I've said in a message some time
back that there are three things essential
to successful preaching. Number one is knowledge. It is
utterly impossible for a man to tell you something that he
does not himself know. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I cannot preach Christ effectively
if I personally do not know Christ. And then secondly, that which
is essential is sincerity. Sincerity. Paul said we preach
in sincerity. We covet not your gold or your
silver. We covet not your change of raiment. We covet not yours but you. He
said, I travail to Christ be formed in you. He said, I have
great heaviness and continual sorrow for my brethren, the Israelites. He said, I could wish myself
a curse from Christ for their sake. I want them to be saved.
That's sincerity. We're not playing games with
preaching the word of God for the glory of God. We preach not
ourselves but Christ. We preach Him in sincerity. Our
goal ought to be the glory of God, not our own gain, recognition,
or seeking to lead men to follow us. Sincerely. Thirdly, we're
to preach the gospel in simplicity. I don't know where we got off
years ago into this intellectualism, scholarly preaching. in words
that men do not understand. Our Master spoke simply. He spoke
in parables. He talked to them about the lilies
of the field, the sparrows of the air. He talked to them about
a king and his son. He preached simply and plainly. There's a group of preachers
in France. Bill Clark said that have given him a little
static in regard to our books. They're being translated now
into French and Portuguese. And Bill wants to get them over
the countries of Africa and French-speaking countries and in France too.
And there are a group of preachers there in France, one whom I know
quite well, whom you know. And their comments were, Well,
all he says is what the Bible says. That's a direct quote. All he says is what the Bible
says. They're not scholarly enough for us, and they're bucking them,
but Bill's going to put them through over their heads. I don't
understand this. I can't, to save my life, understand
why anyone would want to preach in a manner that the ordinary
common people could not understand, at least in their heads, what
he's saying. But I believe fourthly, and this
is the thing we've got to work on, I've got to and others who
preach, we must preach compassionately, remembering that men are where
they are because they're blind. We're where we are by God's grace.
We understand what we understand only because he revealed it.
Left ourselves, we'd be just as ignorant as anybody else,
just as bound in chains and fetters of false tradition and religion
as the next fellow. And we must not preach as angry
people, we must not witness as angry people, we must not get
angry at the people. I know sinners are to be blamed,
I realize that. But if a blind man is in a hole,
Beating him over the head with a stick and reminding him of
the hole in which he's fallen is not going to get him out.
We're going to have to preach kindly. Kindly. Our words are going to have to
be compassionate. And I realize I failed a great
deal in this respect. We can be firm and yet be kind. We can be strong and yet be meek. We can be bold and yet be tender. I think the times that you tell
your children, this is the way something's going to be, but
it has the voice of a bold father, but it has the voice of a kind
father. And that's the way we must preach. And so several years
ago, many years ago, in fact, 35 years ago, as I told you last
Sunday morning, God was pleased to reveal to me the gospel of
his grace. And I have chosen by God's grace
to preach that gospel and to preach it uncompromisingly and
to preach it boldly because I believe that's where the honor of our
Lord is being attacked in this day. I believe that. Martin Luther
used to say this, if I defend the honor of Christ in every
area except that particular area, where his honor is being challenged
and attacked in my day, I am not the servant of Christ. The
servant of Christ is going to find out where the honor of his
master is being challenged and attacked in his day, John, in
his day. Martin Luther did in his day,
it was justification by faith. And that old man stood for it,
defended it, preached it, worked on it. He was an extremist. But
that's where the battle was. Justification by faith. And when
they called him before the councils and the synods and the diet of
worms and all these other places, he said, here I stand, I can
do no other. I refuse to compromise that issue
that is the issue. The one issue in our day is the
sovereignty of God and salvation. Now that's the issue in this
day. They can get a... You see, religious people can
get together and operate together and work together and forget
their differences, but there's one difference they won't forget.
