One of the things that I enjoy
most, and I, like Barnard used to say,
I'm not preaching now, I'm telling the truth, but I do honestly enjoy, thoroughly
enjoy sitting down and listening to a person talk who knows what
they're talking about. I enjoy that. I flat enjoy that. If I feel like that an individual
is experienced in a certain field, that he's not talking about what
he read or what somebody else said, but he's talking from experience
in his field, and he is to some degree an expert in that field,
I delight, I thoroughly enjoy listening to that person talk.
Some time ago I was in a home and a young man in this congregation,
Brother Tom Harding over here, was talking to us about the religion
of Mormonism. And he wasn't talking to us out
of a book he'd read about it. But he was talking out of his
own personal experience. He lived it. He had been in it. He had been successful in it.
And he was telling us about what he knew. Now, that's enjoyable. And that goes for you men who
are successful in your various fields. I like to hear you talk.
I like to hear you talk about your business. I like to hear
you talk about contracting. I enjoy hearing somebody talk
about something they know something about. Well, our scripture this
morning is written by a man who knows what he's talking about.
This isn't hearsay. Now, here you've got in this
scripture, you've got someone talking to us who has been an
old, dead religious Pharisee. Paul was an expert at being a
Pharisee. Spurgeon said one time, whatever
Paul did, whether he was in rebellion or whether he was in repentance,
he did it with all his heart. He never did anything halfway.
And here's one who was an old Pharisee, steeped in religion,
steeped in legalism, steeped in denominationalism, steeped
in ritualism, steeped in self-righteousness. He knew religion. Turn with me
to Philippians chapter 3 and listen to him talk about himself.
He knew religion. He knew how useless it was. He
knew there was no joy and no peace in ritualism and ceremonialism
and self-righteousness. He knew that. And he said in
Philippians 3, 4, watch this, though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any man, any of you fellows think that you
have whereof you might trust in the flesh, religiously, in
your works and laws and duties and deeds, I more, more than
you." Or he said, I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of
Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching
the law of Pharisees concerning Zeal. I persecuted the church
as touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. I climb as high as you can climb,"
he said. Self-righteous, religious, a law-abiding traditionalist. He knew religion. This man is
an expert on the subject of being religious but lost. All right,
secondly, this man speaking here is a sinner who had been truly
broken at the feet of Christ on the road to Damascus. God
broke him. God brought him to the feet of
Christ. You've read his experience. He
said he had secured papers from the high priest and from those
in command to go down into Damascus and commit to prison people who
were worshiping the name of Jesus Christ. And on the way to Damascus,
he said at midday, I saw a great light and I heard a voice say,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, I cried, who
art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom thou persecutest. And Saul of Tarsus was stricken
blind and thrown off his horse in the dust. And they led him
away from that spot, a blind man, until God later restored
his sight. And along with restoring his
physical sight, He gave him spiritual sight. He said, I obtained mercy. He said, where sin did abound,
where sin did overflow, oh, he said, I was injurious. I was
a persecutor, but I obtained mercy. This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into this
world to save sinners, sinners, of whom I am the chief, of whom
I am the chief. This man knew something. about
being brought from darkness to light, from the depths of depravity
to the kingdom of God's dear Son. He was speaking from experience. And then thirdly, here is God's
chosen vessel to speak. Here's God's chosen vessel, Christ
said, to bear His name before the Gentiles. I want you to look
at this scripture in Acts chapter 9. You talk about a man who knows
what he's talking about. You talk about a man that's got
a right to talk. You're talking about a man that
ought to be heard. This was a man experienced in
religion without Christ. Here's a man experienced in rebellion
and sin and powerfully, supernaturally brought from that place, the
place of worship and faith in Christ. And here's a chosen vessel
God sent Ananias down to talk to Paul, Saul of Tarsus, and
the Lord said, listen to verse 15, the Lord said to Ananias,
go your way. And you know Ananias had said,
I've heard about this man Saul of Tarsus, how he persecutes
