Let's look at our text, if you
will, from John 14. John 14, verse 19. Our Lord says, Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more,
but ye see me. Now, do you notice immediately
a distinction which is established by Christ, a sharp line which
is drawn, the world and ye. In other words,
our Lord always, always drew a sharp line of distinction between
the world and his people. He said in John chapter 10 when
the Pharisees came round about him and they said, if you be
the Christ, how long do you make us to doubt? Tell us plainly. He said, I told you and you believe
not. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Here's
a distinction. Those who do not hear his voice
and those who do hear his voice. The world and his sheep. He said,
in a little while the world, the world of natural men will
not see me anymore. But you see me. The world and
ye. He said, one day they asked him,
they said, why do you speak in parables? Well, he said, I speak
to them in parables because they have eyes, but they don't see.
They have ears, but they don't hear. They don't hear. They hear words, but they don't
hear what I'm saying. They see the form of a man and
they see the miracles which I do, but they really don't see. They
see, but they don't see. They have eyes, but they can't
see. They have ears, but they don't hear. They have hearts,
and they may understand natural things. They may understand material
things, but they don't understand spiritual things. Having hearts,
they do not understand. He said, blessed are your eyes,
you see. Blessed are your ears, you hear.
And blessed are your hearts, they understand. He said, whom
do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Whom do they say that
I am? They see me, they hear me, they listen to me, they've
heard my word. Whom do they say that I am? And Peter said, well,
some say you're the Christ, some say you're John the Baptist,
some say you're one of the prophets, some say you're Elijah. He said,
but whom do you say that I am? They and you. You see the difference?
In a little while, the world will see me no more, but you
see me, the world and you. And he says, Whom do men say
that I am? Now whom do you say that I am?
And Peter said, Well, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And our Lord said, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona. Flesh
and blood didn't reveal that to you. That understanding of Christ
is not revealed by flesh and blood, but by my Father which
is in heaven. And then he said this in 1 John
5, 19. Don't turn to it. I can quote
it to you. He said, ye are of God, ye are of God, but the whole
world lie in the wicked one. Ye are of God, but the whole
world. And this distinction, you say, why are you saying this?
Because our Lord made this distinction, a very sharp distinction, a line
which he drew, the world and ye, my sheep and the world, men
and ye. And the reason I make this distinction
is because I feel like we should make it in our ministry. Now,
I'll give you three reasons for that. First of all, we give men
a false hope when we talk about a Christian nation. There's no
such thing. My friend, I'm not splitting
hairs. I think a lot of times we find our way out of truth
by saying you're splitting hairs, you know, or you're going too
far in your in your application, there's no such thing as a Christian
nation. God doesn't say nations, he says
people. People. And we give people a
false hope when we talk about America being a Christian nation.
America is as far from being a Christian nation as any other
nation in this world. America may have some Christians
in it, but they're believers in every tribe, kindred, nation,
and tongue unto heaven. There's a good possibility with
all of our religion here in this country, we're further from God
than any other country. There's a good possibility. The
Jews, with all their religion, were further from God than the
Gentiles round about them. In fact, their table became a
snare and their ceremony stumbling blocks and kept them from Christ. And our Lord said that to that
whole group of Jews gathered in that synagogue on the Sabbath
day in Nazareth in Luke chapter 4. He said there were many widows
in Israel in the days of the Prophet, but God didn't feed
any of them. No Israelite widow was fed. There was a Gentile widow fed.
And he said there were many lepers in Israel in the Jewish nation
in the time of the Prophet, and God healed none of them. But
he healed a Gentile called Naaman, a Syrian. And my, my, that was
devastating. Those people rose up in wrath.
And they took him out of the pulpit and led him out to the
brow of the city and would have thrown him off a cliff. And if
we get plain enough, in our generation, there's a good possibility that
religious people will react the same way toward us if we tell
them the truth. We have no corner on God because
we're religious. God's not obligated to you, to
me, indebted to anybody else. His mercy is free and sovereign. His grace is free and sovereign.
And we do men a disservice and we give them a false hope by
talking about Christian nation. Ours is a Christian town. This
is no more a Christian town than Sodom and Gomorrah. There's some
Christians here. There was one down in Sodom.
