President Baxter said it better
than I ever hoped to say it. I'd like to borrow the words
of these great men. He said it a lot better than
I could say it. Let me just say it like he did. I realize that
I preach today as one who may never preach again. I know that
and I believe that. I preach as one who may never
preach again. I preach as a dying man to dying
men. And I don't intend to spend my
time this morning talking about my unworthiness. Paul summed
that up better than I can. He said, I'm not worthy to be
an apostle. I know that. He said, I was a
blasphemer, I was injurious, I persecuted the people of God.
I'm not worthy to be an apostle. Any man who feels his worthiness
to preach is no preacher. Nor do we exalt our ability. God gives men certain abilities,
but it's God-given. Every gift that any person has,
God gave it. And they're borrowed gifts. But
what I'm saying is this, I know who we are by experience and
by the Word of God. I know what we are by nature,
by birth, by practice, by choice, by grace. I know where we are. I know where you are. I can identify
with you. I'll be honest with you, I wouldn't
really care to hear an angel preach the gospel. Would you
like to hear an angel preach the gospel? I think, what would
an angel know about the gospel? He'd just know some facts. I'd
rather hear Saul of Tarsus preach the gospel, a man identified
with the gospel, a man who had participated in and experienced
the gospel. So I say to you, I've experienced
the gospel. I can say with Job, I know and
I redeem a living. I'm not telling you about someone
I read about in a book. We can only preach what we experience. This is the reason so many preachers
are poor preachers. And I can tell you pretty quickly
when I listen to a preacher whether or not he believes what he's
saying. A teacher, I can tell you pretty quickly. And that's
not judging. I went over and turned the television
on this morning. I was drinking a cup of coffee,
and Doris was cleaning up the kitchen. And I went over and
turned over and flipped the button a time or two and picked up a
preacher preaching from the book of Job. I listened to him about
two or three minutes. I said, he doesn't believe what
he's preaching. He's reciting some facts. He's giving a reading. I can tell you. He's giving a
reading. You can tell if you listen closely
enough. He's giving some facts. He's
giving a reading. He's not convinced. He's not
convinced. Job said, I know my Redeemer
liveth. Wouldn't you like to hear Job
talk about his Redeemer? I know he's alive. David said,
The Lord is my shepherd. He is my shepherd. Although it
be not so with my house, God has made with me an everlasting
covenant. David said, Won't me tell you
about it. It's all my desire. It's all my salvation. I know. Paul said, I know whom I have
to leave. I know. My hope, the songwriter wrote,
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame. I wholly lean on Jesus' name. My friends, we can only
believe what we experience, and we can only speak of grace that
we've experienced, and we can only introduce people to the
Lord whom we know. So I'm saying this morning, if
you're here, and there may be four classes of people here,
If you're here today and you have no knowledge and no understanding
of what we call the gospel, and there could be some people here
that have no understanding and no knowledge of what we call
the gospel. Well, let me tell you, your speaker
knows where you are. I've been there. There was a
day when I had no knowledge or understanding of the gospel.
I was religious, but I didn't know the gospel. I know the gospel. You may be here this morning
and you have a profession of faith. You've made a profession
of faith, you've joined the Church, but you're not sure if you have
a saving interest in Christ. You're religious, you have religious
instructions, you have a religious profession, but you're just not
sure if you have a saving interest in Christ. I know where you are.
I've been there, too. I've been there, too. Or you
may be here this morning and you've been on the mountain of
peace, you've been on the mountain of victory and the mountain of
joy, but now you're thrashing about in the waters of doubts
and fears and despair and depression. I know where you are. Have you
ever been there? Oh, join the club. I know exactly where you
are. Or perhaps you're here and you
don't have any assurance. You say, I believe I'm saved,
I believe Christ is my Lord, I believe I'm a child of God,
I believe my name's written in the book of life, but I just
don't have assurance. Preacher, where do you get assurance? Where do you get peace? Where
do you get rest? Where do you get assurance? Well,
I know where you are. I've been there. So would you
listen to me as I sound, I believe, a clear note. I've entitled this
message, The Way Made And we're looking at what Paul had to say
here in Ephesians 1. I believe the way is made plain
here in Ephesians 1. He identifies himself first.
