I want you now to open your Bibles
again to the book of 1 Peter, the passage Brother Wilson read,
1 Peter 2. Verse 2 through 4 will serve
as our text, 1 Peter 2, verse 2, as newborn babes desire the
sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. If so be, you have tasted that
the Lord is gracious. To whom coming? To whom coming? That's my topic. To whom coming? Three blessed words. And in these three words there
is a person mentioned. To whom coming. My friends, it's
not coming to a ceremony. It's not coming to an ordinance,
however beautiful the ordinance, however important. Baptism, the
Lord's table. It's not coming to church. It's
not coming to the altar. It's not coming to the preacher.
It's not coming to the moral law. It's not even coming to
a system of doctrine. However orthodox and fundamental,
we believe in the book, the blood, the blessed hope. We believe
in the verbal inspiration of the scripture. We believe in
the virgin birth. We believe in a bodily resurrection.
We believe in a bodily return of Christ. We believe in the
reign of Christ. You can believe all that and
perish. This coming is not coming to a doctrine. It's coming to
a person. to whom coming, it's coming to
Christ himself. The woman with the issue of blood
expressed it this way, if I can only touch him, if I can only
get in touch with him, if I can only touch even his clothes,
I shall be made whole. You can touch his disciples and
receive no good. You can even touch his word You
can touch the tablets of stone, you can touch the ordinances
in the cup, but my friend, you must touch him. To whom coming? You see that? It's a blessed,
precious person to whom we come. Salvation is not in a law, it's
not in a doctrine, it's not in a ceremony, it's not in an ordinance,
it's not even in a book, it's in a person. Christ is salvation. This is the record, God has given
us eternal life, this life is in his Son, that's where it is.
Christ is the water, Christ is the bread, Christ is the door,
Christ is the way, Christ is the truth, Christ is the life.
To whom coming? And then notice this, it's a
coming to Christ, not in the flesh. Not through any motions,
natural motions of the body. It's not a physical coming at
all. I'm getting worried about our generation. I'm getting worried
about all this hour-walking, and handshaking, and decisionism. I'm getting worried about all
these bodily movements. This thing of coming to Christ.
To whom? You know what that means? It's coming to a person. But
this coming to him is not the motions of the natural body at
all. It's not coming to a person who
represents him. It's coming to him. But Christ
is not here. Christ is in glory. Christ is
at the right hand of God. There's a sense in which he's
here, in which he's everyplace. But our Lord sits at the right
hand of the Heavenly Father. He reigns in heaven. We preach
his word, his people assemble, we sing about him, but coming
to him is not coming down here. Coming to him is not coming to
me. Coming to him is not coming to a board across the front of
the church and shedding tears and weeping and crying and making
promises. Coming to Christ is what? In
a word, it's trusting Christ. It's laying hold upon Christ
spiritually. It's believing Christ. It's receiving
Christ. Coming to Christ is not a natural
motion of the body at all. It's not a physical move at all.
The preacher says, if you want to be saved, come to the front.
Don't you dare come to the front wanting to be saved. If you want
to be saved, my friend, come to Christ. If you want to be
saved, come to the altar and pray through. Don't you dare!
I don't object to you going to an altar, and I don't object
to you praying, but not for salvation. Every Christian ought to have
a mourner's bench. You know where it is? It's right
here in his heart. That's where he mourns. He mourns a pirate.
