Now here's my subject today.
I have, for the past several days,
been seeking the will of God about a message for this morning. I've determined that I was going
to preach this morning by his grace, and I've been searching
for a message. I have read John I've read John
Gill, and I've read John Bunyan, and I've read the Apostle John.
And I've looked for a message, and I've underlined and I've
found dozens of them. But then last night, or yesterday
morning it was, yesterday morning, I was sitting at the table, and
I got to thinking. The question that's going to
be asked this morning by everybody in that congregation is, why
does the pastor want to preach when he does not feel well? That's
the question, when he's not even able to stand up, when he has
to come into the pulpit with a cane and to church in a wheelchair. Why does he want to preach? Why
is he so foolish? Why doesn't he stay home? And since this is the topic on
most people's lips, and this is a question that has been asked
me a dozen times, I just may as well make that the topic of
my message. Why am I here this morning? I
want to give you five reasons why I'm here, and I hope they're
the five reasons why you're here. I love the house of God. Now, not in the fashion, one
time I remember several years ago we had a little conflict
in a certain church not too far from here, and a man stood and
exclaimed, I love the walls of this building. Now, that's not
what I mean. That's not what I mean. I know
that God does not dwell in temples of stone. Turn with me to 1 Kings
8. I know that God does not dwell
in temples of stones. The man who thinks that he does
is a fool. God does not dwell in houses
made by men's hands. If the gospel is ever ceased
to be preached here, I could leave here just as easily as
I could leave a burning building, couldn't you, Paul? Just as quickly,
without any regrets, without even looking back. I could leave
it as easily as I could flee Sodom if the gospel is not preached
here. But our Lord said, Where two
or three are met in my name, I will be in their midst. And
there's a sense in which this is the house of God. But now
let me read you something here in 1 Kings 8, verse 27. Will God indeed dwell on the
earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven
of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that
I have built it, that we have built it. Yet have thou respect
unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord
my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant
prayeth before thee today, that thine eyes may be opened toward
this house, night and day, even toward the place of which thou
hast said, My name shall be there. You see what the wise man is
saying? He said, I know, Lord, you don't
dwell. The heaven of heavens can't contain thee. How can man
build a house for thee? But, Lord, hear my prayer. Let
your eyes be open toward this house that we have built it,
even toward this place of which you have said, My name shall
be there. Watch it. And, Lord, that thou
mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make
toward this place. Hearken thou to the supplication
of thy servant about the people of Israel. There is something
special about this day. There's something special about
this house. David thought that. Brother Wimbley read a moment
ago. David said, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to
the house of the Lord. I'll show you something else.
Turn to John 7, chapter 2. Our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking
here, and he's quoting Psalm 69, verse 9. In John chapter 2 verse 15, he
came to the temple. Verse 14, And he found in the
temple, John 2.14, those that sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge
of small cords, he drove them out of the temple. And he drove
out the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers' money
over through the tables. And he said unto them that sold
the doves, You take these things out of here. Make not my father's
house a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, now this is in Psalm 69, verse 9, the
zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. You see what I'm saying,
Charlie? I have to be here. The zeal of
thy house hath eaten me up. The zeal of thy, that's what
Christ is saying. I was glad David, David said,
I'd rather be a doorkeeper down there than to dwell in the tents
of the wicked. I love God's house. Let me show
you another scripture, Psalm 42. Psalm 42. I know there are
people, I know this is modern religion, I can't go to church
today, the wife's sick. I can't go to church today, somebody
died. I can't go to church today, this,
that. I ain't looking for a reason not to go. I'm looking for some
way to get there. Because the zeal of thine house
hath eaten thee up. Psalm 42, listen, verse 1. As the heart panteth after the
water brook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth
for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? My tears have been my meat night and day, day and
night, while they continue to say, Where is your God? When
I remember these things, I pour out my soul in thee. For I had
gone with a multitude, I went with them to the house of God,
with a voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept the
holy day." I went with them, David said. It was a time of
joy and a time of praise that I went with a multitude. Look
at Psalm 55. Let me read this one here. Psalm 55, verse 14. And can't some of you say this,
that I haven't been here in two weeks, and I'll tell you it's
been a long two weeks. Verse 14 says, we took sweet
counsel, Psalm 55, verse 14, we took sweet counsel together
and walked in the house of God in company. God's given us some
good times, some blessings, and I'm looking for some more. And
I'm afraid of this. One time the disciples met together
and the Lord appeared with them, and you know one of the sad statements,
let me read you something, John 20, let me read you something
here. It was a special time. The Lord had risen from the grave,
he had risen from the tomb, and he appeared to the disciples
in John chapter 20. Verse 22 says, he gave them,
verse 21, the Lord said to them, Peace be unto you. Just think
about this. Here were the disciples, and
the Lord met with them. They were there to meet, and
they didn't know he was going to appear to them. I'm sure they hoped that he would,
but they didn't know that he would. He had risen from the
tomb. They had met together for prayer, for edification, to encourage
one another. And he appeared and said, Peace
be unto you. As my Father sent me, even so send I you, verse
22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said,
Receive thee the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins you remit, they're
remitted. Whosoever sins you retain, they're
retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve,
called Didymus, wasn't there. Poor old Thomas. And it wasn't
a little while later. Somebody said, The Lord's risen.
He said, I don't believe it. But if you'd have been there,
you'd have believed it. You'd have seen him, Thomas. So the
Lord's permitted, he's permitted us to come into his presence.
By his grace and mercy he's provided for us to come into his presence. Dare any of us not come? Dare
any of us let even the slightest inconvenience keep us from such
an important appointment There God gives his message to
his people. Acts 20 verse 7 says, When the
people met together to break bread, Paul preached to them,
and they received. So I came this morning to preach
because Richard Baxter made this statement, I preach as one who
may never preach again. I preach as a dying man to dying
men. I came this morning to preach
and to worship in the house of the Lord, because I come as one
who may never have this privilege again. But by God's grace, I
have it today. Our Lord said something about
working while it's day, didn't he? The night cometh when no
man worketh. Our Lord said something about
being about his Father's business. I think sometimes we take for
granted a whole lot more things than we should. Boast not thyself
of tomorrow, thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. I
want to do what I can do, what God by his grace will enable
me to do. But the first reason why I'm
here and why I'm preaching is, I love the house of God. And
literally, emphatically, and sincerely, the zeal of his house
has eaten me up. This is my home. And secondly,
I say this, I'm here this morning to preach and to worship with
you, not only because I love the house of God, but I love
the people of God. One day our Lord Jesus Christ
was preaching to a multitude, and his mother and brethren and
sisters were outside. You were here last Sunday, and
I wasn't here. I was watching a fellow on TV. I wrote him a
letter. I thought about writing and getting
that tape. That was a good sermon I preached. But they were standing outside,
and somebody came in to them and said, Your mother is out
here, and your brothers and your sisters. And you know what he
said? And I can identify with this to a great extent. I hope
as the days go by to a greater extent. Because our Lord said,
By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if ye love
one another. And because our Lord said, He that loveth not
knoweth not God. But he said, Who is my mother? Who are my brethren? Who are
my sisters? Are not they that do the will
of God? Do we know what Ruth was talking
about over here? This wasn't just put in the Bible
for us to have a little extra poem to quote. Ruth chapter 1
verse 16, Ruth looked at Naomi with a A heart that beat with
affection for her and compassion for her. And she knew what she
was getting into. She knew how poor. Naomi didn't
have anything. She didn't even have a husband.
She didn't have a living. She didn't have an inheritance.
