If you want to open your Bibles
with me back to 1 Peter chapter 2, I invite you to do so. Preachers who are really concerned
for three things, and I believe, using the words
of the Apostle Paul, God is my witness. that I'm concerned for three
things, the first of which is the glory of God. The chief end
of man is to glorify God. Everything God made and everything
God Almighty has done and will do is for His glory. I know that,
that no flesh should glory in His presence, that in all things
Jesus Christ might have the preeminence. I'm concerned for the glory of
God. And secondly, I believe I can say this truthfully before
God and before this congregation, I care for the truth of the gospel. I'm really, I'm a Baptist, but
I'm really not overly concerned about what Baptists believe.
I'm concerned about what this Word says. I'm not overly concerned about
what John Calvin believed or what John Gill believed or even
what that precious preacher of grace, Charles Spurgeon, believed.
I do care what Jesus Christ said. And I'm determined to preach
what I believe God says in His Word. And thirdly, I'm concerned
for the salvation of your souls. I say before God and before this
congregation, honestly, and God knows my heart, I don't know
it, he knows it. I have a little understanding
of it by his grace. But I believe I can truthfully
say I'd just soon preach to 200 or 2,000 if I can preach the gospel. I
really don't care how many we have in the service tonight.
I do care if he's here. If he's not here, I don't want
to be here. And I wouldn't waste your time inviting you. If you
just come to hear a man, you wasted your time. And if the
only voice we hear this morning is my voice, we've all wasted
our time. I want you to hear from him.
I want you to know God. I want you in your hearts and
on the job and in the home and wherever you are to walk with
the King like Enoch of old. Don't you? True preachers who
love the glory of God and who love the Word of God and who
love the souls of men do not count their converts prematurely. They don't send out reports.
We had 25 saved. You might have had 25 decisions,
but you don't know whether one of them was saved. True preachers
who care for the glory of God and the Word of God and the souls
of men don't brag about their converts or the number of people
they've won to Jesus Christ. Because they realize that everything
they have done and are doing may be wood, hay, and stubble.
It's only the gold that shall survive. And I'm not too well
at discerning gold, not too good at it. I'm going to wait until
the fire has died down and the Lord's pulled out the trophies
and see just who belongs to Him, and let Him number Israel. I
suppose God dealt more severely with David over numbering Israel. More people died as a result
of it than any other transgression David ever committed. God slew
thousands of men because David, in his pride, dared to number
God's people. Better be careful numbering God's
people. He knows the number. They're
as the stars of heaven and the sands of the seashore and the
dust of the earth. But He knows the number, I don't.
I just don't know. But I do know this. I do know
this. I do know that repentance that
does not keep repenting never was repentance. Now, you can
rest assured of that. That repentance that does not
keep repenting like we heard about last night in the service,
that mourning over sin, that grieving over sin, that 180-degree
turn away from idols to the living God that does not continue, never
was repentance. And that faith that does not
keep on clinging to Christ, believing on Christ, receiving Christ,
and coming to Christ is false faith and always has been false
faith. There are only two kinds of faith,
the preacher told us last night. Living faith and dead faith.
There are degrees of living faith. There's great faith and little
faith and small faith. And faith is a grain of mustard
seed, but it's still living faith. It's just two kinds, living faith
and dead faith. And living faith keeps believing
because it lives. Dead faith stops because it died. And it was dead, twice dead,
plucked up by the roots. Coming to Christ is a continual
coming. Now, the Bible is full of warnings. The Bible is full of warnings
to those who do not continue in the faith. Let me show you
one, Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3. Over here
in verse 14, Hebrews chapter 3. Now listen to it. Verse 14
of Hebrews 3. We are made partakers of Christ.