He mourns privately. He mourns before God. He mourns
in secret, not to be seen of men. He weeps in private. But
don't you come to a beach, or to a person, or to a church,
or to a fount, or to a baptismal pool seeking salvation. It's
not there. It's in Christ. To whom coming? Coming to Christ in a word is
trusting Him, laying hold upon Him by faith, believing Him,
receiving Him, resting upon Him, committing myself to Him, to
Christ. Don't do business with a soul
winner, do business with him who saves souls. Don't even do business with his
preacher, however sincere. Do business with him who sent
that preacher to tell you that message. To whom coming, coming,
trusting, believing, resting, receiving, will come to Christ,
though my sins, like half a mountain, I know his courts, I'll enter
in whatever may oppose. In coming to Christ, you come
to God. You come to God. And then notice
this. I wouldn't be offensive, don't
want to be. But to whom coming, coming. There simply is this, this coming
to Christ is in the present tense. It does not say, to whom having
come. Be careful. We Baptists are plagued
with this. I know I'm saved. I came to Christ
20 years ago. Fish don't swim in the same water
today they swam in yesterday. Man doesn't breathe the same
air today he breathed yesterday. It's fresh air, new air. To whom? Coming. To whom? Coming. Always coming! Always trusting! It doesn't say to whom having
come. It doesn't say to him to whom
we shall come. It says to whom coming, coming,
coming, coming. Trusting, always trusting. Relying,
always relying. Looking, always looking. Never
looking away. Always looking to him. Never
trusting anyone but him. Never trusting anything but him. Alpha and Omega. First and last,
beginning and end, author and finisher, to whom coming? I come
to Christ today, I'll come again tomorrow. If I don't come tomorrow,
I never came today. That's so. That's what it says
right there, to whom coming. As a newborn baby, you desire
that milk of the word that you may grow, that is, if you've
tasted that the Lord is gracious. If you've tasted, you will desire.
If you've tasted, you will grow. If you've tasted, you will come.
To whom coming? To whom coming? Him. Not physically,
spiritually, always coming. Let's divide this into three
parts. First of all, in the beginning of salvation, in the beginning
of salvation, in the beginning of the work, I came to Christ.
Day by day, this is the believer's daily life, he's coming to Christ.
One of these days, I shall literally come to Christ. Now, first of
all, in the beginning, I came to Christ. I came to Christ because
I was told to come to Christ. Who told you to come to Christ?
Well, first of all, the Father told me. He said, this is my
beloved son. You hear him. You hear him. Moses can't save you. Moses can't
save you. This is my son, listen to him.
This is my son in whom I am well pleased, listen to it. The Father
told me to come to Christ. Secondly, the Old Testament prophets
told me to come to Christ. In Acts 10.43 it says, To him
give all the prophets witness, to him, to him give all the prophets
witness that through his name Whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. Every one of those prophets told
me to come to Christ. Turn to Luke 24. This is a scripture
that ought to be marked, heavily marked, frequently read in your
Bible. Luke 24, verse 44. All the scripture has one message,
Christ. From Genesis to Revelation there
is one message, 66 books with one message, Christ. That's right,
Christ Jesus. In Luke 24, verse 44, and he
said to them, this is our Lord speaking, these are the words
which I have spoken to you while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses,
in the prophets, in the Psalms concerning me. Then he opened,
then opened he their understanding that they might understand the
scriptures. What's the key to the scriptures? How can a man
understand the scriptures? By knowing Christ. Christ is
the fulfillment. Christ in the Old Testament is
there in promise, prophecy and picture. Christ in the New Testament
in person. But it's all Christ. And the
prophets tell me to come to Christ. Who else tells me to come to
Christ? Christ himself says, come unto me. Weary and heavy
laden, come to me. Thirsty, come to me. Though your
sins be as scarlet, I'll make them as white as snow. Though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as snow. You
come to me just as you are. You come to me without one plea,
but that my blood was shed for thee." The Holy Spirit tells
me to come to Christ. The Spirit and the Bride say,
Come. Let him that heareth say, Come. Let him that is athirst
come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Our Lord said the Holy Spirit
is coming. I'm going to send you another Comforter. He said
to his disciples, I'm going away. It's necessary, it's expedient
for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come. But when he's come, the Spirit
of truth, he'll guide you into all truth. And he shall take
the things of mine and show them to you. That's the Holy Spirit's
work. The Holy Spirit's work is not to praise himself, exalt
himself, reveal himself. It's to praise and exalt and
reveal and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. You find a preacher that's
always talking about the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy
Ghost, he doesn't even know the Holy Ghost. He's never even been
introduced to the Holy Ghost. You find a man that's always
talking about Christ the Lord, Christ the Redeemer, Christ the
Substitute, Christ the Sanctifier, Christ the Lord, that man knows
the Holy Ghost. Because the Holy Spirit, Christ
said, will not speak of himself. He shall take the things of mine
and reveal them to you. He shall glorify me. Who tells
me to come to Christ? The Holy Spirit tells me to come
to Christ. Don't come to the Holy Spirit,
come to Christ. And then the apostles tell me
to come to Christ. Turn to Romans 10. The apostles
tell me that other foundations can no man lay than that which
is laid. The Apostles tell me that there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, and
the Apostle in Romans 10 says, If thou, if you, sinner though
you are, son of Adam, fallen son of Adam, child of wrath,
stranger, alien, foreigner, if you shall confess with your mouth
Jesus to be Lord, and believe in your heart God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. For with a heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with a mouth confession is made unto
salvation. Then verse 13, For whosoever,
Jew or Gentile, black or white, old or young, rich or poor, whosoever,
shall call out of a need, out of a broken heart, out of his
inability, out of his fallen state, out of the miry clay,
out of his weariness and burdensome, way of life, who shall call upon
the name, not another Jesus, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that name which is above every name, the exalted name, the preeminent
name, shall be saved. I've been told to come to Christ.