She didn't have a will. She didn't have anything. And
Ruth looked at her and said, verse 16 of Ruth 1, Entreat me
not to leave you. Brethren, let me be a part of
your fellowship. Do you feel that way? Love me,
let me love you, entreat me not to leave you, don't make me leave
you, or to return from following after you. Where you go, I'm
going. And where you lodge, I'm going
to lodge. And your people are going to
be my people, and your God my God, and where you die, I'm going
to die. And where they bury you, that's where I'm going to be
buried. Now, I don't believe a church
is just a social club. I don't believe it's just a place
to exercise religious and to go through ceremonies and deeds.
I believe it's a family. I believe it's a family. Paul
said, turn to Hebrews 10. in the 10th chapter of Hebrews.
The Apostle Paul says here in verse 19, "'Brethren, we have,
therefore, Hebrews 10 and 19, boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.'
and having a high priest over the house of God, that's Christ
our Lord, our high priest, who has the effectual sacrifice,
who has the sufficient sacrifice, who has the atoning sacrifice,
who has the cleansing sacrifice, who opens for every one of us
as saints of God, as priests of God, the privilege to come
into the very presence of the Holy God in boldness and confidence. to be received, to be heard,
to have fellowship with Him, to be accepted in the Beloved.
We can come, each one of us. Let us draw near. with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience. Our bodies are washed with pure
water. That's his justifying, sanctifying
blood. Let's hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering. He's faithful that promised.
Let's consider one another to provoke one another unto love. Not to provoke one
another, but to provoke one another unto love and good works. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together. You need one another. We need one another. Who is our family? Who is our
first love? Our Lord said, You've left your
first love. That J is one of the charges
he brought against one of those apostate churches in the book
of Revelation. They left their first love. I'll tell you this, his praise,
his worship, the exaltation of his name, The singing of hymns
and the reading of songs is the sweetest music this side of heaven.
I sure like to hear it. I wouldn't miss it. I feel like
that old preacher who was dying. He pastored a church. This is
a true story. I don't remember the name of
the preacher. I just remember the story. But he was dying. He lived in the parsonage next
door to the church. He lived there for all the years.
He preached. He hadn't missed a Sunday for
many, many years. He was old and feeble and dying.
And he was lying there in the bedroom, and he couldn't go to
church that Sunday morning. Doctor told him he just couldn't
live. Cold winter time. And he told one of the men, he
said, I want you to raise the windows of the church, and then
come over and raise my window of my bedroom, and let me hear,
raise me up on my pillar, and let me hear one more time God's
people sing the songs of Zion. And he lay there that morning
and heard them sing, all hail the power of Jesus' name, and
went to be with Christ. In it's strange you can hear
these silly songs that they write today and get so tired of them
before you ever hear them once, but twice there's too many. But
you can sing Amazing Grace for a hundred years and never get
tired of it. You can sing Wonderful Grace of Jesus, Thank You Lord
for saving my soul, just as if that's the first time you ever
heard it. That's why I'm here this morning.
I love the people of God. I'd rather be here than anywhere
else. I heard another story that blessed
me. We'll sing this song in the close of the service, but there
was a pastor born in 1740. He died in 1817 or 18 or something
like that. I don't remember. His name was
James or John. I think it was John Fawcett.
That was John Fawcett. He wrote that hymn, Bless Thee,
the Tire that Binds, Our Hearts in Christian Love. You know it.
We'll sing it at the close of the service. But John Fawcett
pastored a little country church in England, and he'd been a pastor
there for years and years and years. And the church was small
and the people were poor. They didn't make a whole lot,
and they couldn't pay him a whole lot. And he had a lot of children,
and they just had poor furniture and poor beds and poor dwelling
place. He was a good preacher and a
brilliant man, and a big church in England, or London, called
him to be their pastor. Nice parsonage, triple the salary,
bigger congregation. And he accepted. And he'd been
at this little country church for oh, so long, 20, 25 years,
something like that. They didn't have cars back then.
