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[0:00] Thank you for sharing your voices with us this morning. It's a beautiful thing, beautiful hymns that we are able to appreciate only as believers in Christ can.

[0:13] By way of announcements, I have a number, some of which are a little unusual, and I was reluctant to relay that possibility or that responsibility to anyone this morning, including, what's his face?

[0:34] Roger. Including Roger, simply because some of them are more involved and he didn't have the details behind them. We're going to have a word of prayer now, and I want you to bow with me, if you will.

[0:48] We remember in particular Gary Wade, I received an email from him this morning, or a text message rather, that he has come down with COVID, and some of his immediate family have also, well, they haven't, but they are quarantined because of their proximity to him.

[1:08] So let's remember Gary this morning in prayer, shall we? Loving Father, we are grateful for this gathering, for your bringing us together as you do week by week, and our purpose is that you yourself may be better known and exalted in our midst, and that we may come to love you with a deeper and a purer love and a more intelligent love than we had before.

[1:34] One among us has that kind of love, and we think right now of Gary and his family members who are threatened with the COVID, even as Gary already has it, and we just pray that you will use this time to be something very extraordinary and special in his life.

[1:51] We know that there are different degrees of seriousness with this, with which people undergo, and we know that you and you alone are sufficient for each and every case. So thank you so much for the can't-lose position that all believers enjoy just because we are in Christ.

[2:09] We pray for your wisdom, your strength for Gary, that you will use this time of being set aside to accomplish something really special in his life. Thank you for our gathering and for the presence of yourself most of all in Christ's name.

[2:23] Amen. We need a couple of volunteers for immediately after the service this morning. If you could give us a hand, we've got a little chore down at the north end whereby a massive TV screen, a flat screen TV, it's really large, has been donated to the church, and it needs to be satisfactorily mounted.

[2:50] And it's going to take at least three or four people, men, to do that, not because it's so heavy, because it isn't that heavy, but it's kind of awkward because of its size. So if three or four of you men could help us, David Banks is going to engineer the job down at the north end right after we dismiss, and that would be much appreciated.

[3:11] And while we're talking about some volunteers, Shelly Jenkins has secured a new residence. She will be moving hopefully Monday, tomorrow. We don't know that for sure.

[3:22] It isn't confirmed. But we could use a few strong backs, young men. Well, I don't know how young young is. But younger than me, who could help with that?

[3:33] She's going to be moving from a mobile home parked right over here off the Shrine Road, which is very close to the church. And she'll be moving to a new residence out in the north end. In fact, it is the same place where Marie and I held afternoon services for the residents there for the last 10 years.

[3:51] And she will be a resident in that place. And if we are not able to secure the volunteer help to get her moved, then we will just contract with a moving company.

[4:01] And I understand they're terribly shorthanded and running behind and employees, et cetera. But we'll do what we can to get Shelly moved. She's compromised physically by being legally blind, and she has other physical issues as well.

[4:16] So your help and your consideration would be much appreciated. Also, I want to make a clarification for the bulletin on the last. It says that this is the last week for picture taking.

[4:30] And due to an oversight, this was included in this week's bulletin, and it should have been omitted. Simply because last Sunday was the last week.

[4:43] And this article that is in here should have simply been omitted, as well as the meeting that we had at Lois Lenz this past Thursday. It is scheduled for September 9.

[4:56] Well, that's something else. It's already happened, you know. So we're living in the past. And what we did have, we had a terrific time. There were about 20 of us. And we gathered in her patio in the back, which is a beautiful area.

[5:10] And so many gorgeous trees and landscaping around and wildlife and birds and everything. It was just a delightful time. And we had a great meal together.

[5:20] And everybody really enjoyed it. So we look forward to our next gathering. And that will be the second Thursday in October. And we will be meeting at the Old Mill in Clifton, Ohio.

[5:38] And we will meet there at 11, 11.15, something like that, for a kind of brunch. So this will be for widows and widowers and single seniors.

[5:49] And we leave that to your discretion for you to determine what qualifies as seniors. So I'm not going there. Okay. Okay. And other announcements that I'm not aware of.

[6:04] I do want to elaborate a little bit on this COVID situation. I can't elaborate too much because there's so much confusion that surrounds it. And Marie and I, along with another couple named Mr. and Mrs. Price, were with us.

[6:26] He came from Louisville. And at the time, he was living in Lexington, Kentucky. And he was a listener to WEEC that had only been on the air for a year.

[6:38] This was, I think we went on, I think the station went on the air December of 62. And this would have been 1963. And he was a young man in his 20s, early 20s.

