Now this is going to be a little
different message tonight, a little reminiscent, a little thanksgiving,
I hope encouragement and instruction, and a little business meeting.
We're going to have a little bit of everything. Pray God will
bless it. First Thessalonians chapter 1
verse 2, we give thanks to God always for you all. making mention of you in our
prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and
labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
in the sight of God and our Father, knowing, brethren, beloved of
God, your election." You started to read that like that a while
ago, didn't you, Bob? And that's what it is in the
marginal there. I think better. Knowing brethren
beloved of God. And that's what Paul's talking
about there, not just beloved of him. He's not saying, my beloved
brethren, but he's saying, knowing they are his beloved brethren,
but he's saying even more than that, beloved of God. Knowing,
beloved of God, your election. I get a little amused at religious
folks, not altogether amused, sometimes upset, but amused along
with it. When I completed my 25th year
as pastor of this church, I preached a message. The title of the message
was, Twenty-Five Years Your Pastor, and I reviewed what God, what
I believe that God had been pleased to do through our ministry over
those 25 years, a ministry that God on purpose put in clay vessels. And a young man was here in the
service for the first time, first time I think he'd ever been here,
maybe the second time. Very religious young man, very,
very religious, very pious. And he went away quite critical
of the message and of me, quite critical. And he said he didn't
like the boasting and bragging that he heard. Well, I'm really
sorry I gave that impression. I found this to be true of religious
people. If they like you, whatever you
say, they approve of it. If they don't, whatever you say,
they disapprove of it. Did you know that? That's right.
If they love you, And if they're in fellowship with you, you can
say the moon is green cheese, and they'll agree with it. They
say, wasn't that cute? But if they are upset with you,
I don't care what you say. You can preach the greatest message
in the world, and they'll go away unhappy. It's just human
nature. Well, I'm sorry I gave him that
impression, but I'm going to do it again. I plan to bring
a message tonight along the same line. And the purpose of this
message is twofold. One, to thank God. Threefold.
One, to thank God. Thank God. We ought to get in
the habit of giving thanks to God continually. Thank God I
can breathe. Thank God I can see. Thank God,
like we got back last night and returning, thank God for a safe
trip. You know, out on that highway,
you pass death about two feet every time you pass a car on
the highway. And we don't thank God enough. And this message
tonight is to thank God. And secondly, it's to encourage
you. We don't have business meetings
here for several reasons, but tonight I'm going to make a report
to you to encourage you, to encourage you. And then thirdly, it's to
inform you. We're going to thank God. Secondly,
I'm going to try to encourage you in the ministry of the Word. And thirdly, to inform you. In reference to this bragging
and boasting, that's a false impression altogether. God knows
our hearts, God knows our motives, and we don't need to explain
them to men. But Mr. Spurgeon once said, and I want
you to listen to this, I was reading this just this morning.
Mr. Spurgeon said this, he was reviewing
the minister of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the work that God
had given them to do. And this is what he had to say
about it. And I don't believe anybody in their right mind here
tonight would accuse Charles Spurgeon of boasting and bragging.
He had much to boast about, but he boasted in God. He bragged
about his God. Now listen to this. A workman
likes to see that he has accomplished something. Isn't that correct? A workman likes to see that he
has accomplished something. You men build houses or build
a barn or whatever you build, stand back and look at it. Call
your wife and say, come see what I did. Or whatever you do. A workman likes to see that he's
accomplished something. It's discouraging, discouraging
to spend much time, toil, and money and see no results. That's
plum discouraging. God's people, Spurgeon speaking
here, God's people will. by faith, continue to preach
the gospel if they never see anything come of it. And that's
the God's people will. They'll preach the gospel to
dry bones. They'll preach the gospel to
a world condemned by God wherein eight souls were saved. They'll
preach the gospel if nothing comes of it. But it's much more
comforting and much easier for them to continue in the service
of the if they have some evidence that God is blessing them. Now,
that's always much easier, much more comforting if we have some
evidence, some sign that God's in this thing, that God's blessing,
that God has put his approval upon it. Now, he went on and
he said this. Listen. He said, if any good is done
by any preacher, any church or any person, It's God that has
done it. Now, we all can say amen to that.
If any good is done by any preacher, church, or person, it's God that
has done it, and all the glory is due to him. The Lord pitied
the man who can't lay all the crowns at Christ's feet. God
pitied him. Well, he's a stranger to grace.