And that's the sovereignty of God and salvation. And that's
where it's being challenged. And that's where we must declare
ourselves and take our stand. And I've chosen to do that. And
I cannot bring myself to get together with or cooperate with
those who do not preach this message. I want to show you a
couple of scriptures. Turn to Acts chapter 5. And Acts chapter 5. Now, there
are men in our days who say that they agree with these doctrines. And what doctrines are you talking
about, Preacher? I'm talking about that God Almighty is absolutely,
unquestionably, unchangeably, infinitely sovereign in all things. In creation, providence, and
salvation. There's no question in regard to His absolute sovereignty. He does what He will, when He
will, with whom He will. I'm saying that men, by nature,
by Adam's fall, our identification with Adam, that we're dead in
trespasses and sin. We're fallen creatures. Love
not God, know not God, will not come to God. And that God, in
his everlasting covenant of mercy, chose a people. There's no sense
in stumbling over those words and no sense in withholding those
words. They're Bible words. Chose and chosen. And elect and
elected. They're Bible words. And he elected
a people. And he gave them to Christ. And
Christ assumed the responsibility to be their surety. From all
eternity. He's the surety of an everlasting
covenant. He's a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
There was a Savior before there was a sinner. God gave us to
Christ and he assumed the responsibility to bring us home. Every one of
us. And he came down here, not on
a hit and miss proposition. He came down here to redeem his
children. He came to die for us. And he did. And he redeemed
them. And not one will be lost. And
the Holy Spirit will call them. He's on the trail of God's sheep.
The Lamb's Book of Life is the Book of the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. And those sheep will be kept
for the power of God through faith. They will persevere in
righteousness. And I believe those things. And
I'm going to preach those things. And I'm going to associate with
people who preach. And I'm going to avoid and be
separate from those who deny it. Now watch this right here
in Acts chapter 5, verse 34. Now the apostles had been called
in for preaching Christ, the resurrection of Christ and these
things. They'd been brought before the Sanhedrin. And then stood
there up one in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel. You
recognize the name? Paul's teacher, Gamaliel. A doctor
of the law. He had credentials. He was an
important man. All right? He had a reputation
among all the people. He was a well-known religious
leader. And he commanded to put the apostles
forth a little space. And he said to them, who's he
talking to here? He said to his buddies. He said
to the other Pharisees, to the Sanhedrin, to the court there.
He said, you men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend
to do is touching these men. He came to their defense. For
before these days rose up Thutis, boasting himself to be somebody,
to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves.
He was slain. And all, as many as obeyed him,
were scattered and brought to nothing. After this man rose
up Judas of Galilee, not Judas Iscariot, but another Judas,
in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him.
He also perished. And all, even as many as obeyed
him, and were dispersed. And now I say to you, refrain
from these men, let them alone. For if this counsel or this work
be of men, it'll come to naught. But if it be of God, you cannot
overthrow it, lest happily you be found even to fight against
God." Now brethren, that sounds good, doesn't it? You see, he
said some good things. He did say some good things. He said
some true things. He came to the defense of the
apostles. He said, if what they're preaching is not of God, it'll
come to nothing, but if it's of God, you better leave it alone,
you'll be found to fight against God. But why wasn't he out there
with them? Why was he up here? You see what
I'm saying? Look at the next verse. And to
him they agreed, and when they had called the apostles and beaten
them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name
of Jesus and left him go. And they departed from the presence
of the council. If this man Gamaliel, believed anything, he would have
gotten out of his seat and gone down and joined himself with
those apostles. But he stayed with the council. He stayed with
the enemies of God. And you can put it down. People
who stay with the enemies of God are the enemies of God. It
doesn't matter whether they say, and I have people always saying
to me, well, so-and-so said some good things. Who's his companion?
Who are those with whom he associates? Who are those with whom he's
identified? They are his true fellows. You can write it down. If this man, Gamaliel, had believed
Christ and loved Christ and was willing to give himself for the
honor of Christ, he would have stepped down from his place and
said, you last them, you last me. I'm their brother. Now that,
to me, is believing something. Let me show you another one.
Turn to John 7. John 7. Now you hear a lot about Nicodemus.
Every time it mentions Nicodemus, it says he's the one that came
by night. And it mentions him about three times. I'm going
to show you two. But here in John chapter 7, now listen to
this, verse 45. John 7, 45. Then came the officers. They went out to arrest Christ
and they came back without him. Then these officers came to the
chief priest and the Pharisee. And they said unto them, why
didn't you bring him? Why have you not brought him?
