Galatians, the third chapter. Paul said, if, if you personally, individually,
if you then, if you're really risen with Christ,
if it's true that you've been crucified with Christ, that you've
been buried with Him in baptism, and that you've risen with Christ
and you're seated in Christ in the heavenlies. If that's true,
then seek with some diligence and hunger and thirst and concern. Then seek. And our Lord said,
if you seek, you'll find. If you knock, it'll be opened.
If you ask, it'll be given. So then seek with some determination. those things which are above,
where Christ sitted on the right hand of God. What are those things
that are above? Well, set yourself to seeking
Christ and His righteousness. He said, take no anxious thought
for what you're going to eat and drink and wear, for your
Heavenly Father knows you have need of these things. He knows
what the human body needs and what the earthly family needs.
He knows you need these things, but seek ye first the kingdom
of God. Seek Christ and his righteousness. Seek a living daily fellowship
with God. Seek a fellowship with God. Enoch
walked with God. That doesn't mean Enoch stayed
in church all time. I doubt if Enoch had a church
to go to. Enoch was a family man, he was
a public man, he was a leader, but he walked with God. And one
day he just walked right on into heaven. That he had fellowship
with God. Seek peace. Seek rest. Seek joy. Seek these things in
Christ. Seek like Abraham, a heavenly
country. The Bible says two or three times,
lay hold on eternal life. Lay hold, make it your business
to lay hold on eternal life. I like what Jacob said to our
God. He wrestled with the angel of
the Lord, and he said, I'm not going to let you go, you bless
me. I'm determined. I am determined. If eternal life
is to be had, to have it. God's going to save somebody,
why not me? There's going to be some people
singing his praises around his throne of glory, and I want to
be one of them. So if it's true that you're risen with Christ
and seated with him in the heavenlies diligently and lovingly and on
purpose seek those things. Set your heart on them. And he
said, verse two, set your affection, and I call this to your attention.
That word is not affections. That's not plural. It's not set
your affections, your emotions, your excitements and passions. That's not your affections. That's
your affection. And I know in the Marginal Reference
here, it says mine, but I think it goes a whole lot deeper than
mine. I think it's the heart. Set your heart. Set your heart. Don't you think I said Johnny,
set your heart. The real you, the real soul of
the man, set your heart. Set your heart on things above. Set your heart on things above.
What you, as a man thinketh in his heart, that's what he is.
Keep your heart out of any of the issues of life. God said,
my son, give me your what? Give me your tithes and your
talent and your time. No, sir. He said, give me your
heart. Give me your heart. If he has your heart, he has
you. Set your heart, set your affection on things above, not
on the things of this earth. What are the things of this earth?
You know what they are. They're the things this old flesh
reaches far and is interested in riches, fame, a little bit
of fame, somebody knows my name, you know, a little bit of influence,
possessions, relationships of the earth. Don't set your heart,
your affections on the things of the earth. Why not? Because every one of these things
are temporary. It's foolishness. They're going
to go. No matter how high we climb politically or educationally
or socially or materially, we're coming down now. We're just coming
down. The fashion of this world fadeth
away. You know it and I know it. Hold
your hand right there and turn to Jeremiah chapter 9. Set your
affection, your heart, pant after a relationship with God, fellowship
with God, a knowledge of God, a refuge in Christ. Set your affection on that, your
heart on that. I will not be denied. I will
not be denied. Not on the things of this earth.
Not on the things of this earth. Jeremiah 9 verse 23, Thus saith
the Lord, Let not the wise men glory in his wisdom. Some of
you men here are wise men. You're smart. You've got education. You've got talent. You're keen
thinkers. You can do things, but don't
glory in that. Don't find a refuge in that.
