I want you to open your Bibles
with me again to Psalm 145. I have great hope about this
message this evening. I hope I'm not too optimistic
about it. I know that it already has been a blessing to
me in the study of it and the preparation for the delivery
of it. But I feel every time that God
gives me a message that it is a special message. If it's a
word from God, it has to be special. And that if I don't profit by
it, it's my loss. And it'll be a loss that I can
never regain. I'm not satisfied to reach a
plateau and stay there. I never have been. I'm not now. I never felt at the beginning
that I had all the answers. I feel less like that this evening. The Apostle Paul talks about
growing. Our faith groweth. Every grace
groweth. Your love groweth. Peter challenged
us to desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow.
Troubles me when people who claim to know Christ do not grow. Oh,
they grow in knowledge of scripture, doctrine, some facts, but they
don't seem to grow in other areas. Their relationship in the home,
hasn't made any improvement in 20 years. Their relationship
with other people is not improving but going downhill. And their
spirit and attitude toward others is not improving. And their happiness
in Christ is almost nil. A spirit of rejoicing they do
not have, rest is out of the question. They're troubled on
every hand. The older they get, Jay, the
more trouble they get. The less peace they have. Well,
my friends, this is absolutely diametrically opposed to what
this Bible teaches. Diametrically opposed to what
this Bible teaches. So do not judge me too quickly
when I come to the conclusion that such, if we are such, we've
missed Christ. I cannot believe that a man knows
Christ who does not love him more the more he knows him. I
cannot believe that a man's eyes have actually beheld the Son
of God if he's not standing in more awe now than he was the
first time he saw him. I cannot believe that. I believe
we can memorize our doctrines and approve of them. I think
we can lay hold upon certain professions of faith and mental
acceptance of facts and come to find a certain satisfaction
in them. But facts don't save, Christ
saves. There's no life in a doctrine, there's life in the person. And
so I'm not preaching to you here at 13th Street Baptist Church
to win your friendship, but to win your soul. I ceased a long
time ago to seek popularity. I want now to seek only the truth.
I'm speaking to the issues. I know the issues. And I'm not
talking about the issues out yonder. I'm talking about the
issues in here. I know the issues in here. And I know the issues
in your hearts. And this evening's message is
going to address the issue. I entitled this message, The
Greatest Legacy. The Greatest Legacy. Now, what
is a legacy? When I entitled the message,
I chose that word. The only one I could find to
describe what I wanted to talk about. The greatest legacy. It's not a word we use often
or frequently. I had to reach back a little
while, Woody, to find it. But it's a legacy. What is a
legacy? Well, this is what the dictionary says. It says that
a legacy is money, property, or possessions. left to someone
in a will. A legacy is money, property,
or possessions that's left to someone in a will. And then,
dash, it is anything handed down to another by a relative or ancestor. It's something your father gave
you. It's something your father gave
you. It's something your grandfather gave you. It's something that
your your mother or an ancestor or relative or someone who thought
much of you left to you. Something special they left to
you. Well, being, I know being creatures of the flesh, we have
a lot of interest in things like this, perhaps too much. We have
a lot of interest in things of this nature, money and possessions
and property and houses and land. There's a, there's a great danger
It's one of our greatest dangers in becoming too involved in this
flesh, in the things that appeal to this flesh, in the world,
in temporary possessions. That's one of our greatest failures,
one of our greatest faults, and one of our greatest dangers is
to become so involved and so wrapped up and so interested
in the things of this world, in the things that have nothing
to do with our relationship with God. Now we do that, and it's
hurtful, it's harmful to our relationship with Christ, it's
harmful to our spiritual growth to become involved. I know there's
a certain involvement we've got to have. There's a certain interest
we've got to take. But I think practically every
one of us become too involved and too interested. Let me give
you some examples. Now, we're taught in the scriptures,
and I'm going to be perfectly honest and frank with you because
I can't help you or myself if I'm not frank. If we don't deal
honestly with our needs and problems, we'll never solve them. First
of all, we're taught in the scriptures to love our wives and husbands.
