Let's turn back now to our text
in Psalm 27. I'm going to have some difficulty
preaching this evening. I have a very, very heavy Burden
on me right now that someone laid on me this morning, and
I'm gonna let you lift it tonight I'll let you help me with it.
We're gonna We're gonna do something about it after I preach now whether
I can preach with that on me and hot I don't know maybe I'll
let you lift it first and then Bring the message, but I'm dead
serious about it. It's a It's something been on
my mind for a number of years and then I Just out of the clear
blue sky this morning, the door opened, and I don't know, I hope
God's in it, we'll see. Psalm 27, now here's David. David, who is David? You know,
I told you when we're trying to interpret something from the
Scripture, when we're trying to get a message from God's Word,
we want to find out first who's speaking. And we want to find
out to whom he's speaking. And we want to find out what's
the subject. Now this is David. David, shepherd. David, soldier. Gallant, courageous,
victorious soldier. Bold and brave. David, sweet
psalmist of Israel. David, mighty prophet of God.
The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand. That's
David talking, talking about the mediatorial office of our
Lord Jesus Christ, hundreds of years before he came. David,
great king. Israel, during the days of David,
rose to their greatest height. David, statesman, wise counselor. David, wealthy, powerful, popular. David sums up his whole heart's
desire in one thing. Could you do that? Could you
do that? David sums up the whole concern
of his being, his objectives, his wishes, his aims, right here in verse
4. One thing, one thing have I desired
of the Lord. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. I tell you, I hear us pray. I hear myself pray. And it doesn't
sound like I've got one thing on my mind. I hear others pray
and I hear what they want and what they desire and what they
wish. And it's not usually one thing. But David brings it down
to this. One thing have I desired of the Lord. And that will I
seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life." That's enjoying his presence and his
fellowship, his sweet, precious communion, that I might enjoy
the communion. That's what John was talking
about when he said, our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son. And that's what John was talking about when he said, this
is the message we deliver unto you, that your fellowship might
be with us, and our fellowship is with the Father. That's what
David said, that I may dwell in his presence, that I may enjoy
his fellowship, that I may enjoy his communion, that I may behold
his beauty, the beauty of the Lord, the beauty of his holiness
and appreciate it. I think a lot of folks who know
God's holy but to see, to behold the holiness of God, and the
grace of God, and the glory of God, that I may inquire, and
someone says that is, that I may learn, that I may learn in his
temple, to sit at his feet and learn of him. Grant me thyself,
O Lord, and I ask no more. Grant me thy presence, O Lord,
and I am satisfied. Grant me thy fellowship, I need
no other. Grant me thy forgiveness, and
I'm content. That's what David's saying here.
One thing, one thing have I desired of the Lord. He who can give
all things. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. He who is the source of every blessing. He's the giver
of every good and every perfect gift. Yet one thing have I desired. Yearn for it. crave that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold
the beauty, the beauty of his grace, the beauty of his holiness,
the beauty of his glory, and to learn of him. I shall be satisfied,
David finally said, when I awake with his likeness. But you notice
this in verse 4. He didn't stop with just the
desire and the wish. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, now watch this next line, and that will I seek after. I'm
going to make it my business to attain it. I'm going to make
it my business to lay hold on that for which I've been laid
hold of by Christ Jesus. That's what Paul's saying when
he said, I count not myself to have apprehended or laid hold
upon this. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead, and so many authors say
that that's not just the rising of the body, but a spiritual
resurrection out of dry, dead darkness, I've not apprehended,
but I press on and I lay hold upon that for which I've been
laid hold of by Christ with my, David said, with my whole being.