He said, I'm Paul, I'm an apostle. I'm not a novice. I'm not a novice. I'm an apostle. And I'm an apostle
by the will of God. I didn't take this office upon
myself. I didn't volunteer for it. I
didn't just get an education and take this as a vocation.
I'm an apostle by the will of God. God put me in the ministry. God sent me to declare this message
by the will of God. And I'm writing to the people
at Ephesus, to the believers, and not only to them, but to
the faithful in Christ Jesus everywhere. And my desire for
you is grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. In verse 3, 4, 5, and 6, Paul
traces our blessings, salvation, eternal life, the forgiveness
of sin, redemption, sanctification, he traces all of our blessings
to the primary source, to the fountain. He takes this big wide
river of grace, of spiritual blessings, and he keeps going
up that river until he gets to the beginning, up to the spring
from which it came. You see what I'm saying? In verse
3 through 6, he traces the mighty Mississippi, and he goes all
the way up there, wherever it starts, down some trickling,
rippling rocks is a spring that that whole thing begins from.
And he says that is the purpose of the Father. Now look at it.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's
blessed us with all spiritual blessings, and when we say spiritual
blessing, we're talking about everything spiritual. Knowledge,
life, truth, redemption, sanctity, just name it, justificate everything.
The Father's blessed us. And where is it? It's in Christ. Not in the law, it's not in works,
it's not in morality, it's not in Organizations or ceremonies,
it's all in Christ. Now watch this. He chose us. He blessed us in Christ, and
he chose us in Christ. This purpose, this design of
redemption, all began in the Father, and it began when? Before
the foundation of the world. I heard another preacher on television
this morning, and he made this statement. He said, I'm going
to preach on what must I do to be saved. And he said, now there's
something you have to do. He said, when that rich young
ruler came to the Lord, he said, what must I do? And the Lord
told him to sell what he had and give it to the poor, so the
Lord was acknowledging that there was something for you to do.
And he said, when the jailer came to Paul, he said, what must
I do to be saved? Now, he said, there's some things
to do. Now, listen to me. He said, that discounts this
predestination for the nation to like whether you do anything
or believe anything or not. Let me tell you something. I know that men must believe.
I know that nobody's going to be saved unless they hear the
gospel, believe the gospel, and receive Christ. Jay, that's right.
They're going to hear it and believe it and receive Christ.
They're going to bow to Christ. receive him as Lord, there's
a work of grace going to take place in the heart. But my friend,
let me tell you something. This grace and faith and repentance
and belief and life and salvation and forgiveness is foreordained
of God before the world began. Now, there's no use making a
fool out of yourself. There's no use denying one scripture
to try to prove another. The scriptures are consistent
with the scriptures. They're not consistent with human
logic. They're not consistent with human
arguments. The scriptures are not consistent
with human denomination, but the scriptures are consistent
with the scriptures. Yes, I believe in men being born
again. Yes, I believe in men hearing
the gospel. Yes, I believe in men repenting.
Yes, I believe in men believing. Yes, I believe in men persevering
and holding fast to faith and continuing in Christ and walking
godly and honestly holy in this present life. But salvation is
a gift of God. God ordained it. God purposed
it. God Almighty provided it. It's
of God. That's what Paul is saying, blessed
be the Father who chose us in grace. If he hadn't have chosen
me, I'd have never chosen him. If he hadn't have called me,
I'd have never called on him. If he hadn't have loved me, I'd
have never loved him. If he hadn't given me his grace, I'd have
never been a partaker of his grace, for Christ said, you will
not come. Yes, man has a choice, but his
choice is determined by his condition. Yes, man is a free agent. His
will is not free, his will is in bondage to sin. His will is
in bondage to his nature. His will is in jail. His will
can only do what he will do. But he has a choice. I tell you
this, you make a choice every day. Christ says, if you're not
for me, you're against me. You are actively against me. If you're not actively for me,
if you're not gathering with me, you are against me and you're
scattering abroad. That's what he plainly says.