We're taught to love them. I don't think a man can love
his wife too much. One great old Puritan was accused
of loving his wife too much. In fact, the people criticized
him for loving his wife too much. And he said to them, it can't
be done. It can't be done, because my Lord taught me to love my
wife as he loved the church. And it'd be pretty hard for you
to love your wife as much as Christ loved the church. And
wives are taught to love and be submissive and obedient to
their husbands and to honor them in the Lord and to respect them.
And we're taught that. But your wife is not your life.
Christ is. Christ is. Your wife is not your
life. And your husband is not your
life. I've heard dear souls say, the Lord steps in and takes a
wife or a husband. They wring their hands. One man
I know quit the ministry when his wife died. But he quit it
a long time before she died. He just got out of the formality
of it when she died. But I've heard them say, what
am I going to do now? Well, you're going to do now
what you should have done a long time ago. Lean on the everlasting
arms. Live for and rest in and trust
in and walk with the Lord of glory, who is our life. Now, every husband and wife here
tonight, you're living together now and appreciate one another. But your life will last together,
will only last as long as you live on this earth. After that,
you have no relationship ever again as husband and wife. My
wife will mean no more to me in glory than half Yates does. That's right. Christ is my life. He is my life. He is my home
and children and wife. That's what he said. This is
my mother and my brothers and sisters. They do the will of
God. And we're going to have to come to some conclusions on
these things. Wife, brother, sister, husband,
wife, earthly families. That relationship shall cease.
Now it's to be cultivated, and don't misunderstand me, we're
to love one another, we're to build our homes and build our
relationship, not grow farther apart. But in Christ together,
but I am an individual who must rest in and trust in and believe
upon and live for the glory of Jesus Christ. And Bill, he's
not first in your life, he's not going to play any part in
your life. Now that's so. Your wife is not your life, Christ
is your life. And then secondly, our children,
our grandchildren, the most precious. They're very precious to us.
But oh, how foolish we are when they become too precious. when
our families and loved ones and people on this earth who have
a blood relationship with us become more important to us than
our relationship with the Son of God, something's wrong with
that relationship. That's true now. Something's
wrong with that relationship. I've known preachers, and I feel
sorry for them, but I've known preachers to actually alter their
ministry to be near their children. I've known preachers to change
their place of ministry in order to live near their children and
their grandchildren. These, too, shall pass away.
These, too, shall pass away. That one who's sitting beside
you, who means so much to you, and should. No misunderstanding.
I'm not saying that loved ones on earth are not to mean anything
to us, but we've got to give them their right place. We cannot
give them his place. His honor, his glory will not
be shared with a creature. I'd be afraid to give them that
place, because our God is a jealous God, and his jealousy will not
permit his glory to be shared. That's so. And then here's another
thing. Beauty. And some of you ladies
are beautiful. Beautiful. But I'm telling you
this, your beauty is going to fade. And if you put a great
deal of stock in that, and a great deal of importance upon it, and
build a life of pride around it, if you belong to God, you
just may have cause to regret it, even in this life. Beauty
will fade. Strength. Some of you men are
strong and you're healthy. But now you better not take any
pride in your health and strength. God may cripple you here, He
just might cripple you for eternity. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 9. Let
me show you this. Now this is important. And what
these things that I'm talking about are everyday things. These
are the things, these are the things that get between us and
Christ. These are the things that spoil
our relationship with Him. In Jeremiah chapter 9, in the
wise man, some of you are smart, intelligent, in the things of
this world, moral, civil, material. You're smart people. Well, I
admire your intelligence. I admire your wisdom. But I'll
tell you where you got it. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from above. I'll tell you who can take it
away just as quickly as he gave it to you. Who made you to differ? I don't know how in the world
we can ever exercise a spirit of haughtiness and pride over
a fellow creature when God made him like he made him and made
you like he made you. We don't have anything that we
didn't receive from God. I don't know how a beautiful
girl can be snooty over a cross-eyed, freckle-faced girl. Actually,
the cross-eyed, freckle-faced girl's a lot prettier than the
snooty, proud beauty. because she's got some inward
beauty. She's got a little presence of God in her. And the wise man,
I've seen men get promotions and cease to have anything to
do with the lower type of people, the lower class of people, they
say. Oh, how ungodly that attitude is, how ungodly it is. In Jeremiah
9, 23, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, but let him that glorieth. If you're going to
glory, glory in this, that you understand and know me, that
I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness in the earth. And in these things, in what
things? Lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in these things
I delight. Not in your wisdom and might
and strength and riches and power. God couldn't give you that for
it. It's nothing but a lot of toys, that's all it is. Our beauty
will fade, our strength will turn to weakness. I remember
a man, and some of you older men here will remember him, named
George McAllister. Lived right across the street
here. Died right across the street, right across from Magdalene Spears,
where he used to live, a long time ago. I preached at his funeral.