I've been commanded to come to Christ. I've been commanded I'll tell
you another reason why I come. Why did I come to Christ? Because
I was told to come. I was told by him who has all
authority in heaven and earth to come, to come to Christ. I have a right to come. I've
been invited. I have a right to come. I've been commanded.
Everybody has a right to do what God commands him to do. That's
right. And then I come to Christ because
he's the only Savior. That woman with the issue of
blood, she tried many physicians. And I'll tell you, some of us
tried many ways of salvation, didn't we? We tried human works,
we tried our own righteousness, we tried ritualism and legalism
and Phariseeism and ceremonialism and ritualism and all the other
isms. And like the disciples, we've
come to this place, To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of
eternal life. There is no hope in myself. You
have to get a little age and experience and have to walk down
the path of life, sometimes a long way before you realize just how
sinful and how unrighteous and how unholy and how unable you
really are. Old Job finally said, if I justify
myself, my own mouth will damn me. Finally Job said, Lord, I've
heard of you, now mine eyes see of thee, therefore I hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.
I've been popping off, he said, I'll put my head on my mouth,
I'll never speak again. Isaiah in his youth, read chapter
5 of Isaiah sometime. In his youth he was always leveling
the finger of accusation under the nose of everybody who had
listened to him, saying, Woe is you, woe is them, woe are
they! I think in Isaiah 5 he said it
about six times. But he saw the Lord in chapter
6. And you talk about a fellow getting the starch taken out
of him. You talk about a fellow having the pride knocked out
of him. You talk about a fellow having his foundation swept out
from under him when he saw the Lord! What was his cry? War is
me! I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people. There's no hope in ourselves,
there's no hope in the law. I get tired of people holding
the law over my head. There's no hope for me in the
law, because I know what it says. I know what it says. I know it
says a whole lot more than, Thou shalt not kill, a whole lot more. It says, Thou shalt not even
have a thought of anger. That's what it says, child. It
says a whole lot more than, Thou shalt not kill. It says a whole
lot more than, Thou shalt not commit adultery. It says a whole
lot more than, Thou shalt not bear false witness. It speaks
to the attitude, it speaks to the motive, it speaks to the
imagination, it speaks to the man in his dreams, it speaks
to the man in his thoughts. And you know what it says? You're
guilty. You're guilty. The law never
says you're saved, it can't. The law never says you're forgiven,
it can't. The law never says you're alright,
it can't. What the law saith, it saith
to them that under the law that every mouth may be stopped, then
all the world become guilty! That's all it can do. Don't hang
it over my head for justification nor sanctification, because I
know what it says. I know what it says. And I back
off from that mountain like Israel of old, and I say, Lord, don't
you deal with me on the basis of my work! Let me have a mediator. Give me a Moses. put somebody
between me and thee. Somebody. And he did. That's
somebody's Christ. There's no hope in me, and it's
not by the will of the flesh, not by the will of man, not of
him that will it, nor of him that run it. Christ is the only
Savior. That's why I've come to him.
I've come to him because I was told to, on good authority. I've come to him because he's
the only Savior. Now listen to me. I come to him because he is not
only the only Savior, but he is a sufficient Savior. I'm going
to hit it to the very vitals of salvation right here. And
this is where the men and the boys part company. This is where
the professors and the possessors part company. This is where those
who believe and those who are Christians part company. Christ is a sufficient Savior.