His name was Lot. And whether they're 10 or 15
or 20 or 500, it's still not a Christian school. That's the most ridiculous thing
I ever heard of. God doesn't save schools, and
there's no school made up of saved people. There's no such
animal as a Christian school, Joe. And you're giving kids a
false hope by separating them from other children, call it
children of the world. We're all sons of Adam, fallen
in Adam. And the sooner you let your little
brat know that, the better off he'll be. That's right. That's
just being plain. Christian school. There's no
such thing. I think there's more evil in self-righteousness than
there is out there in the world. There's more rottenness. Now
let me tell you something. When our Lord was here on the earth,
the harshest words he had was for Christian schools. The Pharisees. That's right. The Pharisees.
They were the Christian schools of that day. And our Lord called
them a bunch of white encyclicals. He called them hypocrites. He
called them a generation of snakes, and then turned around and saved
harlots and publicans and sinners. And they got so mad, they said,
what's he doing going down to where those people are that are
publicans and sinners? Why doesn't he come up here with
us, the Christians? Because those people were sinners.
And sinners need a Savior, and self-righteous people don't.
I'm telling you the truth. There's no such thing as a Christian
nation, town, school, and then we talk about we were raised
in a Christian home. Now we may have been raised by
believing parents. But I want to tell you this,
that house over there is not Christian. And the whole family
organization is Christian, individuals. I'm trying to tell you something
that's important. The heart is where Christ dwells.
And the heart of an individual is where there's a relationship
established between us and the living God. And we're just like
those Jews of old now. The symptoms are the same. The
evidences and characteristics are the same. They took stock
in the fact that Abraham was their father. And that they had
the rules and the regulations and the laws and the ceremonies
and they were abiding by them, therefore they were Christians.
They were God's people. Not so. You can follow all the
rules and the regulations and the statutes and commandments
and ceremonies and rituals and holy days and be farther away
from God than the man out there on the street. Now, I know this
is not what's being said, but it should be said, because it's
what Christ said. Salvation is a personal, individual
relationship with the living God by faith in Christ Jesus. To as many as received him, to
them gave he the privilege to become sons of God, even to them
that believed on his name, which were born, not of blood, that
is, not of fleshly inheritance. You don't inherit anything from
your parents but sin. Not of fleshly inheritance, not
of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but born
of God. And then we give men a false hope. Secondly, when
we address the entire congregation as saved people. Now that gives
people a false hope. Brethren, we've met to worship.
Well, some may have met here this morning to worship, some
may have come for other purposes. I know that the brethren have
met to worship, but there's a possibility some have met for other purposes.
And we give people a false hope by looking over a whole congregation
and saying, we believers, we Christians, we save people, when
we all get to heaven. Now that gives a man a false
hope. We are all not going to get to heaven. All who are in
Christ are going to heaven. All who are under the blood are
going to heaven. All who are redeemed by his grace are going
to heaven. All who are in vital union with
his Son are going to heaven, but all are not going to heaven.
