A Study of the Lord's Prayer #2

Q: What does the Bible say about the keeping of believers?

The Bible teaches that believers are kept by the power of God through faith. Scripture emphasizes that believers are preserved by God's power and grace, as seen in 1 Peter 1:5, which states, 'who are kept by the power of God through faith.' This profound doctrine ensures that while believers may face trials and tribulations, their faith is sustained by God's mighty hand. Our Lord prays for His followers to be kept in the faith, recognizing their vulnerabilities amidst a wicked world opposed to God’s truth. In John 17:15, Jesus requests, 'I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.' Thus, preservation and perseverance are connected; God keeps us secure, and we will abide in faith by His grace.

Q: How do we know the sovereignty of God is true?

The sovereignty of God is affirmed throughout Scripture, portraying Him as the ultimate authority over all creation. The sovereignty of God is a central tenet of Reformed theology, rooted in the belief that God governs all things for His glory and the good of His people. Passages such as Ephesians 1:11 underline this truth, stating that all things work according to His purpose. God’s sovereignty also includes His electing grace, as demonstrated in Romans 8:28-30, where He predestines and calls His chosen ones. By acknowledging God’s sovereignty, we recognize that His will is fulfilled regardless of human actions, as seen in the crucifixion of Christ where evil intentions resulted in the greatest good—our redemption. This sovereignty provides believers with profound assurance and hope amidst life’s uncertainties.

Q: Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

The doctrine of grace is essential for Christians as it highlights salvation as a gift from God, not a result of human effort. Understanding grace is foundational for Christian faith because it encapsulates the essence of the gospel — that salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). This doctrine emphasizes that it is by God's grace, not our works, that we are redeemed and justified. In a world where self-righteousness and legalism are prevalent, the gospel of grace liberates believers from the burden of trying to earn God's approval. Furthermore, it fosters humility, gratitude, and a deeper love for God, recognizing that our standing before Him is solely based on Jesus’ finished work. As John 17:13 indicates, Christ's desire is for His followers to experience the fullness of joy found in understanding and living in His grace.