When I came to Ashland, and he was already a sick, broken man,
and I went by to see him when I was just a young preacher.
I guess I was 26 years old, maybe, something like that. I went to
see him. He was then as weak as a kitten. Somebody had to
feed him. Big man, big. You remember how big he was?
Paul, you remember how big he was? He boasted of being the strongest
man at Armco Steel Mill. That's what he told me. I went
in to see him. He said, I guess you know I was the strongest man
at Armco Steel Mill. Couldn't pick up that glass.
Couldn't pick it up. I said, George, what'd you do?
He said, I could lift. I think he said, and I could
be exaggerating, but I don't think I am. I think he told me
he could lift. I don't know how high. 750 pounds. I believe that's what he told
me. And he was still bragging about it, but he couldn't lift
two pounds. Now that's what's going to happen to every one
of us. We strut around here in our pride and beauty and arrogance
and health and strength, but I tell you what, let's do. Let's
go down and visit the old folks home and stand in the hall and
watch them in their weakness, in their loss of memory. in their
inability to walk or help themselves. And let's everyone say to ourselves,
there I go in just a very few years. That's right. Let's go out here to the cemetery
and take a look around and pick us out a lot. Because that's
exactly where we're headed, Charlie, in this place. I don't care how
young you are here tonight, that's the goal of all flesh. That's
the end of all flesh. Let me show you that in Isaiah
chapter 40, verse 6 through 8. Isaiah 40, verse 6 through 8. And I'm realizing this more all
the time. Isaiah 40, verse 6. The voice
said, cry. Cry. And he said, well, what
shall I cry? What do you want me to tell him,
Lord? What do you want me to know? What shall I cry? Isaiah
40, verse 6. Cry, all flesh is grass. And all the goodliness or glory
thereof is of the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the
flower fadeth, because the spirit of God blows upon it. Surely
the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth. That's flesh and the glory of
flesh, but the word of our God will stand forever. Rather than
if we can lay hold upon him and upon his word, if we can lay
hold upon it. Our jobs, our property, our possessions
are frail and feeble as the grass of the field. Our human strength
and beauty and hope is as frail and feeble as the grass huts of Mexico. Just the slightest wind can blow
them down. When the breath of God touches
me, However, when the breath of God blows upon me, I am gone,
and the place thereof shall know it no more." I want to show you
something over here in 1 Corinthians 7. 1 Corinthians chapter 7. I was reading this to Jay. We
were talking about this today. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse
29. He says here in 1 Corinthians
7, 29, and I intend, by God's grace, to do something about
this. I intend to do something about
it. He says, brethren, verse 29 of 1 Corinthians 7, I say
unto you the time is short. The time is short. Do you know
how short it is? Do you know how short the time
is? The time is short. Life here on this earth is like
a weaver's shuttle. It's like a vapor that that blows
through the air. It's like a flower that blooms
and is quickly gone. It's like a shadow that fleeth.
It passeth as a day. But time's short. It remaineth.