There's no neutral ground. You're not in a state of indifference
whether you want to go against Christ or for Christ. You're
already against him. You see what I'm saying? You're
already against him. You've been against him since the Garden
of Eden. You're against him right now. If you're not for me, he
said, you're against me. That's clear. If you're not gathering
with me, you're scattering above. You're an enemy of my kingdom.
You're an enemy of my glory. That's so. And so we're not denying
belief, repentance, faith. I'm just simply saying what the
scripture says. I'm in the kingdom of God because God put me there.
I'm in Christ because God put me there. I have these heavenly
spiritual blessings in Christ. He gave them to me. He chose
me in Christ before the world began. Must I deny that in order
to preach faith? You say, what, to be consistent
with yourself? I'm not going to try to be consistent
with myself. If I'm consistent with myself, when I come to the
end of the road, I'll find out I've been consistent with a fool.
I'm going to be consistent with this book right here. This book
says God gave us his grace, he gave us life, he gave us Christ,
he gave us eternal life. That's what it says. Verse 5
says he predestinated us. I don't hate that word. Every
time I hear the average preacher use that word, it's with a snarl
or with a denial or with some kind of spitting out venom. Why? It's a precious word, it's in
God's Word four or five times. He predestinated. us into the
adoption of children. He adopted me. He sent his affection
on me. He cornered me. He isolated me. He set me apart. He said, that
old varmint's going to be mine. I'm going to make him my own.
That red-headed, freckle-faced, snaggle-toothed rebel, I'm going
to make him my child. I'm going to bring him into my
family and make him like Christ. I don't hate that. Have you noticed that, Jerry?
Every time the average preacher or somebody has something to
say about predestination, it's always with a smile, with a wrinkle
on their face. Thank God for his grace. Thank God he didn't leave me
alone, but he predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ, in Christ, to himself. according to the good
pleasure of his own will, and he did it all to the praise of
the glory of his grace. And he made us accepted. You
think about it, I am accepted. That's right, I'm accepted. God
has accepted me. Unworthy, sinful, rebel, guilty,
but God has accepted me. Weak, full of infirmities, God
has accepted me. I've been accepted. in the Beloved,
in Christ. And that's the only place I'm
accepted. Now, the essential, here's what
old Dr. Gill used to say in his personal way, he used this so
much, the essential, procuring, meritorious cause of salvation
is the will and purpose of the Father, the redemption and blood
of the Son, and the calling of the Holy Spirit, and it's not
of you, my It's not of him that will it, it's not of him that
run it, it's of God that showeth mercy. And I'll tell you, if
you've been set apart, if you've been singled out, if you've been
called, if you've been designated or predestinated or elected or
used the scriptural words that you please to be one of God's
own, you ought to jump up and kick your heels and say, Bless
God. Bless God. He didn't leave me
alone. Bless God. He chose me in Christ. Oh, I like it, all right. You
come to the door and it says, Whosoever will in, take the water
of life. It says, It says, that come unto
me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest.
Whoever one that thirsteth, come. And I walk in that door because
I'm thirsty, I'm weary, I'm heavy laden, and I want life. And I
look back and see the sign over the door that says, Chosen in
Christ before the foundation of the world. That's all right.
That's all right. That's the way it is. All right,
look at verse 7 through 11. Paul speaks now. God purposed
it, but the Son purchased it. He said, in whom, verse 7, we
have redemption. He has redeemed me. He's redeemed
me from what? From the law. The law has a claim
on me. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things that are written in the book of the law. The law
has a claim on you. Whether you admit it or not,
it has a claim on you. Justice, the justice of God has
a claim on you. Christ has redeemed us. Christ
has purchased us. Christ has brought us back. Walter
Gruber gave a beautiful illustration here when he was here a couple
of years ago about the little boy in Mexico that made the kite. Do you remember the story? It's
a true story. He made a kite. Do you remember why we used to
make kites? Did you ever make kites with flour and water and
newspaper? I bet some of you did. We used
to go out and get some limbs off the trees, about like this,
and we'd cross them, one this way, one that way, and one that
way, tie them together with string, cut a notch in the end of them,
put string around like this, you know, and tie it down here,
and then lay it down on a newspaper. And we'd fold the newspaper.