people, commits people to prison. God said, now go your way, go
your way. He is a chosen vessel unto me. to bear my name before the Gentiles
and kings and children of Israel. Now, brethren, when I had a bad disc in my back,
and on recommendation from some friends, I made a trip all the
way to Cleveland, Ohio, to a man whom I believe is one of the
best neurosurgeons in this country. And I sat in his office, saw
some other people, and then they led me into a smaller office
and sat down, and he came in. I admired him, I respected him,
I knew he knew his business. You know what I did? Bob, I listened
to him. I didn't, I just answered questions. I didn't tell him what I thought
it was, because I didn't know. I didn't advise him about how
to do his business. I sat there with my mouth shut
and listened to him. And listened to him. And I'll
tell you this. Same thing goes for any other
area where a man is an expert. Where he knows what he's talking
about. And we're sitting at the feet
this morning of the Apostle Paul who's an expert. Let's listen. if I could just get myself and
you and everybody to whom we praise to quit being experts
ourselves. So opinionated. Our thoughts
are not his thoughts, our ways are not his ways, so let's see
if we can't listen to somebody who knows his thoughts and knows
his ways. And Paul, Paul had, God brought
him through all of these experiences to minister to us. He went through
all this religious training and all this religious Phariseeism
and all this religious experience. He went through that, that he
might be brought to this place to speak these words. And I'll tell you this, something
else about him. He was the old Pharisee. He was a sinner broken
by the power of God and brought to the feet of Christ. He was
a chosen vessel to bear the name of Christ to the Gentiles. He was a missionary to the world,
a missionary to the world, the founder of churches, the writer
of Holy Scriptures. He knows the Word. And fourthly,
here's the old warrior, bearing in his body the scars of persecution
and trial. He paid for what he believed.
He paid the consequences. He dared to boldly declare the
gospel of God's grace, and he bore in his body scars to prove
it. And he was about to close out
his ministry, he was about to go to be with his Lord, and he
wrote to his friends at Ephesus. He wrote to his people, here's
a man, the old warrior, just about to fold up the tent and
lay it aside. and go to be with the Lord, and
he writes to his friends, his friends at Ephesus. These people were special to
him. In fact, he shared with them one of his most critical
hours. Sometimes, if you want to take the time to read it,
I'll show you where it is. It's over here in Acts 20. One
of his critical hours, he was about to go to Jerusalem, and
he said, and he had been warned by the prophets that Bonds in
prison was waiting on him. And he'd been warned by the Holy
Ghost that they would never see his face again. Bob, do you know
who he sent for? The elders at Ephesus. In this
critical hour, in this time of farewell, in this last message
the old warrior had to preach before he went to Jerusalem,
to suffer and die for Christ, He called, look at Acts chapter
20 and it's verse 17. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus
and called for the elders of the church. And they had come
to him. He said to them, and there's
the message that He spoke to them in Acts chapter 20. You
can read it later. You can read it later. But in
the midst of it, He says this. He says that He's going to be
going away in verse 22. And now, behold, I go, bound
in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there, except the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city,
saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But none of these things
move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might
finish my course with joy. In the ministry which I have
received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace
of God, I show you that to show you this, that these people to
whom he was writing were special. Special. Now, what does he write? What does he say? He begins in
verse 1. He says, Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus,
to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, bless God. What does he write? He begins
with a doxology. He begins with a hymn of praise
to God. Bless God. Praise God. Adoration and glory be to God. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thought when I read this and
was preparing the message, bless God, praise God, all adoration
and glory be to God. What poor creatures we are. I
am. What poor creatures we are who
have not the understanding nor the will, nor the vocabulary
to praise God as He ought to be praised. I'm not talking about
jumping up and running around. I'm not even talking about raising
our hands openly and outwardly and making all kind of signs.