If we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
While it is said today, if you'll hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard,
did provoke, albeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But
with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with those
that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to
whom swear he that they would not enter into his rest, but
to them that believe not, so we see that they could not enter
in because of unbelief. I asked my Sunday school class
this morning, out of the two or three million people that
left Egypt, all Israelites, all full of zeal and all full of
vigor and vitality and getting their gold and silver together
and they put the blood on the door, you know, and following
Moses, they came out of Egypt singing a great song and came
to the Red Sea and sang the song of Moses and crossed over on
dry land. How many of those people actually entered the Promised
Land? How many of the 2 million that were over 20 years of age
when they left Egypt? Two. Just two. Just two. And he warns us, take
heed, brethren, lest there be found in you an evil heart of
unbelief. Our Lord said, remember Lot's wife? When Lot and the
two daughters packed up to leave Sodom, being warned by the angel,
Lot's wife packed up also. When they walked through the
city gates, she was right alongside them. When they were walking
away down the highway from the city, she was walking right beside
them. They numbered four. When they got up on the side
of the hill, she was right beside them. But when they got to the
place they were going, she was back in the wilderness where
she had fallen. Remember Lot's wife. Turn, if you will, to 2
Timothy 4. There was a man who walked with
the Apostle Paul, who was a companion of the Apostle Paul, who was
much loved by the Apostle Paul, who was frequently referred to
by the Apostle Paul by the name of Demas. By the name of Demas. And here in 2 Timothy chapter
4 verse 10, Paul writes of Demas, he said, Demas hath forsaken
me. Having loved this present world,
and he's departed. And he's departed. Turn to 1
John 2. And here the Apostle John talks
about some people who used to be members of the church, who
used to be followers of Christ, who used to be professing Christians,
who used to be professing believers. And he says in verse 19 of 1
John 2, they went out from us. Well, where'd they go? There
was just one place to go. That's back into the world. But
they were not of us. John says they were not of us.
If they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued
with us. But they went out, that it may
be made manifest that they were not all of us. Turn to Hebrews
chapter 10. We say, what are you saying,
preacher? I'm saying this. that a beginning is important,
that continuing in the faith is important, that dying in the
faith is most important. It's continually coming to Christ.
Faith that really believes is a living faith that continues
and it grows. Repentance that's God-given is
a continual repentance. I have repented, I am repenting,
I shall repent. I have believed, I am believing,
I shall believe. I have been saved, I am being
saved, my salvation is nearer than when I believed. And if
at any time this salvation stops, or this faith stops, or this
repentance stops, or this coming to Christ stops, John says it's
evident that it was a false claim, that it was a false repentance
and a false faith, that it was not God-given, because what God
does, He does forever. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Now,
the just shall live by faith. That's in the Bible four times.
The just shall live by faith. What do you mean shall live?
Well, he begins to live by faith. Live. It's not just a profession,
it's a life. It's not just a claim, it's a
Bible living union with Christ. It's not just a decision or a
profession of religion or a changing of doctrine. He lives by faith. He begins to live. This is life. God has given us life. This is
eternal life that they might know God. They begin to live
by faith. They continue. They shall live
by faith. We walk not by sight but by faith.
We don't live on faith. We live on Christ by faith. Now
remember, that's what's important. We don't live on our faith. I
don't feed on my faith or feast on my faith or draw strength
from my faith. I feed on Christ. I live on Christ. I draw strength from Christ by
faith. Just shall live by faith, not
on faith. My faith keeps me going. My faith
doesn't keep me going. It slows me down sometimes. Christ
keeps me going. I live on Him. He's my heavenly
food. He's my bread. He's my water.
He's my drink. We shall live by faith and we
shall live by faith. We shall live eternally by faith.
It's because of faith that I inherit the kingdom of God. The just
shall live by faith. Now read on. But if any man draw
back, draw back from what? Draw back from faith. Draw back
from Christ. That's what our Lord said to
His disciples one day. He preached the glorious gospel
of redemption, of substitution, of life in Christ. Five thousand
people. He'd even fed them. He'd fed
them. But then He preached to them.