Well, let's open our Bibles now
to John 17. This is a continuation of last
Sunday night's message. And I'm not going to do what
is one of my pet peeves when a preacher is preaching
a series of messages or a continuation of a several messages on a chapter,
he goes back and reviews what he said last week for 15 or 20
minutes. Let's get to where we left off.
I see Cecil nodding his head. All right. John chapter 17, verse
11. We left off at verse 10 last
Sunday night. John 17, 11. And now, I'm no
more in the world. Now, our Lord had come into the
world. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3 and
said, Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in
human flesh. He was in this world. The world
knew him not. The world was made by him, and
the world knew him not. He was here in the flesh. Two
natures in one body, God and man. He came here to redeem his
people. He came here the second Adam.
Almighty God made the first Adam, made him of flesh and bones and
blood, and he represented the whole human race. That's the
only man God made. All of us came from him. He made
the second Adam. He said, a body you've prepared
me. He made this body, and Christ
came and dwelt in this body, a human being, and died on the
cross to redeem his people from the curse of the law, from the
penalty of the law. As in Adam we die, in Christ
we are made alive. And now that that work of redemption
was accomplished, like in the message this morning, Naomi said
to Ruth, this man will not rest until he's finished this work,
this day. And our Lord finished the work.
and he entered into his rest. And when we realize that the
work is finished and complete in Christ, we'll enter his rest,
lay hold upon that rest, come to me and I'll give you rest.
And now that that work of redemption is accomplished, he will ascend
to his father's right hand, where he'll reign and where he'll make
intercession for his people. So he says, now I'm no more in
this world. Now, he is certainly in this
world in spirit and with his people. But what he's saying
here, I'm not in the world in the flesh anymore. But he said, listen, but these
are in the world. He's praying for his disciples.
He said, they're in the world. And I'll tell you this, it's
a sinful, wicked world. in which these disciples dwell,
in which we dwell. Oh, I know it's a religious world,
but it's always been a religious world. Men have always had religion
of some form or another, always worshipped some type of God,
but it's a wicked world. It's a sinful world. It's a world
which is opposed to God's truth. They're not opposed to a God.
That's the reason David said, as the heart panteth for the
water brook, so panteth my soul after thee, the living God. Not
a God, but the living God. And that's the reason our Lord
Jesus said eternal life is to know thee, the true and living
God. And that's the reason John wrote
in 1 John 5, we know the Son of God has come and given us
an understanding that we may know him that is true. And it's a religious world, but
it's a world that's opposed to God's truth. It always has been,
it is now. And it's a world that hates grace.
Now, they may talk about grace, but this world hates the gospel
of grace. They hate the sovereignty of
God, they hate God's elective grace, they hate the effectual
redemption of Christ. And that's the type of world
in which we live, a wicked world, a sinful world, a religious world,
a world that's opposed to God's truth, even in the pulpits. In fact, that's where the greatest
opposition exists, is from the pulpit. Christ said of those
religious leaders when he was here on the earth, he said, you
won't enter the kingdom of God and you won't let others. You
stand and bar the door against others who want to enter. It's
a world that hates the grace of God and it's a difficult world. Some of you sitting right here
in this service know something of real difficulty, traumatic
trials, sorrow, great sudden sorrow and suffering. Some of
you sitting right here know what it is to try to live on very
little income. I get so upset with these preachers
that are always preaching prosperity and financial windfalls and all
this sort of thing. It's not the will of God for
you to be sick. It's not the will of God for
you to be poor. It's not the will of God for
you to suffer. And if you're poor and if you're sick and if
you suffer and if all these things, you've got no faith. That's a
lie. I'd like to take some of those fellas to Mexico and let
them see how some of God's choice, wonderful, loving people have
to live. You've been there. You've been
there. Some of the rest of you have been there. People who work
hard, who suffer, women who try to feed their families on just
a handful of corn, like the widow over there in 1 Kings. They know
something about that. And these are godly people. And
the people right here in this country who know something about
suffering, because this is a world of trial and suffering and sorrow
and difficulty. And our Lord said, in this world
you will have tribulation. Now, just face it. Just face it. And David said,
it's good for me to be afflicted. Good for me. And so he says,
I'm not in the world, but these are in this world. The world. He says, I come to thee. Now,
Father, Holy Father, Righteous Father, listen, verse 11, keep
them. Keep them. Keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me. Father, keep them in
the faith. Don't let these trials and burdens
and heartaches Suffering and fears and doubts, don't let these
things take them away from the gospel, but we keep them in the
faith. You don't think that's necessary?
