and pray the Lord will speak to our hearts and just help us for His honor and His glory. I know in that workforce, I know it's so easy to not be the best. I understand that, and I appreciate you laboring during the meeting we had, and I know it was hard, and I appreciate you for putting forth that effort to make it every night and attend, and I pray the Lord just bless you for that. and just pray that he'll help you tomorrow at the workforce in the days to come. At least it's a little cooler. Thank the Lord for that. Amen. I appreciate that. The Lord's been good. He really has, and I appreciate it. I want to report on Brother Eddie Johnson. I was just about to forget. I got an email from him, and he said there's not six of us anymore. There's nine. They had, you know, a little boy, one boy they had. You remember? We talked about that. I don't know whether you remember it or not, They took him back to his grandparents, and that just about broke their heart. Well, they wound up getting him back. Plus, they got another one, and then the other day they called with a baby that was a month old. I don't know exactly who it was, but they said, we've got just about all we can handle. And they just kept on, the kinfolk working in the social services just kept calling them. They knew that it'd be a good home. And finally, Miss Anita said, if you'll bring some diapers over, I'll take care of them a little bit till you find somebody to take care of it. Well, when she held the baby and worked on the baby there for a while, he's four months old now, and they've got their official foster parents to him. So I don't know what all happened, but they said, there's nine of us now, so pray. Instead of praying for six, pray for nine. So Eddie Johnson, pray for them. I forgot to mention that a while ago. Amen. Well, thank the Lord. Anybody else? Okay. 1 Peter 2, verse number 21. 1 Peter 2, verse 21. For even here unto where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was gall found in his mouth. who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should live under righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. For you were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. You may be seated. We've been dealing with a series before the meeting and this after the meeting, I want to deal with this tonight about, and I think I dealt with it last Sunday night, Jesus passing by. As we think about that series, we said that the condition of every man that's reached the knowledge of accountability, in other words, he's safe until he reaches that knowledge of accountability, but at that The condition of every man before Jesus passes by is that he's dead, he's depraved, he's deceived, he's dominated, he's doomed, but he's dear to the Lord. That's every person. And I'm thankful for that. And then we saw the work of the Holy Ghost has to be done. before Jesus passed by as we looked at the fact that He moves in our darkness, He positions us to receive light, He positions us for the work of reproval, then He works that reproval, which is the Godly sorrow, which is Holy Ghost conviction, all that's combined together And it's got to be in all three areas, that is, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And that's a must for any person to be saved. That's a must for any person to have Jesus to pass by as far as salvation is concerned. A lot of people are leaving that out. Many churches are leaving the work of the Holy Spirit out. Some don't even want to talk about the Holy Spirit. But at any rate, that has to be done. So then when He positions you and works that reproval, He also empowers the gospel. He grants repentance and faith, and you've got to have that from above. It's not something you work up. Then He calls you with an effectual call and enables you to obey the gospel by repenting and believing. And at that point, Jesus passes by. Now at the point he does pass by, or at least, and I know he's hidden in the bosom of the Father and the Holy Ghost work reveals him to you so that you can trust him as your righteousness, as your Lord, as your Savior. Of course, it's Lord and Savior before some people say Savior and leave out the Lord, but that's not so. It's Lord and Savior. So when he, at that point, When He comes to that point and that work's been complete and He grants you repentance, He grants you faith, then you can believe unto salvation. That's the point that saving faith can be exercised. And that results, of course, is results of that we dealt with one day is a fact. that you've been begotten, which means to be born again, which means to be born from above. At that point, you have peace with God. You're made one with Him. You have forgiveness of sins, and you're begotten to an inheritance. You're going to have an inheritance on the other side. Not only are you going to have an inheritance, you are Christ's inheritance. the saints at Thessalonica was his crown of rejoicing and that's hard for us to understand maybe in some sense that we could be his inheritance but the Bible said we're predestinated to be his inheritance but we also have an inheritance and there's assurance forevermore much assurance forever he speaks about that and so then we look last week I believe last Sunday night we talked about the the work of the Holy Ghost in every person when Jesus passes by. First thing He does, He seals you. He is the seal. The Holy Spirit is the seal. Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit are one and the same. And a seal is a sign of a finished transaction. It's a sign of ownership. It's a sign of security. And you have that earnest, a whole lot more coming. Just in earnest of what He's given you until the day of redemption means when the body will be redeemed. So that's what He does for you after Jesus passes by. He also sheds love in our heart. He sheds it abroad, pours it in like a flood because He, the Holy Spirit, is love. He also sets up a classroom in our heart. An amazing part about it, He is our teacher. And we need to understand that. So we've got something better than the original. If you've been saved, you've got the originator of the Word of God, the Holy Ghost, who teaches you and will guide you into all truth. What Jesus told the disciples there as He was on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane or Nepal or wherever it was, that night that he went to the garden. And so, therefore, he will guide you into all truth. That tells me that a whole lot of people out here that claim to be saved, and by the way, you receive the Holy Spirit the moment you're saved. He sheds love in your heart. He sets up a classroom in your heart, and he guides you into all truth. Now, we're coming tonight one step further, and this will probably be the end of the series for this tonight, but what every person needs to do after Jesus passes by that's what we all need to do now I know you say but I'm not safe I'm not to that point yet but this is for everybody everybody can still draw from that something the Lord wants you to do and I know it's a play on words we can't do anything without unless he does something in us and through us but there is still Well, as one person said, God didn't save you to sit down and sit. He saved you to get up and give. Amen? Well, it's not to do like the world's doing or the religious world, but there's a responsibility. As God's gifted you, He wants you to use those gifts for His glory. Now the first thing we saw in our text verse tonight, verse 21 of 1 Peter chapter 2, we need, what do we need to do? What every person needs to do after Jesus passes by, you need to follow in His steps. The Bible said in verse 21 of 1 Peter 1, or 1 Peter 2, for even here unto were ye called. because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Now, he said we're called. That's the effectual call that the Holy Spirit produces in your life. And as a result, we're called, and he's our example. He suffered for us, and we're going to suffer. If we live for Him, or if we just halfway live for Him, you see, you're going to suffer if you just identify with the Word. There's going to be some suffering that's come. Did not the stony ground hearers suffer? They suffered persecution, and when persecution arose, they turned back. Because of the Word's sake, because they'd identified with the Word, there was some suffering. The Bible said, 2 Timothy 3.12, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Acts 14.22, We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom. So we're going to suffer in this life, but we need to follow His example. As he said, and he is our example, by the way, that means to follow his step. Now what all does that example involve? I mean, if we're going to, in other words, after Jesus passes by and you're saved, what's your responsibility? Well, I know that I cannot give you specifics because every man has different capabilities and different gifts. But still, Jesus said he's our example. And if he's our example, then we should, his life, we ought to follow the example he set in his life. How do we do that? Well, you say, but now wait a minute. What kind of life did he have? Well, he had a clean life, did he not? He had a sinless life. I know that, but you say, we'll never make that, and all we want in this life, but we ought to be striving for that. Bible said here in verse number 22, he said, talking about Jesus, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Verse 23 said, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. Listen, Jesus had long suffering with us, when we were lost, the Lord did. And even after we're saved, he still suffers long with us. And he suffered long with people because when he was reviled, he didn't revile back again. He didn't hold a grudge against those people. And so we need to practice that in our life as much as we can. He's our example. In other words, he was clean and we should be clean. Well, what did he say in Titus 2.12? He said that he sets up that classroom in our heart, teaching us to deny ungodliness. worldly lives to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world now we're not going to reach sinless perfection but that's what sanctification is the walk of progression toward perfection that will be gained at the first resurrection and so therefore we should follow in his steps that's what every saved person should do when Jesus passes by. In other words, look at his life and say, that's what I want in my life. And you know what? You'll have it one day when you're caught up to be with him. 1 Peter 1, verse number 5 through 8 said this. He said, and beside this give all diligence, add to your faith virtue. In other words, you've got a foundation of saving faith laid in your soul. He's saying to the saints of God, lay, add to that. And that word add doesn't mean to be chinchy about it, doesn't mean to be stingy, but it means to put on a heaping amount. I mean, you ever went to a place like Morrison's where they feed you, you can't dip it yourself, you know, and they put it on your plate. Y'all want some of that? And you can say, hey, don't be stingy with that. You can put a little more on there. I mean, you know, those two cherries out of that cherry pie is not going to get awful lonely and need some more piled on that. Don't be stingy. And the Lord said through Peter, listen, add to the foundation of faith. Add virtue. And virtue is that excellent courage that he's talking about. In other words, it's excellent courage that you need. It doesn't mean just how purity, even though that's involved, but it's excellent courage. And then he said, add to the virtue. He said, add that knowledge. And that knowledge he's talking about here is that having that courage seasoned with insight and understanding. It means to have some common sense. You need that. Amen. That's what he's wanting you to have. Lord, I know it's all right to have all the other senses that goes along with it, but a good old dose of common sense would do us all some good sometimes, you know? And he said, add to that. Then he said, add the knowledge, temperance. That's self-control by aid of the Holy Spirit. Add to that patience. That's a quality of the individual that doesn't surrender to the circumstances or succumb to the trial, but he's got a goal in mind and he keeps on moving toward that goal. And then he said, add to patience godliness. That's the right relationship with God. And then add brotherly kindness, having a right relationship with a brother. And then add to that charity. Well, if you've been saved, God's put that inside you, that charity or that love that's shed abroad in your heart. And he said, just keep on letting it grow. adding it to it, dosing