Our Lord asked a man one day, Does thou believe on the Son
of God? Does thou believe on the Son
of God? And that's what I'm asking all
of us here tonight. I ask that question tonight.
Does thou believe on the Son of God? I'm not asking you if
you're a church member. I'm not asking if you're a professing
Christian. I'm not asking if you're a student
of the scriptures. What I want to know tonight is,
dost thou believe on the Son of God? And I'm not talking about
a historical character named Jesus. I'm not talking about
believing in a reformer or a great prophet or a Christian martyr.
What I'm asking tonight is this, in your heart, in your soul,
with a true, persevering, saving faith, have you closed with Christ? Do you have a real, genuine,
saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what I'm asking. Now all religious people do not
have this saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. All religious
people do not believe. They believe in Jesus. But the
name Jesus has been worn by many and is worn by many today. But
I'm talking about the Lord Jesus. Now, my friends, where true faith
is found, this saving interest, this saving faith, where this
genuine faith is found, it is a token of divine favor. Did you know that? It's not evidence of the power
of a soul winner. It's not evidence of the articulate,
fluent way of some preacher. It's not an evidence of a great
evangelical church. It's not a token of your intelligence
and mother's prayers. It's a token of divine favor.
That's what this faith is. It's the gift of God. Do you
understand what I'm saying? And I mean to say that as positively
and flatly as I can. Saving faith is the gift of God. He deserves all the glory. I'll
show you two scriptures that plainly teach that. Of course,
you don't need to have that proved because every good gift and perfect
gift is from God. It's not faith a good gift, but
it came from God. All love is from God. Anything
spiritual is from God. It didn't originate with us.
We can't produce anything spiritual. In Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, it says,
for by grace are you saved through faith. And that, not of yourselves. What's not of yourselves? Well,
you know good and well that grace is not of yourselves. He's talking
about the faith. And that faith is not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, if not of works, lest any man should
boast. Turn to Philippians chapter 1, verse 29. Listen to this.
Philippians 1, 29. It says here, Philippians 129,
for unto you, unto you, Paul's writing to the church, he's writing
to believers. Unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ not only to believe on Christ but to suffer for Christ. That's given to you. Blessed
art thou, the angel said to Mary, blessed art thou among women,
not above women, among women. Thou hast found favor with God. You're blessed, you've found
favor with God. Our Lord said to the apostles,
whom do you say that I am? Peter said, well, you're the
Christ. He said, flesh and blood didn't teach you that, but my
Father which is in heaven. So where you find this, I'm not
talking about religion, I'm not talking about profession, I'm
not talking about theology, I'm talking about faith. living,
saving, genuine faith. And not just faith in general,
but faith in a person, in Christ. It's a token of divine favor.
Secondly, where this faith is found, my friends, it's a mark
of divine election. That's right. Turn to Titus chapter
1, if you wish to. If not, just follow and listen
to what I have to read from the Scripture here. He said in Titus
1 verse 1, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according
to the faith of God's elect. Where you find this faith, you'll
find divine election. We're not chosen because we believe,
we believe because we're chosen. That's what he says over in Acts
13, 48. Paul said, I turned to the Gentiles,
and the Gentiles glorified God, and when they heard the word,
as many as were ordained to life believed. You understand what
it says? As many as were ordained to life
believed. He said, whom he foreknew he
predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, and
whom he predestinated, he called. That's whom he called, the ones
he predestinated. And John 6, 37 says, all that
my Father giveth me will come to me. And no one will come to
Christ who was not given to him of the Father. That's just so.
Where you find, I'm saying, do you believe on the Son of God?
Not do you believe in religion. Not do you believe that a person
died on a cross named Jesus. I'm saying, do you believe, do
you believe on the Son of God? If you do, it's a token of divine
favor. Like Noah, you've found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. And it's an evidence, a mark
of divine election. And I'll tell you thirdly what
it is. True saving faith. Where it's found, where this
faith is found, whether in a child or an adult, whether in a black
or a white, whether in an old or young, whatever, where faith
is found, it is the evidence of spiritual life. Where there's
life, there's faith. Where there's faith, there's
life. Listen to the scripture. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath life. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. He is born of God. In John 1,
he was in the world, the world knew him not. He came into his
own, his own received him not, but as many as received him. To them gave he the right to
become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which
were born. Not of blood, not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but born of God. Tell
you something else. Where you find faith, you'll
find obedience. Obedience to God. Turn to Romans
1. I want you to see this, because
I'm going to translate it, interpret it a little different, and I
want you to look at it, and I think you'll find it in your Bibles
this way. Here's what I'm saying. By faith Abel offered a more
excellent sacrifice. By faith. Noah, being warned
of God, prepared an ark. By faith, Abraham, when he was
tried, offered Isaac. By faith, Moses refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. By faith, Rahab dropped the scarlet
lion out the window. So you see, where you find faith,
you find men obeying God. you'll find me in obeying God."