The officer said, never man spake like this man. Then answered
them the Pharisees, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers
or the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth
not the law are cursed. Nicodemus said, now he's going
to defend Christ. Nicodemus saith unto them, he
that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, there's your
clue, he was one of them. They hadn't kicked him off the
board, because he hadn't said anything. But here he spoke up
and he said, Doth our Lord judge any man before it heareth him,
and know what he doeth? They answered and said to Nicodemus,
Are you also of Galilee? First you look. Out of Galilee
arises no prophet, no response. Stayed right where he was. He stayed right where he was.
Now then, turn to John chapter 19. But he did come out of hiding
again over here in John chapter 19. You see, this is an issue that
you cannot, as Brother Tim James said, straddle a fence and walk
in two different directions at the same time. You just can't
do it. Christ, like Paul Edwards said,
you confess me before me and I'll confess you. And you confess
him as he is. And if you confess him as he
is, the disciple is not above his Lord. If they've hated the
Lord, they're going to hate you. And we're not looking for a fuss.
We're just simply saying, if Nicodemus had really believed
something then, he would have said, yes, I believe in him.
Yes, I believe a prophet can come out of Galilee, for one
surely has. And that would have been the end of Nicodemus. And
Nicodemus knew it. So he kept his mouth shut and
stayed right where he was. And there are a lot of preachers
who know that if they speak up for these critical issues in
this day of unbelief, it's going to be the end of some things.
Some things that they rely heavily upon. In John 19, now listen
to this, verse 38. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews,
he was a wealthy man, Joseph was, of Arimathea. He had, he
stood to lose a whole lot if he came out here for Christ.
And he just wasn't willing to lose it. But, it says, he besought
Pilate that he could take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave
him leave. He came, therefore, and took
the body. And here came Nicodemus. There came also Nicodemus, which
at the first came to Jesus by night. He brought a mixture of
myrrh and alloys, about a hundred pound weight. That's expensive.
They took up the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes
with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury. And they
buried him. You know what this reminds me of? Now this is the
body of Christ, the dead body. The living Lord is not in that
dead body. but they are tenderly caressing
the dead body, but they refuse to be identified with the living
Lord. And that reminds me of preachers who caress the dead
doctrines, like you was telling me a while ago. I can sit in
my study and say I admire Watson and Gill and Owen and Whitfield,
but when I get out here, I've got to be identified with the
living Lord. Not the sovereignty of God, but
the God who See what I'm talking about? The sovereignty of God
is a dead body. The God who is sovereign is a
living, demanding Lord. Now, there's the issue. And these
boys, Pilate didn't have to use that dead body, they're welcome,
but if they'd have come and said, before Christ was crucified,
if you nail him to the cross, you nail me to the cross. Oh,
that's a white horse of another color. He's still living there.
He's still living there. He's still in the body. He's
always lived. Don't misunderstand, but I say he was still in that
body. Being identified with the doctrines
of grace is one thing, being identified with the grace of
the doctrine is another. And that's exactly what I'm saying.
I'm saying that a fellow can, and there are men who write books
on these great doctrines, and there are men who reprint Puritan.
But when it comes to actually being identified with the Lord
in His power, and the Lord in His greatness, and the Lord in
His majesty, and doing it in such a way that if men hate Him,
they hate you. If they refuse His sovereignty,
they've got to refuse me too. Somebody says, well, I like Brother
Mammoth, but I don't like what he preaches. Then you don't like him because
he is what he preaches. And if you're not what you believe,
then you don't believe anything. Is that unkind? It's just so.
Don't like me if you don't like Christ. I want to be hated for
His sake. David said, Thy enemies are my
enemies. I don't want to walk in the company of God's enemies.
I don't want to be like Judas Iscariot and come to Him with
lights at night and swords and identified with that crowd. I
want to be standing over there with the one they're coming to
arrest. That's just the way I feel about
it. And they all said, well, let's get together, you know.
We can't get together except at the feet of Christ. The sovereign
Christ, the electing Christ, the redeeming Christ, the eternal
Christ, the incarnate Christ, that's the Christ we can get
together around. All right, while they were here,
some of the men said, well, you don't give sinners a chance.
