Let's look at the text again,
and let me make an effort to explain to you why I've chosen
this text for my subject this evening. Luke, the second chapter, verse 48 and 49. And when they
saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said, son, And this is a broken heart speaking. They'd been looking for him three
days. The Lord Jesus Christ, while being God, the Son of God,
was still their son, son of Mary. And they had lost him. And they
had looked desperately for him. And finally they'd found him.
And I'm sure they'd not slept for three days and three nights.
And she said from a broken heart, a disturbed spirit, she said,
why have you treated us this way? Why have you dealt thus
with us? We sought thee, sorry. And he said unto them, how is
it that you sought me? Why did you seek me? Why did
you have to seek me? Did you not know that I would
be in my father's house and about my father's business? And what led me to read this
verse and has just cemented my mind to it for several hours
now and several days are three or four things. Number one, one
night a week or two ago while I was in Mexico, we were sitting
in the dining room at Brother Walter Gruber's home. I said, how long have you been
here now, Walter? He said, 17 years. I said, tell
me a little bit more about the early days here, and about your
call, and about how you felt led to come here. I think Paul
Edward broached the subject first of all. He was working at Armco
Steel Mill. He was about 28 or 29 years of
age, married, and had five children, the least of the children, the
smallest one I think was five or six months old. And he'd studied
Spanish and thought about the mission field, asked God to lead
him wherever he'd be pleased to lead him, and he took a trip
down to Mexico and visited the Yucatan. And he said he just
felt led to go there and preach. And when he left the church at
Houston, he left people who Those who knew Christ rejoiced that
he was going to preach the gospel, but he left a broken-hearted
mother and father and mother-in-law and father-in-law and sisters
and brothers and nieces and nephews and uncles and aunts, none of
whom could understand why, in the name of common sense, a man
would take five little children and a wife and go to live among
heathen people in a pagan nation, in a substandard nation like
Mexico. Why are you doing this to your
poor little children? Walter said that was hard to
take. But he went, and it was difficult. He said the first
year or two, everything happened to him. Betty got seriously ill
and got down to 94 pounds. They thought she was going to
die. Lisa got two of her fingers nearly cut completely off. They
were sold back on by Mexican doctors. Cody fell out of a tree
and broke his arm. It just kept happening. They
didn't have enough support. They had $240 a month or $250
to live on. They slept in a hammock for a
year because they didn't have any beds. They sat on wooden
boxes to eat. They just didn't have enough
support. But it stayed. I thought about that. Why have
you thus dealt with us? Lord, why have you dealt with
us this way? I must be about my father's business."
And so that night, we were going out to service on Saturday night,
and I said, and even now, now three of the children are back
in the United States. All of the five grandchildren
are back in the United States. Walter and Betty are there in
Mexico. Two others will be leaving soon, one 19, one 17. And they'll be alone again. And
I asked him that night driving out to the Pueblo, I said, are
you happy in Mexico? I want you to listen. He replied,
happiness has nothing to do with it. I'm where God wants me. And that's where I'm going to
stay. Now that's what our Lord said, Joe, I must be about my
father's business. And he continued, he said, Henry,
he said, if I went back, he said, my father, When David Pledger
came back to the United States, brought his family back, Walter's
father asked the youngest son, Kevin, when's your daddy coming
back home? When's he going to leave Mexico
and come back? And Kevin replied, he'll come
back either one of two ways, too old to preach or in a box.
That's a good reply. I must be about my father's business.
And then I came back here from Mexico and the Lord has been
pleased to call one of the young men out of our preacher school
to a church in Louisiana. Brother Darvin Pruitt and his
wife Kathy are very special to us around here. They've been
here about two years, haven't they? A little more. The comments are, we love Darvin,
we love Kathy. precious and love Christ and
his gospel. He's a gentle man. That was the
remark made to me. We love to hear him preach. But
Louisiana's 900 miles away, darling. You don't know anybody down there.
Your mom and daddy don't live there. Your brother and sister
doesn't live there. Your wife's people don't live
there. You got the only grandchildren
in the family. They're not going to see them anymore. Maybe once
a year, twice a year. You ought not do your folks that
way. Son, why have you dealt thus with us? Huh? You going
to take our only granddaughter and take them off where we won't
get to see them? You ought not treat them that way. But you
know what my Lord said? I must be about my father's business.
