things guide, lead, and direct. Help us to be conscious of what you would have us to see from the scripture. Help us to be obedient to thee and to be guided by thy spirit. Help us to follow the leading and the leadership of all that you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen. We're in the book of Romans. I was tied up most of the afternoon in a meeting and I realize now that I wouldn't have a whole lot of time. Then they were leaving. I had to help put the kayak on the roof and all that stuff. So I was like, man, I tell you. And then I had to find a little moment in there to crash a little bit. Judy came out. She said, it's time to go. I wasn't asleep. I wasn't asleep. No, I had been knocked out a little bit anyway. So let's go ahead and look. Romans chapter 8, verse, let's start in 28 again, we're actually in verse 30. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified." So if you have any questions on what those verses mean, I preached on him pretty extensively this morning about foreknowledge, predestination, calling, and all of those things that seem to get so convoluted. And yes, I did. I was quicker today, Hollett. Hollett just held up a sign that said Mel, to remind him that, no. See, sometimes I'm so slippery you can't catch it. All right, verse 31, what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? What a tremendous thought when you consider, if God be for us, what does it matter? what the world throws at you. I go through some things that, you know, I sometimes wonder, Lord, what are you, you know, what are you thinking? What are you, what are you letting happen? And some of you do too. But if God before us, nothing else matters. I mean, you know, who can be against us? Let's say the devil throws everything at you. He threw everything at Job. Job got frustrated. Job got discouraged, Job got defeated, but in the end, Job won. In the end, Job was shown to be a righteous man that suffered for the glory of God. And a lot of that goes on. People don't ever understand that. They always figure if you're going through something, it must be because you're wicked and sinful. That's not true. I'll tell you what, I want you to go to 1 Samuel chapter 14. So if God be for us, who can be against us? In 1 Samuel chapter 14, And let's see if I can give you a little context on this first. 1 Samuel chapter 14, and when you look at Jonathan's great victory here, Let's just jump over to verse 6. Jonathan said to the young man that bears armor, Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be, he's not taking it for granted, it may be that the Lord will work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. See, God doesn't need big numbers to do great things. He needs willing servants that are willing to give up of self in order to bring about what He wants. What we sometimes think is, no, you gotta be, you know, you gotta have thousands, or you gotta have the majority, or you gotta have multitudes. You really don't. You know what you need? We need one sold-out person that'll say, you know, I'll charge hell with a water pistol. Really, that's all you need. And we just got to be busy doing the things God wants us to do and realize that He's in control. He is the one that when we depend upon Him, He wants to work through us. And the more He works through us, the more we give Him the glory. The more we give Him the glory, the more He works through us. But if you don't, he won't. I mean, if we sit back and we just say, well, the job's too big, the task is too great, there's nothing we can do to affect the outcome. I don't know how many times I've been told, listen, you can't win. I told you about the lottery up in Florida. I was telling Ricky maybe about it, because he was down south, so he saw the Amendment 4 signs, and he was in church down there, and he was there before the election. And he talked a little bit about that. And then we got to talking about it. And I don't know if you heard, but Amendment 3 was going to pass. Anybody hear Amendment 3 was a done deal on marijuana? I did. you know, Amendment 4 we were going to lose, but Amendment 3, there is no way that we're going to defeat it. And even when I, if you go back, and you probably don't need to at this point, but I said there's six amendments, they say Amendment 3 is going to pass, and then I talked about Amendment 4, but I, I was lackadaisical just because I had taken that information in, and then I just said that, and I looked at that because many people, they were watching it, and then I watched it again, and I thought, man, what a dumb statement. You know, they say Amendment 3 is going to pass. Listen, don't give up on God. You know, God, I think, looked at Florida and said, I want to bless these people down here. And He did. I think He looked at America and said, listen, you got another chance. I'm going to give you a chance to do something with this. Let's see if you just sit back on your laws and go, oh man, you know, we won, we're great, this is it. We didn't win. You know, we didn't win. We might have gotten a reprieve, but we didn't win. The winning ain't gonna happen unless we do something with what God has blessed us with. And that's the way it goes in your life. If you don't do anything with what God gives you, you don't