[6:53] No, actually, he was still a teenager. And living in Lexington, Kentucky. And he had rigged up an antenna system privately whereby he could get WEEC with 77,000 watts of broadcasting all the way down to Lexington, Kentucky.

[7:13] And he became a regular listener. And one day, I don't know what program he was listening to. It might have been the afternoon Bible class. I'm not sure.

[7:25] But he said that I had given the plan of salvation and explained what it meant. And he received Christ as his Savior in 1964.

[7:37] And he and his wife, Mary Lou, this is Steve and Mary Lou Price. He and his wife, Mary Lou, got married several years later. And my first wife, Barbara, and I went down to Lexington and attended their wedding.

[7:52] And our daughter, Lynette, tells me that she remembers having been along. And she was only about 10 years old at the time. So those are great memories. Anyway, he and Mary Lou came up when they called and found out that we were going to be there for WEEC's 60th anniversary that was held down at Cedarville College and the beautiful auditorium.

[8:17] And there must have been close to 2,500, 3,000 people there. And I don't think I saw more than a dozen masks among all of those people.

[8:30] I'm not sure what that means. I do know that people who have had both shots, some have still come down with COVID, one of which was Leslie Graham, a United States senator, who had both shots, still got the COVID.

[8:47] I haven't talked to Gary Wade to know whether he had both shots or not, but whether he did or whether he didn't, he has COVID now. So we just don't know very much about this thing.

[9:01] But one thing that we do know that a lot of people don't understand, and that is they keep calling this a vaccination. It is not a vaccination. If you get a vaccination, you will not get the disease.

[9:16] That's why there is a vaccination for measles. There is a vaccination for smallpox. There is a vaccination for polio. And when you take those vaccinations, you don't get those things.

[9:28] So it is really a misnomer to call this a vaccination because people still sometimes contract the disease even after it's supposedly impossible to get it because you've been vaccinated.

[9:39] So it's kind of crazy, and we just don't know very much about this. And someone has said that the experts don't know much about it either, but they try to make us think they do, and they don't want us to think that they don't know either.

[9:53] But there are so many things that everybody is in the dark about this thing, and it makes it very difficult to know exactly where we're going or what's happening. What, Lois? I have to explain to you here that those who have had the vaccination are not seriously ill, and they say they're sick.

[10:13] Good. They're sick for a very long time. That's an important item to note. Thank you for making that. It does help. We're not saying don't get the vaccination because it's worthless.

[10:25] Marie and I both had it. But the point is, if you do get the COVID and you've been vaccinated or you've gotten the serum, then the case that you will get will be much milder than it would have been otherwise because sometimes it results in a fatality.

[10:44] So you're not exempt from getting it, but if you do, it'll be a lighter case, and you're far more likely to survive it than you would otherwise. So is the vaccination, is the injection worthwhile?

[10:58] Of course it is. It's better than nothing. So if you haven't gotten it, I would encourage you to do so unless you're very young and you're considered not to be, well, I won't go there either.

[11:11] So, okay. Anyhow, we need to understand something about this vaccination, and that has to do with...

[11:22] I don't... Did I turn this thing on? Okay. Well, it's on on the pulpit, but it wasn't on the mic on this. So what is going on now, and it's a big rhubarb, and I'm sure you've probably at least gotten the outer edges of it, and that has to do with the struggle to determine what the exact origin of this virus was.

[11:49] We know that it came from China. There's no doubt about that. And world authorities, and I'm talking about epidemiologists and virologists and people who really know far more about this than we do from all over the world, have sought permission to come into China to the Wuhan lab, conduct an investigation with the idea of trying to determine exactly how this thing originated.

[12:18] The Chinese government has been adamant in refusing to grant that permission. We can only ask why.

[12:31] It would appear that they, as much or maybe more than anyone else, would want to get to the bottom of it as to exactly how this thing originated.

[12:43] And yet they have stonewalled any authorities from coming in. And they will not give permission for any outsiders to come in and investigate. They have to know. That raises a level of suspicion.

[12:57] Why? What is there to hide? Why wouldn't they even initiate the invitation and say to the experts, please come in and help us. Find the source of this.

[13:08] Find the origin. But they've been very adamant in refusing to do that. Now I want to suggest to you a possibility that a number are strongly considering, and some have already inferred it, but no one has come right out and said it.

[13:22] I'm not saying it either. All I'm saying is this is a possibility, but it may never be established. And that is, could this thing have been deliberately contrived, deliberately made, and deliberately let loose on the public, particularly when you consider that those who developed the first symptoms and the first cases of it were immediately sent out of the country of China to the coast and to the far-flung reaches of the world where they went, not backwards into inland China so that it might spread there.

