Let's open our Bibles, please, to the book of Hebrews, chapter 12. And I'll try to bring you up to date on where we are at this time. We've been studying on the two words, let us, through the book of Hebrews. And you find 13 times in 12 verses in the book of Hebrews, these two words joined together, let us. And we said that this means that God wants us to be free to do what he's instructed us to do, and he wants to encourage us to do what he's instructed us to do. And so he says, let us. And Paul is speaking after this manner in the book of Hebrews. We gave all of you these before. We're down to chapter 12, verse 1, and we'll pick it up in a minute. But for those who haven't received any introduction into this matter, I'd like to remind each and every one of the ones that we've already studied. And if you want to go through the book of Hebrews, starting at Hebrews 4, verse 1, we'd be glad for you to do that. And mark these, or number them or something. And if you want to do that, it would be good to have them in mind. So, follow me through right quickly, and we'll start back and rehearse down through the 10th chapter, and then we'll pick up with chapter 12, verse 1. where our lesson should be tonight. But let me give you this introduction again, or the number of these words. Hebrews 4.1, it says, Let us therefore fear, lest the promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. That's the first one. So Hebrews 4.1. Then look at Hebrews 4.11. Let us labor, therefore." Hebrews 4, verse 14, the third one, and number them as you go along. It says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. And then Hebrews 4, 16, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 6, 1, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. And then Hebrews 10, verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Hebrews 10, verse 23, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. Hebrews 10, verse 24. and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works." Now, in the last of these, we find in 12.1, we find two of them, and that's where we'll start studying tonight. We'll start this study in Hebrews 12.1, and there are two in this verse. It says, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us, this is what we'll study in a moment, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and here's another one, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. And for those who may not be here in our next lesson or two, if we don't cover it all tonight, Hebrews 12.28. It says, Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably. The whole verse says, Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. And then Hebrews 13, 13, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. And the last one is Hebrews 13.15. It says, By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. So we want to pick up with Hebrews 12 and verse 1. And I hope you have all those marked. As I said, there are 13 times in these 12 verses. There are two in Hebrews 12, verse 1. So thirteen times in twelve verses, throughout the book of Hebrews, you have these words, Let Us. We've studied them individually up to Hebrews 12, verse 1, and that's where we'll pick up tonight. So let's look at Hebrews 12, verse 1, and if we get all of these, that's fine, but possibly we won't. Maybe we'll finish Wednesday night if we don't get it all tonight, okay? So, Hebrews 12, verse 1. It says, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." So as we look at this first verse in the connection with the second verse, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we'll try to teach some things and we don't hurry through it, but we're told here In the very first verse, wherefore, seeing also we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. On the basis of the fact that chapter 11 gave us a great cloud of witnesses. And these witnesses were really, many of them were martyrs. Many of them were disfaithful witnesses in their particular time. And it goes back and it starts with the beginning of the time of, by faith, Abel in chapter 11, verse 4, and then, by faith, Enoch in chapter 11, verse 5, and verse 6 tells us, without faith it's impossible to please him. Verse 7 says, by faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, and so on. By faith, Abraham, verse 8, By faith he sojourned, in verse 9. Through faith, Sarah, in verse 11. And right on down you have all these heroes of faith. It's a great chapter of faith. And we're coming on down to Moses. Well, we talk about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in verses 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Jacob and Joseph, verse 22. And Moses, verse 23, his parents. And then Moses himself, verse 24. And right on down, through the chapter, and we speak of Rahab the harlot, and we speak of the walls of Jericho, we speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, verse 32, Jephna, David also, and Samuel. And it tells us what all they did. And verse 35 says, "...and others." I mean, there's a great number name by name, and then it says, "...and others." This wherefore that we're compassed about was so great a cloud of witnesses, I want you to look at verse 35 on down in the 11th chapter. Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured. We don't have them named. Others of God's people not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others, look at that word others, had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings. They were over bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskin and goatskin, being destitute, afflicted, and tortured." Look at verse 38, "...of whom the world was not worthy, the unworthies, the unnamed unworthies." You have David and all the The patriarchs before, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and you have all these named by name. You have Abel and Enoch named. You have Noah named. You have all these others named, and Moses' parents and Moses named, but then you have these others. And it says, "...of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth." And I want you to notice the importance that is attached to you and I in these last two verses. "...And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise..." Look, "...God having provided some better thing for us..." That they without us should not be made perfect. God reserved us to be perfected with them. Isn't it an amazing thing, this book of grace in the New Testament, that of all that the others before this great cloud of witnesses went through, that you and I, we're reserved to obtain perfection as they did, as they will, and when they will. That they without us would not be made perfect. in spite of all that was suffered by these folks of old. And that's why in 12 verse 1, look at how it starts. Wherefore, that connects us with what is gone before. