Chapter 1 of the Book of Job,
all of us, if not already, if not now, at
least in the future, will have to endure some heavy
trials and tribulations and troubles. Our Lord said, In this world
ye shall have trouble. And I'm going to talk about a
man this morning who was the most troubled man I suppose who
ever lived. I don't know any man's faith
that was tested to the extreme quite like this man Job. He was
personally attacked by Satan. He was the mark for Satan's arrows. Satan singled him out for personal
attention. I don't think any of us have
ever had that experience. I hope we never did. But it says here in Job 1, verse
6, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan came among them. And the Lord said
to Satan, Which comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord,
from going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down
in it. And the Lord said, Have you set your heart on My servant
Job? The Lord didn't ask him, Have
you considered? That's the word there, but it
said, Have you set your heart on Job? God didn't bring Job
up to agitate Satan. God knew Satan's motives and
plans and purposes, and He said, Have you set your heart on My
servant Job? There's none like him in the
earth, perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, departed
from evil. And Satan answered, he said to
the Lord, does Job fear you for nothing? Why shouldn't Job fear
you? Why shouldn't Job worship God? Why shouldn't Job fear God? Verse
10, Have you not made a hedge about him? Have you not built
a wall about him and his house? A hall that he hath on every
side? Job's a wealthy man, prosperous
man. Job has ten children. Job's got
Thousands of cattle and sheep and oxen. Why, you've blessed
the work of His hand. Look at verse 10. And in His
substance, His cattle is increased in the land. He's one of the
wealthiest, most prosperous, influential, well thought of,
successful men in the whole land. And I can't touch Him, and not
a demon in hell can touch Him. No wonder He worships you. No
wonder Job fears you. Verse 11. Put forth your hand now." Now,
this clearly shows that Satan had no power except by God's
permission. He couldn't touch Job, and he
couldn't touch one of his sheep. Couldn't touch one of his sons
or one of his daughters. Couldn't touch anything he had
without God's permission. And here he's asking permission.
That's what our Lord said of Peter. He said, Satan hath desired
you. he had set his heart on you,
that he might have you and sift you as wheat. And he's going
to have you too, but I pray for you, that your faith fail not. Put forth your hand, he said,
and Job will curse you to your face. And the Lord said, watch
this first prayer, Satan, he said to Satan, behold, all that
he hath, everything Job has, is in your hand, only. only upon Job himself, put not
your hand, don't touch him. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. Now I'm telling you this. Here's
a man who knew the meaning of the words, we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, rulers
of the darkness. Satan began to attack all that
Job had. It came and told him that that
his sheep were dead, and all his servants, that his camels
were all carried away by thieves, and that the Sabeans had attacked
his servants with a sword and killed them. And then they said,
Your ten children were all together in their brother's house, and
behold, a tornado came from the wilderness and blew the house
down, and every one of them Job, you had everything, now
you have nothing. And he said in verse 20, And
Job arose, and rent his mantle, that was an old oriental sign
of grief, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground,
and cursed God. That's what Satan said he'd do. And complained about God's prophet.
and worshipped God. When things like that happen,
us folks usually take advantage of it and absent ourselves from
worship. I find most people today, if
somebody dies, that's a pretty good reason not to come to the
house of God. But Job found every reason in
his grief and agony to start worshipping God. He fell down
and worshipped God. Worshipped God. And he said,
naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither. That's the way I was born into
this world. I had nothing, possessed nothing, and that's the way I'm
going to leave. And the Lord gave, and the Lord
hath been pleased to take it all away. Praise God, from whom
all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here
below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly
hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. Bless God. Bless God. And in all this, Job sinned not,
nor charged God with foolishness, with frivolity. He didn't bring
any railing accusations against God. Now you think about this,
my friend. Here's a man wealthy beyond description. Here's a man prosperous, well-known,
and a man of integrity and a man of religion. A man who said God
was his God. And everybody knew that he was
a man who walked in integrity and worship. Even God said he's
a man of uprightness. You saw that, you know, when
a fellow's a drunk or a drug addict or a promiscuous person
and he has a terrible thing happen to him, people say, well, he
got what's coming to him. Well, the Lord usually pays off.