It all depends on whose business you're in. That's what Walter
was telling me. Happiness got nothing to do with it. Got nothing
to do with it. And Walter said this to me, he
said, I may go back to Houston. What if I did? He said, I may
be more comfortable physically. I'd eat better food. I wouldn't
have to tolerate the Mexican way. I'd have more people around
me I could talk to in English. Maybe some more things around
me with which I'm familiar. He said, I'd be the most miserable
man on the earth because I wouldn't be about my father's business.
Now that's where it is. That's where it is. And the third
thing, I was thinking about this. I thought of you, and I thought
of... I thought it's going to be difficult. God never promised
us an easy path. He never promised us. But He
said this, and I say this is true. The Master said it. No
prophet is without honor saving his own country and among his
own kindred. If you want to fail, stay home. That's the size of
it. If you want to fail, stay home.
If you want to be without honor, stay home. If you want to find
out nobody's going to pay attention to you, stay home. You've got
to leave. You've got to be like Abraham
who heard God say, get out. Get out of your father's house
and away from your kindred unto a land I'll show thee, and I'll
make you a great nation. The third thing I thought about
Thirty-four years ago this very month, thirty-four years ago,
March 1947, Doris and I had been married three months, and the
call came from this church, some of these there people sitting
here in this congregation, for us to come up here and be the
youth director, the assistant pastor of the Pollard Baptist
Church. That's thirty-four years ago. In Ashland, Kentucky, I'd
never heard of it. In fact, when I got the letter
from the pastor up here, P-O-L-L-A-R-D, Polard's the way I pronounced
it. That's all I knew about it. L-A-R-D spells Lard in Alabama. And so we caught a train, a bus
it was, we caught a bus, bus or train, and we came up here.
And I'll tell you, I look back over these years and
I think about this, and this September I'll celebrate the
30th anniversary as your pastor. God must have been in it somewhere.
But you follow, you go where God leads. You go where He leads. He leads in mysterious ways,
His wonders to perform. And I just believe, Darwin, it
may be in God's will, like Walter 17 years ago and us 34 years
ago, going to a strange place among a strange people, but going
because you must go. You must go. I must be about
my Father's business. Happiness hasn't got anything
to do with it. I believe you're stepping out
where God's going to bless you and use you. And we give them
up reluctantly and we give them up in a sad way but a happy way. We give them up with a prayer
that God will bless them in a mighty way and use them for his glory
and for his praise. Let's look at the text a minute.
And then here's the next thing I think about is these other
young men, we've got some more here with equal talents and equal
gifts. Darvin's not the only one we're
going to be saying goodbye to, I hope. No, that's right. I want them to go. I want them
to go. The same thing, and I thought
about this. I thought about it as I looked
at my calendar, came back from Mexico, and I've overscheduled
myself, but then again I haven't. I'm supposed to leave tomorrow
for a meeting, and then back home a week, and then go to Cookville,
Tennessee, where five or six preachers coming into a knowledge
of grace and want me to preach every morning and every evening
to them. You wouldn't want me not to do that. I must be about
my father's business. Then home a week and down to
Fairmont, West Virginia, and home a week and over to St. Louis,
Missouri, and home a week and over to Beckley, West Virginia. And somebody says, Well, you're
not a very good pastor. Kind of believe a good pastor
is a person that feeds the sheep. Kind of believe a good shepherd
is one that's about his master's business, don't you? I just don't
believe that this church would want me to be about anything
else than the master's business, preaching the gospel. That's
what led me to this passage here. And some of these other young
men, the call is coming. And we're going to make an attempt
through the television and radio and this tent, if God leads us
that way, to open some doors, as God enables us, for them to
preach and establish churches and congregations. But that's
what led me to this text. But I see several warnings, and
I see several things that we need to look at here. Let's go
back to verse 41. Now, the Lord's parents, Luke
2, verse 41, the Lord's parents, Mary and Joseph, were Jews, and
they were religious, and they were faithful to the synagogue,
to the Sabbath day, to the law, to the ceremony, to the feast
days, and every year at the Feast of the Passover they went to
Jerusalem, and they took the Savior. He was 12 years old then.
