preacher and he bought me a suit. Matter of fact, he didn't just buy me a suit. He had me measured and had a suit made for me. And so a couple of days later, we went back and we picked up that suit. I'm wearing that suit today. And the preacher that bought it for me is none other than your own Eddie Ray. And we were in Beijing, China. And he's a he's a friend of ours. We were actually I purchased tickets in 2016. to go and be with him and then to go on to Japan. I was going to be in Japan for six weeks after that and bought the tickets I think on a Thursday and on Monday I got a message that they'd been raided. So we didn't go, it didn't work out that time. It would have been our third trip over there but he is a a wonderful man. I did not realize about his relationship with this church until just the other day. I almost canceled once I realized that you guys like Eddie Ray, but I decided to go ahead and come anyway and got to meet his in-laws. I think we're going out to lunch together, so I want some very interesting stories that I can use. while we're at lunch, if you don't mind. And when I first mentioned to Pastor, I think I can tell him this without getting you in trouble, he said, it's a miracle that brother Eddie Ray and I aren't in prison or worse. And so apparently you guys have been friends for a long time and he is a blessing and just a heart for the Chinese people. And it's just amazing the work that he has there. If you could go without causing any spotlight to come on his ministry, I would encourage everybody to go and visit the church that they have there at Truth Baptist Church. They've certainly been a blessing to us over the years. Go ahead and open your Bibles, please. The book of Ephesians this morning, the book of Ephesians. And as you get to Ephesians, we'll be in the second chapter here in just a few moments. Ephesians chapter two. There are three words that if you take them out of the word of God, if you remove them from the tapestry of the word of God, if you unravel those threads, if you take those three words out, there is no plan of salvation. There is no home in heaven. There is no death on the cross. There is no eternal life. There's no heirs of God. There's no joint heirs with Christ Jesus. No one has the power to become the sons of God. Everything falls apart. It all goes away. Everything about salvation ceases to exist if you remove any one of these three words from the economy of the Word of God. The first one is the most obvious of all words in the Word of God and it is this, the word love. If there was no love for God toward a lost mankind, if there was no God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, there would not be a home in heaven. You could not be saved. I could not be saved. There would not have been a cross. There would not have been a Savior dying for our sins. There would not have been a baby born in a manger. All of those things completely fall apart if it were not for the love of God for lost mankind. And we're going to talk more about that here in just a moment. The thing is, you and I cannot possibly understand the love of God, but we as human beings, we can grasp, we can understand the concept of love. If you're sitting here with your family on your pew, you know that you're sitting with people that you love. I tell people I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my brothers. I love my sister. And I like my mother in law. But we can, in fact, understand the concept of love, can't we? There's a second word that if you take it out. that everything falls apart. There is no salvation. It is this simple word faith. It's impossible for the human being to understand faith, but faith is necessary for salvation. Hebrews 11 and verse six. But without faith, it is impossible to please him free. They come with the God must believe that he is. and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We can't understand as human beings how a microcosm of faith can accomplish what it accomplishes. In Luke chapter 17, Jesus says, Because of your unbelief, I say to you, if you have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, you shall say to this sycamore tree, be thou plucked up by the root, be thou planted in the midst of the sea, and it should obey you. Matthew chapter 17 and verse 4, I believe it is, when the Lord says, It's impossible for us to grasp how a mustard seed of faith can pluck up a sycamore tree and move an entire mountain. But we can, in fact, understand faith, can't we? You walked in today and nobody checked to see if the pew would hold you up. You just had confidence that the manufacturer, that pew made a pew strong enough to hold up you and everybody else on that row. You got in your vehicle today. You might have said, Lord, keep us safe. Help us to not hit any ice. Help us to not hit any snow. Keep us safe on the highways. But very few, if anybody in this room said, Lord, please help this vehicle to start. You just trusted that the manufacturer of that vehicle made a vehicle that was good enough to start. If you drive a Ford, you've got more faith than anybody on the planet. You know, 97% of all new Ford sold in the last five years are still on the road. The other 3% made it home from the dealership anyway. We can understand love, but we can't understand God's love. We can understand faith, but we can't understand mustard seed faith that moves mountains and plucks up trees. But there's a third word that if you take it out, everything falls apart. And it's this simple word, grace. When you look up the definition of the word grace, it says the unmerited love or the unmerited favor of God. So it's something that you and I cannot experience. We can offer it to other human beings from ourselves. But when the Bible is talking about grace, it's something that you and I can't even understand. We can't even can't even begin to fathom the grace of almighty God. We read it 167 times in the New Testament, but we don't understand it. It's one of our favorite topics to sing about, isn't it? It is said that the Baptist National Anthem is amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved the wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found was blind. But now I see through many