to the Psalm which Brother Bob
read for us a few moments ago, Psalm 62. Psalm 62. Now, if by the grace of God, if by
the grace of God, and if anything is accomplished for me or for
any of you, it will be by the grace of God. It will not be through the efforts
of the preacher, not the will of the flesh, nor the will of
man. It will not be through our own striving or working. It will
be by the grace of God. And if by the grace of God I
can learn a two-fold lesson, one lesson in two parts, my life
will be totally changed, totally changed. I'll never be the same
again. I'm not saying I'll never have
any more difficulties or heartaches or problems, but my life will
never be the same. I'll make a 180 degree turn and
start in the other direction if I can learn two things. And they're found here in Psalm
62 in the first verse. And David starts it off this
way. He starts it off truly, truly. Why does he use this word
truly? I'll tell you why. Because in
religion, there is so much hypocrisy. There's so much false profession.
There's so much show that does not come from the heart. That's
the reason David uses the word truly. It's like this. I know what men
are saying. I know what preachers of today
are saying. I hear them say these things.
But my question is, I know what you're saying, what do you mean?
What do you mean? All religions, it doesn't matter
whether they're Protestant, Catholic, or Jew. It doesn't matter whether
they're emotional or unemotional. It doesn't matter whether they're
conservative or liberal. They all use the same terms.
They all use the same words, but their definitions are different.
I know what you're saying. I can hear your words. I know
exactly what you're saying. But what do you mean? I hear
them say this, God is sovereign. I hear everybody using the term
sovereign in reference to God. God is sovereign. God is almighty. I even hear men in the factories
and on the streets saying, Almighty God. I believe in Almighty God.
Well, I hear what you're saying. You're saying God's sovereign.
Well, what do you mean? What do you mean? You don't mean
the same thing I mean. I say God is sovereign, and this
is what I mean. Without apology, I mean that
God reigns and rules infinitely, unchangeably, without giving
any reason to the creature. in heaven, earth, and under the
earth. He does what he pleases, when he pleases, with whom he
pleases. That's what I mean. Do you mean
that? I mean that God is infinitely, absolutely sovereign in creation. He created this world as it pleased
him. And he's sovereign in providence.
Everything that happens in this world happens with God as the
first cause. There may be second, third, and
fourth causes, Paul, but God's the first cause. And I mean that
salvation, not only is God sovereign in creation and providence, but
He's infinitely, unquestionably, unchangeably sovereign in salvation. God saves whom He will. That's
what I'm saying. God is sovereign. And he gives
no answer to the creature. He's not obligated to explain
what he's doing or why he's doing it. He'll say to a Pharaoh, I
raised thee up to show my power and might in you. He'll say to
a Moses, I raised you up that you might be a vessel of grace.
I mean, everybody here that is saved is saved by the sovereign
grace of Almighty God because he would do it. He purposed to
do it and he did it. And there's no one that God can't
save. And revival doesn't wait on me,
it waits on God. A refreshing from heaven does
not wait on me, it waits on God. It depends on God. Is that what
you mean? Well, no pressure, that's not what I mean. Then
we're not worshipping the same God. It's just that's the reason
David starts out with truly. Truly. I'm truly declaring that
which I see and feel. Truly. Also, I hear people say,
well, men are dead in trespasses and sin. I hear what you're saying.
It's not hard for me to hear those words. Men are lost, men
are sinners, men are dead. What do you mean by that? I'll
tell you what I mean by it. I mean they are, what I'm saying,
dead. Dead to God, dead spiritually,
without help, without hope, without Christ, and without God in this
world. As dead, as a branch severed from a tree. And the only way
that they can live again spiritually is by the will of God, by the
power of God, by an act of God, by the redemption of Christ,
by the new birth. That's the only way they can
live again. And the wind does blow where it will, and you hear
the sound there, but you cannot tell whence it cometh or where
it goeth, so are they that are born of the Spirit. God quickens
whom he will. If he quickened you, it's by
his will and not by your will. You were dead. You will not come
to me that you might have life. Man's will is in bondage. It's
in slavery to sin. It cannot come to God. It cannot
believe God. It cannot and will not. That's
what I mean. Is that what you mean? Well,
that's not exactly what I mean when I say men are lost. I mean
they're lost, but they're not plum lost. I mean they're dead,
but they still have retained the will to choose good or evil.