Glory is due to God and to God alone. He continued, Spurgeon
speaking, for me not to speak of what God has done here would
be ingratitude. For me not to speak, not to mention
what God has done would be total ingratitude to God. Now, it may
appear to be humility, but in reality, when a man does not
mention what God has done, obviously what God has done It's disloyalty
to him who did it. It's disloyalty to him who did
it. Paul never boasted in himself, but he did boast in God. He did
boast in God. Paul sought also to encourage
his fellow workers. Now, in this scripture that Bob
Coffey read, the Apostle Paul was cast into prison in Philippi. Acts 16, you know the story.
And God sent an earthquake to shake that prison. And you know
how the Philippian jailer was troubled and broken and came
and fell at the feet of Paul and Silas, and the Lord saved
him. Well, after his release from
the prison at Philippi, after his release, Paul and Silas went
to Thessalonica. They went down to Thessalonica.
You can read this story in Acts 16 and 17. And they preached
there approximately three weeks. The scripture says three Sabbath
days. So evidently he stayed there
the entire three weeks and preached the gospel. But after being there
a very short time, Paul had to flee from Thessalonica for his
life. He fled. But not before God had
used the ministry of these men to establish a church made up
of Jews and Gentiles at Thessalonica. That was the beginning of this
church. After Paul got out of jail and went down to Thessalonica
and preached three weeks, God used that ministry of the Word
during that period of time to raise up a church for his glory. And it was to these people that
Paul is writing 1 and 2 Thessalonians, this church at Thessalonica.
And he wrote it approximately in the year 52 or 53 A.D. That was approximately 30 years
after, or 20 years after Christ was crucified. Now he says in
verse 2, You can read the salutation there in verse 1, but in verse
2, first thing Paul says is, I give thanks to God always. I give thanks, I praise God always
for all of you. I thank God for you. I thank
God He chose you. I thank God he didn't leave you
in your darkness, in idolatry and heathenism. I thank God he
didn't leave you in religious tradition. I thank God he chose
you. I thank God he sent Christ to
die for you. I thank God he called you. I
thank God he established you. Paul didn't say, I thank God
he used me to win your soul to Jesus. He said, I thank God for
you. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians 2. And you can see this man, Paul,
he's rejoicing in these brethren. He's rejoicing in the success
of the work. He's rejoicing in the success
of the ministry. But he lays the crowns at the
feet of Christ. He puts the glory where it belongs.
He puts the crown on the head on which the crown belongs. He
says in 2 Thessalonians 2.13, we're bound to give thanks always
to God for you. We're bound to. Brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. That's not boasting and bragging
except in God. Through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. I thank God for you. That's the
first thing he says. And then the second thing he
says is this, verse 2. I make mention of you. I don't
just think about you, but I deliberately on purpose mention you in my
prayers. We make mention of you in our
prayers. Do you pray for others? And I'm
not just talking about you and your family. I'm talking about
others. And I'm not just talking about your friends. I'm talking
about our enemies. Turn to two scriptures. I'm not
going to stay on this long, but 1 Samuel 22. We know this lesson. We need to be reminded of it.
I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. In 1
Samuel, 1 Samuel 12, it is, verse 22. And we talk a lot about our
sins, but did you ever think, did you ever consider that not
to pray for your pastor and for the elders and deacons of this
church and for the missionaries and for one another is a sin?
It's a sin. That's what Samuel said in 1
Samuel 12, 22. He said, for the Lord will not
forsake his people. for his great namesake, because
it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. Moreover, as
for me," now let's mark this in our Bible. I've got a big
red X beside this, and it's for my benefit. Moreover, as for
me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing
to pray for you. God forbid. that I should sin
against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." Let me show you
another verse I was reading this week in the book of Job. Job
chapter, I believe it's 42. And you know, it's so easy to
pray for people whom you love. We should pray for people whom
we ought to love as well. It's so easy to pray for those
with whom you're in fellowship. We ought to pray for those with
whom we're not in fellowship. That's right. If we're not careful,
we'll wish unhappy things to happen to those who we think
to be our enemies. But we ought not. That's not
according to the will of God. In chapter 42 of Job, it says,
verse 10, now watch this. And the Lord turned the captivity,
the trial, the suffering, the agony of Job, he changed it,
he turned it when he prayed. You know what he prayed for?
