grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Let's pray. I pray you'd help us tonight. Help us to right the divide. I pray you'd speak to our hearts. Let no one quench your spirit. Help us to be focused tonight, focused on you and nothing else and no one else, and we'll thank you for it. I plead the blood, just asking your will be done. Move in our hearts and do for us that that's needed tonight. Lord, we sure do need a touch from on high. Souls need to be saved. Saved need to be stirred and focused and help us, Lord. Just help us is the key word for tonight. Help, Lord. We are a needy people in need of much help. And I pray you'd speak to our hearts tonight and we'll thank you for what you do. I want to say I love you. Help me to love you more day by day. Help us to walk in your willing way. And Lord, may all of our children, would they just walk in truth. Oh, what a blessing that would be. Help us tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. For his sake we do ask it. Amen. You may be seated. We've been dealing sometimes off and on for the last few weeks the series called Jesus Passes By. Jesus Passing By, I guess we could say, is a series, and we've looked at, first thing we looked at was the condition of every man before Jesus passes by. And that condition is true. Every man who's reached the knowledge of accountability, thank the Lord, every man's safe till he reaches that knowledge. Where that's at, I don't know. But after a man reaches that knowledge, he's subject to the wrath of God, he's depraved, dead and trespasses in sin. He's totally depraved in that sense as far as being corrupted to the core. He's without strength and ungodly. He's controlled or dominated by the flesh, the world, and the devil. He's deceived, blinded by the devil, has a deceptive heart, and he's doomed. The wrath of God hold over his head. But God, who's rich in mercy, so He's not only all those things, He's still dear to the Lord, because He's graced you. He sent you the truth. He sent you, He loves you. He sent you the truth. He sent you light. He sent you the man of God across your path, the human instrument. And He sent the Holy Spirit to do a work in your heart. So that brought us to the second message in Jesus Passing by series, where we talked about the work of the Holy Ghost in every man before Jesus passes by. You've got to have a work of His work in your heart before the Lord will pass by to save you. And so as a result, we've dealt two times, I think, on that, as we talked about the fact of Him moving in our darkness, positioning us to receive light. positioning us for the work of reproval, then working that work of reproval, which we said is really the word reprove means another we call Holy Ghost conviction, but it means to lay blame on with the purpose of correcting sharply and sternly with authority using evidence at hand to bring you to a settled persuasion that He is the righteousness of God you need and that you are convicted to the place guilty before God. And so that's his work of reproval. And he works that completely in all three areas of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And so therefore, it's complete. And then he empires the gospel as it's preached to you. He grants repentance and faith because it's his work. He grants it and enables you to obey the gospel by calling you with the effectual call. And when he does that is when you're ready. He'll not call you before you're ready. But at that point, He'll call you, and then we dealt with the fact of Him passing by. When He calls you, He comes by to do a work in your heart. And that's the point that saving faith can be exercised. You can't exercise faith till God grants you faith. Now, you mustered up, you might exercise faith in your faith, but it's not the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ until He grants it to you, till He gives it to you. John the Baptist said, a man can do nothing except it be given him from heaven. So he's got to give you or grant you that saving faith. And that can be exercised at the point he passes by. And the result is that you're begotten. You're born again. You've become a new creature in Christ. In other words, you've been translated. You've been quickened. as the phrase is, and you have what? Peace. You've got peace with God. You've got forgiveness of sins. Even the guilt is gone, and you are begotten to an inheritance that's fadeth not away, uncorruptible, undefiled, and reserved for you in heaven and not on that. You are His inheritance, and you've got assurance. That's assurance forever, he said, and it will be much assurance that he talked about. And so then, but now I want to go a little further this night, it's not morning, but tonight. And I want us to think about, still the series, Jesus passing by, but the sub-theme I guess tonight we could say, the work of the Holy Ghost in every person. when Jesus passes by. Sure, you're begotten, you're saved. I understand that. But I want us to look at the work of the Holy Spirit in you when Jesus passes by. First of all, I guess we could call that work the sanctification work. In other words, it's not just a one-time thing. The Holy Spirit's still working on us, and sanctification is the walk of progression toward perfection that will be gained at the first resurrection. You're not perfect. You'll never be perfect on this side of the cross until you get a new body. But sanctification is how daily our soul is being saved from the power of sin, and there's continual victory. But that means the Lord's working on us. The song the kids used to sing years ago, He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be. Took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and earth and Jupiter and Mars, how loving and patient He must be. He's still working on me. And, folks, He's going to be working on you. And that's the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of everyone that's been saved. And when Jesus passes by, He comes to work on you. Now, one of the first things He does is at the point of salvation, too, but He seals you. The Holy Spirit seals you at that time. Ephesians chapter 1, verse number 13 and 14, we read this. He said this in Ephesians 1, 13, in whom? Meaning in Christ, the Lord Jesus, he said, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth. You're not going to be saved until after you