They're trying to think of that
little cliche I heard some time ago. Men are just grown-up boys. The only difference is the cost
of their toys. Is that the way that goes? The other night we had some guests
at our house. And I believe they gave me the
start of the message that I'm bringing this morning. They began to talk about childhood
games, the games we used to play when we were children. I admit that some of the games
they played I didn't play. I'll reveal that to you in a
minute. But they talked about playing
school. and playing family, mommy and
daddy and children, playing doctor and playing church. And they said they even played
funeral. They, you know, put somebody in a box and opened
them up and viewed them. That was the Pollard gang was
the ones that did that. But this morning, this was revealed
to me again. I watched some of the religious
folks on the air, and I'm really And I don't mean to be hard and
radical, fanatical and critical, but I'm a little persuaded that
we in this day of much religion are playing games. I don't think
we've ever quit playing church and playing funeral and playing all these other games.
I really believe we're in a masquerade. I believe we're carrying on some
kind of charade. And it's a deadly game. And I
thought as we, the guests left the house, and I sat there and
thought about these games. We played church, and I believe
did a better job at it than most folks are doing today in playing
church, claiming reality. And I thought as I sat there
and was preparing in my mind something to bring this morning,
I thought by God's grace, I want to have a ministry A ministry
that meets a real need of real people, real people. Before God
and by His grace, I don't want to be up here filling some time
and trying to see how well I can do and how well I can impress
you. And when I step down, if you
congratulate me on the fine message or my fine position in theology,
one dear lady said the other day, she said, She said, I'm
a Methodist and I listen to you, and that's a compliment. In what
way is that a compliment? She thought I ought to be flattered
that she was a Methodist and listened to me. One fellow said
to me recently after I finished the message, I agreed with every
word you said, and that's something. Yeah, that is something, you
know, but I'm supposed to be awed by that? I want a ministry,
a real ministry that meets the real need of real people. You know what I'm saying? Real
people. A ministry to men and women as
they are. You came in here this morning,
and I hope you came in as you are. Charlotte Elliott wrote
a song, Just As I Am, without one plea, but that thy blood
was shed for me. O Lamb of God, I come to thee
just as I am. Are you one person out yonder
and another person in here? A lot of folks are. A lot of
folks, they just put on some kind of different atmosphere,
attitude, or some kind of different covering or veneer. They play
in religion now. But I want to ministry to men
and women as they are, not as they ought to be. Not as they
ought to be, not even as some claim to be. Now watch this. I want to ministry to real people,
not even as they are at the moment. I've been in the ministry long
enough to watch people go through stages, and watch them in different
stages, and usually they revert back to their old selves again.
But someday this masquerade is going to be over. Someday these
games are going to end. Someday we're going to face reality. We're going to face things as
they are, not as they seem to be or as they ought to be or
as we claim them. Let me tell you, life's real.
It's real from the first day we breathe to the last day we
breathe. It's real. This is reality right now. Reality. And death is real. And God lives
and judgment is a real experience. And eternity is permanent and
forever. I want a ministry, a real ministry
that has a real message to real people and meets some real needs.
I do, desperately, desperately. I want you to be yourself. I
want to be myself. You know the kind of people we're
preaching to? We're preaching to people who by birth are children
of wrath. Did you know that everybody here
by birth is a child of Adam? We're born in sin, we're born
in slavery, we're children of wrath, even as others. We're
born into this world without hope, without help, without strength,
and without God, and without Christ. That's how we come into
this world. That's the way the people to whom I preach got their
start. They were conceived in iniquity,
they were shaped in sin, they were brought forth speaking lies
from the womb, they went astray, estranged from God from the womb. That's the people to whom I preach.
And not only that, I preach to those who by birth are children
of wrath and children of Adam. I preach to those who by nature,
by nature now, love sin. By nature they love sin. By nature
they love themselves. By nature they hate God. I preach
to a people, I hear this so often said, now you listen, is this
right? Pride and hate and greed and lust and covetousness is
second nature to us. Is that correct? Second nature? Brother, it's our first nature.
I don't know what to mean by second nature to us. That's our
first nature. Don't tell me it's easier for
you to love than it is to hate. It's easier for you to hate than
to love. It's a lot easier for you to get mad than get glad
when things don't go your way. Mine too. It's a lot easier to
complain than it is to praise God. Is it not? It's a lot easier
to read the sports page than is the Bible. A lot easier. That's my nature. Is there anybody
here that's real enough to admit that? Paul did, turned to Romans
7. I'm talking about believers here
too, not just unbelievers. I'm talking about believers.