These antagonistic fellows had been riding him for how long?
They had antagonized him, they had provoked him, they had accused
him of all kinds of things, you know. They had just made his
life miserable. And when he prayed for them,
God blessed him, when he prayed for them. And let's do that. When we sit down to pray and
have devotions, just write down the names of people with whom
you're really not in fellowship, or they're out of fellowship
with you, or they've crossed your path, or they've done some
injustice to you. And just say, Lord, I pray for
him, or I pray for her. God, bless them. Bless them.
Bless them with a knowledge of yourself. Bless them with a heart
broken for sin. Bless them with a love for Christ.
Bless them. And God will bless you. That's
exactly right. That's what Scripture teaches.
He said, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully
use you. Pray for them. Deliberately pray
for them. I'm not exhorting you to do something
that I won't do myself. Let's pray for those. That's
what Paul is saying over in 1 Thessalonians. He said, I pray for all of you.
I pray for you. I pray for you. All right, then
the next thing he says about him, and this is something I
want us to look at a moment. I preached on this out in Texas
this past week and had a little bit of light on this. Verse 3.
Now, here's three things he says here. Verse 3, I remember without
ceasing your work of faith. I remember your work of faith,
your works of faith. Now, faith comes first, and faith
produces good works. We don't like to talk about our
good works, because we know they're not our works, they're God's
work. It's God that worketh in you, both the will and the do
of his good pleasure. It's given unto you not only
to believe on Christ, but to suffer for him. Anything we have,
God has given us. But there are works of faith.
There are works produced by faith. Now, if you'll turn to two scriptures,
let me show you something in Romans 3. First of all, Romans
3. Now, this is important. Works
do not produce faith, faith produces works. And it says here in Romans
3, verse 28, Paul says, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the needs of the law. We're justified in the
sight of God. We're justified before the law
of God. We're justified before the justice
of God through Christ, in Christ, by Christ, for Christ's glory
through faith alone, whether we ever hit a tap or speak a
word or walk a foot or pray a prayer. We're justified by faith alone.
Don't forget that. In Romans 4, listen to this,
Romans 4, verse 2, "...if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
worth the glory, but not before God." Now, brethren, justification
is by faith, without the works of the law. But turn to the book
of James. Now, this is very important.
In the book of James, chapter 2, verse 21, in James 2, verse
21, it says here, Was not Abraham our father justified
by works? Was not Abraham our father justified
by works? Verse 25. Likewise also was not
Rahab the harlot justified by works? Hey, do we have a conflict
between two apostles? Do we have Paul saying one thing
and James saying the other? Do we? Martin Luther got so upset
about this, he literally wanted to tear the book of James out
of the Bible. That's right. He preached justification by
faith so strongly that he didn't even want people to read this
scripture. He didn't even want them to see
it. He said James got carried away. Well, that's not it at
all. I've said so often, if you want
to have any understanding of the scriptures, you've got to
start with three things. Who's writing? To whom is he
writing? What's the subject? Paul is writing
in Romans, and the Apostle Paul is writing to these Jews, and
he's saying that justification before God, the justification
of the soul before God, is by faith, Charlie, and faith alone.
It's not by your traditions or your ceremonies or your rituals
or your feast days or your holy days or your Sabbath days or
anything. Before God, the soul is justified by faith, faith
alone. Now, James is writing, and he
tells you the verses before this. He's writing to folks who have
made professions of faith, who do not know Christ, whose lives
give evidence that they don't know Christ. who are saying we're
saved by faith, we're saved by grace to live in disgrace, we're
saved without the law to live like outlaws. They're claiming
salvation without any true regeneration or new birth or vital union with
Christ at all. And James is talking about the
justification of faith. You understand that? Now Paul
is talking about the justification of the soul before God. That's
by faith alone without works. James is talking about the justification
of our profession, our faith before men. He says, show me
your faith without your works. How can you show it? You can't,
can you? You can't show faith without
works. That's the way faith is shown. That's the way faith is
evidenced. That's the way faith is characterized.
That's the way faith is revealed by behavior, conduct, attitude,
and works. He said, so faith without works,
a faith that does not produce works, is dead, being alone. That's no faith at all. And he
says, when Abraham brought Isaac and put him on the altar, that
was evidence that he did believe God. You see, Abraham believed
God before he ever brought the boy. But when he brought the
boy, that was evidence that he believed God. That showed the
whole world that he believed God. That showed you that Abraham
believed God and me and everybody else who's looking at Abraham.
