Now if you will, open your Bibles
again to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians, the second
chapter. It's a solemn thought, a refreshing
thought to me, and yet a fearful thought. we do not preach the
gospel in vain. Paul is saying in verse 1, we
do not preach the gospel without effect. Even as Christ did not die in
vain, and even as Christ does not intercede in vain, if the
gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, it will accomplish
that which God has sent it to accomplish. He said, My word
will not return unto me void. It shall accomplish that whereunto
I have sent it. It will accomplish that purpose
for which it is designed. The Apostle Paul said on another
occasion, now listen to this, he said, We have something for
everybody. He said, for some we're the savor
of life unto life, the sweet smell of life unto life. But
some, we're the savor of death upon death. But the gospel is
not preached in vain. God, if God is speaking, God
is speaking to everybody. I've heard people pray this way, speak to some of us this day.
If God speaks, he's speaking to everybody. God doesn't speak
to somebody, he speaks to everybody when he speaks. And the gospel,
what I'm saying is this, and Paul says this in the first verse,
he says, for yourselves brethren know our entrance, our coming
to you, our preaching among you, it wasn't in vain. It wasn't
in vain. When Almighty God speaks to this
congregation through this preacher or some other preacher, he is
speaking in mercy to some, in judgment to others, but he's
speaking to all men. He is speaking to some who have
ears and some who have no ears to hear, and no eyes to see,
and no hearts to understand. The people to whom our Lord Jesus
Christ ministered were responsible, accountable individuals. They
were accountable for what he said, what he preached to them,
just as much as Peter was or John or James. Somebody says
Christians ought to worship God on Sunday. Hold on there, friend. Everybody ought to worship God
on Sunday, not just Christians. He's not only the God of Christians,
he's the Lord of the dead and the living. And you may not pay
a bit of attention to what I'm saying. You may turn your nose
up and turn your eyes outside and look at, thumb through a
book or hymn book and pay no attention to what I'm saying.
But if I'm speaking the Word of God, in the power of the Holy
Spirit, you will be held accountable for what you heard and what you
didn't hear, what you heard and what you could have heard, what
you heard and what you refused to hear. And that's so God uses
means. God speaks through his word.
God can work with or without means, but he has chosen by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. The gospel
is the power of God unto salvation. Beware of direct revelations. God always speaks through his
word. Turn to Isaiah. Let me show you something. Isaiah
chapter 8. Beware of people that tell you they have received from
the Lord directly a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom, a word of prophecy. Let me tell you this. Now listen
to me. God speaks through his word. Satan speaks through your
imagination and your mind and your feelings and your dreams.
That's right, Charlie. And the guy that's got a word
of knowledge a word of wisdom, a word of prophecy that's beyond
this book. He didn't get it from God. He
got it from the devil. He said, Preacher, you ought
not say things like that. That's what God says. Read Isaiah
8, verse 19. And when they shall say unto
you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, that have the
answers, they have wisdom, they're fortune tellers, of which Jeannie
Dixon is one and several other folks. Go to them, they've got
a word of prophecy, a word of knowledge. And unto wizards that
peep and mutter, should not a people seek unto their God? For the
living to the dead, do you go to dead fortune tellers and dead
soothsayers to find out about the living God? Go to a dead
sinner to find out about the living God? To the law and to
the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it's
because there's no light in them. That's the final authority. So
beware of any direct revelations. Beware of any direct words of
wisdom or words of knowledge or words of prophecy. I'm not
saying God can't do that. God Almighty can work with or
without means, but God Almighty has chosen in his providence
and in his purpose and in his plan to speak by his word. And he says if anybody adds to
this word, he'll add to him the plagues that are written in this
book. If anybody takes away from the words of this book, God will
take away his part in the book of life. Our gospel is not in
vain. I'm as convinced of that as I
say it's an awesome, fearful, and yet refreshing thought. But
I don't come here on Sunday morning if I come in the power of God's
Spirit. That's the condition upon which I base it if I preach
in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now if I'm just, if I'm just