And I find today men will be glad for God to feed them or
clothe them or put a roof over their heads. But they'll not
have this man reign over them. And then he preached to them
and they walked away. Five thousand of them, not counting the women
and children, just left. And he turned to his disciples
and he said to them, will you also go away? And they said,
Lord, to whom shall we go? We believe and assure that thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. But if any man draw
back, God says, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. We're not of them that draw back
unto perdition. And that's the only place you
can draw back to, perdition, damnation. But we are of them
that believe, that believe, that believe to the saving of the
soul, that keep on believing, that continue to believe. Turn to Colossians 1, Colossians
chapter 1. And you'll find in verse 20 and
23 these words, Colossians chapter 1, "...and having made peace
through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things
to Himself." By Him, I say whether they be things in heaven or things
on the earth. And you, and you that were one
time alienated enemies of God in your mind by your wicked work,
yet He's reconciled you now in the body of His flesh through
death to present you before His Father, holy and unblameable,
unreprovable in the sight of God. If you continue in the faith,
He didn't say, if you make a profession of faith, that God has reconciled
you in the body of His Son and presented you holy and unreprovable
and unblameable. If you join the church, if you're
baptized, if you make a profession of faith, if you say you believe
Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose again, it says,
if you continue in the faith. Now read on. And be not moved
away from the hope of the gospel. Don't. Boy, leave what you will,
but don't leave the gospel. Leave what you will, but don't
leave the gospel. Be moved away from the hope of
the gospel, which you've heard and which was preached to every
creature unto heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister.
That's sufficient. You know, you see, the Bible's
full of warnings to those who do not continue in the faith.
The Scripture also reveals salvation as a living, principle and union
and relationship, a growing living relationship with the Son of
God. Now, there are some translations in some areas that are better
than our King James translation. The King James overall is the
best translation. I prefer it. I like it. Most
people have it. But there are some things in
other translations that are helpful, read alongside your King James.
And here are three verses that can be helped in other translations. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says this
in the King James, For by grace you are saved through faith. And another translation says,
For by grace you have been saved. You have been saved. It's sort
of a past tense. You have been saved by grace.
We are saved. I believe the scripture teaches
that when a man truly believes on Christ, he's saved. He's redeemed,
he's justified, he's sanctified, he's holy in the sight of God
in Christ. But 1 Corinthians 1.18 says the
preaching of the gospel to them who are saved is the power of
God. But another translation says
to them who are being saved. Who are being saved. by the power
of God and by the grace of God. And then, if you will, turn to
Romans 13, verse 11. Here the Apostle Paul says this
in Romans 13, verse 11. Romans 13, 11. Listen. And that
knowing the time, that now it is high time to wake out of sleep,
for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Our salvation
is near enough. My friends, I'm not Like Christ,
yes. God Almighty has ordained me
to be like Christ. He's predestinated that all whom
He justified and called be like Christ. And in His purpose and
mind and will, I am glorified, I am like Christ, but in experience
I'm not. And that day when I stand, David
said, I'll be satisfied when I wake with His likeness. And
that day when I stand in His image, perfectly conformed to
the image of His Son, in His likeness, I'll say, I'm saved. You see what I'm saying? I'm
saved. I have been saved by the grace
of God, chosen in Christ before the world began, put in Christ
as my surety and redeemer and representative. When He came
here to this earth, He represented every one of His believers, every
one of His sheep. Went to the cross and shed his blood for
their sins, paid for their sins, justified them. God was reconciled
to them. In time, by his Spirit, he came
and called and revealed his gospel to me. I believed it. But brethren,
the journey's not over. The race is not run. In the Kentucky Derby yesterday,
those horses, the horse that won, it went all the way around
the track and crossed the finish line. And if it had stopped at
the quarter pole, or halfway mark, or the three-quarter pole,
would not have finished the race. And what I'm saying is this,
that a man doesn't start believing on Christ and stop. He claims
to believe on Christ. He makes a profession of faith.
