the prime minister, it doesn't
matter if it's a congressman or a senator, it doesn't matter
if it's a policeman, or if it's a superintendent on a job, or
a father in a home, or a principal in a school, or a teacher in
a classroom, there is no power, there is no authority vested
in anybody that he didn't get from God. Now that's the way,
that's what he's saying, all power is of God. The powers that
be are ordained of God. They're ordered of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power. Now this is someone who resists
a person in authority. And I've just gone over this.
Those who resist fair and equitable law and order. They resist God. That's what it's saying. Whosoever
resisteth the power resisteth God. He resisteth the ordinance
of God. He's rebelling against God. Rebelling
against God. Now, this doesn't include those
who set their rule above God. That doesn't mean someone who
sets his rule above God. It says, children, obey your
parents in the Lord. And when parental authority exceeds,
in other words, when a child or a young person is commanded
to do something in violation of God's law, even by his father,
he's to resist. Does that make sense? If a husband,
I've had wives tell me, you say obey my husband, in the Lord.
In the Lord. If a husband forbids a wife to
worship God, it's time to close the door. That's in the Lord. I'll obey a ruler of this nation
or Congress or Senator's laws. When their law supersedes God's
law, that's when I'm not obeying their law. That's right. Wise be in subjection to their
husbands in the Lord. That's what that says. But whosoever
resists to the fair, equitable, honest law, resisteth God. And they that resist, verse 2,
shall receive to themselves judgment. You've got to deal with them.
For rulers are not a terror to good works. Rulers are not feared
by obedient citizens, but to the evil. Will thou then not
be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou
shalt have praise of the same. Obey the law. Verse 4, now this
is interesting. He is the minister of God to
thee for good. Did you know even that policeman
person in charge who's not even a believer, he's really a minister
of God. Whoever exercises authority for
the good of the community and the good of the people is an
instrument of God, he's a minister of God. But if thou do that which
is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, he is
the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doeth evil. In other words, be subject to
authority, not only as obedient citizens, and realizing that
they have a job to do, but they're really, their authority is ordained
of God for our good, and when we obey them, we're obeying God.
When we disobey them, we're disobeying God. Now look at verse 5. Wherefore,
you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, not only out
of fear, but for conscience sake. The believer approves of authority. He approves of and respects authority
as a matter of conscience, not just out of fear. Well, I'll
be obedient, but I'm not going to like it. Well, do it for conscience
sake, because you do love that authority. Think what I wrote
this down one time in a message I brought on this subject. I
was rereading it. Do you realize what one of these
basketball games would be without a referee? Now, you just think
about it. You think of the destruction.
There's got to be some authority. In every situation, somebody's
got to be in charge, and that person in charge is God's minister. All right, verse 6. For this
cause, pay ye tribute also. Pay tribute for this cause, because
they are God's ministers. Render tribute to whom tribute
is due. Custom to whom custom, fear to
whom fears do, honor to whom honors do. Honor men who deserve
honor. They're worthy of double honor.
Show respect. I'll tell you, I get a little
bit apprehensive in our day at the careless way that people speak in reference to the President
of the United States, the highest office. It's embarrassing to
me. I watched the President's news conference and I hear these
reporters talking to him like he's some bar buddy that they're arguing
with. This man has the highest office
in the land and he's to be treated with respect and honor. And I just think we need to be
careful how we address. whoever's in authority. It needs
to be done with respect. That's what he's saying here.
Render tribute to whom tributes do, and custom to whom custom,
to fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. I know this thing
of friendship and we're all men are created equal as the Constitution
says, that sort of thing. That's all well and good, but
still there's got to be some honor and respect where it's
due. There's got to be some tribute and some speaking with respect
and honor to a person that is in authority. All right. Oh, no man anything. Now, I know
a lot of people have used that to say, don't ever borrow any
money. That's not what that's talking about at all. Most of
your men who have businesses couldn't run it if you didn't
have some kind of credit. You've got to make investments. Most
of you couldn't own a home if you didn't buy it on credit.