Is anybody here honest enough and real enough to admit that
you were born in sin, without hope and without God, and that
you're a real person, and that you're a person that still has
a conflict, that still has a problem with pride, with covetousness,
with lust, with hate, with greed? Are you ever dissatisfied? Are
you ever unhappy with covetousness? That it's not just second nature
to you, it's your real nature. It's a nature with which you
live. Paul said in verse 15 of Romans 7, that which I do, I
allow not. What I would, that do I not. What I hate, spiritually I do. I do, verse 18, I know that in
me, that is in my flesh, while it's no good thing, the will
is present with me. How to perform that which is
perfect, I don't find it in me. The good that I would, I do not,
but the evil I would not, that I do. Real people. Are you a real person? Are you
an honest person? I preach to those, listen to
me, who not only are born in sin, Come into this world, children
of Adam and children of wrath. I preach to people who, by nature,
love sin. By nature, they love sin. They
love darkness. They love it. And I preach to
those who, in the flesh, live in a world and on an earth which
is under the curse of the law, under the power of Satan, under
the wrath of God, and death and sin and sorrow is all that this
flesh can anticipate. Did you know that? The hymn writer wrote this, "'Swift
to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow
dim, its glories fade away. Change and decay in all around
I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me.'" Change and decay in everything I see. Everything. There isn't one thing on this
earth. It's not under the judgment of God. Did you know it? One
thing, there's not one thing on this earth that's not under
the judgment of God. If you want a true picture of
man's history, turn to the book of Genesis, the last chapter
of Genesis, the last chapter of Genesis, very last chapter
and last verse. Now, you know how man began.
Man began when God made him in his image, breathed under him
the breath of life, and put him in a paradise. That's how man
started. That's how he started. The book of Genesis is called
the beginning. Did Genesis mean the beginning?
Well, how does Genesis end? It started with God saying, good,
good, good. It started with perfection. It
started with beauty. It started with happiness. It
started with holiness. You know where it ended? In a
coffin in Egypt. That's where it ended. in a coffin
in Egypt. And I'll tell you this, that's
mine and your end too. We're going to end up in a coffin
in the ground. This is Egypt. This ain't heaven. It's not glory. This is Egypt.
And that's where we're going to end up. We're going to wind
up in a coffin in the ground. You needn't look for anything
else here. It's a hopeless situation. The flesh is the flesh, and the
flesh dwelleth no good thing, and the flesh no man can please
God. Flesh and blood won't inherit the kingdom of God. It's all
flesh. It's just completely flesh, wind
up in a coffin in the ground, rotting and decaying and going
back to the dust from whence it came. Turn back to the book of Job
chapter 9. Is there any hope in our hopelessness? Facing reality. I was born in sin. I carry around a human body.
I carry around an evil nature. I live in a world that's under
the judgment of God Almighty. Isaiah said, I'm a man of unclean
lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips. Is there any
hope in this hopelessness? Is there any light in this awful
darkness? Is there? Is there any life in
this place of the dead? Is there another kingdom besides
the kingdom of the flesh? Is there? Well, there is, and
Job summed it up. Let's look at Job 19. Job had been reduced to ashes.
Job felt the full impact of what the flesh has to offer. Did you
know that? Well, you and I, we felt a little. We've been sick,
we've had surgery, we've lost loved ones, we've gone through
some of it through the depression, we've felt old age, and we've
had a few little things. But Job had the full impact,
he got the full impact of what the flesh offers. His family
was all dead. All ten of his children were
dead, just like that. His wife had become his enemy. She was estranged from his enemy.
He said, all my friends and my servants left me. All of them
left me. People were pointing at him and
laughing at him. People who once revered him and admired him were
now laughing at him. He had no property. All of his
camels and oxen and all of his asses and all of his horses and
all of his sheep were gone. He was one time a man of great
influence and power and wealth. He was reduced to dust. And not
only that, but his health was gone. He was a frail, skinny
man with boils all over him, sitting on a heap of ashes, scraping
his peeling, rotting flesh with a piece of clay or glass. He
was reduced, he was in the dust, he was at the bottom, he was
stripped of everything, no arm of flesh to lean upon, they were
gone, no place in which to hide, he was bankrupt, he was broken,
he was empty, he was lonely. He had the full impact of what
the flesh can give to a man. Now some of us have tasted little
bits of it here and there, and some of us have tasted The fruits
of the flesh outwardly and inwardly. We've tasted enmity and hatred
and all sorts of things. You've tasted a few, but he had
it all, the full impact. You read Job, that whole thing,
sometimes. Let's just read part of it here.