I think people can do that and not praise God. But I'm talking
about that genuine, genuine, sincere, heart praise. that goes up to glory, up to
God. Like in Psalm 135. Turn over
there a minute. Let me show you something. Psalm
135. Listen to this. Psalm 135. Let me just read a
few verses here. And you know this praising God
can be done openly or inwardly, outwardly, quietly, but it's a heart condition and
a heart expression. We murmur well. We've got the
vocabulary for griping and murmuring. We're all well equipped for that. We've got the understanding and
we've got the will to murmur. But all for the understanding
and the vocabulary and the will to praise God, bless God. Listen to Psalm 135. Praise ye
the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord.
Praise Him, O ye servants of the Lord, ye that stand in the
house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise
the Lord, for the Lord is good. Saying praise is unto His name,
it's pleasant. Isn't that pleasant? And I'm
not talking, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not looking for folks
to jump up like popcorn here and say, hallelujah, praise the
Lord, so forth. I'm talking about if we could
just do it quietly, personally, individually, sincerely, from
the heart. Praise God. Well, thank God. Look, turn over one page. Psalm
135, verse 19. Listen. Bless the Lord. Bless
His name. O house of Israel, bless the
Lord. O house of Aaron, bless the Lord. O house of Levi, ye that fear
the Lord, bless the Lord. And right out here, O house of
Barthram, O house of Pennington, old house of pain, old house
of tape. Let's bless the Lord. That's
what he's saying. That's what the writer of scripture
here is saying. Bless the Lord! Every house. Every house. Let it be a little
church in itself to praise God. That's the way. When Paul, when
this man, he knows what he's talking about now. He's no novice. It's as though Brother Barnard
said, this is no one gallant evangelist coming through town.
This is the old Pharisee, the old sinner saved by grace, the
chosen vessel, the old warrior about to lay it down. He writes
to his friend and says, well, bless God. Bless God. Why? All right, let's read. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. First reason
we bless God is because He is God. I do wish this, and I'm talking
to me, that I could bless and praise God, not just because
of his gifts, but because he's the giver. Bless God for himself. Bless God because he's worthy
to be blessed, he's worthy to be praised, because he's God.
He's infinite holiness. He's infinite wisdom. Do you
admire wisdom? Then you ought to admire God.
He's infinite wisdom. Do you admire purity? Do you
admire perfect purity? The glory and whiteness of perfect
holiness, do you? Then God is worthy to be praised.
He's perfect holiness. Do you love somebody who loves? Who shows forth that unselfish
love? Pure love, love because He loves,
not because someone deserves it or buys it. I sure do. Then you ought to love God. He's
perfect love. He's infinite power. He's infinite
justice. He's infinite righteousness.
He's God. God and not only because he's
God but because he's the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now
my friends, listen to me, I would never be guilty of dividing the
Trinity in any way, setting one against the other. I worry about
people who talk about the Old Bible and the New Bible. I worry
about people when you read a scripture they say, oh that's in the Old
Testament. I worry about people who seem to think that that God
of the Old Testament is somewhat different from the Christ of
the New Testament. Let's never divide the Trinity. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world because God loved. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come into this world and die on the cross in order to create
love in the heart of God. He came because God loved. For God so loved the world He
gave His only begotten Son. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world not to create mercy and love in the heart of God,
but to enable God to exercise that love and mercy and still
be God. We need to learn those things. The Redeemer's death is not the
cause of God's love, it's the result of God's love. Bless God
because He is God. Bless God because He's the Father,
He's the Giver, He's the Sender of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless
God. Praise God. And then thirdly,
this old warrior says, Blessed be God. and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us. Bless God because he hath
blessed us. He did it. He did it. He's the giver of every good
and perfect gift. He's the source of every mercy.
He's the fountain of every comfort. I'll tell you this, I hear people
use this term, and I know sometimes it slips out. I know sometimes
that we say things that we really didn't mean to say. But we say
things, when some blessing comes our way, we say, boy, that was
a good break. That was a good break. He got
a good break. That, we sure were lucky. My
friends, He has blessed us. He has blessed us. It's God that... And not only that, watch this.