it in your life. Now, then he said verse 10, In other words, if you practice adding to this foundation of faith, in other words, walking in His steps, if you please, using his life for an example and say, hey, I want to be more like Jesus tomorrow than I was today. We'll never make it like him till he resurrects us and gives us a new body. You understand? But we ought to be there. You say, but preacher, doing these things, it's legalism. No, it's not legalism. There's just some things you need to do. I mean, listen, when you're saved, you need to portray the right thing to a lost and a dying world. You need to give evidence so the Holy Spirit can use it in somebody else's life. That evidence so that they'll know something's real about this. I'm talking about salvation. And they'll want to be saved too. And that's what I pray if you're not saved, that someway, somehow, through what's been said and done from time to time, that you'll have thirst for that. You'll have a desire for that. May God plant that in your soul to reach for that. And so what should we do after Jesus passes by? Follow in his step, follow his example. In his life, for instance, it was clean, it was pure, and that is not legalism. That's just true. Jesus said this to the Pharisees, and of course they were legalistic, but they were trying to wash their hands and make sure everything's just right. And Jesus said this in Matthew 23, 26, He said, Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside may be clean also. Now there's many people today who profess to be saved, and they'll say, oh, it's what's on the inside that counts, and then let it all hang loose on the outside. That's not what Jesus said, amen? In other words, he said, cleanse first, and you don't do the cleansing, he does it, and it takes the work of the Holy Ghost to bring that, but when you're cleansed, then he said, there ought to be something that would cause the outside to be clean also, amen? It will come outside, and that's what the Lord wants you to do. After Jesus has passed by, he wants you to walk in his step, and following his example in his life. The Bible said in Matthew 5.16, He said, And the only good thing about you is what the Lord does in you. And he also said something similar to that in 1 Peter 2, 12. He's talking about strangers and pilgrims. He said, Having your conversation, your manner of living, honest among the Gentiles, the lost, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they saw your lifestyle before, they knew what you used to be. Have you ever heard, talked to somebody just a little while, and they said, Well, I don't know what it's like now, but I know what it used to be like. Well, we've all got a used-to-be, amen? And I pray that it's gone in many of your lives, amen? The used-to-be, if it's still the used-to-be, now is, something's missing, someone's missing, amen? And so therefore, we need to, and he goes on to say, why? They may buy your good works, they see you, they used to know you this way, but now they can see that there's something changed, and they'll test you. And they'll pinch you. They'll try to pull something on you. I mean, they'll do anything they can just to get you to go back to the old lifestyle. Well, you're different now, and yet they're like squeezing an old sore, you know, and get the pus and corruption outside. But we want to cover that up, don't want nobody to see it. But I'll tell you what, this old world and those you used to hang around with, if you're not cleansed from corruption and being born again, it's escaping the corruption, not the pollution, but the corruption. Too many have escaped the pollution, the outside, never been saved, never have escaped the corruption. And when God does the work in your heart, He lets you escape the corruption. Now he says, let your light shine, in essence is what he's saying. That others, what did he go on to say there in verse number 12, 1 Peter 2? He said that they may by your good works, which they shall behold, they're going to take notice of it, and they'll do what? Glorify God in the day of visitation. When God's Spirit visits them, the work of approval is going to use evidence to show them there's something real about what they have, and not just what they have, but who they have, and then it puts a desire down in their heart. And then when God's Spirit visits them with Holy Ghost conviction, then they'll trust Him, and that glorifies the Lord. That glorifies the Lord. So therefore you say, but preacher, how in the world can I do that? In other words, how am I going to live clean like that? You can through Christ. Paul said this, he said, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. And so you can. And you've got a teacher, you've got someone to guide you, and it's not Brother Paschal. Amen. If you've been saved, Jesus has passed by. The Bible says this in I John 2, 27, But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. Now, he's talking to the saints of God. And ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. Now, many times we talk about the anointing, and preachers are used to saying, Lord, I need the anointing tonight. That word for anointing means reception of the Spirit, and it came one time, and it came to take up his abode. In other words, the king was anointed one time, and all the preachers, the prophets were anointed one time, and the saints of God are anointed one time, received the Spirit. Now, he said, it doesn't mean that God don't use parents, and God don't use teachers, and God don't use preachers. It's just saying, hey, you've got someone who lives inside you. The anointing, the reception of the Spirit, also called unction in verse number 20 of 1st John I believe it is there that he talked about in other words that he spoke about there so you realize something you don't you you have a teacher that will teach you and guide you in all truth the Holy Spirit of God who lives inside you and therefore you can walk in his step you can follow his example and you say but what if I fail It's not what if, you will fail in this old flesh. But you see, it's like a child that is a baby. You don't expect him to walk the first month that he's born. In fact, when he starts walking, no matter what age he is, when he starts walking or she, how many times did they fall? Whether you throw them out the door and