preaching my message and my words and my theology and my traditions
and my thoughts, you can ignore it and it'd be wise for you if
you did. But if I'm preaching his word and his grace and his
gospel and his glory on his book, everybody's accountable. And
it won't be in vain. Some will hear and some won't
hear. But God will hold men responsible. Look at the next verse, and he
says we preached the gospel boldly. He says even after we suffered,
and we were shamefully treated, and we had much contention, but
we were bold. We were bold. Not obnoxious,
bold. Not overbearing, bold. We preachers need to learn something
right here. The reason Paul says that I boldly, though I suffered
at the hands of men, though I was shamefully treated, though I
encountered much contention, I boldly preach this gospel because
it's the gospel of God. Now I have a right to be timid
and shy and reserved and hesitant if I'm preaching my ideas and
even my denominational traditions. But if I'm preaching the gospel,
not of works, but of the grace of God, not something for you
to do for God, but something God does for you, a free gift
of grace and mercy through Christ, I'll preach that boldly. If I'm
preaching an impossible gospel, I'll preach it in a hesitant
and timid and shy manner, because nobody's going to be able to
do anything about it anyway. But if I'm preaching the declaration
of the good news of God's mercy in Christ, I can be as bold as
an apostle. I like what one preacher said
one time, he said, a man may preach the gospel better than
I do, but he can't preach a better gospel. And that's so. Boldly. Boldly. Let's be shy. to put our ideas
and thoughts over on people. Let's be hesitant about it. Let's
hedge around a little bit. But, Paul said, though we are
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel. Let him be
accursed. I boldly. Alright, look at verse 3. He
said, Our exhortation was not of deceit. We do not preach the
gospel to deceit. Every man ought to examine his
motives frequently. That ought to be a full-time
job, because we're certainly going to give an account for
them, our motive, more than anything else. It's not so much what we
do, it's why we do it. And you'll find that to be true.
You may not understand what I'm saying now, but someday you will.
It's not so much what I do, it's why I did it. Why I did it. Paul said this, our motive is
the glory of God. So help me, he said, God is my
witness. I could wish myself a curse from
Christ for you, he said. I'd not only bring you the gospel,
I'd lay down my life for you, he said. My motive is the glory
of God. My goal is the happiness, the
eternal happiness of our heroes, not to get followers for ourselves,
but followers for Christ. The business of the Church is
to not not to make people know one another, but to bring them
to know God. I get tired of this, all this advertisement, the friendly
church, the friendly church, the friendly church. I tell you
this, the business of the church and the preacher is not to bring
people to know each other, but to bring them to know God. And
if they know God, they'll know each other. And if they love
God, they'll love each other. Our message is the truth as it
is in Christ Jesus. He said, I don't preach to deceive
you. My goal is not to deceive you.
My motive is not, I don't want to be deceived myself, Paul said. My soul, how foolish to attempt
to win the praise and honor of men and be damned of God. And then in verse 4, he said
the gospel is a sacred trust as we were allowed of God. We
didn't volunteer for this thing. We were allowed of God. We were
chosen of God. We were designated by God to
be put in trust. What a sacred trust. What a sacred
trust. You know, I think about Someone
who has a a beautiful little child It's very dear to them
And they have to make a journey somewhere and they come by your
house and they bring that little child And they put that child
in your arms and say would you care for my baby while I'm gone? But they couldn't pay you a greater
compliment There's no way in this world that they could pay
you a greater compliment. They have just laid in your hands
a their greatest treasure. Of course, their relationship
with Christ is their greatest treasure. I'm talking about their
greatest earthly treasure. And you know, God has laid in
my hands God's greatest treasure, the gospel of his Son. Let me
compromise anything but not the gospel. Paul said, woe is unto
me. I tell you, the man who hears
the gospel has an awesome responsibility, but oh, the burden, the fearful
responsibility that man has who preaches it. Who preaches it. Woe is unto me, Paul said, if
I preach not the gospel. God has entrusted me with the
gospel. with the gospel. And then in
verse 5 he says, verse 4 there he says, not as pleasing men. Now I hear preachers say all
the time, we're not trying to please men, I don't care whether
you like my preaching or not. Now hold on there, that's not