Couldn't buy a car unless you bought it on credit. So that's
not what that's talking about. It's all right to owe if you
pay your bills. It's not right to owe a man not
paying. That's ungodly. But it's all right. He's not
talking here about owing money. Owe no man anything. He's saying
here, he's saying if man's due respect, Respect him. If a person's
due submission, submit. If a person's due honor, honor
him. That's what he's saying. Pay
what we've just been talking about. But love one another. Parents are due respect, respect
them. Husbands are due and fathers
are due respect. Wives are due love and concern
and Kindness? Render it. Officials that do
support? Render it. Leaders that do honor?
Render it. Don't owe anybody anything. Do what you're supposed
to do. But here's the answer to all
of it. Here's the answer to all of it.
Love one another. He that loveth hath fulfilled
the law. That's the solution. Respect? Well, where a person loves a
person, they'll respect. Honor, when you love someone,
you'll honor them. You'll honor them. And that's just what will take
place. He that loveth another will fulfill
the law. For this, look at verse 9. Thou
shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt
not steal. Thou shalt not bear lie or bear
false witness. Thou shalt not covet. And what
this is, is the second table of the law, the first table.
is the first four commandments. Thou shalt have no other God
before me. Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain. And so forth. That has to do
with our relationship with God. Then it starts out with honor
your mother and father. And the next six commandments
have to do with your treatment of your fellow man. So now, if
I love God with all my heart, I'm going to worship God. I'm
not going to take his name in vain. I'm not going to bow to
an idol. And I'm going to look to Christ
who is my rest and my Sabbath. But if I love you, I'm not going
to covet what you have, or take your wife, or kill you, or steal
from you, or lie on you. You see what I'm talking about?
That's what he's saying here. And if there be any other commandment,
it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. Verse 10, for love worketh no
ill to his neighbor. You love a man, you're not going
to work ill toward him. You're going to wish the best
for him. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Now I
want to get to verse 11. Look at verse 11. And that knowing
the time, Knowing the time. What time is it? What are we
talking about here? And knowing the time. Well, first of all,
what time is it? It's a very special time. This
is a very special time. 2 Corinthians 6 says this, don't
turn until, let me just read it. He saith, I have heard thee,
O Lord, in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation, Behold,
now is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day of salvation. I would like you to turn to Hebrews
3. Just hold Romans 13 and turn to Hebrews 3. Hebrews chapter
3, verse 12. And what I'm saying
is this, what time is it for me and you? Knowing the time, it's a special
time, a very special time. This is a very special day and
a very special hour. It's a very special time. In
verse 12 of Hebrews 3, take heed brethren, lest there be found
in you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living
God. But exhort one another daily while it's called today, lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For
we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end while it is said, today,
today, if you'll hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in
the provocation. In other words, this is a special
time because this is for us a day of grace and mercy. It's a day
of God's visitation. We're standing here with the
Word of God in our hands. And you know, I thought a while
ago, sitting in the study, some of the men gathered with me for
prayer, the reading of the Word, and one of the fellows opened
the Bible and read a chapter in God's Word, verse by verse,
and commented. We came out here, and Brother
Jim got up here and read Romans 12 and commented. And then I
get up following him and read Romans 13 and commented. Where is such care anywhere given
to the Word of God? Where can a person go and sit
and that much Scripture be read, dealt with, commented on, and
rejoiced in? I'll tell you, what time is it?
For us right here, this is a special time. It's a very special time. It may not last always, but it's
here now. This is the day of God's grace
and mercy. The Gospel is preached in our
hearing. The Word of God is in our hands. This is a special
time. I went out to that little village
in St. Lucia. First place I went. Canter Reefs. Just a handful
of people. Well, this is at DeFort. We parked
the truck and we went through the alley, kind of between some
buildings, and went into a little auditorium, not too much bigger
than this platform up here, about this size. And there were six
men and one lady there. And one of them got up and led
the singing. And Danny and I were sitting over here. And I was
praying to the Lord, I don't want to just stand up there and
preach some doctrine, stand up there and just bring a sermon. I was sitting there while they
were singing, trying to find the mind and will of God. And
when they got through singing, Danny introduced me. I didn't
go up to the pulpit. They had a little pulpit up there
just like a regular. But I got my chair. And I pulled
it up and sat down. And that got their attention.
