We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love, for Jesus, who is dead, and is life from above. Hallelujah! Thou the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thou the glory! ♪ Revive us again ♪ All glory and praise ♪ To the Lamb that was slain ♪ Who hath borne all our sin ♪ And has cleansed every stain ♪ Hallelujah by the glory ♪ Hallelujah amen ♪ Hallelujah by the glory Revive us again. Revive us again. Fill each heart with Thy love. May His sword be reckoned on with power from above. Hallelujah, thou the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thou the glory. Revive us again. Brother Tim Mitchell, would you lead some prayer? You may be seated at page 401. Oh, they take me out the home far beyond this town. Oh, they take me out the home far away. Oh, they take me out the home where no storm clouds rise. ♪ Oh, they tell me I'm in a cloudy day ♪ ♪ Oh, but I don't mind this rain ♪ ♪ Oh, but I love being under the sky ♪ ♪ Oh, they tell me I'll go home when those storm clouds rise ♪ ♪ Oh, they tell me I'm in a cloudy day ♪ of the home where my friends have grown. Oh, they tell me of that path far away, where the tree of life and eternal bloom. Chances rise to the unclouded name of the land of my destiny, of the land of Anacostia. Oh, they tell me of a home where no storm clouds ride. Oh, they tell me of an uncloudy day. Oh, they tell me of the king and his beauty there. And they tell me that my guide shall be home where he sits on a throne that is lighter than steel. In that city that is made of gold Oh, the land of cloudless day Oh, the land of infinite blue skies Oh, they give you all the hope when those storm clouds rise Oh, they tell me of an ungladly day. Oh, they tell me that he smiles, oh, he's still in there. And he smiles, drives his sorrows away. And they tell me that no tears will ever come again. the land of the uncloudy day. Oh, the land of my last day. Oh, the land of the uncloudy sky. Oh, they tell me of the home where no storm Let's do page 362. I am mine, oh Lord, I have heard thy voice and been told thy love to me. Oh, I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer to thee. Oh, believer, ♪ Ever-blessed Lord, earth and heav'n offer thy style ♪ ♪ Call me nearer and nearer, ever-blessed Lord ♪ ♪ To thy precious thing inside ♪ ♪ Concentrate me now to thy service, Lord ♪ ♪ By the power of grace divine ♪ ♪ Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope ♪ ♪ And my will be lost in Thine ♪ ♪ Broken mirror, mirror, blessing Lord ♪ ♪ Do the cost of us die ♪ ♪ Broken mirror, mirror, mirror, blessing Lord ♪ to thy precious feet inside. There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea. There are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with thee. Page 127. Cough. How firm a foundation these saints of the Lord is laid, O yoke me, in His excellent Word. What more can He say than to you He has said, Ye who Unto Jesus for refuge hath laid, In every condition, In sickness and health, In poverty's hell, Or a mounding in wealth, At home or abroad, O'er the land, o'er the sea, I will not, I will not, I will not, I will not, I will not, I will not Let's do one more, page 359. Let's all stand again. Last verse, let's have the ushers come up. Oh, the fellowship of the Jordan family. Oh, the everlasting God. Oh, the blessing of Father Jesus. Oh, the everlasting God. Oh, Oh, how bright. Turn around and have a little fellowship one with another. What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arm. I have blessed dreams with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arm. Brother Scotty, if your family will go ahead and come on up and get ready while we take it. Brother Joe, can you pray over there for us? We also thank you for the preaching that you've already heard today. We ask that you be with our preacher tonight. Appreciate it, guys. It's good to see all y'all here tonight. Just got a few announcements here. Right after service tonight, remember we got a graduation celebration for Sarah Haefeli, Bella Densmore, and Brady May. So please, everyone, stay, celebrate their accomplishment. It's a big accomplishment. I can't even say the word. So that's how big it is. They did a good job. So on the 24th, this coming Wednesday, we're going to have the end of the year for Crusaders for Christ. Not going to have Bible study, so make sure you're here. Let's enjoy the evening with the kids and have a good time. And last, we got on the 28th, we got adult choir practice. So if you're in the choir, make arrangements to stay after for that practice. Thank y'all. Jesus, passing on His way, came upon a man one day, blind from birth, darkness covering his sight. Jesus spat upon the ground Making clay as he stooped down Commanded him to go and wash Lead in the light A speck of dirt is all I am Nothing worthy of the light But in mercy and in grace The precious Savior took my place What is man that God would love His virtue so much higher above Human minds can't comprehend Creator as creations I'm from sin and nature's night. One day God led me to the light. Saved my soul, now I can tell about his love. Though I may never He would love someone like me. A speck of dirt without my Lord is all I'd be. A speck of dirt is all I am, nothing worth In mercy and in grace The precious Savior took my place What is man that God would love His virtue so much higher above Human minds can't comprehend They found him in the garden of Gethsemane They led him to a cross which he took willingly For our salvation he laid his life down His precious blood fell like tears to the ground Great is the mercy great is the love great are my many sins but for the blood i'd still be drowning in death's bitter flood hopelessly perishing but for the blood I tried to buy mercy with all of my good I tried to earn grace but there's no way I could If I gained the whole world, I'd still be lost Without the blood Jesus shed on the cross Great is the mercy, great is the love Great are my many sins, but for the blood I'd still be drowning in death's bitter flood Hopelessly perishing, but for the blood Hopelessly perishing but for the blood. Good to have Scotty back to Mount to preach for us. After spending an evening with Brother Ron, I don't know how you're going to be able to preach. But anyhow, we are very glad to have you today. Thank you Brother Terry, I appreciate that. Come on. We're good. Okay, good deal. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I was back there messing with it a little bit, trying to get it straightened out, and I'm prone, the more I mess with something, the more I mess it up, so I just wanted to make sure Brother Chris up there, he'd be throwing stuff at me here in a minute, but anyways, but I do, I appreciate the opportunity to be back again tonight, church. I appreciate the invite again, and just having the thought of having me here, amen? This morning, I appreciate the Lord just speaking to us and helping us. and just to hope it was a blessing to you. It was a blessing to me and the Word of God. Anytime we can open it, I believe if we have an open heart and an open mind, more of an open heart really than an open mind, that we can allow God to speak to us and help us even when we don't think so. So many times I've opened the Word of God and just kind of flipped through it, looking through it, and all of a sudden you come to a piece of scripture right there that you didn't know you needed that, but God did and you read it and said, man, that's exactly what I'm going through right now. The word of God's amazing and how it can affect our life. Amen. This morning I failed to introduce my family. Some of y'all, most of y'all know them, but it's Chrissy, my wife Chrissy, the oldest girl we got, Santa Brooke, and the youngest one we got right there is May. So in case y'all were wondering, that's who they are. We got anybody who Whoever cares about it, it's generally just Annabrook and May. Us, you know, it's gone by the wayside nowadays, but it is a blessing to my heart to see my girls sing, to see you kids doing something for the Lord, amen. And I appreciate y'all coming back tonight. I guess y'all are just glutton for punishment. So y'all know what y'all are getting, but enough of that, amen. If you got your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Isaiah, the book of Isaiah, chapter number 22. the book of Isaiah, chapter number 22. I'll be honest with you, it's just a simple thought tonight, and I hope that you can find a way that it applies. We'll try to be brief. I know we've got the thing after the church tonight, and I do congratulate the graduates for that. That's a blessing right there. That's quite an accomplishment in itself. People fall off all the time, but those kids can have some stick-to-itiveness a little bit. I know that's not a word, but we'll get into that too. But congratulations to them. If you got your Bible, turn with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 22. And again, this is just a simple thought that the Lord will have us to have tonight and I hope it will be a blessing and help to you. The Bible says in verse number 23, Verse number 23, it says, And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place. And he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, and the offspring, and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even to the vessels of flagons. It says, In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened to the sure place be removed, and shall be cut down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off, for the Lord hath spoken in. I'm going to read that verse number 23 once again. And it says, And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place. And I'll be honest with you, that little phrase right there is what stuck out to me the most. And some of y'all might have heard this, but I'm going to preach on just a little bit tonight, just for a little while. A nail in a sure place. a nail in a sure place. Let's pray. My dear gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you, Lord, once again for the opportunity to be at thy house, Lord, God, with thy people. And Lord, I pray God tonight you'd speak to us and help us and just draw us that much closer to you. Lord, for we sure do need you, Lord, each and every day. Lord, we are a needy people, Lord, and And God, no doubt this world continues, God, to just sort of drain us, to affect us. But help us, God, today, God, this Lord's Day, God, not just take what we got this morning, God, but Lord, I pray you'd help us, God, to be receptive of what you have for us tonight, God, and apply it to our heart and lives, God. Help us, Lord, not just to be hearers of your word, but be doers of your word, Father, and draw that much closer to you. Lord, we love you, and we thank you, Lord. I pray you'd bless this church, God, bless thy people. In Jesus' wonderful name we pray, amen. And as I got to thinking about this verse right here and meditating on it a little bit, I remember there was a time that my, uh, that me and my brother-in-law, we were, uh, he was cutting some wood and he was going to make this, he said, he's going to make this big tabletop. And there were some big logs out there close to the house. And it was a log about, I'm talking about, about that big around, you couldn't reach the arms around it, but we was out there cutting on it. And he had a pretty big chainsaw and, and he's cutting on that thing and he's cutting, he's about halfway through. And all of a sudden he stopped and he stopped and he said, something's there. And I'm like, Yeah, you just didn't feel like cutting no more. You know, that's how I was thinking. You just got hot. You didn't cut all these others. And he kept cutting, cutting. He tried it again and he tried it again. He said, he said, I don't know the saw. I think it's working. I don't know. It seems duller now. I don't, I don't know. So he flipped the log over and he cut it from the other side and he began to cut it on that other side and he got back to the same point on the other side and he said, it's just not cutting anymore. I don't know what the deal is. And so he cut it from the other side and Before long, he was able to cut all the way around. He finally just kept pressing through, and as he pressed through, the log cut in half. And right there, almost in the middle of it, is about the center of a Coke can, is about the middle of the log we got to, and there was a nail there. There was a nail right in the middle of that thing. It had probably been put there, I mean, when it was about that big around as a tree, and now it's about that big around, and you know what? That nail right there today was a nail in a sure place. That nail wasn't going