That's not dead. Well, I mean they're dead in
sin, but they can still come to God if they will. Yes, if they will, but they will
not because they're dead. You see what I'm saying? Truly,
David said, this is true what he, truly he said. I hear people
say this was salvations by grace. I hear him quote all the time,
for by grace are you saved through faith. By grace, salvation is
by grace. I know what I mean by that, what
do you mean? I mean this, that it was grace back yonder in the
council halls of eternity that motivated and moved a holy God,
a merciful God, to set his affection upon sons of Adam before they
were ever born. Now he took not on him the nature
of angels, because he would not. He took on him the nature of
the seed of Abraham. He chose to do that. That was
his grace. His grace chose us and passed
by the angels. His grace chose the sons of Adam
and passed by the angels. It was His grace that made Christ
our surety. It was His grace that made Christ
our righteousness. It was His grace that made Christ
our sin offering. And it was His grace that in
time, when you would not come to Him, He came to you. When
you would not call on Him, He called on you. When you would
not look to Him, He looked to you. It was the time of love,
and you wouldn't live, and He made you live. And he brought
you sovereignly and lovingly and graciously to himself. And
it's all of grace from the beginning to the end. That work of God
whereby a poor, lost, damned, doomed sinner on the dunghill
of darkness is lifted and washed and redeemed and clothed in the
righteousness of Christ and taken justified, sanctified to glory
and made like Christ is by the pure, unmerited, unearned, unsought,
undeserved grace of God from Alpha to Omega, from beginning
to end. Salvations of the Lord. That's
what I mean. Well, that's not exactly what
I mean. To you, grace is not grace. To me, grace is grace.
Grace is grace. A gift is a gift. Mercy is mercy. If I pay anything, if I contribute
anything, if I give anything to it, it is not grace. Salvation
is by pure grace. It's by the grace of God. That's
what I mean. I hear what you're saying. Well,
what do you mean? Our problem is defining our terms. Everybody's using the same words,
but they mean different things. The definition's different. I
hear people say this, well, God has an elect people. What do
you mean by that? What do you mean by that? I'll
tell you what I mean by that and what this word means by that.
God has an elect people. It is they didn't choose God,
He chose them. And He chose them for nothing
good He saw in them. He chose them for nothing good
that He would ever see in them. He chose them for nothing good
that they would ever have in them. He chose them to the praise
and glory of His grace alone. That's why He chose them. And
I'll tell you this, He didn't choose them individually. He chose them in
Christ. He chose Christ, their head,
and then chose them in Christ. That's right. He chose them in
Christ, is the first elect. He chose Christ. He made Christ
their surest and Redeemer, and they are incorporated and included
in Christ. And what the love God has for
Christ is the love God has for them. Everybody's talking about
the love of God. What do you mean by the love
of God? I'll tell you what I mean. I mean that God's love is in
Christ. Now hold on to your seat. Anybody
out of Christ is not under the love of God or of the love of
God. They're under the wrath and judgment
of a holy God. Anybody here tonight or anybody
who will hear this message later, anybody out here on the island
that's not chosen in Christ, loved in Christ, redeemed in
Christ, looked upon with favor in Christ and accepted in Christ
is under the judgment and wrath of a holy God. Right now, the
wrath of God abideth on them. That's what I mean by the love
of God. It's not a fickle love. Nobody will be perished whom
God loves. Nobody will go to hell whom God
loves. Nobody will ever be under condemnation
whom God loves. Now that's so. God's love is
not fickle. It's not changeable. God's love
is un... He said, I've drawn you with
an everlasting love, with an unchanging love. I am the Lord,
I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. This
is what I mean. God's love is an eternal love. It's an infinite love. It's an
unchanging love. It's a permanent love. It's an
everlasting love. It cannot change. Nothing I do
merits the love of God, and nothing I do can change the love of God.
It's in Christ. Now that's so. And here this
grace preacher here preaches the love of God, and that Arminian
preaches the love of God. But we're talking about two different
loves. He's saying God can love you and you can still go to hell.