I will not be distracted. I will not be turned aside. not
by Satan's, not by his prosperous gifts, and not by
his poverty. You know, some folks you can
distract from this aim and this wish and desire with prosperity. Did you know that? Did you know
that? For every one man Spurgeon said
that I've ever seen depart from the Lord because of poverty,
I've seen fifty depart from God because of prosperity. That will
I seek after. I will not be denied. I will
not be distracted. I will not be turned aside. I
will not. Give a man a position in the
government. He's turned aside from that one
thing. Give a man a position on some
kind of committee, civic committee, he's turned aside. Give a man
or woman a little authority, and they're turned aside. Give
them a little business, you know, that prospers, and they're turned
aside. Give them a child in the home, and they're turned aside. give them a new job, and they're
turned aside. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that I may enjoy his fellowship and his sweet communion, his
sweet presence, that I may behold his beauty and glory and grace,
that I may learn in his temple, I will not be distracted. I will
not be turned aside. Satan will seek in every way,
if you read through these verses and you talk about deliver me
not over into the will of mine enemies, David's not just talking
about the Amalekites and Hittites and Amorites and the Philistines
and all the other ites. He's talking about these enemies
that are all around you. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers in the
darkness, spiritual wickedness in high places, the adversary,
the roaring lion that goeth about seeking whom he may devour. And
you're one of the ones he wants to devour. Satan hath desired
thee, Peter, that he may sift thee as wheat. that he may take
thee like the wheat in the sifter, and blow you away. And he doesn't
care what instruments he uses, or what implements he uses, or
what craftiness and lies and deceitfulness he uses, just to
take you away from one thing, that one thing, that one thing. He doesn't care how many objectives
you have, just so it's not this one. that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord, that I may behold his beauty and learn of
him." He doesn't care how many aims and goals and objectives
you set for yourself, how noble they might be, just so it's not
this one thing. That will I seek after. That
will I seek after. It is said, I can't prove it,
but it's said that Michelangelo many times didn't take his clothes
off for a week at a time. He worked in them, painted in
them, ate in them, and slept in them. He was so completely
engrossed in his art, he even forgot to take his clothes off
to go to bed. He'd just lie down and fall asleep, get back up
and start painting. It is said that Handel, writing
his music, was so absorbed in his work that he'd forget to
eat. All day, every day was spent at the harpsichord writing his
Messiah. You reckon any of us will ever
get that kind of craving for Christ? You reckon that's what
Dave is talking about here? One thing, I've got one objective,
I've got one desire, I've got one goal, that that I've desired
of the Lord and that which I will seek after, And I will not be
distracted and I will not be denied that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty
of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Mr. Spurgeon said
no man has ever succeeded, really succeeded at anything until he
becomes dedicated to one thing. No man has ever really succeeded
at anything until he becomes dedicated to one thing. Until
all of these different things have been channeled into one
channel, this is what I want. This is what I want. While I
want to be a good father, I want to be a good father for the glory
of God. While I want to be a good husband, I want to be a good
husband for the glory of God. While I want to be a good preacher,
I want to be a good preacher for the glory of God. While I
want to be a good workman and give my employer 100 percent,
the best of my ability, do my work with pride, as unto the
Lord, I want to be for the glory of God. I want to know Him, whom
to know is life eternal. I want to win Christ and be found
in Him. I want His praise and not the
praise of men. Turn to Colossians 3 verse 2.
I have been reading this verse wrong for 54 years. And this
afternoon, while reading the scripture, and reading a sermon
by Charles Spurgeon, it dawned upon me that I've been reading
this text wrong all my life. In Colossians 3, verse 1 and
2, listen to it. Let me read it like we read it
and see if you catch my error. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God, Set your affections on things above, not on things
on the earth. Where's my arrow? Affections. It doesn't say affections, does
it? It says affection. It doesn't say affections. It
says affection. So often misquoted. All of our
affections become tied up in one affection, and that's Christ. He is my affection. Everything,
it's not all these different affections that we set on heaven
and on things above. It's our affection. We have but
one love, one real supreme love, and that's Christ. Everything
else and everybody else is second to him. Set our affection on
things above, all of it, totally, completely on things above. It's not affections. Say, is
that important? Seemed important to me. Seemed
important to the Apostle. He said affection. Set your affection. Your affection. If any man loved
mother, father, brother, sister, husband a lot more than me, he's
not worthy of me. He that cometh to me, let him hate his mother,
father, even his own life. Affection. Set your affection. All of it tied up in one affection.
And that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Philippians 3 and listen
to the Apostle again. In Philippians 3 verse 8, Yea,
doubtless, and I count but all things but loss, but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I suffered the loss of all things, and I do count all things
but rubbish, rubbish, that I may win Christ and be found in him. One thing, Lord God, one thing. I know that I have duties to
perform. I know I have responsibilities that are mine. But, Lord, one
thing have I desired, that I may enjoy Thy presence, that I may
behold the beauty of Thy grace, and that I may learn of Thee.
That's the one thing I desire. And my affection ought to be
centered on Him, on Christ, in fulfillment of that one thing.
And that will I seek after. Somebody asked a man one time,
said something about, what is your vocation? He said, I'm a
Christian. And they said, that's not what
I mean. Oh, he said, what do I do for
a living? He said, I'm a carpenter. My vocation is a Christian. I'm
a carpenter to meet expenses. That's our vocation, is Christ.