I sat down right in front of them. They were sitting, about
six men and one lady. Tanny came over here. And I pulled
my chair up and sat right in front of them. And I got my Bible
and turned to Hebrews 10. And I said, I want you to listen
to me. Now I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell you how
God saves sinners. If you never hear it again, you're
going to hear it again. And they were just big-eyed, you know,
and preaching. They just sat down in front of them. And I
just sat there and went verse by verse and told them how Christ
redeemed sinners. The law, you know, is a shadow
of good things. Christ, the fulfillment, by one
offering, is perfected forever. And they listened so carefully.
And I thought, for them, this is a special time. But now, wait
a minute. It's a special time for us. You
reckon we have it so much that we just might take it for granted? You reckon? Could we? Very possible. And then one night I went out,
or Sunday morning, I went out to Ann's Lorraine. There was
about 35 people there. This is where Brother Danny pastures.
And they were having the Lord's Table that morning. They had
it prepared right here. I prepare my messages. But I
try to fit to the situation. I work very diligent on preparing
messages, but I try to fit the situation. And Danny told me
Saturday night before they went to the Lord's table. So I thought,
well, the thing to do is preach to them on Christ our Passover.
So they had the song service, and then he introduced me, and
again, these people are like children. Their attention span
is so short. They're all black, they work
in banana fields, they're poor people, their attention span
is very short. And I know that. And so I got
my Bible, and I had in mind a message outline. I came walking, I got
right between this large table prepared, and damn, I stood right
down there. And I began, I said, what's that
in your hand? And they looked at it, and I said, hold it up.
They all had a Bible. I said, that's a Bible. And I
talked to them about that word. And I talked to them about who
is the message of the word. Christ, the Old Testament's Christ.
And I showed them the example. And the New Testament's Christ
in person. And I said, what's this we got
set up here, the Lord's table? I said, we're going to talk this
morning about how that came into being, what it's doing here.
And like children, for 45 minutes, I had their attention just as
clear and crisp, if you please, as I took them back to Israel
and Egypt. How God put the blood on the
door, and slew the lamb, and roasted it, and ate it, and how
that Christ observed the Passover and instituted the Lord's table
like I did for you one service here. And you know, they heard. It's a special time. It's at
any time that anyone stands before you, stands before you, sent
of God, with this book, anointed by God's Spirit, it's a special
time. It's very special. Don't treat
it lightly, because it's special. Another thing I'd say, he says,
knowing the time, what time is it? Well, it's special time,
but I'll tell you this, It's a critical time. It's a critical
time. You know, David said, Make me,
O Lord, to know mine end. Teach me to number my days. This
is a critical time. What is your life? What is your
life? It is but a vapor. It appears
for a little time. What time is it? I'll tell you,
for some of us, it's a short time. It's a short time. Do I believe
God has set the bounds? I heard a preacher on television
a couple of Sundays ago say he didn't believe that man's day
of death was determined. I do. The Scripture says that. It says God has set our bounds
we cannot pass. The number of our months are
with the Lord. Do you know what it says there?
Job 14 says that. I believe that. Of course I do. God has given me a time on this
earth. And I'll tell you, our time here
is called a vapor, it's called a shadow, it's called a flower,
it's called a Weber shuttle, and it's called a post. And the
man that carelessly handled that time was called a fool. My Lord
said, thy fool. Thy fool. This night thy soul
shall be required of thee. So, this is not only a special
time, and a critical time, but now what's the next line? Verse
11, Romans 13. Knowing the time. Do you know
the time? It's special, God-given, critical, and now it's high time
to wake out of sleep. It's high time. What's high time
mean? Time to make a decision. It's
time for commitment. High time, Charlie, is time for
commitment. High time means it's downhill the rest of the way.