That's what Paul says in Romans 1, 5. He says, talking about
the Lord Jesus, he said, "...by whom we have received grace and
apostleship," now watch this, "...for obedience to the faith."
among all nations. Do you have a little mark there,
a 3 or an A or a B or something, and the center reference says,
to the obedience of faith? And let's read it that way. It
reads differently, but it's a better translation. By whom we have
received, that is, by the grace of God, by the power of the Lord
Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God, we have received grace and
apostleship to the obedience of faith. Men who know God obey
God. Men who love Christ obey Christ.
Where you find faith, you'll find obedience. And then fifthly,
where you find faith, you'll find an open witness. A person
who loves Christ and knows Christ does not have to be coerced or
forced to give his witness for Christ. David said this, and
Paul quoted him in the New Testament, I believe, I believe, I believe. Therefore, I've spoken. Therefore,
I've spoken. I've always contended that what
a man really, genuinely, honestly believes, he'll preach. I really
believe that. I believe what a man, what a
man, a fellow can, he can feign it and he can compromise and
go along and do all these things when it comes down to it, when
the facts are known. Out of the heart, the mouth will
speak. That's exactly right. You say, well, aren't there some
people that believe these doctrines, but they just don't preach them?
No, sir. I believe they preach what they
believe. I believe every man can say exactly what Paul said
and what David said. I believe, therefore I speak.
And what I believe, I speak, when it comes down to it. When
he comes down to us, listen to this hymn that was written a
long time ago. Ashamed of Jesus, sooner far
let evening blush to own a star. He sheds the beams of light divine
over this poor sinful soul of mine. Ashamed of Jesus, that
dear friend on whom my hope of heaven depends. No! No! When I blush, be this my
shame that I no more revere his name. Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may. I may. When I've no guilt to wash away,
no tear to wipe, no good to crave, no fear to quell, and no soul
to save. But that day will never come.
I'll always have guilt to wash away, and a tear to wipe, and
good to crave, and fear to quell, and a soul to save. So I'll never
be ashamed of the Lord by his grace. And then time would fail
to tell of the power of this faith, and the privileges of
this faith, and the possessions of this faith, and the prospects
of this faith, only to say this, He that believeth on the Son
of God as it was said to Mary, God highly favored." One other verse I want you to
read over in Psalm 65, verse 4. Listen to this. Psalm 65,
verse 4. Blessing. Oh, I tell you, somebody
said that that man who has saving faith, that woman who has genuine
saving faith, that genuine, true interest in Christ Jesus. Not
in the things of Christ, but in Christ himself. There are
a lot of people who love the benefits, but who do not love
the benefactor. There are a lot of people who
clamor after the blessings, but they don't love the blesser. But that person who has found
a saving interest in Christ, listen to Psalm 65 forward, O
happy, blessed is the man whom thou choosest. and causes to
approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts, approach
unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts, O we shall be
satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."
Think about it. Justified before a throne of
holiness. Justified before a throne of
holiness. access to a throne of grace,
and one day shall reign with Christ on a throne of glory. You talk about blessings, but
that's not my subject tonight. My subject is not the blessings
of faith, but the trial of faith. And I want you to open your Bibles
to two scriptures. First of all, in James 1, the
trial of faith, the trial of faith. The trial of faith. You can't have faith without
trial. I care not what any man says. You cannot have faith without
trial. Genuine, severe trial. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.
In other words, whom the Lord loveth, he tries. Like the thorn
in the rose, they grow together. on the same bush, always together. And James says here in James
1 verse 2, My brethren, count it joy, count it joy when you
fall into different trials, knowing this, that the trying of your
faith, the trying of your faith. You can't separate those two
words, faith and trial. You cannot separate faith and
obedience. Where you find faith now, you'll
find divine favor, divine election, and obedience. And where you
find faith, you'll find trial, the trying of that faith. There
is no faith without trial. Look at verse 12 of James 1.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, that's trial. That's
trial. We're not talking about temptation
to take a drink. Not talking about that. I'm talking
about greater things now. I'm talking about big things.