This is what he's talking about here. One thing have I desired
of the Lord. I am a Christian, I am a believer, I am a child
of God. To make ends meet, I carpenter. To do other things, I use other
means of God's grace. But my one objective and one
thing have I desired of the Lord, and that's His presence and fellowship.
Now let me carry that out with four scriptures. First of all,
turn to Luke 18, and I'll try to be brief. Luke 18, verse 22. Here was a young man who came
to Christ. And this young man was a wealthy young man. He was
a moral young man, evidently a religious young man, and he
was a responsible young man. He was a ruler. He was a certain
ruler who had great riches and, we'll say, great morality. And
he asked the Lord, he said, what good thing must I do? Now here's
an admirable young man. He had religion, he had morality,
he had riches, and he had prestige. And he came running to Christ
and he said, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal
life? And when it's recorded over in the book of Matthew,
it says, what good thing must I do? And Christ said, why callest
thou me good? There's none good save one, that
is God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery, do not
kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor thy father
and thy mother. He said, all these have I kept for my youth
up. And Matthew says, he replied, what lack I yet? Now when Jesus heard these things,
he said unto him, Yet likest thou one thing. And if I'm not mistaken in the
amplified, that one is capitalized, O-N-E. The one thing you lack. The one thing you lack. Tell
me what you have. And I reply, if you do not have
Christ, it is all in vain. Tell me what you know. And I
reply, if you do not know Christ, your wisdom will prove to be
foolishness. Tell me what you've done, all
of your deeds and morality and so forth. And I will say, if
you do not have Christ, it is all wood, hay and stubble. And someday you'll see it burn.
Tell me of your righteousness and morality. And I reply, if
you do not have Christ, it is all filthy rags in the sight
of God. The one thing you lack. That's
what Christ said to this young man. Here he stands, religious,
self-righteous, with prestige and power and influence and wealth
and friends and home and family, respect, character, all these
things. And Christ said to him, the one
thing you lack. That's what David's talking about.
One thing have I desired of the Lord. Now turn to another scripture,
Luke chapter 10. The one thing The one thing thou
lackest. That's what, in Matthew 7, when
they stood at the judgment, said, Lord, we preached and prophesied
and cast out devils. The one thing thou lackest. The one thing. Simon Magus was
baptized. Peter said to him, your heart's
not right with God, you're in the gall of bitterness. It could
be summed up in one statement, that one thing thou lackest.
All right, Luke 10, verse 42. Do you have it there? Let's go
back to verse 38. It came to pass as they went
that he entered into a certain village and a certain woman named
Martha received him unto her house. She had a sister called
Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But
Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him and said,
Dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her therefore that she help me." And Jesus answered and said
unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things. But one thing is needful. One thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good
part, which shall not be taken away from her." That one thing
that's needful is faith in Christ and fellowship with Christ. And
that's what brought Mary to his feet. Martha, Martha, you're
cumbered about and careful and troubled about many things. But
if you could ever realize that only one thing is really needful,
absolutely necessary, I need, what do I need? What do you need?
What do I really need? I need four things. I need his
righteousness to cover me in the presence of a pure and holy
God. I need that. Secondly, I need
his blood to cleanse me. I need that. My sins are so many
and so great and so dreadful and so filthy. I need, that's
what I need. I need thirdly, his word to comfort
me and give me confidence and assurance. I need his word to
give me hope. In thy word, David said, I hope.
And fourthly, I need his grace to carry me all the way to glory. And Bob, that's all I need. I
know we pray for good health. I'd like to have it, but I don't
need it. I know we pray for long life. I'd like to have it, but
I don't need it. I know we pray for God to do
this and that and the other, and it'd be fun, it'd be great,
it'd be blessed, but I don't need it. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
and here Martha was there, she felt like that they ought to
have some supper, and she's fixing it. And it's nice to have, but
they didn't need it. Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Almighty.