And they went to Jerusalem and they went about all the ceremonies
and the religious activities. They did what was required. They
did what was expected. They did what they had to do
after the custom of the feast. And when they, verse 43, had
fulfilled the days, they left, going home. And it says in verse
44, they, mother and father, supposing Christ to have been
in their company, supposing Him to have been in their company,
They went a day's journey, and then they began to seek for him
and found out that he was not there. My friends, in all of our religious
activities, think of my activities and your activities, our Sunday
morning Bible classes, Sunday morning services, evening services,
Wednesday Bible studies, Bible conferences, meetings that we
hold, places we pray, the activities of the preacher school, the theology,
studying the doctrines, asking questions, taking the test, going
about singing, playing the instruments, in all of our religious activities.
Let's don't miss Christ. Let's don't miss Christ. And you know the Scripture, a
day's journey in the Scripture is a lifetime. Talks about a
day's journey. Life is a vapor, a shadow, a
flower, so a day's journey. A day's journey. And here they'd
gone the whole day and they were actively engaged in all of their
duties and responsibilities. Here's the key word here, supposing
him to have been taking for granted that he was there. Now, brethren,
let me tell you something. The presence of Christ is not
something to take for granted. Are you saved? Well, sure I'm
saved. Are you a Christian? Of course I'm a Christian. I
made a decision back yonder. I sing in the choir. I play the
instruments. I'm a preacher. I'm studying
to be a preacher. Of course I'm a Christian. Of
course you're a Christian. Are we supposing Christ is in
us? Are we supposing Christ is with
us? Are we supposing Christ dwells
within us? I'll tell you this, the end of
the day's journey is a poor time to find out. It's a poor time
to find out. And I'll tell you as a preacher,
I run into a whole lot of folks, a whole lot of folks that wait
till the end of the day's journey and then begin to seek Him. And I say that's just a little
late. Now, I know you say, well, the thief on the cross found
him. Let me tell you something. Let me give you a little word
of advice here. There is but one thief on the cross. That's
all you can find. It's about one deathbed repentance. One deathbed salvation. Just
one. There is one that no one might
despair. Somebody said, where there's
life, there's hope. You're right. You're right. Slim as it is, but it's a hope.
As small as it is, but it's a hope. There's one thief on the cross
that no one need despair. But I'll tell you this, God only
had one that no one may presume. For that one man who was saved,
10 billion died unsaved. Now that's pretty poor odds.
People usually die like they live. That's right. And Mary and Joseph, what I see
here is they were religious, they were active, they were about
going about their duties, their responsibilities. They'd been
to Jerusalem to the feast, they'd accomplished all of the ceremonies,
and they'd gone to this place, and that place, and the other
place. They'd gone to the sacrifices, and heard the Scriptures read,
and watched the water poured out, and the blood poured, and
all these things, and in their activity they started and traveled
a whole day's journey taking for granted, supposing that Christ
was there. He never had been there. He never
had been. They didn't check at the first
to see if he was there. They didn't check at 9 o'clock
in the morning to see if he was there. They didn't check at noon
to see if he was there. They didn't check in the afternoon.
They waited till the end of the day and they began to look for
him. I'm 54 years old. I'm not going
to wait till I'm 75 to see if I'm Christian. That's a fool
that does that. Peter said, you give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. Every time you come to
the Lord's table, the Apostle Paul said, examine yourself before
you eat. I don't care if you've been to
the Lord's table 10,000 times, he says, let a man examine himself! And so let him eat. And that's
to be done over and over and over again. Did he not say examine
yourselves whether you be in the faith? Know ye not yourselves
how that Christ is in you unless you are reprobate? I don't care
for that old dead, worthless, Southern Baptist theology that
says, I'm saved no matter what. I've made a decision and shook
the preacher's hand and joined the church and been baptized
and I'll meet you in heaven. That's nothing in the world but
idle presumption. Men who have been saved are being
saved, and men who are being saved by God's grace will be
saved. But I'll tell you this, a lot
of folks start the race that never finish it. A lot of folks
make declarations that they never proved to be true. A lot of pigs
return to the to the swallowing, and a lot of dogs return to their
vomit, and there's a whole lot of folks walking hours for Jesus
who never walked the street for him one day, and they'll never
walk through the gates of gold. For he that continueth to the
end, the same shall be saved. You are the house of Christ if
you hold fast your profession firm unto the end. You're not
saved because you made a profession. You're not saved because you
made a decision. You're not saved because you
walked in hell or were baptized. You're not saved because you
love theology. You're saved if you know the
living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And if you walk with
Him through life and die in faith, then you'll live with Him eternally.