You don't give sinners a chance. Well, let me answer that this
way. My friend, salvation is not by
chance. Salvation not by chance. It's not a chance. A chance is
a shot in the dark. A chance is something you take
on a board when you pull out a plug, you know, and say, well,
I didn't win, or I did win. That's a chance. You see, salvation
not by chance, it's on purpose. Turn, if you will, to 2 Timothy
1-9. This is the verse of Scripture
that Donnie Bell was blessed by. God taught him some things
about grace. In 2 Timothy 1.9, it says here,
salvation not by chance, it's not a shot in the dark, it's
on purpose, according to God's purpose. It says here, he hath
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose. His purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ before the world began. Where
did we get it? God gave it to us. Why did God
give it to us? According to His own purpose
and grace. Where was it vested? In Christ.
When did He give it to us? Before the world began. That's
clear as a bell to me. But verse 10 says it's now made
manifest. This covenant of grace, this
covenant of mercy, this purpose of grace is manifest by the appearing
of our Savior Jesus Christ. Alright? Another thing I might
say is this. Salvation is not by chance, it's
by grace. It's by grace, amazing grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. The salvation's not of yourself
and the faith's not of yourself. It's the gift of God by grace. All right, I might say this,
salvation's not by chance. That is, it's not dependent on
the will of the creature, salvation's of the Lord. He deliberately
says in two places, it's not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. He says again
in John 1, we're not born of the flesh, of the will of the
flesh, or of the will of man. We're born of God. So salvation
is not left to chance. It's on purpose, it's by grace,
it's by the power of God, and it's through an eternal decree.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. This is an eternal decree. God
Almighty, and I say this as strongly as I can, just as much as He
has decreed the exaltation of Jesus Christ and the glorification
of Jesus Christ, He has decreed the salvation of Christ's elect
people. Just as strongly and just as
surely. He said, Of all that my Father
giveth me, I'll lose none, but raise it up at the last day.
Ephesians 1, 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he chose us in Christ, before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him, in love having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure
of his own will. If I'm lost, it's my fault. If
I'm saved, it's by God's grace. If I go to hell, I'll take all
the blame. I wouldn't come to Christ. I refuse to come. But if I am in glory, I'm going
to say unto him who loved me and washed me from my sins in
his own blood, I'm going to take no credit for it. And then I
might say this. You say you don't give sinners
a chance. I might say this. I'd remind you of this. If God
had not chosen a people, now listen to me, if God had not
determined to save a people, if God had not designed a covenant
of grace in Christ, if God had not chosen a people to be saved,
a number which no man can number, not one individual in this world
would ever be saved. Did you know that? I mean not
a one. Not a Moses or an Abraham or
a David. You see, Abraham was called by
God out of idolatry. Abraham wasn't worshiping God
when he called him. He was bound down to idols with
his daddy. He was a man 75 years old. Noah,
it says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. David,
God said, he's my chosen. He was going through the Saul
of Tarsus. He wasn't on his way to a prayer
meeting when he met the Lord. He's on his way to kill Christians,
and God stopped him. And I'm telling you this, not
one sinner will ever come to Christ apart from his electing
grace. Not one. Now I'll show you that.
Let me just quote these scriptures. You know them by heart, but listen.
John 6, 44, no man, no man. Whatever his environment, whatever
his heredity, no man. Whatever his mentality, no man
can, is able, has the power to come to me. To come to me, Christ
said. Coming to Christ is believing
on Christ. No man can come to me, except my Father, which is
in heaven, draw him. You know what it said? Nobody! Listen to John 3, 19. This is
condemnation. Light is coming to this world,
but me and what? They love darkness. They do not
love light. And they won't come to the light.
They will not come. This is John 5. Our Lord said,
search the scriptures. In them you think you have life,
but they are they which testify of me, and you will not come
to me that you might have life. He said, I know you. You have
not the love of God in you. You seek not the honor that comes
from God. You seek the honor that comes
from me. I've come in my Father's name, and you will not receive
me. Let another come in his own name. Him you will receive. That's
how twisted we are, Jim. That's how perverted we are by
nature, by birth, by choice. Preach error, you'll get a crown.
Preach truth, you'll get God's crown. That's just so. It's so. He was in the world
and the world knew him not. Now let me ask you. Here's the
Son of God. Now you talk about we coming
along preaching and we want people to believe us and love us and
follow us. The Son of God, it says He was in this world, and
the world was made by Him. He was the creator of it and
the author of it. And yet the world knew Him not. Not one living soul in this world
knew who He was. Isn't that true, Mike? Not one.