what Paul is saying. Paul is not saying I don't care
whether you are pleased or not. I think Paul was delighted when
men were pleased with the gospel. I think he was delighted when
men received his message, and I think his heart was broken
when they didn't, when they didn't. Why, he said, I have great heaviness
and a continual burden and sorrow in my heart for my brethren according
to the flesh. They've got a zeal for God, but
not according to knowledge. He even said to that wicked ruler,
Griffith or Felix or Festus or one of them, he said, I wish
you were all together such as I am without these chains. I
wouldn't want you to be in jail, he said. No, Paul wasn't saying
I don't care whether you believe it or not. That's not what he
was saying. He's saying this, we're delighted when men are
pleased with the gospel we preach and when they rejoice in it,
but this is not our chief desire. This is not our goal to please
men. Our chief desire and goal is
to please God. That's what he said. Our chief
desire and goal is to please God, to be true to God. And then
he says, not, verse 5 here, neither at any time use we flattering
words nor a cloak of covetousness, men who use the ministry as a
means to indulge their ambition, their self-seeking ambitions,
their hunger and thirst for attention, to amass material possessions, That's what he's talking about
here. We do not preach the gospel with flattering words to hide
a greedy motive. Those men are an abomination
to God, who use the gospel, who use the ministry, who use the
office, who use the platform, who use the pulpit as a means
to amass personal possessions. to gain honor and recognition
and attention and glory, then abomination to God. John said,
I must decrease. He must increase. They who preach
the gospel, and I say this to every young minister, live by
the gospel. Don't ever get in business of
any kind. Don't ever amass any amount of
savings or possessions. You don't need it. When you amass
these things and seek these things and put your attention on these
things, you leave the Word of God and you leave God's promise
to provide for you. You don't need to take scrimp
nor cloak nor change of clothing nor provisions. God will provide
for His preacher. That's so. They who preach the
gospel are to live by the gospel. And we must not use this office,
or this pulpit, or this platform, or this position to accumulate
anything except His mercy, and His favor, and His glory, and
His grace. That's right. And nor of men, verse 6, sought
we glory." Well, somebody said, but the preachers have got a
right to have as much as anybody else. Brother, if he's been entrusted
with the gospel, he's got more than anybody else. He's got more
than animals. He's got more than anybody else.
But his people, God's people, his congregation, are supposed
to take care of him. They're supposed to see that
he's provided. That's not his responsibility, that's theirs.
His responsibility is to feed the sheep, to feed the sheep,
to be true to that. He is not called upon to provide
for himself. God will provide for him. And
when he starts providing for himself, he loses the promise
of God. I found that out. I found it
out from the Word. I found it out by experience. If you want to ruin your ministry,
start dabbling in politics, business, organizations, clubs, socials,
or anything else. God sent us to preach the gospel. We got one job, and that's all.
I think the preacher ought to be involved in the community.
No, sir. That's not his business. His
business is to preach the gospel. And anything, I'm telling you
this from experience and from this book, and I know it's so. The preacher is to be involved
in one thing, and I'm doing it right now. And that's all. Paul said we didn't seek glory,
verse 6, not even of you, not even of the church. The elder
is worthy of double honor, but he's not to seek it. You see
what I'm saying? He's not to seek it, he's not
to demand it. It's not worth having if you have to demand
it anyway. He's not to seek it, he's not
to demand it. He's to faithfully proclaim the gospel, and in doing
so he's worthy of honor and respect, but if he starts seeking it and
demanding it... I know a preacher who had his
secretary tell a man at the door one day, a man asked to see Jim or John, whatever his first name
is, and the secretary stopped him before he went in the office
and says, he likes to be called Dr. Jim. Well, I want to be sure
and call him that next time I see him, you know, because a man
who demands respect, he ought to have it, you know, but he
doesn't really have it. A man who seeks it, he ought to have
it. If that's the way he wants it, he ought to have it, and
somebody give it to him. But that man who's true and faithful
to God's Word and to God's Son and to God's people, he'll have
it. It'll be his, more than he can possibly use. And then verse
7 and 8, he says, and we were gentle. Now, two words here that
need to be declared from every pulpit in this nation today.
