Hebrews chapter 10 verse 9 says, Then said he, speaking of Christ, Lo, I come
to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. Now, without question, the first
and primary meaning of this text is quite clear. First came the sacrifices. First
came the ceremonial law. First came the washings and the
priesthood and the tabernacle and the burning of incense. and
the scapegoat and the tabernacle with its holy of holies and its
holy place and its candlestick and showbread with its mercy
seat and ark of the covenant. And these sacrifices and ceremonies
and these feast days and solemn assemblies were given to prepare
men for Christ, to prepare men for the gospel of Christ. And
then came Christ to fulfill all of these pictures and types and
shadows and sacrifices and ceremonies and to do what these sacrifices
could never do. If you look back at verse 4 of
Hebrews 10, you'll read this, it is not possible. that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. You see, verse
1 tells us the law, the ceremonial law, all of the sacrifices and
types and pictures, having a shadow of good things to come, of Christ,
of the Messiah, of the one who's to fulfill them all, and not
the image of the things can never, with those sacrifices that are
offered year by year continually, make those who bring them perfect.
If these sacrifices could put away sin, then they would have
ceased. They would cease to have been
offered. If one atonement could have been made by Aaron or the
sons of Levi that would effectually remove sin, then there wouldn't
be any use making any more. Because once purged, there remains
no more sacrifice for sin. So the first meaning of this
verse in Hebrews 10, 9. He said, Lo, I come to do thy
will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. He's saying that the first, ceremonies,
types, shadows, pictures, and then came Christ. Christ our
Lord to fulfill all of these types and all of these pictures
and all of these ceremonies and all of these sacrifices to do
what they could never do, to put away our sins and redeem
us to God. So all of these things now are
put away. They're fulfilled, they're finished.
And Christ reigns. Christ is our refuge and our
hope. Now, there's got to be a first before there can be a
second. God forbid that we should find fault with the first dispensation. God forbid that we should find
fault with these ceremonies and these sacrifices. These pictures
were great comfort to men like Moses and David and all of the
Israelites. These ceremonies were great comfort
to the people who lived under them. David said, I was glad. It wasn't a burden to him to
go to the house of the Lord. He said, I was glad when they
said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. Why, I'd rather
dwell, he said, in the house of the Lord as a doorkeeper than
to dwell in the tents of the wicked as a son. I was glad. David rejoiced to see the priest
slay the lamb because he knew in the slaying of that lamb there
was a picture of the lamb who would come. David rejoiced to
see the scapegoat. as the high priest would put
his hands on the head of that scapegoat and confess the sins
of Israel and all of the people with the priest and the king
and the prophets would stand and watch the man lead the goat
out into the wilderness and then later see the man come back without
the goat. The goat was left out yonder
to wander in the wilderness never to be seen again and that's a
picture of our sins being born out of our sight and even out
of God's sight by Christ our scapegoat. David rejoiced to
see all of that take place and he rejoiced to see the incense
in front of the veil kept burning 24 hours a day. That sweet smelling
incense as it moved upward toward heaven in front of the veil and
that's the prayers of Christ always. He ever lived it to make
intercession for us and they saw, they received some comfort
There is a way. There is a way of life. There
is a way of redemption. There is a way of forgiveness.
No, forgiveness is not in that incense, but in the one whose
prayers it represents. No, remission is not in the blood
of the lamb. No animal's blood can put away
a man's sin. But there's forgiveness in the
one who is to come. the one the Lamb represents,
Christ our Passover. And when David and the rest of
Israel would stand on that great day of atonement and watch the
priest go under the veil and then wait for him to come out
and know that God had accepted the atonement one more time,
one more year, one more atonement, and wait for the day when Christ
would come. So there has to be a first in
order for there to be a second. And we don't, God forbid, that
we should find fault with the first. It laid the foundation.