hear the word of truth. The gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed with saving faith. In other words, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. It just simply means the one that the Lord promised. When he was in the upper room, he said, I'm going to send you another comforter. He is with you and shall be in you, and that happened on the day of Pentecost. So He seals every believer the moment they're saved. He said, and He calls this in verse 14 of Ephesians 1, which is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory. In other words, we see He, the Holy Spirit, is the seal that seals us, and He said that's just an earnest, just a little bit of a whole lot more to come. Now, if we think about that, that seal, it involves three things a seal does. I mean, a seal is a symbol of a finished transaction. Is it not? I mean, what happens when you, I know you put a stamp on a letter, but one of the things that you have to do with a letter before you get it ready to mail, if it's the first class, is you do what? I'm glad for those pull-on type. Ray wished we had them on our windowed envelopes, amen. But I've been looking for them, can't find them, amen. But we will one of these days. They'll make them. I'll put in the request for it just for Ray, amen. But we got those. Anyway, you seal that letter because you're finished with it, and you say, I'm ready to send it off. I know there's a preacher one time. He used to get a lot of flack about where he stood and what he said and a lot of adverse effect. Back then, they didn't have e-mail. So when they'd write him a letter of making derogatory remarks, he would sit down, he'd write that letter, and he would seal it, put a stamp on it, put it on his desk for about two days before he mailed it. Have I done the right thing? Have you ever sealed something, put it in the mailbox, and you wished that you had said something else? Huh? I have pushed sin on the email and wished I'd have said something else or said it a little bit different, but it's gone into the never-never world. Amen? It's gone. But the letter, you can seal it. That's one of the things you've got to do before you send it off. It's done. Now, the Bible said in John 17, 4 about our Lord. He said, as he's praying, and this is the great intercessory prayer. He prayed on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane somewhere. He said, I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Then in John 19.30, when Jesus hanged on that cross after he paid our sin debt on the cross of Calvary, darkness for a space of three hours, and he took and paid our hail by a miracle I don't understand and can't explain, but he did it. Jesus said, therefore, when he had received the vinegar, John said 19.30, He said it is finished and he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost. Now that word it's finished is in the Greek is a perfect tense verb which means a past completed action with existing results. Jesus said it's finished. Now he's the only one who can say something's done before it's done and it be done. Amen. Now, we may use the phrase sometime, it's as good as done, and then we wonder if it's going to be done. You know, we come up, wake up, this thing and that. But you tell your wife, honey, it's as good as done, and she wonders, too, if it's as good as done. Amen. Right? What are you looking over at her for, Brother Cheryl? Amen. I caught you that time. But you say it's as good as done and you wonder, they really wonder if it is. But the Lord said it's finished. And then when he seals you, when you're saved, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit. And in other words, that means a finished transaction. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing can be taken away. Nothing can be added to what Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary. Nothing can be taken away, and as far as salvation is concerned, when you're saved, nothing could be added. You couldn't change one thing about it. You couldn't have heard it up one day earlier. You couldn't make it happen your way. You tried that, and you had to find out what wouldn't work so you could find out what would. But when He seals you, in other words, when He passes by and saves you, then the Holy Spirit seals you and says, done. He puts his stamp of approval upon you, in a sense, just like you put the stamp on that letter that you sealed and send it off. And you know what the Lord said? He said, I'm not ashamed to call them brethren. You think about that. He said, I'm not ashamed to call the saints of God brethren. He's satisfied with us. Now, I know he's not satisfied with everything we do, but he knows all about that, and he still said, I'm not ashamed to call you brother. You think about that a minute, because he knew where you were, he knew where he brought you from, he knew what he's got to do to carry on through, but he still said you're a finished transaction, you're as good as done. In other words, it's going through. Nothing can be added, nothing can be taken away. Now that seal also is a symbol of ownership. You buy something and you sign it and the notary public seals it, it's a sign that you own that. Now this day and time they can take it away from you. You know what I mean, the crooked lawyers we've got. But the ownership, 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20, the Bible says this about the saints of God. He said, 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20, what? Know you not that your body is the temple of God, of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have of God, and you're not your own, for you're bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. You belong to him. And that seal says, you belong to me. Now I belong to Jesus, as the song says. If you've been saved by the grace of God, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit, and it's an earnest, if you said, just a little bit of a whole lot more that's to come. So it signifies a finished transaction. It signifies ownership, but it also signifies security. Did not Jesus say this in John chapter 10, verse 27? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. Boy, that says a whole lot about a lot of people. who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and they follow me. Oh, my. A lot of people say they know the Lord and don't follow the Lord. Something's wrong. Not his sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. And listen to what he said. I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. For my Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man shall pluck them out of my Father's hand. In other words, we're talking about security. For the devil to get you after you're saved, for him to get you, he's got to slip through and break through the seal of God. As far as that seal is concerned of the Holy Ghost, he's got to pull you out of the hand of Jesus. And you realize something, Jesus, with a nod, said, At least, I don't know, maybe 5,000 demons fleeing out of them hogs that day, a legion of them. In other words, he's nodded his head, what power, the devil would have to get you out of the hand of Jesus and have to get you out of the hand, the hand that spread it, a span of his hand, he put the stars out in space. and just poured out the waters and all the seven oceans of the world and all the tributaries besides that out of his hand. My, what a big hand, amen. We're in his hand and if you could, you say, I can pull myself out of the hand of God. Listen, you realize something, this space, he just with a span, just spanned it out there and put the stars out and they say you can't even see the stars that's out yonder. There's other galaxies out there. We live in the Milky Way. Gotta be a Snickers in the Mars or some other galaxy out there somewhere. I mean, you know, something out there. But they say there's others and there are billions of light years across this galaxy. And that means 186,000 miles a second travel, how fast light travels. And you figure that out. I don't want to try. But if you tried to get out of the hand of God, you couldn't even run out of it in a 100-year period of time. And I guarantee you that most of us would be gone by 100 years anyway. Amen? Might live a little past it there somehow, but just put it 200 and see if you make it there. Even Methuselah, 900-something years old, and he can't get out of the hand of God. We're sealed, and we have security. Romans 4.30, he says this, he said, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed unto the day of redemption. That means the day that this old corrupted body, this old flesh is going to be changed, made incorruptible and be caught up to be with the Lord. That's called glorification. We're sealed unto that day. The devil can't break it. That's eternal security. That's the perseverance of the saints, if you please, as some would talk about today. That means that you can't be lost after you're saved, because when Jesus passes by, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of God, a finished transaction, ownership, and security. The Bible even says this in Romans chapter 8, verse number 35, and 37 through 39, he said, Who shall separate us from the love of God? It's a two using a person. Can the devil separate us from the love of God? No, he can use whatever things he wants to. And the Bible said I'm persuaded. In other words, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword Seven things, which is a representative list. Seven means completion. In other words, the devil and all the people in this world can take everything they want to take, and can they separate you from the love of God? Then he answers this in verse 37 when he said, Nay, in all these things we are more than cockers. We're super conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded neither death, nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor death, nor height, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul said that. In other words, none of those things can, nothing. You can think whatever you want to. We're secure because the Holy Spirit, when Jesus passes by, After a completed work of Holy Ghost has been done and you are at the point you bow, saving faith, you exercise that, you believe the Gospel, obey the Gospel by repenting and believing, at that point you're sealed, never to be lost again, amen? Security, security. Now listen, when you've got security, It helps you to operate better. You can function better. You know what I'm talking about? Now, I never climbed any of those bridges, Brother Gary and Brother Cheryl. Y'all climb some of those things. I don't want up there. But I remember one time we cutting tobacco. I ought to know tobacco was seeing as hard at work as it was, amen, in any form, amen. But the thing about it, but I had to get up in this barn. This one man had a barn higher than anybody else. Usually we had what was called a three-man barn. He had a four-man barn. That meant there had to be four on the tear poles. There was one on the plank, one on the wagon, one on the plank, and three and four up in the barn. And I was, since I was about 14 at that time, scared to death of heights. Didn't like heights. I was about like somebody else I know at that time. But I could climb up there and hold on to those things. But when I get up there, they're about four foot wide. You know how I don't know how wide they are, but I'll tell you what, for a 14-year-old boy, it's hard to stretch across there, and you had to lean down and get that tobacco stick that was about as big as I was and pass it on up. Well, I was the one up at the top. Well, every so often, I mean, they'd put one at the top, and they'd go down and down and down and down and down and, you know, and keep holding that tail's back to keep the sticks from sticking under it. And before I could get mine all spaced and separated out, here'd come another. You know why I couldn't get much done? I was insecure. Because here I was, holding on to this tear pole this way, trying to get that stick, muster that thing up there and get that in place, and it's a long way down there at the bottom. You ain't going to get me out of this thing, because I'd have my arm around it. I'd hold on to that thing. Y'all know what I'm talking about. If you've got any idea at all, I mean, I wasn't secure, and when you're not secure, you're not getting much done. But he said, you're secure. If you ever realize you're secure, you're not going to worry about what the devil's doing. You're not going to worry about what people's doing. You just know if you're where the Lord wants you to be, I mean, you can do the job you need to do and keep on keeping on because he said, whenever you reach