We'd cut the newspaper and fold it this way and this way. Couldn't
afford to buy one. And fold it and get flour and
water, make paints. and paste that old newspaper
kite and take it out. And that's what that little boy
made him, a kite. And he took it out and was flying it, and
the string broke and it got away from him, and he looked everywhere
for it and couldn't find it. And a few days later, he and
his mother were down in the Pueblo, down in the little shopping center,
and his kite was in a store window. Somebody found it and put it
in the window and had a price on it. I had two pesos or something. And that little boy said, that's
my kite. That's my kite. And he went in and told the man.
He said, it's my kite. I made that kite. It's mine.
And the man said, it's mine now, son. If you want it, it'll cost
you two pesos. I don't know that it's yours.
I found it. It was lost. And I found it. The little boy
went to his mother, and somehow they raked up two pesos, and
he went down and bought his kite. And on the way out he's holding
his hand and he said to that kite, you're mine twice. I made
you and I bought you. I made you and I bought you.
And I belong to the Lord. He made me and he bought me. Why did he buy me? I was in jail.
I was in jail. That fellow had me, Jack. The
law had me. Justice had me and will not let
me go. The Lord said he's mine. The law says he's mine now. The
Lord says he's mine, I made him, and justice says he's mine now.
He's violated justice, he's a criminal, and I'm going to keep him until
the full price is paid. And my Lord paid him. That's
what it says. In whom we have, not we're going
to have, we have it now. We have redemption. We have the
forgiveness of sin. Well, some folks think some sins,
a few sins, not the bad sins, just the little sins, just some
sins, not actual sins, not bad sins. The forgiveness of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us. All sin. Isn't that right? All
sin. In Christ there is no sin. In
me there's plenty. In Christ there's none. And this
according to the riches of his grace. Look at verse 9. Not only
has Christ redeemed us, but he's made known unto us this redemption. He not only redeemed us, he's
enlightened us. How do you learn the grace of
God? In Christ. How do you learn the mercy of
God? In Christ. Show us the Father. I'm in the
Father and the Father is in me. He that seeth me hath seen the
Father. You want to see God's love? See Christ stooping to
lift the fallen. You want to see God's mercy? See Christ identified with sinners. You want to see God's love? See
him, Christ, hanging between two thieves, crucified. You see
the Father in the Son, he's enlightened us. He's revealing to us the
mystery of his will. The gospel is called a mystery,
a mystery throughout the world, because the natural man can't
see it, can't understand it, and will not believe it. It's
foolishness, nonsense to him. And then down in verse 11, not
only has Christ redeemed us, not only has he enlightened us
and made us to understand that redemption is in him alone, but
he has given us an inheritance. See that? In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance. He has enriched us in that in
Christ I'm an heir of God. I'm in the will of God. What
do you mean the will of God? I mean in the will and testament
of God. When a parrot dies, he draws
up a will. I bequeath or leave to my son
this. I leave to my daughter this.
I leave to my brother this. I'm in God's will. And the testator
had to die. And in that will, I am a joint
heir with Jesus Christ. That's what he said. We're heirs
of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. I must tell you, beginning
with verse 13, He begins to show us the calling of the Holy Spirit
by the word of God. Now, there's an election. There's
a choosing, purpose of the Father. There's the purchase of the Son,
redemption. He's fulfilled all the work.
But brethren, where there's an election, there's a calling.