I'm talking about trials. Blessed is that man that endure
trials. When he's tried, he'll receive
the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that
love him. He's not going to receive the crown of life because he
was He didn't succumb under the trial, but that trial revealed
a true faith in Christ, through whom he'll receive the crown
of life. You understand what I'm saying? You can't separate the trial
and the faith. You see, trial doesn't produce
faith, it reveals it. And when a man crumbles under
God's trial, it shows he had a false faith. John said they
went out from us, and I'll tell you why. He said there never
were others. And the reason they went out was because of some
trial. He said the seed was sown on stony ground, it quickly sprang
up, looked healthy, looked strong, it looked like a good plant,
but having no root, when the sun came out, when the trowel,
it withered and died. You understand? So that's what
he's saying here, blessed is the man that endureth trowel.
He's not rewarded with life because he endured the trowel, he endured
the trowel because he had life. The trowel revealed it. All right,
1 Peter 1, 7. 1 Peter 1-7. See, here are two men in a church,
both of them claim to believe, both of them claim to love Christ,
both of them claim to be saved, and both of them have a trial.
I'm going to show you some trials in a moment that believers have.
But this man under that trial grows stronger. This man under
that trial shows a dedication and a purpose and a perseverance. And this man crumbles and falls
under that trial and quits the gospel. Well, you say, that trial
turned him against God. No, he was already against God.
That trial revealed what he was. He was already angry with God. He was already an unbeliever,
but that trial just revealed it. And this trial over here
didn't give this man faith, it revealed his faith. You understand
what I'm saying? That's what trials do then. All
right, 1 Peter 1, 7, he talks about that the trial or trying
of your faith. Your faith is much more precious
than of gold. It perisheth, though it be tried
with fire, that your faith might be found under the praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. It glorifies
him. Now here are two questions. One,
whose faith is tried and how is faith tried? Number one, whose
faith is tried? It's your faith and my faith. Somebody said God had one son
without sin. He never had a son without trial. Not a one. That right, Jim? He
had one son without sin. That's Christ. But even our Lord
was tried. tried in all points as we are,
yet without sin. And I'm not talking about the
trying of faith in general. I'm talking about the trying
of your faith. That's what he says here, the
trial of your faith, your faith. One black preacher said one time,
he said, my people are in trouble because they're too generous.
Somebody says, I don't understand what you mean, they're too generous.
He said, they're too generous with my sermons, they're always
giving them to somebody else. Well, don't give this one away
now. We're not talking about the trying of Abraham's faith
or the trying of Peter's faith. We're talking about the trying
of your faith. Your faith. And that's when I
say your, I mean me too. And you may feel quite obscure.
You say, I'm a nobody. Now hold on there. You say, well,
I'm not anybody special. Why would God single me out for
troubles and trials? Well, I'm the least in the kingdom
of God. I don't have any gifts or any talent. I'm just lost
in the crowd. Your faith. Am I getting grandmother, grandfather, daddy, mother, boy,
girl? I don't care who the believer
is, he's going to be tried. Is that clear? You're going to
be tried. Well, I'm on this back seat or over in the corner or
on the outside and I don't make any noise or say anything or
bother anybody and I'm just overlooked and obscured, don't take any
part, I'm not up in front. You're going to be trying, and
you just might be trying more than anybody. Exactly right. Because I'm telling
you, I'm telling you, God Almighty will try the reality of your
faith. You see, trial leaves the real
thing. That's what trial, it leaves the real thing. It's like
a fire that burns. It'll come in, burn up the wood,
hay, and the stubble, and all the hypocrisy, and all the sham,
and all the dross, and all the things we fooled everybody else
with. It'll burn every bit of it up. It'll only leave that
precious stone or gold that God put there. That's right, it'll
burn every bit of it up. That's what it'll do. It'll show
the true you and the true me. That's what trial does. Trial
leaves the real thing. Our Lord said two men built the
houses, one on a rock, one on the sand. They looked the same. They looked the same. The difference
was underground, unseen, undetected by men. And then three things
happened. Rain fell. Where does rain fall from? Trials
from above. Floods came. Where do floods
come from? From down beneath, from the earth. Trials from the earth. And winds
blew. Mysterious, unaccountable winds. Emotions. Things within. Those fears. Mysterious things began to blow. And this house on the sand? It
fell. And great was the fall of it.