say, bless God, I don't want nothing else to do with you. You fell, I watched you, you fell. No, you help them up again. And listen, when you do fall and you will fall, you will falter, you confess. And that in itself also displays to the world. There's something different about them. at this point in time. So therefore you have a teacher and you need to follow his steps, his example, in his life, in his message. That's what we're talking about. What do every person needs to do after Jesus passes by? Follow his example, not only in his life, but in his message. Now what did Jesus preach? Well, Matthew 4.17, listen to what he said. from the time Jesus began, from that time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And many people today don't even want to deal with repentance, but Jesus began to preach repentance. Now they'll get by it and say, well, that was for a different dispensation. I've got news for you. The Lord preached repentance and we need to preach repentance, amen. And so therefore that's the message. In fact he said in the book of Luke chapter 24 verse 47 just before he ascended up there on that Mount of Ascension he gave this kind of a great commission in a sense to the New Testament church. The apostles there that day when he said and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. So you see, Jesus left the New Testament church with the word, the message to repent, to repent. And you know what he said in Luke 13, 3? He said to a group of people over there, and they knew about something that transpired in his day, and then Jesus told them, except ye, they perished by the way, but he said, except ye repent ye also. will perish. Verse 5, except you repent, you'll also perish, as he used another example. See, that context is about somebody who perished because they had sinned, and he said, unless you repent, you'll perish. Then Jesus said that. Now, some of these people say, well, that's just a different age. Age, I've got news for you. It don't matter what age it's in, you've got to repent. You've got to repent. That's his message. Paul preached that message in Acts chapter 20, verse number And 21, he said, and he talked about what he'd done, and he said, how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. There's some things Paul didn't tell them because they wasn't ready for it, but he said, I but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul did that on this side of the cross. And Jesus said it, and therefore he's our example. Paul followed that example by preaching the message that he preached. And you know, that's what we ought to do, the message. Now I know it's preaching the Word, but it's also preaching the message of repentance. But also we need to follow his example, not only in his life, not only in his message, but in his methods. And this is where many people falter and fail after they've, they said Jesus passed by. Well, you see, he never dealt with two people the same way. I mean, you realize Nicodemus at the well, not the woman at the well, Nicodemus wasn't in the well, amen. But Nicodemus at midnight came by and spoke to Jesus. And when he spoke to Jesus, he said, We know you're a man sent from God because of the miracles that you do. But Jesus didn't even discuss that with him and looked at him knowing his real condition and said, Ye must be born again. He never told anybody else you've got to be born again, but you've got to be born again. Amen. Why? He was depending on his first birth, his connection to Abraham, and he said, that's not enough. You can't depend on your connection to your mom and dad, no matter how good they are. No matter, you can't depend on being born in America, even though I'm thankful I was, amen, but you can't depend on that, amen, because you must be born again. That's the method that he used with Nicodemus, but yet he never used it with anybody else. You see, he was born wrong. The woman at the well, he dealt with her, and he said, go call your husband. And as he dealt with her, seeing she didn't buck up against him, she didn't refuse, she admitted where she'd been and what was going on and how she was living in sin at that very time, and then came to a conclusion was that, hey, you must be a prophet, you must be this or that. We know the Messiah cometh. She had some understanding. There'd been somebody crossed her path with some word before. Might not have been completely all in the right order, but Jesus passed by and revealed himself to her, and she went away with a well sunk in her soul that day. But he never used that method on anybody else. He never told anybody else, go call your husband or go call your wife. Did he? Never told another. He knew her problem and he dealt with her where she was. You see, we're not God. We don't know where they're at. That's why we do the best we can by preaching the Word, preaching the truth. Sometimes the Lord may lay some scripture on your heart and you say, well, I don't know what that has anything to do with it or not, but I feel like I need to share this with you and let God do that with you. We're not God, amen. We're not the Holy Spirit, no matter even though some try to think they are, but that's not so. Jesus never used the same on anybody. The rich young ruler came and said, what must I do to be saved? That's a pretty good question. You know, somebody walks in and said, I'd like to be saved. You say, boy, that's good. You know, that's good. But listen, Jesus didn't, he told him, keep the law. Folks, keeping the law is not going to save you. Why did Jesus save? Tell him to keep the law. He's dealing with his problem, and the man couldn't see his own problem. And so he said, which one? And he said, well, basically dealing with the sick that deals with relationship to man. Thou shalt not commit murder and steal and adultery and covet and lie and those type things. And he said, well, I've done all that from my youth. He was full of pride. He thought honestly he was a pretty good fellow. And he thought he'd done those things, and he said, yet you lack one thing. Go sell that you've gotten gift to the poor. Folks, it's not selling something going to save you. But what it was, the Lord was putting his finger on his God. He had material possessions, was his God. And he said, go get rid of your God, in essence, and he went away sorrowful. because he had