It was the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. It was the tutor
under which Israel lived to point to Christ. And it brought great
comfort to those who understood it. And those who saw Christ's
day and wrote of Him and rejoiced in Him. But no one, now listen
to me, no one who has seen Christ as the great high priest wants
to go back to Aaron. Why would anyone who has seen
Christ, the fulfillment of the priesthood, and these Old Testament
priests, they were many. Look down here at verse 11. And
every priest, you see verse 11? Every priest. There were many
of them. There were thousands of them. Why were there thousands
of them? They died. There were many of them. There
were many high priests and many secondary priests. Christ is
one. Christ is one. You see, their
priesthood began at a certain age and ended when they died.
Christ has an unchangeable, eternal priesthood. Without beginning
of days, without ending of days. He's a priest after the order
of Melchizedek. Having no beginning of days or
end of days, no mother or father, eternal. But there were many
of them, only one, our great high priest Christ. They had
a priesthood that was decided by the length of their lives. His is eternal. And they succeeded
one another, and no one preceded or succeeded him. He's the one
great high priest. And these Old Testament priests,
they stood daily. He sat down. Why did they stand? Because their work was never
finished. They always had another sacrifice to offer, and next
day another one, and then another one. Christ, by one sacrifice,
look at verse 14, by one offering He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. He sat down. They stand daily. He sat down. Having finished
His work, theirs was never finished. There wasn't a chair in that
tabernacle. There were seven pieces of furniture, but not
a chair, not a place to sit down. because their work was never
finished. They offered many sacrifices, and their sacrifices could never
put away sin. Their sacrifices were types and
pictures. He, by one offering, perfected
forever those that are sanctified. They many he won, they died,
he lives. They offered many sacrifices,
he won. Their sacrifices were never effectual. He has put away sin once and
for all. They never finished their work.
They stood daily. He having finished his work,
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. No one who's
ever seen Christ as the great high priest would ever want to
go back to heaven. And no one who knows the simplicity
of the gospel would ever want to go back to
the complicated ceremonies of the law. They were so complicated.
I tell you, I try to teach the tabernacle occasionally to the
young people or to other groups, and my brethren, if you just
knew how complicated are the services of that tabernacle.
There were hundreds of people who were dedicated just to the
building and the carrying around and the ceremonies and the services
of that tabernacle. Hundreds of men who spent all
of their time, all of the years of all their lives in that tabernacle,
Cecil. They stayed there all the time.
We talk about teaching the tabernacle, you couldn't teach it in ten
years. Why, every Every corner meant something. Every step meant
something. Every piece of cloth meant something. Every piece of furniture, every
light, every candle burning meant something. Every movement of
every priest meant something. Every sacrifice meant something.
It's the most complicated thing. They were men dedicated their
entire existence to the services of that tabernacle. You want
to go back to that? Why, there were special days
and special hours in those special days and God is so precise and
so exact. And our Lord Jesus Christ about
the summary of the gospel is belief. It's look. Look and live. It's not do, it's
look. And I wouldn't go back, I wouldn't
leave the simplicity of the gospel and go back to the ceremonies
of the law And no one who has ever heard Christ say, Thy sins
be forgiven thee. The blood of Jesus Christ God's
Son cleanseth us from all sin would want to go back to sacrifices
and ceremonies which could never put away sin. Why would you want
to? And men who enjoy the liberty
of His love, why do they want to go back to the bondage of
Sinai? Paul said in Galatians, You who
would live under the law, don't you hear God's love? Don't you
hear of the days of purification and the solemn days of dedication
and the days of consecration and the setting apart of precise
certain things? But Jesus Christ, God's Son,
God in human flesh, came down one man in one lifetime and by
one sacrifice fulfilled every jot and tittle of that love.
every jot and tittle. You think about it. Infinite
in his nature, infinite in his power, infinite in his holiness,
infinite in his particulars to every detail, in every jot and
tittle fulfill that law and Christ has brought us a liberty of love.