And our Lord didn't address groups of people like this. He said,
yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you, you see me. And he said, have
I not chosen twelve and one of you is a devil? And then I think
we give men a false hope at the grave. One of the funeral directors
here in Ashland said to me one time, he said, I've been in the
funeral, in the burying business, he said, for so many years, thirty,
thirty-five years. He said, I've never buried a
lost person. Why, he said, all the preachers
and all the families indicate to me and in the services,
that regardless of the life that person lived, regardless of his
attitude toward God, regardless of his principles, he's drawn
to his reward. And I'm afraid we do that. At
the graveside and at the funeral home and in the chapel services,
we put people in heaven who are not in heaven. I like what the
old black preacher said when he was preaching that fellow's
funeral. We hope he ain't where we know he is, you know. That's
being a little candid, you know, we hope he ain't where we know
he is. But I think you can do it without leaving the impression. I believe you can conduct a funeral
service of a total stranger without leaving the impression that you
believe he's with God. Now, we do men a disservice,
we give them a false hope. when we indicate by our words
that somebody's gone to be with the Lord who had no concern for
God and no interest in God or his word or kingdom while he
was on this earth. What makes you think a man would
enjoy God in heaven if he doesn't enjoy Him now? What makes you
think a person would love God in glory who does not love God
now? What makes you think he would enjoy the company and fellowship
of the redeemed in glory if he does not enjoy their company
and fellowship on this earth? But whatever distinction or character
we give people, they're those who have seen Christ by faith
and those who have not. And that's what our Lord is saying
here. In a little while the world sees me no more. However, in
whatever form they've seen me, in whatever character they have
distinguished me, in whatever place they've given me, in this
way they'll see me no more. Because I'm leaving, going back
to my Father. But you see me. But you see,
there's a distinction. There are those who have heard
Christ and those who have not heard him. There are those who
have heard him speak through his word, words of peace and
words of joy and words of comfort. And those who have never heard
him, who have not heard him speak, not these words of peace, my
peace, I give unto you. Come unto me and I'll give you
rest. They've never heard that. There are those who have received
Christ by faith, weak though that faith may be. pray, although
that faith may be, but they have exercised whatever faith God
has given them, they have exercised that faith in Christ. And there
are those who have not. Let me show you that. Turn to
John 3. This is very clear in the Scripture, very, very clear
in the Scripture. There are those in religion who
do not know Christ, there are those in religion who do. In John 3, verse 36, it says,
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. John 3.36,
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that
believeth not the Son shall not see light. That's a fact. That's
a truth. The wrath of God abideth on him.
Turn to Mark 16. Mark 16, our Lord had been crucified,
risen again, was going back to glory as our advocate, as our
mediator. On the right hand of God is our
great High Priest, and before he left, he commissioned his
disciples to go preach the gospel. Mark 16, verse 15, he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized, that's a confession
of that faith, shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Very clear, 1 John 5.12 says,
He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. So there's a distinction. Back
to our text in John 14.19, there's a sharp line drawn. There's a definite distinction
laid down by our Lord here, in which he says, the world and
you. The world and you. And that's
the way I want to preach this morning, and I want to point
out three things In a very brief fashion, I trust. First of all,
religious privileges enjoyed by this world. And there are
some religious privileges enjoyed by this world. Things that are
identified with Christ. Things that are of Christ, actually. This is God's work. But now the
day will come when this will be no more for you. That's right, and for me, this
assembly has met in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
a time when this assembly will meet no more. This building,
I trust a lot of church buildings all over the country, and they're
dedicated to different things. I trust this building. It's used
for no other purpose. This is not a gymnasium. This
is not a cafeteria. This is not a social center.
This is a place where men meet to hear from God and to worship
God. There's a time when it'll be
no more. So religious privileges, which men enjoy, there are religious
privileges, there are things identified with God, Christ said,
a little while and it'll be no more. It'll be no more. Some of us are getting a little
older and we're thinking more about these things. I wish I
could, I wish there was some way that I could get everyone
to think in this direction a little while, a little while. And the world will see me no
more. But then he said the second thing, believers have a sight
of Christ which will never be taken away, which will never
Actually it will be incorrect, but you see me. You see me. You
continue. You are seeing me. You are seeing
me. You will see me. It continues. And then the last thing, this
sight of Christ is accompanied by a life, a L-I-F-E life that
is actually the life of Christ because I live, you live. Now
let's see if we can make good on that just briefly and help
all of us to understand something yet a little while. And it was
a matter of days till the world will see me no more. It was a
great favor to see Christ in the flesh. I have to confess,
and I know you'd have to confess, that you'd like to turn the clock
back 2,000 years, not that you'd like to live back then. I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to have lived
back then at all. I wouldn't want to I wouldn't want to turn
the clock back that way, but there is a sense in which sometimes
it goes through my mind, I would love to have heard him speak. That's just being honest. I would.
I would love to have seen his face in the flesh. Yes, I would.