They had a wagon, a horse and a wagon. And they could get everything
they owned on one wagon. And so the day came for John
Fawcett to leave the little country church and go to London, triple
the salary. finer parsonage, bigger congregation,
everything provided, comfort for his children, education. He got the children and all the
furniture loaded on the wagon, and the whole congregation turned
out to bid him goodbye. His wife got up on the wagon
and sat down. He was shaking hands around with
the deacon and everybody was crying. Finally he got up on
the wagon and he sat there with the reins in his hands and looked
down at that congregation. And there wasn't a dry eye in
the whole bunch. And he sat there for a few minutes
and he wrapped the reins around whatever you wrap them around,
turned to his wife and said, Matilda, get off this wagon.
We ain't going nowhere. And he unloaded all his furniture
and took it back in the house and sat down and wrote, Blessed
be the tide that burns, our hearts in Christian love, the fellowship
of things divine is like to that above. You ever heard that song?
Well, that's when it was written, like that, written out, born
out of an experience. If we could learn some things
like that, to love each other. And then the third reason I give
you why I'm here to preach is I love the gospel. I love the
gospel of God's grace, which is preached in this place. One
of the men last night said something about a star that led people
to where Christ was. Brother, I'll tell you this,
that's the only thing that will lead men to where Christ is,
and that's the gospel of his grace preached. I don't care
who preaches it. I don't care whether it's Charlie or Jim or
Joe or Bill or Half or Herman or who it is or Henry or Jay
or whoever's up here. He better be the star that points
me into Christ. And the only star that will is
that gospel of his. There was a time when I didn't
know the gospel. I thought I did. Like Saul of Tarsus, I was a
blind religionist. Born a Pharisee, concerning the
law blameless, Mama a Hebrew and Daddy a Hebrew, ceremony
and tradition, trying to exceed my equals whether I did or not.
A slave of tradition, ritualism, dragging people down the aisle.
But one day, Paul said, one day, God who separated me from my
mother's womb was pleased to call me by his grace. And he
revealed his Son in me, and I saw some things that I had never
seen before. I saw some things I had never
seen. I saw by the light of revelation that salvation is all of grace,
eternal grace, infinite grace, effectual grace, sufficient grace,
and everlasting grace. I saw that God saved men by the
merits of his Son alone, that Christ Jesus is my only hope,
my refuge, my strength, and my salvation. I saw that God saved
men by his grace and for his glory, that the gospel is the
gospel of his glory. Paul said it's the glorious gospel
of our God, but he's saying it's the gospel of the glory of our
God. I saw it was the gospel of his
dear son. And bless God, I believe I can
say with the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1, I am separated
to the gospel of God concerning his son. I shall preach no other,
and when the opportunity comes to tell men who stray this way
or who continue this way, by his Spirit he laid hold on me,
and by a God-given faith I laid hold on him." Sometimes it is
said in the scripture that Christ is in you, Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Sometimes we are said to be in
him. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. But whatever, he's the head and
we're the body. Whatever, he's divine and we're
the branches. Whatever, he's the bridegroom
and we're the bride. Whatever, he's the source of
all blessings. For he is made unto us of God,
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I'm not working
my way anywhere. I'm resting in Christ. My sins
are pardoned, they're forgiven. I'm a child of the King. I know
the gospel. As John said three times in 1
John 1 through 3, I can't help but tell those things that I've
seen and I've heard. That's what he says. Three times
he talks about telling those things that he's seen and those
things that he's heard. And I've seen and I've heard
from the Spirit of God. I've seen through the divine
revelation and I've heard by the voice of God's word the gospel
of free grace. Of free grace. And the voice
must sound from this pulpit. It must. Let other men, as Joshua
said, choose whom you will. Serve the God you will, whether
God your daddy served the other side of the floods or the gods
of the Amorites, Canaanites and Hittites or Philistines. As for
me in this house, we're going to serve the Lord God. And the
gospel of his free grace, of his sovereign grace, of his free
mercy, of his sovereign of his effectual atonement through Jesus
Christ will be declared to sinners, to all who want to hear it. We're
going to spread a table of free grace, and it's the best eating
there is. It's the best there is. It satisfies
the hungry heart. It satisfies the thirsty soul. It's a table spread for sinners. It's a table spread freely. You
don't even have to bring your own cookies. Sometimes around here we have
potluck dinners and the girls tell all the other girls, bring
something to eat. Well, when you come to this table,
don't you bring nothing but an appetite. Because that old rotten
spoiled food you bring will mess up everybody's food. A little
leaven will leaven the whole lump. Come, for all things are
ready, he said. Go out in the highways and the
hedges, invite the poor and the lame and the halt and the blind,
and tell them to come. All things are ready. God provided
it in Christ. And I feed on his body and I
satisfy my thirst with his blood. Whatever else he's pleased to
do for me or make of me or whatever, that's just added grace. But
the sufficiency is in him. I learned that message, and I'm
determined by the grace of God to preach it. Luther said, When
sin and guilt are removed, then fear and condemnation are removed
too. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. And the man whose sin and guilt
is removed in Christ will say, Smite, Lord, smite, my sins are
gone. Now if sickness and infirmity
come, let them come. It is only what is meant to be. If sickness and infirmity come,
let them come. It is only what is meant to be.