He hath blessed us. He hath already blessed us. Everything
that we shall ever enjoy, God has already decreed and purposed
to give us. Turn to Romans 8. Romans chapter
8. Listen to this. He hath blessed
us. Romans chapter 8, verse 28. And we know that all things all
things. You know, if we really believe
this, I really believe, you really believe this, we'd quit having
so many of these mountains and valleys experiences. We'd quit
being hot and cold, up and down, in and out, and we'd have a more
peaceful, a more peaceful and level living experience. day by day. And I'm not just talking to him,
I'm talking to me. There's something, we feel something goes wrong.
In God's plan, nothing ever goes wrong. Like Scott said, I hadn't
heard any bad news since I heard the good news. Because if I've
heard the good news, then even the bad news is good news. In
this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I will
overcome the world. I've planted my feet on the rock
of ages, and I shall not be moved. Not only not moved by success,
but not moved by poverty or failure. Not only not be moved by elation,
but I'll not be moved by depression. Because whatever happens, big,
little, great, or small, it's for my good. Isn't that what
he says? We believe it up here, don't
we? If you were to give us a test on our Calvinism, we'd make a
hundred. If you add that as theological Calvinism, we'd make a hundred.
Give us a test on the experiential Calvinism, we'd probably all
flunk. But it says here, plainly, Romans 8, 28, I know that all,
yeah, I know, but I know, no, he said, and I know that all
things work together for good to them who love God, who are
called according to His purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren, moreover whom
he did predestinate, he called whom he called, he justified
whom he justified, all past tense, he glorified. I'm already glorified. He hath blessed me. He hath It doesn't say he will, plans
to, intends to, he hath blessed me. I'm alright on that, built
on that, trust in that, hope on that, rest in that. He hath
blessed me. And all the demons in hell can't
take it away. He said I'm the Lord, I change
not. And neither height, nor depth,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor angels, nor principalities
from heaven or hell, nor powers, nor any other creature can separate
me from that love of God in Christ. He has blessed me. Me. Me. You. He's blessed us with
what? All spiritual blessings. Now
brethren, with such earthbound creatures, I'm going to stop
turning that television on and listening to these preachers.
I keep saying I'm just going to quit listening to them. Quit
listening to them. I tell you, we think too much
of this body. All in the world they ever talk
about is driving a bigger car, living in a bigger home, getting
my arthritis straightened out, getting my heart healed, getting
my hearing back, getting my eyesight back, getting healed. Get in
the gifts, get in the prospering, plant your seed, you'll be rewarded.
Reward, healing, prosperity, financial. That's all flesh. That's all in the world, all
that junk is flesh. And I don't care how much of
it I have, I'm going to wind up in a hole in the ground. Dead
and a mackerel. Back to the dust from whence
I came. You know what I need? I don't
need better physical eyesight. I need some spiritual eyesight. I don't need to be able to hear
you. It'd be better if I didn't. The jump that goes on, it'd be
better if I stoned down. I need to hear Him who speaks
from heaven. I need to hear. I don't need
to be able to run up that hill. I can get there after a while
walking. And I don't need to eat right.
I don't need to live to be a hundred. I hope I don't. A hundred years
of this junk's enough, too much for anybody. I need to live forever. That's what I... I need these
spiritual blessings Paul's talking about. These spiritual blessings. What are these spiritual blessings?
Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. That's what I need. I need spiritual
blessings. I tell you this, most people
in financial difficulty got themselves there. Now isn't that about right? We overcharged. I know a lot
of it is unintentional and so forth, but I just think here
in the United States of America we all try to live above and
beyond our means. We need to operate with what
God gave us. What God gave us. We used to.