He's saying that God can love you, but if you don't do certain
things for God, He'll damn you. That's mighty poor love. And
just to be honest with you, I don't want any part of it. I don't
want any part of a God who can love me today and send me to
hell tomorrow, because He might someday take me out of heaven
and put me in hell anyway. That's right. What do I mean? I mean God is love. God is an
infinite, indescribable, incomprehensible love that we can't even fathom
in our in our human wisdom. You can't even explain God's
love. You can't comprehend God's love.
There's no way that I as a human being can lay hold on this indescribable
love of God. Oh, love of God. How rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong. Does He love everybody this way?
Then there is no hell. Then there is no hell. If God
loves every son of Adam with an immeasurable infinite, indescribable,
everlasting, unchanging love, and he can love no other way,
because he's God. My generation has no concept
at all of who God is. They've got a little peanut God
that they've whittled out with Joachim's penknife, and he suits
their specifications. He does what they let him do,
he is what they let him be, and he'll will what they let him
will. But my God filleth the heavens and the earth. My God
is infinite, indescribable, dwelling in a light to which no man can
approach. And my God deals with men in
mercy through Christ the Mediator. He's turned everything over to
Christ. And my relationship with God,
whether in love or damnation, depends on my relationship with
Jesus Christ. That's what I mean. That out
of Christ my God is a consuming fire, not only in eternity but
right now. Right now. Whatever God's relationship
is to you now will be His relationship in eternity. And whatever God's
relationship is to you now through Jesus Christ is what it's always
been. Is that too hard? But that's
so. This God, because He doesn't
change. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. What he's
doing today, he did yesterday. And what he did yesterday, he'll
do tomorrow. Totally unchangeable. That's what we mean. David said,
truly. Truly. Truly. You say, Christ died for us.
What do you mean by that? What do the preachers in the
world mean by Christ died for me? Do you really mean Christ
died for me? Yeah, we mean Christ died for
me. Well, there's no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Paul said, who is he that condemneth?
Christ died for me. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
died, yet rather is risen again, who is also at the right hand
of God, who even also makes intercession for us. Listen, this is what
I mean by Christ died for us. This is what Scripture means,
truly. Now, I don't know what the rest of the world means by
this. I think I do. But this is what I mean. I mean
that Jesus Christ undertook in an everlasting covenant, His
blood is called the blood of an everlasting covenant. I mean
that Jesus Christ undertook as a surety, as a representative
in that everlasting covenant of grace before the world began,
for He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
That He undertook the redemption of a people. of a number of people
as the stars of the sky, as the sands of the seashore, a company
of people out of every tribe, kindred, nation, tongue unto
heaven that he undertook as their surety and mediator and intercessor,
their redemption before God. He undertook to satisfy the law
and to satisfy God's justice on their behalf. He undertook
to do that. and came into this world with
a definite purpose. He said, I finished the work
you gave me to do. I finished it. Glorify me with
the glory which I had with thee before the world. I finished
the work you gave me to do. And when he died on that cross,
he said, it's finished. And he went to the right hand
of God. And contrary to all the priests of the Old Testament
who never sat down, Christ Tom sat down. expecting until his
enemies become his footstool, and expecting until he delivers
up that mediatorial kingdom to the Father who gave it to him
in the first place. And when Jesus Christ came to
this earth, he represented a people. He said, I am sent to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. He said, my sheep, hear my voice,
and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also
I must bring. Some of the Pharisees said, well,
if I be the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. But you didn't believe me. And
you didn't believe me because you're not of my sheep. My sheep
hear my voice. And his sheep will, his sheep
do, his sheep always have heard his voice because God gives them
ears to hear. He said to the disciples one
day, blessed are your ears, they hear. They're blessed, they're
anointed, they're touched by God, they hear. Blessed are your
eyes, they see. Blessed are your hearts, they
understand. Who gave them the hearing ear? Who gave them the
seeing eye? Who gave them the understanding
heart? God did. Was it an accident? No sir, He
did it on purpose. And Christ is the mediator between
God and men. That's not God and man. Don't
quote it that way. It's God and men. There's one
God and one mediator between God and men. Not all mankind. Christ is not the mediator of
all mankind. He's not the surety of all mankind.
He's the surety of the covenant. He's not the righteousness of
all mankind. He's the righteousness of His
sheep. He's not the sin offering of all mankind. He's the sin
offering of His sheep. For Christ is my sin offering.