anywhere, amen? That nail right there, you couldn't, I'm talking about you couldn't have pried it loose, you couldn't have done anything with it, but right here, I got to thinking about that, this verse come to my mind, a nail in a sure place, and that's exactly what this was. This tree was probably a hundred years old, and it was still there, it was still dull and changed, and it was still causing sparks. We got down there in the middle of that thing and it was just, you could tell finally there was something metal there, you just didn't know what it was. But it was a nail that had been driven there a long time ago and it had stayed there for that whole length of time and it wasn't going anywhere. It was a nail in a sure place. And I got to looking at that, just meditating on it, and the Lord, as He began to speak to my heart about this message and this verse right here, and I know we can take it and go through the whole chapter, but we're not gonna do that tonight. We're just gonna look at this one verse, and we're gonna take that one phrase with it, and we're gonna apply that, make a spiritual application to it, amen? And I got to thinking about this, and I got to reading up on it, and they say, I read that there's 36 types of nails. 36 different types of nails with 52 different applications or purposes in typical construction. 36 different, I mean, nails, and honestly, you look at a nail, you really don't think a whole lot about it, do you? I mean, you look at it right there in a box, there's a box full of them, you got this nail for that, you got another nail for this, and I was thinking a little bit about it, and I said, the nail is often overlooked, is it not? A nail is often undervalued. A nail is often taken for granted, but yet it's one of the most important parts of the building process. You have a beautiful building here. I remember it from a long time ago before y'all redone it, and it was nice then even, but now it's really nice and just the things y'all have done to it. But I guarantee you, y'all have probably had people come in here and say the same thing, have you not? Man, y'all have done a nice job here. Y'all look good. But Brother Terry, I doubt if anybody's ever come in and said, y'all got some nice nails. God, you see those nails? I bet y'all got some good-looking nails. I bet y'all got the best nails around. I bet y'all's nails are better than the nails down the road. I bet, I mean, I mean, do you, I mean, look at, I mean, how many nails did it take to put in here to get them walls up? How many nails was this? And how many nails did it take to put the trim up? How many nails did it take to put the doors in? How many, no, whoever asked that, when somebody comes to your house and they begin looking at things, do they say, hey, let me see your nails? I've never had anybody ask me that, maybe y'all have. But right here, we're going to be talking about a nail in a sure place. And behind the scene, it's the nails that hold everything together. Behind the scene, it's the nails that's holding the sheetrock up. Behind this roof sheet, it's the nails that's holding the roofs up. Hey man, what I'm trying to tell you today is that nail's often overlooked and undervalued, but it's one of the most important parts of the building process. Anybody like to go, hey, I like to have a house that's put together with glue. Nobody puts that. Engineering won't get it approved. You understand what I'm saying on the plans? They say, we need 14 strands of glue. No, it don't work that way. Why? Hey, you want nails. You want something that has some strength. You want something that has some stability. You want something that's going to hold together. And I was looking at this, the purpose of the nail. The purpose of a nail is to hold together, to fasten. To hold together, to fasten. With a nail, with a simple nail, with enough of them, you can build everything from birdhouses and skyscrapers. Everything from a simple nail, you can take something that's very simple and just fasten these things together and you can build something very simple, or you can build something very big, something very grand just from a simple nail. The Bible says in Psalms 127, it says, except the Lord build the house, they that labor in vain to build it. Talk about a nail in a sure place. You see, sin, what does sin like to do? Sin always likes to divide, amen? Sin always likes to separate. Sin always likes to destroy. Sin always likes to tear apart. You understand what I'm saying? It's the same thing with culture and the world today. Hey, they're about tearing things apart. They're about tearing... I'm talking about tearing things down. They're talking about taking things that we've had in our lives and just destroying that and demolishing that. Hey, but not the Lord Jesus Christ. He's about bringing things together. Amen. He's about fastening things together. He's about things that will hold together and stand the test of time. I'm talking about a nail in a sure place. Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5.18, it said, All things are of God, who hath reconciled unto himself by Jesus Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespass upon them. See, Jesus Christ, we see at Calvary, Jesus Christ is the nail where God and man are fastened together at Calvary. Right there, you see what I'm saying? It's the man come to God right there at the foot of the cross and God in heaven with His own Son. What did He do? He fastened me and He fastened you to His own self using His own Son as a nail in a sure place. Christ puts things back together, does it not? Christ will put your home back together. Christ will put your faith back together. Christ will put your family back together. Christ is about fastening things. Christ is a nail in a sure place. Not only the purpose of the nail is to hold things together, to fasten, but what about this right here, we read it in verse number 24, and they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house. What else do you do with a nail? You hang stuff on it. I know that's blowing somebody's theology right now, like, golly, what are you talking, I mean, that's so simple. Hey, but it's practical, you understand? It applies, amen? That's what you do with a nail right here. I read it and it says like this, to hang things on, to support, or to display. You put a nail in your house, it's not