Now listen to this. In relation, in respect to the
things of God. It remaineth in respect to the
things of God that they that have wives be as those that had
none. And they that weep as though
they did not even weep, and they that rejoice as though
they did not rejoice, and they that buy as though they possess
nothing. And they that use this world,
and we everyone use it, we use those cars out there, and these
filling stations, and we use grocery stores, and we use property
and homes, and we use all of these things. They that use this
world, if we're in it, we're going to use this world, but
watch this, as not abusing it. as not abusing it, as not giving
it the wrong place and the importance that it does not deserve, that
God didn't put on it. He didn't put any importance
upon health of body, but he did health of soul. He didn't put
any importance upon relatives, but he puts a lot of importance
on his family. I think actually, I really believe
sometimes we'd be better off if we had a whole lot less. to
be troubled about, to be concerned about, to be involved in, and
perhaps that way we'd be more involved in that which is most
profitable, and we'd be able to find some rest of our spirits,
peace in our souls. They that use this world is not
abusing it. For, listen, verse 31, the fashion
of this world, the style, the fashion, The relationships, the
possessions, the passion of this world, everything that goes to
make up this world passeth away. Passeth away. Wonder if someone
comes to visit us in our homes and you furnish for me a nice
home and I appreciate it. It's a nice place to entertain
missionaries and guests and friends that stop by and you who come
by. But you know, we're all inclined, when someone comes to see us,
we're going to show off our homes, and we show off our possessions,
and we show off this, that, and the other. We bought this, we
bought that, we built this, we built that, take them one room
to the other. Wonder wouldn't it be a lot more profitable if
someone came and we showed them off a little bit of grace that
we've grown in. or maybe a little bit of love
that we've demonstrated, or a little bit of kindness and peace and
joy and rest in the Holy Ghost that we've laid hold upon in
the last few days. Because all of these so-called
status symbols and riches and possessions, God's gonna burn
every one of them up. Burn every one of them up. It's
like a little boy sitting on the beach playing with a castle
of sand that he built up big and high. And you come by and
boy, he's so proud of it. He's got doors and windows and
he's got places for his little car to go through and all these
things. And you're a big adult, you know, and you stand and look
at it with a smirk and smile on your face. What are you thinking?
The tide's going to take it away in the morning. But he's dead
serious. He built that thing like it's
going to stay. He's built that thing for permanent occupancy. He built that thing expecting
to come back in the morning and find it, Ronnie, just like it
left it, and you stand there and smile at him. And we, I tell
you, some of us better watch out. We're building some things
that we act like it's permanent occupancy. It could be gone in
the morning. You sit and build your hopes
in some idol of clay. And some of you,
along with me, have had a little experience in this very field
right here. And God, just as quickly, can
remove it. He can remove it. These too shall
pass away. However, there are some things
that are eternal. However, there's a family whose
names are written eternally in the book of life. There is a
family. There are those from whom I'll never be separated.
If I can love them and build a relationship in Christ with
them, I'll never say goodbye. Can't you think about that? I'll
never say goodbye. And then there's a beauty that'll
never fade. There's a beauty that'll grow
more beautiful with the passing year. I don't care how old you
get, you get more beautiful if you have this beauty. The wrinkles
cannot distract from it, nor can the white hair, nor the stooped
shoulder or the frail step. It can't take away from this
beauty. I've seen it in some of you, a beauty. You're more
beautiful now than you were years ago, because I see the beauty
of Christ in you. I see the beauty of Christ. And
it never fades. It grows more beautiful all the
time. There's a strength. There's a strength that never
fades. Old George got weak. He got weak. And I'm fearful
a lot weaker than you think. And weaker in more areas than
you think. But I'll tell you this, when I can't lift this
glass, I can still lift my heart to Christ. When I cannot lift
a fork to feed myself, I'll tell you this, I can lift my soul
to God in prayer. Huh? I can lift up. I can lift up my spirit. And
you can lift it up with, there's a strength. There's a strength. You go ahead boasting of how
hard you can hit a man, and let me boast by God's grace of how
much I can love him. That's what I'd like to do. Wouldn't
you? Possessions and property shall
all fade away. But our Lord said, there's a
treasure where a man's heart is that fadeth not away. And
moth and rust doth not corrupt, and thieves cannot break through
and steal. It's laid up for him in glory, eternally reserved. possessions and property reserved
and inheritance reserved by God Almighty. I read a story one
time a long time ago that was very impressive to me. There
was a man who owned a lot of property, and he was as proud
as a peacock about it. And it was a fellow beast in
one day that had a little bit of spiritual wisdom. And they
went out and stood in the field, and the rich baron said, take
a look over there. Everything you can see in that
direction belongs to me. Take a look over there. Everything
you see in that direction belongs to me. And he went right on around
the compass. And when he got through, the
man with him was not impressed. In fact, he looked at him and
said, you pointed in all these different directions, telling
me everything I could see belonged to you. Tell me, look in that
direction. What up there belongs to you?