It was something else. How the mighty are fallen. It
fell. Why? It was built on the sand.
This one built on the rock, who is Christ? That's the rock, Christ
Jesus. It stood. It stood trials from
heaven, fire or rain. It stood trials from beneath.
Come on up floods, as high as you want to. And it stood those
mysterious winds, those winds. Can't tell whence they come or
where they go. Why'd it stand? Well, it's built
better than that one. Notice it's built on a rock. Built on a rock. And that's what
they try the reality of faith, the reality of faith. Trials
leave only the real thing. That's exactly what we're apt
to claim more than we have. That's our nature, to claim more
than we have. You can tell that in everything we do. Listen to
us tell something from our side, you know. Boy, we can exaggerate.
You fellas at fish. Easy, isn't it? Boy, I tell you, if we want to
make it sound good, we'll really put her out there. And we're
apt to claim more than we have. But I tell you this, trial will
show who you are and what you're made out of and what you believe,
whom you believe, I should say. And then trial reveals not only
the reality of faith, but the sincerity of faith. Oh, how I
love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Abraham, take that son whom you
love up on the mountains and put a knife in his heart and
burn him to me. Oh, I thought I loved Jesus. I thought I did. I could have
swore I loved Jesus, but I don't know whether I love him much
as I thought I did or not. But if you have faith in Christ,
God's going to try it, and he's going to find out and reveal
to you. And I'm glad he does, because I don't want to die unwarned,
do you? I'm glad he does. I'm not glad
in the midst of trials, but I'm glad for the trials. He's going
to try the sincerity of your faith. And I'll tell you something
else, he's going to try the purity of it. This kills all of present-day
preaching. Turn to Job, chapter 1. It kills
every last bit of it. Go home and turn your TV off,
or throw a rock through it or something. But all these preachers
have this success in life and this, oh, Robert, something good's
going to happen, and Jim Baker, you can make it, and all this
Tukar and Everglades. And this kills every bit of it,
kills every bit right here. Satan came and appeared before
the Lord. And the Lord said, Have you considered
my servant Job? Look at verse 8. The Lord said,
Have you considered my servant Job? Job 1, verse 8. None like
him, not a man like him on the earth, a mature and an upright
man. He fears God and he avoids evil.
And Satan answered and said, Does he fear you for nothing?
Haven't you made a hedge about him, about his house? about all that he hath on every
side, you've blessed the work of his hands, you've increased
his substance, his cattle, his oxen, his sheep, his asses, his
children, you put forth your hand and touch all he has, and
he'll curse you to your face, and I'm saying that's exactly
what this generation will do too, curse him to his face. That's what they do. But Job,
God let Satan do that very thing, take away everything he had,
but old Job stood. Why? He believed God. I know
people find fault with Job and talk about his self-righteousness
and all that, but I'll tell you this, he said, I know my Redeemer
lives. He said, the root of the matter
is in me. He stood. He praised God. God took everything
away he had, and he said, I came out of my mother's womb naked,
and I'll leave this world naked. Praise God. Could you do it? Could I do it? Only true faith
can do that, Jim. Say what they want to about Joe,
but only true faith can do that. And that man had faith. He believed
God. And God will try the perseverance
of your faith. Let me tell you this now, you
older people in here, and I'm getting a little aged too, you
know, I'm close to all of you. Close to all of you. Like that
old couple sitting on the porch, you'll enjoy this. I'll prepare
you for this little shot by getting you in a good humor. Brother
Muse used to say, folks won't laugh with you, they won't cry
with you. Then this couple was sitting on the porch, and they
were getting up in years and kind of forgetful like some of
us, and she said, I'm hungry. And he said, well, I'll go get
you something to eat. What do you want? She said, I
want ice cream sundae. Well, he said, what do you want
on it? She said, I want vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.
and whipped cream and a cherry. Well, he said, I can get that.
She said, now you better write it down. He said, I won't forget
that. You want vanilla ice cream and
chocolate syrup and whipped cream and a cherry. I won't forget
that. She said, you will. You'll forget it. He said, no,
I won't. So he went to the store. He's
gone 45 minutes. And he came back with a paper
bag. And he said, there. And she opened it up. Ham sandwich. She said, I told you, you'd forget. He said, what did I forget? She
said, the mustard. So as long as you're on the same
boat, you'd make it. But God's not going to stop the
trials when you get old. Now a lot of folks have the idea
That as you get a little older, this trial business lets up.