just to hold the boards up, but you put another nail in your house to what? Hang a picture on it. Do you not? Why are you hanging that picture on it? To display it. And do you know the things in your house identify who you are? You know, you can go to some people's house and they're all about NASCAR. And I'm talking about they've hung every poster of Elliot, they've hung every poster of Earnhardt, and you go there and they've hung every this and they've... Either that, you've got somebody that likes to hunt, you understand what I'm saying? And they've got all their displayed books, they've got all their displayed trophies on the wall. How'd they get on the wall? How'd they stay on the wall? Simple mail. to hang or to display. To hang or to display. And that's what Christ did at Calvary. Right here that we see that God's glory was hung on Christ at Calvary. God's love was displayed for all mankind. Where? At Calvary. Right there at Calvary. Right there at the cross. As Jesus Christ was there, what'd He do? God hung His glory right on His own Son. Man's sin hung on Christ. But God's grace was displayed on Christ. See, the Word of God hangs on Christ and the very work of God hangs on Christ. Right there. Mine and your faith hangs right there. Everything that you and I believe hangs right there. So how much, how important is it a nail in a sure place? You understand what I'm saying? I'm hanging my family right here on this right here on God's word. I'm hanging my direction. I'm hanging my faith. I'm hanging, Hey, the way that I need to go in life right here on the word of God. And if that thing falls and I'm in trouble, you understand what I'm saying? Hey, how much is it? How much do we need in the world? Need something that's sure. I'm talking about a nail in a sure place. Amen. Bible says, put no confidence in man. See, that's when we go wrong sometimes, do we not? We put our confidence, we hang our issues in life on somebody else. The further I've gotten this thing, the older I've gotten, just the more I realize that people are people. You've got some people that are, man, they have good intentions, man, they got a good heart, but you know what? They're only able to do so much for you. But you put so much confidence in them and so much of what they think and things like that, and that's okay, but don't put everything you got on somebody, because guess what? They could fall just as much as you could at any moment. But I'm here to tell you, Christ Jesus is a nail in a sure place, and you can hang everything you've got on Him. We sing that song, leaning on the everlasting arms. I don't know why. I mean, I love that song. I mean, it's an old song, but I still love that song. And whenever we sing that, I think of just those arms and things like that. I think over there where Moses and Joshua, they was battling and Moses was up on the mountain and what'd they do? They got those two priests to help him hold up his arms. And I got to thinking, man, hey, Moses, the great man of God, he was the great leader of God. He was, well, he got weak. Did he not? And he needed to say, Somebody help me hold my hands up because they won't stay up much longer." Hey, but Christ, you understand what I'm saying? Nobody helped him hold his hands up, and he held the sin of the whole world upon his own self. Amen? I'm talking about a nail in a sure place. God's glory hung on Christ at Calvary. Man's sin hung on Christ. And Christ stood firm. Amen? I'm here to tell you tonight, church, that you can hang your family, you can hang your faith. Hey, man, you can hang your future on the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what? God wants to hang and display Christ on you. I'm serious. You and I are a trophy of God's grace, and He's wanting to display the goodness of God on you. You say, why for? Why? So others might see and say, man, look how God does that for them. God said, yeah, I've done it for them, I can do it for you too. You see what I'm saying? We're drawn, we're drawn, being drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Others see us, no matter how we speak, no matter how we talk, and I'll be honest with you, really on how we look, that can draw us or repel us from people. And we will need to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's keep marching on. Verse 23, it says, look at verse 23, it says, that nail in a sure place, Verse 23, what about this? I like the way it says a sure place. Let's talk about the promise, the promise of the nail. This promise of the nail, that sure place speaks of strength, that sure place speaks of stability, that sure place speaks of security. Has anybody ever nailed a nail in a wall and it just starts wiggling around? You know what I mean? It wasn't too sure. I've nailed stuff like that and Chris says, you sure that's gonna hold? Oh yeah, it's gonna work. I've done that, we'll just pull right back out. That's a nail not in a sure place, you understand what I'm saying? But that's not what it said. It didn't say a nail in a mediocre place. It didn't say a nail that'll just get by a place, amen? It didn't say in a nail that, hey, we just, that's a convenient place, you understand? And that's where we live so many times. Lord, hey, I'll allow you to be in my life because it's convenient right now. I'll allow you to be in my life because it'll work right now. No, I'm talking about a nail in a sure place, amen? This sure place speaks of the staying power of the nail. How about this right here? I was with folks one time and they had this mirror up on their dresser. They had this mirror up on their dresser and it had a big crack in it. And I thought, you know, I'm a little inquisitive. Nice way of saying curious, you know. And I, and I seen it there and it had a crack. So I asked my mom, I said, I said, what, what happened to your mirror? What's going on right there? I said, well, I hung it up and it's failed. I said, okay, well, why'd you, what's the deal there? She said, have you ever, you ever had those command strips? You know what I'm talking about? Man, this command strips, you know, they'll hold an elephant and two dump trucks. That's what they tell you on the commercial. Just peel that off, stick it on the wall, and I'm talking about you can climb all over it, rock climb on it, don't make a difference. These command strips, you know, they title it command so