Where there's a purpose, there's a fulfillment, always. Where there's a redemption, there's
someone that's going to be redeemed. Where there's an invitation,
there's going to be a response. Hear me. Where there's a marriage,
there's going to be a bride. That's exactly right. There's
going to be a bride. So here's verse 13. Now, in whom
you trusted, in whom you trusted, After you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after you believed,
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." What I'm
saying is this, God Almighty purposed to save this sinner. It's no accident God purposed
to save this sinner and those sinners. Jesus Christ came down
here as the surety of the covenant, he came down here as the Redeemer
of his sheep, he came down here as the one who was the sufficient
ransom, sin offering, sacrifice for sin, to satisfy the law and
justice of God, and he redeemed us. Now then, the Holy Spirit
has been sent to the Father to call, and where there is a calling,
there is a response. The Holy Spirit has been sent
to invite to the wedding all whom God Almighty has been pleased
to save, and they will respond. There is an invitation, there
is a response. Where there's a marriage, there's
going to be a bride. Now let me show you that in these two
verses, 13 and 14. There are three words I want
you to see. First of all is the word heard.
You see it there in verse 13? In whom you trusted after you
heard. After you heard. In whom you trusted after you
heard. My friend, the preaching of the gospel. Now I know a lot
of preaching is foolishness. And a lot of preaching is the
preaching of foolishness. I know there's a lot of entertainment
in preaching, but the preaching of the gospel that I'm trying
to do this morning is essential to salvation. It's absolutely
essential. In every age, God has raised
up men to preach the gospel. When Elijah went back to glory,
his mantle fell on Elisha. When Paul died and God took him
away, He didn't take him up till Timothy was on the field. That's
always true. God will not leave himself without
a witness. So let me give you these scriptures.
Number one, God hath chosen, it pleased God, by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. That's what 1 Corinthians
1, verse 21 says. Romans 10, 13 says, Whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord, call out of a need call
out of distress, call out of inability, call on the sufficient
name of Christ, recognizing that salvation is in that name shall
be saved. But how are they going to call on him in whom they've
not believed? And how are they going to believe on him of whom
they've not heard? And how are they going to hear
without a preacher? And how are they going to preach if God doesn't
send them? That's scripture. Listen to this, Romans 1.16.
Paul said, I'm a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians
I am ready to preach the gospel in Rome, too, for I'm not ashamed
of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation. So what
Paul is saying here in Ephesians 1, verse 13, you trusted in Christ
after you heard the word. After. After. Now, the preacher sent and commanded
to preach. But wait a minute, the people
to whom he sent are commanded to hear. Our Lord said, He that
hath ears to hear, let him hear. Oh, ye dry bones, hear the word
of the Lord. Now, look at the next line. You heard what? The word of truth. What is the word of truth? What
are we talking about here, the word of truth? It's just whatever
I think ought to be preached, or whatever the Baptist church
thinks ought to be preached, or whatever. It doesn't matter
what a fellow believes, just so he's sincere, that's what
they say. He's religious, he's moral, he's dedicated. Don't
tell me he's not going to be in heaven. Some lady wrote Dear
Abby and said, you mean to tell me that that believing that somebody
wrote a letter to a preacher that the reverend says that the
only way a person can go to heaven is believing on Jesus Christ?
You expect me to believe that? And you mean to tell me that
I've taken care of my mother all these years and she's lived
with us and I've cooked for her and sewed for her and got her
medicine and took care of her and tended her and I'm not going
to heaven? Well, she said, I don't believe
that. Actually, Billy Graham has come
to the place, he doesn't believe it either. Would you excuse your
pastor for picking on Billy Graham? But in McCall Magazine, Mr. Graham was quoted, and I read
it to you all yesterday in class, I no longer believe that the
pagans are lost who have never heard of Jesus Christ. See, I
read it to you. And he went on to say, there
are other ways of approaching God. You know what it says? Other
than Jesus Christ. For example, he said, nature,
you can say yes to God. Now, brethren, let me tell you
something. I don't know where you stand.