There are two ways to preach the gospel, and two words right
here. We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherished her
children. Most preachers like to be called
sons of thunder, and there's a time to thunder. But you can thunder gently. What
he's saying here, the Amplified Version says, "...as a mother
nurses and cherisheth her children." That's how I preach to you. That's how I preach to you. Oh,
you see that mother, that little baby cries, she's hungry, he's
hungry, and the mother runs and slips her arm under and puts
a little baby robe on the baby and then sits down and and starts
nursing that child and rubbing its forehead and petting it,
you know, how she adores it, how she loves it, how she protects
it. She's feeding that thing gently. And Paul said, that's
the way I preach. And the next verse he says, being
affectionately desirous of you, willing to lay down my life for
you. I think it's, a lot of preachers
think it's real clever If you don't like what I'm preaching,
you can go somewhere else." I've heard that so often. Would you say a mother or a father
would turn to a child at the table and say, if you don't like
what I've got for supper, you can leave home and go live somewhere
else? I don't believe they would. I
don't believe they would. And Paul said, we've got to learn
to preach this way, gently. as a mother nourishes the child
and affectionately. Now boldly, not seeking to please
me and not compromising our gospel, you can be gentle and be bold
in the Spirit. You can love someone and be less
forceful. You can be meek without being
weak. The Apostle learned it, we just
need to learn it, that's all. And I think the key to the whole
thing is genuinely, affectionately caring for and loving a congregation. I think sometimes, I had someone
tell me recently, he said, so many preachers today are preaching
angrily, in an argumentative fashion, cruelly, gently. Paul said. And then verse 9,
he said, brethren, you remember our labor and travail, laboring
night and day because we would not be chargeable unto any of
you. Paul even, he said, worked with his hands. He was in this
new situation and he didn't want anybody to think he came there
for money, for filthy lucre. Paul spent his time, much of
his spare time, mending and making tents in order that no one could
accuse him of being desirous and covetous of money and possessions. I'm afraid this is a black mark
on the church and on the ministry, not God's church and not God's
ministry, but those who are posing as churches and posing as ministers. I'm so fearful, and in this day,
there's so much mention of and drives far and and pledges to
get money. I find this to be true. If we'll
preach the gospel and feed the people of God and men come to
know Christ, they'll give. They'll give. And they'll give
generously and they'll give abundantly. God will supply the need. I don't
believe the church of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to ever have
to solicit funds. I would be opposed to any type
of sale or any type of rummage sale or any type of scheme
to raise money or any type of passing a pledge card or any
bond issue, anything, except one way. If you have a gift and
God laid it on your heart to give for the support of the gospel
and the preaching of Christ, would be glad to receive it.
And I believe that's the only way the Scripture teaches that
God's Church and God's ministers to be supported. And I believe
this, I believe we can do without a lot of this ministers of education
and ministers of music and ministers of this and ministers of that
and ministers of the other. That's a drain on the Church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The people of God can help and
aid the minister. They can do, they want to do
these things. We don't need special trained personnel. We don't need
to hire people to pray for us and to educate us and to entertain
us and to do these. God's people will do that out
of gratitude to God. Without charge, we preached unto
you the gospel. I wonder if we're guilty of preaching,
Paul says, I preach the gospel, not in vain, boldly, not deceitfully,
not because of covetousness, and he prepared us for this,
but he says, I preach to you the gospel. Now then, are we
guilty of preaching about the gospel and not preaching the
gospel itself? There was an old, Spurgeon told
this story, he said there was an old preacher, who had been
pastor of the same church about 30 years, Dr. Geisler. And you know how I worded that?
This old preacher had been pastor here 28 years. I'm going to have
to move that up to 40 years. There was an old preacher, but
he was pastor about 30 years of the same church, and he was
a dry theologian The Virgin said he would read his sermons, he
would just stand there, and he had prepared this deep theological
exposition from the old Puritans. His name was William Guyse, G-U-Y-S-E,
and he would stand, and the congregation was all just so so weary of the
whole thing, so tired, so weary of him, couldn't do anything
about it. He just read his sermons in that old sing-song fashion.
He lapsed into what he called a teaching ministry with no fired
enthusiasm, no spirit. This is a true Stoler. One Sunday
morning, he got up with his notes, had it all written out. And he
started reading to that congregation, this deep theology. And just like that, his eyesight
departed and he went stone black. Just like that. And he was standing
there before that congregation and laid those notes down. And
he said, brethren, I can't see. God has brought upon me a terrible
trial. I can't see." And he began to
weep. Tears streamed down his face.