I do. Keep me and I'll be kept. There
are two forms of keeping. Both of them are given in that
passage in 1 Peter, which says we're kept by the power of God
through faith. Now, we are preserved. I know
that. If one sheep of Christ could
fall away, I'd fall a thousand times a day, and so would you.
But he keeps us. He keeps us. He is able to keep
you from falling. That's preservation. He preserves
us. He seals us by his Holy Spirit. We're sealed in Christ. We're
kept in Christ. We're kept by the power of God.
But we're not kept without faith. There's not only preservation,
do you understand me, but there's perseverance. In other words,
we're kept by the power of God, but we will, by the grace of
God, continue in faith. He said this, he said, they won't
forsake me, and I won't forsake them. That's both of them right
there. They won't forsake me. John said about people who had
left the faith, left the gospel, left the assembly, he said they
never were of us. They just never were of us. For
he said if they had been of us, they no doubt would have continued
with us. They would have continued and
God wouldn't have let them leave. You understand that? And our
Lord Jesus Christ is praying that the Father keep, he said
that to Peter. He said, Peter, he said, Satan
hath desired you. He's going to sift you like wheat.
I've never watched him sift wheat, but I've seen pictures how it
goes over that rough wire, you know, and the wheat, you know,
is sifted and the rocks stay in the, that's a tough He just
tossed around, the wheat tossed around, tossed and tumbled and
torn and that's the way, that's what we go through sometimes.
Tossed about, cast about. Paul said, I'm cast down, but
I'm not destroyed. Keep them. Keep them in the faith
and keep them in unity. And keep them in love for one
another. Keep them. Let me read you a passage in
Hebrews 10. Listen to this. Hebrews chapter
10. Paul said in verse 38, Hebrews
10, 38, listen. Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul will have no pleasure
in him. Draw back. I just can't, I just can't imagine
Such a thing, and yet it's happened so often, so many, many times. For some reason or other. Drawback. Thank God, verse 39, listen to
Paul, but we're not of them that draw back. And there's just one
place to draw back unto, and that's perdition. Christ said,
if you're not a farmer, you're against it. He that gathers not
together scattereth abroad. We're not of them that draw back
unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the
soul, to the saving of the soul. So Father, keep them. Now watch
verse 12. And this is so important. I want
you to listen to this very carefully. While I was with them in the
world, here in the body, in the flesh, I kept them in thy name. I kept them. Now, it's true,
and listen carefully to this, it's true that our Lord chose
these men. He's praying for these disciples
here, these men about him, with the exception of Judas, you'll
see in a moment. But he lived with them at all times. He taught
them the word. He revealed himself to them.
He encouraged them. He worked the miracles of God
before them. But when he was here in the flesh,
the religious leaders, the enemies of the gospel, left the disciples
alone. They didn't attack the disciples. They attacked the Lord. Isn't
that correct? Well, they paid little attention
to the disciples. Very little attention. The reproach
of them that reproached Christ said, fell on me. While I was
with them in the world, I shielded them. I kept them. I took every fiery dart. When
Satan came, he didn't come to the disciples. He came to Christ.
He didn't take the disciples up there on that mountain for
40 days and nights and try them. It was Lord Jesus Christ. They harassed him. They hated
him. They hated him. They threw their
questions at him. Their bitterness was hurled at
him, not at the disciples. When the disciples were present,
it was always the Lord who took the blame, all of it. Took the
persecution, took the harassment. Now he says, Father, I'm no more
in the world. I'm no more in the world. The
thieves are in the world. While I was with them, I kept
them in thy name." Now, those that thou gavest me, I've kept.
Now he's going away. Now that he's ascended, where
is this reproach going to fall? He said they're going to hate
you as they hated me. He says the world will hate you.
He says they'll put you out of the synagogue. They put him out,
but now they're going to put you out. And people that kill you will
think they do God a service. He said in this world you're
going to have tribulation. You! The hatred of this world
against God and against His grace and against His truth will now
be turned against those who believe God, who are in the world in
the flesh. You see what I'm saying? expected
those who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You see, they can't get to Christ.
They could when he was here. And they got to him. They spit
in his face. They took the cattle and whipped
him. They nailed him to that cross.
They walked around that cross and laughed while he died. Where
were the disciples? They weren't on the cross. They
were over here hiding. They didn't care anything about
them. They let them go, every one of them. But now our Lord
has gone back to glory. And the persecution and the harassment
and the bitterness and the hatred is what our Lord says is going
to fall on them. It's going to fall on them. They're going to
have to be prepared to bear the offense of the cross because
men can't get to God But they can get to his people. Now, I hear people say, well,
I hear folks, boy, religious people all over the world bragging