And Martha was cumbered and careful and troubled about many things,
and we are. We're careful and troubled, and
we don't want to throw caution to the wind and be indifferent
and careless about everything, and somebody's got to work, somebody's
got to supply the needs, somebody's got to pay the bills, somebody's
got to do these things. But one thing is needful, that's
what I'm saying. One thing is needful. One thing,
and that is faith in and fellowship with the Master. Now that I've
got to have, and if everything else is taken away, if everything
else is taken away, Lord, do not take that which I need, Christ. I must have it. What the old
song used to say, give me Christ or I die. Let's look at another
one, John chapter 9. John chapter 9, David said one
thing. Have I desired of the Lord, and
that's what I'm going to seek after. One thing. One thing. His fellowship. One thing is
lacking, our Lord said to the rich young man. Go sell what
you have, take up your cross, and follow me. His fellowship. One thing is needful, he said
to Martha, who was troubled and careful about many things. One
thing is needful. His fellowship. Mary was sitting
at his feet. That's what's needed for it. All right, here's a man who says,
one thing I know, one thing I know, oh my, to be able to say this. Here was a man, I'd have to read
the whole chapter to bring you up to date on him, but this fellow
looks back at chapter 9, verse 1, Jesus passed by and he saw
a man which was blind from birth, buried. Here was a man who had
never seen the light of day. Here was a man who lived in total
darkness from the time he was an infant. He was blind from
birth. And our Lord Jesus Christ gave him sight, healed him, sent
him to the pool of Siloam to wash. And the old Pharisees found
him, and they said to him in verse 24, they said, again they
called the man that was blind, and they said unto him, give
God the praise, give God the praise, we know that this Jesus
is a sinner. And he answered and said, now
watch it, whether he be a sinner or no, I don't know. But one
thing I know. One thing I know. What's the
one thing you know, fella? I know I was blind. And now I
see. One thing I know. This statement
I turn into a question. Do you know that one thing that
this man knew? Do you know? Just about everything
you believe hinges upon this statement right here. Just about
everything you understand about yourself and God, redemption,
eternal life, salvation, Jesus Christ, His person and work,
His office work, depends on your understanding of this thing right
here. One thing I know, one thing I know, here's a wealth of knowledge,
one thing I know, I was blind. I was blind. Not partially blind,
not weak-eyed, I was blind. I was dead in trespasses and
sin, he raised me. I was without hope, and he lifted
me. I was without strength, and he saved me. I was hopelessly
lost. I was blind, I was deaf, I was
in darkness, and by his grace, he made me whole. I know that.
That man looked at these Pharisees, and he said, I'm not a theologian,
and I can't argue with you fellas. And I don't know much about the
man that did it, but one thing I know! I was blind, Jack. I was blind. And he gave me sight. I do know
that. I do know that. I don't know
a whole lot about your theology. I don't know much about all your
different recipes and plans. decisions and all these things.
I just know I was dead and He raised me. I was in total, complete,
absolute blindness and darkness and it's by His grace I see. He made me whole. He made me
whole. I was blind. I didn't cooperate
with Him. He didn't find a little bit of
light within me to bring to the surface. I was blind, He said. Blind man, do you understand
what I'm saying? I was blind. Now I see. Now I see. Can you say that? Not a whole
lot of folks can say that. They, you know, God came along
and offered them salvation and they took him up on it. Or they
heard a good preacher and he convinced them they ought to
join the church. Or when they were a little boy, they was always
in Sunday school and always tried to do right and never did do
nobody any wrong and they just joined up, you know. But this
man said, I was blind. One thing I know, I was blind. And being blind, brother, means
dead eyes, no sight. I had an aunt that was born blind. And there wasn't any kind of
operations or anything else that could restore her sight. She
was born blind. Her sockets and eyes and retina
and cornea and everything else was dead. And that's what this
man said, I was blind, and he made me see. Boy, I tell you,
that's the one thing. I see, I see. What do you see? I see God's greatness. I never
saw that before. I see God's sovereignty. I never
saw that before. I see Christ's sufficiency. I never saw that before. I see
the wisdom of the cross. I never saw that before. I see
how God can be just and justifier. I never saw that before. I see
the grace of God in Christ. I see the promises and prophecies
fulfilled in the Redeemer. I never saw that before. I was
blind. Now I see. Now I see. And I don't plan to ever be blind
again, Johnny. I'm not going to take my eyes
by his grace off him who gave me sight. I was blind. What other scripture? Philippians
3. Philippians 3, verse 13. Paul said, Brethren, will you
keep in mind the one thing? David said one thing. that I
desired of the Lord, and that's what I'm going to seek after,
one thing. And our Lord said to that young
man, son, one thing you lack, that one thing, that one thing,
and that's enough to damn you. That's enough to make you miss
God's mercy and miss God's blessing because that one thing is Christ.
And Martha, while you're so busy, remember sister, one thing. It's
needful. I know a lot of things are enjoyable,
but one thing's needful. And this old boy with the blind
eye said, I know one thing, one thing, that's all I know, that's
all I claim to know. But that's a wealth of wisdom.