And he added, A man scarcely feels infirmities in compassion
to what he felt when he was without Christ. Turn to Psalm 119. Let me show
you something here. He scarcely feels infirmities
compared to what he felt when he was without Christ. Psalm
119, verse 71, David said, It's good
for me that I've been afflicted. That's good for me. I tell you,
it's good for the creature to hurt. Maybe he can pray for people
who hurt. It's good for the preacher to
lie in the hospital. Maybe he'll be a little more
tender and compassionate towards those who lie in the hospital.
Maybe it's good for the preacher that when he can't walk, maybe
he'll be a little more compassionate toward those who... I've never been more convicted
than I was last Friday. We had breakfast, Walter and
Betty and Doris and I, over with Bruce and Sue, with John Howsam. John was sitting there in his
wheelchair, and I had my cane limping around, griping because
I couldn't walk good. And I happened to look over at
Charlie and saw him, and I felt like crying. What in the world
are you doing complaining? We ought to think about those
things, shouldn't we? And I shut my mouth then. That's good for
me. David said it's good for me.
It's good for me to be afflicted. Maybe every one of us ought to
have a little affliction, just every once in a while, and then
we can thank God, can't we, for what we have. Well, fourthly,
I must preach the gospel. Now, here's something. I want
to add this. This is the fourth reason why I'm here. I've got
to preach. I've just got to preach. It's
what God called me to do. Read my text again, 1 Corinthians
9, verse 16. Though I preach the gospel, I
have nothing to glory of. Necessity is laid upon me. Woe
is me if I preach not the gospel. I've got to preach the gospel.
What are these men talking about who are talking about retiring
from preaching? I don't understand them. What
are these men talking about who take sabbatical leaves from their
pulpits for six months or three months? I don't understand that.
And if they're dying, I can understand it. But I don't understand this. I don't understand this. This
is why I exist on this earth. This is why I live. I don't see
any cause for me to live if I don't preach. I'm a member of the body
of Christ, and that's my function in the body of Christ. Let me
show you, and I want us all to learn our function in the body
of Christ, our place in the body of Christ. It says here in chapter 12 of
1 Corinthians, and my friends, there is no saving
benefit apart from union with Christ, and there is no union
with Christ apart from faith. There is no faith apart from
preaching the gospel, there is no preaching the gospel apart
from the power of the Holy Spirit. And you and I have been called
as, now I know there's one body of Christ, I don't want to get
into controversies here, the scripture is bifocal. There is
a great universal church, there's no doubt about that. It's called
the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
It's called the church which he purchased with his own blood.
It's called husband, love your wives, as Christ loved the church
and gave himself for it. But there is a local aspect of
the church. This is a church, an independent,
Baptist, sovereign, Baptist church of which Christ is the head,
Jim. That doesn't deny, you don't have to have an either or, you
have both. You have both, and everybody
knows anything about the Bible, enough about it. to understand
that you don't have to be consistent with yourself, but you have to
be consistent with God's Word. And you let both stand. I'm a
local church person. I believe missionaries are sent
in the church, pastors are trained by the church, ordinances are
hedged about by the church. There's a local church. Also,
the body of Christ. Christ hasn't got 175,000 bodies.