on Moses and bragging on Abraham and bragging on Jesus, sweet
Jesus, and all these things, and bragging on the apostles.
Let me tell you something. This has always been true. Religious
people always brag on dead prophets. and kill living prophets. That's always been, that's true
now, that's always been true. That's always been true. They
brag on dead prophets. They'll, they'll, they'll exalt
them. They'll brag on, I didn't, you
know, Brother Barney died, I didn't know he had so many People who despised and hated
him, when he stood in these pulpits and preached, now brag about
what a great man he was, writing books about him. But they didn't
feel that way when he was living. And you go through the Bible,
let me show you that in the Scripture. Turn to Matthew 23, now remember
what I'm saying. People, religious people, brag
on dead prophets and kill living prophets. Now, listen to this.
This is our Lord, and he's speaking to the Pharisees. He's speaking
to the religious folks right there while he walked this earth.
Matthew 23, 29. Now, listen to this. Warned you,
scribes and Pharisees, you're hypocrites, because you build
the tombs of the prophets. What are they doing? They're
putting monuments up to the prophets, the dead prophets, Moses, Jeremiah,
Isaiah, Ezekiel. You're building monuments to
these dead prophets. You're garnishing. What does
the word garnish mean? Decorate. You decorate the sepulchres
of the righteous. These men whom you kill, now
you're going back and putting a wreath on their graves. When
they were here, you hated them and despised them and cussed
them. And now that they're dead, you're going putting wreaths
and flowers on their graves. You're decorating their graves.
And you say, if we'd been in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't
have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
We wouldn't have done that. We wouldn't have killed old men.
Our fathers dead, but But you're killing prophets now, he said.
Listen. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto
yourselves, that ye are the children of them that kill the prophets.
Fill you up then the measure of your fathers, your serpents,
your snakes, your generation of snakes, how can you escape
the damnation of the hell? I send you prophets, I send you
wise men, I send you scribes, and some of them you kill and
crucify, some of them you scourge in your synagogue, and you persecute
them from city to city, and I'm saying this to you, that upon
you, will come all the righteous blood ever shed on this earth,
from the blood of Abel, that was shed by the hand of his brother
King, unto the blood of Zechariah, son of Barakas, whom you slew
between the temple and the altar. All these things shall come on
this generation." Here, I love saying this. You fellows standing
here, they hated Christ. They hated Him. These prophets
wrote of him. They preached the same gospel
he preached. Moses wrote of me. And they hated the apostles.
And they're bargaining on Moses. And Christ said, you build great
monuments to these old dead prophets. And you say, that was our fathers.
That was our fathers' sin, to kill those prophets. We wouldn't
have done that. But you're killing them now, he said. And he said,
all of you who hate and despise and destroy my prophets, not
only are you guilty of the blood of that one, but you're guilty
of the blood of everyone that's ever died at the hands of religious
men. That is a heavy burden to bear. When Moses was here on the earth,
did they love Moses? Read the first five books of
the Bible. Who made you a ruler over us?
That's where they'd talk to him. You take too much on yourself.
They rebelled against Moses at every turn. Isn't that correct?
Every turn they rebelled against him. Then Moses died. They loved him. Everybody bragged
on Moses. You couldn't find in the days
of the New Testament one person speaking against Moses. But they
hated Christ. They hated Christ. And then our
Lord died on the cross and ascended back to heaven, and they bragged
on him and hated the apostles. And then they killed all the
apostles. They martyred every one of them. Every one of them. There were twelve apostles. Of
course, Judas is out, but Paul took his place. And they killed
every one of those apostles but one, John. Put him on the Isle
of Patmos. They killed every one of them.
And it wasn't 200 years later, 300 years later, that the Catholic
Church rose up, bragging on and praising St. Peter and St. Jude and St. John and St. James and killing the Reformers. At the same time, they were killing
Martin Luther and John Calvin and Zwingli and Huss. And Latimer
and Ridley and all these men burned them at the stake. They
were doing it in the name of St. Peter. Peter was dead. And nowadays, they have special
days that they brag on John Calvin and Wesley and Zwingli and Luther. They make movies about them.
John Newton, they make movies about these fellows. And they literally despise and
hate and abhor men who preach what these men preach. I preach
the same thing Martin Luther preached, and John Calvin preached,
and John Knox. I've read these men. My theology
is identical to theirs. And yet in this time, I heard
a preacher on the radio, on the television, precedes me on the
television. And Charlie Payne heard the same
thing and wrote him a letter back several years ago. He said,
what we need in this day is men like Martin Luther and John Knox
and Charles Spurgeon. And Charlie said, I just sat
down and wrote him, why in the world would you want those fellas
preaching? You don't believe what they preach. But they're