And that's so. That's so. That's true. And they
sought Him, and He wasn't there. And their problem was they should
have sought Him sooner. They should have sought him sooner,
instead of just supposing and taking for granted that he was
with them. I challenge myself and Jay Wembley
and Martha and Ronnie Lewis, who've been leading the singing
and playing the instruments for 25 years, and Joe Wilson and
Charlie Payne, who's been an elder for years and years, I
challenge every one of you to make your calling and election
sure. Don't you take for granted your say. When you're preaching
to your people, you preach to Darwin. When you're examining
them, you examine yourself. Don't you preach you, you, you.
You preach us. We need grace. We need mercy. We need Christ. Don't become
like the doctor who deals with blood so much he gets accustomed
to it. Don't be like the lawyer who
sends men to the penitentiary so much he gets calloused to
it. Every preacher that walks into the pulpit ought to walk
in there with a newly broken heart for himself and for his
flock. Bleeding heart, a broken heart,
a sympathetic heart, an affectionate heart, a Christ-seeking heart.
If there's anybody who will miss Christ, it's a theologian. If
there's anybody who'll miss Christ, it's a preacher. If there's anybody
who'll miss Christ, it's somebody who's been directing a choir
for a lot of years. If there's anybody who'll miss
Christ, it's a Sunday school teacher who supposes that Christ
is with him. That old boy sitting out there
who listens to you and is troubled by your message and upset by
the Word and troubled by his sins, he ain't gonna miss Christ.
We're the ones that are gonna miss him, who suppose that he's
with us. We're professional religionists.
We get paid for being religious. Huh? That's what that fellow
said, wasn't it? I get paid for being a Christian.
Yeah, you get paid. You get paid. You get paid off
in full. God always pays his debts. And the wages of sin is death.
Oh, suppose, suppose. Well, look at verse 45. I was
encouraged by this one. When they found him not. When
they found him not. When they found out he wasn't
there. When they found out he wasn't there. But you know what
a lot of folks do? They hear a message that troubles
them and convicts them about the direction they're going.
They just keep right on going. This is the way my daddy walked,
this is the way I'm going to walk. This is the way mama walked,
this is the way I'm going to walk. This is what I've been doing,
this is what I'm... Mary and Joseph stopped right there and
turned around and went back. That's what old Jacob had to
do. Why, Jacob, God said, you skedaddle back to Bethel. That's
what you better do. You better get back to Bethel.
That's where the blessing is. That's where the mercy is. You're
headed in the wrong way. You're going in the wrong direction.
You're going along without Him. If God's pleased to arrest you,
if God's pleased to warn you, stop! Then turn around and go
back. Now, you say to where? Well,
wherever you lost Him. Wherever the last time was, you
heard of him. You turn around and go back.
And they turned around. They turned around. He wasn't
where they were. And he wasn't where they were
going. So they turned around and went back. Seeking him. Seeking him. And you know the
next verse says, and this kind of moves me. It came to pass
that three days, I don't know where they looked. The first time, I know they looked
among their kinfolks. They looked among their acquaintance,
and he wasn't there. And then they began to look in
other places, and I don't know where all they looked, but I
do know where they found him. I do know where they found him.
It says in verse 46, it came to pass after they looked around
for three days, they found him in the temple. In the temple. And my friends, I'm not saying
that Christ dwells in buildings made with hands. That's not what
I'm implying at all. I'm not implying that Jesus Christ
dwells in these monasteries called churches and these mortuaries
called churches and these so-called cathedrals. I'm not saying that
at all. But I'm saying that Christ is found in those things which
are of God. That's where he's found. In those
things which are of God. What did the temple suggest?
Sacrifice. The thing was built around sacrifice,
wasn't it, Gerald? The whole thing was built around
sacrifice. With its veil, with its holy
of holies, with its holy place, with its furniture, it was built
around sacrifice. That's where you'll find Christ.
You'll find Christ where sacrifice is made. I'm not about to blurt
atonement. Also, what does the temple suggest
besides sacrifice? It suggests the scriptures. the
reading of the scriptures. Always in the temple, even our
Lord went to the synagogue as his custom was on the Sabbath
day and stood up to read. Isaiah, the prophet. I know in
most churches when our daughter Becky was in Lexington and she
looked for a place to hear the gospel, And I'd tell her, I'd
say, well, honey, go somewhere on the Lord's Day, go somewhere
and worship, go somewhere where if you don't preach any truth,
go where they read the Bible. She said, most of them will go
to where they don't read the Bible. They don't read the Bible. A
preacher takes a verse maybe and, you know, and lays it aside
and begins to expound on some critical issue, critical to him.