You say, well, that won't save you. I know that much as you
do. But I'm simply saying it was a great favor to have seen
the Lord. Kings and prophets desired to
see Moses. wrote of me. Don't you know Moses
would like to have seen the realization of all of his dreams and prophecies
and promises God gave him? Kings and prophets have desired
to see his day and died disappointed. Abraham saw my day. Don't you
know Abraham would like to, like Simeon who lifted up the child
Jesus in his arms and said, Lord, now let thy servant depart. Mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. But, my friend, many people who
lived on this earth when he walked this earth in the flesh saw him. They saw him, and they were no
better off for that sight. In fact, to be quite frank with
you, they were under greater condemnation. The more light
God gives a man, the more responsibility is put upon that man, the more
God requires of that man. the more accountable he is. That's
the reason our Lord said, Woe unto thee, Capernaum! Woe unto
thee, Bethsaida! If the mighty works which are
done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
to this day. If they had seen what you've
seen and heard what you've heard, Tyre and Sidon would have remained
to this day. Actually, they're those who saw
Christ in the flesh and the sight of him didn't help them, but
rather added to their condemnation. You know, he said this, he said,
the Queen of Sheba came halfway around the world, a long ways,
to see the glories of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon
is here. And you haven't seen his glories.
They saw the outward man. Turn to Isaiah 53. Here was their
reaction. Isaiah 53, verses 1 through 3. They saw him in the flesh. They saw him. In Isaiah 53, Isaiah
said, Who hath believed our report, our record? Who hath believed
our doctrine? To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? The arm is the power of the Lord, that's Christ. For
he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out
of a dry ground. He hath no form, nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men. A man of sorrow is acquainted
with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was
despised. Is not this the carpenter? Dost thou teach us? Where did
you get your learning? You say you know Abraham? Well,
you're not 50 years old. We know your mother and we know
your brothers and sisters. They saw him in the flesh and
despised him because they saw not the real Christ. They saw
not his glory. And that's what he's saying here
in John 14. In a little while, in a little while, the world
will see me no more. Their sight of Christ was in
the flesh, soon gone. Their hearing of Christ was in
the flesh, soon gone. Their knowledge of Christ was
totally in tradition and ceremony, soon gone. Now you say, how does
that apply to me? How does that apply to us today?
What's that got to do with me? What's that got to do? Jesus
Christ stood on this earth in the flesh, God in human flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and the disciples said, We beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
But the world didn't behold his glory. They saw only a man. Their
sight was confined to the flesh. They didn't hear words of peace
and joy and rest and hope. They heard just words. See what
I'm saying? They saw only a man. And he said,
What they see will soon be taken away from them. What they do see, what they do
see will soon be gone. What they do hear will soon be
gone. What they do comprehend will
soon be gone. Then what will they have? Nothing.
What's that got to do with you? Natural men, religious people. And religion, we're in the midst
of a religious, what they call revival. There's more religion
in this country today than there's ever been. And I'm saying, And
with much confidence, most of it's not of God. God's not in
it. It's flesh. The walking of the
aisle, the raising of the money, the TV programs and radios, the
building of the great cathedrals, the entertainment, the bus ministries,
the bringing them in, the competition, the clowns, the puppets, the
shows that are being put on in the name of God are an abomination
to God Almighty. And what they do have will soon
be gone. Somebody said, I love the church
building. I had a fellow stand up over
at the Apollard Baptist Church and say that in 1954 of June. He stood up and surveyed the
walls of that building. Some of you were there. And he
said, I love these walls. Well, these walls are coming
down, friend. I love the old church building. I love to hear
the bell toll. I love to go with friends to
the meeting. What are you going to do when the bell is silent?
What are you going to do when the old walls come down? What
are you going to do when the old refuge stands in ruins? Oh, I'm impressed with the choirs.
I'm impressed with the ceremony. I'm impressed with the sprinkle
of water and the candles burning and the prayers offered and the
sermons preached. What are you going to do when
every voice is silent? There is no singing, but only
weeping and wailing. There will be no bread and wine.