He came unto His own, His own temple, His own tabernacle, His
own priesthood, His own nation, and they received Him not. What
makes you think we'd be different? God makes the difference. There's
no difference between Jew and Gentile. We've all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. But God, that's the difference. But God, that's the difference. And that's the only difference. Romans 9, 29
says, Except the Lord of the Sabbath had left us a seed, we'd
be like Sodom and Gomorrah. How many folks in Sodom and Gomorrah? God had to yank the lot out by
the hair of his head. Not a woman. Let me tell you something,
now listen to me. This is what folks just cannot
or will not see. No matter how much light you
reveal, blind men still will not see. God has to give mine. No matter how many times you
call, deaf men do not hear. may not come. No matter how much
life is above the ground, dead men remain in the ground. Our
Lord said they have eyes they do not see. You say, I just can't
see this. I know you can't. This is a hard thing, they said.
Who can hear it? I'll tell you who can hear it.
A man who's been given ears tuned to God's voice, tuned to heaven's
channel, tuned to the voice of his master. He can hear it. He
said, having hearts they do not understand. Who was it wrote that old hymn?
Grace. Grace, just a charming sound. Harmonious to the ear. Heaven
with the echo will resound. and all the earth shall hear.
Grace first inscribed my name in God's eternal book. It was
grace that gave me to the Lamb who all my sorrows took. Grace
led my wandering feet to walk the heavenly road. And new supplies
each hour I meet while pressing on to God. Grace taught my soul
to pray. Grace made my eyes overflow. It's grace that kept me to this
day and will not let me go. Grace, all God's work shall crown
through everlasting days. Grace lays in heaven the topmost
stone, and grace well deserves the praise. Well, I might remind you of this.
Somebody said, you don't give sinners a chance. Well, I might
remind you of this. Remind you of what my master
preached. What did my master preach? He said, I'm the good
shepherd, I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, and I lay down
my life for my sheep. And a bunch of Jews came round
about him, they said, well if you be the Christ, tell us plainly.
He said, I told you. And you didn't believe me. And
you didn't believe me because you're not of my sheep. My sheep
hear my voice. And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and you can't pluck them out of His hand
either. I and my Father are one." And they reached down and got
some sticks and stones. We're not being stoned. You'll be stoned
if you tell that. You preach what He preaches.
And they'll holler, that's not fair! That's not right! Our Lord said in John 15, you
didn't choose me, I chose you. And I say to everybody, I point
my finger in the face of every disciple of Christ in this building
or in this world, and I say, you didn't choose God, He chose
you. That's what Christ said. You did not choose God, He chose
you. You did not choose God, He chose
you. Herein is love, not that we love
Him, but that He loved us. You love him because he first
loved you. Now you know that soul. You fight
and argue. The children, Paul said, being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth it was said to her, the elder
shall serve the younger. But that's not right. He's going
to do it anyway. Old Joseph brought his, was it
Joseph brought his son to his father to bless? Was it Joseph? And he put the oldest boy on
this side. So see the right hand was what
they laid on the son to bless. He got the birthright, he got
the blessing. And he brought the younger son and put him on
this hand. Younger son over here, and the old man was about blind.
He brought those two boys, Manasseh I think was one, Ephraim, is
that one? Brought them back up there. You know what the old
man did? Crossed his hands. That's what
he did. And Joseph said, hey! He tried
to do it. He said, I know what I'm doing.
I'm doing what God decreed. I'm a fellow with crossed hands.
I'm going to do what He decreed. Whatever it costs. Because I
believe He decreed all things. The elder shall serve the young.
What shall we say to these things? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid! He said to Moses, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom I will.
Now that's what the apostles prayed. You see your calling,
brethren, not many mighty. Where are the mighty here tonight?
Are the mighty dumber than we are? Well, if they were, they
wouldn't be the mighty. But God had chosen the foolish.
Not many mighty, not many noble. But God had chosen, God had chosen,
God had chosen, God had chosen the foolish, the babes, the things
that are not. God hath chosen, that no flesh
should glow in his presence. That's what the Apostles pray.