win. Oh, I got all these talents, I got all this stuff, I got all these... No, you have to act accordingly. So, if God before us, who can be against us, going back to verse 32 of Romans 8, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Now again, that's that word all that means all. How shall He, not with Him, that is God not with Him, Jesus, also give us freely give us all things. You know, verse 17, we looked at that, we're joint heirs with Christ. Heirs with Christ, joint heirs, we suffer with Him. But He says He'll freely give us all things. He was delivered up for us. Look at Romans 4, verse 25. Romans 4. Verse 25, the Bible says, 24, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. So why, you know, why was he delivered for our offenses? Why was He raised? For our justification, because you can't be justified without the resurrection. If there is no resurrection, we are of all men most miserable. Men, women, children, whatever, we're most miserable. Because the resurrection's the key. I don't believe that when I, if I die, if I'm not here when Jesus comes back alive, if I die, I don't believe that's the end. I don't believe I just, You know, the soul is eternal. The soul is going to last forever. One place or another. For me, I know for a fact, I will be in heaven with God for all eternity. Many of you know that, but not everybody does. Your soul is eternal. What an amazing thing that He's done. But He was delivered for our offenses. That's what he was. He was delivered for our transgressions. And then he goes on and he says in... Well, look at Isaiah 53 first. Isaiah 53 is one of those amazing chapters of the Bible. And we could read the whole thing, we won't for time's sake, but Isaiah 53 ought to be a chapter that you get into and you really just sort of delve in. We're going to jump down to verse 6. Isaiah 53, 6, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Why was He delivered for our iniquity? What did He do? He laid on Him all of our iniquity. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgments. Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. The Bible says, well look at one more, verse 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. It was for our iniquity that he was put on that cross. It was for our sin that He shed His blood. It was for us and us alone. And when you look at that, you think, well, God is a gracious, merciful God. God needed a perfect, sinless sacrifice in order to justify those that don't deserve justification. And he had to have a righteous way to do it or he ceased to be just. The Bible says he is just and the justifier. He ceases to be just if he looks at you and says, well, you know, I like John's beard. I think I'm going to go ahead and forgive him because it's gray and long and formed and he's got those glasses on, got more hair than I do. Man, you know, he's forgiven. He needs to see his son in John. That's it. That goes for all you bearded wonders. I'm working on it. I see people and I just say, I'm getting my winter coat. I like that. Some of you had your winter coat and you forget when summer comes, it's the winter coat. But then you start all over like me and I can't imagine. I'm looking out there at three of you. I can't imagine you guys starting over again. That'd be a lot of years to get that baby back down that long. Hey. All I'm saying, whether it's John, whoever, whether you're bearded or not, you ladies don't need to be bearded, just keep shaving. Let me move on before I dig too big a ditch. And then he goes on, he says, he said, he freely giveth us all things. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." So, you know, the devil wants to charge you. He's up in heaven, he has access to heaven. In Revelation 12 he's kicked out. He evidently has access to God in heaven. People say, oh, there's no evil in heaven. Satan is the accuser of the brethren standing before the throne of God. He has that option. And he chooses that option because he wants to lay things to the charge of God's elect. But the question is, and it's a rhetorical question, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies it. He'd have to overcome God in order to be able to do that. He would have to thwart the purpose and the plan and the power of God in order to lay something to your charge. To me, that's amazing. To me, I am so relieved that I don't have to wake up every morning fearful of what the day may bring. Maybe I'll slip up. Maybe I just won't quite live a sinless, perfect life. It seems like it's every day. And it is. Who shall lay anything in the charge of God? It's God that justifies. So why do we get all wrapped up in thinking that somehow it's all up to us? It's not up to you. You are blessed in spite of yourself. And there are people that I meet that would hear me say that and say, well, wait a minute, you're saying it's okay to sin. No, I'm not. I'm just saying it's not up to you or me for us to keep our relationship eternally with God. Nobody, not the devil himself, can lay anything to your charge. Look at Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews 9 verse 25, Nor yet he that should offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place, every year with blood of others, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ 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." He's going to appear without sin unto salvation. He died once, once, once. You look at verse 26, but now once in the end. Look at verse 27, once to die. Look at verse 28, so Christ was once offered. Do you think the emphasis is one time? That's why we don't celebrate a Mass here. That's why we don't have transubstantiation that supposedly turns a wafer into the body of Jesus to re-sacrifice Him every Sunday, or every time there's a Mass, a long prayer. Listen, I'm telling you, it's once, one time, He sacrificed Himself one time for the sins of you and me and all the world. And all we've got to do is say, Lord, I know that, I believe that, I accept that. and receive me, and He will receive you if you simply trust in Him. Once, the Bible says. So he goes on in verse 34, it's God that justifies, verse 33, who is He that condemneth? Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Aren't you glad that He is there on the right hand of God to make intercession? Hebrews 7.25 says, "...as He ever liveth to make intercession." Christ is not dead. Christ is not hanging on a cross. Christ should never be put back on that cross. Christ should never become a baby again. When we look at Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, we realize He's the one that died on the cross. He's the one that paid the penalty. He's the one that makes intercession. He died once. He didn't die over and over and over and over again. One sacrifice for sins, His blood's sufficient, and now He's at the right hand of God making intercession for us. What an amazing God! What an amazing plan. What an amazing purpose that we serve a God that is able and willing to do that for us. He did it for us while we were yet sinners. He did it for us while we were ungodly. He did it for us while we were enemies. He didn't say, straighten up your life and I'll accept you. You can't ever be acceptable on your terms. And you can't clean it up enough to make it more acceptable. In fact, the sooner you realize that He wants you as you are to come to Him and to realize your lost condition, your need for a Savior, He accepts that and says, come unto Me. Come unto Me. Look at another verse. Look at 1 Peter 2. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? 1 Peter 2. Let's go ahead and look at verse 1. Probably need to do that after we had a little bit of a talk today about... No, let's go to verse 21. I really like verse 1, laying aside all malice. That would be a good thing. You got any malice in your heart? Lay it aside. Verse 21, For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again." You know, sometimes you don't need to answer the critics. When He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to him that judgeth righteously, who, His own self, bear our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep gone astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Wow. Here we are. We're sheep gone astray. We're dead to sins. I'm sorry. He took our sins in His body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live under righteousness. We're now dead to sins. But He did all that for us because He loved us. Who shall lay anything in charge of God's elect? Oh, come on. You just read it. How can anybody argue with that? You say, well, you believe in the once saved, always saved. It's all gone right, I do. Because if you can lose your salvation after all we read, how do you get it back? How do you get it back? You can't. If you get saved by grace through faith and lose it because of works, does works get it back then? Oh no, it's grace. How can it be grace if now you have to change your life to deserve it? It doesn't work. That's why we stand firm on the doctrines of the Bible. You can't have it both ways. You say, well, then you're telling people that they can live as they please. I live as I please, and the more I want to please God, the better off I am, and I draw nigh unto Him, and He'll draw nigh unto me. And all those verses, yes, I can go out here and make a fool of myself. and completely destroy all the work that I've done in my life, through my life for 40 years. Gone just like that. Or I can say that I want to give it all to God because of all that He gave to me. Listen, there is nothing that can save you if you can lose your salvation. Once saved, always saved, you better believe it. There is no other biblical doctrine that stands the test of time besides that one. So you go on in verse 34 of Romans 8, Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again. who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Listen, we're to realize that He is our intercessor. And again, I could go through a lot of verses on that and I won't do it. Just think of it like this. God the Father is separated from man. Christ made a way to break through that separation. And now He is our mediator in between man and God. He is our intercessor, so we go through the intercessor to get through the Father. That's how our prayers are heard, because He makes intercession for us. Verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And this is just rhetorical. Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. We are more more than conquers. Why? Because of what He did. I mean, when you look at Romans, you look at these verses, and you just let them say what they say, we're not just conquerors, we're more than conquerors. Why? Because of Christ, through Him. And that's the emphasis. Who's going to be able to separate us? Nobody. Nobody can separate you from the love of Christ. Verse 38. Looks like we're coming in for a landing a little early tonight. I hope you don't mind. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." There's no separation, no eternal condemnation. Nothing can separate you from the love of God, the love of Christ. In all these things, we're more than conquerors through Him. What an amazing Bible. I tell you, I read the Bible, I study the Bible, I preach the Bible, and there is no greater joy that I have than knowing what it says and trying to live what it says, but also trying to convey to others what God has given to me through the Scripture. I'm a Bible teacher. I appreciate that God has given me at this point, a little while longer maybe, the mental faculties to convey those truths. I had a 80-year-old friend of mine, I don't know, friend, he was a mentor of mentors, Dr. Noe from Livonia, Michigan. And he'd come down to our church and he'd preach and he'd read his sermon. And he said, "'Cause at some point, that may be all I have is to read that sermon." So he'd have the whole thing written out. Because at some point, We all slip and slide mentally. And he said, as long as I can read the sermon, I'm alright. A lot of wisdom in that. When he passed away, he got polio when he was really young, so he walked with a limp, then a cane when he got older, then a wheelchair. He's a great man of God, I'll tell you. And I look at it and say, as long as I've got the mental faculties to be able to preach the Bible, I want to preach the Bible. I want to teach the Bible. I want to help other people to see the truths that God has given to me. And it goes with that this morning. I preached on a subject that is very volatile, that is very divisive, that is very much disputed, and one side sometimes hates the other side. Listen, I don't hate them. If they don't agree with me, that's fine. Listen, you are allowed to be wrong. You are. You say, well, you think you're right. You're doggone right, I do. And if you were up here preaching and teaching, guess what you'd think? You'd think you're right. Or you need to sit down. If I don't think I'm right, I got no business. Now I'm not cocky. Well, probably am. I don't mean to be. But if I don't believe I'm right, I've got no business speaking. And I've put in the time, I've put in the effort, I've put in the prayer, I've put in what it takes. And you say, well, so have they. Yeah, but there is a difference. I know that the key is this. Never allow what I believe to determine what the Bible says. And that is what saved me. Because I... See, people look at me and they go, well, you used to teach, you know, people in the Old Testament and in the Tribulation were saved by works plus faith. Show did. I don't anymore. And I refute it. That means you were wrong, they might say. Yep. Yep. But when I found out I was wrong, I changed my position rather than forcing the Bible. And listen, I have heard people say, well, I'm too old to change. God forbid. I want to know that what I teach and what I preach is right. And listen, you say, well, I don't agree with you on something. Fine. Prove me wrong. And I, listen, I savor those times when somebody says something to me and I question what I teach. And you say, well, what do you do then? That means you taught error. Yeah, well, I'm not, I shouldn't say that. I don't speak ex cathedra for those of you that know what that means. Listen, we all say things that are wrong. Well, but you're up there in the pulpit. Something you say shouldn't be wrong. And that's why most preachers never preach the Bible. because they don't want to be wrong. Oh, I can't take a dog mat, or they don't want to divide, or they want to build big numbers. And to build big numbers, you've got to be sort of wishy-washy here and wishy-washy there. And this group looks at you and says, boy, he's like us. And this other group goes in the opposite spectrum. He's like us. And you're accepted by all. Yes, I make sure that if I believe it's wrong, I don't want that group to accept me as one of them. I want to teach and preach the truth, stand on the truth, and then stand accountable to God. Because that last one isn't up to me. First two are. Let's all stand together. Thank you for being here tonight. Hope today was as great a blessing for you as it was for me. I know watching, watching, baptizing Bill actually. Boy, what a joy. Then what he said up here, I had a lot of comments on that. I don't want to beg for one drop of water. Is that what he said? He's referring to last week. Yeah. Actually, Ricky said something about it. When we went over to the house right before we left, he said, Man, what he said really got me. I don't want to beg for one drop of water. Wow. Wow. So let's pray. Lord, we do thank you for your many blessings, guide, lead, and direct in all things. We just pray for your will to be done. Thank you for Bill, following the Lord, and being a blessing to so many others. In Jesus' name, with your head bowed and eyes closed.