because of the enemies. I've got to have a plain path,
not a confusing path. A lot of religion is confusing,
but I've got to have a plain path, a clear path, simplicity
of Christ, faith in him alone. Don't complicate it now. and
deliver me not over to the will of my enemies. False witnesses
have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty." Now,
I would have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living. I would have quit. With all this confidence I have
in Him, and confidence in His Word, and confidence in His love,
and His mercy, and His forgiveness, there are times in my life, as
David says, The times in my life, I would have quit. I would have
fainted. Except that I believed to see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So he says,
wait on the Lord. You'd be of good courage now.
He's your light, your salvation, he's your strength. You wait
on him. Your greatest ally in any situation. It's time. Wait on the Lord.
That's right. Wait. Let me show you some examples.
Job. How long was Job in that trial?
He'd lost ten children, all his property, and his health. It
took him a while to get this health back. It took him a long
time to marry again and have ten more, five more children.
Whatever he had, ten more children. and to restore all of it, but
it was a long time. Noah, how long did Noah wait
for the flood? 120 years. God told him, Noah
being warned of God of things not ever experienced, not seen,
prepared an art. How long? 120 years while they
were making fun of him. God came to him when he was 75
and promised him that son. The son didn't come for 25 years. 25 years, he was 100. Moses. Moses brought up, educated, brilliant,
strong, able, took it upon himself to defeat the Egyptians and lead
the people out of Egypt. And the people turned on him
and the Egyptians turned on him and everybody turned on him and
he left town embarrassed and sat out there in the wilderness
for 40 years until he got 80 years of age. That's a long time
to wait on God. David was anointed king by Samuel
when Saul was king and David waited 10 years before he ever
became king. Did you know that? 30 years old before he ever sat
on the throne. And he's running most of the
time, hiding in caves. And yesterday he said, I was
fainted. But he's not like us. You know,
we've got to have it now. It's now or never. That's the watchword of what
we do. It's now or never. He waited. What about John Bunyan? Sat in
prison in Bedford, his hometown. 12 years until they finally let
him out to preach the gospel he loved so dearly. He had a
little blind daughter. He had several children. I stood
there on the very place where that jail was. I saw the door
of the prison still there, there where John Bunyan stayed 12 years
in prison for preaching the gospel. His little blind daughter, his
wife would come bring him food in prison. And she'd beg him,
Daddy, come home, come home. All he had to do was quit preaching
and he could go home. He was there because of what
he preached. But he waited on God. And the ways of God are
not our ways. His ways are past finding out.
But I tell you this, He's God and His ways best. And we'd just
be so wise if we do what David said, wait on the Lord. He said,
again I say,