Rahab the harlot, when she put the red thread through the window,
that was showing that she believed God. She already believed him.
And the works that she did was evidence that she believed God.
You see that? And showed us that she believed
God. When a man does a good work, that's not what saves him, that's
not what justifies his soul, but it does justify his claim
to salvation. You see what I'm saying? And
that's what Paul is saying over here in 1 Thessalonians 1, 3.
He said, I remember your work of faith. Your work of faith.
Don't ever separate them. Faith produces works. Faith produces
evidence. Faith produces holiness. Faith produces honesty. Faith produces grace. You see
that? It's born of faith. The faith
is first. But these things are evidence
of the existence of faith. All right? Notice the second
thing. He says, I remember your work of faith and your labor
of love. your labor of love. These works
are born of faith, but these works and labors are labors motivated
by love, not duty, not by threats, not through reward, but these
labors are labors of love. That's what motivates it. Paul
said, the love of Christ constraineth me. You couldn't motivate Paul
by threatening him. You couldn't motivate Paul by
promising him rewards. He said, I know how to be a base
and I know how to abound. It doesn't matter to me. I've
learned in what service state I am to be content. But I'm motivated
by the love of Christ, by a love for Christ, by a love for you.
That's what motivates these works. They're born of faith. They're
motivated by love. Now watch this. And patience. These things go together. Paul
said, you believe. And that faith produced works. That faith produced godliness.
That faith produced a care and a concern and a mercy toward
others. It produced it. And these labors
that you engaged in were labors of love, not because you were
threatened or coerced or forced to do these things. You did them
because you loved God and you loved his people. That's why
you did it. Now watch this. And true faith that produces
works of love, that love will labor and it will not demand
immediate return or immediate results, but with patience it
will wait on God. See what I'm saying? In other
words, here's a man that's been converted. He knows Christ. He loves Christ. And he's going
to worship Christ. He's going to witness. He's going
to tell others about Christ. Because he loves them. He loves
them. He loves to give. He loves to
support the missionaries. He loves to do these things.
And days pass, and months pass, and years pass, and he sees no
results, no immediate results, and really no return from anybody.
It just seems like he's always giving out, giving out, giving
out, and never taking in, never seeing any results of his work,
never seeing any results of his labor, never seeing any results
or return on his investment. Well, he's going with patience,
wait on the Lord. And God in his own good providence
will bless that man's ministry when it pleases him. That's right. Turn to Psalm 27, let me show
you that. You see what I'm trying to say?
Psalm 27, listen to this. David said this in Psalm 27,
verse 13. I would have fainted. Now brother,
you talk about a courageous man and a gallant man and a godly
man was David. But he said, I would have fainted,
I would have completely quit, I would have surrendered, unless
I had believed to see, sooner or later, in God's good time,
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the litany. So, wait
on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. A godly faith
will produce works, diligent, persevering works, continual
works. A work motivated by love, not
motivated by rules and regulations and promises of a certain reward
or threatened if you don't. Motivated by love. And that love
will persevere. And it'll continue to work with
patience of hope, waiting on God in His good providence. If
I have to wait to the judgment to find the results and the return,
it'll be there. Thanks be unto God, who always
giveth us the victory." Now notice 1 Thessalonians again, verse
1. And the next thing he says in
verse 4, he says, "...knowing, brethren beloved, your election
of God." Knowing your election. I know you're one of God's elect.
Whew! What'd that mean? Great to know
that. I mean to speak like this man
is speaking. And this is not some high-pressure
evangelist ranting about a no-soul salvation. I've heard these preachers
talk about how to have a no-soul salvation. Send and get my little
book, an enclosed $2.50, and I'll send you postpaid my little
book on how to have a no-soul salvation. That's not who's talking
here. And it's not a Baptist theologian
arguing about once saved, always saved, and it's not a congregation
raising their hands saying they're sure for heaven as if it was
already there. This is an inspired apostle who's saying to a church
where he only ministered three weeks, I know you're God's elect. I know you're God's elect. How
do you know that? Well, let me show you two or
three things. Number one, he says in verse
five, our gospel, our gospel. Why did Paul call it our gospel? He didn't invent it. It didn't
originate with him. He didn't produce it. It was
the gospel of God long before he ever heard it and before he
ever preached it. Well, I think for three reasons.