Don't set your heart on that. Don't try to find any comfort
in that. Don't let the mighty man glory
in his might. And there's different kind of
mights and strength. You can exert some power and
some influence over others, but don't glory in that. Let not
the rich man glory in his riches. What are we going to glory in? Well, let him that glories, and
everybody's going to glory in something. That's to rejoice
in it, to find comfort in it, to take pride in it. Let him
that glories, let him that rejoices, let him that finds comfort, let
him that boast it, let him that has pride in something, glory
in this, that he understands and knows me." Understand something
of the holiness of God and the grace of God in Christ and the
mercy of God in Christ. that the Son of God has come
and given us an understanding. Let Him, let Him glory. If He's
got a glory, let Him glory in the fact He understands and knows
me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness and judgment
and righteousness. I exercise it in this earth,
in Christ, in these things I delight. I'd better find my delight in
that in which He delights. That'd be so wise if I could
do that. Let's go back to Colossians 3.
Set your heart. You just stop and think right
now. What's your heart set on? What are you reaching for? What
are you after? What are you after? Well, just
a plain illustration. Some young lady here is after
her husband. Well, let me tell you something.
You better find one that knows God. You better find one that
knows God. Somebody else is after a better
job. Well, you better find one where the gospel is preached.
See, those are just plain old everyday illustrations. Well,
I'm seeking more education so that I can expand my horizons. It better be horizons that way
and not that way or that way. That's all I'm talking about.
Set your affection on things above and make everything else
fit that pattern. Make everything else fit that
pattern. Make everything else, like, for instance, if a woman's
husband dies, or a man's wife dies, and they want to marry
again. Well, Paul says you can marry
again, but only in the Lord. Only in the Lord. So that, see,
your affection, your heart's on him, and you're not allowed,
you're not permitted to do anything that will compromise your position
with the Lord. That's just plain, that's what
I'm talking about. And these are everyday illustrations
with which people deal, day by day. You've got no right to spread
yourself in any direction that won't be toward Him. You've got
no right to do that, not if you're risen with Christ. And if you're
risen with Christ, you're not going to do that. You're not
going to do it. And why is all this? Why is this? It's because
you're dead. Dead to what? You're dead to
these things of the world. As worldly things go, as worldly
things are concerned, what are riches to a man who has the riches
of Christ? Moses didn't think anything of
it. Moses considered being identified with the people of God, greater
riches and the treasures of Egypt. Now listen, Egypt had some treasures. And that old boy was set to inherit
every one of them. He was in line for the Pharaoh
job. But he considered wandering around in the wilderness with
the people of God to be greater riches than the treasures of
Egypt. Now, that's a man who knows God. That's a man who knows
that you're dead to these riches unless they can promote the kingdom
of God. If God gives you a good job or
employment, and you can use what he blesses you with to the glory
of God, fine. But riches, as an end, is a pit. It's a pit, all right? Take honor,
the honor which this world bestows. Most of the time, it's just a
hollow honor. If it doesn't move you closer
to God, then it's detrimental to you. Honor, pleasure, possessions, We're dead to these things. If
we're risen with Christ, if we're crucified with Christ, these
things do not hold our interest. What should it profit a man to
gain the whole world and lose his soul? Back twenty-odd years ago, twenty-some-odd
years ago, Walter Groover had a job in Houston with Armco.
We worked for Armco in Houston, Texas. operated heavy equipment
or something like that. One amusing little story that
Walter tells on himself, he drove a, is that a D9 dozer? D9? He drove a D9 dozer out there
at the plant, and they had, there was some of the big shots were
meeting up there in some kind of building, their cars were
parked down here, and he, he nicked one of them with that
dozer, one of those pretty blue Cadillac or something. So he
just parked his dozer, and Walter's not always given to telling the
whole story at once, you know. So he went up to the office and
he said, which one of you gentlemen were driving a blue Cadillac? He said, I hit it with my D9.
They just nicked it, you know, but the man just turned white.