it sounds strong, it sounds tough. She said, we put that right there, we put one of them command strips up, hung the mirror on it, we come back two days later and it's in the floor. I said, if you just put a nail up there, that wouldn't happen. I said, that's what our world's doing today. What are we doing? This is simple, this is easy, this is convenient. They say it'll work. So I'm just going to do it. No, no, no, no, no. Don't get fooled by culture. Don't get fooled by society. Amen. That Word of God has been working for thousands of years, for thousands of years, for thousands of years. I'm talking about in every situation, in every family, it's been working, it's working, and it's working. It's not time to say, hey, let's try something new. It's not time to say, hey, this is a little bit different. Hey, it's time to, hey, let's go another direction. No, that Word of God's been working. It's tried, it's tested, and it's true. I say, hang your future on the nail. Hang your family on the nail. I say, hang your faith on the nail. Hey, don't break out one of these new things out here today. Hey, I'll just put it up there and see if it works. Hey, your life and your family's too valuable just to see if something works. Amen? I'd say the promise of the nail. We're talking about the staying power, the help that it gives. The help that it gives tonight, that nail, has anybody ever been working? and you stretched out too far on the ladder. I'm talking about it's against OSHA rules and regulations. So you stretched out there on that ladder, and you got that piece of material, whatever it is, and you're out there, and you're thinking, you've got a nail in one hand, you got about four in your mouth, and you got a hammer out there, and what are you thinking to yourself? You're saying, man, he said, if I could just get a nail in it, I can just sit still and hold. I'm going to stretch just a little bit further, but if I know, hey, if I can just get a nail in it, then I got it whipped. You understand what I'm saying? I can put that nail in it, and I can get down, and the whole job's whipped. Amen. Maybe some of y'all's mind don't work like mine, but I'm telling you what, I've been in a number of situations trying to do some projects and I was sitting here thinking, man, if I can just get out there and I can get a nail in it, man, it's gonna work out. What about this right here? I got thinking about this. How about this? How's this apply? What about, you ever seen somebody stretched out in their life? I'm talking about on the very end. They're reaching out there. They're trying to do a good job. They're trying to put something up. They're trying to build something in their life. And the whole time you're sitting there, man, if you just make one wrong move, you're about to fall. And just as much as I said a while ago, if you can just get a nail in it, man, they're going to be all right. Well, what about this right here? You look at their life and you see how it's just, I mean, I'm talking about if they sneeze, man, they're gone. You understand what I mean? And then you think to yourself, man, if they can just get Jesus in it. If they get just Jesus in that situation, they're going to be all right. If they get to the Lord right there, if they get back to the church house right there, they're going to be all right. Boy, they're stretching themselves out. I'm talking about they're on the edge right there. They're on the precipice, man. They're about to fall. But the whole time, you're thinking to yourself, man, if they'd junk everything else, they'd just get Jesus in that situation. If they get the Lord to take over, if they would just ask Him, if they'd get Him involved in it, it'd be all right. I'm talking about a sure place. The promise of the nails of help. The promise of the nails of help. The Bible says in Psalms 40, 17, David said, But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Well, it's good to know the Lord thinks about you. That's good to know that God in heaven is thinking about you in the predicament and the situation that you're in right now. He's thinking about you. He said, if I can just get in that, if I can just get in, whatever it may be. I mean, I don't know how many folks is out there tonight, but I'm here to tell you there's a few, and there's probably just as many different situations and things in your life. He said, boy, I sure need, I don't know what I want to do right here. I say, just get Jesus in it. Just get Jesus in it. It's tried, it's tested, it's proven tonight, the promise of the nail that stay in power. What about the heart that it has? What about the heart that it has? We're talking about the health that it has. What about the heart that it has? May, when she was real young, she had a little bit of a stay in a hospital. And she was in the hospital there for just a little bit, and Christy had went down, and I was staying with her at the time, but she was still in the hospital. She went to go get a snack or get something or other. And she come back, and she was telling me this story that she said this grandma was in this, she had walked by the cancer ward. She walked by the cancer ward, and this grandma was in there, and she was staying with this little boy, this eight-year-old boy. This little 8-year-old boy was in the hospital with her grandson, and he was in the cancer ward, and he had sickle cell. And that sickle cell is a blood disease. And she was telling Chrissy that, yeah, he screams at me, he hollers at me. He calls her all kind of bad names. He said he wanted his mom. He said he wanted his mom, but you know what? They didn't know where she was. She said, they didn't know where she was. She said, he don't know, she said, didn't know where the mom was. And she said, he don't know that I'm the only one that loves him. That little eight year old boy, he's screaming at his grandmama, telling her, leave me alone, I want my mama. They don't even know where the mom's at. And the whole time he's sitting here, the grandma, she's telling Chrissy, she said, he don't even know that I'm the only one that loves him, amen? And he said, the little boy told the grandma, said, I wish that you would leave. Grandma said, she said, I wish that I could, but my heart won't let me. I'm talking about some staying power. I'm talking about a nail in a sure place. That nail's got some staying power. I got to think about some staying power, the heart that it has. It made me turn over there to the book of Romans, chapter 8. It said, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I'm talking about the heart of the staying power of a nail in a sure place tonight. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall 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 are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. He said, For 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, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us. from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Well, if that ain't staying in power, I don't know what is. He just gave you a whole big list of everything there. I got to thinking in my mind as I was thinking that, you know the devil, he'll jump up there with a crowbar in your life and he'll sit here and try to pry things out of your life and pry you apart from the Lord. But the Lord says, hey, who shall separate us from the love of God? Church, there's nothing in this world that's going to separate you. from that nail in the sure place for the heart that God has for you, for the love that God has for you. I thought about that, that Calvary is a sure place. I got to thinking about that, the staying power that Christ showed at Calvary. Matthew 27 talks about when He was on the cross and they tried to get Him to come down, they said, if thou be the Son of God, won't you come down and save thyself? You know what He said? He said, boy, I'd sure like to, but He said, I can't. He said, my heart just won't let me. Come down, if you're the Son of God, come down and save yourself." And no doubt he felt the sting of those nails in his hand. No doubt he felt the sting of those crown of thorns on his brow. No doubt he felt the sting of that beard being ripped off of him. He felt the sting of that cat of nine tails being across his back. I believe he felt the sting of the comments and the mocking that they gave him. He said, but I can't come down. He said, my heart won't let me. I'm talking about the staying power of God's love. A nail in a sure place. A nail in a sure place. What about this right here? I don't plan on being alone tonight. How about the position of the nail? The position of the nail. That position of the nail. First of all, that nail, when you get that nail, it's got to be purchased. God says, no, you're not. You're bought with a price. If you're saving here tonight, then guess what? You've been purchased. You've been bought with a price. You've been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Amen? It was a steep price. You understand? I mean, you go to the building supply store now. I mean, the prices have come down a little bit, but about a year ago, you'd go there and you're like, you kidding me? You want what for that? But how about this, church? How about the devil says, you want what? For that? You want them for your blood? Steep price he paid for us, amen? I'm talking about the position. At first we see it was purchased and all that, but it was picked up. I'm glad to know in here tonight that, guess what, church, that God in heaven didn't leave me the way that He found me, amen? He didn't just save me and walk off from me and said, good luck with that. But no, man, He purchased me, He picked me up, and then what we see right here, not only did that, but He positioned me in the family of God, positioned me in the work of God, amen? And He wants to do the same thing for you, amen? If you're saved in here today, you're to thank the Lord in heaven that He just didn't leave you the way that He found you. Talking about the positioning of the nail. You know a nail when you picked it up and you start... What do you got to do with that nail? That nail has not fulfilled its purpose until it's what? Hit. Until it's hit. Until it's hit, until it's struck. It's not used for its purpose. Until it's hit, until it's struck. Isaiah 53 verse 5 says, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And guess what? The servant is not greater than the master. The servant is not greater than the master. You're nailed in here this morning. You're saved. You're going to take some licks. God's sitting here, I'm trying to put you in right here and you're going to take some licks. And so sometimes, man, it feels like, why in the world do you keep beating me? Why in the world? I'm talking about, it don't feel like nothing. That life is just beating you over the head and beating you over the head and beating you over the head. I wish things would stop. And all of a sudden you hit a pause. And now I think that's just really to rear back and get a better grip on the hammer, amen? And then all of a sudden, whoom, there it goes again. And you get hit and you get hit and you get hit. Why? That's your purpose. God's trying to build something with you. Bible says in Ephesians 2, 21, we're fitly framed together. The Lord's trying to build something with you. The Lord's trying to build something with your life. Not only the position of the nail, it's hit, but what about this right here? You know the whole time that nail's being hit, you know what it is? It's being held. It's being held the whole time. I'm talking about it's being held the whole time. I don't know how you drive a nail, but this is how I drive a nail. And the whole time it's being hit. But you know what? I'm going to hold it the whole time until, you know what, it doesn't fall out. I'm going to hit it. But I'm going to hold on to it until I know it's secure. You might be getting beat in the head. You feel like God's beating you in the head right now. OK, He might be beating you in the head right now. But you know what? You're getting beat in the head right now, but He's still holding you the whole time. Lord just, hey, Lord, if you're gonna hit me, I'd rather you hit me than anybody else. And if, Lord, you keep on hitting me, that means that, hey, then you're holding me, amen? And if you're holding me and you keep on hitting me and now you ain't holding me no more, that means you've driven me so far in you that I ain't gonna fall out, amen? And I don't think anybody is. Anybody right here can say that they'll never fall out. So in my book, I'd say, Lord, just keep on holding me. Lord, if you're going to keep hitting me, Lord, just keep on holding me. Lord, don't let me go. Lord, I know you're beating me over the head right now, but don't let me go. Just like that nail right there, Lord, yeah, boy, I ain't liking it. But you know what? That's what that nail, that's the purpose of that nail. That's what that nail was made for. That nail was made to drive deep down into something. That nail was made to sit here to be hit. It's not foreign to that nail to be hit. Why? Because that nail, that's what it was made for, that's what it was built for, and that's what it's going to do. It was held the whole time it was being hid. Psalm 73, 26 says, My flesh and my heart felleth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Hey, my flesh is failing. Man, my heart's failing. Man, I don't feel like I can keep on going. Hey, but right here, David has said, My flesh and my heart fell. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. What about this tonight? Verse 25 over here in our inner reading, it says He's going to remove that nail. What about the position of the nail when the nail's not there? When the nail's not there, what does that leave? It leaves holes. It leaves voids. The nail, when it's left out, it leaves a mark. Not only that, when you pull the nail out, what happens? Things fall apart. John 15, 15 says, without me, you can do nothing. Well, you know what? You can do it for a little while. I heard a story the other day that it said that there was this airplane that took off, didn't have nobody in it. Said it was left in gear. And so it left in gear and it took off and it flew. It said it flew. It flew for about 90 miles. Said it just climbed on its own and it flew and for a while it flew. But then when it ran out of fuel, what did it do? It crashed. It crashed hard. And that's the way you and I can be sometimes in life without God. And I just read it. Hey, if we're that nail and the Lord Jesus Christ is not in our life, without Him, we can't do nothing. Hey, we might can walk for a little while. We might can build for a little while. We might can sit here and do some things for a little while. But after a while, you're going to run out of fuel and your life's going to crash. Talking about that nail leaves voids when it's pulled out. That nail leaves marks when it's not there anymore. Everything falls apart when you start pulling things out. What happens if we go to start pulling nails out of here? What are y'all going to say? We had a construction crew come in here with crowbars and nail pullers and hammers and things like it. You're going, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, you can't do that. Why can't I? Because the whole thing's going to come down. You say, well, how does that apply? Well, church, if you're not in your place, then the whole thing's going to come down. I'm serious. Sometimes we don't feel like being there. You understand? But that's not what we're called to do. We only do what you feel like doing. No, no, no. That nail right there said, my purpose to me is I'm going to hold that wall up right there. And not just me by myself, Brother Terry, but guess what? At about 16 inches away, there's another nail there. At about 16 inches away, there's another nail there. At about 16 inches away, there's another nail there. Y'all getting the picture now? You see what I'm saying? You can't hold this building up with one nail. It takes many, many nails to hold the place up and to keep the place going. Hey, then you put the nails in this sheetrock. Then what do you do? You mud over it, man. You can't even see these things. Man, they're behind the scenes. And you say, hey, nobody, man, the nail doesn't get the glory. You understand what I'm saying? But the nail holds everything, keeps everything going. I got to thinking about this. Talking about how does a nail back out of its spot? How does a nail that was once there, it's no longer there? How does a nail right here that we see, it once was there, now it's not there, maybe it's kind of indifferent to itself. I was thinking about this a little bit right here. A nail, an exterior nail, like on the back of a deck. You ever seen them nail pops on the back of a deck? How'd it get that way? Well, it got that way because it was exposed to the external elements. You understand what I'm saying? Time after time, after all the rain, after all the sun, after all the snow, after all the heat, after all the cold, those exterior elements, what'd they do? They finally drove that nail back out, amen? It was exposed to the outside elements. You see what I'm saying? And that's the same way it is with you and I. If we're just exposed to the things of the world on a continual basis, on a continual basis, hey, you get there on the job, and you know what you do? You're exposed to the things of the world. Hey, you get out there and you start hanging with the wrong crowd. What are you? Exposed to the things of the world. And pretty soon you're going to find yourself backing out where you once was. It's a nail that's backed out. Nobody likes that. Has anyone ever caught their foot on a nail? Huh? Has anybody ever been walking outside somewhere on a porch somewhere and all of a sudden, whoo, there it is. You know what I'm saying? Did y'all start singing Elena on the Everlasting Arms when you hit that nail on your foot? Huh? I love the Lord down deep in my heart. I just ripped off my big toe. Amen? No. No, you don't. I know what y'all say. You look at you, yeah, you're like, yeah. Few choice words. We're on tape so I won't say it. But you know what? That would have never happened if that nail was where it was supposed to be. It never got a snag if that nail was where it was supposed to be. A loose nail can be dangerous. We just said that. What about this right here? Has anybody ever got a nail in their tire? Is that a blessing? Going down 75 middle Georgia, 800 mile an hour. But you know what, if that nail, instead of being on the side of the road, or in your tire, if it was where it was supposed to be, that never caused a flat tire. Church, if you're where you're supposed to be, doing what you're supposed to be doing, you know what? You're never going to cause damage to somebody else. But we live in a day and an age with him that, guess what? Oh, I'm living for me. I'm living for now. It ain't about them, it's about me. They can do their own thing, let them do their own thing. This is my life, I'll live it the way I want