You know how we say that. Payday someday. But now wait
a minute. Wait just a minute. Here's a man who honored God
with his first fruits. honored God with his substance
and honored God with his life, and God was pleased to let Satan
take it every bit away. God's the first cause of all
things. Let him that stands it take heed, lest it fall. But
that wasn't all. At verse 1 of chapter 2, again
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself
before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, from
whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord,
said, From going to and fro on the earth, walking up and down.
And the Lord said, Have you considered? Set your heart on my servant
Job, none like him, man that fears God, and so forth. And
Satan said in verse four, Look. And Satan answered the Lord and
said, And boy, I tell you, he knows human nature, doesn't he?
Skin for skin. Skin for skin. All that a man
hath will he give for his life. Put forth your hand now and touch
his bone. Touch his bone with pain and
agony and aching. Touch his flesh. Make him sick. Give him cancer. Bone cancer. Give him heart disease. Give
him all of these things. He'll curse you to your face.
And most people will. You see, we're in the day of
religion. America's got religion. You know
that, I know that. I guess there's more religion
today per square inch than ever in the history of mankind in
this country. But it's the kind of religion
that Satan talks about here. It's wealth and health religion.
Listen to them. If you tithe, if you plant the
seed, if you do this, God will prosper you. He didn't prosper
Job. Job did everything these fellas
prescribed, and lost everything he had. Now, if you have faith
in God, you won't be sick. Job had faith in God. In fact,
Job's name was known in heaven. Job's name was on the lips of
God Almighty when he discussed this thing with Satan. And he got very, very sick. In fact, the Lord said in verse
6, to Satan, put forth your hand. Behold, he's in your hand. Don't
kill him. Don't kill him. I wish we could
see, you know, Satan, though he is mighty, he's not almighty. Though he's powerful, he's not
all-powerful. Though he's present, he's not
omnipresent. And there's no being in heaven or earth more powerful
than He, but our God. That's so. And He knows human
nature, and He knows where to attack. He knows how we think,
and how we act, and how we live, and what's dear and near to us.
And usually He's right. But He doesn't understand faith. He doesn't understand a true
love for God, which Job had. Satan works in the children of
disobedience, and he motivates them. He motivates them. He knows what they think, because
they think what he thinks. He's a liar and the father of
liars. He's a murderer and the father
of murderers, see? Bigotry, he's the author of it. Prejudice, he's the author of
it. Hate, malice, he knows. He's the daddy of all that stuff.
But he doesn't know faith. He doesn't understand love. He
doesn't understand grace. He doesn't understand a man loving
God for who God is and not for what God gives him. That he does
not understand. He does not understand, he cannot
comprehend that faith which loves God and believes God because
of who God is, regardless of the circumstance. He doesn't
understand a martyr's faith. He can't comprehend a man sitting
in prison singing, content with beholding his face, my all to
his pleasures resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. I could, were he always thus
near, have nothing to wish nor to fear. A palace, a toy, would
appear, and prisons would palaces brew, if Jesus would dwell with
me there. He can't stand that. And so he
went forth, verse 7, in the presence of the Lord, and smoked Job with
boils, sore boils, from the sole of his feet to the top of his
head. Now, here's a man that's just
lost every dime he's got. Here's a man who lost all of
his cattle, and that was the criteria of wealth in those days.
He lost every, even every child he had was dead and buried. And
now he's come down with boils all over his body, running, painful,
aching boils. And he took a potsherd to scrape
himself with all. He sat down among the ashes.
Now, whoa, wait a minute. Then his wife came and said,
do you still retain your integrity? Why don't you curse God and die?" But he said to her, you speak
as one of the foolish women speaking, What? What? What? Shall we receive good at the
hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this, Job
did not sin with his lips, not against God. He complained about
the day he was born. He complained about the pain.
He complained about the agony. But he never complained against
God. Though he slayed me, yet will I trust him. And then, to
top it all off, he had some friends. There were three secret friends
who came to him. Here he sat. in his grief and
agony and loneliness, a target of Satan's avarice. He sat here, but he could not
be destroyed because he was in Christ. He could not be destroyed. His faith would not fall. His faith was in Christ. And he sat there, and his friends
came, and they sat around him. And do you know something? They
sat there for seven days. Wasn't it seven days? Never said
a word. Just looked at him. I know they'd shake their heads,
you know. What they were saying was this, what they were thinking,
you've done something wrong. God's punishing you. If you weren't
a crook, this wouldn't have happened. If you weren't a hypocrite, this
wouldn't have happened. And they sat there and sat there and sat
there. for all that period of time.