And it's that way in most places. But I'm saying this, Christ is
found where the Word is read. Christ is found in the Word.
And they found him in the temple. And what else does the temple
suggest? It suggests prayer, calling on God. It suggests prayer. That's what the Temple suggests,
prayer. You know, Lydia, the Scripture says about Lydia in
Acts 16, that she and those women met down by the riverside. I've
heard that you had to have so many people to have a synagogue
and they didn't have that many people there, so they met down
by the riverside. And Paul heard that on the Sabbath
day they were meeting and it was a place where prayer was
wont to be made. And that's where Paul went, where
prayer was wont to be made. That's where you'll find Christ.
Where two or three are met in my name, that's where I am. That's
where I am. And then what else does this
temple suggest? The temple suggests worship.
Worship in God. Now, my friends Mary and Joseph,
they discovered Christ was not with them. He was not there.
His presence was not there. And by God's grace, they stopped.
They ceased that direction. They stopped. Oh, I know they're
supposed to be at a certain place, they're supposed to be here,
they're supposed to be there, and the time was all twisted.
But they stopped and went back. Because finding Him is the most
important thing you'll ever do. Well, where should I look for
him, preacher? I'd look for him where substitutions preach, sacrifice. I'd look for him where the Word
is made much of, where the Word is real. I'd look for him where
prayers want to be made. I'd look for him where men don't
entertain each other, but where they worship God. I just imagine
that's where you'll find him. Huh? That's what he asked them.
They said, son, we've sought you sorrowfully. We've sought
you with broken hearts. He said, how come? Why did you
have to seek me? Don't you know that I must be
in my father's house? That's where I am. That's where
he is. That's where you'll find him. You'll find him in his father's
house. You'll find him where the blood,
where they make much of the blood. You'll find Him where the blood
is preached. You'll find Him where the blood is honored. You'll
find Him where the blood is believed. You'll find Him where the blood
is proclaimed. You'll find Him where the gospel
is taught, where substitution is preached. You'll find Him
where men make much of His Word, for the incarnate Word is in
the written Word. You'll find Him where prayer
comes from the heart and not from a book, where prayer springs
from the soul. And it's for the glory of God,
and not just for a lot of physical defects. You'll find him where
men fall on their face and worship God in spirit and truth. That's
where I am, he said. All right, verse 48. I want you
to look at this a moment. This struck me. Why, they said,
verse 48. They saw him. They were amazed.
His mother said, Son, Son, why have you dealt thus, or thus
dealt? with us. Why? Why? Let me show you a verse of scripture
Bob gave me a while ago. Turn to Acts 7. Acts chapter 7. I can't tell you why God dealt
as he did with Mary and Joseph. I can't explain what he was teaching
them. It says down there that they wondered about what he said.
But Mary kept all that in her heart. She's going to think that
over. But over here it says in Acts
chapter 7, verse 22, Moses was learned in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians. You with me? Acts 7, 22. Was mighty in words and deeds. He's a big shot. He's a big shot. He's 40 years old. He was Pharaoh's
grandson. Adopted, but grandson. just as
much as a real son, grandson. And he was in line for the throne.
And he was, he was a school, and I expect he could ride a
horse about as good as anybody and use a sword about as good
as anybody, bark orders about as good as anybody, had respect,
admiration, he had leadership, he had knowledge, he studied
the sciences, the arts. Mighty in word and deed. When
he was full 40 years old, that's about prime of life. He came
into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing
one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and avenged him.
That was oppressed and smote the Egyptian. Now watch verse
25. For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that
God by his hand would deliver them. But they didn't understand
that. Oh, Moses is going to take over.