dangers, tolls and stairs. I have already come to his grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. But we don't understand it. We sing grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all my sin. But we don't understand it. We sing about the wonderful grace of Jesus greater than all my sin. How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall its praise begin? But we don't understand it. It is impossible for the finite mind to understand how a perfect and holy and without blemish God can look down from heaven and loves wicked, sinful human beings like me and you so much that he's willing to give his only begotten son to die for us so that he can save us, make us part of his family, make us heirs of God and join heirs with Christ Jesus, build us a mansion in heaven and promise to come back and get us someday all through the vehicle of his amazing grace. There are two problems with grace, though. One is the lost person's position outside of the grace of God. And if you don't know Christ as your personal savior, this topic of grace, it's something that's available for you, but you've never availed yourself of it. But there's a second problem. It's oftentimes the Christian's position in grace. To see most Christians, to talk to most Christians, to notice the demeanor and the spiritual temperature of most Christians, you would think that the song doesn't say what it says. As you got up this morning and you put your suit and your tie on and you got your choir music or your Sunday school notes or your Bible and your sermon notebook or whatever you have with you, and you got all dressed in your Sunday finest and you looked at yourself in the mirror and you said, oh, God sure did get lucky when he saved me. I've preached in pastors fellowships over the years. For the first several years of my ministry, I would preach and some older preacher would preach after me. And usually they were 70 or 80 years of age. Now, the last three I've done, I've been the second preacher. I don't know what that says about me, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it. But I've heard some of those older preachers say this, and I'm not meaning to criticize, but they'd make this statement, I'm glad the Lord saved this old country preacher. Everybody says amen. I've heard deacons and Sunday school teachers stand up and give testimony in churches. I'm glad the Lord saved this old Sunday school teacher, this old deacon, this old choir member, this old song leader, this old pastor, this old evangelist. Can I tell you something? God doesn't save old country preachers. God doesn't save Sunday school teachers. He does not save deacons. He does not save song leaders. He does not save choir directors. He does not save evangelists, and he does not save pastors. God always has and always will save one classification of people and one classification of people only. God only saves dirty, wretched, wicked, vile, hell-deserving sinners. And to see most of us in our walk with the Lord, you would think that the song says, interesting grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a pretty good Christian like me. Explainable grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a Sunday school teacher like me. Grace, it's got a wonderful sound to it because it saved this old country preacher. No, we've forgotten that we were nothing but wretches. We've forgotten that we were nothing but filthy. And it would not have taken one more ounce of the manifold grace of God to save the wretched, sin-sick soul of Osama bin Laden that it took to save me and you. The simple truth is grace has become comfortable. We've become used to grace. It's become something that we just enjoy singing about. And Amazing Grace may in fact be our national anthem, but I'm here to tell you something, Christian, it is not our lifestyle. It's about time we started living our lives, our Christian lives, as if we're still amazed at grace. I want you to look with me at this topic of grace this morning from Ephesians chapter 2. We'll read the first 10 verses as Paul is addressing the church at Ephesus. And he says, who are dead in your trespasses and sins weren't in times past. You walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom all also we are in our conversation in time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and whereby nature, the children of wrath, even as others. But then don't you love this? But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, as any man should boast, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. This morning, I want to preach to you about the grace of God. Christian. I know you would say if I asked you before the service or during the song service, if I asked you, do you think grace is amazing? You would have looked at me and said yes. But would your Christian walk prove it? Lost person, you're here without the grace of God. I apologize because the first few moments of this message, I'm going to say some things to you that might make you uncomfortable. But bad preaching or wicked preaching or mean preaching is preaching that's not truthful. Bible preaching is never mean. I just want you to see what the Bible says about you without the grace of God and let you know that you don't have to leave here without it. Let's have a word of prayer before we begin the Lord. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. Oh, we thank you again for our time together. Thank you for what you've done already in the Sunday school hour. Father, now we praise you for what you're going to do in this morning service, Father. May we leave here with lost people realizing their need of a Savior, and Christians realizing their need of a closer walk with You. Do what only You can do, and we promise to give You all the praise and the glory. In Jesus' name, Amen. I want you to notice, of all the things that grace does, and the Bible is filled with things that grace does, perhaps the greatest, and I think it would probably go without even debate, the greatest is the redemption of grace. buying back a sinner from the slave market of sin, never to be sold again. And this redemption that grace brings about, we see in the first four verses of this passage of Scripture. First, I want you to notice, we see the life of the sinner. Verses 1, 2, and 3 describe people before they've trusted Christ as their personal Savior. You'll notice that verse 1 describes you, if you're here today without Christ, it describes you as dead in trespasses and sins. As you sit here this morning without Jesus Christ, let me just tell you, in the eyes of God, you're a corpse. I said, Brother Harper, that doesn't make any sense. I can see, I can feel, I can taste, I can I can speak, I can hear. I've got all those senses. I'm doing just fine. I'm a living being. I'm a human being. My heart is beating. My lungs are working. Yes. Everybody in this room, without exception, would vote that you're a living person. But God looks at you as a corpse. Romans chapter five and verse twelve. Therefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world. and death by sin, so that death passed upon all men, for that all have sin. Romans chapter six and verse twenty three for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The fact is, as you sit here this morning, you're dead. You're a corpse in the eyes of almighty God, and the tragic truth of it is for you, excuse me, is that God's opinion is the only one that matters. But I don't know that I like that at all. No, you're probably going to like this even less. The Bible says in the second verse in this passage that you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince, the power of the air. I was witnessing I was preaching in a church in Ohio, and after I'd finished, I'd gone to the back door. And while I was standing at the back door, I noticed a man had pulled up into the parking lot. He was there to pick up his wife and his daughter. He would drop them off, but he would never go to church. And so I walked outside and struck up a conversation with him. After a few moments, as people are milling out of the church, I started to witness to him. And finally, we got to the place where I asked him, I said, Would you just like to right now trust Christ as your personal savior? And he looked at me and he says, No. You don't usually hear that answer when you've explained the entire plan of salvation. You realize the enormity of the gift of God that he's offering to a lost person. You don't usually hear no once you get to that point. And he said, no. And I said, why? He said, well, because I know if I get saved, I got to start doing whatever that Bible says. I got to start doing whatever that preacher says. I have to start coming to church on Sundays. And he said, I like to hunt on Sundays. And he said this. Nobody's going to tell me how to live my life. I'm my own man. No. If you're here today without Jesus Christ, you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Jesus put it this way in the book of John, year of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father you will do. You know what it means? That you're a puppet and Satan's the puppeteer. So by the Harper, I know I don't like that, then you're really not going to like this. If you're sitting here without Christ, the life of the sinner is that you're dead in your trespasses and sins. The life of the sinner is that you walk according to the prince and the power of the air. But there's a third thing. As human beings, we don't like for people to be mad at us. We often want to make peace with someone. We find out someone's got something against us. We want to talk to him, see if we can work it out. Remember, years ago, I worked for a company called Color Tile. in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I had a boss by the name of Ray Parish. Now, ladies would come in. True story. Ladies would come in with their wallpaper samples or their paint samples, and we would help them find tile and we would help them find other wallpaper and things like that. And Ray was one of those. And he would he would show these ladies things that he felt would match their house. The thing about it was that nobody knew, except a few of us, is that Ray Parish was blue, green and red, yellow colorblind. He was both. There are two types of colorblindness. He was both. I have no idea what some of those houses look like after the Ray Parish helped them decorate. But his wife, Lil, every night before they would go to bed, would go to his closet and lay out his clothes for the next morning. It was always easy to spot when they were fighting. He would walk in wearing stripes and plaids and checks and colors that would never match in a million years. And as he would walk in the door looking like a clown from the circus, we would say, Hey, Ray, are you and Lil having a fight? And he would say, How do you guys always know when we're fighting? It made sense for Ray Parish to make peace with his wife before she laid out his clothes for the next day. It makes sense for you as a husband to make peace with your wife before she cooks your Sunday afternoon dinner. We don't like it when someone's angry with us. But if you're a lost person, I want you understand something. Somebody's angry with you this morning. So for the Harper's, is it pastor? No, it's not pastor. Is it you? Your face turns red. No, it's not me. As a matter of fact, as far as I know, it's nobody in this room. Jesus put it this way. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. You think about that as you drive up Interstate 40 the next time you head somewhere, because when you get in that car and you get on that interstate, the wrath of God goes with you. The wrath of God goes with you with every breath you take, every place you go, everything you buy. The wrath of God abides on you. We have a we have a problem. We do not have a healthy respect for who Almighty God is. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew, Chapter 10? He said, And fear not them which after they've killed the body have no more that they can do, but rather fear him. who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. We need to have a healthy dose of fear of almighty God. And if you're a lost person, his wrath, the wrath of the almighty God of heaven abides on you. Well, that's that's terrible. That's the worst news I've ever heard, that I'm I'm dead in my trespasses and sins. I'm a child of disobedience. I do whatever Satan tells me to do. I'm a child of wrath. God's wrath abides on me. Is there any hope as they cried out in Acts chapter two after Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost? They said, what are we supposed to do? The answer is simple because it follows right up, but God. It's amazing how God's wrath can abide on people that he loves. It doesn't kind of add up to us when we stop and think about it. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even while his wrath is by abiding on you, his love is available for you. There's the life of the sinner, but it meets the love of the savior. There's no way to describe this kind of love. There is no sacrificial love that you've ever witnessed that even remotely compares to the love that the Lord has. We honor people. We reward people based upon partially upon the words of Christ. Greater love. John 15, 13 had no man than this. Then a man laid on his life for his friend over Romans chapter five and verse seven. For scarcely for a righteous man would one die it peradventure for a good man. Some would even dare to die. My dad went home to be with the Lord almost a year ago now. But the first time he had four heart attacks during the course of his life, and each time he drove himself to the hospital. My dad was unbelievably stubborn when he came to something like that. He would drive himself to the same hospital. He liked, for some reason, Thomas Memorial Hospital. Nobody likes Thomas Memorial Hospital, but it's in South Charleston, and dad likes that hospital. He had his first heart attack right there at the intersection of McCorkle Avenue and the road that leads to the state police barracks. You don't know where that is in South Charleston. And there's a Bob Evans and a Wendy's on that corner. When he had the accident, he felt his chest tighten up and he felt his left arm go numb. And so he kind of figured he was having a heart attack. They filled out all the papers. He didn't say anything to anybody. And then he was going to drive himself to the hospital. And before he would drive himself to the hospital, though, he came to the conclusion that if he drove himself to a hospital, they weren't going to let him eat. So he went through the Wendy's drive through, ordered a number one combo with cheese and everything, literally walked into the emergency room eating a single cheese with everything and told them that he just had a heart attack. They did not take him seriously until they did an EKG. I went into that hospital dozens and dozens of times to see him and spend time with him over the years. a painted portrait of a Marine World War II Sergeant, Sergeant Thomas, Thomas Memorial Hospital. I just assumed that his family had something to do with the hospital. It never occurred to me to try to find anything else out. And the portrait is so eye-catching that no matter what you plan to do when you walk out, you can't help but stare at the portrait. But one day I was distracted by something and didn't notice the portrait and accidentally looked on the other wall. On the other wall, there are three frames. The middle frame is the one that caught my attention because they're in that middle frame on the left hand side of that frame. They're saying hang Sergeant Thomas's purple heart. Now, if you know anything about military service, purple heart means you were injured in battle, battle defending the United States of America. On the far right hand side of that frame hangs Sergeant Thomas's bronze star. That's given for active heroism in battle. But between the bronze star and the purple heart, both of which I've seen in my lifetime, there hangs his Congressional Medal of Honor. Immediately I stopped, stopped dead in my tracks and read the other two frames. One was a letter from Franklin Delano Roosevelt telling his family that their son had died in battle. The other was a letter from the United States Congress that detailed the reasons that Sergeant Thomas had been posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was leading a platoon of Marines on an island in the South Pacific during World War II. They'd been ordered to secure a hill, but the hill was very heavily fortified with Japanese machine gun positions. And they'd overcome two of them, but they'd lost several of their men. And the third one was the most heavily fortified. So Sergeant Thomas and his men dug foxholes and got down in the foxholes and decided they would try to weaken the Japanese position by lobbing hand grenades at their position. Sergeant Thomas pulled the pin and a grenade lofted it into the air. It got caught in the branches of a palm tree and fell down live into the foxhole with Sergeant Thomas and his men. He didn't calculate. He didn't measure. He just threw his body on top of the hand grenade. When it exploded, of course, it instantly killed Sergeant Thomas. But those devil dog Marines seeing that the sacrifice that their sergeant had just made, they climbed out of that foxhole and marched up that hill into blazing Japanese machine gun fire. And the United States Marine Corps never surrendered that hill the remainder of World War Two. Because of his act of heroism, his act of sacrifice, not only were his men motivated, but the Congress was motivated. And the president awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor, because scarcely for a righteous man would one die. Yet peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But the next verse says this, but God. commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, while you're dead in your trespasses and sins, while you're walking according to the prince of the power of the air, while his wrath is abiding on you, Christ died for us. There is no no group of words that could go together to even remotely come close to explaining that. I remember the song, probably one of the most beautiful third verses of any song ever. Could we with ink the ocean fill? And were the sky of parchment made? If every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drink the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky. And as beautiful as that is, I love the way Paul puts it. What shall separate us from the love of Christ? So tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword, as