Huh? How much up there? I tell you
what I'll do, I'll trade you. You can have every bit of it.
Every bit of it. But I sure do want an inheritance
in that direction. I don't want any inheritance
in that direction. It's so important that we grab hold, lay hold upon... Look at Psalm 145. Let me show
you this greatest legacy. Here's a three-fold legacy that
he gives. He says in verse 18, the Lord,
The Lord, the Lord of glory is near. He's near unto all them
that call upon Him. He's near. Now, do we realize
what I'm saying? Do I hear what I'm saying? The
Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord of glory is near. I'm never alone. I'm never alone. The battle's not my battle. The
conflict's not my conflict. He's with me. He is near unto
me. John says, that which I've seen
and heard and my hands have handled of the word of life, I declare
unto you, our fellowship, fellowship is with Him. Sometimes we live
and act like God is so far away. The living Lord, my husband,
brother, wife, friend, lover, companion, fellow, very near. The Lord of Glory is near unto
them that call on Him. John Newton summed it up and
he expresses it like I wish I could. He said, His name yields the
richest perfume and sweeter than music His voice. His presence
disperses my gloom and makes all within me rejoice. I could
were He always thus nigh have nothing to wish or to fear, no
mortal as happy as I, my summers would last all the year. Content
with beholding his face, my awe to his pleasures resigned. No
changes of season or place would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace, a toy would appear. And prisons would palaces
prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. If we had his abiding
presence, I believe we'd learn something of what Paul was talking
about when he said we ought to be content with what we have.
And content in whatever state God has placed us. But there's
no way to be content with what you have if you don't have Him.
There's no way to be content in any state if Christ is not
with you. But all who call on Him. Now
what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? I went
through the concordance this morning and I found so many references
to calling on the Lord, calling on the Father, calling on the
Father. So many references to those who call on the Father.
What does it mean to call on God? He's near unto all them
that call on Him. Well, I know that doesn't just
mean some false worship or panic or spur of the moment. or cat-in-the-well
type calling on God. Calling on God is, I think, five
things. Number one, calling on the Lord
is to truly worship Him. Now he says down here, those
who call on Him in truth, in truth. And we're talking about
the truth, young preachers, we're talking about the truth of His
character and glory. It's not just any God, it's the
living God upon whom we call. It's not just the name of any
God, or it's not just the name God, or the name Jehovah, or
the name Jesus. It's calling on Him in His true
character, in His true attributes, in His true glory. The Living
God. Christ said to eternal lives
to know the Living God. David said, as the deer panteth
for the water brook, so my soul panteth for the Living God. When
shall I come before Thee? The living God is to call on
him in truth, the truth of his character, the truth of his redemptive
glory. Christ is the only mediator.
No man goes to God through Mary. It's an impossible route. No
man goes to God through a priest. It's an impossible route. No
man goes to God the best he knows how. He goes to God in Christ. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. I'm not being brutal or cruel.
I'm trying to be scriptural. I'm trying to be truthful. It says that God is known to
them that call upon Him, that call upon Him in truth. We're
not being sectarian or bias or bigotry or anything like that.
I'm just saying what Christ said. If it incurs men's wrath, then
that's alright. He that cometh to the Father
must come through the Son. There's one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We must come to God through His
atonement, call on God in truth, the truth of His character, the
truth of His glory, the truth of His redemptive grace. We must
call upon Him in the truth of sincerity, of sincerity of heart. Brethren, let me tell you something.