dead. You see what I'm saying? Go back to our text. That's the reason our Lord's
praying, Father, keep these men now. David ministered to his generation.
That's all we can do is minister to our generation. Don't try
to resurrect dead men to preach today. They've preached and they've
gone profit by their message, used their message, but this
is our responsibility. Today is our responsibility.
And don't try to preserve your ministry in future days. I don't
understand why. Churches try to do that. They'll
play tapes of dead preachers and all. They're dead. But they'll brag on the dead
ones and kill the living ones. I have friends who love Brother
Mews and Brother Shelton, Brother Barnard, but they won't go hear
these young men who are preaching today. They're worshiping dead
prophets. And that's a weakness. That's
a weakness. There's nothing strong about
that. That's a weakness. It gives a man an out. Now listen
to me. It gives him an out. He doesn't
have to be identified in his day. He can say, well, I like the
preaching of Brother Ralph, I like the preaching of Brother Muse,
and they were great men. Keep quoting them and talking
about how they knew them and how they loved them and all that.
But they don't support the young men who are preaching to them.
That's a weakness of character and faith. Right. Because you
don't have to accept the responsibility. You don't have to be identified
in your day. You're identified back there, and nobody knows
them back there. You can just claim to believe anything. Nobody
knows them. But they know what's being preached
here. I tell you, you see, where a man's going to get the bloody
nose, I'll tell you where it is. Here's where he's going to
get the bloody nose. Here's where he gets in the fight.
In his generation, if he has the courage and the faith and
the boldness to meet this world at the point where his Lord's
honor and glory is being attacked. Now you can be religious and
you can talk about things that were issues back then and things
that will be issues in the future and politics and prophecy and
all these things, but you Take a hitch, as Brother Barnard said,
and roll up your sleeves and spit on your hands and go at
this world where they hate Christ most. And that's when you'll feel their
arrows. That's when they'll start throwing
the rocks. That's right. Well, he said, I must go on.
In verse 12, and he said, I tell you, none of them's lost. I've
kept them. I'm going to keep them. I don't
have any doubt that if somebody says, do you believe this man
believes grace? I don't know. Does he preach
it? No, he doesn't preach it. Then he doesn't believe it. If he believed it, he'd preach
it. If he's ever seen it, the glory of God, and heard the message
of grace in his heart, he'll preach it. He can't help but
preach it, Tom. He can't help it. He's got to preach what he's
seen and heard. He's not afraid of men. And none of them is lost
but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled.
What about Judas? Well, Judas was an instrument
of God to accomplish the purpose of God. He never was beloved,
he never was chosen, except to magnify the justice of God to
accomplish the purpose of God. That's what God said to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh was raised up to serve God's purpose, and yet Pharaoh
did what he wanted to do. Now, let's not try to lay sin
at the feet of God. The Lord does not tempt any man
to sin. The Lord doesn't put in any man's
heart to sin. That sin is already there. And
God may raise up a man like Pharaoh, who despises Moses, and oppresses
his people, and tries to hinder the purpose of God and the work
of God. But that man's doing exactly
what he wants to do, and yet he's doing the will of God. Is that understandable? He's
doing the will of God. And that man that threw Paul
in prison, when Paul said, I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I'm
not Nero's prisoner, I'm Christ's prisoner. It's by the will of
God that I'm in prison. It's for the purpose of God I'm
in prison. It's for the people of God that I'm in prison. This
man was just the instrument of hate that put me there. And he
did the will of God. But he did what he wanted to
do. Do you know all God has to do? Now, listen to me carefully. I'm telling you the truth. It
goes for me or you either one. All God has to do. to make us
hateful, opponents, arrogant, stumbling blocks, castaways,
just leave us alone. That's exactly right. Just withdraw
his spirit and leave you to yourself and there's nothing you won't
do. The only thing that keeps us from being the worst kind
of people on earth is the restraining hand of God. Prevenient grace,
that's what that is. Peter denied his Lord. Why? Our Lord let Satan have him for
a season. That's right. He said, Satan
had desired thee, that he might sift you as wheat. But Peter,
I prayed for you, that your faith fail not. Not that he won't have
you, and not that he won't use you for my purpose, and not that
you won't fail, you will, but you won't be utterly cast down. I prayed for you. Let's just
face it, that's so. That's just so. Let me show you
that in Acts 4. You see, these people crucified
Christ. Did God will that? Why, certainly.
He was a lamb slain for the foundation of the world. The Old Testament
told everything they do to Christ. They even told about him plucking
out his beard, did it not? It told before, told about Judas
selling for 30 pieces of silver, told about Judas committing suicide,
told about the money being used to buy a potter's field, told
about them piercing his hands and feet, told about them lifting