I am saved. If He died for me, I have no
sin, I have no guilt, there is no charge, my record is clean,
white as the snow. That's what I mean by Christ
died for me. That's what I mean. Are you with me? Now, there's
people in folks trouble me, they say, well, I listen to so and
so, and he said this, he didn't mean that. He said God's sovereign,
he didn't mean it. He didn't, truly, he didn't mean
it. Why, he said man's dead. He didn't mean it. If he meant
it, he'd quit appealing to men to do something and appeal to
God to do something for men. If he meant it. If he meant it,
he'd quit dragging people down the aisle. If he meant it. I
heard him say, Christ died for us. Christ is the only way to
heaven. Christ's blood is the only sacrifice. Christ Jesus'
death is the only way sinners are saved. He doesn't mean that.
He means Christ's death is sufficient if you'll let him save you. Christ's
death is sufficient if you let it be sufficient. Christ's blood
can cleanse you if you let Him cleanse you. He didn't mean that
at all. He meant that Christ did His part, now you do yours.
That's what He meant. So Christ did not die for me
at all. If He died for Judas in hell
as well as Peter in heaven, then the difference is Peter's faith
and Judas' lack of it, and not Christ at all. Christ died for
me. That's what I mean, truly. Truly. You say the Holy Spirit calls
me, and you talk about the power of the Holy Ghost. The call of
the Holy Ghost. The Bible talks about that. The
power of the Holy Ghost. We're born of the Spirit of God.
We're called by the Spirit of God. We're regenerated by the
Spirit of God. You hear men using these terms
all the... What do you mean by that? What
do you mean by that? I'll tell you what I mean by
that. Old Ezekiel one day, God said
to him, Ezekiel, go out here to a certain valley and we'll
show you something. And Ezekiel went out to that
valley and he said he looked over the valley and there were
many dry, dead bones. Evidently there was a battle
fought in that valley and there were bones, leg bones and arm
bones and skeletons. It had been there a long time.
They were parched, bleached white by the sun. They were dry. The wind had blown the sand over
them. They were just out there in the valley, dead and dry,
bleached and parched. And God said, Ezekiel, can these
bones live? Can they live? Now let me tell
you something. Realistically, I want you to
listen to me, don't talk while I'm talking. Realistically, when I stand before
sons and daughters of Adam, I'm standing looking, and in God's
grace one time I was in that valley too, but I'm standing
looking at the same thing Ezekiel was looking at. Dry, dead, parched,
barren, bleak. hopeless, helpless, dead bones. There's no light there. There's
no spark. There's no flame. There's no
taint of light. They've been dead for a long
time. They died in Adam. That's right.
I mean dead. I mean dead. And God asks the same question.
Can these bones live? Live unto God. Oh, they're alive
naturally, but that's no life. blood running through their veins,
but not for long. They got hearts beating, but
they won't beat long. They got lungs pumping air, but not for
long. They're earmarked for the flame. They're dry, dead, hopeless,
helpless bones. And God says, can they live?
Well, Ezekiel didn't run down there in a peak, come on bones,
come on, walk to the front, make a profession, accept God, come
to Jesus and He'll give you life. If they could get up and walk,
they wouldn't need Jesus. Ezekiel said, Lord, you know.
You know. Left up to me, they won't live.
Left up to them, they won't live. You know. You know. Well, he
said, Ezekiel, preach to them. Preach to them. And say, thus
saith the Lord, I will put skin and flesh on you. I will put
sinners and tissue upon you. I will give you life. Preach
to them. And he said, I preached to them, and I said, come, O
Spirit of God, from the four winds, and burn these bones. And he said, as I preached to
them, the Spirit of God came and gave them life. And let me
tell you something. What I mean, I mean just exactly
that, Bob Coffey. That's exactly what I mean, Ed
Stevens. And if any man, any old dry, dead, bony son of Adam,
any old hopeless, helpless, out-of-Christ son of Adam ever rises up spiritually
and lives again unto God, it will be by the sovereign, supernatural,
discriminating, particular act of the Holy Spirit. And he doesn't
ask a bone if he wants to live, he gives him life. If he asked
you if you wanted to live, you'd say no. Yeah, you will. Don't tell me. There's nothing
in you that wants God or desires God or looks for God or seeks
God. There's none that seeketh after God. The Holy Spirit doesn't
ask a bone if he wants to live. The Holy Spirit gives him life
and the bone says, thank you. That's what I mean. That's exactly
what I mean. No sir, I don't have the same
message the rest of these fellows have. Got the same words. Sovereign, grace, death, atonement,
blood, new birth. They don't mean that. Ask them. They don't mean that at all.