We used to. But here's what we need in 1
Corinthians 1.30. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us what? Wisdom. Wisdom. And I'll tell you this wisdom
thing. It's understanding. He hath come and given us understanding. Wisdom to see God's purpose and
power. Wisdom to see God's grace in
Christ, His glory in the face of Christ. That wisdom is Christ's
wisdom, righteousness, holiness, perfection. He has given us righteousness,
the righteousness of God which is in Christ. He has given us
sanctification. He has set us apart. He has made
us His own. He has separated us from the
thing, the defiled thing. He has taken that which is common
and ordinary and made it godly. I'm His and He's mine. And He
has given me redemption. I've found the ransom. I've been
paid for it. I've been bought and paid for
it. I've been redeemed. He has, He, bless God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He's blessed. What's he blessed
you with? All spiritual blessings. Little word there, all spiritual
blessings. Jesus Christ is made to me all
I need. Why are we always getting upset
and troubled about whether or not we're going to heaven or
not? If Christ is in heaven, I'm going there because I've
got in him all I need. All I need. Look at 1 Corinthians
3. Do you know, do you know this? This may, this may be a surprise,
but this is true. That God made this world, God
started this whole thing, and brought it together, and is letting
everything go on as it has gone on, for your sakes. That's right, for our sakes.
For Christ and us, and we're in Christ. Listen to this in
first Corinthians 3. I'll show you verse 21 therefore
let no man glory and mean For all things are yours Awa all
things are yours all things eternally purposed and plain eternally
Design and make all whether it's Paul Paul was born and lived
the Pharisee. He did that for your sake his
conversion, his revelations, his writings, that's for your
sake. He's yours. Paul, Apollos, Peter,
you're not his. You know these religious leaders
get all this power and they move people around like puppets. Well,
the people aren't theirs, they belong to the people. if they're
God's people, God's servants. Paul said, we praise Jesus Christ
the Lord and ourselves, your servants, for Christ's sake.
We're God's instruments and means that God has supplied to bring
you to Christ. I endure all things for the elect's
sake that they might come to the knowledge of Christ. That's
what he's saying. Paul, Cephas, Apollo, the world,
God made the world for you. You're living to live again.
Or death, you'll die to go home. Or things present, or things
to come, all are yours. Isn't that so? That's what he's
saying. And you belong to Christ. And
Christ belongs to God. So this whole thing, this whole
shooting match, the sun that shines, the moon that reflects
the light, the stars, the planets, the earth, The creation, the
fall, the restoration, the Christ coming, living, dying, suffering,
buried, rose again, ascending to heaven, the apostles, the
scriptures, that's all for us. That's all for us. He has blessed
us with all spiritual blessing. Now watch this. In the heavenlies. Now my friends, listen to me.
And I know some of these things are necessary, but what I'm trying
to say, what I'm trying to get us to do, I'm trying to get us to do this. Let's put the emphasis where
it belongs, in our affection, where they ought to be, where
a man's treasure is, his heart is, where his heart is, his treasure
is. And some of you have money in the bank. You have money in
the bank, you have business. Let me tell you something. They
may fail tomorrow. The United States government
may fail tomorrow. I hope not, but it could. In
1929 it did. These folks jumping off the Empire
State Building in 1929, because they suddenly, they were one
day millionaires, next day they'd have a dime. Not a thing. And you've got good help now.
I've got good help. I'm thankful. But I tell you,
I don't know about tomorrow. It may fail tomorrow. We have
houses and land. See, these are earthly things.
These are earthbound things. We're earthbound creatures and
all these things. These are all temporary. This
is all temporary. But God hath blessed God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. But these spiritual blessings
are not in this body. They're not in a bank. They're
not in a building. They're in heavenly places. That's
where they are. Where thieves don't break through
and steal. Where moth and rust does not grow up. My heavenly
treasures and my heavenly blessings are where? Where my Savior is. Where my Mediator is. They're
at the right hand of God within the veil. Everything I've got,
that's where it is, Bob. Mike, that's where everything
lasting, everything worthwhile, you say it's not your family
worthwhile, dear, dear, your friends, this church, dear, oh
yes, but they're going to decay, that's what I'm saying. Let's
use this world, but don't abuse it. You men work, but don't get
it in the wrong place. Our treasures are where Christ
is now. These spiritual blessings, these
spirit... God has blessed us physically.