great possessions, you see. He wasn't willing to do that and the Lord knew that. Now, you don't see the Lord going after him and say, wait a minute, all you got to do is pray this prayer. Let's go through this again. He let him walk off and died and went to hell. He's very God. I'm talking about God and that's the way he dealt with him because he brought him to a confrontation with his sin and he wasn't willing to give it up. You know what? You may have to deal with the cost like Paul did. You know, he may have to deal with it for some days, but he didn't even do that. And he walked away. Oh, how sad that was. And I believe, if you think about it, the disciples in John chapter 6, I mean, they're called disciples, and there was 12, 11 of them saved, one of them was a devil, but there was a group there representative of about 5,000 men. wasn't all of them there, but they'd been fed with five loaves, two fish, wanted to make Him king, and because they wanted their belly filled. But Jesus said this to them in the book of John chapter 6, verse number, well, verse number 53, He made this statement, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. You've got to wholeheartedly receive the Son of Man who is the Lord Himself as Lord of your life or you're not going to be saved. You're going to have to give up everything in essence. You're going to, as the test of discipleship comes in Luke 14 where it said to hate your mother and father, your own life and wife also. and husband in the case of a woman, and bear your cross and come after me and forsake all to be my disciple. It's not talking about a second work of grace. It's talking about when Jesus passes by, you've got to partake of him wholeheartedly as Lord and Savior. And those people as they heard that message that day, it got through inside and what did they do? They walked off eventually, but first thing they said, verse 60, many therefore of disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? In essence, who can heed that? Who can obey that's what they were saying. And it wasn't that they didn't fully understand. I know the Catholic Church said, well, the Eudicris, is that what they call that stuff? They turn that wafer into the body of Jesus and the fruit of the vine into blood. Folks, they don't do that. That's cannibalism. Amen? God never wanted you to do it. It's only a type, you see, of what you should have done at the point when Jesus passed by. And so as a result, he said, you've got to wholeheartedly receive me as Lord. And they said, that's too much for us to obey. And when it says the word here, it means to heed. And they didn't want to obey that. And as a result, Jesus preached to them a little more. And then in verse number 66, He made this statement to them, or they made this statement about them. From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. In other words, they came face to face with the Son of God. And yet he didn't reveal himself to them, but he said, you're going to have to eat the flesh of the Son of Man. You're going to have to wholeheartedly receive the Lord. You're going to have to have the Lord in your life. And they said, too much for us. We don't want to obey that. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it. And folks, that's our problem any time. And that's the way Jesus dealt with them as he told them this. And they walked away and they walked no more. They died and they went to hell from all indication because he said they walked no more with him. They wouldn't do it. And they walked away. And Jesus turned unto the twelve and asked them a question. They didn't walk away. The 12 didn't. Will you also go away? But Peter spoke up as a spokesman of the group. He spoke for Simon. He spoke for Judas Iscariot. But Judas was a devil from the beginning. But still, Peter said this, Lord, to whom shall we go? Who else is there but you? Where else can we go but with you? We've got to stay with you. And thou hast the words of eternal life. We're just going to stay with you. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. In other words, that's what Peter spoke up for the just twelve and eleven of them was all that were saved. You see, and here walks away the multitude, the majority, said, too much for us. Jesus didn't deal with anybody else exactly that way. Now, some people today try to say, well, you need a scare tactic. Jesus dealt with everybody with a scare tactic. It's true he gave a warning. It's true he gave the allegory of hell, if you please, about the rich man who died and went to hell. But Jesus never used that on not one time. The book of John's written that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and believe that you might have life. And in the book of John, he never mentions hell one time. Oh, it's alluded to, but he never mentions it. And you realize something, he never dealt with any two people the same way. And he didn't soften the message whenever people walked off, such as the rich young ruler. Look what he said there about the rich young ruler in the book of Matthew, chapter 19, verse number 22. He said, and when the young man heard that saying, in other words, you've got to go sell that you've got and give to the poor, in essence, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions, then said Jesus unto his disciples. He didn't say anything else to the man. He just walks off, and he let him go. Verily I say unto you, disciples, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. He's not going to, it's going to take with difficulty, in other words. And again I say unto you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and that's a sawing needle, than for a rich man to enter into heaven, the kingdom of God. And when his disciples heard it, they were exceeding amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? They understood exactly what the Lord said. And Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. God could have put a camel through the eye of a sawing needle if he wanted to do it. But the thing about it is salvation is of the Lord. So he never dealt with any two. He let that man walk away. Now I know his heart was broken. There's no doubt. But he never softened the message to that man. Just let him walk off and he went to hell. Matthew chapter 23 says this so about Jesus in verse 37. And I believe probably when