Paul said, our gospel. Our gospel by way of distinction.
There were other gospels being preached. There were other gospels,
perverted gospels. But he said, this gospel is our
gospel. It's our gospel. And he says
this in distinction from what everybody else was preaching.
This is our gospel. Our gospel came to you. Our gospel. The gospel we preached. The gospel
you received. The gospel you believe. The gospel
by which you say. Second reason why Paul called
it our gospel is this. Not only by distinction, by way
of distinction, but because he was saved by it. He was saved
by this gospel. He had entered into the benefits
and blessings of this gospel. How can you give to another person
what you never have received? You can't do it. You can't introduce
a person whom you've never met. You can't tell somebody about
a Redeemer that is not your Redeemer. And Paul said, this is my gospel
because I've been saved by it. And then thirdly, turn to 1 Timothy,
just right over a couple of pages. 1 Timothy chapter 1, he called
it our gospel because God had committed this gospel to his
trust. Oh, what a trust. Would you misuse
it? Would you abuse it? Some preachers
do. He says here in 1 Timothy 1.11,
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was
committed to my trust. God, Paul said, put this gospel
in my hand. I dare not compromise it. I dare
not frustrate it, confuse it. I dare not take the edge off
of it. God has committed to my trust his gospel, and therefore
now it's my gospel. It's my gospel. You see that?
So he says in verse 5 of 1 Thessalonians, I know your election because
our gospel by way of distinction, our gospel by way of redemption,
our gospel by way of committal to his trust, our gospel, watch
it now, came not unto you in word only. Don't ever lose sight
of this. The gospel has got to come in
word. It's got to. And I know they
always talk about that old Indian that was saved without ever hearing
the gospel, but I never met that old Indian. And the most dangerous
thing I know, and the most dangerous positions that any what we call
Calvinist can take is this, that the preaching of the gospel,
the reading of God's word, and the witnessing of God's people
is unnecessary. That's the most dangerous position
you can adopt. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. Now, Paul said our gospel didn't
come to you in word only, but it came in word. It came in word. God had chosen by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. That's right. We are born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible seed by the word of God that liveth
and abideth forever. I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
it's the power of God unto salvation. If anybody is saved in the Yucatan,
you'll hear the gospel. You'll receive it and believe
it, or you'll be damned. Our Lord said, Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Paul said, Whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in him
of whom they have not heard? How are they going to hear without
a preacher? Now, brethren, that's so important.
He said, Our gospel. I know it didn't come to you
in word only. But it did come in word. But he said, it came
to you in power. What kind of power? In the power
of the Holy Ghost. It's the Holy Ghost who begets
sinners. It's the Holy Ghost who regenerates
sinners. It's the Holy Ghost who reveals
Christ. It's the Holy Ghost who grants repentance and faith.
It's the Holy Ghost who brings a person to rest in Christ. It's
the Holy Spirit that reveals the efficiency and sufficiency
of the blood of the Son of God. It's the Holy Spirit. And our
gospel came to you in word. We preached it to you. But we
didn't preach it just in empty words and reason and logic and
intellect, lest the cross of Christ be made of non-effect,
but we preached it in power, power of the Holy Ghost, and
an assurance. What kind of assurance? Assurance
that it's God who speaks and it's God's gospel and it's God
who saves and it's God's Son who delivers, and assured of
our part in it by faith. Assurance. Assurance. Power. Assurance. Alright, notice
the next thing. He said, Our gospel came to you.