If you ever find that out, brother, you've got a hold of the gospel
if you ever find out you're lost, because Christ's going to save
everybody's lost. Everybody's lost. He said he came to seek
and save the lost. That's what he said, Jack. You
say, everybody's lost. No, they're not. You ask them. Why, the hardest thing in the
world to find is a lost man. I rarely ever run into a lost
man. Most everybody's, well, you know,
they're not lost. There might be a few failties
or infirmities, but Paul said in Philippians 3, 13, Brethren,
count not myself to have apprehended But this, here we are again,
one thing I do. One thing. I haven't arrived,
he says. Back in verse 12, he says, I'm
not perfect. But this one thing I do. Just one thing. Isn't it something
how these mighty men, like if you were to pick a man in the
Old Testament, Bob, you'd almost pick David, wouldn't you? If
you were to pick a man in the New Testament, you'd just about
pick Paul. And here they are talking about
one thing, one thing, men that have so many responsibilities
and so many interests and so many fields of service, which
they never neglected. No sir, David was a man, he met
with his senate, or whatever they called it then, he met with
his captains and army, he took care of his family, he did all
these, but one thing have I desired. The Apostle Paul had the care
of the churches, the writing of 14 books in the New Testament,
the ordainment of deacons, the teachings of Timothy and Taddas
and other young ministers. But one thing, this one thing
I do, this one thing, forgetting those things which are behind.
What's he talking about, forgetting God's mercies in past days? No.
Forgetting his sins, forgetting my sins for which he forgave
me? I don't think so. But you know a fella that's running
a race, and Paul used this often, Ronnie, a man running a race,
and as he's running, it's 880 meters, and you watch him run,
and they've got their mind on one thing, that's finish line.
They're concentrating on one thing, the finish line. They're
forgetting the things which are behind, the ones he's passed,
the distance he's run, the different mileposts he's
passed, the time that he's made up, forgetting those things which
are behind, forgetting the victories I've won, forgetting the things
I've done, forgetting the distance I've covered, I press, listen to him, and reaching
forth unto that which is before me, I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I'm not
there yet. I'm not there yet. I cannot sit
down here and just enjoy the distance I've already run. This
is the thing that bothers me a great deal about so many people. Well, I've made my decision,
I've memorized a few passages of Scripture, been to Sunday
school a time or two, and I'll turn it over to the young folks
now. Forgetting those things which are behind, this one thing
I do, I press forward for the prize of the high calling of
Christ my Lord. Today's grace is not sufficient
for tomorrow. They gathered the manor every
day. We pray, Lord, give us this day our daily bread. There's
no discharge in this war. The battle is not over until
we've laid down the weapons and picked up the crown. It's not
over. There's a witness to be born.
There's a message to be preached. There's so much more to learn.
It's just like that Charlie was talking about a while ago. I've
never seen that affection. It's been there a long time,
but I had to read what I read today to find that out, and they
taught me something, my affection. You take one day, somebody said
to me, the Bible doesn't say, and we're not looking for things
to be picky, picky, but if I had to learn something, if it doesn't
profit you, you've gone at it wrong. If you learn, read something
just to argue, to be a smart aleck, you're in trouble. But
I read one time over there in Galatians, it said the fruit
of the Spirit. I've been talking about the fruits
of the Spirit. It's the fruit of the Spirit.
And what that's teaching is this. It's not just to say a fella
doesn't know his Bible because he says fruits. You may not know
yours because you say fruit. Unless you have demonstrated
and manifested the fruit. That's the key. It's not just
learning there are fruits, or fruit. It's manifesting the fruit. Brother, it's not the grace of
God Only it's the grace of God operative in my life. Grace out
here doesn't do me any good. It's grace in here, Jack. That's
what's important, grace in here. Well, I preached pretty good
while ago. I felt I wasn't going to say much. Sometimes I do that,
you know. I talk more than I'm supposed
to, maybe. Let's sing a song. I'll tell
you what I want to do. I want to give anyone the opportunity
to leave that would like to leave, I want to talk to our folks a
little bit about some things. If you want to leave, you're
welcome to. This is not a private matter. This is anybody who attends
the church here regularly, and you'll be interested in what
I'm going to say in a few moments. So let's sing just a couple of
verses of the song, and if anyone wants to leave, you're welcome
to do so. I'm going to keep you about another
20 or 30 minutes. If you have something you want
to do, you may go. What number? 318. 318. You want to stand a couple of verses? I need thee every hour, most
gracious Lord. No kinder voice like thine can
peace afford. I need thee, oh I need thee,
every hour I need thee.