It's not Christ plus my faith, not Christ plus my works, not
Christ plus my perseverance. It's not Christ plus anything,
it's Christ alone. Christ alone. Turn to Colossians
2, verse 9. Colossians 2, verse 9. Colossians
2, verse 9. It says here, Colossians 2, 9,
in him, in him. dwelleth all, all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, all in him. Hold it right there now.
All of God, all of grace, all of mercy, all of ransom, all
of remission, all of justification, all of sanctification, all of
acceptance. All is in him, all the fulness
of God is in the human body, in Christ's body. Now, what's
the next verse? And you are complete, complete. When something is complete,
it's finished, isn't it? When something is complete, you
don't add anything to it. When something is complete, the
work is done. When something is complete, you
don't put one thing with it. It's complete. In him dwelleth
all, AOL, all! is in Christ. And you in Christ
are complete! Don't let anybody say to you,
You'll be saved by believing on Jesus if you do so-and-so. I beg your pardon. He that believeth
on the Son of God hath life. It's not he that believeth and
worketh, he that believeth and studieth, he that believeth and
giveth, he that believeth and prayeth, he that believeth and
persevereth, he that believeth in anything. He that believeth
on Christ is not condemned. Justification is by pure faith
alone. Not by a faith that is alone,
not by a faith that does not produce works, but it's by faith
alone. What I'm saying is that Christ
in his person, Christ in his obedience, Christ in his death,
Christ in his intercession, is effectual and sufficient for
the total, full, complete redemption of all who can lay hold on him
by saving faith. The thief on the cross never
walked the streets for Jesus. He never worked in the kingdom
of God. He never washed in anybody's
river. But he looked to Christ, and he's as saved as you'll ever
be. He's as complete as any man will
ever be. The first shall be last and the
last shall be first. Why? Because Christ is first
of all. That's so. There's no way that
any man makes any contribution whatsoever to the redemption
of his soul. It's all in Christ. He said it's
finished. Christ Jesus was my surety, Christ
Jesus in the flesh is my representative and federal head, Christ Jesus
in his obedience is my righteousness, Christ Jesus on the cross is
my Redeemer, Christ Jesus on the throne is my intercessor,
and Christ Jesus is my Lord and King. I am accepted in the Beloved. I believe that the work Christ
did It was an effectual work, a sufficient work, and a particular
work. Like the high priest of old,
who had the names of the twelve tribes written on him, and stood
before the mercy seat of old and placed the blood of Thoma
on that mercy seat. He didn't stand there for the
Amalekites or the Amorites or the Hittites or the Philistines
or anybody else. He stood there for Israel. The
atonement was for Israel. The sacrifice was for Israel. The blood was on the mercy seat
for Israel. The prayers that ascended to
the throne of God were prayed for Israel! All that claim to
be of Israel are not Israel. I know there are Jews and Gentiles
in spiritual Israel. But our Lord Jesus Christ, when
he stood back in eternity past, When he stood for his people,
he stood as surety for those whom the Father gave him. And
when he came to this earth, he came as the representative of
those for whom he prayed. I pray not for the world, I pray
for them which thou gavest me. When he obeyed the law, he imputed
to all who believe a perfect righteousness. He never imputed
to any unbeliever a righteousness. The unbeliever stands in his
own filthy rags of self-righteousness. The believer stands in a righteousness
worked out through perfect obedience. And when Christ went to the cross
of Calvary, his blood was not shed for those already in hell
or those on their road to hell. His blood was shed for those
whom God gave him and those who will believe. Let me tell you
this. That's our security. And that's
our confidence and that's our assurance. Will you listen a
minute? You say, well, Preacher, I'm
saved and I believe Christ died equally for Judas as he did for
Peter. I believe he died equally for
those in heaven as those in hell. I believe he died equally for
believers and unbelievers. I believe he died for the sins
of the whole human race. Then I say this to you. You can
have no assurance of your salvation. I beg your pardon. What is your
assurance? How do you know you are saved?