He's got one body. He's the head in this one body. But there's another aspect in
which this right here is the body of Christ. I can't explain
that. I just know it's so. In that
right, Cecil, there's a sense in which I'm a member of the
body of Christ, the universal body of Christ. I'm a member
of the body of Christ of which Moses and Isaiah and Jeremiah,
but there's a sense in which This right here, and I can't
explain it, don't ask me to, I'm not God. But there's a sense
in which this is the body of Christ. And you and I both have
to realize that. We're going to have to understand
that. That we're members of one another in particular. And this
family, let me just say this, some of you have experienced
this. Take a father out of a home. You've still got a home there,
but there's something missing. Take a wife out of a home. Take
one of the children. One of our children's gone. And
it's still a happy home, but there's somebody missing in there,
Becky. And this is a family here. And
I saw a preacher bring a sermon out long ago, and Dick and Ed
and Jim Spence, some of you saw him pluck leaves off of a...
That hurt me. I couldn't do that. I couldn't
do you that way. He had a flower out here or something
in front of him. He said, well, some members just,
you know, pluck them and throw them away and go on. But it don't
look like much without those leaves. And it's not really a
complete flower. And I feel like I'm a part of
this body here, and I belong here, and you're a member of
this body. You belong here. You who function. Listen to 1
Corinthians 12. Verse 12 says, As the body is
one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body
being members of one body, so is Christ. By one Spirit are
we baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond
or free, we've been made to drink of one Spirit. The body is not
one member, but many. Everybody is not a head or an
ear or an eye or a nose or an arm. If the foot shall say, Because
I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body, is it not of the body? If the ear shall say, Because
I'm not the eye, then I'm not of the body, is it not of the
body? But I don't want to do without the eye. I hope the eye
don't quit tomorrow. I hope the little toe don't quit.
Whoever the little toe is here, I hope you don't quit, because
we'll all be limping. That's right. That's exactly
right. Whoever the pinky is, I hope
you don't quit. Please don't. Don't feel insignificant. The whole body. What if, verse
70, what if the whole body were the eye or the hearing? Where
would be the hearing if the whole body were hearing? Where would
be the smelling? God has set the members, every one of them,
in the body as it has pleased him. And if they were all one
member, you wouldn't have a body. But now are there many, and yet
one body? And I can't say to the hand,
I don't need you. Isn't that terrible? If I just pluck you off and throw
you away, I don't need you. and the head say to the feet,
I don't need you. Boy, I found out different this
week. Much more. Now watch this. Those members
of the body which seem to be the most feeble, which are covered,
which are not seen, are necessary. And those members of the body
which we think to be less honorable, maybe less prominent, maybe you
don't see as much out here, maybe you don't say as Upon these we
bestow abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant
comeliness." Can you see what I'm saying? I belong where I
am. That's why I'm here, Jack. You
belong where you are. You belong where you are. And
I hope that everybody, I hope we can all realize that. I get
so tired of hearing these preachers talk about their ministry. No,
they don't have a ministry, it's Christ's ministry. It's his body,
his family, his church. You ever hear a preacher say,
damn it, my church will do it this way? Yeah, that's usually
the bad, too, isn't it? I don't have a church. We are
Christ's church and Christ's body. And that's why I'm here,
because I'm blown here. I'm part of the body, and I just
don't feel like the body is totally complete without me. And I hope
every Sunday morning when the day dawns or Sunday night or
Wednesday, whenever it meets together, Bible conference, you
say, well, they don't need me. Well, God's Word says different,
doesn't it? God's Word says we need those
little guys even in that nursery. And those dear ladies that keep
it, and you dear ladies that brought Scott Richardson to talk
about the conference this year, the provisions, God provided
it, but God provided it through you. That song they just sang,
I'll feast on that all day. the gifts that you gave this
morning, the prayers that you pray, your presence. And then
the fifth reason I say I'm here, because I prevail till Christ
be formed in you. This is my objective. Every sermon
I'm praying, turn the Galatians forward, every sermon I'm preaching,
Jay's preaching, we're sitting in there in these Bible institutes
we're having on Thursday and these meetings on Wednesday night
and these meetings on Saturday. The Preacher's Workshop, there's
an objective, and that objective is till Christ be formed in you. And he's not being formed in
everybody at the same time. He's being formed, but he's not
formed in everybody at the same time. There's growth in grace.