There's no water sprinkled and no sermons. What are you going
to do then? When all of this is gone, in a little while, Christ
said, in a little while, the world will see me no more. Oh,
I love the good gospel singing. I sure like that good gospel
singing on Saturday night. I'm stirred by the shouting and
the testimonies and the hallelujah time. Well, what will you do
when the room is hushed and quiet, and the doctor is shaking his
head, and the family is gathered about the foot of the bed, and
there's no good gospel singing to revive your spirit? There's
no good testimonies in hallelujah times when the silver cord breaks
and the fountains broken at the wheel and silence rings and you
are alone with God. That's what I'm talking about.
In a little while, he said, here he stands and there's a lot of
commotion and a lot going on. Here he stands, there's some
issues being drawn, there's some questions being asked. He's here,
he said, in a little while they'll see me no more. I'll be gone. I'll be gone. I'll be gone. There'll be no
books to read, no beads to count, no statues to kiss, no sermons
to hear, no choir to enjoy, no church to attend. Dead silence. God's judgment. And it's coming. You'll wake up one morning like
I did this morning when there's a pain straight through here
and you think, uh-oh, gosh, it's going to be a wither. That's
when you get five years old, that's when you start thinking,
you know. But that's coming. Now that's
what I'm asking. In a little while, that's coming,
Jay. Young as you are, it's coming. And this little while, the world
will see me no more. And all of this will be no more.
I hope my hope is not in this. I hope my hope is not even in
this book. I want my hope being him of whom
the book is written. That's different, because this
is going to all be torn up and burned. And I see them coming
down the aisle and shaking the preachers hand, gathering around
the bench there and wailing and weeping and getting religion,
you know. There's a time coming when the old bench is not going
to be there. There's going to be nobody to wail with you. The
old colored spiritualist says, you've got to walk that lonesome
valley, you've got to go there by yourself, either by yourself
or with Christ. A little while and the world
will see me no more. But now what's that next verse,
that next line? But you see me. That's what I
want. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to
his disciples, you see me. You see me. Turn to John 12.
Look back here. Isaiah saw the Lord. It says
in John 12, verse 41, These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory. He saw his glory and spake of
him. Not just his ceremonies and his
rituals and his church and even his people or the things about
Christ. A lot of folks want a dream. I hear folks say, I saw the Lord
standing at the foot of the bed. That doesn't mean you're going
to heaven. A man might see the devil standing at the foot of
his bed, that don't mean he's going to hell. That sort of sight,
there are people who saw Christ in the flesh who didn't go to
heaven. Even that will fade away. There
will be some nights when you won't dream. Our Lord said, in a little while
the world will see me, but you see me. You see me. You see me. There is no man who truly sees
Christ until the Spirit of God opens his eyes. Job summed it
up, he said, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now mine eye seeth thee. Job didn't see a wheel and a
wheel and a wheel like one did. the image that Daniel saw. And Job saw, he's talking about
with eyes of faith. I've heard of God, and I've heard
of God all my life. I've heard of Christ all my life.
But there was one day, or a series of days, or a time in my life,
when I began in the scriptures to see Christ, who he is. Actually, who is Jesus Christ?
Not just a reformer, not just an example, not a martyr, not
even just a Christian prophet. Jesus Christ, according to the
word of God, is God in the flesh. You see, the whole Old Testament
was written about Christ. That rock is Christ. Christ is
our Passover. That serpent, brazen serpent
lifted up is Christ. That tabernacle in the wilderness
is Christ. Even the four coverings over
it show us Christ. There's the badger skin outside,
which is his human flesh, no beauty about it. There's the
ram skin dyed red, which is his blood. There's the white linen,
which is his righteousness. There's the goat skin which shows
Christ our scapegoat that was sent out in the wilderness. There's
the furniture, the bread, the unleavened bread that was always
there, the twelve loaves of bread, that's Christ the bread of life.
There's the candlestick over here, that's Christ the light
of the world. There was the incense, the place where the incense was
burned in front of the veil, that was Christ's prayers for
his people. Inside was the Ark of the Covenant
with the mercy seat you sang about, the mercy seat. J in his
prayer called it Christ. That's Christ is our mercy seat.
