I don't even know what I was saying. Romans 8, 28. Preach. I think Jeff was on this text. Wasn't he on Thursday? Was he in Romans 8? Sure enough was, I think. Your Bible says this, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he had foreknowledge. He knew he was going to get saved. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. He knew that after you got saved, there'd be a predestination of conforming to the son, because we all gonna be like him one day. That's post-salvation right there. 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. Now, traditionally, when somebody grabs these verses, you're probably going to hear a message either on how God's going to get you through the storm and it was all his intended purpose and he's going to get glory and it's going to be good in your life because it's going to conform you to Jesus Christ, make you more Christ-like, and that way we can get through any storms that we go through because we know God's using them for us. That's tremendous. Amen. That's good preaching. I've got a message or two on that as well. then you may hear a anti-calvinism message talking about teaching about what real bible predestination is and uh the foreknowledge of god and things like that you may learn about some of that but this morning i want to preach a message in a different uh realm and i want to preach a message titled salvation intensified And salvation in our life ought to be magnified and intensified if we truly understand what God did. I tried to just talk about that a minute ago. That song sings about it. But if we really knew what God did, if you knew what God did for me, if I knew what God did for you, if the world knew what God did for born-again children of God, man, they would want to be saved. And I understand we've got the conviction of the Holy Ghost. We've got the free will of man, all that. But I'm just saying, if we intensified and magnified salvation in our life, how many more people would want to be saved because we're telling them how good it is, amen? Now, here's the thing. I'm going to give you some Bible learning. We got to get through the teach till we can get to the preach, all right? So there's a lot of folks that get messed up all through the Bible due to not understanding the word, the word salvation. I want to give you a couple things about the word salvation and then I want to intensify that word salvation in the main body of the message. So by way of introduction, let me first look at the simplicity of salvation. I say it all the time, but salvation was a transaction that took place in your life in a moment of time. And in that moment of time, under conviction of God, in your will, you chose Christ, and salvation for you and I is by grace through faith in the resurrected Christ, Jesus, amen? It is a gift from God, and it is holy without words, amen? Romans 3 and 26 says to declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus where is boasting then it is excluded, but what law of works is but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. He said, you can't brag about being a good man and all this. You ain't going to earn your salvation if by grace through faith, Ephesians 2 and 8, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself. It's a gift of God, not a word, lest any man should boast. It doesn't take place over a lifetime of serving God and going to church. It doesn't take place, I know it's a moment, but I'll throw it in here. It doesn't take place at an infant baptism. It doesn't take place at eating a wafer or drinking some wine. It doesn't take place if you don't just live your life and realize one day, man, I'm doing pretty good. I must be saved, Blake. It's a moment in time where you place all your faith and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and God saves your soul from hell. and when you did that the elements of salvation take place in your life in a moment's time in a moment's time you were justified before the father you were redeemed you were uh you received grace the propitiation was applied if you want to put it that way righteousness was imputed forgiveness was given the adoption papers were signed you became a part of the family sanctification as in being set apart took place. Amen. And the process of glorification has been although it is foreknowledge was predestinated. It has the the the predestination has begun. Amen. I got verses for all of them but I ain't got time to put them all in there. Now you could you imagine if that process all took took place at different times in your life. What a mess that would be. Or could you imagine all of that happening? Could you imagine not knowing that that process happened in your life? I know there's a lot of people who doubt their salvation, but you really shouldn't, amen? But, although some do, it doesn't always mean you're lost, amen? But when all that happens, man, and you really understand what happens, there's a knowledge of that, for that we may know that we have eternal lives in the Bible. But could you imagine all that happening, then you messing up, getting away from God, and God hitting the rewind button and undoing all of that and retracting your salvation? I mean, just think