And this is why I suppose we are heavily criticized in some
quarters because we do not give what they call the altar call.
And I don't stand down here and beg you to make a profession,
and beg you to make a decision, and beg you to come forward,
and beg you to be baptized, and beg you to join the church. Let
me tell you something. Salvation. Now religions of man. False professions
are men. Just like God promised Abraham
a son, Isaac, and Abraham got in a hurry, and He got him an
Ishmael by his own efforts. And this is what we, God said,
I'll call my sheep, my sheep will hear my voice and they'll
follow me. God will save His people. All
that the Father giveth me will come to me. God will bless the
preaching of the gospel to the accomplishment of His purpose,
but we're not satisfied to wait on the Lord. We're not satisfied
to give men an opportunity to think, to consider, to count
the cost, for God did a little work of grace in their heart.
We've got to go out and get us a bunch of ishmaels and bring
them down the aisle so we'll look good in the eyes of men.
And that's what half of it's for. We can't stand to have a
meeting and not have a convert. We can't stand to preach a sermon
and somebody not do something. Well, they'll do something if
you preach the truth. They'll do something. They'll reject
it or believe it. They'll receive it or hate it. But God Almighty
is the only one that can give life to His sons, His children.
And if we'll just wait and be patient and preach and tell men
how God saves sinners and leave them alone, And the Holy Spirit
will do the work in the heart. And then when a man comes down
here and says to this congregation, I know I'm a sinner. God's taught
me that. Preacher didn't teach me that.
God taught it to me. He taught it to me from His Word. He taught
it to me by His Spirit. He taught it to me by experience.
My sins, my guilt, my shame, my inability have flooded across
my soul. I know I'm lost without Christ. God's revealed to me that Christ
is my Lord and my Savior and I've received Him and I've trusted
Him. I'm His, lock, stock and barrel. I belong to God. I want
you folks to know about it. And I'm going into that pool
next Sunday and I'm going to tell the world that when Christ
died, I died. When He was buried, I was buried.
When He rose again, I rose with Him to walk in newness of life.
I'm identified with Christ. Let me tell you this. If that
really took place, 15 years from now, he'll still be identified
with Christ. He'll still be loving this gospel, trusting this Redeemer,
and walking with Him more than he ever has before, more boldly,
more affectionately, more constantly. And if he's one of your converts,
he'll be sitting out there saying, I used to go to church, I used
to teach Sunday school, I used to do this. You never were a
child of God. You were some preacher's convert.
You were some soul winner's brag sheet. That's all you were. You
were somebody who responded to an emotional soul winner's plea. You want to go to heaven? Who
doesn't? You love Jesus? Everybody does. The Jesus of
their imagination. Don't many folks love the Christ
or the Bible? There's a difference. There's
a difference. You turn back to our text. So
I'm saying if a man continues in the faith, it's evidence that
he's in the faith. If a man does not continue in
the faith, it's an evidence that he had a religious experience
or decision and he never knew Christ. My prayer is to know
Christ is to know God. To know God. Now look at 1st
Peter 2 verse 4, to whom cometh. I want to divide this up into
three parts, to whom cometh. First of all, there's a blessed
person. There's a blessed person. Secondly, there's a continual
occupation. And thirdly, there's a final
departure. That says to whom coming. All spiritual grace,
gifts, and glory is in Jesus Christ. This coming is not to
the church. That which saves the soul is
not coming to church. I hear people say, well, we're
going to have to get started at the church. I had a man sit
and talk to me just this week. Why aren't I going to have to
get started at the church? People speak as if church is synonymous
with salvation. It's not by any degree. It's
coming to Christ that saves, not coming to church. And it's
not coming to the ceremonies, whether it be the front of the
church or the fount of the church or the feast of the church. It's
coming to Christ. That which saves a soul is not
coming to a preacher or to a priest for his blessings. It's coming
to Christ. Our Lord said, come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. I'll
be perfectly honest with you. I'd much rather preach to you
the gospel of Christ, the ruin of man, the redemption of Christ,
and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. I'd much rather
have you then go home. Open your Bible and restudy what
I preach and deal with Christ in this matter of your soul salvation.