He said something about letting the potsherds of the earth strive
with the potsherds of the earth. You may come to me and be very
insincere in what you say, but please, I beg of you, don't mess
with God in an insincere fashion. It'd be better if you'd never
been born. If you can't deal with the Holy God in honesty
and truth and sincerity, under God it'd be better that you didn't
call His name, that you didn't call on Him. if it's not a sincere
call from the heart. And then to call on God in truth
is in the truth of intent. What's my intention? Do I intend
to honor? What was it you said the other
night, Brother Payne, better not to vow a vow unto the Lord
if you're going to vow not pay it? Just don't vow. Just stay
away from it. Just don't say anything. Just
keep your mouth shut. But now, if I'm going to call
on God, My intent and purpose and motive better be somewhere
akin to honesty. This is my intention, my intention. Or what is it to call on God?
First is to worship Him, is to worship God. Back in the Old
Testament, men who were godly men and men who were said to
have known the Lord were men who feared God. Moses feared
the Lord. Abraham feared God. Noah moved
with fear and prepared an ark. And this fear of the Lord, it's
not fear of hell or fear of judgment or fear of wrath. It's a reverential
fear, a fear of all and a respect for His holiness and a respect
for His glory, knowing who He is, and walking in that fashion
to worship God. Let's be careful about using
His name. And to call on God is not only
to worship Him, but it's to pray. It's to actually pray, to call
on God in prayer. Do you pray? Do you call on God?
I'm not talking about a public ceremony. I'm not talking about
a public ritual. I'm not just talking about a
blessing at the table. I'm talking about a personal,
closet prayer. Our Lord departed along the prayer. Even when he took the three into
the Garden of Gethsemane, he left them and went alone to pray.
He spent all night alone praying. Enter your closet and God who
hears in secret will reward you openly. That's praying. That's
praying when we pray alone, when we pray privately, when we pray
in the closet, when we're crying to God. He said you have not
because you ask not. No wonder we don't have what
we need and what we want. We don't ask for it. And then
the call on God is to worship Him, to pray, to trust Him. To
trust Him. Now brethren, unrest and faith don't honor
one another. Anxiety and faith are not bedfellows. And we needn't claim it. We needn't
profess that it is. This anxiety and worry, And friendfulness
is not born of faith. It's just not, Jay, let's face
it, let's wipe it out, let's admit it, let's quit defending
it, let's stand up and tell it what it is. This anxiety and
worry and concern and fear and all that is not of faith. It's
of the flesh. And we're not trusting God. David
said, I'll trust Him. I'll not fear what man can do
to me. I'm untouchable in the hollow of His hand. I'm immortal
till God sees fit. You couldn't kill me tonight
to save your life unless my God willed it. I know that. Ain't
no way. And you say, well, that's great
faith. Not great faith either. It's just confidence in a great
Lord. I don't claim to have great faith. I've got less faith than
anybody here. Don't claim to have great faith,
but I have a great master and a great Lord. I learned that
from two little children. I could take Bob and Becky's
little boy Luke and just, I believe I could walk right almost to
a flaming building. I believe he'd go with you. What
is that? Great faith? No, he just loves
his daddy, you see. He just believes in him. He just
believes that his father has known anything happened to him.
And that's all we've got to do is come to the place where it's
not great faith, it's not powerful faith or mighty faith, it's just
trusting him. That's all. Sink or swim, I go
to Him. If I sink, I'll go to Him actually.
If I swim, I'll just postpone it. Live or die, I go to Him. I don't live, I live unto God.
It doesn't make any difference, does it? If I die, I go to be
with Him. If I live, I just put it off
for a few days. But He's the King, it's the Lord, let Him
do what He will. Trust Him! Trust Him! You're trusting ourselves. That's
what we're doing. We're trusting men. We're leaning
on the arm of the flesh, and it's got us in a terrible state.
Why? Because it can't be trusted,
and we know it deep in our hearts. We know it's gone. You know the
flesh is going to fail. Yours does, and mine does, and
everybody else's, but he cannot fail. Trust him. Trust him. Then it's calling
on God to profess his name. To profess his name. profess
it openly and publicly in an honorable fashion. This is where
I stand. I'm not going to be ugly, but
I want you to know where I stand. And then it's to honor his word.