Don't try to bring me back under the bondage of Sinai. Oh, the
weight of that bondage. They couldn't bear it then. What
makes you think you can bear it now? They couldn't bear it
with the likes of Moses and Aaron and the sons of Levi and David
and Daniel. They couldn't bear it. What makes
you think we could bear it? They could not in the flesh please
God. Men who talked to God and walked
with God. What makes you think that we
could? And no one who's ever stood before the throne of grace in Christ would ever want to
wait outside and send somebody else in. No, sir. No, sir. I tell you, don't you
know here Here a fellow is standing outside that temple waiting on
one of those high priests to go in and offer a sacrifice for
him, an atonement for him, and here he stands outside biting
his fingernails wondering if the fellow is offering the right
atonement or the right sacrifice in the right spirit, on the right
day, at the right time, in the right motive. Ah, it's too nice to know that
Christ once for all has entered in, not to the holy place made
with hands, but into heaven itself, and by one sacrifice hath perfected
for every believer, and sat down. It's finished. The work is done. The great transaction's done.
I am my Lord's and He's mine. And God hath taken away the first. He's taken away all of it, every
bit of it, and established the second, who is Christ Jesus.
Now my friends, beware, turn to Galatians 2, and God gives
us examples of everything we need to study. In Galatians 2,
beware of setting up ordinances and ceremonies and requirements
of religion and to rebuild what God has fulfilled and God has
destroyed. Beware, Peter, even, nobody's
immune from this, even the Apostle Peter. Now I want you to listen
to this. In verse 11 of Galatians 2, Paul is writing and he says,
and he's talking to these Galatians about leaving the gospel. He
said, I'm surprised, I'm amazed, I'm astonished that you've departed
from him who called you into the gospel of Christ to another
gospel which is not another. He said, have you begun in the
Spirit and you're made perfect by the flesh. What these people
had done, they sought justification at Calvary and sanctification
at Sinai. And Paul, even Peter, he said
in verse 11, when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to
the face because he was to be blamed. You say, even the Apostle
Peter had these tendencies? You do too, and so do I. And
it's so dangerous. Christ is all. Christ is the
rock, he's the foundation, he's the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption, he's the great high priest, he's the atonement,
he's the altar, he's the tabernacle, he's the priest, he's the sacrifice,
he's the one to whom it's made, he's Alpha and Omega, the author
and finisher of our faith, he's all! But oh, there's such a tendency
to bring in something or someone, or some work or some deed. And
Peter here, before that certain came from James, James was a
pastor at Jerusalem. And that's where all these Jews
were. These fellas had been brought
from Judaism to salvation by Christ to Christianity. They'd
been brought from all these ceremonies. You see, the Jews were a special,
particular people. They were a circumcised people,
the Gentiles were not. They had the prophets, and the
law, and the scriptures, and the ceremonies, and the feast
days, and all these things. God had revealed himself to the
Jews, not to the Gentiles, and there's just something special
about them. And they had the truth. Nobody else did. And these
fellas, and he said before these fellas came down, these representatives
from Jerusalem, from James, Pastor James, Peter ate with the Gentiles. Peter sat with the Gentiles.
These fellows were uncircumcised. They had not followed the ceremony. They had not met all the patterns
and all of the requirements and all the ceremony, but they looked
to Christ. They believed on Christ. They received Christ. They were
resting in Christ. They were saved. Peter enjoyed
being with them and fellowshipping with them, but when these fellows
came down from Jerusalem, Peter Separate himself from these Gentiles.