It's high time. It's time for dedication. It's
high time. It's about time to wake out of
sleep, out of indifference, out of indecision and divided attention. I try not to be, I try not to
be unkind. I try not to be, you know, too frank. We need
to be positive. We need to say what we are led
of God to say. I wrote a prayer in the letter
today. I thought a lot about it. I wrote it yesterday. And I just made this statement.
I've known this friend for a long, long time. And they're always
talking about, I need to be under the gospel. I need to be under
the gospel. I need to be where I can hear
the gospel. I need to be working in fellowship with God's people.
The days are passing by and I need to do this and I intend to do
it and I want to do it. Well, I just finally got all
that I wanted and I wrote and I said, quit talking about it
and do it. That's the signs of it. Just
quit talking about it and do it. You're where you are because
you want to be willingly there. And that's what he's saying right
here. Do you know what time it is he said? It's a very special
time. And it's a very critical time.
And it's high time to wake out of your sleep and talk about
what you're going to do and what you want to do. People do what
they want to do and what you intend to do and do it. It's
high time to wake out of it. You know, Elijah said this. I
want you to listen to this. Don't turn to it. You can write
it down. 1 Kings 18, 21. But listen to
what Elijah said. How long halt ye between two
opinions? Now how long halt ye between
two thoughts? That's the word. Now listen to
this, if the Lord be God, if the Lord be God and be true,
then follow Him. Follow Him fully, follow Him
completely, follow Him like Caleb followed Him, follow Him diligently
and devotedly. If He's God, follow Him. And if Baal is God, follow him.
But quit playing around between two opinions. Quit riding the
fence. It can't be done. No man can
serve two masters. And you know what the Scripture
says right after he said that? And the people answered, not
a word. Oh, Elijah. Elijah! The man God
sent, the man that said, ìIt ainít going to rain till I say
so.î You know what he said? ìItís not going to rain till
I say so.î They knew he was speaking for God, and he said, ìYou people,
how long are you going to halt between two opinions? How long
between two thoughts? If God be God, follow Him. If
Baal be God, follow Him.î The preacher said, ìThat ought to
get the job done.î It didnít. They answered him, ìNot a word.î
And I'll tell you, that's the typical response to most preaching
today. Not a word. Not a word. But I tell you this, true faith
acts, true faith responds. I just went through just briefly,
just briefly now, by no means an exhaustive study of response
to preaching. But Matthew, sitting at the receipt
of customs, when the Lord called him, He arose, left it, and followed
Christ. Zacarias, or Zacchaeus, when
the Lord walked under that tree, Zacchaeus, come down. He came
down. And the Lord said, I'm going
to your house. Salvation has come to this house. Lord, I tell
you, he said, I've had my goods, I'm going to give to the poor,
and if I've wronged a man, I'm going to restore him fourfold.
Right? Thomas, confronted by the wounds of Christ, he said,
here, reach out and touch my wounds. He fell on his face and
said, my Lord and my God, I'm not, I'm committed. Paul, met
by Christ on the Damascus road, Lord, what will you have me do?
The people at Pentecost, when they were confronted with Christ,
the crucified, risen, exalted Christ, brethren, what shall
we do? The Bereans, it says, when they
heard Paul, they went home and searched the Scriptures to see
if these things be so. Wouldn't that give you a thrill?
You preach some night and go home and some fella calls you
about midnight and says, Preacher? Yeah, you going to bed? No. Well,
I just wanted to tell you, I read that Scripture you preached on
tonight and you're right, that's what it says. Well, that'd be
something, wouldn't it? Yeah, I went home and searched
the scriptures, and you tell them the truth. The eunuch, upon
hearing the gospel, stopped the chariot and said, there's water.
What doth hinder me from being baptized? The Thessalonians, it says, Paul
said, I know your God's a lie. Because my gospel came to you
in power, in much assurance, and you became followers, you
became examples, you became missionaries, you turned from your idols to
serve the living God, and you're waiting on Christ to return.