Look at verse 12. Verse 12 of Job 19. His troops
come together and raise up their way against me. He's talking
about God. And he camped round about my tabernacle. He put my
brethren far from me. My acquaintance are strained
from me. My kinfolks are failed. My familiar friends have forgotten
me. Those that dwell in my house, my maids, count me a stranger.
I'm an alien in their sight. I called my servant, he wouldn't
answer me. Verse 17, my breath is strange to my wife. Verse
18, young children despise me. I rose and they speak against
me. Now verse 19, all my inward friends have hoarded me. Those
I love have turned against me. My bone clings to my skin. I'm
so skinny. I've lost all my weight to my
flesh. I'm escaped with the skin of
my teeth." You see, this man was reduced to what? This is
just a picture of all that the flesh can offer. And yet, he
had something, he had something that so few have. He called it
the root of the matter. That's what he called it. He
called it the taproot. Yet in all of this, this man was rejoicing. Listen to him, verse 23. He says,
Oh, that my words were now written, oh, that they were printed in
a book, that they were graven with an iron pen and laid in
my tombstone. Put it on my tombstone. I know
that my Redeemer lives. And that he shall stand at the
latter day on this earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet I know in my flesh I see God. I see God. Whom I shall see for
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins
be consumed within me." Now, that's a real people there. under
a real siege from heaven, hell, and earth. God had deserted him, turned
him over to Satan, and the people had declared war on him. He lost
everything down to nothing, broke, bankrupt, lonely, nothing, in
the dust, at the bottom Yet he had something, God gave him something,
a hope in his hopelessness, help in his inability, light in his
darkness, life in his death. And I'll tell you where it is.
I'll give you four or five things. Number one, I'll just read you
what he said here. He had, number one, I got this
outline from one of the greatest preachers of the past. Number
one, Job had absolute certainty. Absolute certainty. in an uncertain
world. He said, I know. I know. What do you know, Joe? I know! I know. I know. Let me ask you, when I started
working on this, let me ask you, I ask myself, what do you know?
What do you know? What do you know? What do you
know about your health? You know nothing. Nothing, not a thing. Well, what do you know about
your children? I heard one of the men say, one
of our young men said this, he and a friend were talking about
the new baby, new little boy born in the home, and one of
them said, I wonder if that will be a Charles Spurgeon or a Charles
Manson. Who knows? Do you know? Do you
know? I'll tell you this, some of us
can get pretty cocky about our children. The folks that were
raised in the house of David, the sweet psalmist of Israel,
a man after God's own heart, didn't know God. I've seen ungodly children come
from godly parents, and I've seen godly children come from
ungodly parents. What do you know about your job
and your security, your future? Do you reckon you'll be reduced
to poverty in a few days, or do you reckon you'll prosper?
Who knows? What do you know about tomorrow?
Well, what do you know? What do you really know? I mean,
K-N-O-W, know. Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth. I know. I know God is. I know God is, and I know God
is in Christ. I know that. God is in Christ. And I know God is in Christ merciful,
and I know that God is in Christ merciful because Christ is the
Redeemer. And that's what I know. And,
Brother, let me tell you something. That's all I need to know. Turn
to 1 John 5. You hold Job there a minute and
turn to 1 John 5. Now, if you want cause for rejoicing,
you won't find it in your children. Maybe so, maybe no. If you want
cause for rejoicing, you're not going to find it in your strength.