to. Okay, that's cool. Well, then don't call yourself a Christian then. Because that's the lens, that's the perspective that people view you from if they know you go to church. Amen? That's the lens, that's the perspective that your kids look at you from too. How about it, mom and dad? Don't snag your family because you done backed out on some things. Don't let your son, or don't let your daughter, or don't let your wife, or don't let your husband, you understand what I'm saying? Don't be a snag to some other Christian. Don't be a snag to somebody at work. Don't be a snag, you understand what I'm saying? Hey, ask the Lord, sit here and say, Lord, I'm on the outside, man, and these things right here, it's just helped me, God, to be where I need to be. What about this right here? I told you all a little bit about those, The reason why those nails on the outside, why they back out. You realize it's not just the nails that's outside that back out, but there's some nails on the inside that back out too. You got those nail pops, you ever seen that? You know, you build your house in about two or three years, you come looking, you look at your wall and all of a sudden there's ping, ping, ping, you hear those nail pops. You know what those are from? Settling. Those are settling. And just as guilty, Brother Ron, is hey, hey, you're out there exposing the world, but you got a group of people, hey, I'm here every time the church opens. I'm talking about I'm here early for Sunday school. I come early and I stay late. I've got a good reputation, but guess what? We can get in the same rut as they get out there and have nail pops out there. You can have the exact same kind of nail pops on the inside of the church house, because what you've done, you've just got here and just settled. I don't see anything on this wall, but I guarantee if there was a nail pop on that wall right now, it would stick out like a sore thumb, amen? If you had a nail back out of that wall, it's gonna stick out like a sore thumb. You can walk by it, you can hit your head on it, all kind of things. But if that nail was driven where it needs to be, in the place where it needs to be, so let us not be guilty of the fact that, hey, Hey, you can say, well, I'm not on the outside. I'm not letting the things of this world get to me. Hey, but guess what? In the church house, won't you get involved with some things and get in that Bible and pray and say, Lord, help me not to drive back out the other direction, but keep me, hey, I might not be seen, I might not be appreciated, but Lord God in heaven, help me to be where I need to be. I'm done with this, brother Terry. I don't know how you want to close your service out. Just trying to be a blessing to you tonight, church. Just trying to admonish you just a little bit. Just trying to encourage you to keep on going. Just trying to encourage you to say, hey, it's easy to do. You understand what I'm saying? Put the Bible right here. One of my favorite verses. It just helps me along the way. It's 1 Corinthians 15, 58. It says, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast Unmovable. I'm talking about a nail in a sure place tonight. I'm talking about unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know not, or as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I know it's silly to think that you could ask one of them nails right there, and that nail would say, I'm not important. I'm not important. I've just been holding this up this whole time. It's been 50 years and I've been holding this same place this time and time again. He said, I've only been here for two years. I've been in this same place, uh, time and time, man, ain't nothing to say. I just don't feel appreciated on these things. Hey, but you're in your place. Amen. We see right here in our Bible. It says, therefore be unmovable. You'd be staff ass unmovable. Always a bounty. You know what? When you're not even Well, you're in the place that the Lord has you, and it feels like, man, you're not going nowhere. You think, man, I'm not doing anything. But you're being unmovable. What does the Lord say about that right here? Abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain. In who? In the Lord. Not the one beside you. You know, I don't measure myself up to folks. You understand what I'm saying? We shouldn't measure each other up to folks. And so many times we get in a comparison trap, but it ain't about that because I'm not working for you. And hopefully you're not working for me. Amen. Hey, we're going to be working for the Lord. And while we're just, man, I'm stuck in this one place. Lord, drive me deep that I don't back out and nobody else can see anything. But guess what, Lord, you're keeping count. Stay fast and move. knowing that your labor is not in vain. Sometimes churches do not feel like the things that you do, they're all in vain. Man, as much as I go, it just feels like it's in vain. As much as I do, it feels like it's in vain. Man, I keep on going and there's nothing. I'm not seeing anything. No fruit from it. But you know what? If you're steadfast and unmovable, other people can count on you. Bob Jones Sr. said, the greatest ability is dependability. You say, well, I can't do much. Be dependable. Be where you're supposed to be, amen? I don't know where you're at tonight, church, but I do know that a good carpenter, and I'm not a good carpenter, but a good carpenter can take a nail that's been bent, Good carpenter take a nail that's been pulled out, it's been rusted up. It looks like it'll be thrown away with a carry. I've seen my dad do it, and I've seen others do it. They'll take an old can of nails that didn't look like they was good for nothing to be thrown away. Pick them one out, lay it down, take that hammer, straighten it back out again, and nail it back in, amen? I don't know where you're at tonight. You say, oh, I've done messed my life up. I'm done. I'm too crooked of a nail. I can't be used for God. You say, Lord, why can't you just, it's going to take a little hammering, but he's got a whole lot of holding, because he's got a whole lot of heart. And he'll hammer it delicately, but he'll put you back in his business. He'll put you back in his purpose. And when you're there, just stay there. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Good to you. Let's all stand. Need to come to the altar and pray.