That's exactly right. You see, by his prayer you could
understand that he had seen Christ. He wasn't looking at a box two
and a half feet long by two and a half feet high in which the
Ten Commandments were, broken law, with a gold covering over
it talking about that. J was saying Christ is our mercy
seat. He saw, you see what I'm, you've
seen Christ. I've seen Him in these things. Who He is? He's the living God
in the flesh who came down here and did for us what we couldn't
do. You see, the law, the law has a claim on us because we've
broken it. People in jail down there at
17th Street and Greenup Avenue are there, why? Why are they
down there in those cells this morning? The law has a claim
on them. Why don't you go down there and tell the jailer you
want to take him out and take him home to dinner?" The jailer said,
uh-uh. Well, jailer, you're mean. No,
he said, I'm not mean. I got no claim on this man. The
law's got the claim on him. I'm just here to watch him. The
law has the claim on him. And until you pay his fine, you
can't take him out. And that's what the law says
about every one of the sons of Adam. The law says to the father.
Because it's the father's law. Until you pay his fine, you can't
take him out. You see what I'm saying? He can't
be free. Justice has a claim on it. The law has a claim on
it. Christ came down here in the
flesh. I see him, the surety, the redeemer, our righteousness,
our justifier, and I see him in the Word. That's where we
see him. Christ is not a doctrine. Christ is a person. He's a person. And when we see Christ in his
creative glory, when we see Christ in his redemptive glory, when
we see Christ in his eternal glory, everything else Everything
else becomes a means of revealing Him. I take the Word here, the
Word of God, and I look into the Word of God. The Word is
the Word which reveals Christ to me. And if the Word is taken
away from me, I still have the Christ it reveals. You see what
I'm saying? And this fellowship here, we
meet together here because we love Christ. But if you're taken
away from me, if I've seen him, Charlie, I still have Christ.
And we stand and sing these great old hymns, but there may be a
day coming when I don't remember old and feeble and senile, I
don't remember a word from that hymn book, but I still have him
of whom the hymns speak. Because I've seen him. I've seen him. A sight of Christ
from the heart, a saving vision of Christ. in his true character,
in his redemptive work, in his eternal glory. It never can be taken away. It
increases and increases. And everything else, everything
else in this world, fades really into insignificance. It really
does now. When you come to see him, you
have a peace and a joy and a rest that puts everything in its proper
perspective. Now, you've got the relationship
of family, a wife and husband and children, grandchildren and
so forth. That's not a lasting relationship. That's a temporary
thing. That's right, it is. It's a temporary thing that'll
fade with this passing world. And then you've got even this
flesh and health. Some of you are beautiful and
strong, but just let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.
There'll come a time when somebody may have to lead you down the
hall of arrest home by the arm. And you used to lead hundreds
of men on jobs. But now because your wisdom is
a thing that is passing, it's just one lasting wisdom, and
that's Christ's wisdom, which we have in here. and your beauty. Some of these movie stars that
were the most beautiful women in the world when I was a kid,
they'd stop a clock now if they stood in front of one. That's
a fact. That beauty's gone. It's gone. Let not the wise man
glow in his wisdom or the strong man in his strength and the rich
man in his riches. Brother, you're just playing
with so much dust. There'll be a time when a thousand dollar
bills could be blowing down the street like paper, and you wouldn't
stop and pick one up. That's when God's judgment comes
on this world. Diamonds will lay around in the
street like so much sand, and you wouldn't stop to pick it
up. I tell you, if you come to see Christ now, those things
take on the same value. Nothing. They're nothing. They're
just a means to buy a loaf of bread. That's all. They're just
means to have a roof over your head. Having food and raiment,
let us therewith be content. Because Christ is our life, when
you see Him. These other things, I'm telling
you, they just don't mean anything anymore. They just don't mean anything.
They have no value, no eternal value, they're just useful for
what they serve the purpose at that time. This really, water's
just to quench your thirst, food's just to keep you from getting
hungry, and clothes are just to cover your nakedness, so you
can look halfway decent out in public. But cars are just transportation. And it frightens me when people
put too much stock in that junk, and that's all it is, it's junk.