And I'll tell you this, that's the reason why I don't preach
a day or an organization I urge you to join this church and come
out on Sunday. If God gives you life, you'll
show up. You can't stay away from the
fountain. You can't stay away from the table. You can't stay
away from the fellowship. You can't stay away from the
family if God gives you life. That's the reason I don't preach
tithing and laws and rules and regulations. If He gives me life,
dwells in my heart, I'm his and he's mine. And all mine is thine
and thine is mine. And we're one as God the Father
and God the Son are one. That's what Christ said, that
they may be one and they might be in me as thy heart in me and
I in thee. That they might be one, Father,
as we are one. That's the gospel I'm preaching.
I'm preaching this. They say, well, God's people
will persevere. God's people will be preserved.
I mean just that. They will persevere. They will. They love Christ. They ain't
got no place to go. And they wouldn't go if they
could. They found everything they've always wanted, want now,
and ever will want in Jesus Christ. They've actually realized every
objective of their souls and hearts. I found Him whom my soul
loves. You've got nothing to offer.
When these folks leave their wives and leave their children,
leave God, leave the gospel, they never did know God. Or they
couldn't have let them. Go on. Take off. But you never
knew God. You just proved by your exodus
you didn't know God. If you knew God, you'd know the
responsibilities of knowing God. You'd know the joys of knowing
God. You'd know the blessings of knowing God. You'd know the
world doesn't have anything to offer you like God does. Take
off. anytime you want to. But all
you'll do is do what John said you'd do. They never were of
us or they wouldn't have left us. That's what I mean by perseverance. That's why I don't scold people
for not coming to church. Oh, I did years ago before I
came in my heart and soul and life to understand what a commitment
to Christ really is. It's a commitment to Christ. In fact, actually, if you're
not going to worship God, I'd rather you wouldn't come. You
bother me in my worship. Is that too hard? Well, that's what I mean. That's
exactly what I mean. I don't scold people and tell
them they ought to read the Bible. If you love Christ, you'll read
His Word. It's like a letter from a dear friend. You clutch
it and treasure it Read it over and over again. That's right.
If you love Him, you just wait for a word from Him. How refreshing
and rejoicing is His Word if you love Him. If Christ is your life, that
life cannot live apart from Him. Christ is my life. That's what
Paul is talking about. Just look over here in Colossians
3 a moment. Truly, I may never get off this
Word tonight. I'm glad you read it, Bob. But
I'm so concerned about this careless generation, I'm so concerned.
Listen, let me tell you something. I'm going to empty the glass
here. I'll tell you frankly. God has given us here, I'm telling you, a ministry that's
so blessed it would be hard for me to put it in words. an unusual ministry. There's
not a church of this size anywhere in this world, and that takes
in a lot of territory, being blessed like this congregation.
There's not a church anywhere in this world the size of this
church preaching the gospel of God's sovereign grace that has
the strength and the fellowship And the open doors, John, you
know this is so. You've been around a long time.
You're 75 years old. You've been standing for the
grace of God for 50 of those years, Ned, and you know what
I'm saying so. We've got a ministry all over this world, in countries
all over this world. We've got books all over this
world, in 30 different countries. Just in English alone, up to
out in the French and Portuguese, television, radio, we're preaching
to thousands and thousands of people. God's blessed this church,
given us a ministry indescribable. The gospel, the blessings of
God. Some of our young people manifest such growth. He sent
out, you know, there's seven or eight preachers out there
preaching tonight out of this congregation. Pastoring churches
and preaching the gospel. You realize that? Missionaries
that are supported by this church. The larger portion of it. How
God's blessed us. And I thank God for you who encourage
men, who encourage one another, and who are devoted and committed.
What you have belongs to God. What you are belongs to God.
You're committed. You're loyal. You're faithful.
You can be counted on. You encourage the pastor. You
encourage one another. You do. What strength you are
to me. What comfort and encouragement
you are to me. But there are people in this
church sitting right here in this congregation tonight who
have never encouraged me one bit in 30 years. And if all the members of this
church were like you, I'd never step into this pulpit again.