it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We're kind of a sheep for the slaughter. And all these things were more than conquerors through him that loved us. But I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth. And I love this. nor any other creature. So be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What I'm trying to tell you is, as a lost person here this morning, outside of the grace of God, there is nothing that the world can do, nothing that the flesh can do, nothing that the devil can do that can stop you from trading God's wrath in for his grace this morning. There's nothing in this world that can stop you from trusting Christ as your personal Savior, save you making the wrong decision today. You can walk out abiding in his wrath, or you can walk out abiding in his grace. It's entirely up to you. Notice the life of the sinner meets the love of the Savior, and it results in living salvation. You know, everything changes the moment you get saved. Did you realize that? Oh, Brother Harper, I still have an old nature. I understand that. But your past, your present, and your future all changes the instant you get saved. Your past was once riddled with sin, and now your past can be summed up this way. Come now. Let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. I was in a meeting with a missionary from India and we had snow and he'd never seen snow in his entire life. I'll never forget what he said. He said, well, first time I saw snow, I was surprised at two things. He said, number one, how cold it was. When you just see a picture of it, you don't know how cold it is, but it's very cold. He said, and number two, how white it is. And he said, I just broke down in tears because my sins are as white as that snow. That's your past. Your present changed. You are of your father, the devil. Plus, your father, you will do. But he came into his own and his own received him not. But as many as received him, then gave you power to become the sons of God. Even then, I believe on his name, John one versus eleven and twelve or first, John, chapter three and verse two, beloved. Now are we the sons of God? And it does not yet appear we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Your past changes, your present changes and of course, your future changes. Your future was once destined for a lake that burns with fire and brimstone. But now we could sum your future up this way, that where I am, there you may be also. Know this, the life of the sinner meets the love of the Savior. It results in living salvation. Nothing can stop you from trading in wrath for grace today. After you get saved, though, several things happen. Notice number two, the repositioning of grace. Notice what it says. Even when we're dead in sins, hath quicken us together with Christ by grace, you're saved and half. You'll notice that's past tense. Paul is still alive. The people that he's writing are still alive. He says and a half already. It's done. It's over. It's certain half seated us together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. He hath raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places. It's already taken place. In other words, Christian, let me put it this way. It's as sure that you're going to be in heaven as if you were already there. He's changed us, he's repositioned us. This world isn't home anymore. What does the Bible tell us about heaven as far as what we have there? When the disciples came back, they were so astonished they were able to cast out demons. And Jesus said, don't marvel that you can cast out demons. He said, marvel that your names are written in heaven. Peter tells us that our citizenship is in heaven. Paul tells us in Philippians chapter three, for our conversation is in heaven. From whence also we look for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. We're told that our inheritance is in heaven. Matthew tells us, lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves do break through and steal, but rather lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt nor thieves do break through and steal. Let me say this, if your name is in heaven, your inheritance is in heaven, your conversation is in heaven, your citizenship is in heaven, and your treasure is in heaven, you don't belong here anymore. That's why Christians should never fit in in the world. This world, people make fun of the song, this world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. Several years ago, there was a man by the name of Iris Stamphill. He was traveling through West Virginia. And as he was traveling through West Virginia to make a visit, he had a businessman with him in the car. He got out of the car and went to make the visit, left the businessman sitting there. Some versions of this story, it's a little girl. Others, it's a little boy. But he saw a child bouncing a ball up against the side of the house that they lived in. He first smiled fondly, remembering what it was like when he was a kid a long time ago. Then he started to notice the house. He noticed that he could see through the broken window panes and see the buckets in the living room there to catch the water that came through the holes in the roof. He looked a little bit more carefully and saw that the porch looked like it was about ready to collapse. There were actual holes in the logs of the house itself. Finally, he got out of his car and he walked up as Mr. Stampill was still making the visit. He stood by that little child bouncing the ball up against the house. Finally, the little boy looked at him and said, Can I help you, mister? He said, Yes, son. He said, I got to tell you, I'm sorry that you have to live in a house like this. There's holes in the walls, there's holes in the window, holes in the roof. The porch is about ready to collapse. This house should be condemned. I'm sorry you have to live in a house like this." The little boy looked at him and smiled and reached out and took him by the hand. He said, Mr., you don't understand. They walked out in the backyard. He said, Mr., you see that hilltop over yonder? The businessman said, yes, he said, not too long ago, my daddy left me and my mama here. And he went on the other side of that hilltop where he's building us a