he said this that there's probably a tear in his eye, there's probably a brokenness in his voice as he stands probably on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem and he says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings? And he would not. I wanted you. Rich young ruler, my heart went out to you. But he couldn't do anything else because the man made a choice. He walked away. Wasn't willing to pay the price. May God help us. You see, Jesus never dealt with any two of the saints. He dealt with them where their need was. We don't know where their need is. That's why all we can do is be a witness and pray that the Holy Spirit deals with them where their need is. and then they'll be saved, amen, when Jesus passes by. Well, you see, we need to follow His steps. That's what we need to do after Jesus passes by. Follow His steps and follow His example, in essence, in His life, in His message, and in His method. And then something else we need to do. We need to stand firm. Boy, I've never seen as much wishy-washy stuff going on today in my life. It's in the business world. I mean, does any of you have a problem with what some people tell you they'll do? I gotta amen, amen. Everybody ought to be in business one time with the world, amen, in some form or fashion. I was talking to a place in Lumber House today. And the person there said, everybody ought to be behind this counter for about three years and deal with that. Well, I told him, I said, well, I was in business and had a shop. Now, you know, it's one thing to sell something, but it's something else to deal with people when they're broke down. And I said, that was a necessary evil to have a shop. And we learn a lot with a shot, but you had to have it. Necessary evil, amen. But what I'm saying is, this world is not standing firm. I mean, there was a day whenever you could take the most ungodless man in the community, if he told you something, you could count on it being so. We had some neighbors where we grew up. I want to tell you, they didn't want nothing to do with God. They wasn't nothing about God. He'd get up and he'd miss a crop in the spring to go fishing, amen? One of our neighbors would. He'd take off and try to get my daddy to go fishing with him when it's day to plow, it's time to plow. But he'd go fishing, and yet, if he had told my daddy something, I believe he would have done exactly what he said. You understand what I'm saying? That seemed like the country people, and I don't know what it's like in the cities, but the country people had some character back in those days, amen? They had some character. But folks, there's not any, it's getting few and far between where there's anybody who will stand firm on what they tell you. Listen, young people, do what you say you'll do. If it costs you, do what you say. I mean, you'll learn a lesson from it. You make a bid to somebody, stay with it. Don't even let them know that you made a mistake. Amen? Carry it on through. Like I told you about that combine deal, I figured it out in my pocket that time. I missed it $1,000. I figured it in my head. But you know what? That man died and never did know he'd got the $1,000 better than me that day because he just said, I'll take it. And I just said, OK. All right. And I got it ready and delivered it. I mean, if I'd have lost $1,000, I didn't have no room to play thee, but the thing about it is you learn to do what you say. Young people, we need somebody like that. Stand firm, that's what you do. If Jesus passes by, stand firm on some things. Now, in Joshua 3, verse 17, there's where we find that the River Jordan was flooded and they came up to that bank and they said, how are we going to get across? And God said, I've got a plan. And the plan was that they'd take the Ark of the Covenant, and the men of the Levites would carry that with the rings on their shoulders, carry it out into the water, and stand firm. In other words, when they walked out into the water and got in, they had to go into uncharted territory. They didn't know what holes may have been out there. I mean, if you ever tried to pack something that's too heavy for you to pack, And if you lost a step off in the hole, you'd be in trouble, wouldn't you? And if you stepped off in that hole, you'd just be in trouble. Did you do a good job on that, Bill? Okay, he's a learning to look, never miss it. But you think about it, if you ever stumble with a load, hurt you, hurt you back, hurt yourself. Now I don't know how heavy the ark was, four men could carry it, but it's something to carry something 20 feet and lay it down, and something to carry something, I don't know how far they had to walk with it, but out in the middle of the water, and when they stopped, in flooded water. I don't know how deep it was. I don't know how deep it was. It didn't get up to the ark. But they stopped wherever they were supposed to and all at once the water parted. Amen. It parted all the way across there and they walked over on dry ground. Two and a half million Jews. Amen. and they stood firm. The Bible says this in the book of Joshua as it talks about these Levites that went out there. They said it in Joshua chapter 3 verse number 17, And the priests that buried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all Israel passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. Two and a half million. Have you ever been in a... How long does it take two and a half million people to walk across? I don't know how wide it was. They had animals. They had all their camels. I don't know if they had camels. I don't know what they had. But they had the carts, and they had things with them, the children, and all of them passed over, and those priests said, well, stay here till the last one gets across. Now, as they lifted up that ark, in essence, it tells us what was in that ark in Hebrews 9, 4. when it says, talking about the tabernacle, "...had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded in the tables of the covenant." Now I know Brother Tim just preached on this the other day, but there's three things in that Ark. If you realize that rod that budded, now I'm not going into all the story, but it was Aaron's rod that budded and had leaves and even brought forth almonds, and the rest of the people, all were just old dead stick, if you please. But you see this rod