This is where we read the word. And we so often make this statement,
well, I can't do that. No, you can't, but you can in
Christ. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. I got a little note in the bulletin
Sunday. preach a word to one person. I can't write a line.
I can't counsel one young preacher. Not in my own strength. I'm not
sufficient for any of those things. But I can do everything through
Christ. If God will, I could conquer a world for Christ. I
believe that. I believe that, if it's His will. He, the Lord,
is near. He is near. He is near unto all
them that call on Him in truth. He's near. We're not alone. He's with us. Why should we fear? Why are we plagued with fears
and doubts and anxiety and worry and concern and all these things?
I'll tell you why. We're just not calling on Him
yet. Because when we call on Him,
perfect love casteth out fear. And when we go leaning on His
arms, He'll bless us. All right, here's the second
legacy. That's yours. He's left it to you. He purchased
it with his blood and wrote it in his will. It's a promise that's
yours if you want it. And he says in verse 19, he'll
fulfill the desire of them that fear him. He'll fulfill their
desire. This word desire, somebody said
desire is the largest, most comprehensive word that can be used. Desire. D-E-S-I-R-E. Almost everything
comes under that word. Desire. Desire. Desire. And he says here he'll
fulfill every desire. Some of my desires are most sinful
and it wouldn't be for my good for God to fulfill it. Some of
my desires are selfish and it wouldn't be mercy at all. It
would be very, very Very detrimental to me if God
gave me that desire. And sometimes what I think is
good for me, and good at the moment, is detrimental later
on. So God doesn't grant every desire.
But it says here, He will fulfill THE desire. THE desire. What
is THE desire? Maybe scripture will help. Let's
go to a few scriptures. 2 Samuel 23. 2 Samuel 23. He's
going to fulfill The desire of all them that fear
Him. Alright, here it is. This is what I'm talking about.
The desire. This is what David's talking
about there. David, these are the last words of David. 2 Samuel
23, verse 1. Now look at verse 5. Although
my house be not so with God, yet He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, And this is all my
salvation and all desire. All of it. This is it. This is it. One thing have I
desired. One thing. Let's turn to Psalm
73. Let's see what David says here. Psalm 73. This is the desire. He'll fulfill the desire. I hope and trust this is my desire. Psalm 73, 25. Let's look at it
here. He says, Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. One thing that I desire, that
will I seek, Catherine, that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord and in His tents forever. Look at Psalm 27. I believe that's
the one that I'm trying to quote there. Psalm 27 verse 4. That's
it. One thing. One thing. One desire.
He'll fulfill the desire. One thing that have I desired
of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty
of the Lord, to inquire in his temple. That, Bob, is what I
want. That's my desire. That, John, he's gonna fulfill
that for all them that fear him, that call on him. That's my desire. What was it? Paul said, I have
a desire to depart and be with Christ. I have a desire. I have a desire. Do you have
this desire? He will fulfill the desire. The desire. Now that's what we've
got to set our hearts upon. If we have that desire, we set
our hearts upon Him who's the goal or end of that desire. If
we don't have that desire, let's ask God to give it to us. Let's
ask God to take away our affection. We're told, this is singular,
set your affection on things above. That's not plural. You know, I discovered that one.
I discovered two singular words that changed the whole Scripture.
One is the fruit of the Spirit, is love, joy, peace, and so forth.
That's not fruits, that's fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. You
see, when we read it, fruits of the Spirit, we imply that
we can have love and not have joy. We can have faith and not
have humility. Not so. It's fruit of the Spirit. And when he says, set your affection,
on things above. He's talking about your main
spirit desire and affection. He's talking about that which
cannot be invaded by anything on this earth. It belongs to
Christ. Set your affection, the tenor of your life, the bend
of your will, the desire of your heart, the one desire is set
on things above. Now that doesn't mean you don't
have any interest. I don't mean for you to go to
the caves and cross your legs and sit there and look like a
dumb bunny. and try to act pious, you can go on about your work,
about your home life, and you and your wife can have a happy
relationship and a lovely home life, and you and the children
come and go, and friends come and go, and you meet with people,
and you work down at the, wherever you work, and you have distractions
and troubles and conflicts, but God's greater than these things.