that point, we're going home. We're going home and everybody likes home, don't you? Huh? Well, we don't like somebody saying, well, I'm not getting up alone today. I know that's the last enemy we'll overcome is death, but the folks, I want to tell you, he said once Jesus passes by and the work of the Holy Ghost has been complete and there comes the effectual call, you can exercise faith, you've got peace, you've got assurance, but you're sealed with the Holy Ghost of God. Finished transaction. There's that ownership, but there's that security. You don't have to worry about holding on. Because He's got you held on. You're not building a bridge to get to the other side. You've already got it made. Amen? Because the songwriter said, I'm already over on the other side waiting for my brand new body. Sitting up there in the heavenly square on the right hand of my Father with my citizenship in heaven. I'm living in Christ, you see. For I'm already over on the other side waiting for my body to be. That's Romans 8.30. All he called, he justified, and all he justified, he glorified. So you're going through. You don't have to worry and wonder. But to see a reason so many people got all the problem, they've got the insecurity. There's no assurance because Jesus never really passed by. There's no assurance because they're up today and down tomorrow, in today and out tomorrow, and cold today and hot tomorrow, because they've never had a point where Jesus passed by, where the effects were called, and you weren't sealed with the Holy Spirit. You've not got that security, amen? Now, that don't mean you take chances, don't mean you do some foolish things, but he said, I'll carry you through. You're secure. It's finished. It's as good as done. So, first thing he does, he seals us. At the point, we believe he seals us with himself. He's the seal. Finished transaction, ownership, and security. But then at the same time, he sheds love abroad in our heart. because he is the Holy Spirit. He's the one who moves in. And by the way, it's hard to explain. It says Christ in you, the hope of glory. It says the Holy Spirit, in essence, in you. I explain that. I can't. But I do know it talks about Jesus as being the Spirit of Christ. I mean, the Holy Spirit as being the Spirit of Christ. So it's all, they're connected. But he moves in and takes up his abode, and he said he shed love abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us Romans 5, 5 said that. Now, that word, as far as that shed abroad, means to pour in like a flood. I mean, he permeates you. He saturates you, amen, with his love because he takes up and takes every bit of your life. And I know we point to the old physical heart, but it's talking about your inner being. He takes up the whole house and he permeates it and puts love inside. Bible says in 1 John 4, verse number 8, he said, He that loveth not knoweth not God, For God is love. So if you don't have love, you've never known God. You've never had any relationship with God. You've never had any intimacy with God. You may have made a profession, but if you don't love, you've never met God, because God is love, and He moves inside. He pours it in like a flood, and that's the fruit of the Spirit, the Bible said. And, of course, Galatians 5, 22 says the fruit of the Spirit, and the first one is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. But love is there inside. At that point, now, and that is in every child of God, every saint. How do I know that? Bible tells me so. Amen. He loves me because the Bible tells me so. Amen. But he also, he says that we've all, we all have that love inside us because he's love and he lives inside. But listen, everyone, Colossians 1, 6, listen to what it says. And this is talking about the gospel coming. In another speaking of the gospel, which is coming to you, as it is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doeth also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth. In other words, every person who's been saved is going to bring forth some fruit, and that fruit's going to be love. It's going to spread out, and every child of God has that. In some degree, it may not be all in the 100%, but some 100 fold, some 60, and some 30. So it's love. Now, it's in every saint of God. Everyone whom Jesus has passed by, there's love inside. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. That's what he's done for you. Now, who you gonna love? Well, there's gonna be a love for the Lord. 1 John 4, 19, he said this. He said, 1 John 4, 19, we love him because he first loved us. In other words, somebody said, well, I love God. Well, I want to tell you, if you say you love God and don't love his brethren, the church, then you've never really fell in love with God. Because, you see, that's his bride. In other words, if you love me, you'll love my wife. Don't tell me you don't love her. If you don't, as someone said, I might get a knuckle sandwich out of it. Amen? But the thing about it, you'll love the Lord. There'll be a love for the Lord, but there'll be a love for others. In other words, there'll be a love for the saints. For sure, the Bible said in 1 John 3, 14, He said, We know that we've passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Means he's never had an experience where the Holy Ghost has brought him to the point Jesus passes by. I read in I John chapter 4 verse number 20, listen to what he said. He said, If any man say I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment, how we from him that he who loveth God love also, love his brother also. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. You'll love the brethren. You'll love the saints of God. But you'll love sinners. You'll reach out to sinners. You'll love the man of God. You'll love your own mate. I mean, there'll be love. And we're living in a day when there's not a whole lot of love. Somebody said, well, I just fell out of love with my mate. No, you fell out of lust. Amen. Lust got fulfilled and you never had any real love. You don't really have the love in your heart until the Lord comes in and sheds it abroad in your heart. And He'll help you. He'll enable you to love your mate in a greater degree. But you'll also have a love for His Word. Bible said in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse number 2, As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. Matthew 22, 40, On these two commandments, which is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind, and the second likeness of that, love your neighbor as thyself, on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophet. You love the word of God. because it's shed abroad in your heart. 