And finally, in Job 19, Job spoke to them. Now, they had some conversation,
but he spoke to them. In this scripture I read a moment
ago, and he said in verse 13 of Job chapter 19. Now, Job tells
where this came from. He said, God, verse 11, has kindled
his wrath against me. He counts me as one of his enemies.
God's the first cause of all things. You can write that down.
I hear these preachers say, oh, an earthquake hit. God had nothing
to do with that. If it happened on God's world,
He had something to do with it. Oh, the hurricane and tornado.
God had nothing to do with the flood that swept down through
our beautiful valley and swept these homes away. God didn't
have anything to do with that. If it happened in God's universe,
He had something to do with it. He rules and overrules all things. He's the first cause of all.
Do you write that down? Either his directive or permissive
will is taking place. He permits things to happen.
When Adam failed, he permitted the fall. It would have never
happened if God hadn't permitted it. Job, sitting here on the
ashes, scraping his barns, alone, even his wife telling him to
curse God and die, and his friends sitting around, Accused him of
hypocrisy. Not one, not one bit of that
would have happened if God hadn't permitted it. And he has his
reasons for permitting it. It's his glory and our good.
And that's what it's for. Now we know that all things work
together for good. All things. That's not just the
happy times, that's the sad times. That's not just the times of
joy, but the times of tears. That's not just our friend, but
our enemy. That's not just our successes,
but our failures. That's not just our life, but
our death. That's not just our health, but
our sickness. All things work together for
good, the eternal good, the ultimate good of those who love God, who
are called according to His purpose. That's what this book says. I
want to believe it. That's not what I'm saying. That's
what God says. I want to believe it, like you.
I want to believe it. I want to act like I believe
it. That's important. I want to believe it. I want
to act like I believe it. I get weary of preachers and
people who talk sovereignty and act in the opposite manner, who
talk about God's good providence and God's purpose, and then I
find them murmuring and complaining and finding fault with that good
providence and purpose. I'm tired of people talking about
every good gift and perfect gift coming from God, then tell me
they had good luck. Well, I just had a stroke of
good luck. Did you now? I'm glad my God's not the God
of luck and chance and faith, but the God of purpose. The God
who rules and reigns in heaven and earth and among the inhabitants
of the earth and armies of heaven, and giveth it to whomsoever He
will. The Lord maketh rich and the Lord maketh poor. The Lord
killeth, and the Lord maketh alive. The Lord lifteth up, and
the Lord bringeth down. The Lord! How the Lord do all
these things! And none can stay my hand, or
say unto me, What did you do that for? Well, Job talks to these fellows,
and he says in verse 21, Have pity on me, my friends. The hand of God hath touched
me. I like this man, Job. The hand of God had touched me.
God didn't do that. Job, Satan did that. God did
it, Job said. God did it. God did it. Somebody asked me when Robbie
died, well, where was God when your son died? I said, same place
he was when his son died, on the throne. That's where God
is. He never abdicated. My son, your
son, nobody else's son can die without the hand of God ruling
it to be so. Right when it happened and how
it happened. That's right. That's the only place you're
going to find any comfort. That's the only place. Well,
he tells these friends, he says, the root of the matter is in
me. He sets forth the root of the matter. He establishes, how
can Job act like this? How can Job How can he talk like
this? Well, you know something? Somebody
said one time, four things. Number one, back of the main
thing. Number one, Job knew that he
had a true friend amid all these cruel friends. He had one who understood him
and loved him and would never forsake him, the Lord God. He had a friend. He had a friend,
one that sticketh closer than a brother. And Job knew something
else, that he had a real inheritance, eternal, undefiled, reserved,
that faded not away amid all this total poverty. All Job had left on this earth
were memories and tears, but I'm telling you, in glory, he
was a prince and a king. amid all this poverty. There
are wealthy men in this world. They tell me this fellow J. Paul
Getty, something like that, doesn't even know or didn't know what
he was worth. When he's dead, I know what he's
worth. Nothing. Nothing. But you take a man over here
who really has nothing in this world, who knows God, who knows
Christ, he has everything. He has glory and happiness and
wealth, prestige and power, glory, everything. This life isn't long,
my friend. Why in the world we give ourselves
to accumulating things here, things, and that's all they are.