He he got over there with the Jews He got over there with the
fellows that that were orthodox and had been circumcised and
and had all the credentials in the background who had Hebrew
mamas and daddies and and he kind of sided away. That's what
he said He did eat with it. But when they were come he withdrew
verse 12 and separated him Fearing these religious leaders fearing
that they'd say hey Peter. What are you doing? Eating with
those Gentiles. Well, what are you doing? having
fellowship with those fellows that are uncircumcised. They
don't have the right this or the right that or the right the
other, you know. And the other Jews dissemble with him. He split
that whole church in just a matter of a little while. And even Barnabas
was carried away with this dissimulation. But when I saw that they walk
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel. You think
if the Apostle Peter can get in trouble on this issue that
you and I can't get in trouble here? You think you're immune
from it? He said, I said unto Peter before
the whole church, Peter, if you being a Jew live after the manner
of the Gentiles and not of the Jews, in other words, you look
to Christ alone for salvation. You don't trust in ceremonies
and circumcision and feast days and the right background, the
right heritage and the right authority and all these things.
Why do you compel the Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews
by nature not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man
is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that
we may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works
of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified. If while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also have found sinners, is therefore
Christ the minister of sin, God forbid. If I build again the
things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I
through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live
with the faith of the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself
for me, and I don't confuse and frustrate the grace of God. If
righteousness come by the law, Jesus Christ died in vain." Boy,
that's powerful, isn't it? That straightened him out. God has taken away the first.
types and the ceremonies and the sacrifices and the washings
and the works and the laws and all these things that he might
establish the second Jesus Christ our Lord in whom we are complete. I lack nothing that the law can
add. I lack nothing that a ceremony
can add. I need nothing that a priest
can add. I need nothing that a church
can add. I have all things in Christ.
I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Do you believe this as a matter
of doctrine or is it an experience? Turn to Hebrews 10 and let's
look down here at verse 19. Do we know that our sins are
forgiven? Do we know that the cloud of
God's wrath has been removed? Do we know that the enmity has
been put away? Do we know that we're sons? Is
that a doctrine or an experience? Do we regard ourselves in Christ
as having a perfect righteousness, a perfect standing, and nothing
needs to be added by anything or anyone in any shape, form,
or fashion? I believe that. I believe, I
believe it in my heart. In verse 19, having therefore
brethren, verse 18 says where remission of sins, remission,
forgiveness, they're gone. There's no more offering, there's
no more sacrifice to be made. Therefore brethren, having boldness
to enter into the holiest, this is into the presence of God himself. How? By the blood of Christ.
By a new and living way which he had consecrated through that
veil, that is to say, his flesh, and we have a high priest. We have a high priest over the
house of God. Let us draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Though waves and storms go over
my head, though strength and health and friends be gone, though
joys be withered all and dead, though every comfort be withdrawn,
on this my soul relies. In Christ, God's mercy never
dies. And another verse of that hymn,
fixed on this hope will I remain, though my heart fail and my flesh
decay. Christ Jesus shall my soul sustain
when earth's foundations are swept away. Mercy's full power
I then shall prove, for in Jesus Christ I have an everlasting
love. Turn with me to Romans 9. Now,
I know how tempting it is to want to do something. To want
to do something. To want to help God. To want
to aid God. I know how difficult it is, how
tempting it is to want to assist God just a little bit in the
saving of our soul. But brethren, it's all in Christ. And this human means and human
efforts and human works and human righteousness, it all has to
go. God has taken it all away to establish Christ. Now listen
to Romans 9.30. What shall we say then? The Gentiles,
which followed not after righteousness, they had no written law, they
had no ceremonies, they had no sacrifices. They didn't even
follow after righteousness. Have attained to it. even the
righteousness which is of faith. That shocked those old Jews.
Here those Jews were, they were religious. They had their morning,
noon, and night sacrifices. They had their Passover. They
had in their homes their catechizing and the reading of scriptures
and the teaching of the children. They had their Sabbath days in
which they walked just so far and did certain things. They
wouldn't eat any kind of meat that was forbidden. They only
that kind that was taught in the scriptures. They had Moses,
they had Abraham, they had the king, David, they had all of
these illustrious leaders. They wore certain hats and certain
garments, and they had the priesthood, and they had the tabernacle,
and the temple, and the veil, and the altar, and the incense,
and the showbread. They had all of these things.