1 John chapter 5, verse number 2 and 3, he said, By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And you know what? His commandments are not grievous. They're not hard because you love. Listen, when you love somebody, you'll want to do what they ask you to do. Children, if you really love your parents, you'll want to do what they ask you to do. Amen? Don't hide behind people, homie, now. Amen. You need, if you really love your parents, amen. Mamas and daddies, if you love your children, you'll ask them to do what the Lord wants them to do. You'll want to keep them away from some things of this old world. Why? Because you know they're dangerous, amen. And right now you can't believe that, amen. You say, they just don't love me because they're trying to cut this. That's another message in itself, isn't it? But I'm talking about loving your mates, loving your children, loving your moms and dads. If you're saved, if you've met Jesus, in other words, because He sheds love abroad in our hearts. He seals us with the Holy Ghost. That's what He does. In other words, when Jesus passes by, the Holy Ghost seals us, He sheds love abroad in our hearts, and He sets up a classroom in our hearts. Now this is an area where a lot of people across this world today, they're not living like the Bible said. In fact, the commandments are grievous. God says do and they don't want to do because God told them to. They don't want to do that, amen? And at any rate, it's a mess. But Titus 2, 12 and 13 we read there in our text verse a while ago when it talks about the grace of God appearing to all men. It brings salvation and appears to all men, but it says in essence it'll teach you something. That means that the grace of God, the Holy Ghost of God who moves inside, not only seals you and sheds love abroad in your heart, but He'll set up a classroom in your heart, and He'll teach you some things. What does He teach you? Well, He said in Titus 2, 12, teaching us denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Three things He'll teach you. In fact, he'll teach you because the Bible said in John 16, 13, he made this statement about the Holy Spirit. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he'll guide you into all truth. Anybody that's not willing to embrace truth after truth has been presented to them for sure has never had an experience with Jesus passing by. because the Holy Spirit comes to live inside, who will guide them, who seals them, who sheds love abroad in their heart, love the Word, and when the Word comes along and says, this is what the Lord says to do, then if you rebel against that, it's evident you've not had the Holy Spirit's not inside. And these people who reject truth about real salvation, Well, mark it down. It's sad when you go to talking about some things. As we've talked to some of the missionaries and some people that's got a name all over the United States of being the greatest prayer warrior in the United States. Whenever they made a statement, I really don't think he's even saved. Built a church, pastored a church for 40, 50 years now. And I really don't think that he's saved and they've been around him because, why? His attitude is such he don't really love. It's this thing. Now, the Lord will teach you about some things of this world. Are you listening? He'll teach you to lay aside some things. In other words, he'll teach you. Verse 12, first part of it, he said, James says this in James 1 21 he says wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul. The engrafted word is the fact that inside comes the word of God is moved on the inside and as a result you need to you need to lay aside those other things and let it let that word save your soul. Well, I'm already saved. What does that mean? That means the work of sanctification. You need to be saved from the power of sin daily and the Holy Spirit says, yeah, this is what's right. And He speaks to your heart. He makes the written word alive to you so that you'll know what He wants you to do and what He wants you not to do. Left side all filthiness, that overflow of naughtiness. Lay it aside and let God save your soul from the power of sin day by day, the Holy Spirit who lives inside, the Word. Now, he said wherefore. Now that word wherefore backs up into James chapter 1 verse 17 and 18. It means in view of this fact, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning of his own will beget he us, with a word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creature. In other words, it's talking about the fact we've been saved. Since we've been saved or justified, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. And he said he'll teach you to deny ungodliness. He'll teach you to deny unworldly lust. And yet we know a lot of people who claim to be saved and they're living like the world, acting like the world, and they say it's just too much to pay. The Bible says His commandments are not grievous because you love His Word. They're not grievous. Now, it doesn't mean you're going to be perfect. It doesn't mean you're always going to do it because you've still got the flesh to contend with. But all the time it's going to grieve the Holy Spirit which is within you. And when he's grieved, you get grieved even to the point of sickness, amen, physically. He'll make you sick if you don't get it right. I mean, the Lord will make you sick. He'll bring you down to where you just can't handle it no more. I don't believe I can go any further. And he'll chasten you. He'll deal with you. He says, lay apart some things. And by the way, somebody said, well, I'm not doing things. Yeah, but he also says in I Thessalonians 5, 22, abstain from all appearance from evil. I want to tell you what, there's a lot of things out there that you may justify your own actions and say, I'm not doing anything wrong. I've not done any acts here, acts there. But I want to tell you whenever it's an appearance of evil with other people, He said you need to abstain from that. You need to cease from that. You need to turn aside from that. Because why? And He'll