Now, secondly, our gospel was received by you. What kind of
evidence do we have that this gospel was actually received
by us or received by this church? Well, verse 6, he says this,
I know our gospel was received by you and believed by you, and
that's the way a man is saved. Believing on Christ, as many
as received him, to them gave he the right to become sons of
God. He that believeth on the Son hath life, he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life. But I know you received it because
verse 6 says, and you came to be followers. That says, and
you became. That's right, you came to be. That's a state of being. That's
a state of being. Now this is important here. You
were not forced to be a follower. You were not roped into being
a follower. You were not threatened into
being a follower, and you were not bought. Brother Gruber told
me, and I'm sure this is true of any mission field, if you've
got enough money you can buy converts by the carload. But
you were not bought. Paul said, our gospel, this gospel
of Christ, this gospel of God's grace, came to you, not in word
only, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit
did something in you and for you that brought you to become
something. Not just to claim it, not just
to profess it. But to actually become something. What did we become? We came to
be followers. Followers. Of whom? Of the Apostles
and the Lord. You were identified. You were
identified. Now turn to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy. This is a state of being. This
is not just a claim. This is not just a profession. He said our gospel, when we preached
it, Oh, some it rolled off like water off a marble slab, some
it rolled off like water off a duck's back or rain off a roof,
but for you it penetrated. It came in power in the Holy
Ghost, and you came to be. You became something. You, by
the power of the Spirit of God, became a new creature, and you
identified with us and followed us and followed our gospel and
followed our God. You became one of us. Look at
2 Timothy 1.8. Paul said, Second Timothy 1.8,
don't you be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. The testimony is
the gospel. That's what it is. Don't you
be ashamed. And you won't if you're a follower. I tell you, I'm an American.
I'm not proud of everything this country does, but I'll tell you
this, I'm proud to fly that flag. I'm proud wherever I am to tell
people that I'm a part of a nation of freedom, and I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ." And he said, don't be ashamed of
me, his prisoner, either, or those that preach the gospel.
Don't be ashamed of them. Be identified with them. And
you be also a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. You
be ready to take your share of the errors and the darts. If
someone's attacking one of God's preachers, you take your share
of the abuse. If someone's attacking the gospel
of Christ, you take your share of the abuse. He said, you be
ready to partake yourself of those afflictions, not just to
say, well, that's what he believes. You know, somebody says, talking
about folks that preach the gospel, and the fellow says, well, that's
what he believes. What you ought to say, that's what we believe.
If you've got something against him, you've got something against
me. That's what David said. David said, Lord, your enemies
are my enemies. Your enemies are my enemies.
And then he said, verse 6, he said, or verse 7, you became
or you were examples. Now, I'm going to help you a
little bit here. Read it carefully. Let's read it carefully. Look
at verse 6. So that you were examples to all that believe. Now, here are three simple things.
And I've never seen this before, I studied this chapter this past
time. I've written a commentary on
it, I've taught it, I've preached from it. You were examples to
all that believe. Number one, I know that we must
order our conduct before our families, relatives, kin, neighbors,
our community, order our conduct and our conversation and our
attitude so that we don't give the unbeliever needless offense. I know that as well as you do.
I preach that. I've always preached that. We're
to live so that we don't give needless offense. We're to live
an honest and godly and righteous life before others, where you
work, where you shop. Be nice to the waitresses. Be
nice to the receptionists. Be nice to the clerks. Be nice
to the men who work for you. Do a good job out there at the
mill as a foreman, as a laborer, whatever, in a schoolroom, in
a classroom. Set an example. But if you think
you're going to reach people for the Lord with an example,
you've got another thing coming. Because it's not example that
saves, it's the word that saves. Somebody said, I'd rather see
a sermon than hear one any day. Not me. I want to hear one. Faith cometh by hearing, Tom.
Faith cometh by hearing, not seeing. Not seeing. And I'll tell you this, our Lord
said one could rise from the dead and they wouldn't believe.
Somebody said one time, let others see Jesus in you. They didn't
see Jesus in Jesus. They crucified him. What do you
think they're going to do to you? You see what I'm saying? I don't care how godly you live,
and how honestly you live, and how righteous, and what an example
you set, the natural man hates God, and he hates you. And if
he can't find something wrong, he'll make it up. That's exactly
right, whether you believe it or not. Al, back there, told me a cute
story. I'm going to throw in a little humor here, probably
very little, but it will be a little. He said a fellow asked him where
he went to church. I think he told him. He said,
I wouldn't go see, I wouldn't go hear that fellow preach. And
Al said, why not? He said, well, I was driving
by his house. He said he was out cutting grass and had on
a pair of shorts. Al said, what's wrong, do you
have ugly legs? The fellow said, you're putting me on. Al said,
I'm not putting you on. What's wrong with him? Oh, he said,
I just don't believe in that. See what I mean? They'll find
something wrong. He ought to be glad I was cutting
my grass. Keep his from looking so bad, you know. I'm telling
you the truth. Now, natural men hate God, and
they'll hate you. And if they can't find a reason
to hate you, they'll make one up. I don't care how righteous
you're like. You don't win men to Christ by
example. Now, you stay with that first
point I gave you. Don't you misquote me on that,
I'll shoot you. I said our lives are supposed
to be lived with good conduct. But I'm telling you, that natural
man, natural religious person working with you is going to
find fault with you no matter what. They'll make something
up if they can't find something. Because they hate God. You say,
let others see Jesus in you. The Lord Jesus came down here
to the earth, and he was hated of everybody, especially the
religious. And they nailed him to a cross
and spit on him. And you going to get any better treatment?