It's like children who work all evening on the beach. They'll
be down there in the sun setting, and they just built that sandcastle. And they built it, built it,
built it, built it, worked all evening. I mean, they started
at four, and when the sun went down, Mama said, We've got to
go eat at eight-thirty. They're still working on that
sandcastle. And the next morning, it's all gone. Go out there,
and there's nothing there. Some little old sand fleas running
around. Gone. And that's what some of
us are doing. We're just accumulating. We've got these nice lawns, you
know, and hedges and flowers and houses. We've got furniture. It costs a fortune. We've got
cars. We've got boats. We've got campers.
We've got condominiums. We've got money in the bank.
We've got all these things. And we've got nothing. but a
six-foot hole in the ground. And that's where we're headed.
I'll tell you what I need. I need Christ. I need a real
inheritance. I'm not discouraging you from
doing the best you can to support your family in these things.
I'm trying to discourage materialism and men setting their affection
and their time and their heart on all these things that God
Almighty is going to burn up tomorrow morning. And it's going
to be that soon, too. It's going to be that soon. It's
going to be sooner than you think. But old Joe sat there on the
ash heap, but he had an inheritance. He said, you lost all you have.
No, I haven't either. My life is in God. I ain't lost
God. In fact, I haven't lost anything.
That kid I came into this world, that's where I'm leaving. I haven't
lost anything. Not a thing. Scott says that a man comes into
this world with a slap on the bottom, goes out with a kick
in the teeth, and everything in between is lost. Maybe you're
right. I don't know. Job had a friend. amid all these
cruel friends. And Job had an inheritance amid
all this poverty. And Job had a living hope in
a world of death. He talked about his bones cleaving
to his skin. My guess is that he was so skinny
you could see his bones sticking out through his skin, just pressing
against his skin. His body was sick. His body was
abscessed. His body was infected, he was
burning with fever, he was dying. But I'll tell you, when he thought
of that living hope in Christ, his eyes lit up. As the dead,
they lit up. Wish mine would light up when
I think of that. I wish they would. Then he said,
watch this, he said verse 23, you just fellas just write this
in a book now so you can read it every time you want to. You
just write this in a book. This is what I want written down.
I want this written down. Take it down. Write it in a book.
And he said, not only that, verse 24, put it on my tombstone. Old Job doesn't have any children
left, doesn't have a friend left, doesn't have a dime in his pocket,
doesn't have a sheep on the hillside, doesn't have a grape on the vine,
Doesn't have a place to live but an ash heap. Doesn't have
any help left. He's a dying man. But old Job
knows this. Write it on my tombstone. I know
my Redeemer liveth. I know it. I'm not guessing. I know it. I know. Saving faith
is certain faith. Saving faith rests on the sure
Word of God. How can a man know Paul did,
he said, I know whom I have believed. John did, he said, I know we've
passed from death unto life. Peter did, he said, I know we're
not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious
blood of Christ. My friend, you can know with certainty your
interest in Christ according to your confidence in the Word
of God. That's where it is. You've got
as much assurance as you've got confidence in God's Word. People who run around saying,
I just got no assurance. Your assurance depends on your
confidence in Him who spoke. That's right. That's exactly right. I believe
God, therefore have I spoken. That's what David said. Paul
quoted it. Paul said, I believe God, therefore
have I spoken. He has said, I'll never leave
you. Therefore, I can say, the Lord is my helper. If he hasn't
said it, I can't say it. If he hasn't said it, I can't
believe it. But if he has said it, I dare not disbelieve it. I know! Oh, Joe, sitting here,
there's friends all dressed up. Prosperous. Prosperous. No cares and worries. If you
had more faith, you wouldn't be sick. Who had the faith? If you had faith, your business
would prosper. Who had the faith? A man who had no business left.
That's right. These fellas didn't have any.