[14:05] So that too is suspicious. And if that were the case, that would constitute nothing less than an act of war on the world, not just the United States.

[14:23] Now the next question that automatically arises is, well, that's really too far-fetched. Nobody would do something like that. Nobody would be guilty of creating something like that deliberately, knowing full well that it could result in the death of millions of people, and that was the intent.

[14:46] Now that is almost too wild, too inhumane, too bizarre to contemplate. But, that is the way it is beginning to look more and more.

[15:03] If this is true, all the more reason they don't want anybody coming in, conducting any investigation about anything. Add to that, some of the key people who were involved in the Wuhan lab at the origin of this thing have mysteriously disappeared.

[15:21] What do you make of that? All I'm saying is, I'm not making the accusation, and I have nothing but contempt for conspiracy theorists.

[15:33] Frankly, they make me sick. There's more of them than you can shake a stick at out there. And some of them are more bizarre than what I'm telling you. I am not saying that this is the case.

[15:45] But I am saying, I would not be surprised if it were. Now we ask the question, it isn't possible that human beings could do that deliberately to other human beings.

[16:01] But Mao Zedong did it to millions of his fellow Chinese. Joseph Stalin did it to over 50 million of his countrymen in Russia in the 1940s and 30s.

[16:19] So, listen, when you are coming from a position of atheism, which is the top of the list of the premises of communism, there is no God.

[16:42] Man is his own God. That's the basis for communism. That's what China is all about. That's why it's called the Red Chinese.

[16:53] It is an atheistic country. So is the Soviet Union. That's what allowed Joseph Stalin to eliminate millions of his countrymen without any compunction.

[17:07] Because if there is no God, who makes the rules? You do. The state does.

[17:19] The individual is nothing. All that matters is the community. The state, that's what matters.

[17:31] If you're coming from that position, as one of their favorite sayings goes, if you want to make an omelet, you've got to crack some eggs.

[17:43] What is the big deal about eliminating a huge number of people if it will enable you to gain the initiative and realize the goal to which you are going?

[17:54] And what is the goal? It is the glorious communist utopia. That's the goal. And those who stand in the way need to be converted or eliminated.

[18:08] How do you do that? Think about it. And when there is no God and you're coming from a position of moral relativism, you do whatever you deem necessary to achieve your goal.

[18:31] Their motto is, the end always justifies the means. So what if you have to lie to get to your means? No big deal. There's no such thing as objective truth anyway.

[18:45] You make your own truth. You set the rules. You set the standards. There is no overarching North Star to give us guidance or direction.

[18:56] It doesn't exist. Everyone is their own authority. And if you have to eliminate millions of people, you're doing it for the good and the welfare of the majority to get rid of those people.

[19:07] And then the question arises, so far as communism is concerned and they're realizing their goals, who or what nation is their greatest single obstacle?

[19:20] Yeah. The U.S. of A. If something could be done to the U.S. of A to neutralize us economically, has the last year taken any kind of a toll on our national economics?

[19:47] Has the expenditure of not millions, not billions, but trillions of dollars, has that taken any toll at all on our economy?

[20:03] Has it taken any toll at all on our employment numbers? When you put all of these things together, it starts creating a rather dark picture.

[20:14] You cannot help but wonder, what is it that is afoot out there? And it is entirely possible that this is part of the end game and the adversary himself perhaps will be making his appearance before too long.

[20:31] And if our theology and our eschatology is correct, and nobody's ready to die on that mountain, but if it is, then that perhaps could mean that what we call the translation of the church may not be far away at all.

[20:46] After all, we've always taught for years and years that it's imminent. It could happen any time. So all of these things put together makes this a rather exciting time in which we're living. And part of the problem is we still don't know exactly what we're dealing with.

[21:01] And what does that result in? Confusion, confusion, confusion. And when people are confused, that means they don't know what to do.

[21:13] They don't know what to believe. They don't know what is for sure. And the adversary does his finest work in an atmosphere of confusion.

[21:29] Something to think about. Well, now, I want to inform you of something that is a real uplifter. You need one after that, don't you? And that is, for those who are believers in Christ, I'm not saying, don't care.

[21:48] I'm not saying, don't be concerned about it. I'm not saying, don't do anything. I am saying, relax. You are in a win-win situation and you are the only person on the planet who is.

[22:06] In Christ, we have everything. COVID, no COVID, masks, masks, whatever, it doesn't make any difference. We are already in the best possible hands where we could possibly be.

[22:22] And you need to keep that in mind. And the scriptures want to inform us of that and how that works. So open your Bibles, please, to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8.