God has blessed us materially. God has blessed us in many ways. But the thing that counts, Paul
said, bless God. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies. Let's read about it in Hebrews
6. Let's read about it in the heavenlies. And I'm not preaching
down to you. You know that. I don't preach
that way. I'm talking to us. I'm preaching to us. Now watch this right here. In
Hebrews 6, verse 19, which hope we have as an anchor of our soul,
and it's sure and steadfast, and it enters into that within
the veil. And you know what that's talking
about. They had the Old Testament tabernacle and the holy place
where all the priests came. But in here, the Holy of Holies,
separated by that veil, right out here. That veil was right
there. Back here, the Holy of Holies. And in the Holy of Holies,
the Ark and the Mercy Seat, forgiveness, propitiation, grace, God's acceptance. And over that Mercy Seat, the
Shekinah Glory. Oh, to be within the veil. Oh,
once a year the high priest came in there with the blood. God
accepted it. Everything's alright. And brethren,
let me tell you something. That's where I want my treasure,
within the veil. But not this veil. Up yonder,
in the holy place, not made with hands. In the presence of God
Himself. Listen to the next verse, 20.
Within the veil. Whither, where the forerunner
is for us already entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. In the heavenly places, these
spiritual blessings that came from heaven, they are of a heavenly
nature, they'll lead to heaven. Christ our forerunner has already
entered into heaven and we're there with him Isn't that great? We have reason to bless God to
bless God, let me give you a couple of more things He said bless
God the Father our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us. He
has blessed us past tense with all spiritual blessings in the
heavenly places." Now, this is so important. And I said, let's
camp here. They're in Christ. These spiritual
blessings that count, these spiritual blessings that cause us to rejoice,
these spiritual blessings, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption, justification, acceptance, peace, joy, no judgment, no condemnation. Spiritual blessings are ours
and they're within the veil. They're there in our name. In
our name. Because Christ wears our names
on His heart. That's right. They're there.
The forerunner's already entered in. He's already entered in and
possessed it for us. In Christ. And here's where we're
most prone to miss the good news. And here's where we're, this
makes it all, this makes it all, it forfeits it all if you can't
see this. We talk about God's blessing,
we talk about all that God gives, we talk about the spirituality
of what God gives, we talk about a heavenly hope, but my friend,
the source is in Christ. These blessings are not in me,
they're not in the church, they're not in an altar, They're not
in a baptismal pool. They're not in a sacrament. They're
not in religion. They're not in your do's and
don'ts. These blessings are in Christ. They're in Christ. And I participate in them by
a union with Jesus Christ, and that union with Jesus Christ
comes by faith in Christ. Listen to this psalm. In Christ,
the Father's sovereign love, was freely to me given. In Christ,
the Father's righteous grace secured my home in heaven. In
Christ, I have all my soul desires. He is my supreme delight. In
Christ, all that God requires to turn my darkness into his
light. In Christ, the source of all
my bliss, my Savior, brother, friend, my wisdom, my righteousness
on him, and only on him do I depend." If you ever come to that place,
you're saved. That's right. I'm walking out
in New York. If you ever come to that place,
that place, let me tell you a story. In the land of Egypt, there were
seven years of plenty, seven years of plenty. followed by
seven years of famine. And Joseph told Pharaoh, he said,
there'll be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. So Pharaoh said, all right, Joseph,
you're in charge. He turned over to him the whole
country, its farming, storage, and everything. Well, the seven
years of plenty ended and the famine began. Turn to Genesis
41. Let me show you something. Now
this is so important here. I want you to turn with me. Genesis
41. This is a type and a picture. And the people were hungry. The
people of other nations were hungry. And it says here in verse
55 of Genesis 41. With me? And when all the land
of Egypt was famished, People cried to Pharaoh for bread, and
Pharaoh said to the Egyptians, Go to Joseph, and what he says
to you, do. And the famine was over all the
face of the earth, and Joseph opened the storehouses, and sold
unto the Egyptians. And the famine waxed sore in
the land of Egypt, and all the countries came unto Egypt to
Joseph to buy corn. And you see what I'm saying?