In other words, God told Job later, said, you better pray
for those fellas. You better offer a sacrifice to them. They've
lied on me, and I'm going to deal with them unless you pray
for them. And Job prayed for them, and
God accepted them. Instead of that evangelist running
around browbeating the fellow that's sick and wanting to pray
for him, the sick guy better pray for the evangelist. Prosperity does not indicate
the presence of God. Good health is no sign that God
is present. and that God's blessing. Clear
word right here. Who's doing the preaching? The
sick man. Who's doing the preaching? The
man who's lost everything. And he said, you fellas, I know
that what? My Redeemer. There's no name given to the
Messiah that is more significant, more comprehensive, more endearing
than this word, Redeemer. You know what it means? It means
a near kinsman who has the right to redeem. If an Israelite had,
for some reason, sold out everything he had, he was in debtor's prison,
had nothing, like Ruth and Naomi, and that kinsman redeemer, that
near kinsman, if he would, if he was willing, had the ability
and the power, he could buy back everything that person lost. That's our Lord. He's our near
kinsman. He's our kinsman redeemer. Our
Lord Jesus Christ has purchased back all that we lost in Adam. In Adam, we die. In Christ, we're
made alive. In Adam, sin, judgment, condemnation
passed upon all men. We lost in Adam the way to God,
the truth of God, and the life of God. And Christ said, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. Notice what Job said, I know
that what? My Redeemer. He's my Redeemer. The prophet said, I don't know
about you fellas, but it's for me and my house, we're going
to serve the Lord. He's my Redeemer. The Lord is my shepherd, David
said. Thomas said, my Lord and my God. You can't speak for anybody else.
You can't speak for anybody else. Even that dear wife at your side,
you can't speak for her. She can't speak for you. Those
dear children, how we would just get them together and take them
into the kingdom of God. But salvation is a personal matter.
My Redeemer, my Shepherd, my Lord, my God. I hope He's yours,
Job. I know He will, hopefully. He
was a Redeemer of these Bildad and these other fellas, but He
said, I just know this, my Redeemer. Watch it. He said, I know he
lives. He lives. I know he's living now. And somebody
sitting here may say, well, preacher, you keep talking about Job resting
in Christ, and Christ hadn't even then been born. See, that's the very thing the
Pharisees said to him. They said to the Lord Jesus,
you talk about knowing Abraham, you're not fifty years old. He
said, for Abraham was I am. He said, if you'd have believed
God and you were Abraham's sons, you'd love me, because Abraham
saw my day and rejoiced to see it and was glad. Well, they said,
we have Moses. He said, if you'd believe Moses,
you'd believe me. Moses wrote everything he said
about me. And that's what Job is saying
here. They say Job's the oldest book in the Bible? Maybe so.
Job's the oldest patriarch? Maybe so. And Job is saying,
My Redeemer, my near kinsman, my Messiah, my Savior liveth
right now. See what I'm saying? He lives. He's not going to live
someday. He's going to stand on this earth.
But he lives now. He ever liveth. He is, he was,
he ever shall be. He lives. He has life in himself. Here's a man whose sons and daughters
are dead, and he's dying. He said, well, he's got life.
My Redeemer's got life. I lose my life, He'll buy it
back. He liveth. He has life in himself. He liveth.
He shall live forever. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. My friends, life is not in religion. Life is not walking an aisle.
Life is not shaking a preacher's hand. Life is not making a profession. Life is not joining the church.
Life is not being baptized. Life is not reforming your life.
Life is not submitting to laws and duties and rules and regulations
of religion. Life is being in a living, vital
union with Christ, who is life, by faith. That's life. It's not
my life. Christ is my life. He's my life. I live because He lives. I'm
at God's right hand because He's at God's right hand. I have an
inheritance because I'm a joint heir with Him who's been appointed
the heir of all things. Everything I have is because
I'm married to somebody else. I'm a poor old country gal God
found up the holler. So far up the holler, I had wimp
feet. No shoes. He didn't know anything. He married me and made me rich. I got His name. And everything
He has is mine. That's right. Everything He has. That's how come my Redeemer lives. My Redeemer lives. And watch
it, and He's going to stand. He said, He's going to stand
on this earth. Who ever heard of such a thing?
God's going to stand on the earth? Now, friends, you might be surprised
how much these Old Testament fellows knew about the Lord Jesus.
I tell you, Isaiah said this about him in Isaiah 7, 14, the
Lord himself shall give you a sign, a virgin shall be with child
and bring forth a son. That never had been heard of. And he said, under us a child
is born, a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting
Father. Born to a woman. And Micah said, Bethlehem, you're
the smallest of the whole bunch, but out of you shall come he
whose goings forth have been from everlasting. Micah said,
way back here, hundreds of years before Christ was born, that
little town of Bethlehem, coming out of Bethlehem one day is going
to be God in human flesh. Old Isaiah said in chapter 53,
he's a tender plant, he's a root out of dry ground, he's despised
and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, but he's
wounded by our transgressions. He's bruised by our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him by his stripes,
where he is. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hands. Jeremiah said, A branch! The Lord, our righteousness!