Responded! You responded! I know you heard,
and faith always responds. But most folks who listen to
us don't, and here's an example. Turn to Ezekiel. I do want you
to turn to this one. I just want you to look at this,
Ezekiel 33. While you're finding it, I'll
make this comment. By faith, Abel offered a more
excellent sacrifice. His faith responded. It responded. By faith, Noah, being warned
of God, started to work. How do I know Noah believed God?
He went to work. By faith, Abraham, when he was
called of God, went out. That's the response of faith.
By faith, Moses, when he came to years, how do you know he
believed God? He left Egypt. He left Egypt. Rahab, how do
you know she believed God? She put the lion out the window. Ezekiel 33, listen, verse 33. Ezekiel 33, 30. Watch this. Also,
thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking... Now the word against doesn't
mean like we use it. They're not talking against you
like we use the word. They're talking of you. They're talking about you. That's
what he's saying. They're talking about you by
the walls. in the doors of the houses, and
they speak one to another, every one to his brother, and say,
Come, I pray you, hear what is the word that cometh forth from
the Lord. Let's go down and hear the preacher. Let's go hear the
preacher. The preacher is preaching tonight. Let's go hear him. Let's
go hear what he's got to say. They're talking about you. And
they come, verse 31, and they come unto you, and as the people
cometh, and they sit before you as my people, all of them profess
to be Christians, Believer, they believe the Bible, and they hear
your words, but they'll not do them. For with their mouth they show
much love, much love for God, but their heart goes after covetousness. Yes, it goes after their business.
They hear about God's business, but they're involved in their
business. Where are you going, Preacher?
Well, I'm staying with my text, or I'm going to read some more.
I'm staying with my text. It says, you know the time? It's a special time, it's a critical
time, and it's high time to wake out of sleep and indifference. It's time for commitment. And that's what he's saying here.
These people hear you, but they're not going to do what you say.
They're too busy. Verse 32, And lo, you are unto
them a very lovely song, of one that hath a pleasant voice,
and you can play well on an instrument. They hear your words, but they
do them not. They're not going to do them.
They're not going to act. They're not going to respond. They're
not going to do it. They've been doing that for years.
They've been sitting listening to a message. They've been doing
it for years. Now when this comes to pass,
all these warnings you've been giving and all these All these
prophecies and all this comes to pass. When you said our life
is a shatter, and suddenly they found out it is. You said life
is a vapor, and suddenly they found out it is. It's a point
of men who wants to die, and they found out it is. And after
that, the judgment, and sure enough, it is. And when it comes
to pass. And it will, he said, it will
come to pass. Then shall they know that a prophet,
a man speaking for God, has been among them. He was there. And they never
realized it till all the things he talked about happened. And
then they realized it. It's too late then. Now back to Romans 13. I won't
wear you too much longer, but this is interesting. Romans 13
and 11, and knowing the time, knowing something about the special
time it is and the critical things that are before us. It's high
time. It's commitment time. It's time to wake out of sleep.
It's time to wake out of our lethargy. Taking things for granted. But now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed? You won't think this, but somebody
here in this tape somewhere will say, what's that preacher talking
about? This scripture talks about our salvation being nearer than
it was? Our salvation nearer than it
was? I always thought that salvation was something instantaneous,
something that came to a man and a woman Believed on Jesus
and made a confession that everybody talks about, I got saved back
yonder. I got saved back yonder. Well,
isn't salvation instantaneous? Well, in a sense it is. In a
sense it is. But most of us here have been
around long enough to know that most of these so-called got saved
experiences are not genuine. I've been around long enough
to know that Most of them aren't genuine. Most of them, time finally
reveals that they were not genuine at all. You see, true salvation, now
watch this, true salvation, I told you this in a message not long
ago, I'm convinced of this, that salvation is an eternal matter. God decreed it and designed it,
predestined it. And it will culminate in our
being conformed to the image of Christ. But I tell you, this
thing of salvation, true, genuine salvation, is not just an emotional
experience, a once-for-all decision, an isolated act of repentance
and faith where a man decides for Jesus. This thing of salvation,
Paul said to Timothy, from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures
that are able to make thee wise unto salvation. Do you know what
I'm saying? That this thing of salvation is something that God
works. God worketh in you. He didn't
work it, He worketh in you both the will of His good pleasure. That God is a work, the Holy
Spirit quickens and takes the Word, and the Holy Spirit retakes
the things of Christ and reveals them to us, and we have been
saved, we are being saved, and we are saved out yonder when
we are made like Christ. And any time in between that
I disappear off the table, then salvation stops, or what I call
salvation. Actually, salvation never begun.