And then he began to speak out of his heart to that congregation,
realizing he was probably preaching to them his last sermon. He couldn't
read or study or prepare. He couldn't do all this he'd
been doing for all these years. And he began to speak as if it
were his last sermon. He began to tell them about Christ.
and how Christ had dealt mercifully with him and how Christ died
to save him and how Christ loved him and how Christ interceded
for him. And there for a long time he just stood there and
wept and told them about the Savior. And as he wept and told
them about the Savior and concluded his message, several people came
down the aisle, weeping, and fell on their knees in front
of the congregation and cried, Brethren, pray for us. We don't
know this Savior. We can't face trials in this
fashion. And after that service was over,
revival, refreshing, the Holy Spirit fell on that congregation.
And as two deacons led him by the arm, by the arms out of the
pulpit, down the platform steps and out the door, one man was
heard to say, wouldn't it have been something if he had gone
blind 30 years ago? Wouldn't it have been something? I wonder if we spend a lot of
time, a lot of time talking about the gospel. Now really, this
morning I've spoken here for 20 minutes or so, and I've talked
about, I have not preached the gospel yet. I've talked about
the gospel is not preached in vain, it's preached boldly, it's
not preached deceitfully, it's not preached in covetousness.
I haven't preached the gospel. If there's a lost sinner here
this morning, you still don't know how God saves sinners, and
how God can be just and justify the ungodly. That's the reason
I say so many sermons can be interesting, edifying, comforting,
and have no saving benefit. What is the gospel? Somebody
said the gospel can be summed up in two words. The word substitution. Christ took my place. He took
my place on the earth, before the law, on the cross, before
the wrath of God, in the tomb, and as occupied at the right
hand of God, heaven for me, my intercessor, my mediator. Substitution. In my stead, he died. And they
said the other word is satisfaction. He satisfied God's law. He honored
it. He righteously kept it and obeyed
it. And he satisfied God's justice.
God's justice can make no more demands upon those for whom Christ
died. Satisfied. But I believe the
gospel can be summed up in one word. One word. And that word is Christ. Christ is the gospel. Our God
said, this is the gospel of God concerning his Son. Now, there
was a time, Christ is all. That's what Paul wrote in Colossians
3.11, Christ is all. There was a time when this earth
had no being. No moon, no sun, no stars. No man walking on this earth.
There was a time when man did not walk this earth. There was
a time when the angels did not inhabit heaven. There was a time
when God dwelt alone. I can't imagine this time back
infinitely, back yonder in eternity, in the beginning. If Christ is all, where was Christ
then? Well, the Scripture says, in
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The Scripture says, Our Lord
prayed, Glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. And then turn to Proverbs. Let
me show you over here in the book of Proverbs. This is talking
about Christ. Proverbs 8. Proverbs 8, verse
22. Where was Christ then? He was
with God and He was God. He said, glorify me with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was. Look at Proverbs
8, 22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way.
Before his works of old, I was set up from everlasting, from
the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there was no depths,
I was brought forth. When there was no fountains abounding
with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills
was I brought forth. That's nobody but Christ. He's
all. He's all. Well, there was a time when God
created all things. There was a time when God said,
let there be light. And there was light. Let the
dry land appear. Let the land be separated from
the water. Let the tree bud. Let the rose
bloom. Let the robin sing. Let the fish
swim. Let us make man. If Christ is all, where was he
then? All things were made by him.