of the allegories that the Bible uses of birth. He's going to put you back in the womb in adoption. He's going to unadopt you, amen? He's counted you as right. He's going to take all that away. None of that makes sense to me. and your salvation simply took a moment in time that you trusted Christ as your savior and you were saved forever. Now, although there's a lot of complex things that happened in that moment, it was very simple for you and I. There is a simplicity of salvation. Secondly, I want you to notice, by way of introduction, the semantics of salvation. Since you're using big words, Delbert, I'm gonna use big words. Amen? Semantics is the study of language. Ties in with hermeneutics in your Bible, Bible interpretation. It deals with how words, phrases, sentences, and text are used to convey meaning. Semantics focuses on the relationship between what they call signifiers, words, phrases, symbols, and what they stand for or represent. In a broader sense, semantics can refer to the meaning of words and expressions. How individual words and phrases carry meanings. Based on the context. You ever heard the word context? I hope so because everything that has to do with our Bible has to do with context. And the interpretation of language. The way in which context, cultural background, the usage influences interpretation. Ambiguity or multiple meanings of a word. Do you know that salvation has multiple meanings this morning? In short, semantics is about understanding how language conveys meaning and how those meanings can vary depending on context. Here's what one man said. Salvation is a great inclusive word of the gospel. It gathers into itself all the redemptive acts and processes. I just talked about some of them. Let me repeat them. Justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, glorification. But you see the word salvation in your Bible can also carry other meanings, Jeff. We know this. I would say the majority of times it is not talking about the eternal salvation of your soul in your Bible. 70% of your Bible is Old Testament. And you do know that it can also mean deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, soundness. It does not always carry the meaning of salvation of your soul. And let me just say this, a lot of Armenians, that's folks that believe you lose your salvation from sinning and you gain it from living right, amen. who do not rightly divide the scripture, especially do not understand this, they'll take a verse about Israel's physical salvation or something like that and they'll tie it to a loss of salvation. You've got to understand this stuff. Let me give you a couple of examples, then we'll get into the preaching. Salvation as deliverance from physical dangers in your Bible, Exodus 14 and 13. And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. That's not their eternal salvation. Which will show you this day from the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. So in the context, salvation refers to God's deliverance of the Israelites from physical danger of a pursuing Egyptian army. Now, of course, we see our typology, right? We have typology in the Old Testament. We see pictures of our spiritual salvation, Blake. 2 Samuel 22 and 3, the God of my rock, in him will I trust. He's my shield and the horn of my salvation. My high tower, my refuge, my savior, thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies. Listen, there's a lot of preach right there, brother. And I'll get on that and I'll preach to you about everything. I'll preach on salvation. I'll preach on God being my rock, amen. On God being my high tower who saved me from the devil's hell. But contextually, Let's talk about the deliverance from physical enemies or danger for the nation of Israel We also see salvation is rescued from oppression and distress on 37 38 But the transgression shall be destroyed together the end of the wicked shall be cut off but the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord he's their strength in the time of trouble and the Lord shall shall help them and deliver them and He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, salvation, because they trust in him. That verse speaks of salvation as a form of protection and rescue from times of trouble and oppression. But we can sure preach it typologically, Blake. It means salvation. You know what else it can mean? National or collective deliverance. Isaiah 45 and 16. They shall be ashamed and also confounded, all of them. They shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed or confounded in the world without end. Talk about national salvation of Israel. You know it's going to happen, right? Tribulation's going to happen. Jeff just taught on it. Go in the Millennial Kingdom. There'll be national salvation for the nation of Israel. A collective deliverance from their enemy and a future promise of spiritual restoration. Now, that's tying them together, don't it? You got to be a little more careful when you come to the nation of Israel. Because we've got typologies for us of our salvation in the Old Testament. They have prophecies. We have prophecies as well, but they have many prophecies for their future physical salvation. And it pictures their national salvation, but it's a spiritual salvation as well. As God brings them back, deals with them, their nation's been oppressed. He's turned them over to rat for all these years. Study history. one day he's going to deliver them with a physical salvation and the messiahs will bring their spiritual salvation. Look at Zechariah 9 and 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Why? Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He's just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Now that's a prophecy to us. That's a prophecy to them. Salvation here refers to the deliverance that the Messiah, Jesus, is going to bring to Israel, not just spiritually, but in terms of political and national restoration as well. Man, I love pre-millennial Bible preaching. There's a salvation and temporary rescue, Blake. Get over in the New Testament, 1 Timothy 4 and 16, take heed of thyself, and under the doctrine you're saved talking to save people take heed of that doctrine in that bible continuing them for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee it's this practical sense of salvation preserving one's life and faith through adherence to sound doctrine it also means salvation of healing and restoration i can tell y'all was getting bored with this i'm gonna skip these last couple healing and restoration. What about over in Matthew? Now we're getting real foggy y'all. Matthew 9 and 20. Behold a woman who was diseased with an issue of the blood. If I may but touch the garment, I shall be made whole. Whole of what? Sickness. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Don't y'all make me preach on this stuff. That word whole, in this case, implies a form of salvation, referring to her physical healing. We're now getting into deeper waters with this transitional nature and this kingdom doctrine stuff, Brother Blake. You'll hear this story preached as salvation over and over and over and I've done it before and I'll do it again. But contextually, what are we looking at? We're looking at the semantics of salvation this morning. Don't look at every time the word salvation is used in your Bible and get all confused. Salvation can also mean deliverance in the context of spiritual eternal salvation. We'll stay in the Gospels, Luke 19 and 9. And Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house. For as much as he also is the son of Abraham, for the son of man has come to seek and save that which is lost. He came to save your soul from hell. That's spiritual salvation. That's eternal salvation. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. That's eternal and spiritual salvation. Y'all getting what I'm saying? Semantics? Is English class almost over? Yeah, you can smile. So salvation, although it's simple, for you and I, the semantics of salvation isn't so simple when you're studying your Bible. Context, context, context. So now I wanna give you another element of semantics. This is gonna be more fun, okay? Another English principle that is very closely related to semantics on the word salvation are the tenses. Get it? Salvation intensified. Our spiritual salvation is in tenses as well. The tense, Delbert testified on that sin, that first song we sang, the first verse talked about the first one and the second verse talked about the second one I'm gonna preach on. The tenses help to specify the particular aspect or stage of spiritual salvation being referred to. In other words, how the word salvation or saved is used in different tenses. Past, y'all didn't skip English class in third grade, did you? You're too young to skip. Past present and future and it gives clarity to watch men in terms of its specific meaning in a given context I'm gonna give you a short message that was half of it right there on salvation intensified Salvation intensified the joy of your eternal salvation should be intensified and magnified in your life. Amen this morning by by knowing and understanding the tenses of salvation that you are experiencing in your life. Amen? Father, we love you. Lord, help us, God, understand what all you did for us. God, help us understand what you did in the past for us. Help us understand what you're doing in the present right now for us, and God, what you will do in the future for us. And Lord, if there's somebody here lost, has never experienced salvation whatsoever spiritually in their life, God, I pray, through the words these broken words God that you've given me from your book God I pray Lord that they fall under conviction dear Lord they'd see that God that we as a church would magnify and intensify how wonderful salvation is God and they would call on your name and be saved this morning and God there's just some of us in here it's grown a little complacent got a little apathetic God we're not telling anybody about how good it is God, I pray you'd spark that in us today. And God, we get on fire for telling people about how good you are. Father, we love you. We praise you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen and amen. Number one, I want you to notice you were saved from the penalty of sin in the past tense, amen? and that is called justification this morning look at Romans 8 verse number 