I Had much rather I'll be honest with you. I had much rather you
deal with him than with me. I Can't give you any salvation.
I can't give you any assurance. I can't give you any confidence.
I I can tell you what you are by nature, by birth, by choice,
by practice. I can tell you the mercy of God.
He's plenteous in mercy. He delights to show mercy. He
saves sinners. We'll talk about that tonight.
And He'll save you. And He saves men by the blood
of His Son, by the work of His Son, by the grace of His Son,
by the obedience of His Son. And we're secure in Christ. We
have everything we need in Jesus Christ. Now, will you trust Him?
Will you believe on him? Well, don't tell me, tell him.
You see what I'm saying, John? Tell him. Deal with him. The publicans said, Lord, be
merciful to me, a sinner. He didn't say, Pastor, be merciful
to me. The thief on the cross said,
Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom. He didn't say,
Pastor, ask the Lord to remember me. Everybody in the New Testament
who was saved came to Christ. They came to Christ. They came to Christ. They did.
All that my Father had given me shall come to me, he said.
Not to the front, not to the fount, to me. Not to the priest,
not to the preacher. It'll come to me, he said. This
coming to Christ, secondly, is sometimes explained in the scripture
as hearing Christ. He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me. I'm not preaching the Baptist
way or the Calvinistic way. I'm preaching the Bible way.
Christ, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life. Can you hear it? Can you hear
the grace of His Word? Can you hear the mercy of His
Word? Can you hear the promises of
His Word? Can you hear the truth of His Word? Can you hear His
Word? Hear Him speak through His Word.
Coming to Christ not only is said to be hearing Him, but seeing
Him. He that seeth the Son and believeth
on Him hath everlasting life. How do we see Christ? I got the
shock of my life last night. I don't know why I'm being shocked
anymore by these preachers, but I was watching the television
last night, and I was watching Cliff Barrows, Billy Graham's
sidekick, and he's trying to get us to send some money to
help Billy. Billy needs our help. Billy's funds are down to 23
million now, and he sure needs our help. But anyway, and he
says, if I send him some money, he'll tell you what he's going
to do for me if I send him a check, $10 or more, $20 or more. And
then he showed me a picture of what they call Jesus Christ.
And I've seen one. I've seen Him hanging on the
cross. I've seen Him sitting by the rock praying. I've seen
Him holding sheep. But this one had Him leaning
forward with a pose like Olin Mills with a big grin on His
face. And he said, you can put that on your wall in living color,
suitable for framing. That's the joyful Jesus. That's
a fact. I told R.S., I'm getting sick.
I'm getting sick. Can you imagine me writing for
that and putting it on my D.N. wall, and people came in, there's
my God right there. There's my God. That may be Billy
Graham's God, may be Chris Barrett's God, but that's not the Christ
of the Bible. And you buy you one and go to
hell with every idolater that worships those pictures. Now,
that's too hard for you? Well, it's so. Even if Barnard said it ain't
hard, it's just so. It's just so. Buy me one of those
pictures and put it on my wall and say, there's my God. There's
my God. Just like the Japanese who worship
Buddha, their God's right where they hang Him. or the Confucius
or the Mohammedan or any other false idol worshiper in the land.
You're no different from those people at Mars Hill. No different. He that seeth the
Son, I'm not talking about seeing Him on a wall and bowing down
before a picture, I'm talking about seeing Him with eyes of
faith, seeing Him as God's justifier, seeing Him as God's sin offering,
seeing Him as God's atonement, seeing Him by faith, with eyes
of faith, as the sinner's substitute, the only mediator, the great
high priest. I see Him! I see Him. Coming to Christ is trusting
Him. hearing His Word, seeing Him by faith, trusting Him, leaning
upon Him in whom you trusted after you heard the Word of Truth.