But not in God's kingdom. I'll tell you, just a lot of
people have gotten old in their old religious tradition, their
old religious custom. But I'll tell you, Abraham's
most severe trials were in his old age. Isn't that right? David's most severe trials was
when he got older. John was exiled on the Isle of
Patmos, not as a young man, but an old man. Can you imagine the
trial of sitting out there on that island all alone? No, you
say, I'm just going to sit back there and watch the young folks
go through their trial. No, you're not either. Not that
you belong to God. No, sir. You're going to enter
the kingdom of God with much affliction. That's just so. I'm telling you the truth. I
wouldn't mislead you. And I'll tell you this, it may
be God will, in your old age, will reveal that you have no
faith. It may be. I want to know at
the end as well as I want to know at the beginning. Well, how is faith tried? Well,
let me give you about nine or ten things and I'll quit. But
you see, the trial of faith doesn't come to all men the same way.
We don't have any routine or ritual, like some club initiation. There's no routine or ritual
about the trying of faith. I can give you many ways in which
I've seen faith tried and in which the Word of God indicates
that faith is tried. First of all, Faith is tried
by the Word of God. Turn to Isaiah chapter 8, Isaiah
chapter 8, by the Word of God. It says here in Isaiah chapter
8, now listen carefully to this, and this I believe really is
the test of all tests, because faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. This is the test of all tests.
This is the only foundation of faith, and if my faith cannot
endure the test of the Word of God, it's not faith. Isaiah 8,
verse 19, And when they shall say to you, Seek unto them that
have familiar spirits, Unto the wizards that peep, and that mutter,
Should not a people seek to their God? Do we go from the living
to the dead? Here's the answer to the law
and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
the Word, it's because there's no light in them. My friends,
I don't care whether you're a young person here whose parents have
taught you to respect and honor the Word of God, or whether you're
a junior or a sophomore in college and some smart-aleck professor
has begun to put question marks on the Word of God. Or whether
you're a preacher or a seminary student and you begin to question
different things about the Word of God, I'm saying this, true
faith believes, receives, respects, defends this Word, the literal
Word of God, literally, accurately inspired by the Holy Ghost. It believes the Word of God,
faith. And when you, I tell you this, when you begin, in any
measure, from Genesis to Revelation, to begin to put a question mark
on the Word of God, God Almighty is revealing you don't have any
faith in Christ. Because the Christ we believe
is the Christ of the world. This is the record that God has
given us life, and that life's in His Son. I tell you, this
is the, here's the only rule of faith and practice. There's
a lot in this book I don't understand, but believe me, there's nothing
in this book I don't believe. Does that make sense? There's a lot in this book that
I can't, it's a mystery, I can't comprehend. A dear brother sat
down behind me in the meeting the other day and he said, he
said, what do you think about all millennialism? I said, I
really don't know. I really don't know. I've looked
into those things. The next night he sat down and turned to me
and said, What do you think of Armageddon? I said, Really, I don't know.
Do you? He said, I don't either. There's
a lot in here I don't know, but I believe it. And I'll tell you,
that's a test that God will put you through, that test. You young
people go to school and somebody will get up and begin to laugh
and find fault with you. Let those doubts arise in your
mind. Watch out. Oh, watch out. Your foundations
are sweeping away because it's the Word. Secondly, I'll tell
you what you'll be tried by is the wisdom of men. The wisdom
of men. Human ways and human wisdom never
let up. They never let up. Turn to Matthew
chapter 24 and listen to this. They never let up. Human ways
and human wisdom and human argument and human logic Satan has all
of his guns turned toward this salvation by the grace of God.
They're all turned in that direction. There's a way that seems right
unto me. And listen to Matthew 24, 24. Thus shall arise false
Christ, false messiahs, false prophets, shall show great signs
and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they'd deceive
the very That's right. These are trials. They're real,
genuine trials. Believe the Word. Shun those voices that we hear. Put question marks on God's Word.