And here the apostle Paul writes, the Gentiles, which didn't have
any of those things. have attained unto holiness and
righteousness before God, the righteousness which is the faith. Now look at the next verse. But
Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath
not attained to it. They haven't gained what they
were seeking. The Gentiles, Charlie wasn't
even seeking it, and they got it. No wonder this fellow got thrown
in jail. No wonder he stirred up the people. No wonder those Jews gnashed
their teeth and flew upon him with fierce anger. He said, these
Gentiles out here that are not even looking for righteousness
have attained it. Acceptance with God. You Jews
that have been seeking and searching and digging and devoted to all
of these things have not attained that which you're seeking for.
Why? Verse 32. Why? Wherefore? Because Israel sought it not
by faith, but they sought it by the works of the law. That's
why. They sought acceptance before
God by what they did, and the Gentiles looked to Christ and
what he did. And they stumbled at the stumbling
stone. They stumbled. They couldn't see what their
circumcision represented, the rending of the heart. the breaking
of the heart. They couldn't see what the atonement
represented, the dying Lamb of God. They couldn't see what the
Passover was a picture of, Christ, God's Lamb. They couldn't see
what the veil, the reigning of the veil was. They couldn't see
those things. They stumbled over that which was so obvious. That's
how come they stumbled. It was right in front of them.
They just fell over it. And these Gentiles standing over here watching
the whole affair saw it and believed. He said in chapter 10, verse
1, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved because they have a zeal of God, but they're ignorant,
they're not according to knowledge, because they're ignorant of God's
righteousness, who is Christ, God's holiness, which is Christ,
acceptance with God, which is Christ, and they're going about
to establish their own. Could you be doing that? The elder brother said, Father,
I never did leave home. This guy's been gone for years.
And Father, I never did waste a thing you gave me. This fellow
here wasted everything you gave him. And Father, I've always
lived a clean and wholesome life, and this guy's been down in the
pigpen. And he comes home, you put a ring on his finger, and
a robe on his back, and a crown on his head, and shoes on his
feet, and you never did that for me. That was poor Israel. That's
what the elder son was Israel. And the prodigal son was the
Gentile. But you see the difference? The
prodigal son came saying, I have sinned. I'm not worthy. The elder
brother said, I never did sin. I am worthy. Verse 4, Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that... But let the
first go. Let it go. God's already destroyed it. And
these poor Jews were over there trying to dig up what God had
buried. They were trying to hang on to that which God had cast
aside. And hanging on to it, they got
cast away with it. And Christ is the one who's established
and exalted. Christ our righteousness. Here's
an old hymn that They used to sing years ago, and boy, some
folks got upset by it. Spurgeon once said that people
resented this verse of this hymn. They didn't like it at all, especially
the good church folks. They didn't like it. You listen
to it and see if you like it. Here's pardon, full, for sins
that are past. It matters not how black the
cast. I like that, I do too, but that
ain't all of it. And O my soul with wonder view,
for sins to come, here's pardon too. Can you take that, Charlie? How about that joke? That's so. That's so. You don't find justification
at Calvary and sanctification at Sinai. You find all of it
at the same place. You can imagine what that'd do
to a congregation of Pharisees, wouldn't you? Here's pardon for,
for sins that are past. It matters not how black the
cast, but oh my soul with wonder of you here for sins to come. Here's pardon too. It's all in
Christ. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. Let's look at two or three things
and I'll let you go. Back to Hebrews 10. Look at this
principle, first of all, in history. Just briefly, look at it in history.
God takes away the first. The first is a schoolmaster,
a picture. First comes the picture, then
comes the fulfillment. First comes the type, then comes
the fulfillment. First comes the ceremony which
reveals him who is to come. There's got to be a first for
them, be a second, in order to know What to look for? What to
expect? Who to look for? What to expect? The first paradise, Eden, the
Garden of Eden, God has taken it away. People looking around
for the Garden of Eden, it wouldn't do them any good to find it.