30 it said moreover whom he did predestinate then he also called here it is and whom he called then he also justified amen you were just the fact of justification is in the past there was a past action of being declared righteous in a sane man's life by God through faith in Christ saving you from the guilt of sin in your life. Now I'm not talking about you feeling guilty about it amen. I'm talking about the fact that the judge dropped the gavel on you one day and the because what Adam did in the garden when he sinned, sin passed upon all men, and you were born in sin one day, and the judge said you are guilty, and you deserve death in hell for that, amen? But one day, one day, if you put your faith and trust in Christ, you were justified, amen, in the eyes of God, and now the sins have been lifted, and the guilt is gone in your life, amen? by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, amen. Romans 5 and 8, but God committeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath. through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life, amen. That is salvation in the past through the process of justification this morning, amen. What could I just say this morning? I'm glad for that day in my life, amen, that that great transaction in my life, amen. Listen, I was in the worst place of my life, but it was not the fact that I realized that I just needed saved from the power of sin. That's not what I'm talking about. Listen, I didn't just need help from the things that controlled me. I didn't just need help from the alcoholism in my life, amen. I didn't just need help from the drugs that I frequently consumed. I didn't just need help from the things inside of me, the unforgiveness, the hatred in my heart. I didn't just need help from that, but I realized through the work of the Holy Ghost of God this morning that I needed help from the sin that I was born into, amen? The sin that I actually was, amen? My problem, your problem, was not that you struggled with a sin, but it's that you were a sin this morning. You were born an entity with God. God was at war with you. You're a creator. Not the sins you were committed, but the sin that you was. That's the difference in understanding the penalty of sin and the power of sin. When you got saved, you were saved from that penalty of sin in your life, which ultimately was death and hell. Don't you think we could all shout about the fact that we're not going to hell this morning? I literally deserve it with my back broke, Jeff, where the worm doth not, but thank God, thank God, because of no actions of my own, I don't have to go. Jesus paid the ultimate price. You were saved from that penalty and the guilt that you owed. You're no longer guilty. The righteousness of Christ has been placed on you. You're justified in the eyes of God. I could give illustration after illustration after illustration of improper semantics of salvation through the Old Testament that people take. Go through the book of Judges. I'm reading it right now. The nation of Israel had physical salvation from the wrath of God, which means they had peace with God as long as they obeyed God. Am I right? They had physical salvation. But then when they fell into idolatry, the peace was gone and the wrath of God rested upon them for years and years at a time. Now, don't worry because we're premillennial and we're dispensational. Israel will get their chance to make it right spiritually. You understand that? They got physical and spiritual salvation coming in the future. But aren't you glad? Aren't you glad this morning that you and I simply have to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be saved? Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, now we're saved eternally from the wrath of god. He'll never turn around and be your enemy again once you're justified. Amen. He'll never turn around and hate you and want to put you in the devil's hell. Amen. Much more than being now justified by his blood. We shall be saved from wrath through him. Amen. Can I explain to you why god did it the way he did for Israel and then for us and all that, all that, all that dispensational stuff. Jim, no, no, I can't. No, I can't but I can tell you For his great love wherewith he loved us, even, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. You think you deserve this stuff? Huh? Some of us act so arrogant and so hyper-spiritual, we think we deserve this stuff. A lot of churches, legalistic churches, arrogant, nice guys, think they deserve this stuff. I don't care what they say when they're preaching. You get around some of them, start talking to them, you see how spiritually arrogant most of them are. I can look back through my life and tell you how undeserving I am of being saved. I can tell you all the times I treated good parents like trash. I can tell you all the times I scoffed and laughed at men of God and the Bible. I can tell you all the times I resisted the Spirit of God. Didn't want nothing to do with it. I can tell you all the times I pridefully and arrogantly wanted my way and chose what I wanted and didn't give a rip about anybody else. I can tell you all the times I rejected what God wanted in my life. I can tell you all the times I satisfied my own desires like greed and envy and all that stuff. There's no way in this world I deserve to be justified. Never, but here I stand before you. Here I stand before you and on 100% sure I'm going to a place called heaven and I'm justified in the eyes of God. Amen. But God, but God, but God in the past tense was rich in mercy and loved me and saved me at a point in time in the past and I'm justified. You were saved from the penalty of sin in the past or justified. Secondly, if you look at verse 29, you are being saved from the power of sin in the present or being sanctified. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. I don't let predestination fool you. It's on the backside of salvation. So he knew he was going to get saved when he got saved. But being saved, part of being saved is being predestinated to be Christ-like. One day you're going to make it all the way. We'll talk about it in a minute. But your life is a process of becoming more and more Christ-like. Are there setbacks? Are there some that don't make any steps forward? Sure, I believe all that. But it speaks to the ongoing process. of being made holy, saved from the power of sin, transformed to become more like Jesus and live holy. Now, are you ever going to make it all the way there? No. There's people that teach that. You ain't going to get to that level where you don't sin. Romans 6 and 8 says, now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, here's what you're supposed to do. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead in deed to sin. Choose to do that. I got a message on that, I believe. But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here's another command. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. But here's what you're supposed to do. Yield yourself unto God as those that are alive from the dead. Save people ought to. And your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Here's why. For sin shall not have dominion over you. And you are not under law, but under grace. Listen, I remember when I first started preaching, some arrogant preacher, I preached on that sanctification in the Christian's life. He got stuck on that sanctification I mentioned in the introduction of being set apart. There's two meanings for it. There's a verb and there's, I guess you'd call it an adjective, being set apart, being sanctified as a saved person. But there is the fact of living a sanctified life, amen. And that's what I'm referencing right now, the fact that we are to live sanctified. It was all through the verses. Yield our bodies to God through the Spirit. You know what that means? Some people don't. Rather than yielding our bodies as instruments to unrighteousness, you know what that means? Some people do that. And living a more sanctified life and getting victory over the power of sin in the present tense of our lives. Fact of the matter is we're commanded. I just said it. Wrecking ourselves to be dead. Some people don't. Let not sin reign in your mortal body. Some people do. We are told in these verses to not obey our mortal body and its lust, but some people do. To not yield our body as instruments of sin, but some people do. We are to yield to God. Amen, which some people don't and it says that sin shall not have dominion over us, but sin does have dominion over some You know what that means? Salvation in the semantics of the word salvation here is currently saving us from the power of sin in our lives Which means you are without excuse this morning. You do not have to live in sin because you are saved and have the Holy Ghost of God in you. You are choosing your sin, amen? You have a power inside of you. that lives currently in you in the present to keep you from living in sin. Nobody, nobody, nobody ever fell into sin, amen. You chose sin and you yielded to sin and you did not yield to the spirit of God. God's implanted his spirit in us. The day we got saved and the Spirit of God gives us power to yield ourselves as instruments of righteousness. Now, can we live a sinless life like I said a minute ago? No, sir. You're always going to have that struggle. But do you have the power in you today to live a better Christian life and more sanctified for God? Yes, you do. And if you choose not to, you are messing your life up. Go ahead. Let the power of sin get a hold of you. Just because you're saved and justified in the past does not mean the power of sin cannot rule in you. whereby my beloved, wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do his goodwill and pleasure. There's a God working in the same town of God, who can do his will and his pleasure, and you have a choice this morning of whether you'll do it. If we just follow the spirit of God in us, we would do his will and his good pleasure much more often than we do. I have a friend that when I first got saved, I appreciate him. He's a little judgmental. Made fun of the church we was going to, because we sang some, I knew nothing about it back then, Blake. We sang some borderline, some contemporary junk, stuff like that. He made fun of us. We got upset about it, but now I appreciate it, because I understand. He's a good preacher. He did some weird, crazy stuff