I'll tell you another way we're tried. Turn to Matthew 10. We're
tried by anger and the persecution of the flesh and the persecution
even of folks who are close to us and dear to us and near to
us. In Matthew chapter 10, listen to this. Our Lord said in verse
34, Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth. I
came not to send peace, but a sword. I've come to set a man at variance
against his father, the daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law. A man's foe shall be there with
his own household. That's a trial. Married to a
woman who doesn't believe Christ, married to a man who doesn't
love Christ. Have sons and daughters who do not love Christ, brothers
and sisters who hate the gospel of grace? That's a trial, isn't
it? Some of you know. But he said, he that loveth father
and mother more than me is not worthy of me. So the Lord sends
those trials, doesn't he? He that loveth son or daughter
more than me shall I side with? I had a young woman tell me this
one time. They were having a vote in a church, trying to vote the
pastor out for preaching the grace of God. I said, where are
you going to stand? She said, I'm going to stand
with my father against the pastor. I said, do you believe like your
father? No. But she said, if I don't stand with him, he'll
never speak to me again. So I'm voting against the preacher.
And that Sunday morning, she stood, tears streaming down her
face. And they never saw her again.
And God killed her when she was 34 years old. I'm telling you. And she was serious when she
said, she said, if I don't vote with him, he'll never speak to
me again. And that young girl stood that
morning, taking sides with her father against God Almighty.
I tell you, the bloodline's strong. You say, I'd never do that. Just
wait a little while now. Don't be saying what you will
do and won't do. Those are trials, and they can
get rough. Christ said, I'll tell you, he
said this, he said they'll put you out of the synagogues. The
time will come when whosoever killeth you will think he does
God a service. Just kill you, shut your mouth,
you'll think he's doing God a favor. That's a trial. Tell you how
else we're tried is by affliction. John, you've been tried. That's
not easy to bear, not being able to walk. That's a trial. Affliction. Illness. Loss of eyesight. Loss of hearing. There are a
lot of ways in which God tries men. Now, I don't know how you're
going to be tried. arthritis, heart trouble, pain,
cancer. I know this, there's no accidents
with God. And I know nothing can happen
in the life of a child of God but what God Almighty Himself
as the first cause brings to pass. Is that correct? But if
you have it any other way, you've got real troubles. Satan can't
move his hand without God's permission. He can't touch one of God's people.
Your house burns down tonight. I'll say this, if you are a child
of God, the Lord ordained it. Is that right? Oh, you say, I
don't believe that. Then you don't have a God at
all. You've got a figment of your imagination. You've got
a peanut God, what you've got. Because he can't stop the forces
of evil, he can't keep Satan from burning your house down,
then he's no God. You better worship Satan, because
he's going to win ultimately. In Psalm 119, verse 67, David
said, Before I was afflicted, I went astray. Psalm 119, verse
67, Before I was afflicted, I went astray. But now have I kept thy
word. Verse 71, it's good for me that
I've been afflicted. It's good for me that I might
learn thy statutes. Yes, God tries men by affliction,
affliction of one sort or another. I wouldn't want to lose my eyesight.
I wouldn't want to at all. But I've got to believe if I
did, it'd be by the will of God. I wouldn't want to lose my wife,
but I believe if I did, it'd be with the will of God. I don't
want to lose another child while I'm living, but I believe if
I did, it'd be with the will of God. I don't believe anything
can happen to me that's out of God's will, His permissive or
directive will. Do you? I'm not a faithless,
I'm a believer. I have a God who does all things
well, and He has absolute control of everything in heaven I'll
tell you another way he tries men, Proverbs 30. He tries them
with poverty and prosperity. Because a man is in poverty doesn't
mean he's under the judgment of God. He may be under the trial
of his Heavenly Father. Because a man's in prosperity
doesn't necessarily mean he's under the blessings of God. He
may be under the trial of his Heavenly Father. Listen to Proverbs
30, verse 7 and 8. Two things have I required of
thee. Deny them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and
lies. Give me neither riches nor poverty
nor riches. Feed me with food convenient
for me, lest I be full and deny the Lord." You see, a man can
get so full and so prosperous that he forgets who gave it to
him. Or he said, Lest I be poor and steal." A man's poor and
without a job, without means, and so he begins to curse God,
and he begins to do things he shouldn't do to gain those things.
Lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain.