him up on a tree, told about Peter's denial. The whole thing
is in the Old Testament. It told what Christ would say
from the cross. And yet these people, they told
about him casting lots for his garment at the foot of the cross.
It told about them walking around the cross and saying he trusted
God, let's see if God will have him. But these people didn't
read that to find out what they were supposed to do, did they?
They spontaneously willfully plotted and did these things
on their own. That's right. Look at Acts 4,
verse 27. For the truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles, with the people of Israel, were gathered together.
To do what? To do what they wanted to do.
but to do whatsoever your hand and counsel determined a long
time before to be done. I want you to look at Acts 13,
verse 27. Listen to this. Acts 13, 27. This is so interesting. And what
I'm saying is that human nature, unrestrained, is capable of anything. But God Almighty will use the
evil, and the rest of it he'll restrain. That's right. He uses it for his purpose, to
accomplish his purpose. Everybody. Either the glorification
of his grace, or the glorification of his justice. Look at Acts
13, 27. They that dwell at Jerusalem, the people, the rulers, because
they knew him not, No, yet the voices of the prophets, which
were heard every Sabbath day, they fulfilled these prophets
in condemning him. These things were read in the
synagogue, and yet they did these very things in condemning Christ.
And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired
they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they fulfilled,
when they had fulfilled all that was written of him in the scriptures,
They took him down from the tree, laid him in a grave. But not
before they fulfilled everything that God said they'd do. So our
Lord said, I'm no more in this world, but these are. And what
a world it is. And while I was with them, I
kept them. I shielded them. I bore the brunt.
The reproach of them that reproached fell on me. But now I'm no more
in the world. Father, keep them. Our Lord taught us to pray, deliver
us from the evil one. Try it. Oh, let's read now. I come to thee. And these things
I speak in the world. Like I told you, these things
all the way back to chapter 13. 14, 15, 16. Read it in that light.
These things I've spoken to my disciples. I've told them about
how they're going to be hated and despised. be cast out of
the synagogue, harassed, persecuted for my sake, but I have spoken
these things that they might have my joy fulfilled in them."
What joy in all this? We'll have tribulation, we'll
have persecution, we'll have much sorrow, heartache. Is there
no joy? Is there no blessedness? Oh,
yes. Where is our joy? Where is our
joy? In Christ. In Christ. That's our joy. And if you try
to find it anywhere else, you're going to find yourself with sawdust. The fashion of this world fadeth
away. You're like a beloved wife. She's your joy, your happiness,
and then she's gone. Your beloved children. I think
sometimes we like to keep them about three or four years old.
And then they grow up and somebody says they own your hands when
they're little, but they own your heart when they're big. And they turn out to be your
sorrow and your loved ones and your, so many things, your health. People give themselves to building
things and they all burn down. Which do you prefer? I've told
them the truth, and I've told you the truth, in order that you might have
his joy, his joy, might have a right foundation for hope,
for happiness, for joy. You see, this giddiness, and
I know this Solomon tried it all, he said,
I tried wine, I tried wealth, I tried women, I tried building
great works, I tried the world, I tried wisdom, I tried all these
things, and he said, I found in the end it's all vanity, vanity,
vanity, it's all vanity. Well, where are you going to
find that true joy? Start young. It's my joy. Isn't that right?
My joy. For the joy that was set before
him, he endured the cross. Look back just one or two pages
in John 15. He talked about, I'm the vine,
you're the branches, abide in me. Look at John 15, 11. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
really be full. Are you happy? Well, that depends on what you
mean by happiness. Are you happy? There's some widows in this building
tonight, there's some people with heartaches, there's some
folks with real sickness, facing some great trials. Are you happy? There's some folks getting old
and the end of the road is near. Are you happy? Yeah, I'm happy. I'm happy in Him. I'm happy in Him. I've got good
prospects. My sins are forgiven. I'm a child of the King. I walk
with the King. I find my happiness in Him. That's
right. And I say, young people, and
I know this, the older folks can kind of identify with this
a little bit more. I realize that. But let me tell
you, let me plant a seed. Let me sow a seed in your heart.
Let me give you a foundation early. Don't put any confidence
in this flesh. Don't put your eggs in a basket
with holes in it. You may not see the holes, but
they're full of holes. Don't invest your treasures in
things of the earth where moth and rust doth corrupt. Set your
affection on things above. Your treasures on things above.
That's the happiness. I'm happy, I can tell you that.
I'm happy. Aren't you? I'm resting in him. And whatever
comes my way, whatever God has for me tomorrow, or whomever,
the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not walk. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He's restored my soul. Happy in him. If you try to find