teach you to lay aside that. Because it's a false advertisement for the Lord. It's not giving evidence that something's real in your heart. And it causes men to say, I don't know about them. I don't know about that because of the fact they're not letting the Holy Spirit guide them, not let the Holy Spirit lead them. Lay aside some things. Listen, I know we've got liberty, in other words. I understand that, but liberty is not a license to sin, and Paul warned about that in the book of Galatians 5, 13. Don't use your liberty for a license to sin. Well, I'm saved and I'm okay. I can do what I want. No, you can't if you'll follow the wonto that the Holy Spirit puts inside. because he said he'll say, lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. He'll say, deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Lay aside some things. But then also he said he'll set up that classroom and teach you to live for the Savior, to live for the Lord Jesus. In other words, verse 12, what did he say? He'll teach you how to live what soberly, righteously, and godly were in this present world. Oh, you say, but preacher, if I could just go out yonder somewhere else and get away from everything, maybe in the monastery. I'm going to tell you what, you get in the monastery, you'd have more problems there than you'd have out in the world. You know why? Because your mind is just going to run you wild. The devil's going to fire a dart, it's going to come in there. And the Idle Minds of the Devil's Workshop, it's good to sometimes just to be busy doing what you're supposed to, providing for your family, doing those things. It's a good thing. It's good for you, amen? Whether it's a hobby or whether it's whatever, just it's good for you because you said he'll teach you to live soberly and godly and righteously. Where? In this present world. live that way. So Philippians 127 he said only let your conversation be as it become of the gospel of Christ. Now that word conversation means your manner of living. It's not just talking about your talk, it's talking about your walk. Now the talks included but let that that manner of living be that that becometh the gospel. You know what the word becometh means? It means to add to or strengthen, in other words. Let everything you say and everything you do add to or strengthen the gospel. Why? You've got family that's lost. You've got mates that's lost. You've got loved ones that's lost. They need to have evidence and let the Holy Spirit use that to convict them and convince them of righteousness and judgment and bring them to the end of themselves that they might have Jesus pass by them as well. Let your conversation be that that becomes the gospel. Adds to or strengthens it. For instance, I can say to my wife, I say, honey, that dress becomes you. In other words, that means it adds to her strength. It adds to her beauty. In other words, it adds to it. And the way some people out here in this world dress today, it sure don't add to nothing. Huh? You know what I'm talking about? Amen, Brother Paschal, amen. Listen, you need, he said he'll teach you to deny ungodliness and worldly life. In other words, add to, let it become the gospel. 1 Peter 2.12, Peter said this, he said, 1 Peter 2.12, having your conversation, there it is again, that word which means manner of living, that means having your conversation, your manner of living, such as pilgrims and strangers is what he said in the verse before that. You see a pilgrim's one who's, Well, a stranger's one who's not at home, and a pilgrim's one who's headed home. And that's what we are in this world. We're not at home, but we should be headed home. And on that journey, we ought to let our conversation be that that adds to the gospel. And Peter said it this way, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles. honest means upright, and among the Gentiles means among the lost people is what he's saying, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they saw your life before, they know what you used to be, now you say Jesus has passed by and I've been saved, therefore they used to talk about your bad things, now that they know that the work's been done in your heart, at least you say it is, let your works be good, and the only thing good about you is what Christ does in and through you, amen, but then they'll do what? Which they shall behold, They're watching you. You make a profession of faith. I want to tell you they're scrutinizing you from eyeball to eyeball. Amen. They're watching you close. Amen. They're watching every move you make even though you don't think they're seeing you. The world's watching you, those you work around. You claim the name of Christ. Amen? Especially if you go into New Hope Baptist Church, I guarantee you, if they know anything about anything, they're going to be watching you like with a fine-tooth comb. And sure, they can find some error. But you ought to be willing to confess it and get it right where it's wrong. But they'll see there's something different about you when Jesus passes by. It's not because of being at New Hope Baptist Church. It's because of Jesus passing by. A work done, complete. And they'll say, my, there's something different about them. It'll give evidence that the Holy Ghost can use to convict them and convince them of righteousness and judgment and sin and bring them to the end of themselves. And he said that they may glorify God in the day of visitation when the Holy Ghost visits them with godly sorrow and Holy Ghost conviction that they'll glorify God by trusting him when Jesus passes by. Amen. They'll walk in that light, they'll obey that light, and they'll come to the end of themselves as the Holy Ghost does the work in their heart, and that glorifies the Lord. So therefore, he said we need to do that. We're in this world, in this world. You see, God wants to have some advertisement in this world that's something real to this. I mean, if you'll be honest, why is it, we've all had problems with seeing anything real, haven't we? I'm talking about with so-called Baptists. Let's just stay with the Baptists. We are one. But if you'll be honest, somewhere you saw something that was real. Evidence given that something's real. And it's not just what they said, it's about what they lived and what they acted. In other words, you can see God loving you through them. That's what it