I'll tell you something else. Paul said this, I thank God for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation. Now, we don't need to kind of
muffle that in our handkerchiefs when we preach. We don't need
to kind of read hurriedly around it, avoid it. Because God is
God. Now here's some questions. Here's
the great questions. I could, I could come from that
angle, but here's the great question. And I'm saying this, listen to
me. God's not going to listen to you on any other subject till
this one's settled. Exactly right. Here it is. Does God have the right to be
God? And does He exercise that right? Now that's what I'm asking tonight.
Does God, the God of heaven and earth, the God of glory, the
living God, the eternal God, when you talk about His sovereignty,
His choosing, His election, His predestination, His grace, His
love, does He have the right? Does He have the right to be
God? And does He exercise that right?
The Bible says He does. The Bible says He does. He said,
can I not do with my own what I will? He said, come down to
the potter's house and I'll show you some things. The potter has
the right to make of the same lump a vessel under honor and
a vessel under disgrace. Turn to Isaiah chapter 46. Does
God have the right to be God? Does He exercise that right?
The Bible says He does. Isaiah 46, listen to this. Isaiah
46, verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, I am God. There's none else. I am God, there's none like me.
I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. calling a ravenous bird from
the east and a man that executes my counsel from a far country.
Yea, I've spoken it, I'll bring it to pass, I've purposed it,
I'll do it, God says. Does he have that right, Charlie? You've got to settle that issue
because God's not going to talk to you about anything else or
listen to you about anything else until that's settled who
God is. Who God is. Who's God in this
thing? Who's the boss? Who's the boss? Who sits on the
throne? Who's the master and who's the
servant? That's going to be second. Secondly, does the Lord Jesus
Christ have the crown rights? Does he have the crown right?
The Bible says he does. David read it the other night,
David Atkins in the Bible conference, on his vesture, were the words,
King of kings and Lord of lords. Oh, that impressed me, in capital
letters. King of kings in the Lord. Is
he? Is he? Does he have all power in heaven
and earth? The Bible says he does. I know
today they're preaching a weak Jesus. They're preaching a Jesus
that I don't hardly have much respect for to be honest with
you. I call him a peanut Jesus. He has a will but he can't exercise
it. He wants to do things and folks
won't let him. But the Christ of the Bible,
the scripture says, he said this himself, all authority is given
unto me in heaven and earth. He said this in John 17, he said,
I have power over all flesh to give eternal life to as many
as you've given me. He said this, as the Father hath
life in himself and quickeneth whom he will, so the Son quickeneth
whom he will. I make bold to say this. The
Lord Jesus Christ will save anybody He wants to, anytime He wants
to. That's not what's preached today.
We're out here doing our best, shaking the bushes and drumming
up business for Jesus. And I don't have any respect
for that kind of Jesus. The Lord I preach is a sovereign
Lord who's not trying to save anybody. Now that's the one I
preach. And if you can't believe that
Christ, we'll have a fuss. We're not going to fuss over
anything else. But we'll fuss over that, who Jesus Christ is.
He'll save anybody He wants to in time He wants to. He always
has. The Bible says He has. He says
He quickens whom He will. And the Word of God, David, said,
You kiss the son lest he be angry. You won't make him mad. Kiss
the son. And he's talking about kissing
his feet, too. That's what he's talking about. You're not talking
about a Judas kiss on the cheek. I'll tell you, I'm sorry, I cannot
have any respect for, and I cannot worship, and I cannot believe
in, and I cannot trust, and I cannot preach a weak Jesus. Can't do
it and refuse to do it. I'm preaching a conquering king
who finished what God the Father sent him to do and went to glory,
and he's seated, he sat down at the right hand of God, and
he's expecting He's expecting everybody he redeemed to be in
glory, and he's expecting the rest of them to be his footstool. And I'll tell you this, third
question. Does God have the right to be God? Does Jesus Christ
have the crown rights? Does He have the scepter? Does
He have the keys of hell and death? The Bible says He does.
The Bible says He does. And I'll ask you a third question.
Has the Father turned this whole universe over to Jesus Christ?