But what I've called salvation up to that point wasn't salvation
at all, because what God commences, God continues and perfects. The Bible says that. Ephesians
2.8, don't turn to it, but Ephesians 2.8 says, For by grace have you
been saved. Isn't that what way that reads? 1 Corinthians 1 says, To you
who are being saved, the gospel is the power of God. And now
Paul comes up with this. It's time to shape up, because
our salvation is nearer than when we believe. That's right. It says we are the household
of Christ if we continue in the faith. I'm not preaching works. I'm not preaching that at all. I'm just trying to be honest
and truthful. the salvations of the Lord. And
salvation is a work God does through the Word, by the Spirit,
because of the merits and righteousness of Christ in a sinner. And it's
not a work God starts and stops and starts and stops. It's a
work God starts and finishes. I am persuaded He is able to
finish and complete that which He hath begun in you. What God
does will be forever. What God does will be, and I
get right here, I read a letter here this afternoon, a dear person
said they came to this church 25 years ago, but they're backslidden. The New Testament doesn't know
a thing about backsliding. You brought a message on this
not long ago. When God talks of his backslidden
people, he's talking to that bunch of Jews back there that
didn't even know God. But people who know God don't
leave God. People who know Christ do not
leave Christ. They do not quit the race. They
do not resign from life. They don't quit living. And I'm
saying that it's a work of God. And I spoke to that First Baptist
Church in St. Lucia in Castries on Wednesday
night. And I said this to them, I've
got a question for you. I've got a question for you.
I want you to consider a question. When is a man saved? When is
a man, S-A-V-E-D, saved? When is a woman saved? Everybody's
talking about, I'm saved, I'm saved. When is a person saved? Well, you ask a dozen people,
you'll get a dozen different answers. One of them said, well,
he's saved when he's sprinkled. The Bible doesn't say that. Well,
he's saved when he comes down the aisle and prays the sinner's
prayer. The Bible doesn't say that. Well, he's saved when he
accepts Jesus. The Bible doesn't say that. Well,
he's saved and he's baptized. Scripture doesn't say that. When
is a man saved? I'll give you five answers, five
things. They all make up one thing called
salvation. Number one, a man is saved, a
woman is saved when it pleases God. Now, God's got to be in
this business. Salvation is of the Lord. He's
got to start this operation, hasn't He? He's got to start
this operation. Paul said, when He pleased God,
He revealed His Son in me. God starts this business. We're
born from above. We're born of God. Of His own
will begat He us. So a man will be saved when he
pleases God. Not when he pleases his mama. And not when it pleases
Him. We're born not of the will of
the flesh, not of the will of man, but we're born of God. Secondly, when is a man saved?
When he, by the grace of God. When is a woman saved? When she,
by the grace of God. In the light of the holiness
of God. Not in the light of the law now,
but in the light of the holiness of God, the character of God.