This is a good type picture of Christ. You go to God, you say,
I won't forgive this. He says, go to Christ. Go to
Christ. You go to all these different
sources of the world, they say, go to Christ. Christ opens the
storehouse. But like all types, and I wish
we could get this through our heads, they serve only one purpose
and they're all imperfect. A picture is not the real thing.
An illustration is not the real thing. Joseph filled the storehouses. Joseph had charged the storehouses. Joseph opened the storehouses.
But wait a minute. Joseph himself was not the storehouse. And that's what I'm saying about
Christ. He fills the storehouses. He has charged the storehouses.
He opens the storehouse. But here's the thing. He himself
is the storehouse. He is the bread, He is the life,
He is my righteousness, He Himself. He doesn't just give me sanctification,
He is my sanctification. That'll help us if we can discover
that more than anything else, that He, Christ Himself, is these
things. Having Him, I have Him. Bless
God. We're going to continue this
tonight, the next few verses. Get into some old-fashioned grace
preaching. Bless God. He hath blessed us. We're not worthy. I know that.
Good gracious. He doesn't bless worthy people.
He loves unworthy people. He doesn't save righteous. He
saves sinners. With all the spiritual blessing,
and they're in the heavenlies, within the veil, and they're
ever one in Christ. And so I could do what all the
preachers doing this morning. I could say, now let's every
head bow and every eye close. Now I want you to tell me, what's
the use in that? I'm tired of tradition. Why? Why do you want to bow your head
and close your eyes? Everybody looks around. Everybody knows everybody's
a sinner. You're just as sick of sinners as I am. And you see
me, you bowing your head and me bowing my head. Now everybody
here wants to go to heaven. Raise your hand. I never met
anybody that didn't want to go to heaven. But I'm telling you
this, God has set His King in the holy hill of Zion. And I'm
saying to you, whether you want to raise your hand or bow your
head or what you want to do, you better fall at His feet and
worship Him. And that's a command, that ain't
no invitation. Ain't that right? I'm not inviting
anybody to believe God. I'm telling you, you better believe
God. I'm not inviting anybody. to receive Christ as his personal
Savior. I'm commanding every man to repent
and every man and woman to fall at the feet of Christ and give
Him the glory. It's His. And if you don't do
it here, you'll do it in hell. But you're going to do it. Is that so now? That may be hard.
You say, that won't get you crowds. Well, I know it won't, but I'll
tell you this, the people who will bow, they'll sure be glad. They sure going to be glad. And
people who are honest say, that's the truth. That's the truth. And all this traipsing up and
down the aisle and shaking hands and trying to scare young children. Scare them. Showing them burning
hell pictures and all. Some of you kids saw that one
time. Make a decision because you don't want to go to heaven.
God is not going to receive you on the basis of your being afraid
to go to hell. He's going to receive you on
the basis of believing His Word and believing His Son. And that's
inwardly personal, and that's not some preacher putting his
approval on you. We're seeking God's approval,
not me. Please, be patient with me. I'm
trying to tell the truth. And I tell you, in a world that
doesn't want to hear it, it's hard to do. It's hard to do. It's hard to be truthful. when
you've got so many traditions and customs and the way people
do things, not because God said it, but because that's how they've
always done it. Our Father, give us these words, not just
words, but these praises in these hearts of ours that we might
say with Paul, bless God, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who himself hath blessed us, unworthy creatures,
with all that we need, all that we need. And our circumstances
and environment doesn't change those mercies, because they're
not here, they're in heaven. They're not unchangeable like
the things of this world, even our fleshly nature. But they're
in heavenly places within the bagel where in Christ our forerunner
has already entered and secured them for us because they're in
Him. In Him. And ours because we're in Him.
And we thank you. We praise you. Lord, we want
to see people saved. We want to see our young people
brought to knowledge of Christ. But we just don't want to see
some outward walking and working. We want to see the results of
your working inwardly in the hearts of men and women. Faithfulness,
loyalty, devotion, dedication, faith in Christ. Grace demonstrated. Grace demonstrated. Do that for
us. We pray in Christ's name and
for His sake. Amen.