The Bible says He has. The Bible says in John 3.35,
the Father hath loveth the Son, and hath given all things into
His hands. I'm talking about His church,
and I'm talking about the devil's church. I'm talking about His
angels, and I'm talking about the devil's angels. I'm talking
about this whole universe, the new heaven and new earth. The
Father hath turned everything over to the Son. By decree, I
like my son, this day have I begotten thee. Let all the holy angels
of God worship him. That's God's decree. By covenant
designed, our Lord Jesus Christ said, all that my father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I'll in no
wise cast out. I came down from heaven. I came
down here not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that of all which
He had given me, I'll lose nothing. I'll raise it up at the last
day." And I'll tell you this, God the Father had turned the
whole universe over to Him because of His death. He died that He
might be Lord of the dead and the living. He purchased his
people in a redemptive fashion and he bought the whole world
by his debt. It's his. To dispose of as he
sees fit. Is that right? It is right. Now
I can worship that Lord. And I can look to him like the
thief on the cross and say, Lord, you're not going to stay dead.
You're coming into a definite, decreed, designed kingdom. Remember me. I'm not looking
to Saint Jude or Maverick or Moses or Abraham or anybody else. I'm looking to you alone because
it's all in your hands. Is it? I know it is. Now I can fall down and worship
Him. I can follow Him. I can preach Him. I can trust
Him. I can trust Him. I can trust
Him with my life. I can trust Him with my soul.
I can trust Him with my friends. I can trust Him with His church.
I can trust Him with our health. I can trust Him with everything.
I can trust Him because He has all power. Nothing can stay His
hand or say unto Him what doest thou. Trust Him. Some folks you
can't trust. There's some folks I wouldn't
ride with in an automobile. I'd be afraid to. You can't trust
them. But I'll tell you this, Christ can be trusted. There never has been any government,
total government, total government, total authority placed on anyone's
shoulders except the Lord Jesus Christ. Under us a son is given,
under us a child is born, and the government, beware, on his
shoulders. The government, that's the rule. That's the authority, that's
the kingdom. Is it anywhere else? Find me from Genesis to Revelation
where God has put the government anywhere but on Christ. Now you
find it. And the government, the government,
THE government, not a government, THE government shall be on His
shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And you know what salvation is?
It means to be converted and to bow to the rule of Jesus Christ. That's salvation. That's what
it is. Because Paul said in Romans 10,
9 and 10, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus to be Lord,
and believe in thine heart, God raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. That's what it is. That's where
it is. It's not accepting Jesus as your
personal Savior. It's bowing to Jesus Christ as
your Supreme Lord. That's right. He's prophet, priest, and king.
And salvation is when a man sees Jesus Christ, where He is, on
His throne, with a government on his shoulders, with a rule
of all men under his authority, and his church in his hands,
and a man sees him on that throne, and he says, I'm glad he's there.
I wouldn't have him anywhere else. And I wouldn't have anyone
else there. That man's been saved. That man's been saved. You'd
nitpick at him all you want to, but that man's been saved. That's
what Thomas did. He fell at his feet and said,
My Lord and my God! And our Lord said, Blessed are
you, Thomas. You've seen and believed, but
you've blessed. My Lord and my God. You say,
Well, what do you say to a sinner? I say, Can you bow to Christ?
God commands you to. God commands you to. Because there are other preachers
inviting people down the aisle. I'm not inviting people anywhere.
I'm commanding them to bow to Christ. Salvation is not an invitation,
it's a command. Faith is not an invitation, it's
a command. God commands men everywhere to repent. You don't have an
option. You'll repent or go to hell. God commands men to believe
Him. You've got no option. A slave
doesn't tell his master I don't believe him. You'll believe him
and be saved, or you'll disbelieve him and be damned. That's where
it lies, right there. And I know we've got all this
silly walking around, accepting Jesus, and carrying on all this
hookey-doo, all that other stuff. And I tell you, salvation is
in the hands of a sovereign Lord, who bought it Himself, who accomplished
it, who by Himself purged our sins. And he has the water of
life to give, and he gives it to the thirsty. He has the bread
of life to give, and he gives it to the hungry. He has the
mercies of the kingdom to give in abundance. He's plenteous
in mercy, but he gives it to the repenting sinner who owns
his Lordship. And I'll tell you, and who will
kiss his hand, not bite it, but kiss it, and love him. and honor
Him and glorify Him with all that He has. We don't divide
with God. God owns it all. Well, that's
it. And I'm telling you, I'm telling
you as kindly as I can, that's the issue in this day. That's
where the battle is. That's where you're spitting
on their hands and choosing up and taking sides right there.
You don't believe that. I believe it. I believe it.