I trust Him. I trust Him. And it's receiving
Him consciously, intelligently, willingly. Let me tell you something.
I wouldn't give you a nickel for that profession of faith
that's done under an emotional persuasion. I wouldn't give you
a nickel for it. I've never talked anybody into
a profession of faith over a coffin. By God's grace, I never will.
I'm not going to talk anybody into a profession of faith on
a sickbed. Not going to do it. A man's sick
and dying, that's a good time to get him to make a profession.
That's a bad time. That's a bad time. He'll take
anything you say. Nor do I believe that we ought
to get people to make professions of faith while we got them in
a church building with an organ playing softly and some preacher
talking about the terrors of hell. I believe we ought to send
them home in the cold, clear dawn of their natural surroundings. Do they want Christ then? Will
they trust Christ then? Will they receive Christ then?
Then they won't have any trouble trusting Him when the organ's
playing. That's exactly right. And you say, some of you say,
well, I never had any peace since I made my profession. You go
back and think about the persuasion you won, or the power you won,
or the psychology you won, or something else you won when you
made that profession. You didn't make it in the ordinary
affairs of life. You didn't make it concerning
the ordinary affairs of life. You didn't make it between you
and God. You made it between you and a preacher based on a
bunch of religious principles and promises. You decide whether you want Christ
to be your king down there where you work, down there where you
live, down there where you labor, down there where you do other
things. If he's your king there, he'll be your king here. receiving
Him, embracing Him. Coming to Christ is not a motion
of the body, it's a mental, spiritual consent of the heart. Christ
is my Lord. He comes before my wife or children
or grandchildren. He comes before my health or
home or happiness. He comes before God, before home
and country. He comes before everything. God
is my King. Christ is my King. And that's
a conscious, willing decision. Yes, there's a decision involved,
but it's not a pressurized decision. It's not a psychologically promoted
decision. It's a willingness. The Lord is King. The Lord is
King. And when that is made confidently
and consciously in the heart, There's no man going to take
it away from you. If a man can talk you into a decision, he
can talk you out of one. Somebody else can talk you out
of it. That's right. If I can talk you down the aisle, somebody
else can talk you somewhere else. But I'll tell you, if God saved
me, the devil himself can't do anything about it. He can't do
anything about it. That's the reason Paul said,
Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God justified
me. He could challenge heaven, the
angels, the holy angels. He could challenge all of the
Pharisees and forces on this earth. He could challenge the
demons in hell. He says, touch me! Charge me! Condemn me! Adore you! God saved
me. No preacher didn't save me. No sir, I didn't get this from
Peter, James, and John. I got it from the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what he said. Who can separate me from the
love of God? Can life, death, angels, principalities,
powers, no creature can separate me from the love of God which
is in Christ. Coming to Christ. I found in Him everything. Listen
to this. To the artist, He's the altogether
lovely one. To the architect, He's the chief
cornerstone. To the hungry, He's the living
bread. To the thirsty, he's the water
of life. To the bride, he's the bridegroom. To the builder, he's
the sure foundation. To the sick, he's the great physician.
To the farmer, he's the seed, the sower, and the lord of the
harvest. To the lost, he's the new and living way. To the branch,
he's the vine. To the servant, he's the good
master. To the sheep, he's the shepherd. To the weary, he's
my rest. To the soldier, he's the captain of my salvation.
To the weak, he's my strength and power. To the student, he's
the truth. To the dying, he's the life.
To the sinner, he's the savior. To the prisoner, he's the deliverer.