brand new house for me and my mama. He said in any day now, my daddy's coming back to get me and my mama and move us to the brand new house he's built for us on the other side of that hilltop. Businessman went back to the car. By the time Iris Stampill got there, he was weeping and he told the whole story. And Iris Stampill wrote those words. I'm satisfied with just a cottage below a little silver and a little gold. But in that city where the ransom will shine, I want a gold one that silver line. Think me poor, deserted, or lonely? I'm not discouraged, for I'm heaven-bound. I'm just a pilgrim in search of a city. I have a mansion, a home, and a crown. I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. We have been repositioned, Christian. This world isn't even home anymore. Notice, number one, there's the redemption of grace. Number two, there's the repositioning of grace. Number three, before I give you number three, let me point this out. Grace is pretty wonderful, isn't it? I mean, if you have your health this morning, you have it by the grace of God. If you don't have your health this morning, the grace to go through your illness, you have by the grace of God, your family, you have by the grace of God, every possession you have, you have by the grace of God. Let me use really bad West Virginia grammar. Ain't grace wonderful? But when it comes to grace, once again, the bad grammar, you ain't seen nothing yet. Do you realize these are the table scraps of grace? Look at verse seven, that in the ages to come, he might show us the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. This isn't the riches of his grace. That's for the ages to come. Brother Harper, that's walls of Jasper, gates of Pearl Street. No, no. Those mysteries have already been revealed to us. These are things that have not even been revealed yet, that someday when we get to heaven, we're going to have the riches of his grace. And if the table scraps are amazing, what are the riches going to be like? Brother Harper, why can't we have them now? We can't. We can't handle them now. There are three types of Christians when you're preaching. There are three types of Christians sitting in the pew. All right. I know we can divide people up in all kinds of different categories and all that kind of stuff. I'm not interested in that. I'm talking about three different types of Christians that listen to preaching. Number one is the shouter. You have a couple of those here this morning. They say amen when the preacher is preaching. My father-in-law pastored for 48 years, and he used to he used to always say, say amen to the preachers, like saying sick them to a bulldog. I like that. got some shouters in the room. There's a second group called the notters. All right. That's my own little name for him. Now, that's divided into two groups. I'm not talking about the group that nods like this. That happens, you see that every now and then. All right. But there is a group that the notters I'm talking about are the ones that while you're preaching, they're doing this. In West Virginia, little old ladies, oftentimes when they nod, they point, they do like this, they go. Oh, they're doing it. So funny. Can I tell you, Nodders? If you're a Nodder in this room, you're really a shouter. You just haven't tried it yet. And I promise you, I promise you, if you ever try it, you will like it, all right? There's the shouters and there's the nodders. But then there's a third group. And unfortunately, I find myself in that group. And some of you may as well. The criers. When you really get blessed, you'd like to be shouting, but you're too busy wiping your eyes and blowing your nose because you cry when you really get blessed. And there are some of you in the auditorium as well. In our old home church, we lived in West Virginia. It was a man there by the name of George Kirk. If they were ever going to give a gold medal for shouting, George Kirk could win it. He was good at that. All right. He was a good shouter. Every preacher, every preacher that ever came through our old home church. If you said I'm from such and such Baptist church, they would say, oh, hey, that's where George Kirk is. They knew George Kirk. They might not remember the pastor's name, but they knew George Kirk. All right. So we had an evangelist come in. He was preaching on the millennial reign of Christ. Wasn't even preaching on heaven, the millennial reign of Christ. And as they say in North Carolina, it got good. He started preaching and old George started shouting. He preached a little bit more and I started crying. He preached some more and George shouted some more. He preached a little bit more. I cried some more. It got to the point that George was shouting because I was crying and I was crying because George was shouting. After the service, George, who is with the Lord now, but was probably 65 at the time, he came running up to me and he said, Brother Harper, he said, If this doesn't prove we're going to get a new body, we'll get to heaven. I don't know what does. I said, What do you mean, Brother George? He said, Because if it got any better than this, I couldn't take it. The Bible says that we're groaning for this house, which is from above. If this earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with the house, which is from above, 2 Corinthians 5, verses one and two. One day we're going to have a glorified body. And then and only then can God say, here are the riches of my grace. Number one, there's the redemption of his grace. Number two, there's the repositioning of his grace. Number three, there are the riches of his grace. Number four, the requirements of his grace. Surely something as wonderful as the grace of God would cost a fortune. That's how we think as human beings, isn't it? Something as wonderful as this, you'd have to work a long time just to get it. But that's just not what the Bible says, is it? For by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, as any man should boast. It's a gift. Salvation is free. Now, when I point this out, for those of you, I don't know anybody's heart in this room. For those of you who may not know Christ as your personal savior, let me point this out. In every single other area of our lives as human beings, we understand what a gift is. Until it comes to salvation. As soon as someone starts talking about going to heaven, what do we say? Well, I better straighten up. I better start doing some good deeds. I better start going to church. I better start keeping commandments in every other area of our life. When Christmas comes around, you don't say, all right, kids, you can open those presents after you plow the back 40. A Mother's Day, when your children come into your room and bring you a macaroni necklace, some runny eggs and some burnt toast, you will act like it's the best meal you've ever had and the most beautiful necklace you've ever seen, because we know what to do with the gift. until we're talking about God giving us salvation. Oh, I'm going to do some good deeds. No, you're not. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing regeneration, renewing the Holy Ghost. Titus three in verse five. Oh, brother Harper, I'm going to keep those 10 commandments. No Romans chapter three in verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians chapter two in verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. You know, if you can earn salvation, it says some really negative things about Almighty God, doesn't it? It says that you must be smarter than he is, but he says there's one way to heaven and you figured out another one. You figured out that your works are going to get you to heaven, so you must be smarter than God. You would quickly respond and say, no, no, I don't believe that. I believe that God knows the other ways to salvation. Then God's evil. So by the harbor, that's a terrible thing to say. No, no. If you believe that there are other ways to salvation and God knows what they are, then there is no other word to describe Almighty God than the word evil. Because he killed his own son. For no reason whatsoever, if Jesus didn't have to die for you to go to heaven. If you could earn it by being good, if you could earn it by doing good deeds, if you could earn it by keeping commandments, Jesus didn't have to die. And not only did God kill him, but he enjoyed it. Isaiah chapter 53, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. If there's another way to heaven other than through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, then God is not the kind of God that you want or I want. Simple fact is the requirements of grace are simple. They're so simple that they cannot even be misunderstood unless you're just trying to misunderstand them. Three times, God said the same thing. Joel chapter two and verse 32, Acts chapter two and verse 21, Romans chapter 10 and verse 13 all say this. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Brother Harper, that sounds too easy. That's why it's called grace. You can't earn it, you can't buy it. It's free. It's the unmerited love, the unmerited favor of God. There's nothing that you can do in exchange for it. He gives it to you and says, here, no longer do you need to be dead in your trespasses and sins. I'll quicken you and make you alive. No longer do you walk according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air. I'll make you part of my family. No longer does my wrath abide on you. Now you abide in my love for all eternity. That all happens when you just ask. It couldn't get any simpler than that. Brother Harper, that sounds too easy. Let me ask you this question. Think about it for a moment. If you were a holy, omnipotent God who loved wicked mankind, wouldn't you make salvation so easy that anybody could have it? What kind of God would it be that only told certain people they could get saved? There's the requirements of grace, just receiving the free gift. And lastly, please will be done the results of his grace. Oh, here it comes. First, you tell me that salvation is free. Now you're going to tell me what all I have to do to pay for it. No, you could work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year for your entire life. You couldn't save up enough money to buy a drop of grace. That's why it's free. But after we get saved, what does it say? We're created unto good works. We as workmanship created in Christ Jesus and two good works, which God had foreordained that we should walk in them. Now, we could go through an hour and just go through the good the things that are described in the word of God is good works. But let's just suffice for the last few moments of our message to just focus on the one that has to be the nearest and dearest to God's heart. And that's to tell others. Do you know why we don't tell others? And I'm not criticizing everybody in the room. The main reason that you ask most Christians why they don't tell others, they would say this. I'm afraid I'd say something wrong. A lot of Christians are afraid to get the Roman's road out of order. They'll quote the wrong verse in the wrong place, maybe mess something up. And somehow, somehow we're under the impression if we did it wrong, that the person really couldn't get saved in the first place. Nothing could be further from the truth. But I understand what you're saying. But you know, when the apostle Paul witnessed to someone one on one, do you know what he never, ever one time used? The Romans wrote. You know what Paul used when he really witnessed to someone, he said, I was on the way to Damascus and there was a bright light. He was started in Acts chapter 22, even back before that, when he said, And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also stood by and was consenting unto his death. You know what Paul used when he really wanted to witness to someone? His own personal testimony. Can I tell you something about your own personal testimony? Watch this. This is very good. All right. You can't mess it up. And if you do, nobody will know but you. There are people in Jackson, Tennessee, that need to hear the story about how you used to be a drunk and God saved you. There are people in your neighborhood that need to hear the story how you used to be a bad husband, but God saved you. There are people that need to hear how you weren't an honest businessman until God saved you. There are people in this area, this community that just need to hear your testimony. But you know why we don't give our