[22:45] I'm going to begin reading with verse 18 and we will read through the end of the chapter. I realize that there are different translations involved out there.

[22:55] So just follow along if you would, please, and whatever you have, and we'll consider this together. Verse 18, Romans chapter 8, one of the most splendid passages in all of the word of God.

[23:10] The apostle Paul, under inspiration of the spirit of God, writes, saying, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

[23:27] For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself, or in the confidence and the certainty, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

[23:57] For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only, I'd love to just stop here and expound on this, but we cannot or will not get through the rest of the message.

[24:13] And not only this, verse 23, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

[24:31] For in hope or confidence we have been saved, but confidence that is seen is not confidence. For why does one also hope for what he sees?

[24:42] But if we hope or have confidence for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. And in the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness.

[24:55] For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches the heart knows what the mind of the spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

[25:11] And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

[25:23] For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called.

[25:36] And whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. Now I must stop here and insert something. Because all of these are spoken of as in the past tense.

[25:51] But are you glorified? You don't look glorified to me. And if I look in a mirror, I won't see me as glorified either. We still have these fallen, frail bodies that are subject to every disease and virus that comes along.

[26:08] We are far from glorified. So what does this mean when it's talking about it in the past tense? It's talking about it from God's perspective. In the same way that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.

[26:24] What does that mean? It means that's God's viewpoint. God doesn't see things a month at a time or a year at a time. God sees the whole picture in perspective.

[26:37] Everything is naked and open before him with whom we have to do. Everything is within the purview of God. He sees it all as if it's one panoramic picture from beginning to end.

[26:48] We see it in just little slices of time called days and hours as they go by. We cannot speak about things that have not yet transpired as being already done.

[26:59] But as far as God is concerned, it's a done deal. You are already, even though you are right here now, you are crucified with Christ.

[27:10] That's God's perspective. You are raised with Christ. That's God's perspective. You are seated with Christ even now in the heavenlies. Are you kidding me? You thought you were seated here in Grace Bible Church, didn't you?

[27:24] Well, in time you are. But in God's eternity, we're already there. We're already seated. It is a done deal. So you just simply need to look at these passages the way the text indicates and see whether it's talking about a present reality or whether it's talking about God's picture.

[27:44] And in Ephesians 3, and I won't take you there, but I just want to inject this. In Ephesians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul talks about the church, the body of Christ, being a mystery, hitherto unrevealed, not disclosed in the Old Testament, not prophesied, not predicted at all.

[28:03] And he goes on to say in Ephesians 3, but it was this concept of Jew and Gentile in one body constituting the body of Christ of which he is the spiritual head.

[28:16] This was always in the mind and heart of God, as Paul says in Ephesians 3, that it was hidden in God from time past and not revealed until he called the first apostle to announce it to the world.

[28:34] And his name was Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, the apostle. So it was a shock.

[28:44] It was a big bombshell to all of the Mediterranean world, Jew and Gentile, that there is neither male nor female, neither rich or poor, neither Jew nor Gentile.

[29:02] You are all one in one body, in one unity in Christ. That was in the heart and mind of God from eternity past, but it was not revealed until much later.

[29:15] That's very important. There's God's perspective and there's our perspective. Ours is very limited and often incorrect. God's is perfect, entire, and complete.

[29:30] The difference is stunning. The difference is day and night. If you learn to live your life and conduct your affairs from God's perspective rather than yours, you will have a heart and mind that is flooded with peace and tranquility and assurance and gratitude.

[30:01] And if you don't, you're going to worry your head off about this and about that and about six other things that you don't know about. And they are going to terrify you and scare you and upset you and confuse you.

[30:16] And there is no peace and there is no rest in that kind of life. And all I'm saying is this. We have got to see everything from God's perspective rather than from ours.

[30:32] And when you do, it will make all the difference in the world. Let's continue on with the text. This is marvelous stuff. Verse 26, verse 27, He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

[30:53] And we know. What a statement. He's not saying we think, we suspect. He's saying we know.

[31:05] The word is ginosko in the Greek and it denotes a certainty. We don't think or have a hunch. We know. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose.

[31:25] For whom he foreknew, that means he foreknew you before you were even thought of or before your great grandparents were even thought of. He knew you.

[31:37] He also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son that he might be the first born among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called.

[31:50] And whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. When? In the past. Eternity past. It's already done.

[32:01] We are living in time and space. But God is not operating in time and space. He's operating from eternity. What then shall we say to these things? Oh, oh, oh, my, look at this.

[32:13] If God is for us, who is against us? Can you take that to the bank? That's the presupposition.