All his blood drained from his face. But that wasn't why Walter
quit. He quit the job anyway. And they
had five little children. Oldest, I think, seven, eight
years of age, seven, eight or nine. Sold everything, his house,
everything, and packed up in a van, a Ford van, and headed
for Mexico to preach the gospel. How are they going to survive? Some people said you don't love
your children or you wouldn't do them that way, all this sort
of thing. But here's what I'm saying. Walter knew this. Walter knew that all things are
in Christ, and his affection and his heart was set on Christ. And in obeying Christ, whatever
the Lord Jesus called him to do, then these other things didn't
really matter, that they would all fall in place in God's own
time and God's own way. And you know, you know the rest
of the story. It says here, we are dead. We're
dead. to the ways of this world, to
the riches of this world, to the glory of this world, and
our life is hid with Christ in God. Our life, our true life,
is with Christ in God. That's our true life. This, this
is not really our true life. This is, this is what we are
doing right now till God takes us home. And you say, what does
the word hid there mean? It means this. Hid denotes the
secrecy of it. The secrecy of it, the world
doesn't understand. The world cannot understand why
a man would quit a good job at a steel mill, making good money,
owning his home, owning a car, family, friends, church to go
to and pack up and go to Mexico. The world cannot. That's secret. That's secret. They don't understand
it. They cannot. They're like when
you tell your parents what y'all going to do, they're not going
to understand it. Don't expect them to. You're taking our grandbabies
away? You're going to move 600 miles
to, you ever been there? No. Got a home? No. They're not
going to understand. And you needn't expect them to.
And that's what that word head means. Our lives are head with
Christ in God. Now the believers understand,
but the unbelievers don't. They don't understand. That's
the secret, see. That's the secret. So all right,
now watch this. And when Christ, when Christ, when the day of
the Lord comes, when the archangel shouts and the trumpet blows,
and when the Lord comes again, when Christ, who is our life,
I didn't say He was the most important part of our lives.
I didn't say He had first place in our lives. Paul said, He is
my life. Christ is my life. And when Christ,
who is my real life, my genuine life, my true life, my heart
life, that life which has been hid from those who don't understand
and appreciated by those who do, when he appears, then that
true life is going to be manifested. What I've believed all the time,
what I've stood for, what I've preached, what I've declared,
when he shall appear, then shall we also appear justified and
exonerated in him." The whole kit and caboodle is going to
see why. He's going to put his trophies on display right there.
Our real glory is yet to come. Our real life is yet to be revealed. And the people of this world
don't understand your thinking. When you, when you, like somebody
says, why do you drive fifty miles to go to church and you
pass a dozen churches? They're going to know someday.
They're going to know someday. Why do you take your vacation
and go to a Bible conference and sit and listen to five preachers
say the same thing? They're going to know someday.
Why do you give away? Well, the money that you give
to that church, you could build the finest home on the block.
They're going to know someday. They're going to know something.
They don't understand that. They're going to know. He said they're
going to know. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we're
going to appear with Him in glory. All shall one day see what we
knew all the time. Just like old Noah, building
the ark for 120 years. Noah was warned of things not
seen. But I'll tell you, when the flood of God's wrath fell
upon this earth, And Noah moved off into the sunset. In that
safety of that ark, they understood. I know what that old boy was
doing now. I know the direction he was moving. But it's too late.
I know. All right, verse five, since
we seek those things above, since we desire a better country, since
we desire a better kingdom, since we look for better things than
this world has to offer, let's mortify our members, our flesh,
mortify our members which are upon the earth. Mortify these
things. In other words, let's convey
this message to our flesh. Let's convey this message to
our flesh. Let this not be in theory and
doctrine only, let it be reality as our spirit tells our flesh,
this is why. And we mortify our members which
are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, covetousness, which is idolatry. For which
thing, sake the wrath of God, cometh on the children of disobedience?
Let us convey to our fleshly desires, and to our natural bodies,
and to our fleshly cravings, this glorious new life we have
in Christ, and when they rise up, put them down. Put them down. And they'll rise up too. All
these things have a way of rising up at a certain time, but they
have to be suppressed. He said in verse 7, into which
you also walk. You walked in this way before.
You lived for one thing. You lived for the flesh. You
lived for the things of the world. You lived for the praises of
men. This is what you lived for one time. This is the direction
and way in which you walked one time when you lived in them.
But now, now, put off all these things. Anger doesn't do any
good. accomplish anything. The wrath
of man never accomplishes the righteousness of God. Put it
away. Just put it away. Suppress it. When that rises
up, just press it down. Wrath, malice, holding grudges,
never accomplished anything. Blasphemy, finding fault with
the providence of God, filthy communication out of your mouth,
Don't lie to one another. See, and you put off the old
man with his deeds, and you put on a new man. This is regeneration. This is the new birth. This is
a new life, new man, new woman created in Christ Jesus, created
in the image of Him who created Him. Look at verse 10. You put
on a new man. There's a new man in charge.