I don't know what, but if I don't, if Paul warned about false teachers,
our Lord warned about them. Let me tell you this. The Mexicans
to whom Walter Gruber is preaching, he's down there preaching to
them, we go down and try to help him in his means to provide for
him. You know why? Because those people are lost without Christ.
If they are not lost, we are doing them an ill service by
sending anybody down there to tell them about Christ. Because
once they hear about him and reject him, then they become
lost. Our Lord didn't come into the world to condemn the world.
He came that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth
on the Son hath life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see light." Is that what the word says? He that hath
the Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son of God,
whether he's a pagan or whether he's an intellectual, whether
he's black or white, whether he's old or young, he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life. You know what scripture says?
I didn't write it. I just know that the only way
to be saved is to be in Christ. The only one who was delivered
from the flood were those in the ark. The only people in the
wilderness that survived the plague were those who looked
to the brazen serpent. That's so. The only people in
Egypt who survived the scourge of the death of the firstborn
were those whose blood was on the door. I'm sure there was
some dear lady over there taking care of her sick mother at that
very time where her boy died, because in unbelief there was
no blood on that door. I'm sure there was some hard-working
daddy who'd come in after being in the field all day. He minds
his own business and pays his bills and disciplines his children
and educates his family and nice to his neighbor, and he'd worked
all day. His hands were rough and scarred
and calloused, and his back was bent, and he was hungry and tired.
He lay down and went to sleep, and his boy died that night.
Why? No blood on the door. Isn't that what Scripture says?
When I see the blood, I'll pass over you. When I see the blood. What does the scripture say?
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. I'm not
going to change that. You do what you will. And Mr. Graham can do what he will, and
he can get along. That's in the February 1978 issue
of McCall Magazine, if you want to go up to the library and look
it up. You heard the word of truth,
the word of truth. You trusted after you heard the
word of truth. What's the word of truth? Christ
died for our sins. Now that's what I preach, that's
what the Bible says. The gospel of your salvation.
Now that's what men are going to have to hear. Nobody's going
to be converted to God or brought to Christ by hearing socialism
or civic duties or clean up the town, etc., etc., etc. We're going to have to hear the
gospel. God loved us, Christ died for
us, redeemed us by his blood. Alright, look at the next line.
It says, "...in whom also after you believed." Underscore that
word, believe. You heard, and then you believed. I believe the message. I believe
it. Do you? I tell you this. Let me give you some reasons
why I believe in Christ. I am the door, he said, by me
if any man in any area shall be saved. I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. I am the water of life. come and drink, I'm the bread
of life, come and eat. Why do I believe that? The first
reason is this. This message of Christ and redemption
through Christ, through the sacrifice, the blood, the obedience and
so forth, his perfect life, is upon the authority of the Old
Testament. That's the first reason why I believe it. It fulfills
what's written. Christ himself appealed to that. He appealed to the scriptures.
Paul appealed to that. He said, Christ died for our
sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again,
according to the scriptures. God promised, I have sinned a
seed of woman. Christ is a seed of woman. God
promised that Jesus Christ would be of the tribe of Judah, of
the family of Jesse, of the household of David, born in Bethlehem.
Every prophecy that he would be the priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek, that he would fulfill every type, the
brazen serpent, the rock, the manna, all of these scriptures
are fulfilled in Christ. Every attribute of God is in
Christ. Every prophecy of the Old Testament,
every promise of the Old Testament, every picture of the Old Testament,
every type of the Old Testament doesn't have to be bent or stretched
or twisted to apply to Christ. It fits in perfectly. Isaiah
53, wounded by transgression, the plucking of the beard, the
crown of thorns, the thirty pieces of silver, the potter's field,
just keep naming these scriptures. It's no oddity that all of these
scriptures should end up in one person. That's no mystery, that's
God Almighty's intention. He's a fulfilling scripture.
The second reason why I believe this message, it's in keeping
with God's attributes. The sacrifice of Christ enables
God to be God and yet save me. Now let me tell you something.