represented life from the dead, and it represented our resurrected Lord. Whenever Jesus went over in John 11, 25, there to Martha's house, and of course where Martha and Mary and Lazarus was dead, but He said unto her, Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. In other words, He is the resurrected Lord. John chapter 12 verse number 32, he said, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. The Bible said in John 1-4, In him was life. 1 John 5-12 said, He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. In other words, Jesus is the resurrected Lord and we need to lift him up to a people over and over with steadfastness. Why? Because He is the way. Did He not say in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And we need to lift Him up at the rod. If you please stand firm, lifting up Jesus. The ark was also the tables of the covenant. That represents the Word of God. II Timothy 4.2, Paul told Timothy, So the Word we need to lift up. It's a signpost, if you please. It points to the real, to the living Word. Isaiah 55, verse number 10 and 11, he said, For as the rain cometh down, and as the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, he said, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sore, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I send it. In other words, he said, the Word will do the job. Now, it's not the just written Word, but it points to the living Word, who's the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? And you know what the Word says? Salvation is the Lord. Now, we need to stand firm in the day in which we live. Amen? Stand firm. And also, they stood firm in that the ark was the pot of manna. That manna represents the promises of God and shows that they're true. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1.20, he said, For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him, amen, unto the glory of God by us. Our problem today, we sometimes have heard that said, God's promises are yea and nay. No, they're not nay. They're yea and amen. So be it. What God said, you can carry it through. And those priests stood there holding up the promises, holding up Jesus' innocence, holding up the Word of God until the last one crossed over. Folks, I want to tell you what we need to do in the day after Jesus passes by is to stand true, is to stand up. You see, there's too much at stake. Don't quit, don't quit. I heard a preacher back years ago somewhere, I don't remember exactly where it was, but he was telling about somebody coming over to him and was lost. And that lost man said to that preacher, in a sense, he said to him, he said, listen, he said, you're my only hope. Well, in one sense, as far as human instrumentality, that may be true, is what he was saying. But your hope is steadfast and sure in the Son of God. But as we hold Him up, we're pointing not to ourselves, but to Him. And we need to stand firm. Stand firm and fear not. Luke 12, 32, he said, there he said, he said, Isaiah chapter 43, verse number 1 and 2, he said, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I'll be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flames kindle upon thee. Listen, we need to stand firm in this day and fear not. That's what we need to do when Jesus passes by. I'm thankful that our Lord stood firm. I'm thankful that those priests stood firm in time, and we need to stand firm till the last one gets a cross. Revelation chapter 1 verse 17 and 18, John the Beloved was on the Isle of Patmos, sent there to die. And as he was there on the Lord's day, the Bible said he was in the spirit. And I'll tell you, he got a glimpse of the Lord that nobody else has ever had. And he said, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not, for I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I'm alive forevermore, even, amen. and have the keys of death. John, you can't die until the key is turned. Amen? Crocodile boy, God turned the key on him, amen? And I hate that as much as anybody. I mean, you know, but you said it's a freak accident. It wasn't no accident. God's in control of all the animals and everything else. He's got a purpose in all that. He's got the key, amen? And somebody said, you've got to time the place to die. Somebody said, if I knew where I was going to die, I wouldn't go there. It's sort of the way it is. But he's in control. John, you're not going to die. Listen, those three Hebrew boys and Daniel chapter 3 was thrown into the fiery furnace. Well, before that time, they said, bow down or you're going to burn. And they said, we don't have to even pray about it. They didn't give them time to pray about it. And they said, we don't have to pray about that. They stood firm to what they'd been taught. And they, listen, they were young people too. Listen, you don't have to be old to stand firm. You don't have to be too old to do anything else to stand firm. Start standing firm now. Standing for what's right. Standing, lifting up Jesus. And Jesus passed by. That's what you need to do. Stand till the last one gets a crawl. Folks, if somebody don't stand, there's no hope. You understand? You've got to have a preacher of righteousness. You've got to have an open door. You've got to have a striving spirit, but you've got to have somebody. Lord, help us to have some more to stand, to stand until the last one gets across. I know I preached this message before a year. I preached it at the camp as far as that particular part of that, but I think about The fact is, some of them may have said, as they were standing there holding up those things in that River Jordan, and of course it's dry at that time, somebody might have went by and said, you see that wall of water over there? It's going to fall on you for long. I'm going to get out of here as quick as I can. You better come on along too. But they may have looked back and they said, you see that long line? back there, that's somebody's mama, that's somebody's daddy, that's somebody's girl, that's somebody's boy, that's somebody's grandchildren, and I'm going to stand firm by the grace of God until the last one gets across. Because if I don't stand firm, like God said, then there may not be any hope for them, and it just might be down the road when I'm dead and gone that there wouldn't be any hope for my grandchildren and my children if somebody will