We're under new management. We're under new management. And
that new man is renewed in knowledge. We don't blindly walk around.
Faith's not blind. Faith sees Christ. Faith is not
blind. We are renewed in knowledge,
and that knowledge is after the image of him that created him.
Now watch this. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, There's neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, there's neither
barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, but in this whole thing,
Christ is all. Now believers around the world,
wherever you find them, whenever you find them, believers around
the world have one Father, they have one Lord, they have one
faith, they have a common salvation. All believers everywhere, they
have a common salvation. They have one object of faith,
and that's Christ. They have one first love, and that's Christ.
They have one idol of adoration, and that's Christ. I don't care
where you find them. They feed at the same table the green pastures
of His Word. They appear daily before the
same mercy seat. They believe one gospel because
it's just one. Now, don't try to make room for
anybody else, because this is so. They hear, believe, and love,
and preach one gospel, and that's the gospel of God's pre-grace
concerning His Son. And those believers are washed
in the same blood, they're endowed with the same spirit, they're
members of one family, one body, and one church. Is that right? It has to be right. And they all agree without reservation
that Jesus Christ is all and in all. You won't get any argument
from any of them. Not a believer. He is the path to those misled. To those who are hungry, He is
bread. He is the road for those who
naked be, and those in bondage, He sets free. To dead men, he
is life. To the sick, he is health. To
blind men, he is sight. To the needy, he is their wealth.
To those who are weak, how strong is he. All who come in faith,
he sets them free." So where do you find sinners who've really
heard the Spirit's call? They sing one song, pray one
prayer, preach one message, Christ is all. Now that's so. And I have four positive points
to develop regarding this text. One, I've given you many times.
Two, I preach all the time. The other two may be enlightening,
more than I've given you before. All right, first of all, very
simply stated, Christ is all. in the grand design of God for
His eternal kingdom. Turn back to Colossians 1. Let's
look at verse 16. Christ is all in the grand design
of God for His eternal kingdom. In the
grand design of God for His kingdom, Jesus Christ is everything. Colossians 1.16, For by Him where
all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible
and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, evil or good, all things are
created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and
by him all things consist, and he is the head of the body of
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
and in all things in this great design, decree, and purpose,
I'd have the preeminence. Christ is all. And I take you
back. There was a time when this world
didn't exist as we know it now. There were no stars and moon
and planets and clouds and earth and trees and people. It was
a time when none of these things existed. If Christ is all, where
was he then? He said, Father, glorify me with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was. There was a time when the world
was created. God spake, let there be light, and there was light.
God separated the land from the sea. God made the earth. God
separated the firmaments, the waters above and the waters beneath.
God planted the trees, made the birds and the beasts and the
fish, and then made man in His own image. If Christ is all,
where was He then? In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word was God, and all things were
made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was not Christ is all. There was a time when man sinned
and fell, and death and darkness and depravity came into this
world. If Christ is all, where was he then? In the day that
man fell, God the Father announced from heaven a light for the darkness,
and He's that light. life for the dead, and he's that
life, salvation for the depraved, and he's that salvation, the
seed of woman. So when man fail, Christ is all. There was a time
when this world had rejected the promises and prophecies of
God and the patterns of the Old Testament, and religion was plunged
into total superstition, tradition, and custom. But God Almighty
would visit this earth with a great salvation. And He sent that great
Redeemer and that great Savior from the womb of a virgin and
hung a spire up in heaven and said, that's where He's to be
born. And He sent His angels to announce His coming. If Christ
is all, where was He then? He was born of Mary, Emmanuel,
and He came to save His people from their sin. He's everything
in redemption story. There's a time coming when this
world shall end. There's a time coming when Almighty
God shall destroy the world. There'll be a new heaven and
new earth in all nations. It says the sea gave up the dead,
and death and hell gave up the dead, and all men stood before
God to be judged. If Christ is all, where will
Christ be then? Listen to Acts 17, verse 31. Listen to it. God hath upon your
day in which He's going to judge the world in righteousness. By that man, Christ Jesus. By that man whom he ordained,
Christ Jesus. He's going to be all in the judgment.