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the rich
man glory in his riches. Let not the mighty man glory
in his strength. Let him glory in this. If he's
got anything to glory in, let him glory in this, that I am
the Lord. I know God is. I know God is whether I'm on
the mountain or in the valley, whether I'm on the throne or
in the dust, whether I am rich or poor, I know God is. Whether
I'm healthy or whether I'm sick, whether I'm living or dead, God
is, unchangeably so, God is. 1 John 5 verse 20, And we know,
and we know that the Son of God is come. and had given us an
understanding that we may know him that is true, and we're in
him that is true, even in his Son, Jesus Christ. My friends,
this is the truth, this is the true God, and this is eternal
life. I know. I have some certainty
in an uncertain world. Secondly, Job had a true friend. He had a true friend, a true
friend among cruel friends. He said, I know my Redeemer,
not just the Redeemer, but my Redeemer. I tell you this, I
want to be as honest with you as I can, as straightforward
as I can. Don't you put any confidence
in the flesh. Don't you do it. Don't you put
any confidence in any human being, not even yourself. As far as this world is concerned,
I believe brethren love each other. Our Lord said, by this
shall all men know you, my disciples, if you love each other. But I've
seen so-called brethren, I mean close brethren. I mean, at one
time, dependable brethren. I've seen them desert the ship,
I've seen them mutiny against the captain, I've seen them desert
the very gospel they claim to love. Don't you put any confidence
in the flesh. As far as this world and heaven
and earth is concerned, you don't have but one true friend, and
that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, I know no man after
the flesh. No man. I once knew Christ as
a man, but no more. Christ is my, that's what he's
saying here, I know my Redeemer, my Redeemer. Now three things
about Redeemer means kinsman, kinsman Redeemer. Now here's
the first thing, Job said the first thing, oh, what comfort
he found here in his, here in his, his loneliness, here in
his, in his time of desertion. And all these friends sitting
around shooting at him, Job said, I know my Redeemer liveth. He's
my kinsman. He's my kinsman. There's no kin
so kin to me as Christ because he's what? Bone of my bone and
flesh. He's me and flesh of my flesh. See what I'm saying? There's
no kinsman so close as Christ because Christ dwells within
you and me. He's my kinsman. And let me tell
you this. He's not forced by the flesh
to be my brother. He chose to be my brother. He
chose me. He chose me as his brother. He
chose me as his friend. He chose me as his sheep. He
chose to company with me. Some men company with you because
they have to. Don't you hate family reunions? I went to a
family reunion a few years ago, my dad's people, and you have
to have to play like you're glad to see everybody, you know, and
we were having all this family reunion, didn't even recognize
half of them, but my uncle came up to him and said, you're the
only preacher here, you'll have to lead in prayer. And I said,
well, okay, I'll lead in prayer. He said, I want you to return
thanks and offer thanks for the food. I said, all right, I'll
lead in prayer. He said, now when you're praying, he said,
you might mention something. I said, what's that, Uncle Red?
He said, two of your daddy's sisters are quarreling. And he
named them. He said, while you're praying,
why don't you mention that and see if you can get them together
again, you know. Well, my Lord's not forced by flesh to be my
brother. He chose to be my brother. He's
not forced by a church position to be my brother. He's not forced
by a doctrine to be my brother. He chose it. See what I'm saying? He's my kinsman, and then he's
not ashamed to be my brother. Turn to Hebrews 2. I know he
has every reason to be ashamed to be our brother, because there's
nothing in us that complements him, nothing in us that glorifies
him. But it says in Hebrews 2, verse
11, "...for both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified
are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
Brethren, I know my… Job had some certainty and assurance
in an uncertain world. I know. What do you know, Job?
I know my kinsman, my kinsman by choice, my kinsman, my Redeemer
by price and power who redeemed my soul from hell and sin, who
redeemed my state and made me accepted. who redeemed my body
from the grave, my Vindicator from false and true charges,
from satanic accusation, from the law's curse, my Redeemer.
I know that my Redeemer liveth." I know he lives. So Job, thirdly,
he not only had certainty amid an uncertain world and had a
true friend. And let me tell you something
about this friend. He not only is my kinsman, and my kinsman
by choice, and not ashamed to be my kinsman, but he'll never
disown me, Bob. He'll never disown me. Never. He said, Nothing can separate
me from the love of Christ. Nothing. I've had people disown
me. Have you? You ever had anybody
disown you? Did anybody take you out of the will? Yeah, they're
always taking something. Some people change their will
every year or two, you know, take somebody out. Let me tell
you something. The will, the testator Cecil's
already died, and the will has already been decreed, and he
can't take me out of it. I'm in his will. I'm his kinsman.