You see me, Christ said, and these other things, they're just
not... I'm not saying we should be slothful
and lazy. I'm saying if you're doing a
job for a man, you give him 8 hours of work if he gives you 8 hours
of pay. Do what you do as unto the Lord. Be a good businessman. Be an honest businessman. Be
a good worker. Be an honest worker. Be a good
husband and a good wife. Be a dutiful wife. Take care
of your house. Feed your children and do the
best you can as unto the Lord. But these are still, the fashion
of this world fadeth away, because we've seen Christ in His glory. You've seen Him, and I see in
Him all I need. Now that's just, I enjoy, a lot
of things I enjoy, but I don't need it. I do need Him. Alright, last and I close. This
site, this site is accompanied by life. that is actually the
life of Christ. He said, Because I live, ye shall
live. Now, let me give you three things
here. Our Lord lives. He always has lived. He said,
Before the mountains were brought forth, I was. Before Abraham
was, I am. Our Lord lives. Our Lord lives
in his manhood. I know this is hard to understand.
And I'm not going to try to understand it. I'm just going to believe
it. Our Lord in spirit is here this
morning, but in body he's at the right hand of God. There's
a man in glory. Body and soul. That's right.
It says there's one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus. Who? The man Christ Jesus. Our
Lord ascended to heaven, and the angel said, the same Jesus
shall so come in like manner. He ascended flesh and bones.
The man. There's a man in glory. God redeemed
us body and soul. That's raising so much emphasis
in the scriptures placed on the resurrection. God's going to
bring forth our bodies. He redeemed our bodies. Our bodies. And there's a man living. A man. This man right here. Like this
man glorified, but like this man in glory. And our Lord lives
a real life in glory. Justified from all sins that
he bore. accepted by the Father in love,
received up in the glory itself. Let me tell you something. There's
a man, a human being who was born of a woman who came out
of a mother's womb and nourished from a mother's breast and walked
on this earth and sweated and toiled and had calluses on his
hands and a burden on his back and who hungered and thirsted
and ate and drank, that man, body and soul, is actually in
glory. That's what scripture says, Brother
J. He is in glory. Glorified. And because he lives
in this manner, I'm going to live. Now he died. You said, Preacher, you're going
to die. He did too. But you're going to be buried. He was too.
And I'm going to be raised because he was raised. That's the reason
he said to Martha and Mary, they said, if you'd been here, our
brother wouldn't have died. He said, I am the resurrection
and the life. I am the resurrection and the
life. She said, oh, I know he's going to come forth on the resurrection
day. He said, I am the resurrection!
In him I live. Now, in a little while, the world
will see me no more. And this little superstar Jesus,
and this little peanut Jesus, and this little Jesus, this lean
old banisters of heaven who wants to do and can't do and all that,
that's all the Jesus they've got. He'll fade with their message.
When they quit preaching him, he'll die too. But he says, you
see me. The Holy Spirit has given you
a sight of me from the Word. You see me. And because I live,
because I live, you live also. And that sight of Christ is accompanied
by that life of Christ, which is actually the life of Christ. This is what Paul said in Galatians
2.20. He said, The life which I now
live, I'm crucified with Christ, but I live. I live. And the life
which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.
My life is Christ. Oh, I'm going to share work to
that end with you. You've missed it, my friend. He's done the
work. He's done the work. But I'm going
to get religious, and when you get religious and that religion
fades, that's all. What you want to do is get a
sight of Christ. You want to see Him. One of our young men came by
the study yesterday. Brian, if you would come up here
with me, please, sir. And this is putting him on the
spot, I know that. This young man was raised in
this church. He's 21 years old now, 20-21, and he came to the
study. I baptized him, I think, and
he's 10 years old, 11 years old. And that doesn't mean a man can't
be saved when he's 10 or 11. I'm not saying that at all. But
what I'm talking about, and I told him when we talked yesterday,
I said, what you're telling me is exactly what I'm trying to
preach this morning, exactly what my sermon is going to be.
And if you don't mind, I'd love for you to just say a word to the congregation.
I said, if you want to, jot it down. This is, it's not easy
to get up here. I've been getting up here a long
time. But I still, on all this pressure, it's pressure. And
I'm putting pressure on him, untold pressure. And I said,
don't preach to us, just tell us what you told me yesterday. Do you mind doing that? Come
up here and just talk to us.