[32:24] If God is for us, is he? Is he? If he who spared not his own son, but willingly gave him up for us all, how is it that he will not with him freely give us all things?

[32:39] Is he really for us? Why do you think he went to the cross? It's because he was really for us. And he's still really for you. I don't care what your circumstances are, that's immaterial.

[32:54] That's just a chunk of living in this life. We're talking about the big picture here. These he also glorified.

[33:04] There you have it again, past tense. That's from God's perspective. I don't know about you, but every time my aches and pains remind me, I feel like anything but glorified.

[33:22] But I am. What then shall we say to the, if God is for us? And by the way, this doesn't mean, this doesn't, well, we don't know if God is, maybe he is, and maybe he isn't.

[33:35] That's a big if. And that's a miserable theological translation. It needs to be rendered since. Since God is for us.

[33:46] Not if. Maybe he is, maybe, no, no, no. It is since God is for us, who is against us. Now, that doesn't mean either that you won't have or can't have opposition.

[34:01] We know there are a lot of people on the other side who are opposed to and stand against everything that we stand for. So the whole world can be against you.

[34:12] But the point is, and the text is, and the context is demanding, it doesn't make any difference. If God is for you, it doesn't make any difference who or how many are against you.

[34:27] It doesn't make any difference. That's the point he's making. he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?

[34:38] What are the all things here? It's everything that's left. If God has already made the ultimate gift, the greatest sacrifice, the greatest contribution that he could possibly make in the giving of his own son, if he has already gone to that extreme, everything else is a piece of cake.

[34:58] everything else is relatively incidental, and it will come along. This is the basis for our confidence, for our peace, for our serenity, for our security, for our confidence, for everything.

[35:13] Now, you are either living here or you're not, and if you're not, sign yourself up for worry, frustration, confusion, and everything that goes with it.

[35:28] Are you living the life that Jesus came to provide for you? I am come that man might have life and have it more abundantly.

[35:42] John 10, 10. Is that you? Only you can answer that. who will bring a charge against God's elect?

[35:57] God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died. Yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

[36:10] Who? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

[36:21] All those things try. They try to separate you. They try to cut you off. No. Just as it is written, for thy sake we are being put to death all day long, we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

[36:38] So what? That's the little picture. Martyrdom, that's the little picture. It's the eternal life we have in Christ. That's the big picture.

[36:50] That's the one that we often lose sight of. But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer.

[37:02] That doesn't mean we just squeak by. It means we overwhelmingly conquer.

[37:14] No contest. Wow. Can you take this to the bank? Well, if you can't, then go ahead and live in your misery and confusion and uncertainty and everything that goes with it.

[37:30] But frankly, I don't want to spend my life that way. It's too short as it is. in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us.

[37:40] For I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither death, that's a good big one to get out of the way right off the bat, isn't it? Death.

[37:52] Come knocking on your door one of these days. Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[38:19] And I would add to that, and that's all that matters. That's all that matters. Wow. What a text. Well, I have something a little different for you, and I want you to just be kind enough to listen up if you would.

[38:40] This is something that I wrote frankly, I don't know when I wrote it. It was probably three or four years ago, and it has been aired on a number of radio stations, about 20 stations, across the country during the last few years.

[38:58] This just happens to be from the CD volume number 23, and there's some back there that are rubber banded together with 23 and 4 and 5, I think, and it's called Perspective Changes Everything, So what I'm going to do now is just read to you the radio script that is on one of those discs back there, and that has already been delivered some time ago on radio, and tying in with our message and what we're talking about now is Perspective Changes Everything, Part 1.

[39:35] One's perspective of everything is another key element necessary to grasp in order to address the whys, the whys of our pain.

[39:47] It, along with comprehending our fallen world, including our own personal fallenness, will go a long way toward understanding our present pains and can even give us peace and contentment in the midst of them.

[40:02] Our personal perspective is severely limited. We often do not understand events from the past, misinterpret events occurring in the present, and we are surely clueless about the future, all because of that limited human perspective.

[40:20] But God has no such limitation. With Him, the future and the past are as clear as the present, and having that full perspective, God is able to intervene or not intervene in the affairs of men as His wisdom deems best.

[40:39] God has purposes and goals that completely escape us mere mortals with our tiny limited perspective. The scriptures consistently remind us that God is all-knowing, all- powerful, and everywhere present.

[40:53] Nothing is hid from Him with whom we have to do. We humans have great difficulty trying to coordinate God's sovereignty with the responsibility of man.

[41:05] Yet God is able to sort it all out because He has the perspective that His very being, character, and nature give Him. Intellectually and theologically, we know of this to be true of God.