He'll stand on this earth, Job said. He's going to walk this
earth. And He's talking about twice.
He's going to stand on this earth as the Lamb, and then He's going
to stand as the Lion. And say, Let time be no more.
The great day of the Lord hath come. And look at the next verse.
And though, verse 26, after my skin, worms destroy this body. And that's what's going to happen.
That's what's going to happen. You've been around. I know he's
telling you things like this. You've been around people who
died. I've been around people who died. Lots of them. I've
been at the morgue, at the undertaker's parlor. I've been at the cemetery
when they dug them up after they'd been there two years. I know folks. It seems like to
me that folks act and talk like we're going to live forever here
on this earth. They keep telling me, eat right, and sleep right,
and do right, and all this, and you live longer. Longer? Who
wants to live longer? Yeah, just take care of yourself,
man. You can sit on the porch down
at the rest home and rock the last ten years of your life.
I'd rather go on and be with the Lord. Even at ninety years, that's
just a drop in the bucket. goes by like that. Look around
here this morning and see all our friends who are gone. And
one of these days we're going to look out there and there's
another one that's going to be gone. And you're going to look up here
one morning and there's going to be a brand new preacher standing
in the focus. I don't know why we act like
we're indispensable. We act like we're going to be
around from now on. There's somebody not going to
be here next month. That's exactly right. But you're
going to be somewhere. You're going to be somewhere.
Your body's going to be in the grave, rotting from the inside. It's
not worms he's talking about out here. It's worms in here.
The decay is from within. Soon as you die, you start rotting.
Did you know that? Well, they don't call in a bunch
of worms after funeral parlors and tell them, take off on him,
you know. You got them in you. You brought them into the world.
That's right. You got them in you. The death,
sin. And just as soon as you die,
they're going to have to do something for you, because you'll just
smell up the place from the inside. That's what Job thought. The
worm's going to destroy it. Yet, in my flesh, what kind of
flesh? Brand new flesh. Redeemed flesh. Spotless flesh. Holy flesh. Righteous flesh. Godly flesh. Christ's flesh. I'm going to
see God. You can't see God and live. Not
now. But then I can. when I'm like
Christ. Because it says, He's going to
appear, and I'm going to see Him like He is. And I'm not going
to turn away my eyes. I'm going to look on God and
live. Because in Christ, I'll be perfectly righteous. That's
right. I'm going to look right into
the... Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more now
shall sing, but oh, the joy when I awake from that bed of earth within the palace of the king.
And I'll see him face to face because my Redeemer lives. That's
the whole thing. That's the root of the matter.
That's the root. And I say to you, I say to myself,
and I don't know what the future holds. I don't know what the
future holds for any of us. I just know if we live long enough,
it holds some some awful, difficult days. I don't know what it holds,
but I know it holds some, but there are no days more difficult
than my Lord's grace to meet the need. No day is too difficult. If we can say, I know my Redeemer
lives in the face of a broken heart from children and sons
and daughters and divided homes and divorces and the death of
loved ones and the loss of support and strength and security and
even the destruction of a nation and a government or whatever. If we wind up on the ash heap
waiting and begging and crying to God to die, let's say this,
I know my Redeemer lives. And he's going to stand on this
earth. And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, by His
grace, according to His promise, through His precious blood, I'm
going to see God. Don't deserve to, but I'm going
to. Christ deserves it. Christ deserves it. Let's sing
a song, Saved by Grace, number 512. Number 512. That's where I see that. I see
that. It's not in religion. Well, I'm
a good Catholic. No, you ain't. You're not a good
anything. Not good, no, not one. Well,
I'm a good Baptist. I wish people could say things
like that. That nauseates me. You're not a good anything. Being
a Baptist doesn't grant favor with God. My mother's a good
Methodist woman. Christ is good, and our righteousness
is in Him. And out of Christ are gods of
consuming fire. Now you better remember that.
Put no hope, confidence, stock in anything or anybody but Christ
the Lord.