The only reason you and I will go through that judgment accepted
is because we're in Christ. Israel could not enter in for
one reason, they didn't believe. And those who did enter in, did
believe. There's a time coming when there'll
be a new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,
and God will put all evil where it can do no more harm. If Christ
is all, where will He be then? It says, And there was a multitude
which no man could number in heaven, and eternally they sang
unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins. by His own
blood and made us priests and kings under our God, to Him be
the glory both now and forever." The occupation of people in glory
is to magnify the grace of God in Christ Jesus. So Christ is
all in God's eternal design in redemption. All right, here's
the second thing. Turn to Colossians 2.9. That was Colossians 1.16
through 18, now Colossians 2.9. What I'm saying is this. Christ
is all in the covenant of grace, and Christ is all in spiritual
blessings to sinners. Now, we say that we have knowledge,
wisdom. We know God. How do we know God? In Christ. That's how. No man knoweth the Father, but
the Son, he to whom the Son will reveal. Christ is our wisdom.
We say that we're cleansed and clothed with the righteousness
of God, that we're sanctified. How are we sanctified? Christ
is our sanctification. We say we have the Lord our righteousness. Who is the Lord our righteousness?
It's Christ. We say we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins. How? Through His blood. So he's
all in these spiritual blessings. Look at Colossians 2 now. For
in him, in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body.
All of the attributes of God, the mercy of God, the grace of
God, the holiness of God, the worth, righteousness of God,
the truth of God dwells, dwells. It didn't just visit and leave
it. Dwells in Christ. Now what's the next line? And
you, you're complete in him. In him, in him, in him. which
is the head of all principalities in power. Now listen to me. This
is something that's sweeping this country and sweeping the
world. People walk down the aisle, shake the preacher's hand, make
a decision for Jesus, and claim they're saved. They have no victory,
they have no assurance, they have no confidence, they have
no joy, they have no peace, they have no rest, they have no communication
with God. But they've made their decision.
So if some hotshot preacher comes along, and says, what's wrong
is you've been saved, you've accepted Jesus, but you've never
gotten the victory. You've never had the baptism
of the Holy Ghost. You've never had some experience
that's better than meeting Jesus. And what you need is to have
a climactic, passionate, emotional, hand-waving, hook-to-do experience
with the Holy Ghost. And then you'll find that peace.
Well, let me tell you this. Here's the first thing wrong
with that. Those people who have no joy or peace or confidence
or rest didn't meet Christ to begin with. They shook hands
with a preacher. They never shook hands with a
Redeemer. They received a church order. They never received the
Master. They never knew Him. Christ is our joy. Christ is
our hope. Christ is our life. Christ is
our peace. Christ is our righteousness.
Christ is my sanctification. And I'll tell you this, anything
out here that any preacher presents to you that's better than Christ
is not of God. Now, you can put that down. Because
in Him, Not in the Holy Spirit, in Christ dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, all the fullness of God, all the riches
of God, all the glory of God. John wrote a while ago, Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his
holy name, who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Who does? The
Holy Spirit, no, the Lord. who healeth all thy diseases,
spiritual diseases. God's not obligated to heal all
your physical diseases. You've got to die someday. Got
to die of something. God's not obligated to heal all
your physical diseases. In the world you'll have tribulation.
I've overcome the world. Don't be surprised, he said,
when your faith is tried with fire. It's to make you patient
and long-suffering and make you what God wants you to be. He
heals all our diseases. He satisfies our mouth with good
things. Who does? The Lord does. I know there is a feeling of
the Holy Spirit, and I sat there tonight and prayed and wrote
a little word or two on the back of my message, and the message
here, Give me your spirit. Give me a spirit of wisdom. Give
me a spirit of power. Give me a message to preach.