If they've hated the master, they'll hate the servant. Isn't
that what Christ said? I'll tell you this. You say, everybody
likes me. Something wrong with you then.
Woe unto you when all men speak well of you. You're compromising
what you're doing. If that old natural religious
Pharisee loves you and hates God, there's something wrong
with you. You're not telling him the truth. Now, what does
this mean? You were examples to whom? To
those that believe. You see that? You were examples to people that
believe. You can't set an example for
an unbeliever. He's not going to follow you.
But you set an example for a believer. Other believers are instructed
by you. When you're dedicated, it encourages
them. When you give, it encourages
them. When you forgive, it encourages them. When you don't, it discourages
them. You lead others. They watch you.
You're an example in your life, in your trials. You're an example
to others. And you became followers, identified
with us and the Lord, and you were an example to other Christians
in other churches, in other cities, in other nations even. They heard
of your works of faith. They heard of your labor of love.
They heard of your dedication. They heard of your spirit. And
they were encouraged. That's exactly what he's saying,
Bob. That's exactly what he's saying. And then he said in verse
9, you turn from your idols. Turn from your idols. See the
last line? You turn from your idols. Now, what does that mean? That means just this, to serve
the living, the true and living God. A man loves his wife and
children, grandchildren. He's devoted to them. Somebody
said, a fellow can love his wife too much. No, he can't. No, he
can't. No, he can't, I beg your pardon,
unless he can love her more than Christ loved the Church. You
reckon he could? Said, Husband, love your wives
as Christ loved the church. That's pretty good love. Ain't
nobody here ever reached it yet. I'll tell you what the problem
is, it's not loving her too much, it's loving him too little. That's
where the problem is. You've got folks in the wrong
place. A wife has her place, children have their place, grandchildren
have their place, friends have their place, but it's not his
place. He's the Lord. He's the Lord. And when it's
in question between him and them, they have to go. See, that's
the way. A man loves his job. He's dedicated to his job. A
man ought to be dedicated to his job. When you're out doing
your work, don't get out your testament and start talking religion.
Do your job. You say, Preacher, any time is
a time to talk God. No, sir, it is not. It is not. It's time to work and be dedicated.
Love your farm. Do your job. Love your family.
Love your work. Take pride in your work. Love
your country. All of these things. But get
this clear and let it be established. Christ is our Lord. You see what I'm saying? He's
my Lord. And when anything is brought into question in regard
to my allegiance to him, it will go no matter what it is, no matter
how close it is to me, no matter how important it is to me. If
it doesn't go, then it's an idol. It's an object of worship. And
that's exactly right. And you can't go wrong there.
Sure, I'm concerned about old age. You are too, ought to be.
You ought to be concerned about these things, death and all these
other things. But Christ is King. And if he's
given his rightful place in the place of adoration and worship
and reverence and fear and love, then these other things will
be all right. But don't you get them mixed up. Don't you get
them mixed up. He is, like Charlie said out
in Texas when he taught that class, he's a jealous God, and
he won't share his glory. No, sir. And to wait for his
Son, that's verse 10. He said to wait for his Son. There are three ways we wait
for Christ. We wait on the revelation of his will. Brethren, exercise
patience. God's not in any hurry. The wheels
of God's providence grind slowly, but they do grind. They do grind. They get, we got to remember,
they move, I know it's easy to get discouraged, we want everything.
We're living in the day of instant everything. Instant replay, instant
rice, instant pudding, instant grits even. We've got to learn
to wait. God, there's no time with our
God. Everything's in the eternal presence.
And he may not bless me till I'm seventy-nine, he may not
use me till I'm sixty-five, he may not use me till he'll use
me when it pleases, and I've just got to wait. And then I'm
waiting on him to call me home and I'm waiting on him to return." I just don't know whether I'm
going to have the ability to get this message across
to you tonight like I want to without being...