To the drifting, he's the anchor of my soul. To the ignorant,
he's the wisdom of God. To the seeker, he's the author
and finisher of my faith. He's my well-beloved He's my
well-beloved. And the emphasis here, look at
it, to whom? To whom coming? To whom coming? To whom coming? Now listen to
me. The emphasis here is not on the way we come, but the one
to whom we come. Now remember that. I got saved
under an old brush arbor. Now what are we talking about?
It's to whom coming. I know whom I have believed.
Paul didn't say, I know what I believe, or I know when I believe,
I know under whom I believe. He said, I know whom I have believed.
Let me give you an illustration. Now you think about this a moment.
Here's a mother standing here with a bowl of ice cream. It's the kind that her little
girl loves. Most little girls love all kinds
of ice cream. But mother's holding a bowl of
ice cream, maybe with peaches or strawberries on top. Little
girl's there playing. She says, honey, I've got a bowl
of ice cream with strawberries on it for you. What's the child's
first thoughts? First thoughts. Now think, you
were a child once. Remember? What's your first thoughts? The bowl of ice cream. That was
your first thought. Boy, you looked up, all you saw
was that bowl of ice cream with strawberry. What was your second
thought? Your mother's kindness in getting
it for you. That's right. That's the second
thing you thought of. How gracious, what a good mother. I sure love
my mother. You're so good to me. What's
the child's third thought, if any, in that direction? How to
get to that ice cream. Well, Jackie doesn't even think
about how to get there. It may climb over a table or
under a table or around a table or push a chair aside, but with
their mind on the ice cream and the grace of the Mother, she'll
get there. She'll get there. I'm not worried
about how you're going to get to Christ or making your way
to get to Christ. If you ever see who He is and
what He has, you'll come to Him. I guarantee you that. Well, you
need to give people an opportunity. You better move out of that kid's
way. You don't need to take a broom and sweep the child away, you
know. Let me move this chair, honey, so you can get over here
to this ice cream. She'll get there. Well, we don't want to
put anything in your way, any stumbling block. She'll stumble
over it and roll to the ice cream. I guarantee you. But now, wait
a minute. Hold it. Suppose the mother's holding
a plate here. It's noon. Says the little girl, got a bowl
of beans and carrots here, honey. There she sits, got a bowl of
beans and carrots. Well, I'll be there in a minute.
But I'm tired, Mommy. My legs are so tired. Come on,
eat your beans and carrots. Well, I'll eat them after a while.
Let me play for a while. Don't bother. Let me play. Come
on and eat your beans and carrots. I can't get over there. It's
too far to walk. I tell you, we laugh about that,
but that's the way it is. Let me tell you something. You
don't know who Christ is or you'd come to him. You don't want him. You don't want him. You don't
want what he is or what he has. You'd rather play with your blocks.
You'd rather blow soap bubbles. That's right. If you ever realize
his grace, his glory, his majesty, and what he has for you, you'll
come to him. But all these excuses, well,
I'd like to, but no. You look on it as beans and carrots.
That's what you look on it as. You look on it as something that's
maybe necessary but not needful. I got you. I know what I've been
there. I know what I'm talking about.
It's a continual operation. To whom? To whom? Coming. Coming. That man goes to the
well today and draws water. He needs water. He has to have
it. If you stand out there tomorrow,
he'll be back at the well again. If you stand out there the next
day, if he still lives there, he'll be there again. If you
stand out there at the well fifteen years from now, if he's still
living in that community, he'll be back at the well. Why? He
has to have it every day. I can't live on yesterday's food,
and I can't drink yesterday's water, and I can't eat yesterday's
nourishment. I've got to have it every day,
and Christ I must have every day. I keep coming to Him. I keep coming to Christ. I keep
coming to Christ. Always looking, always relying,
always receiving, always resting. Well, last of all, and I close
with this, turn to Philippians 1. Someday I'm coming to Christ
once and for all. I'm coming to him. It says here
in Philippians 121, for me to live is Christ and to die is
gain. Philippians 122, but if I live
in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall
choose I want not, for I am in a straight betwixt the two. I
have a desire to depart and to be with Christ. Brethren, death
is to be with Christ. That's what the journey is all
about. That's what the end of the journey is all about, is
to go and be with Him, to be with Him, and to share in all
His glory. You know, listen to these verses
I found in the Word. Death for the believer is to
be with Christ. He says to his disciples that,
I come and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may
be. But to be with Christ, to sit on His throne, That's right,
to him that overcometh will I give to sit upon my throne. To behold
his glory, he says that they may behold my glory which I had
with thee before the world was. And John said, to be just like
him. I can't tell you what heaven's like because I haven't been there.