This message this morning is going to help somebody. Jay's
message tonight is going to help somebody some more. Next week
is going to be another message. There's growth in grace. We're
sanctified in Christ, but there's a growth in grace, and there's
some edges to be cut off. But Christ is being formed. Now
listen to Paul in Galatians 4, and he tells the servant of God
to reprove, rebuke, to exhort with long-suffering patience,
waiting on God to perfect his work. We're not born mature,
we're not born full-grown. In verse 13, you know, Paul said,
Galatians 4, how through the infirmity of the flesh I preached
the gospel unto you at the first, and my trial which was in my
flesh you didn't despise nor reject, but you received me,
you received my gospel, you received my good news, you received my
message as an angel of God, as a messenger from God, even as
Jesus Christ, even as a messenger of Christ. Where now is that
blessedness you speak of? At one time, if it had been possible,
you would have taken your own eyes out and given them to me.
Am I to become your enemy because I tell you the truth? When I have to deal with you
in an area that crosses you well or conflicts with you, does that
make me your enemy? There was a time when I brought you, Paul
said, the gospel. You hadn't heard it. And you
heard it, and you loved me, and you would have plucked out your
eyes. And then I came along with some truth about some other things,
you know. And to be true to God's Word,
I had to tell you the truth. Does that make me your enemy? All right, look at verse 19.
He says, here's what it's all about. My little children I travail,
of whom I travail in birth, until Christ be born in you. Have to
do it. It's like you have to You're
a little child. I hate to see Bob whip Luke,
I tell you. But I know he's got to do it.
Because I had to spank mine. We grandpas get a little easier,
you know. That's the reason we ain't fit to raise children.
Jay, remember that. But it's hard, isn't it? It's
hard, it's hard, it's hard, it's so hard. The fellowship's broken
for a while, but a child, I wish we was like children. The fellowship's
broken for a while and then the little child comes and puts his
arm around you and says, I love you. Well, you don't regret scolding
them, you're just glad to have enough grace to still love you.
That's what Paul's talking about there, to still love you. Well, I travail to Christ be
formed in you. Why? Just briefly. Now quit. Because God's in Christ. God was in Christ, reconciled
the world unto himself. Secondly, because the fullness
of God's in Christ. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Because thirdly, the righteousness
of God's in Christ. You're not going to have any
except in Christ. He's made unto us righteousness Because the
love of God is in Christ. That's what it says in Romans
8, verse 39. The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Of course, Jude 21 says the mercy of God is in Christ.
And because Paul said in Acts 4.21, or Peter said in Acts 4.21,
neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none
other name under heaven given among men while we must be saved.
God willing, God willing, that message will still be preached. So that's why I'm here, and that
answers the question. I'm here because I love the house
of God. I love the people of God. I love
the gospel of God. And I travail to Christ be formed
in you. And God one day taught me the
gospel. And I love to preach it. That's
my place in the body of Christ. Have you found your place? I
believe most of you have. And you're going to feel it by
his grace. Our Father, bless the Word. Thank
you for enabling us once again to meet here. It's been a good
30 years. Give us many more according to
your grace. Give us the power of thy Spirit to preach the Word.
and give the people receptive hearts to receive it. Bless the
service tonight in a very special way. Unite our hearts in love
for Christ and one another. For it is in his name we pray. Amen.