to some extent comes to see his or her sin and inability. Now, you're not going to be found
until you're lost. A person's not going to be resurrected
until they're dead. A person's not going to come
to Christ until he's a sinner. And a person's not going to be
saved until he has some measure of conviction of sin in the light
of God's holiness. I don't mean you got caught at
something wrong, you got in trouble, or got sick, or something. I'm
talking about in the light of who God is, in the light of His
holiness, beauty, love, and not in the light of the law. But
like Isaiah said, I saw the Lord. I saw the Lord. And I cried,
I'm cut off. Job said, I've heard of you,
now I've seen you, and I hate myself. Old Peter saw Christ's power
one day and he said, Lord, just depart from me. I'm a sinful
man. You've got no business hobnobbing with me. That's what he said
when he saw the glory of God. That's when a man is going to
be convicted of sin, in the light of God's holiness, in the light
of God's love. Thirdly, when does a man say
it? Thirdly, he'll be saved when he sees to some extent The glory
of God, the glory of His redemption, the glory of His justice, the
glory of His righteousness, the glory of His holiness in the
face of Christ Jesus. When he sees that in Christ God
can be just and justified, in Christ God can be holy and love
you, in Christ God's law is honored, His justice satisfied, His truth
vindicated, His judgment cleared. When you say, oh, I see. I see how that I don't have clean
hands and a pure heart. I've lifted up my soul to vanity.
I've spoken deceitfully, but Christ hadn't, and as my representative,
God can love me in Him, receive me in Him, accept me in Him,
and He as the God-man can fulfill all that God requires. John,
I see it. I see it. It's not do, it's done. It's not me, it's Him. I'm loved
for His sake. I'm saved for his sake. I see,
and I see how God can be glorified in all that. I see the glory
of God in the face of Christ. When does a man say, watch it
now, forward? He'll be saved when he can, when
he can honestly, and I don't mean putting on a show, I mean
honestly, when he can honestly come down off his high horse,
what you read tonight, and bow to the crowned rights of Jesus
Christ. That's right. God resisted the
proud and gave His grace to the humble. We're coming down now.
We're going to be broken. We're going to be stripped. Scott said, make our headquarters
in the dust at the feet of the King. And the King is Christ.
This Niner and Boot You ladies were at Pollard and Am and Ruth. This was the essence of Ralph
Barnard's message at Pollard 38 years ago. It wasn't election. It wasn't election. It wasn't
predestination. It was the lordship of Jesus
Christ. John, you know, that was the
essence of his message. He said, don't tell me who your
savior is. I'm not interested. Tell me who
your Lord is. Tell me who your Lord is. That's
where it is. Everybody's got a Savior. But
I'll tell you who rules and reigns in your life is the one that's
your Lord. And if you confess with your mouth Jesus to be Lord,
and when you bow to the crown rites of King Jesus, when you
own Him to be Lord, you're owning Him to be sovereign, You're owning
him to be the one who elects. You're owning his death to be
effectual and efficient. You're owning him to be the preserver
and keeper and provider and protector of his people. He's all things.
And nothing I have is mine, it's his. And then you can stop tithing. That's right. And you can stop
putting laws and commandments on the wall. Then you can stop
threatening people with laws and promising them rewards. They've
got a Lord. They've got a Master. Isn't that
right? That's the key. Five, when does a man say? When God calls him home and he's
still believing. Let me show you that. Hebrews
11. Just turn over and I'll quit. Hebrews 11. Now watch this. Hebrews
11. We're not of them that draw back
to destruction, to perdition. Hebrews 11, look at this, verse
13. He's talked about Enoch, Abel,
Abraham, and all of them, and says in verse 13, these all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off. They saw Christ afar off in all
the promises. But they were persuaded of those
promises and they embraced them. They confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on this earth. They were passing through.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they are
seeking another country. This is not my home. And truly,
if they had been mindful of that heathen, idolatrous country from
which they came out, they could have gone back. And many people
do. Go right ahead. Christ asked
the disciples, will you go away? They could have gone back. But
now, no sir, they desire a better country. They want something
better. That is a heavenly country. And
because of that dedication and determination and faith, God's
not ashamed to be called their God. For He hath provided and
prepared for them a city. They died in vain. When's a man
saved? Is that not true? I don't want to make it any harder
or any easier than God has. It's all by grace, but I just
know that's the evidence a man's been saved. When he pleases God,
when he's been in the light of God's holiness convicted of his
sin, in the face of Christ Jesus, he's seen the fulfillment of
God's glory. When he has, when he bows to Christ, And when God makes him like the
Lord Jesus, when he dies in faith.