He's going to get Israel out of Egypt. He was going to do
it with his mighty arm. He was going to do it with his
mighty deeds. He was going to do it with his
own strength. He was going to do it with his
own influence. He was going to do it with his
own power. And boy, I tell you, God took him out on the backside
of a desert and sat him down in the sand and rocks and scorpions
and lizards and snakes for forty years. And I expect high and
mighty Moses, learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, mighty in
words and deeds, sitting out there 78 years old, thought of
many a time, Lord, why have you dealt with me like this? Why
have you dealt with me like this? Well, Apostle Paul, God took
him away into Arabia for three and a half years. It may be some
of you young fellows, mighty in word and deed and learned
in all the wisdom of the theologians, God will set you down somewhere
and keep you quiet for a little while and get you ready for Him
to use you. You see, God was going to deliver
Israel. Moses wasn't going to do it.
God was going to do it. Moses was going to do it without
God one time. But the Lord brought him out
there in Egypt for a purpose, to humble him, to break him.
to bring him into submission, to whittle him down, to strip
him, to take the proud heart out, and all he said, God was
equipped in his service, his servant, for God to use. Why have you thus dealt with
me? Why, Lord, have you dealt this way with me? Have you ever
had that experience where you had to ask that question? I have. I have. Lord, why did you let
that happen? That hurt. Why'd you let that
happen? Moses, I'm sure he thought that,
sitting out there by himself, watching a bunch of bleating
sheep. A man smart as him, a man smart as him ought not be there.
And I know you may think that too, sometimes a man smart as
me sure ought not be listening to Henry. I agree with you. But God used Balaam's ass, didn't
he? Now, if somebody said that, he can use me, I reckon. Why
have you thus dealt with us? Why have you done it? Why have
you done it? And I'll tell you several reasons.
Let me give them to you. Our time's gone, but let me quote
you some scriptures. I'll tell you one. I'll tell
you one reason why he deals with us like he does, why he brings
us down, why he strips us, why he humbles us, why he shuts our
mouths. I'll tell you one reason. that
no flesh should glow in his presence. That's a number one reason. First
Corinthians 1, 27 through 30, he said, you see your calling
brethren, not many mighty, not many noble, so forth, that no
flesh should glow in his presence. God's not going to share his
glory with a human being, with a Moses mighty in word and deed.
He's not going to do it, or in wisdom either. Now you make up
your mind whether you're going to be a great preacher or God's
preacher. You ain't going to be both. You can make up your
mind whether you're going to be an entertainer or an evangelist
of the Lord God, but you're not going to be bold. You make up
your mind whether you're going to impress men or whether or
not you're going to convict them of sin and call them to Christ. You're not going to be too bold.
It's not going to do it. No flesh on glory. I'll tell
you another reason. Colossians 1, 16 through 18,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. That's why he
does what he does, that in all things he might have the preeminence. I'll tell you another reason.
Paul said in Philippians 3, 8-11, that I may win Christ. All of
this happened that I may win Christ and be found in him. that I may know him and the fire
of his resurrection, that I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead." And then in James 1 it says, Beloved, these fiery
trials that come upon you, come upon you that you might be perfect
and mature and equipped for God's glory. That's why, that's why. Why have you dealt thus with
us? Why, Lord, why did you let this happen? Why have you dealt
this way with us? And he said to them, now watch
this last line, I'll quit. Verse 49. Why did you have to
look for me? Here is where you'll find Christ.
Here's where you'll find Christ. And you know and I know, and
I don't have to be a theologian to say, to know this, and don't
have to have a degree in theology to know this. Christ is found
in those things which are of God. In the temple. You might have known this is
where I'd be in my father's house. You might have known this. You
didn't have to leave. This would all be the first place you came.
This ought to be the first place you come. But no, we're not that
way. We've got to exhaust every other
human means. We've got to go to this guy.
He's got a Ph.D. He's brown and don't want anybody
here. We go to the human element and the human strength and the
human arm. We're going to do all these things
when if we just go where he is, go where he is. He said, that's
where I am. I'm in the promises, I'm in the
scriptures, I'm in the sacrifices, I'm in the gospel, I'm in the
temple. And you'll find me doing what? You'll find me about my
father's business. That's where you'll find me.
What is his father's business? It's the business of redemption.
That's why he came to this earth. That's why he left heaven's glory.
He came down here to redeem a people. He came down here as our representative.
He came down here in human flesh as our charity. He came down
here to accomplish for us a perfect righteousness by obedience to
the holy law of God. He came down here to suffer and
die on the cross for our sins. He came down here to suffer for
our iniquities. He came down here to redeem a
people. That's why he came. And preaching
the gospel to God's elect Preaching the gospel to believers, preaching
the gospel to every creature, preaching the gospel to sinners,
preaching the gospel here and there and everywhere is God's
business, because nobody's going to be saved without hearing the
gospel. Nobody's going to be saved without believing the gospel.