sometimes, but he could preach. He could grow a youth group. God gave him a church. He's a young man. He's preaching. That's all he wanted to do. That's all he wanted to do. And he's preaching. God gave him a church. Had a school in it. Everything was just going great, man. I'd go over there. Then I'd go to his house, and I'd see little things. Little things. I thought, man, I ain't been saved very long. And I used to be in this world out here, but I sure wouldn't do that right there. I seen little things. And those little things progressed. The fella had a surgery that went bad on him, messed him up. He broke his back. Some things happened. Docs gave him pain pills. And I was like, man, I don't know if I'd do that. And then I watched as Oxycontin was brand new on the scene. I watched as it went that route. And I literally looked and said, man, I wouldn't do that. There's demons on that stuff. That's powerhouse stuff. You better not touch it. I'm telling you, in a year or two, I kind of separated a little bit. I couldn't do nothing about it. And I watched a guy that was called to preach, had God on him, God was using him, become nothing more than a hopeless, sunken in face teeth rotted out drug addict. I believe he was saved. I believe he's justified in the past. I believe it. But in the present, he played around with sin and sin ain't just going to leave you alone. You understand that, right? It got worse. It got worse. a hopeless addict for probably the last seven or eight years of his life. Driving around in the middle of the night, going to drug houses, walking around the streets, long fingered and dirty fingered. I don't need to explain, in case somebody knows who I'm talking about, but it was bad. I watched the power of sin in the present get a hold of a sane person that was justified in the past, because they played around with something too much, and it destroyed them. Now they're dead and gone. I'm trying to tell you, you can have victory over whatever that sin is in your life. Just get in tune with the Spirit of God in you and reckon yourself dead to sin. And use your body as an instrument of righteousness and follow what God wants you to do. And get the power of that salvation in your life. You were saved from the penalty of sin in the past. You were justified. You're being saved from the power of sin in the present or sanctified. And lastly, you'll be saved from the presence of sin in the future or glorified. Romans 8 and 30, moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he did call, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. This refers to the future aspect as we intensify salvation. where believers will be fully saved from the presence of sin. Their bodies will be transformed in the resurrection to be like Christ's glorious body. Y'all ever think about that? What a day, what a day, what a day it's gonna be. Knowing the time, but now is high time to wake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. What's he talking about? He's talking about that future salvation of glorification, the semantics. You were saved from the penalty of sin on a day in the past, justified. Daily, he's saving you from the power of sin in sanctification. But in the future will come salvation from the presence of sin and glorification. 1 Corinthians 15 and 52 says, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. Now we know it's the rapture. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. That's a new body. and this mortal must put on immortality. We're mortal men. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall he shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Man, that's a good funeral sermon right there, I'm telling y'all. I'll tell you what, up until what? 14 years ago, honey. Submitted to preach 13 years ago, 12. I felt like a warrior previous to that. I did everything athletic I could, amen, till I got this disease in my body that really limited a lot of that. I feel like since then, Delbert, I've aged. Did it hit you at 42? At 40, y'all, we go downhill. Daniel says, I believe God does something every 10 years in a man's life. I'll tell you what he does. He lets his mortal body tear up a little bit more. I'm getting tired of this incorruptible body. But one day, if you're saved and justified, you will put on an immortal body, incorruptible body. Come help me, sissy. I'm thinking of the blessings of that incorruptible body. Family sitting in the room. It seems cliche in those times of despair and misery. I can tell you one that ain't having seizures no more. When my dad got diagnosed with this stuff, Daddy's been healthy 75 years. I'm talking mom and dad never admitted into the hospital. Dad had like carpal tunnel stuff and all that, but good sickness, never. 