God has taken it away and God has established Christ and Heaven.
Who can say how beautiful was Eden? How delightful was that
first paradise? Why did the Lord take it away?
The apostle gives us the answer, that he must establish the second.
Heaven, glory, eternal life. The first man, Adam, has failed. We were born in him, we were
in him as a representative, in Adam we fell, in Adam we sinned,
in Adam death, judgment, condemnation came upon all men, but he fell
and we fell in him. Do we mourn the fact that Adam
sinned, that Adam fell? Well, in a way, but not much.
Because after Adam fell, God revealed the second Adam. Christ
Jesus. And in the second Adam, we can
never fall. The man Jesus Christ. The first
man was of the earth earthy, the second man is the Lord from
heaven. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall
bear the image of the heavenly. I fell in Adam, I can never fall
in Christ. He is perfect. His throne is
established. To his kingdom there is no end.
All right, the first covenant which said this do and live.
Thank God it's gone. And the eternal covenant is established
on better promises. Not this do, but tis done. It's finished. All of the stipulations,
all of the conditions, all of the requirements are met in that
eternal covenant in Christ, the first tabernacle with its earthly
priests and sacrifices. I don't know why men want to
invent things like the dedication and sprinkling of infants, the
confession of our sins to a man, All of the different signs and
the sprinklings and the, this is nothing in the world but going
back, trying to go back to those old ceremonies. They're gone.
And I fear, I fear, with fear and trembling, I see us, I see
it creeping back. I see some of the, I don't mean
to call names, but I see some of the Methodist and Episcopalian
churches that are not too far from Catholic churches. And are we not in danger, are
we not in danger of trying to rejuvenate some of those signs
and pictures and ceremonies when it creeps in? And now you say,
well, there's never any danger till it happens. Not to some folks. It's just
like this DC-10, you know, they've called them all back now. You
know why? Because a motor fell off one of them. I remember Dead
Man's Curve over here when our children were going to Putnam.
They never had a dick of railing around that place. There was
a little boy got killed over there and they put a railing up. That's
the way we do things. And then suddenly we wake up
in our churches and apostasy is taken over and we wonder,
when did that happen? Well, it creeped in. It started with a
cross right here. And then it started with the
choir putting robes on and wearing crosses around their neck. Then
it started with the preacher had to put one on. And then it
started with candles burning on either side. Then it started
with an open Bible and a piece of purple hanging off the Bible
with certain names. You say, well, those things aren't
important. Maybe to you they're not. Maybe to you they're not. Maybe
that's the reason God hasn't put you in charge of his church. Somebody's got to stand at the
door and smell creeping varmints coming in. Somebody has some
perception and understanding. Somebody that fears for the glory
of God. Somebody that's jealous for the
glory of Christ. And He can see me in robbing
Christ of His glory and bringing in things that are dishonoring
to Christ. And things that we permit, that
we let happen, that they creep in. They don't walk in and say,
here we are, we're here, we're moving in. They creep in. You
don't see them unless God's given you some perception. Even in music. You have to be so careful. to
guard with jealousy. It's Christ everything. It's
Christ. Everything is Christ, and he
will not share his glory. He's a jealous God, and we must
not have anything that attracts the emotions and the sentiment
and the dependence and the faith and the confidence of people. Don't even buy your cross to
hang off the end of your Bible. Don't start that foolishness.
Like, I believe, well, we won't go into all that, there's no
use, but it's just there's so many things. You better look
to Christ. If you feel there's anything
in this world that would try to take away from His total,
complete, satisfaction, then you better deal with it and not
wait till he deals with it. Because Barnard said he's ruthless
when he deals with us, if his glow is involved. God takes away
the purpose. The same thing these boys want
on the Sabbath day, reincarnated Chuck, it's dangerous, it's deadly.