Now you think about that. And if you nauseate me, you think
what you do to God. If you discourage me, you think
how God looks on it. That's just so. Not an encouraging word. Not
one time, there are people in this congregation who've never
one time in the time I've known you, ever spoken a spiritual
word about any message I've ever preached. Oh, something foolish,
something silly. But never any, you blessed my
heart, you thrilled my soul, you caused me to rejoice in Christ.
You're not an encouragement. Now, isn't that sad? But I'm
telling you the truth. You say, why do you stay? Because
God's here. Because there's some evidence
that God's here. Because there's some people who are walking with
God. They're walking with God. And they're growing in grace.
You listen to Colossians 3. And I'm not playing games. I'm
telling you the truth. This thing is a committal or
it's a catastrophe. It's discipleship or it's death.
That's right, Ronnie. My Lord doesn't deal in half-hearted
disciples. We're either his bond slaves
or we're a burden to those about us who are bond slaves. Colossians 3.1, listen to this,
if you be risen with Christ, You set your affection on things
above. You don't have a divided heart.
You set your affection on things above, where Christ sitteth on
the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things of the earth. You're dead. You're dead. Dead
to the world. Dead to the flesh. Dead to this
life. And your life is hid with Christ
in God. When Christ who is our life shall
appear. What is Christ? He's my life.
That's what I mean. That's what I'm talking about.
Christ is my life. That's the reason I don't tell
people to walk to the front. Get through with the message
and say, come down to the front now and make an emotional profession
under the pressure of the hour. My friends, salvation, this thing
of salvation, is a birth from above. It's a regenerating work
of the Spirit of the living God. It's a work in the heart. It's
a forming of Jesus Christ in the heart. It's Christ becoming
my life. Now then, let's look at Psalm
62 again now. And watch this, just briefly.
Truly. I'm not playing games, David
said. This is not a profession. This is not a veneer. This is
not an outward show. Truly. Before God. My soul, my
soul waiteth upon God. This two-fold lesson here, my
soul waits on God. As a disciple waits for his master's
command, as a bond slave sits at his master's feet. Watch this.
Somebody said, my soul waiteth upon God as a piece of clay in
the hand of the potter. That's how I wait on God. Spurgeon's
old village preacher said this, what did he do? He waited. On
whom did he wait? On the Lord. How did he wait? Truly. Truly. And what became of it? His salvation. Salvation. Salvation. Salvation. Alright, here's the
second part. Truly my soul waiteth upon God.
I wait. I wait, David said, as those
who wait and watch for the morning. Yea, more than they that watch
for the morning. Oh God, pass me not. Pass me
not. Leave me not to myself. Leave
me not in the refuge of false religion. Leave me not in the
form and ceremony. Leave me not in emotionalism.
Leave me not. Oh, pass me by. I wait on the
Lord. Par, listen. From Him. From Him,
from His gracious, merciful hand, cometh my salvation. He is my salvation. There is
none other name given unto heaven among men, whereby we must be
saved. Other foundation can no man like.
For verse 2 said, He only, God only, And I tell you, David uses
this word only. He only is my rock. Look at verse
5. My soul wait thou only upon God. Verse 6. He only is my rock. He only is my rock. He's my defense. He's my protection. He's my strength.
And I shall not be greatly moved. Here's one thing I want to point
out to you before I close. Look at verse 3. Now, the believer
is not without enemies. The believer is not without discouragement.
In verse 3 and 4, and I listen to this, how long will you imagine
mischief against a man? How long? How long? You see, it's well to remember
this. David doesn't mention his enemies
until he had mentioned his dependence on God. We begin with God, and
then we confront the enemy. We make sure of a relationship
with God, and then we confront the enemy, because the battle
is not ours, it is His. My soul waiteth upon the Lord.
He only is my salvation, my expectation from Him. Now I admit the fact
that they are enemies, and these enemies are real, but they are
marked for destruction. He says this, How long will you
imagine mischief against a man? You shall be slain, all of you,
as a bowing wall. Sooner or later it's going to
fall. Over here where I used to live, we had a concrete block
wall. It held up about six feet of
dirt. And when they built that concrete wall, they didn't build
any weep holes in it. It was built back in 1948, but
there wasn't any weep holes. And when I moved into the house,
I looked out there and that wall was just like this. It had been
like that a good while. And it stayed like that a pretty
good while. That wall was bowing like this. And one week it rained. It rained Monday and Tuesday
and Wednesday and Thursday, and then it turned cold and froze.