I'll tell you another way that we're tried, is change. We're tried by change. Can you cope with change? God
tries men with change. Now here, how would I handle,
here I've been a pastor all these years, I've sat in that chair
for 30 years, right there, that one chair for 30 years, stood
in this pulpit. What if God was pleased to close
my mouth next week and put me right out there? How would I
handle it? If I believed, I'd handle it
all right, if I believed Christ. Here I am, here you are, you
have a home, a husband or a wife, and God is pleased to take that
person away. How did you handle it? Did you
quit, give up on God? Did you quit the Lord? Did you
go around pouting and finding fault with His providence, or
did you handle it and cope with it? That's change, you see. That's change. You men who've
retired lately, that's been a change. How are you going to handle it?
How are you going to handle it? Are we going to get our feelings
hurt, pout, let our selfish ego take over, get a martyr's complex,
make everybody miserable, or are we going to be happy in the
Lord and rejoice in the God of our salvation? Now, come on!
Anybody can claim faith as long as everything goes like he wants
it to go. Isn't that right? As long as
I'm calling the shops and doing the talking and running the show,
anybody can have faith. But it takes real faith to be
a follower. It takes real faith to be a learner. It takes real faith to be alone. That's right. And God brings
these things. I know that he does, because
they're trials. I know they're all of the hand
of God because they reveal, you see, and it's good for us. David
said it's good for me I've been afflicted. I've got to have these
things to show if I'm putting on a show or a sham or hypocrisy
or if I really say to God be the glory. Singing it and meaning
it's two different things. Or I only preach for the glory
of God. Then quit and see if you still can listen for the
glory of God. Huh? Come on now. Well, I sing
for the glory of God. If you had to quit, would you
amen somebody else for the glory of God? See, these changes, they're
going to come. They're going to come. Widow, preacher, teacher, singer. I've always had plenty. I've
always been able to do my share. And now, I don't have plenty.
Can you handle it? For the glory of God. Change. Now, I've seen too many people,
if they go along, as long as things go like they're supposed
to go, they just get along fine. But when something abruptly changes,
the children all marry and move on. Or they get a little age
on them, or get a little older, or something like it. They're
just not there. They're not with you anymore.
They're not with you. We're going to be tried by years.
And then last of all, it's a trial. And I'm not being harsh. You
can tell I'm preaching to me. You can tell that. You can tell
when a man's preaching to himself, when he's sincere. And I want
to know Christ. I want to love Christ. I want
to believe. And I want to endure to the end.
I want to die in the faith. Don't you? I don't want to die
in the faith. I don't want to be a phony, a
hypocrite, a sham. I want to know Christ. And whatever
it takes, you know, a fellow used to come here and sing that,
don't spare me. Well, I can't sing that quite yet, because
I'd like to be spared, wouldn't you? But whatever the trial is,
I want that faith, that saving interest in Christ to continue,
don't you? And we're going to be tried by
death. Well, they tried by death. My daughter-in-law, precious
girl, her dad's 65, her mother was 55 or 56, and she always
kind of expected a call that her dad, he's very sickly, he
has a lot of things wrong, he's a very nice man, but a very sick
man. But that's Tuesday morning, 2
or 3 o'clock in the morning, she got a call and said, Mom's
dead. Heart attack. 55, 56 years old. You see, God doesn't do everything
like we think he's going to. And it's coming soon. Can we
handle it? Can we lie down in peace? Can't we? Don't talk about it. Yes, I'm going to keep talking
about it. Because one day you'll thank me for talking about it.
Let's don't talk about death. Let's don't mention death. Yes,
sir. Yes, sir. Darsh and I are going
to Europe November 21st, and I've had to do a little preparing.
And I'll be back, Lord willing, in three weeks. But one day I'm
going to lie there and die, and I ain't coming back. And I want
to be well prepared, don't you? That's a long trip. And I want
you prepared, because if someone's is coming, the Master is here
and he's calling for you. And I won't ever want us to be
able to say, even so come, Lord Jesus, even so come. Coming for your wife, that's
all right. Come on, Lord. That's all right. Isn't that
right? Because faith is going to be trapped. The trying of
your faith. May God give us genuine, real
faith in Christ. Our Father, and oh, when we say
our Father, that it might be a genuine heart cry of Abba Father,
Daddy Father. We believe, we believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, the perfect substitute and sin offering,
and he is ours and we're his. Give us the grace and strength
to walk with Christ and in Christ and look to Christ and love Christ
and be built on Christ, whatever comes. Whatever comes, whatever you're
pleased to see into the lives of ours. May every one of us
in this building tonight, like those of old, die in the pain. endure to the end, and awake
with His likeness, we shall be satisfied. In His name we pray.
Amen.