Well, Christ died for me. That won't do. That won't do. See, there are some folks in
hell, Joe, who died for it, too, so that won't do it. You can't
have it. You can't base your salvation
on what Christ did. You can't do it. Turn to Romans
8. In Romans 8, turn over there a minute. I say this, and I say
it confidently and I say it boldly, and I claim it for the whole
world to hear it. who believes that Jesus Christ made an atonement
and shed his blood and died for every son of Adam, even those
who are in hell and going to hell, can have no assurance of
salvation. You can lay no claim to any security
at all. You have no security. You have
no assurance. Because you can't say what Paul
said. Listen, Romans 8.34. Paul said, Who can condemn me? Christ died. You can't say that. You can't say that, because that
fellow in hell said, Hold on there, Joe, he died for me, too.
So it didn't do much good for him to die. Somebody from the
regions of the dam says, Hold on, he died for me, too. So it
didn't do any good. My assurance is the fact that
Christ died for me, Brother Terry, that's my assurance. He died
for me, while I was risen again, who is risen, who is seated,
who makes intercession, that's my confidence, that's my assurance. That's how I can face the Lord
and say, you can lay no charge to me. That's how I can face
Satan and say, you have no part with me. That's how I can say
to the world, you cannot condemn me. Christ died, my debts paid,
my sins are counseled, my filth and guilt is washed away in the
blood. You can't say that, because you see, he died in the same
way for everybody, so you don't have any confidence at all in
his blood. So you'll have to come at another
avenue. I say, what is your confidence? How do you know you're saved?
Well, Christ died for me. I'm sorry, that won't help. You
see, everybody in hell, he died for them, and everybody out yonder
rebelling and traitors to the gospel, and traitors, he died
for them too, it didn't help them any. Well, you say, I'm
saved because I believe. Will you keep on believing? How
long are you going to believe? There are some more folks over
here that believe that it didn't last long. John said, as a bunch
of folks went out from us, maybe you'll be one of those, so you
can't trust your faith. Do you always believe? Is there
any moment during the day when you don't believe? If there is,
you're lost! That's how the Pentecostals and
the Nazarenes are consistent in believing that a man can be
saved today and lost tomorrow. Their doctrine, the foundation
of their doctrine is this, Christ died equally for all men in hell
and heaven and everywhere else. So there's no confidence in the
death of Christ. Their confidence is in their faith. So the moment
they believe, they're saved. When they quit believing, they're
lost. As long as they believe, they're all right. When they
stop believing, they're lost. You've got to get saved over
with. That's the reason the family, now wait a minute. I challenge
you, you can have no confidence, you can have no assurance, you
can have no security believing what you believe. You say, Well,
I'm walking in holiness. Well, you're always walking in
holiness. What about tomorrow when the boss comes around and
tells you to do something, and you flare up and lose your temper?
Come on now, what are you going to do? You're going to be lost.
That's right, you're going to be lost right then, because you've
got no substitute. You say, Well, Christ pleads
for me. Hold on now, he pleads for everybody, you say. Well,
his blood cleanses me. It cleanses everybody, you say.
And they're not saying, You're in a mess, aren't you? Well,
why don't you come to the truth and trust Christ? Why don't you
let God say what he says, that I lay down my life for my sheep?
Why don't you let him say that? That's what he said. That's what
he said. I'm the good shipper! I lay down
my life for my sheep! And brother, let me tell you
something, whether I'm on the mountain or in the valley, his blood maketh
atonement for my soul. Whether my faith is strong or
weak, Christ died for my sins! I don't want to lose my temper
and do things I shouldn't do, but when I do, I've still got
a Redeemer who died for my sins. His blood cleanseth, his blood
atoneth, his blood forgiveth, his blood makes remission, his
blood is sufficient! And that's the reason I came
to him, because he's the only Savior. And bless your heart,
he's a sufficient Savior. He's sufficient. He's all I need. Jesus Christ is made to me all
I need. He's not all you need, that's
all right, but he's all I need. And if I have Christ, I have
everything. If he died for my sins, I don't
have any sins. If he paid my debt, it's paid!