And all who hear the gospel and believe the gospel will be saved.
God may have some people down there on the plains of old Louisiana,
Darwin Pruitt will go down there, some of these other men, and
dare to boldly stand up, not apologize for the truth of God,
but in love and kindness and grace preach Christ and Him crucified,
and some old boy will come to know Christ. And it'll be worth
every effort you put forth. It'll be worth every sermon you
prepare. It'll be worth every mile you
drive. It'll be worth every Every tear
you shed, it'll be worth every moment you spend away from home.
That's right. I tell you, especially if it's
my soul. Especially, huh? Boy, I tell you, especially. But let me close with this. In
the temple, about the Father's business, that's where you'll
find Christ. But that's where you'll find
his people, too. That's right. You'll find his people. You'll
find his people in his presence about the things they love. David
said, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house
of God. He said, I'd rather be the doorkeeper down there. I'd
rather be the custodian than to dwell in the tents of the
wicked. I love that place. I love that place because I love
him who dwells there. I love it because I love his
gospel that's preached there. I love it because that's where
my family lives. I just must be there. That's
where you'll find his people. You'll find them where prayers
want to be made. You'll find them where substitution
is fearlessly, uncompromisingly preached. You'll find them where
believers congregate to read the scripture. You'll find them
where Christ is honored. And you won't find them hanging
around those other places either. No, sir. No, sir, you won't. Ain't nobody going to make fun
of my wife and me hanging around them too long. And nobody's going
to desecrate my Lord's name and have my company too long either.
I try. Tell you the reason I go to the
13th Street Baptist Church. I go there because that's where
the gospel of God's grace is preached. That's where Jesus
Christ is exalted. That's where men don't apologize
for the truth. That's the reason. And you can
just tell folks that. Somebody says, well, there's
a little truth preached everywhere. Well, there's a little good food
in the garbage can, but you're not going to find me down there
eating. I just don't care to eat out of a garbage can. There's
too much other stuff there. And I sure as the world would
get the wrong stuff. I'd come up with that Montezuma's
Revenge, Charlie. I'd rather go where the food's
pure, hadn't you? There's places in Mexico I won't
eat. That's right. Isn't that right, Paul? There's
places you wish you had made, too, don't you? Yeah, you just don't do it. I
eat at Walter's house where the food is pure. I eat down at the
Indio's where the food is pure. I eat at Gomer's restaurant in
Meharis where there's food. But I won't eat anywhere else.
I won't even get a glass of water because there's bugs around there.
And I'm telling you, that's where you'll find his people. You'll
find them where the Gospels pray. They love it. They're not afraid. This is a free pulpit. By God's
grace, the elders and men of this church are going to keep
it that way, aren't by his grace. I'll tell you something else,
you'll find his people in his house and you'll find them about
his business, preaching the gospel. You know the reason we don't
call this a missionary Baptist church? Because any Baptist church
is a missionary Baptist church. You ain't Baptist if you're not
missionary. That's right, you don't need to put all those,
what is that, an adjective or adverb or something, but you
don't need that. Every believer is a witness.
Every believer is a missionary. Every believer is evangelistic.
This isn't a missionary. We're about our Father's business.
That's what the pastor's doing, and the assistant pastor, and
the young men here, and everybody, and you making it possible. The
offerings and gifts are coming in, and we got missionaries,
ten of them all over the world. Got a radio broadcast that's
heard in three hours all over the eastern part of the United
States. Got 200 letters in the last two weeks. Television preaching
to thousands of people, costing a whole lot of money, worth every
dime of it. We're about our Father's business.
And God willing, God willing, if somebody will pay for it,
we'll put a tent out here on some of these hillsides and preach
to somebody. God willing. But we're not going
to stop. Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. I believe
that. I believe that whatever God leads us to do, He'll supply
the need. I don't have to sell bonds to
do it either. Won't do it. or take pledges. I believe God
will supply the means. He'll come in by His grace, and
we're going to be about our Father's business. We're going to be here
and about our Father's business, by His grace. I want us to sing
a closing hymn, Ronnie. I've been humming this song ever
since I've been thinking about this sermon. I must be about
my Father's business, and it's entitled, I'll Go Where You Want
Me to Go.