amounted to. Not that old mean thing, bless God, he don't love anybody's stuff, amen? That's not gonna get you anywhere, except drive you, right? That's all it's gonna do. I mean, you need some help. You don't need to be told, bless God, you're in bad shape, you're going to hell. I mean, that may be true, but we done told you that, hadn't we, Andrew? I mean, everybody knows who we're talking about. That guy stood up and told him, hey, he didn't, he said, you done a mess, you're going to hell. Well, I'm gonna tell you what, you already knew that. And in fact, we had told you that in a roundabout way. But we try to love you, try to stay with you until God brings it. I'm not just picking him out because, see, that guy tried to pick him out that night. Trying to use scare tactic to force him into making a false profession, that's all he would have made if that's what moves you. See, you need somebody, you need evidence. And he said, you need to do it and give evidence in this world. Now, for instance, you go down to the boat dock and you've got a boat. And you go down to the boat dock and somebody sabotaged your boat. They filled it full of water. Now, you know what happens to a boat that gets full of water? Brother Gary does, don't you? You hope you can get to the shore in time. You had enough air pockets in it to kind of help it. It stayed a little afloat that time, did it? Am I right? If it hadn't had those air pockets, you'd have had to swim, amen? You wouldn't have got to the shore, right? But you go down to the dock, your boat's been sabotaged, it's full of water. No hole in it, just been sabotaged. I don't tell you what, the devil will sabotage you, amen? But you go down there and get that boat, what are you going to do? Well, you say, come down here, somebody help me. Let's get this boat out of the water. And you get it up enough out of the water where you can turn it over and get the water out of the boat. And then what do you do? Well, it's no good now. It's been sabotaged. It's full of water. Let's just carry it to the junkyard and throw it away. No, you don't do that, do you? Uh-uh. You put it back in the water to float victoriously. but you had to get the water out of it first. You see, we're full of sin, we're full of biases, we're full of evil, but the Lord comes and does a work in our hearts and he takes us out of this world and takes the world out of us as far as our new nature's concerned and puts us back in this world to live victoriously so that others can see there's something to this thing of Jesus saving souls. He'll give evidence that the Holy Ghost can use it to bring them to a point that He'll visit them and they'll be saved and that glorifies the Lord again and again and again. Well, I'm talking about setting up a classroom in your heart, teaching you to lay aside some things, teaching you to live for Him and then teaching you to look for the second coming of our Lord, verse 14. 13, looking, that same word, teaching, verse 12, goes with the word looking, teaching you to look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. In other words, he's talking about looking for the Lord to come back again for the saints of God. The Bible says it this way in 1 Peter 1, verse number 3, blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope. by the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. God raised him from the dead on the third day. And because he raised him, it gives us a hope, but it gives us a lively hope that the same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise this old immortal body, amen? Gonna change it and make it immortal and raise us up. But that's when the Lord comes back again that's gonna happen, amen? Even if we're alive, when he comes back, he's gonna change this body. And so therefore, he teaches us to look. That word look means expectant longing. It's as if you're looking for somebody to come home from the war. If you was a, and connected to this teaching, I used this illustration before, let's just say that a soldier went off to World War II, and of course then they didn't have a lot of information. You didn't know what was going on. Nowadays they know before you ever do it what you're going to do. Y'all get that point. I mean, the news media, they tell too much. But in those days, let's just suppose that a bride was married, and her husband, after just a short period of time, had to go off to war. And she prayed, and they wrote back and forth, and they talked, and they read their love letters, if you please. And they fell more in love as the time went on. And she knew he liked a red dress. He liked her in a red dress and he liked pecan pie. That's his best pie. So as a result, she heard one day that the war's over and she knew sometime her husband's coming back. She didn't know when he'd come through. So she'd get up every morning and she'd make sure her dress was clean. And she'd put on that red dress and she'd bake a pecan pie just like her husband liked. And boy, she looked at that door. She hoped the day would be the day that he'd come home. And if he didn't come today, she'd take the pecan pie and maybe give it to the neighbor or something, maybe eat some herself. But listen, that yesterday's pecan pie wouldn't do for tomorrow. So as a result, she'd take and bake another one the next day. She had to wash her dress. She didn't want a dirty dress. And she'd put on that red dress again, looking for her husband to come home. And one day, guess what happened? She may have done it for days on end, but one day he fell through the door into the arms of his wife with a red dress on and had a pecan pie sitting on the table. Now, that may be a sorry illustration in one way, but that's what he said. Listen, he may not come today, and I know that some things got to be fulfilled, but we still believe in the imminent return of our Lord. Amen? He's coming. And the Bible says this. It's a lively hope. In fact, the Bible said in Hebrews 9, 28, So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. If you're not looking for him, he's not going to appear to you. So there's a lot of people who claim the name of Christ that's not looking. And I believe it's two things, as I've said before. The reason they're not looking, one is they've never been saved. They've never been sealed with the Holy Spirit. They've never had a classroom set up in their heart. Holy