testimony to people? Because grace isn't amazing anymore. When you first got saved, you could not believe that God would save someone as wicked as you. But now that you've lived for the Lord a few years, now it's understandable that God would save you. It's really not, though, is it, Christian? The Apostle Paul, according to history, started 164 churches. That's not a Bible number. That's a historical number. He was referred to as the chiefest of apostles, the greatest preacher that ever lived, the greatest church planter that ever drew breath, the most prolific writer of scripture in the history of the world and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. But if we brought Paul in here tonight or today and we asked him, we sat him down in this chair, we asked him, Paul, Tell us some your ministry up in one thing. Are you a church planner? No. Is your ministry the whole goal of your ministry to be a good apostle? Huh? Is the whole goal of your ministry to sit down and write scripture? No. What would Paul say? Acts chapter 20 and verse 24. But none of these things move me. Neither count on my life, dear unto myself, so I may finish my course with joy. Listen to this and the ministry. Which I have received of the Lord Jesus Christ to testify the gospel. Of the grace of God. Do you know why Paul turned the world upside down? Because he never got over amazing grace. You know why Paul planted churches all over Asia Minor? You know why every person in this room can trace your spiritual lineage back to the Apostle Paul? Because he never got over amazing grace. Simple fact is a church that's filled with people that are amazed at grace will be a church that's always filled with people. It's going to be a church where Christians are bringing people down the aisle, where Christians are introducing you to someone, introducing your pastor to someone that they led to the Lord over coffee or at their job or in the backyard. It's a church where people are being told all over the place about the wonderful testimonies of some wretches like us. Who are saved by God's amazing grace. It's not our lifestyle anymore. It may still be our theme song. What would happen if every Christian in this room were just as amazed at grace today as you were the day you trusted Christ as your savior? The day when he stooped down into the mire and picked you up and planted you on a rock to stay, what if you were just as amazed? Because you were a wretch when you got saved, and here's the tragic truth, we're all still wretches. What did Paul say? The good that I would I do not and that which I would not that I do. I know that in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. Oh, wretched man that I am. You want to turn the world upside down for God? Remember that God saved a wretch through his amazing grace. And if you're here today and you don't know Christ is your personal savior, there is not one excuse, not one reason. For you walking out this door, abiding in the wrath of God, when his grace and his love are available for the having. To have every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. The instrumentalists will come to their instruments, then they'll find their place and bow their head and close their eyes. The invitation time is between me and you and God. No one's looking. Not going to embarrass you, not going to put you on the spot. In a few moments, I'll give the pianist a signal and she'll begin playing. But for right now, heads bowed, eyes closed. How many would say this morning, Brother Harper, I know I'm saved. I know as well as I know my own name that if I were to die today, I would go to heaven. There's not a doubt in my mind about it. Jesus is my savior and heaven is my home. If you can say that as a testimony, would you raise your hand all over the auditorium? Hold them high in the air. I know for sure that if I die today, I would go to heaven. Hold them up for just a moment, please. Thank you and put your hands down. I wonder if you're here today and you say, Brother Harper, I'm not sure of that. I'm not going to embarrass you. I know who you are. I know where you're sitting. I know who raised their hand and didn't. But I wonder, would you say, Brother Harper, I'm not sure of that, but I'd like to be. With no one looking at me, would you just slip your hand up right now, just hold it up high enough for me to see it and acknowledge it. I'd like to know for sure I'm on my way to heaven, just slip your hand up and hold it up for just a moment until I acknowledge it. All right, Christian, let me ask you this this morning, how many would say, Brother Harper, I still love Amazing Grace. I'm still amazed that God would save me. But I don't know if I'm as amazed as I used to be. And I need a good old fashioned revival. Of being reminded that he saved just a wretch like me. Would you slip your hand up, please, all over the auditorium? Thank you. I see your hands. Thank you. I see hands everywhere. In just a moment, we'll have a word of prayer. After we pray, we'll stand. After we stand, I'll say a word or two, then give a signal to the pianist. And if you slipped your hand up, I'm going to ask you to step down to the altar like many of you did in Sunday school. I'm going to ask you to step out on the very first note. You know, if you step out on the first note, no one can accuse you of following someone and you won't give the devil two notes to talk you out of it. We'll pray, then we'll stand and you do what the Lord's light on your heart. The Lord and Heavenly Father, I thank you for this morning. Lord, we thank you for your grace. How amazing it is. How inspiring it is. How all encompassing it is. Thank you, it's your grace that teaches us to deny and godliness and worldly lusts live soberly and righteously and godly. Thank you that your grace has appeared to all men. Father, we prayed this morning for the Christians in this room that raised their hand. Father, may we always and forever keep in front of us that your grace saved a wretch like me. Have your will and way in this invitation in Jesus name with your head still bowed, your eyes still closed. Let's stand all over the auditorium. Everyone, please standing. Once you step out on the very first note as the piano begins.