[41:20] Our problem is in remembering it when we are experiencing great adversity, perhaps physical or emotional pain we can't even describe.

[41:38] Being unable to see beyond our losses or pain, we tend to derive little comfort from knowing that God knows our situation full well.

[41:50] We don't want God to merely know it. We want Him to do something about it, preferably remove it, and soon.

[42:02] And we all tend to be like this. It's an integral part of our humanity and its several limitations, particularly that of a deficient perspective.

[42:16] God has a complete perspective and knows full well our part in it. Our losses and our pains, while often seeming senseless to us, will one day be seen to fit the entire mix in a way now unimaginable.

[42:36] So, hindered by our limited perspective, we tend to chafe and grumble over the painful losses, feelings, and circumstances that come into our life.

[42:50] Sometimes our sorrows are self-induced, and sometimes they result from the actions of others that hurt us deeply. But in any case, God is aware of it all, even though we may feel that He isn't.

[43:08] And in the midst of it all, we honor Him best if we are willing to rest and trust in Him while right in the very midst of our pain, no one is saying this is easy to do because it isn't.

[43:31] And this is the very reason that most refuse to do it. It isn't easy. It's a lot easier and far more natural to whine and bemoan and question God and why me and why this and what did I do to deserve this and why doesn't God do something and maybe I'm not even a Christian and maybe God doesn't love me and maybe this and maybe that and there is no peace, no tranquility, no solace, no comfort, just perpetual confusion and anxiety.

[44:08] What a miserable, miserable way for a Christian to live when Jesus Christ died to make the other possible. despite its difficulty, it is still the only way to honor God in the midst of our pain.

[44:33] Is our why answered? Often no. And we leave it to him to answer in his good time.

[44:44] It may not be until you see him. Is that okay with you? Or do you demand something else?

[45:04] Job said it as well as anybody could. Monumental words. in the midst of all of his deprivation and agony and pain and losses.

[45:19] Job said, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. What are you going to do with somebody like that?

[45:35] You just take off your hat to him. something to think about.

[45:49] If you're interested in this, this is the only copy I have of this. Of course, we can make more if anybody wants it. There are some CDs back there that are kind of separate.

[46:01] All the CDs back there are free, by the way, if there's anything you want. Feel free to take it. And by the way, thank you so much for CDs that you take to give to somebody else. Because we don't want them to be just an in-house thing.

[46:14] We want them scattered and spread to whomever can benefit from them. So thanks to those of you who take them and give them to others. I do really appreciate that. We've got the equipment to make more and we turn them out by the thousands.

[46:27] So you can be a part in getting the word out and we are grateful for that. Thank you so much. Now I want you to look at the insert that is in your bulletin and for September 14 and 13 because they too are both of these are remarkable and as I told you I have not put this together so that I incorporated this material from two minutes with the Bible but it just keeps happening with what I'm talking about and it's just it's amazing and I want to read the 14th first we'll just do this backwards but the Christian's prospect it's priceless those of us who trust in Christ for salvation have a glorious prospect for the present while waiting to go be with him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace in infinite love God has made us to be accepted in the beloved and has pronounced us complete in him

[47:31] Ephesians 1 6 Colossians 2 10 our position is now a blessed and exalted one for God has made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Ephesians 2 6 and has blessed us this is past tense this is God's perspective and has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Ephesians 1 3 but this is only the beginning for referring to the Christian's death Philippians 1 23 tells us that to depart and to be with Christ is far better far better not only than earth's sorrows and troubles but far better even than earth's dearest treasures and joys but even this is not all for the time will come when the church the body of Christ having been completed the Lord will come to receive all of its members living and dead to himself referring to the resurrection of the deceased believer's body 1 Corinthians 15 declares that it is raised in incorruptibility verse 42 it is raised in glory verse 43 it is raised in power it is raised a spiritual body verse 44 for as we have borne the image of the earthly we shall also bear the image of the heavenly verse 49 and as to those believers who will be alive at his coming he says we shall all be changed that's going to be wonderful we shall be changed

[49:08] I'm going to lose my eyeglasses I'm going to lose my hearing age hair is going to be added to my head it's going to be wonderful it's going to be something yeah I can't wait for we look for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that means it is vile in the sense that it is capable of corruption and decay breaking down and falling apart change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself man oh man if this were not the word of God I would not be able to believe it it does sound too good to be true and for those poor souls who relegate the Bible to tradition and fantasy they have no clue what they're missing we had a class this morning some of you were here at nine o'clock dealing with law and grace and the provision made through grace etc it was a marvelous class and Nathan is doing an outstanding job we had a great discussion great input and those of you who were not here for the nine o'clock class you have my sympathy because it was great it was something that ought not to be missed