What kind of God do you have? Here's a man down here who owes
a $200 fine and he can't pay it, and a friend comes and pays
it and says, Here, judge, I'm going to pay his fine. He's committed
a crime. Here's his fine. I'm going to
pay it. Mark it paid in full. Next day they pick up your friend
and take him to jail. You go down and say, What kind
of judge are you? Boy, you're an unrighteous judge. You're
an unjust judge. I paid that fine. I paid that
fine! Pay me! And that's what my Lord
says to the justice of God on behalf of everyone for whom he
suffered. He says, Let him go! I paid his
fine. I paid it. Jesus paid it all.
I wish we'd quit singing those songs because we don't mean it.
This generation ought to tear up their songbooks and invent
them some new ones. Jesus paid it all! All the debt I owe. Is that what you sing? Do you
believe it? I do. When I sing that, I mean
it. He paid it all. All that did,
I owed sin, leprosy, crimson stain. He washed it white as
snow. Jesus did a part in our part,
you know, sin, leprosy, crimson stain, but me and the Lord washed
it white as snow. That's what you ought to be singing.
There's a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
and sinners purned beneath that blood lose all, not part, all,
not a part, all their guilty stains. You believe that? If
you don't, quit singing it. You're lying to yourself, your
neighbor, and God. All their guilty stains. Dear
dying Lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose its power till
all the ransomed churches of God be saved to sin no more. How do you come to Christ? Just
like you are. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requires is
to feel your need of him, just like you are. Here is the second
thing. Briefly, throughout our lives
we are coming to Christ. Now, listen to me. This may be
a shade offensive also, but there is a fence in the cross. Our
Lord said, Woe unto you when all men speak well of you. The
Apostle Paul said, if I preach circumcision, the offense of
the cross is ceased. The cross is offensive, but throughout
our lives, every believer is continually coming to Christ,
always coming to Christ. To the believer, faith is not
a matter of 20 years ago and done with. To the believer, faith
is not a matter of an isolated act 20 years ago. He comes to
Christ today, he will come to Christ tomorrow. He'll come to
Christ like the man goes to the well every day for a refreshing
drink. He'll come to Christ like a hungry
man comes to the table every day, every day. The just shall
live, shall live, shall live, shall live by faith if any man
turn back. My soul has no pleasure in him,
God said. Israel turned back. Israel left
Egypt, Israel walked the wilderness, Israel came to Kadesh Barnea,
and Israel turned and went back. Nothing in my hands I bring,
except that at his cross I cling, naked come to him for dress,
helpless look to him for grace, bow I to the fountain fly, wash
me, Savior, or I die. Wash me daily." Our Lord Jesus
Christ gathered his disciples around him. before the last Passover. And
he took his robe off and put a big towel around himself and
took the place of the servant. And he began to go around and
wash their feet, wash their feet. And he came to Peter, and Peter
said, You'll never wash my feet. Now, Peter had one understanding. He saw his master down there
on the floor. taking the place of a menial
servant, performing a menial, vulgar task of washing dirty,
stained, sore feet. And it offended him. Lord, you're
not ever going to wash my feet. And the Master said, Peter, if
I don't wash you, you don't have any part with me. No part in
the kingdom, no part in my blessings and benefits, no part in my salvation. no part in redemption, if I don't
wash you. You see, in your condition you
can't enter the kingdom of God, in your condition you can't walk
with God, in your condition tries you no moral, full of integrity,
or whatever you claim. But if I don't wash you, you
don't have any part. If I don't wash you. You can
prance down an aisle and shake a hundred hands, but if I don't
wash You can swear you're going to quit this, that, and the other
and turn over a new leaf, but if I don't wash you. You can
be born in a religious home, your mama and daddy go to church
all their lives and take you from your youth up, but if I
don't wash you, if I don't wash you." He said, "'Oh, Lord, wash
my head and my hands and my body and all of me!' he said, Peter."