And you know what happened to my wall, Tom? It just blew concrete
blocks all over that yard. So he says about these enemies,
they're like a bowing wall. They agitate and irritate and
they somehow stand, even though they're bowed way out here. But
one day God's overflowing judgment And then they'll bust. But they're
marked for destruction, like a bowling wall or a tottering
fence. But here's what they do. They only consult. This is back of all they're doing. They consult to cast a man down
from his excellency. What is our excellency? Now,
I've thought about this. What is our excellency? What
is our excellency? You know what our excellency
is? It's our position in Christ. That's right. Our excellency.
There's no excellency about me or you. Our excellency is our
union with Christ, our righteousness in Christ, our hope in Christ,
our trust in Christ, our salvation in Christ, and this is what they
despise. They try to cast a man down from
that trust and rest in Christ alone. That's what they try to
do. And what's their weapons? They delight in lies. That's
their weaponry. They delight in lies. They're
armed with lies. They bless with their mouths.
They curse in here. That's where the enmity is. Bring
a man down from his excellency. And then he goes back to the
start and he says this, listen, my soul, have you learned anything? Soul, have you learned anything?
Wait thou upon God. Wait thou upon God. Wait. Wait
on Him. For my expectation, expectation
of acceptance, expectation of justification, expectation of
forgiveness and pardon, my expectation of peace and joy, my expectation
of any spiritual blessing is from Him. That's where it is. He only, only, only. Can you say that? I hope my heart
is not a divided heart. I hope it's a single heart. I
hope you can someday, everybody in here, have a single heart
and be able to say, He only is my rock. Only. He is my salvation. He is. Or you say, yeah, I made
a profession. He's my salvation. I had a feeling. I made a decision. I'm a Baptist.
I joined the church and doing the best I can, paying my tithes
and singing in the quiet. A dear lady wrote me this week
talking about making a profession of faith years ago, troubled
in heart and spirit. I think she's made several professions,
been baptized there four times. I hope she's here tonight. I
invite her to come. What's my problem? I just called
her confidentially and plainly as best I could. The trouble
is you've never heard the gospel. And you're not going to hear
the gospel of God saving grace until you come here and listen
to somebody preaching. That's what you're going to have
to do. You're going to have to hear the gospel. You're going to have to hear the gospel. Do you know anywhere else it's
preached? I mean close by? He only is my rock. He's my salvation. He's my defense. I shall not
be moved. You're saying you don't want to preach in the gospel.
They're all over the world preaching the gospel. And I'll be frank
and honest with you, I don't know anybody close around here
that's preaching it. I really don't. Do you? Some of you have
been to a lot of places. Do you know anybody preaching the gospel
of God's grace? Giving God the glory? In God is my salvation and my
glory, the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Now
watch this. Trust in Him at all times, whether
in poverty or plenty, Sunshine or clouds, whether in doubt or
fear or joy, trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him. Pour out your hearts to Him.
Somebody said something, I want to give you this before I close.
I thought this was, I jotted down, read it somewhere, talking
about pour out your hearts to God. Listen to this. This will
be a blessing to you. Pour out your heart to God. His heart is set on you. Set
your heart on Him. And turn your vessel upside down. And let your innermost desires,
sorrows, doubts, fears, thoughts, and sins be poured out to God
like water before the Lord. Hide nothing from Him. Profess
nothing you don't have. Openly cry out to God because
you can't hide anything from Him. And you learn to pray when
you learn to deal openly and honestly with God Almighty. And you learn to pour out your
heart not as milk whose color remains, not as wine whose scent
remains, not as honey whose taste remains, but pour out your heart
as water where nothing remains. Can you do it? That's what it
is. That's what it is. God is a refuge for us. I've
been plain tonight, maybe a little plainer than I intended to be.
But if my plainness is honored by God to the troubling of indifferent
souls, then it'll be worthwhile. If my plainness is honored by
God to bring a man or woman in an indifferent, careless, half-hearted
profession of religion to seek the Lord. It'll be worth it,
huh?