75 years. One pill for blood pressure, which I think runs in the family anyhow. No health problems. When this first happened, it was questions. You know, we always try to figure it out, don't we? We try to figure God out and say, was He molding me? Am I living in sin? Is something happening? What is it? Could I tell you? Sometimes it's just a fact. It is a sin problem, but not a personal sin problem, but a sin problem. Death passed upon all men. We became corruptible. We became mortal because of sin. And that sin will get the best of us at some point in time. I'm not talking about messing up. I'm talking about you're going to die. You're going to die. That body you've got on is going to die. As my dad struggled wondering, why is this happening? I'm not saying he's going to die from this. I know what the doctors say. I know all that stuff. We're praying for miracles. We're praying for God to do something great. But I'm here to tell you there's going to come a day that that body you got on is going to wear out. And although you had that past salvation, That salvation in the past, that justification, great. That's tremendous. And you may have lived a life to where you ain't been under the power of sin much because you've tried to live holy, separated, sanctified under God, and you ain't had a whole lot of struggles with sin. But if that trump don't sound like I just read about a minute ago, guess what's going to happen? Your body will succumb to the effects of sin in this world. For some it happens at a young age, we don't know why, we ask questions, we don't know why. But everybody, nobody's going to outlive it, you understand that? Unless Trump sounds. And you will succumb to the effects of sin in your life. We're promised salvation in the future through glorification. That's what makes, you know there's a verse that I've already worked on a sermon, there's a verse that talks about we sorrow not as the world. You know why? Because of that future salvation of glorification. That ought to help us get through the things that we have to go through in this life. And here's the thing. If you're sitting here this morning and you don't know that you're saved, or you've been living in doubt, or you know that you're lost, you're sitting here knowing. You're at enmity with God right now, and you owe the penalty of sin. Here's the problem with that. You're not justified, and you're going to have to pay for that sin. You'll live a life completely under the power of sin. And you'll never be freed from the presence of sin because you'll be sentenced to a place called hell for all of eternity where sins are paid for. So if I was in here and I was lost, I think I'd get saved this morning. If the Holy Ghost God was still in my heart, I think I'd come to an altar and I'd do the best I could in everything that I am to put all my faith and trust in the resurrection of Jesus Christ this morning and the atoning blood of Christ. But man, I tell you what, if you're saved, you ought to be living your life. intensifying salvation. You ought to be telling everybody you come across about the day you got justified. Doesn't the Bible say it over there? Is it 1 Peter 3 and 8? 2 Peter 3 and 8? Somebody help me. It tells us we ought to, Brother Blake. Secondly, you ought to be living a life separated and set apart from this world and living a sanctified life to where sin does not reign in your mortal body. But you ought to reckon yourself dead to it and put it away and yield your members unto righteousness. Live for God. You know what that means? Live for God. Don't live a life under the power of sin. Listen, I know you can choose to. I know you've justified in the past and now you've got your free ticket to heaven. Yeah, you'll be glorified. But why live a whole life under the power of sin? Not enjoy the joys of salvation in your life? I tell you what, best of all, one day, church, we're going to be glorified. And I know when it all comes, when the deathbed comes for all of us, there's going to be fears, there's going to be all that stuff. But man, glorification is something wonderful. We don't have to live in fear of death, Blake. The number one fear is death. We don't have to fear that. And I thank God I pastor long enough to experience, save people crossing the River Jordan. sitting there and they had no fear. Yeah, there was different struggles. But man, when they come down to the riverbank, brother, it's like they're happy to see Christ. Man, I'm telling you, my grandpappy, Papa Earl, he cried out like Momo Faye was walking up with Jesus. He was closing his eyes. He said, Faye, Faye, with a smell on his face. I'm telling you, because of glorification, we sorrow not as the world. Salvation is wonderful and it ought to be intensified by every morning in shout of God. If you really understand the tenses of salvation this morning, hallelujah. That's all I got. Have fun with it. Worship the Lord. Some of you ought to come thank Him for it. Some of you ought to come get right from the sin that's in your life. Come lay it on all and say, God, I'm done. I'm tired of being under the power of sin. Some of you ought to come thank Him that you're glorified. Some of you ought to come thank Him that the ones you love that are getting older, that's going to go through it, that they're saved. Amen. Some of you might need to come pray for somebody to be saved. Somebody might need to come get saved this morning. You do what the Holy Ghost of God healed yourself unto God this morning and do what he says. Father, we love you. Lord, help us. God, I pray you'd strengthen our church. Help us be soul winners. Help us be a set-apart bunch. Father, in Jesus' name, amen.