[50:42] September 13 on the flip side heaven and who will go there most people are surprised when they learn that the Old Testament though three times as large as the New does not contain one single promise about going to heaven did you know that God's people in Old Testament times looked forward to a glorified earth with Messiah as its ruler this was so even when our Lord was on earth and continued to be so through Pentecost Peter addressing his kinsmen just after Pentecost said in essence repent and God will send Jesus down here this is in Acts chapter 3 but Paul in his epistle says by divine inspiration believe and God will take you up there this apostle of grace teaches us that God has already given believers in Christ a position and all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Ephesians 2 and chapter 1 and he teaches further that at the close of this dispensation of grace the dead in Christ shall rise and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord and so shall we ever be with the

[51:59] Lord 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 16 and 17 thus it is that Paul God's special apostle for our day declares that our conversation our citizenship our legal residence is in heaven Philippians 3 20 and writes of the hope or the confidence which is laid up for you in heaven Colossians 1 5 thus it is that he encourages persecuted saints saying ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods look at that who can take joyfully the spoiling of you know what that means they were stolen from them they were robbed how can you take that joyfully that that that time to sit down and start filling out insurance forms and shed a few tears and all the rest to try to reclaim your loss that's the natural thing to do and I'm not saying that you shouldn't do that if it's something that is standard procedure and it's ethical and you have it coming but why are we going to fret and stew and worry over lost possessions someone has said you know

[53:10] I've seen a lot of funeral processions but I've never seen a U-Haul in any of them because you're going to leave it all behind it took joyfully the spoiling or the robbing of your goods knowing that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance Hebrews 10 34 and thus he writes even of death for we know there again is that word I just love it for we know we don't hope hunch suspect we know we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle what is that that your body that's what you're walking around in that is your earthly tabernacle a tabernacle is kind of like a tent it's designed to be temporary and do you know we're all temporary to this earth this world is not my home

[54:15] I'm just a passing through there is laid up for me treasures beyond the blue and they are for you too for earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved and the word therefore dissolved means falls apart if you've never had the feeling sometimes physically that your body is falling apart just wait just wait it likely is coming you just kind of feel weak and you're not your old self you're kind of out of it and this stuff someone said what doesn't hurt doesn't work that's part of the aging process just reminds us that we're not made for this for heaven we're made for this world a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens and then he says Philippians 1 23 to die is gain oh how morbid is morbid at all if you are a believer in

[55:20] Christ you are far better off on the other side than you are here now don't take any needless risks or chances to get there but that's the truth of the matter to die is gain and to depart with Christ is far better now what you need to decide is are those just words are those just words or does it really mean that only you can decide and your decision will determine how you live your life your agenda your value systems your concerns your fears all the rest of it that will be determined by that amazing absolutely amazing now for a few moments that we have left I want you to take your hymnal again and if you will we're not going to sing we're just going to look at these hymns because

[56:23] I deliberately selected them and Nathan and the family let us in them simply because they so beautifully tie in with what we're talking about and they are just absolutely marvelous the first one is at the cross this is a hymn that was written by Isaac Watts over 300 years ago and I've told you before that Isaac Watts was a young man who went to his father who was a pastor of a church and he complained that the church's hymns that they were singing all sounded like a funeral dirge and his father said well young man if you don't like them why don't you write some new ones and he did and he wrote hundreds of hymns and this is one of them that is most outstanding at the cross alas and did my savior bleed and did my sovereign die would he devote that sacred head for sinners such as

[57:26] I was it for crimes that I have done he groaned upon the tree amazing pity grace unknown and love beyond degree well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in when Christ the mighty maker died for man the creature sin wow what a line what a line when our Lord was on that cross the time period was between noon and 3 p.m he was on the cross so far as we can tell only for six hours from about nine in the morning to three in the afternoon and at twelve noon when the sun was at its zenith darkness settled over the whole earth some say well that was just a what do you call it an eclipse that was just an eclipse but scientists astronomical scientists tell us an eclipse lasts 22 minutes at the longest this lasted for three hours darkness was over the whole earth and there was an earthquake a severe earthquake and the hymn writer is saying the sun had every reason to hide its glory its brightness well in other words it was well within reason for the sun to be blacked out during that time when

[59:09] Christ the mighty maker he is creator of all things and without him was not anything made that was made Christ the mighty maker died for man the creature's sin never can we get over the fact that God was in fleshed the word became flesh and dwelt among us John says he who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf this is the most dependous the most amazing event that ever took place in the history of the universe this is the centerpiece of the universe God became man and died on behalf of his creatures that is mind boggling thus might