He was washed. Are you with me? He was washed. needeth only to wash his feet. You're clean. I've already washed
you, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. In the
purpose and plan of God Almighty Christ is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. Abraham was saved by the blood
to come. You and I are saved by the blood
that was shed. But in the mind and heart and
purpose of God is the eternal present. There is no past, present
and future with God, it's all right now. And what God decreed
to happen in 2000, the year 2000, in the purpose of God's already
done. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand. Peter, you are washed! You are
clean! Does anybody in here know what
he said next? But not all of you. You know what he said? Read
your Bible. But not all of you. You're clean. James is clean. Matthew is clean. Judas is not clean. He knew who
was going to betray him. You're washed, Peter. He was
washed when he stood there mending his net, and our Lord called
him. He was washed When he said that to Christ, the Son of the
living God, he was washed when he stood in the garden and cut
that fellow's ear off. He was washed when he sat by
the fire and did not know him. He was washed when he stood on
Pentecost and preached the gospel. He was washed when he turned
from the Gentiles and ate with the Jews. But he was washed.
But he needed his feet washed. Day by day, as we walk through
this world, we need daily cleansing, we need daily mercies, we need
daily forgiving. And I say this, he that is not
daily washed has not been cleansed. Peter, if I don't wash you, you
don't have any part with me. And Joe is talking about his
feet, too. He wasn't just talking about that eternal act. He wasn't
just talking about the act of Calvary, he was talking about
daily commitment and daily communion and daily crucifixion. And I
warn you, I warn every man here who will listen to me, not many
people will, but old Peter stood on Pentecost and he said, You
men of Israel, hear these words! And I say unto you, listen to
me. If Barnabas used to say to you in nothing too big a hurry
to go to hell, would you listen? I warn every man who will listen
of a salvation that gives you a confidence without a daily
coming to Christ. I warn you, there ain't nothing
to it. I warn every man who claims to
have a salvation based upon an act that took place so many years
ago. If that so-called salvation of
yours does not bring you to a growth in grace and a commitment to
Christ and a daily coming to Christ and a fellowship and communion
with Christ, you've got the wrong Christ. Because where he does
not reign, he does not remain. That's so. The reason I preach like that,
and the reason I hold our mind and your feet to the fire on
that, is because that's the only true way of life, and there's
no use kidnapping ourselves by any other kind. That's all there
is to it. If you want a two-bit salvation
that won't take you to Catlisburg, you hold on to it. I want a salvation
that will take me to glory, and that's Christ. That's Christ
and Christ alone. At the end, and I close with
this, to whom coming? To whom coming? To whom coming? As unto a living stone. And you
are a living stone. That's what you read. We are
living stones. To whom coming? Continually. One of these days, I'm coming
to him. One of these days. We shall soon,
very soon, some of us lay aside this mortal frame, and where
are we going? Some folks said, I'm going to
a mansion. I'm going to a Redeemer, to a person. Paul the Apostle
said, I'm in a strait betwixt the two. I have a desire to depart
and be with Christ, to be with Christ! Which is far better. What's your conception of heaven?
Paul's conception of heaven was to be with Christ. I have a desire
to depart and be with Christ. He said to be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord. And I believe our Lord's
conception of heaven, concept of heaven, in John 17, verse
24, I believe his was the same as Paul. But he said in John
17, verse 24, in that great prayer, he said, Father, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me. where I am, we're
going to be with him, that they may behold my glory. Be with me and behold my glory.
That's what he said to the thief, Today thou shalt be with me. To be with him is to be like
him. When he shall appear, then shall
we see him, and we shall be like him. coming to Christ. That's what
it is, that's salvation. I don't want to go to hell. Well,
nobody else does. I don't know anybody who wants to go to hell.
But I believe Jesus died and was buried and rose again. Well,
you're in a big crowd. The devil believes that, too,
and trembles. About everybody else I know believes that. But
this thing of salvation is coming to Christ. Come unto me, I'll
give you rest. He that cometh to me, I'll in
no wise cast out. Come to me, come to me. To whom? Coming. And that's a
daily continual, and this is what it all leads to, is eventually
us coming to Christ, to be received by Christ. Come, my child, I've
prepared a place for you. come and be with me and behold
my glory. That's what it's all about. Our
Father, anoint the message with the power of thy Spirit. Our
words will be repulsive to men without the Spirit's understanding. Our words will be offensive. and he'll turn men away, because
the faith of people cannot stand in the wisdom of men, but in
thy power. And what we've tried to preach,
the good news of Christ, the glory of Christ, the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ, has got to be revealed by the Spirit
of the living God. So, Lord, leave us not to our
own understanding that we may become embedded in our lives
and refuge of life