Touch my tongue and my heart." That's the filling of the Holy
Spirit. That's the endowment of power. But I'm not looking
for an experience out here that's better than Christ's. There is
no such thing. In Him dwelleth everything God
has for the sinner. It's in Christ. The Father loveth
the Son and giveth given all things into His hands. And the
Holy Ghost's one office is to glorify Christ. It's to reveal
Christ. It's to take the things of Christ
and show them to you. And if you're looking for something
else, you say, well, I've already been saved, now I'm looking for
joy. No, you haven't been saved yet.
Christ is our joy. We rejoice in the Lord. Oh, I've
accepted Jesus, like the preacher told me to. Well, he threw you
a curve and you struck out. You don't accept Jesus, you receive
him. You bow to him, you submit to
him. And you receive him because he
received you first and did a work of grace in your heart. And I'll
tell you what this charismatic thing is. It's nothing in the
world but playing on and praying on and making merchandise of
a bunch of lost church members. That's exactly what it is. People
who have Christ know they have everything. Jesus Christ of God
is made under us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
and all we need is in Christ. Now, that fruit grows, and that
peace grows, and that rest grows, but it grows feeding on Christ,
not feeding on a feeling. Feelings come and feelings go,
and feelings are deceiving. Christ is the same. Yesterday,
today, and forever. Don't be taken in. I beg of you,
don't be taken in by these hucksters and merchandisers of souls. And
don't tell them they haven't had an experience. They have.
It's another spirit, though. It's another spirit who magnifies
feeling above Christ. It's another spirit that magnifies
emotions over Christ. It's another spirit that magnifies
gifts over Christ. It's another spirit that seeks
bodily healing and neglects the soul. It's another spirit that
wants to climb the ladder of success in this world and drive
big automobiles and live in mansions and wear diamonds and dress in
fancy clothes and lord it over our other human beings. That's
another spirit. The spirit of Christ is a humble
spirit, a broken spirit, and a loving spirit. And I'll tell you something else.
Any preacher that gets before a microphone or a camera, and
has to beg people and sell gimmicks in order to support God's kingdom
is not even in God's kingdom. Now, so, you find anywhere in
the Word of God where Paul or Peter or James or John or any
of these apostles ever appeal to the arm of the flesh to support
the kingdom of God, they never one single time. We make known
our needs to God, and He meets that need. And if he doesn't
meet that need, it wasn't his need. It wasn't his will. That's exactly right. We've supported
a little television program here now for twelve, going on thirteen
years. And it's been supported abundantly
and fully by you and people out yonder. And not one single time
in those thirteen years has the public ever been asked for one
single thing. Not one thing. Never, never,
never. If it's God's program, he'll
support it. If it's not, take it off the air. And when these
fellas get on there and say, we've got to have sixteen million
dollars this month or we're going off the air, I say, go off the
air. But don't ask people. Ask God. Isn't that, that, you
know that's right. And when they talk about the
Holy Ghost, it's another spirit. The Spirit of God is not a beggar.
The Spirit of God does not appeal to the flesh, or beg the flesh,
or coerce the flesh, or look to the flesh. The Spirit of God...
God said, if I needed anything, I wouldn't ask you. He owns a
cattle on a thousand hills, and the gold and silver, it hadn't
been mine. And I say to you, don't give a nickel to any religious
program that asks you for it. That's a good rule. Don't give
a nickel. And when people write you letters,
missionaries or whoever, our missionaries don't do that. Walter's
never done that. Milton's never done that. Bill
Clark's never done that. David Edison's never done that.
Alfonso Estrada doesn't do that. You keep naming them. Brother
Chris Robinson's never done that. None of these missionaries. And
when anybody writes you a letter and asks you directly to support
them, don't do it. That's exactly right. We take our needs to Him. I'm
telling you the truth now. This is flesh. If God's in something,
He'll—and you know it so, and I know it so—in rediction, Christ
is all. Christ is all. He's our—you know,
Abraham showed us that when the kings of Sodom were going to
make him rich. He said, I've lifted my hands to God. I'm not
going to take anything from you. God supplies by need. Is your
God not great enough to burden somebody's heart to help you?