it anywhere else, in anyone else, you're in trouble. Real trouble. Real trouble. So that's what
he's saying here. I've told them these things,
verse 13, and I speak these things while I'm in the world, that
my joy might be fulfilled in them. I've given them thy word. You know, he means a whole lot
more than just preaching the word to them. He gave the word
to a lot of people by just preaching to them, but they didn't believe
it. But he says, I've given them thy word. I've planted it in
their hearts. They've received the word. They
know whom they have to believe. They know what they believe.
That word's been made alive, and listen, this is happening,
and the world hates them. I'm not preaching a doctrine. I left that years ago. A denomination
say, you're a Baptist? Oh, I don't know. No, no, I'm
not. Not the modern day Baptist. You'd
have to go back several hundred years to find out what kind of
Baptist I am. Baptists aren't worth a pinch of snuff. That's right. 99 and 44, 100%
of them. You're not preaching a doctrine,
you're preaching a person. Christ Jesus. He lives in our
hearts. His gospel, His message, His
kingdom, His people, His church. That's what I want to be a part
of. I'm not interested in defending a cause or fighting for a doctrine
or making Calvinist out of anybody. You can be a Calvinist and not
know God. But I'll tell you this, if he
gives you his word like he gave his word to his disciples, the
world will hate you because you'll be his disciple. And because
they're not of this world as I'm not of the world. Now, God's
people are not of the world. They're honest people. They're
truthful people. They're good neighbors. They're
clean living people. They're people who walk in honesty
and truth, and that way they're different from the world. But
what he's saying here, they're not of the world as I'm not of
the world, meaning this, that they're not of the world in spirit.
They're not of the religious world. See, there are a lot of
religious people that don't kill people or commit adultery or
steal or lie or rob banks. And they are of the world. They're
of the world in principle, they're of the world in attitude, they're
of the world in spirit, they're of the world in walk. But he
says they're not of the world, my people are not of this world
as I'm not of this world. Meaning they're not of the world,
they're different people. They're peculiar, they're strange
people. They're like Abraham, they're looking for a city. They've
got confidence in God. They're a paradox. You know what
a paradox is? Well, the believers are a paradox
in this sense of the word. They're happy, but they're in
great heaviness and continual sorrow. They're rich, but they're
poor. They're saints, but they're the
chief of sinners. They're living, but they're dead
to the world. The world can't understand gospel.
They're spiritual people, and that's the reason he says they're
not of this world as I'm not of the world. They don't think
like carnal men. They don't worship like carnal
men. They don't have the attitude of carnal men. They know God.
They're different. That's what he's talking about
there. And his word, his grace made them different. And I don't
pray that you should take them out of the world. We might like
that. When God saves us, just take
us on to glory and spare us all this conflict and heartache and
sorrow. And although these men are not
of the world, they'll be persecuted by the world, but our Lord said,
don't take them out of the world. Why not? Why not? Why not the Lord just come and
all of you who love him, just take you on to glory and be done
with all this. You don't want to wash your hands of it no more.
Just through it. Well, I'll tell you why. We've
got a work to do. That's right. We've got a work
to do. We've got a gospel to preach. He said, as my father
sent me, I send you. God's got some sheep out there
and they're going to hear the gospel. And they're going to
hear the gospel from people like you and me. Some of our men went
out today to different places. They're preaching. They're preaching
now. Some of them are on their way home from services. Missionaries
have been out preaching. You bought the gas to send them
out there. Milton's been out trying to... I know where he
preached tonight. I know where Walter preached
tonight. I know where Ken Wymer's preaching tonight. I know where
Bill Clark's preaching tonight. Danny Parks. All these men. And
you helped them go and preach. We've got work to do. And we're
not going to quit as long as He keeps us in this world. Send
them. We're going to pray for her.
We're going to provide for her. We're going to take this gospel. I'm going next week over to Virginia
and the next week up to West Virginia. We're going to preach
the gospel. Because we're on a trail of God's
sheep. We're on a trail of God's sheep.
So don't take them out of the world. Don't take them out of
the world. But keep them, listen, keep them
from the evil. The evil what? Keep them from
Satan. So his chief objective, and this is what Paul feared
in 2 Corinthians 11.3, I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted
from the simplicity that's in Christ.

A Study of the Lord's Prayer #2

What does the Bible say about the keeping of believers?

How do we know the sovereignty of God is true?

Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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A Study of the Lord's Prayer #2

What does the Bible say about the keeping of believers?

How do we know the sovereignty of God is true?

Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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