Man's fallen, God's on the throne. Man's sinful, God's holy. If
those two ever get together, he's not changing. He's unchangeable. I'm changeable. Something's got
to be done for me, not him. He's going to be just, righteous,
holy, sanctified, immutable, unchangeable, infinite. So if
God Almighty ever has anything to do with this mess of rotten
flesh, then somebody's going to have to come down here and
do something for me. He's going to have to do something for me
in reference to God, in reference to God's law, in reference to
God's justice, in reference to God's righteousness. I've got
to be fixed up so that I'll be like him. And that's what Christ
did. And God can be just, remain God
and righteous, and yet have something to do with me in Christ. You
see what I'm saying? In Christ. That's the reason
I believe it. Thirdly, is this message meets
my every need. I don't have a need that Christ
doesn't meet. Not a need. I've got to have a righteousness
before the law, right? He provided that. I've got to
satisfy justice. He did that. My sins are gone. It's got to be free, I don't
have anything to pay. It was free. It's got to provide me
with rest and joy and peace, and I can't have any of that
myself. I may have a little rest and joy today, but tomorrow is
another day. I'm so changeable, I'm subject to my environment,
outside and in. I'm subject to temptations and
feelings and ups and downs and all these things. He's unchangeable.
The songwriter said, swift to its close, ebbs out my little
days. Us jaws grow dim, its beauties
pass away. Change and decay in all around
I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me." Brethren, that's my hope. I don't know what I'll
do tomorrow or where I'll be. I think about my friend, Brother
Griswold. I walked in that funeral home, his daughter walked up
and fell across my neck weeping and said, You didn't think your
old buddy would ever do that, did you? That's some question
there. No, I didn't think him. And I
don't think I will, but I don't know. How about you? How about you? But I know he'll
never change. He'll never change. You put your confidence wherever
you want to, but I think I know where you're going to put it.
In Christ. See that, Russell? And I can change. I do change.
I will. I don't know what the future
holds. I'm kept by the grace of God. But I know who holds
the future. I know who's my Redeemer. And
that's where your hope better be. It better be that your strength
is small. My strength indeed—why don't
we believe what we're saying? My strength indeed is small. But I tell you, his strength
is without limit. All right, the fourth reason,
I believe this message, is because, like the disciple said, to whom
shall I go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. To whom shall I go? I've got no other place to go.
Give me an alternative. Give me a hope somewhere else
besides Christ. You talk about this is not philosophical,
this is not up to date, etc., etc. Give me your hope for eternal
life. My hope is in Christ, in God's
word, in the truth of the gospel. We're going to sing a song this
morning. And that's our assurance. That
last word is seal. It says you were sealed with
the Holy Spirit after you believed. Sealing is another word for assurance. It follows belief. You heard,
you believed. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed, I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have
committed to him. I want Jay to lead us in that song. I heard
the voice of Jesus say, what number is that in our book? 225?
225 and the instrumentalists are going to play another tune,
not the one in the book. But while we're singing this,
see if we can't, every one of us, let's worship the Lord here
in singing this hymn. I heard the voice, you got it
there, 225, of Jesus say, come to me and rest. Lay down, thy
weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus
as I was, just like I was, weary, worn, and sad. What did you find? I found in him a resting place
that made me glad. That's the gospel. Like Jay was
talking yesterday, that's the only gospel I know, and that's
the gospel as best I know it, and that's the gospel as best
I can present it. But there's nothing here. I see
that more and more all the time. I see it in here, and I see it
out there, and I see it in here. But I'll tell you this, there's
rest in Christ, there's confidence in Christ, there's an anchor. We used to hunt a place when
I was on a ship, put our anchor where the ship wouldn't drift.
And brother, when we found one, it stayed. And I found a place
for my anchor. My anchor holds, it's in Christ,
the rock. And I'll move around, the wind
blows my whole ship around, but it never moves off the rock.
It may go maybe facing this way and that way and the other way.
But I'll tell you, that anchor's in Christ, Gerald, and he'll
never move. And that's where yours better
be.