I'm an heir! And he'll never leave me. He
said, I'll never leave you. I'll never leave you. I don't
care what you do, I'll never leave you. Ye that walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, thou art with
me." Huh? I know. You can't say that about
anybody else. There's not a living soul. There's
not a living soul. You say, oh, yes, I can. I challenge
you. There ain't a living soul on this earth you can say that
about. Because men are changeable, fickle creatures. But there's
one who never changes, and he'll never live. Brother, let me tell
you something. This is what I'm saying, if some
real folks can lay hold on this real hope, this real message
of a real Redeemer, then I don't care how high the waves are or
dark the morning is or how cloudy the day is or rough the road
is, there's some cause for rejoicing. And the third, I know he lives.
Here's a promise of life surrounded by death. This is a dying world. I'm a dying man. I'm a dying
man. Where is the presence of life?
There's no life. And I appreciate doctors. I appreciate
what they're doing. I appreciate them so much. Medicine. I appreciate them prolonging
our lives as much as they can. But there's a line to which they
can go and no further. Death's coming. It's appointed
unto me and wants to die. To die. And I challenge you to
find any hope beyond that line. You can have all kind of hope,
hope that this'll be and that'll be, that you'll live a little
longer, but once you die, I challenge you to find any hope in the world
beyond except in Christ. I challenge you. And you get
together all of your deeds and doings and works and bring them
to God, and they're nothing but filthy rags. I'm telling you,
the only hope, he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth, my Redeemer
liveth. My works won't live, but my Redeemer
lives. My Redeemer lives. I have hope
of life amid all the death that surrounds me and that's in me.
And then fourthly, Job had real property, real property amid
absolute poverty. Now, brethren, let me tell you
something. I know a lot of you have got
your names on some deeds that say a house belongs to you and
a lot belongs to you. But you know what belongs to
you? You know what belongs to you? Absolutely nothing. That's
just so. There's only one thing that's
ours. It originated with us, it remains
ours, and we'll hang on to it except by God's grace through
eternity, and that's our sins. That's the only thing that's
really yours. They started with you, and they're going to end
with you unless they end at Calvary with Christ. But everything else,
there's nothing, there's no real property. Heaven and earth shall
pass away. Job's earth had already passed
away. His world had already passed
away. But listen to what he says here. I know my Redeemer liveth,
and he's going to stand at the latter day on this earth. He's
going to stand on this earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ is going
to stand. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth,
and he's going to stand here. And he said, listen to this,
though after my skin, worms destroy this body, and that's what's
going to happen to the flesh. Somebody says that the body decays
from within, it just rots. Yet this body is going back to
the dead. Yet he said, in my flesh, I'm going to see God.
I'm going to see him stand on this new earth. Now I know this.
Turn to Hebrews, if you will, just a moment. Hebrews chapter
9. that Job could be referring to either of the two comings
of Christ. I don't know which one he's talking
about there. Maybe both. Maybe both. But really and truly, there are
three appearances of Christ. Here in Hebrews 9, in verse 26,
it says, the last line, "...he appeared on this earth in the
end of the world in the latter days, he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself." Christ appeared on this earth.
And then it says in verse 24, back up a little bit, now, right
now, he appears in the presence of God as our mediator and our
high priest. You got that? Now, in verse 28
it says, to them that look for him, he's going to appear the
second time. Now, Joe may have been talking
about either of those appearances. I know this, that Christ came
to this earth, and that Christ is coming back to this earth,
and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Our Lord
Jesus said to his disciples, in my Father's house I have an
inheritance." There are many mantras. I am wealthy in Christ. If I'm in Christ, by God's grace,
I have health, I have happiness, I have wealth, I have contentment,
I have all these things. Not on this earth. I'm wearing these clothes, but
they're wearing out, and I'm wearing this body, and it's wearing
out. And I'm living in a house and it's wearing out. And I'm
surrounded by people that are wearing out. And everything on
this earth is going back to the worms. But Jones says, I'm going
to stand with him in reality. I have property. I have an inheritance. And brethren, let me tell you
something. Don't put any stock in stocks and bonds. Don't put
any trust in these things, and don't hoard them at the expense
of your relationship with Christ. Let me tell you something. Did
you know that at the judgment that people who've had an opportunity
to do good for other people, to share what God blessed them
with, if God blessed a person with abundant wealth, And gold
and silver, did you know that when that person comes to the
judgment, that those savings and that gold and silver that's
been hoarded and saved up is going to judge him at the judgment?