stand firm now For your children, maybe somebody will stand firm for mine somewhere, whatever state it may be in. You understand? Stand firm. Folks, that's not just a preacher. Anybody who Jesus passed by, you say, well, that's my problem, Jesus hasn't passed by. He's going to. And when you see this, this is what we need. Oh, we wish you were up today, down tomorrow, in the day, and out tomorrow. Don't you get tired of being indecisive, in a sense? Double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. You double-minded man like being in the road and the big Mack truck coming, you've got one foot in each ditch. You know what's going to happen, don't you? Double-minded man, unstable. Stand firm. Follow his steps and his example. Stand firm until the last one gets across, until the Lord carries you home. Don't quit. There's no place for quitting in the kingdom of God. Somebody asked me the other day, you going to retire? I hope to refire. Amen. Listen, there is no retirement in God's business, if you please. And then what else do we need to do? When Jesus passed by, just do what the Lord says. Just do what he says. And you know what he said in Luke 19, 13? He called his ten servants and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them, Occupy. till I come. Occupy till I come. What if you don't come tomorrow? Occupy. You know what occupy is? It's a word for where we get our word occupation. You know what that means? That means to get your bags packed but keep your tool chest open. Amen. Be ready to go on a moment's notice but be ready to work and live and be a witness and follow in his step and stand firm even if it's a hundred years before he comes back. Amen? We don't know. We're not going to sell everything, move into the upper room and say he's coming next week. Or 88, that reason's in 88, he's coming in 88. Lord help. They had to write, they wrote another book in 89. They had another reason why he didn't go. And I don't know what they did in 90. I guess people quit buying their, well they gave their books away, amen? Mess, just a big old mess, amen? Listen, listen, stand fast. In other words, do what the Lord tells you. In fact, the Lord told those who are not saved and just said they believed on him in John 8, 31, 32, if you'll continue in my word, that's do the best you know, you shall be my disciples in the, that's the promises of God that are yea and amen. And ye shall know the truth. And that's Jesus. Intimacy with Him. Relationship. And the truth will make you free. You see? Continue. You see, you can do that. You can do it if Jesus has passed by. Even if he's passed by over here with the Holy Spirit coming and awakening you and puts you in the narrow way. Folks, there's some ability that God's give you. There's some grace that God's give you. There's some teaching that God gives you. There's some extra relationship that God's give you. You can do what you need to do. You can continue if you'll just do it. How do you continue? Put one foot in front of another. Isn't that right? I mean, see, our problem is we try to figure out what the end is. Trying to figure out what we're going to do tomorrow, and we ain't even got done with what we've got to do today. Huh? We need to focus, a focus, if you please, and do what we know to do at the time. You see, but we can do it if Jesus has passed by and planted His life in you or awakened you even, you can. But if you try only in your flesh, You'll never do it. You can't do it. So what do you need to do? Well, Jesus needs to pass by. In bad condition, right? We talked about that. It takes a work, completed work of the Holy Spirit to enable you to even get hold of Him and to see Him so He can pass by with the effectual call. But oh, when He comes by, He'll seal you with the Holy Spirit, puts the Holy Spirit inside, and then He'll enable you to do what you need to do. You do whatever. Somebody says, I don't know what I need to do. Well, don't do nothing until he tells you. And he'll tell you. It's not the preacher. I mean, I'm not telling you to do anything. If you'll notice, I don't do a lot of counseling and try to tell you what to do. You know what I'm saying? I don't know. You ask me, I say, I don't know. I'm not you. Huh? Has any of you wished I'd have told you more? Well, I know where there's a preacher to tell you what to do if you want to follow that, but you know what I'm saying? But listen, it's not me, it's Him. Do what He, and there's this thing going around. If you don't, let's see, to delay is to disobey. That is true. But if you're not certain that's God speaking, you better off to stop and stay put. You get in trouble. You're running ahead on whims and what you think somebody said. You think it's God even. If you're not sure, well, I'm 99%, well, you better stay put. You're not good enough. You need to be 100%. Listen, when God speaks, you know it. It's just different. If something clicks, as Brother Ray said, it's just there. And it may not be many times, but stay put, stand firm, continue, follow His steps, and go on wherever you are. He's faithful, and His promises are yea and amen. Father, I thank you. for the promise that Jesus will pass by. I thank you for those you've awakened. You desire them to come full term. You desire them to be saved. You're not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. So I plead the blood upon those that's not saved, that you'll help them just to get thirsty for these things in their life, to have some consistency, some dependability, some character, Lord. I pray you'd help us all to be to stand firm, help us all to continue, help us all to stand fast and follow in your steps and do what you've told us to. And if we don't know what you've told us, just wait until you speak. Then what you say, you'll pay for. What you order, you'll open up a way and help us, Lord, just to be sensitive to you. I plead the blood upon us all. Dear Lord, save souls, speak to hearts. and then help us to stand firm and just keep on keeping on. If you're not, little flock, it's Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Thank you for what you're doing. Help us tonight, and we can do what we need to do if we'll just lean on you, and we'll thank you. We ask it in Jesus' name. For his sake, we pray. Heads bowed, eyes closed, altars open. Will you mind the Lord tonight as she plays?