Your relationship with him's greater than these things, and
some fella falls out with you, that's all right. He's entitled
to do what he wants to. Let him go his way. He's entitled
to believe like he wants to. Leave him alone. Don't spend
your time carrying grudges and vengeance. Forget it. God forgave
you. God loves you. You love him. You've got a relationship. Why
should you be jealous of anyone? You're loved by the greatest
lover of all. Why should you fear Him? Why
should we enter into all of this conflict down here when we have
a relationship and inheritance that fadeth not away? It's just
so great and beyond explanation and beyond description, and God
calls it unsearchable riches. Who can know the height of His
love, the depths of His grace, or the length or breadth of His
mercy? God's near you, and He will fulfill
that desire. And then that last legacy says,
and He will preserve all them that love Him. Preserve them. but the wicked he'll destroy.
And here you have two important things, God's mercy and God's
justice. Let me give you an illustration
that I read today for the first time. And it just, what an impact. Never heard of the fellow before,
but they claim it's so. King Philip IV of France. They called him beautiful. Don't
know a thing about it. Don't know why they called him
beautiful, but that's what they called him. But anyway, King
Philip IV of France, who was called Beautiful, had a coat
of arms that he had painted on his shield. He was a powerful
monarch and a powerful warrior and a powerful man. And he had
a coat of arms, and this was painted on his shield. It had
a sword and an olive branch. A sword and an olive branch. And underneath, in French. one or the other. I like that,
one or the other. Take your choice. And that's
what he's saying here. He says, the Lord preserveth
all them that love him. That's the olive branch. Peace,
rest, joy, contentment, beauty, but the wicked he'll destroy.
God has to deal with all flesh and all creatures, one way or
the other, in mercy or in justice. I want his mercy. And brethren,
I say this to you. I'm not content to be a Calvinist. I want to be a Christian. I'm
not content to be a doctrinist. I want to be a devoted son, don't
you? I'm not content to argue, although
I will. when it has to be done. But I
tell you, I want to be affectionate before men and before God. I
want to show forth the praises of Him that called me out of
darkness into His marvelous light. Not just show forth, and you
don't have to take a choice. You can do both. If you do one,
you can do the other. You can be a doctrinalist without
being an affectionate person in Christ, but you can't love
Him without loving His doctrines. You can be a religionist, and
a sectarian, and a doctrinalist, and a legalist, and a ceremonialist,
or anything else, without having any grace, or love, or peace,
or joy. But you can't have the love and
joy and peace of Christ without knowing something about why you
have it, and upon whose word it's built. So I'd like to have
a balance of both. I'd like to show forth some growth
in grace. I would, I would, and I want
you to. And this is what I'm preaching toward. This is what
I'm driving at in dealing with these particular issues with
which I deal as I try to prepare a message. I say this to you,
and Jay knows this is the truth, and you know it's the truth,
I believe. When I hunt for a message and ask God to give me a message,
I'm not asking Him to give me a message that won't hurt anybody's
feelings or won't drive anybody away or won't cause any trouble
or won't make anybody bad. I'm asking Him to give me a message,
whatever it does, that will glorify Him and be for our good. However
much it hurts, however deep it cuts, whatever it stings, and
whoever's need it meets. A lady came to me one time and
said, boy, you stepped on my toes this morning. Well, I said,
I wasn't aiming at your toes. I was shooting for your heart.
I just flat missed. I just missed. I didn't mean
to get on your toes. I was sure hoping I'd reach some
of that heart trouble, you know. Try again next Sunday. But if
I can hit me, I can deal with Cecil Roach, can't I? Yeah. If I can deal with me, I can
deal with the major. I sure can. I know that. So everyone
I bring out here to you, I've tried it on and gone in there
and put it on Jay, too, before. Can't keep from going preaching
it to him. He says, that's good. That's
good. And now he has to come listen
to it all over again. Was it good? You're sweet. I appreciate it. Ronnie, come
lead us in a song.