Ghost has never shed love abroad in their heart. In fact, Jesus has never passed by. They're false professors and they're not looking for the Lord to come back again. And that's true. There's a lot of that in our churches today. Another thing is we've had it so easy that we're just going nonchalantly through life and not really got it on the forefront of our mind. But I believe God's going to allow some things to happen in America to happen to the saints of God with tribulation and persecution such that it calls us to have our eyes glued on the eastern sky when our Lord comes back. He said to those that are looking, He will appear the second time without seeing. under salvation. And so the Holy Ghost's job is to teach us to look, to get us to that place. Now, He may have to let some things happen to where we appreciate it. Amen? We're so, we're so spoon-fed, if you please, and got a silver spoon in our mouth in America. We are, and I like it. I don't like, I don't want to, you remember back in 99, I said the worst thing, in other words, we're praying for the best, and we're praying for the, how was it I said, we're praying for the Well, I don't know, we're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, I believe is what we said. Y'all remember that? And I said, listen, the worst might be the best thing for us, spiritually speaking. Amen, it could have been, I don't know, but I didn't wanna go through it any more than you did, but if that would cause somebody to seek the Lord and somebody to look for the Lord to come back and somebody else to get some help, May it be. And that's basically what the Lord's going to have, Holy Spirit is going to have to do for us. To get us expecting longing, if you please. Lively hope that we have. Well, you realize something, the Bible said, Paul said, told this in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse number 16 through 18. Listen to what he said. And I'm talking about the fact, the work of the Holy Spirit when Jesus passes by. In every person, when Jesus passes by. He seals you with His self. He sheds love abroad in your heart by Himself, who is love. And He sets up a classroom to teach you to know some things, how to live, and look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God in our souls. And you know what? One of these days, The Bible said in 1 Thessalonians 4, 16, The Lord himself, not another, shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise. For we which are alive and remain to be caught up are chained and caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And then verse 18 said, Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now, times may get worse in this old world they're going to, day by day. I've said several times, Mama said there'd be days like this, but she didn't say all of them would be this way, you know? And you have those bad days, and it's going to get worse in this world. Stock market may go up, and it may flourish for a while, and it may go back down. Land may go up, and your assets may go up, and your liabilities may go up. You understand? I don't know which is what. I don't know what's coming and all that. But I'm going to tell you what, one of these days, the Lord's going to come. He's going to say, the Father's going to say, Son, it's time. Go back and get your bride. And He's coming back. He's coming back. And we need to look for Him. And the Holy Ghost will teach us to look and expect His glorious return. And we'll fall in His arms, ready, dressed in the attire that we know He'd appreciate, not ashamed at His coming, if we listen to the Holy Spirit. And if you're saved, you'll listen to the Holy Spirit as God works in that work. The walk of progression toward perfection. That's His work in our life. Be gained at the first resurrection. And He'll come back. And you call with a shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. Airborne. It'll be over in this world. be with Him forevermore. Why? All because of the fact of the work of the Holy Spirit that brought us to the point that Jesus passed by, all because He passed by and called us with an effectual call, produced in us everything that's needed, enabled us to obey the Gospel, and then the Holy Ghost set up in our hearts that classroom that taught us some things, sealed us with Himself, shed love abroad in our heart, And that's what he does for every person when Jesus passes by. Now, if you're not saved today, I pray that God, someway, somehow, through his precious Spirit of God, will cause you to get thirsty for that. He said, that's what I want in my life. I want those things out there. And the Bible said, when you get thirsty for it, when you get thirsty enough, he said, he'll pour water on you, the thirsty. And that's what we need. That's what it's all for. You say, but that's not, that's not, oh yes, it'll help us all. Because you've got something to look forward to. The Lord is coming again, amen. And you'll fall in his arms, more in love with him at the end of the journey than you was at the first, all because of the Holy Spirit working in you everything that was needed after Jesus passed by and saved you. Father, I thank you for the fact of the work of the Lord, the work of the Holy Spirit, the work in every sinner. You've given light, helped every person to obey that light and walk in it. respond to any tug or any call or any move in their life. Lord, you'll bring them to the place that you'll extend to them the effectual call and save them. And then they'll be sealed with the Holy Spirit. Finished transaction. In other words, it'll be, Lord, secure, safe and secure. and then set up a classroom. She had to love in her heart and set up a classroom and teach them some things, especially how to live, how to walk, how to act, and to look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God. Call somebody to get thirsty for that, desire that in their heart and life so that they can come to the place that the Holy Spirit visits them and they'll glorify you by receiving you as their Lord and Savior. And they, too, will have that work of the Holy Spirit done in them. And the process will go on and on and on. May God, may you do a work in this place, in these days. And we'll thank you for what you do, for we ask it in Jesus' name. And for His sake, we pray. Heads bowed, eyes closed, altars opened. We remind the Lord as He plays.