And one fellow that did go there came down here and said he couldn't
tell you what it was like because you couldn't understand it. It
wasn't lawful for him to utter those things. It wasn't possible.
But I know this. All that God has given to the
Son in majesty and glory and happiness and joy and eternal
greatness, I have in Christ. All that God's given to the Son,
all that God Almighty, the Heavenly Father, has for the Son, I'm
a joint heir with Christ. He's given Him a new earth, a new
heaven. Eternal glory, eternal happiness, freedom from all sin,
darkness, death, despair, amen. And someday I'm going to come
to Christ for the last time, and I'm going to stay. I'll never have to exercise faith
again, because faith's going to give way to reality. Faith
will give way to sight and hope to reality. I'll be like Him.
That's the reason David said, I'll be satisfied. when I wake
with his likeness. I don't know how to motivate
you. And like I say, that's the message. That's the gospel. And
I'll preach it again tonight. But I would say this, and I wish
every preacher in the country would do this. I wish they'd
quit saying, now, put your hand on the TV, and I'm going to pray
for you. I wish we'd quit that foolishness. Now turn to the
choir and sing. Let's sing softly, just as I
am. And while all this is going on, you come down. We've got
personal workers here. I'd like to have a preacher,
and I believe I can say this on the authority of that book,
to say this when he gets through preaching that gospel. Now, my
friend, look to Christ. Call on the name of the Son of
God. Lay hold upon Christ yourself. Settle this matter between you
and the Lord God. Ask for mercy. Seek mercy. Commit
yourself to the Son of God. Repent and believe the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn away from your idols. Turn
from this world. Turn to Christ. Lay hold upon
Him. Love Him. Trust Him. Believe
Him. Glorify Him. And then come tell
us about it. follow the Lord and confess Him
publicly in baptism. You will. You will. I tell you, I'm not ashamed of Him who's
my life. I'm not ashamed of Him who's
my Lord. I'm not ashamed of Him who's my Redeemer. I'm identified with you in this
thing. I'm a sinner who needs mercy, and Christ is that mercy.
God saved me by His grace. He pardoned me, and He pardons
me, and He will pardon me. Keep looking to Him. Our Father
in Heaven, we've given men and women and young people the good
news. The good news is that you, by your grace, through Christ
Jesus the Lord, save sinners. That you receive them and pardon
them and forgive them for Christ's sake. That all that you require
and all that we need is met in Christ Jesus. That He alone is
our refuge and our strength and our foundation and our hope.
That His eternal life in the Son, He that hath the Son of
God hath life. And we receive Him by faith,
we trust Him by faith, we lay hold upon Christ by faith. And
Lord, we lay hold upon him every day, to whom coming over and
over again. We still come to Christ. We still
look to Christ. We live by faith in Christ Jesus,
and we shall live by faith in Christ Jesus. We're sinners yesterday
and we're sinners today. We'll be sinners tomorrow, saved
by your grace through the blood of your dear Son. Deal with all
in this congregation. Strengthen those who believe,
increase our faith, help our unbelief. And Lord, give assurance
and confidence to the doubter. Most of all, may it please Thee
to bring every person in this building to a living, saving
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust Him. In our flesh dwelleth
no good thing, we confess that. In the flesh no man can please
Thee. Our hope is Christ. Our confidence is in Him alone.