And without him was not anything made that was made. And turn
to Colossians chapter 1 and listen to verse 16. Colossians chapter
1 verse 15 says he's the image of the invisible God. He's the
firstborn of every creature. And verse 16 of Colossians 1
says by him were all things created in heaven, in earth, visible
and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. And he's before all things and
by him they consist. He sustains them. Christ is all. It's Christ. Christ. in the beginning with God was
God, in the creation it was Christ. They were made by him and for
him, and they consist, exist, and are sustained by him. Well,
there was a time when sin entered this world, when darkness, disease, and death
came to God's pure, lovely creation. When man fell, and the grass
withered, the streams were polluted, and the sky grew dark overhead,
and Satan seemed to be triumphant, and man ran and hid from God,
and the fellowship was broken, and the barrier came between
him and God. Oh, what a dark, dismal day! If Christ is all, where was he
then? But Genesis 3.15 tells you he
was the only light in this night of darkness. God spoke and said, the virgin seed shall bruise
the serpent's head, shall crush his power. The virgin seed shall
bring to this world of death life. to this world of darkness,
light, to this hopeless situation, hope, to this ruin, redemption,
to this plague, healing, to these captives, freedom, to the blind
sight. Christ is all. In this moment,
in this moment, this most dreadful moment in all of creation, The announcement from heaven
is Christ is all. He's all the hope you have. He's
all the life you could want. He's all the redemption you need.
There was a time after 4,000 years when the Temple of God
had become a den of thieves. Isn't that sad, the Temple of
God? Not only the government, not only education, not only
the world, but the Temple of God itself. had become a den
of thieves. Thieves had so permeated the
whole world that they had found their way into the temple of
God. The table had become a snare, the ceremony a stumbling block.
Even the worship of God had given way to idolatry, superstition,
ritualism, ceremonialism, legalism, God was unknown. God Almighty
came down here and said in the person of his son, to the leaders
of religion, you don't know God. To those occupying the position
of ecclesiastical power, you're of your father the devil. Spiritual darkness was complete,
engulfing all things. If Christ is all, Where was he
then? Where was he? Well, the angel
came down here and told where he was. The angel said, he's
in the manger. Behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy unto you in this day of darkness and idolatry
and superstition is born a Savior. The angel said, Mary, Joseph,
call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sin. Behold, the Lord himself will
give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bring
forth a son. Call his name, God with us. Emmanuel. Where is Jesus Christ
the Lord? In the manger, in the temple,
fulfilling the law. Here comes Mary and Joseph with
that little infant. bringing him to the old Jewish
priest to fulfill the ceremonial law, the Mosaic law. He fulfilled
every law. Where is he beside the Jordan
fulfilling all righteousness? Behold the Lamb of God. And when
he came forth from the water, the Father said, This is my Son
in whom I am well pleased. Where is he on the cross? on
the cross bearing our sins, redeeming sinners, on the cross bearing
God's wrath, dying our death, paying our debt, where is he
in the tomb, risen, ascended on the right hand of God, our
mediator? Where is Christ? He's all. He's all the sinner's hope. He's
all the sinner's life. He's all the sinner's righteousness.
He's all the sinner's sanctification. He's all the sinner's wisdom.
He's all the sinner's regeneration. He's all the sinner's hope. Christ is all. Well, there'll
come a day when this world's gonna end. Time shall be no more. The heavens shall melt with a
fervent heat. The dead shall be raised, both
the saved and the lost. Men shall be judged. If Christ
is all, where will he be then? Where will he be? He said, I'm
the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Lazarus, come forth! The dead
shall be raised. by his voice. He that heareth
the Son, and believeth on him, hath everlasting life. The hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and the dead shall live. The Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. We shall all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. Yes, sir. In resurrection, Christ
is all. In judgment, Christ is all. Now
watch this in closing. There's coming a day when there
will be a new heaven. God's going to make a new heaven.
The first heaven shall pass away, and God's going to make a new
earth, for the old earth shall pass away, because both have
been vested by sin. And all sin and sorrow and all
death and darkness and all trial and tears shall be over. If Christ
is all, where will he be then? Well, Paul tells us in Philippians
2, God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall
bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. Turn with me to Revelation, chapter
5. Revelation, the fifth chapter,
I want to read beginning with verse 9. Revelation, chapter
5, beginning with verse 9. Christ is all. At the conclusion
of everything, he's going to be adored and worshiped and praised
by every creature in heaven, earth, and hell, because he's
worthy. Listen to Revelation 5 and 9.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof. For thou was slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation. and has made us unto our God
kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth." And I beheld
and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne
and the beast and the elders and the number of them were ten
thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thousands saying
with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that in them heard our saying, Blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four
beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever."
Christ, that's the gospel.