That's right, that's what the Bible says. It says that the
rust and canker, this is what it says, the rust and canker
molding of your gold is going to rise up against you at the
judgment. What does that mean? That means when you could have put
it to use and help people, and relieve suffering and relieve
distress and clothe the naked and help people, you left it
over here and it rusted. And it's going to rise up to
judgment and point its finger in your face and say, you didn't
use what God gave you. That's right. So I wish we could
say this, that nothing here, nothing here is of any value,
of any lasting power. It's all just nothing but rotting
rags. That's all. It's crumbling sandcastles. It's disappearing soap bubbles. Quit building your mansions and
quit putting your stock in this world. We're just pilgrims here. We ought to be living in tents.
That's right, because we're just passing through. One of the best
illustrations I ever heard was Years ago I read about a traveling
preacher, and he said when he went to a place to hold a meeting
and moved into a motel room, he didn't have the motel owner
come and change the pictures on the walls and put up pictures
he liked. He didn't call him and say, I
don't want Venetian blinds, I want a shave. He didn't call the office
and say, I don't like these purple drapes, I want gold drapes. He
didn't say, I don't like this carpet, put down a new carpet.
He left everything just like it was. He may not have liked
it too well. You know why? That wasn't his
home. He's just passing through. Just passing through. Now, that
home where he lives, he has his wife put up the kind of drapes
they like, the kind of rug they like. They're going to live there
a few years. But he doesn't change the vote. And what I'm saying
is, I like the way God's arranged my home in the sky, because I'm
going to live there a few years. But this place here, I'm passing
through. And it really doesn't matter whether I like everything
or not. But please, I say this to you, Job didn't have anything,
but he had everything. And those people sitting around
laughing at him had everything and didn't have anything else.
You get it? He had real property amid total
poverty. He's the one that was rejoicing,
I know my Redeemer lives. He's going to stand on this earth.
I'm going to stand with him. He had victory over the grave.
He said, the worms may destroy this body, but yet in my flesh,
in the new flesh, I'm going to see God. Watch verse 27. "...whom I shall see for myself,
and not another, though my reins be consumed within me." Job had
victory, victory, in the face of what looked like complete
defeat. He had victory. Where was his
victory? Let me say this to you. Here's
real hope for real people. When you candidly face who you
are, face this situation like it is, just like it is, not a
game, not what you ought to be or want to be or expect to be
or claim to be what you are. When you face things just like
that, when you face God just like he is, And when you realize
that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between you and God,
he's the only righteousness, he's the only redeemer, he's
the only sanctifier, he's the only justifier, he's the only
hope, Jesus Christ the Lord, then you'll be able to rejoice
like Job, because you'll have a certainty amid an uncertain
world. You'll have a friend in the highest
position. amid cruel flames, and you'll
have property amid absolute poverty, and you'll have life surrounded
by death, and you'll have victory over what appears to be certain
defeat. So God's people can sing. That's
the reason they could sing in the flames, they could sing in
the prison. Paul and Barnabas sitting down
there with their feet and hands chained, expecting death, singing
praises to the Lord. Because like Job, they knew their
Redeemer lived. Do you know Christ? Do you know
Christ? This is the Word, this is the
Gospel, this is the message, to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rest in Him. Trust in Him. Believe in Him.
Lay hold upon Him. May God give you The ability
to lay hold on Christ. The desire for Christ. Wean us
from this world. Wean us from it. A man's not
going to lay hold on Christ until he turns loose of this world.
He's just not going to do it. Because you can't have two masters.
No man can serve two masters. Either you love one, hate the
other, love this one, hate that one. You've got to let her go.
And that's what's hard. A young man said to me not long
ago, a professional man, high up in his profession, He said,
You can't have two Lords, just can't have two Lords, just can't
do it. And he realized it, and he said
it with sort of a longing in his voice, I just like this so
much, but you can't have two Lords, only one. Our Father in Heaven granted
this preacher. And these you brought together
this morning, all of us. And Lord, we lay no claim to
any righteousness of our own, any special position. I need
Christ. My friends need Christ. My enemies
need Christ. All men need Christ. We have
nothing in ourselves. There's nothing here. There's
nothing inside of us and nothing about us, nothing to us. Man
at his best state is nothing but vanity. But Lord, that we
might have this hope that by grace you gave to Job. Hope in
our hopelessness, help in our weakness, life in our death,
strength in our absolute inability. Christ alone, I know, my Redeemer
liveth. I know. Grant that knowledge. For Christ's sake we pray, Amen.