Do you have to ask Him? They have a sly way of doing
it this way. They'll write you a letter and
say, pray about these matters. I need a car. Pray about this
matter. We need a washing machine. That's
letting you know that you can send some money and we'll buy
it. If you really mean it, pray about that matter yourself. Don't
you know the same God who lays it on your heart to pray about
it and establishes a need is able to lay it on the heart of
somebody to send it? That's too supernatural. But nevertheless,
that's the way of the Word. That's so. All right, here's the third thing.
Now watch this. Christ is all in God's eternal design. He's
all. And Christ is all in the redemption
of His people. He is our sanctification, our
holiness, our righteousness, our justification, everything.
Christ is all through His life and through His blood. He provides
all I need. Thirdly, Christ is all in, both
in and through the new man created in Christ. Look at Colossians
3 again, verse 9, verse 10, rather. You put on a new man. Or verse
11 says, where there's neither Greek nor Jew. Now listen to
this. In Christ, there's no national
distinctions. Not in Christ. There's neither
Greek nor Jew. Do you know how far apart the
Greeks and the Jews were? Do you know what the Jews thought
of the Greeks? Dolls. You talk about segregation. You
talk about good old redneck Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia segregation.
Prejudice between the Jews and the Greeks. But our Lord says,
in Christ, there's no Jew or Greek, there's no black man,
white man, Indian, or Oriental. Not in Christ. He's our nationality. He's our
fatherland. He's our heritage. Well, buddy,
I'm an American. Well, I am too, and I'm thankful
I live in this country. I'm thankful for that flag and
for those things for which it stands. But my kingdom's Christ. My allegiance is to Christ. He's
my patriotism. He's my loyalty. Christ is my
culture. And that goes for black and white
relationships. If Christ is in us, there are
no blacks or whites, reds or yellows. That's right. Like Brother
D.J. Ward said to me one time, he
said, Brother Henry, since the Lord, he said, there was a time
when I'd love to kill every white man on earth. He said he had
reasons to, also. They gave him plenty of reasons
to. But he said, by the grace of God, right now, I can see
no color. I don't see color. That's what
he told me. Now, we all ought to be that
way. Because in Christ, there's no nationality, neither Greek
nor Jew. Come on now, Peter, sit back down there and eat with
those Gentiles, because in Christ there's neither Greek nor Jew.
Tell you something else, in Christ there's neither circumcision,
look at this, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. No national
distinction and no ceremonial distinction. Christ is my altar. I go to churches and they'll
have an altar up there. I say, what's that for? People come
to the altar. Christ is my altar. Christ is
my Sabbath. I think every day's the Lord's
day. You mean you come to church to
worship God? Well, you only come three hours
a week. What do you do the other, how many, 299 hours? Don't you
worship God? Christ is my Sabbath. Christ
is my worship. Christ is my temple, Christ is
my sacrifice, Christ is my mercy seat, Christ is my praise, Christ
is my torment. Will I live or die? I am the
Lord's. That's the way it is. That's
just the sum and substance of it. He's all. There's no ceremonial
distinction in Christ. Don't talk to me about your circumcision
or your Easter Sunday or your Sabbath or your anything else.
Christ is all. Every day is Easter. every day, because Christ is
all. And he says here, in Christ Jesus,
there's no barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. In other words,
there's no social distinctions in Christ. I don't care if you
drink your coffee with your pinky out or your pinky in. It doesn't
make any difference to me. Social, materialistic, human
distinctions follow before the grace of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ blends
male and female in worship, fellowship and love. Our Lord blends rich
and poor. There are no rich and there are
no poor in the kingdom of God. We are all rich in Christ. There's
not supposed to be any of this, well, you know, they're beneath
us. Boy, you've got to get off a
load to get beneath us now. Paul said he was the chief of
sinners. There's no rich and poor. There's no strong or weak.
There's no young or old. Look around here, and you see
these young, vigorous people, and you see us old, decrepit
folks, and we're all one in Christ. There's no educated or illiterate.
Some of you got degrees, some of you got two or three. Some of us don't have any, but
we're one in Christ. There's no famous or unknown. This fella said he had an M.D.
and a D.D. and an L.L.D. He said, what's
that stand for? I said, Marzie Dotes and Dozie
Dotes and Little Lambs at Ivy. Somehow you remember that song,
don't you?