I think there ought to be a day for worship and rest, and I don't
do on Sunday what I do on other days, but be careful, that's
all I'm saying. God's the God of every day. Every
day is the Lord's day. Every minute of every day is
the Lord's minute. Be careful. Be careful of having
a special pigeon hole for your faith, or your religion, or your
worship, or your prayers. Be careful, because Satan, he's
been dealing with human nature 6,000 years, and he knows how
to trick you. He's subtle and crafty, and he
knows how to take your eyes off Christ. Be careful of ritualism and form,
and pride is such a deadly thing, and pride can sit on the throne
before you even know he's in the room. You don't recognize
him. He taketh away the first. And
this is so in our experience. He takes away our righteousness.
It's filthy rags. Anything I've ever done or given
or any service I've ever rendered or any effort I've ever put forward
measured in the holiness of God's person is filthy rags. Christ
is my righteousness. God takes away my false peace.
and give me his peace that passeth understanding, a twofold peace,
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and peace of heart
and conscience because of our Lord Jesus Christ. I don't have
any assurance at all that I'm God's child because God heard
my prayer. My assurance is Christ. I don't
have any assurance at all or confidence at all that I'm God's
child because I've done certain things. I'm God's child because
Christ loved me and gave himself for me. That's the only basis
or foundation of my relationship with God. I don't find my confidence
or assurance in my holiness or righteousness. I find it in Christ.
Christ takes away our false earthly joys and gives us true happiness. No joy, no happiness. Now you
listen to this, and this is so. You may not understand this now,
but someday you will. Christ said to his disciples,
I have many things to say to you, and you don't understand
them now, but someday you will. No joy, which is based on anything
related to this earth and this life, can long endure. I married a couple here yesterday.
Right now they think they're the happiest two people on earth.
They find joy in one another. I promise you, that'll go. You've got a new baby, Mike and
Debbie, looking now. They're down there. I thought
about them sitting here a while ago. They're down there looking in the face of
that little baby. Who knows when tears will flow? Can't be, can
it, Cecil? You've got a nice home. You're
going to leave here tonight and drive to that nice home. You
go in, it's cool and pleasant. You pull up the easy chair and
sit back Sit there and eat something your wife, your lovely wife,
she's there, she speaks for you, I promise you, I promise you,
you're not going to enjoy that long. Ain't nothing in this world,
any joy that's based on anything connected with this earth is
permanent. But I'll tell you where some
joy is that's permanent, and that's Christ. Yeah, that happiness,
that joy. You're prospering right now,
but someday you'll be poor. God gave it and God will take
it away. And I'll tell you something else
that God takes away, and that's all confidence in the flesh.
And He gives us confidence only in Christ. At first, it's helpful to look
to our minister and lean on our minister, or look to other Christians
and lean on other Christians, and learn from Christians and
be supported. It's like a little boy that you
buy his first bicycle and it's got training wheels on it. And
he rides around that thing, you know, one day you take him off
and he rides alone. And we need training wheels for
a while, but I'm telling you this, God Almighty will take
away all confidence in the flesh, and the sooner the better. Yours,
mine, anybody else's. Turns our eyes on Christ that
the first has got to go and then look at this principle in the
future and I quit God will soon take away everything that we
have on this earth and he'll pummel. He'll he'll he'll replace
it with everything new Our families have got to die But we have an eternal family
Our bodies have got to die, but we've got a new body. This tabernacle
be destroyed. I have a House not made with
hands. God's going to destroy this old
earth and make a new earth. God's going to destroy even the
old heaven and make a new heaven. There is nothing that's existing
now that shall remain except one thing, Christ. His blood,
His righteousness, His kingdom, His people, His family, His church. his jewels. That's unchangeable. Our Father in heaven, we believe that we've told the
people the truth. There's nothing, nothing, nothing
that these natural eyes see or hands touch. There's no joy that
this earth can afford that will last. We're just sojourners here,
we're just passing through. Father, our Spirit's power teach
us this.