[60:15] I hide my blushing face while calvary's cross appears dissolve my heart in thankfulness and melt mine eyes to tears and this line I'll tell you Isaac Watts had a handle on the theology of this boy this is something but drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of love I owe if I bawl my eyes out in remorse and sadness doesn't begin to pay here Lord I give myself away tis all that I can do and I want you to turn to another one it's in 342 and we could be singing these but I just want to read the lines and I want you to get the message we've already sung them but this is just it's quite an understatement when I say this but I'm going to say it anyway they don't write songs like this anymore the stuff today by comparison is little ditties that are often sorely lacking in any solid theology rock of ages cleft for me what's that mean cleft for me what's it means split it means a rock is split in two and that's the event that took place at

[61:37] Sinai when Moses wanted to see the glory of God and God told him Moses you can't handle that but I will give you something and there is a cleft in the rock this was a huge rock on Sinai that had been split in two and he told Moses go and stand in the cleft of the rock where the rock is divided stand there and I will pass by and you may see my hinder parts but you may not see my face this this is the same one who was transfigured before Peter James and John in the mount of transfiguration much later this is glorious stuff this is just as I've said mind boggling rock of ages cleft for me let me hide myself in thee let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed be of sin the double cure the double cure cures two things what are the two things the first is it saves you from the wrath of

[63:01] God that's the first part and the second part is and make me pure you know as well as I do that in our flesh and in our humanity who of us is pure none of us but you need to understand again from God's perspective you are as spotless and as sinless as Jesus Christ is himself because you are united to him someone was talking this morning in the nine o'clock class about the issue of security and someone says well when you are in Christ you are safe and secure permanently we are held in the palm of his hand and they were told well yes no one can take you out of God's hand but you can take yourself out you can remove yourself from

[64:05] God's hand you can slip through the fingers and get out of Christ yourself and they need to understand in Christ you're one of the fingers you are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh you are locked into the Savior and his destiny is your destiny his righteousness is your righteousness his eternal life is your eternal life that's why that's why this is called good news have you any idea how many people still don't understand it after 2000 years good news the gospel Christ died for your sin you can have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to you undeservingly just by receiving him as an act of your will as your personal Savior appropriating what

[65:08] Jesus did for you this is the most amazing thing the world has ever heard or ever will hear and it is all wrapped up in the identity of this person who Jesus is and was what he did and why it matters nothing in the world is more important than that have you done business with God on this scale that's all that matters play with me please father once again we have delved into an issue that is so glorious so beyond our ability to grasp as well as we would like and yet with our meager ability recognizing that we lack as we do the greater understanding of these things yet you have made it simple enough and plain enough that we can grasp the essence of it and we rejoice in the description that Paul gave when he said

[66:21] I delivered unto you of first importance that which I also received how that Christ died for our sin according to the scriptures that he was buried and raised again according to the scriptures we don't understand father how it is that you are able to apply that reality to our lives and justify us make us righteous positionally and forgive us our sins past present and future we don't understand all the mechanics of this or any of the mechanics and how it is that you're able to do it but we take you at your word that in Christ this is the reality we are so grateful and our prayer right now is for any man or woman boy or girl here who's never really perhaps sufficiently understood this never really grasp the extreme lengths to which

[67:23] God went in his son Jesus to bring them to yourself and our prayer is that they might even now grasp enough to be able to act on it intelligently so dear friend if you are listening by way of this auditorium or through the internet or on the radio whichever all you need do to do business with God simply say Lord Jesus I believe what the Bible says that you died for my sin I acknowledge my sin I admit that I am just a member of the human race all of which is tainted with sin and yet that's why Jesus came and he gave himself to do for me what I couldn't do for myself and I want to put his payment for my sin to my account I want you to do that thank you for being willing to die in my place I cannot fathom such immeasurable love as that but that's what Jesus was all about and right now I want to give myself as best as

[68:34]  I know how to him and ask him to come into my life and heart to make me what he wants me to be to direct my paths I want Christ as my savior and nothing else and dear friend if you've made that your prayer you may be assured that God has heard you because all that come to him he will in no wise cast out it would be important if you have that you tell someone else so that they can encourage you and if they are a believer they will rejoice with you thank you father for this time that we have shared together thank you for the presence of each one here and thank you even for those who are not here who can hear through some other medium we simply pray that as the gospel goes forth it will bear fruit as you wish thank you for it all in Christ's wonderful name amen