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Seeing that we have these witnesses that are named in the Bible. And by the way, if we were to consider the time of our own lives, and the span of our own lives, and think of all the saints of God of our own church and of our own friends that have gone on to be with the Lord. They have increased that number of the cloud of witnesses that are in the presence of God now, looking down upon us. I can think, if I were to go back and tell you since 1959, when we had the first service of this church, February 1st, 1959, people that I've seen come and go, and of the people that have grown old and passed on and gone to meet their reward and are with God. We have those of our loved ones and friends who have joined that great cloud of witnesses. So it's not only the ones that are named here in the Bible, but it's all those that have gone since the days of the apostle that wrote this a book of Hebrews, and through the hundreds of years, some 2,000 years have passed, and yet we have increased that number of that great cloud of witnesses. You know, when we say that the Bible says that few there be that find it, Jesus says, narrows the way that leadeth in life, few there be that find it, doesn't mean that there's only going to be a few in heaven. It means in comparison to the multitudes who have gone the broad way under destruction. It doesn't mean in number, because we read over in the book of Revelation, and we're just chomping at the bits to get into Revelation in our Sunday school, because we read over in the book of Revelation that there were multitudes, numbers that no man could number, that stood with the Lord, a great multitude, and then multitudes that will be saved during the tribulation period, and you read of those. So it's not over yet, friends. They're still being numbered and counted. And we sing that song, A New Name Written Down in Glory. And every time a sinner has come home, a person that's been saved from their sins, repented, put their faith and trust in Jesus, have been born again, which we preached on this morning, they're added to that number. Thank God we're added to that number. And I trust that everyone here is, and I believe everyone here is. Thank God for a group of people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus. And contrary to what a lot of people say about the local church, it's God's place. He loves it. And it says it's the pillar and the ground of the truth. And the Bible says it's the church of the living God. So the church is very important in the sight of God. You know, I was reminded the other day, I saw a little advertisement, probably you've seen it too. Eglin's eggs have you seen the best? And it shows us the application of what a local church is. Someone says, how can that be? They take this egg, and have you seen them break that egg on the television ad? Break this egg? They said, this egg is the best egg in all of America. Well, it doesn't mean that that one egg is all, but it means everyone liked that. So a local church is a local congregation. And there are other local churches all over the states and all over the world as far as that goes. And so when you say this is one, you do not mean that's the only one. You mean all the others just like it. And so when we're talking about the local church, we talk about that this is the church of the living God. Does that mean that it's the only church? No. It means that every other church that is like Each and every local New Testament church falls after the same order of fellowship, of faith, of doctrine, of practice, and there are local congregations all over the world. And to further express that, I don't know how far I'll get on Hebrews 12, verse 1. But to follow up on that, people that do not realize the way that the church is spoken of in the Bible, it's spoken of almost out of 116 times, or 115 or 116, because it's argumentative. One of them says an assembly instead of a church. But anyway, the word itself, about 112 times apply to local congregations. The church of God which is at Corinth, the church at Jerusalem, the church at Antioch. the church of Ephesus, and Jesus summed it up to local churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 when he speaks of the local churches, the church of Ephesus, Sardis, Smyrna, and all of them, Philadelphia, all the churches there, Laodicea, And I didn't give them in that order. But anyway, he sums it up by applying the message to local churches, local congregations. So where people get off on the idea that the church will be raptured, the church won't be raptured. The saints will be raptured. When they're raptured, they'll make up the church because then they'll be assembled because the church is a called out assembly. And you've heard our evangelists, most of them say the church will be gone. Well, wait a minute. The saints will be gone, and when the saints are gone, they'll make up that church in glory, because then they will be assembled together. But the church is a local, called out body, assembled together. And the Bible teaches that very thing. Well, why did I get off on that? But anyway, it was necessary, because we know that a lot of people have confused the church and the description of what a church is. And every local congregation is to be addressed specifically, and Jesus addressed them specifically. And His last word concerning churches was upon local churches in different areas of Asia Minor. And if that's the last word concerning the church, and it's the word of Jesus concerning the church, I believe we ought to approach it in the way that every church is a local congregation. Every church upon this earth, somewhere, someplace, some locality, And it should have a pastor, and it should have leaders, it should have deacons, it should have teachers, it should have all the functions of a local congregation. And the Bible teaches that very thing. But anyway, we'll let that alone for a moment, I hope. In Hebrews 12 verse 1, let us lay aside, let's get back to this, wherefore seeing also we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. That's what we dealt with. And because we are, that should be an encouragement to let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Think of this for a moment. We as Christians are to lay aside everything that would hinder us in the Christian life, or the race, if we want to call it a race. Because we have a great cloud of witnesses that have gone on, this should be an encouragement to us. As we've said, this word wherefore connects us with what's gone on in the previous chapter. And their record is a witness from the past of how they run the race. And the sin which does so easily beset us, the weight and the sin, you know sin is a weight, and everything that does so easily beset us, we are to lay it aside. Lay aside all of our anxieties, all of our worries, all of our cares, all of our fretfulness, all of the things that are of the flesh, all of the temptations. And we just call the roll. Anything that hinders us in running the race. We must run the race according to the rules. The rules that God has given us in His Word. How to live and how to run the race. Turn to the book of 2 Timothy chapter 2, if you will, and verse 5. It says, And if a man also strive for masteries, if you're going to win the race, yet he is not crowned except he strive lawfully. You see, you have to go by the rules in any game or anything that you approach in a contest, whether it's a race or whether it's some other contest. You have to strive, you have to go by the rules. And the Bible says if we're going to win the crown, we're going to have to strive lawfully. Let me give you another reference that might help us. I believe it's in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 9, if you'll turn. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Paul is speaking of the things that he endured in order to run the race. He says in verse 22, we can't go back and teach the whole thing. It seemed like I always want to go back and teach the whole chapter when I get there and show you the context. But look at verse 22. We'll just start there. To the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak. I have made all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Paul identified himself with others in various ways, and we have it in the previous context. In verse 23, And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all? All of us run, but one receiveth the prize. He says, So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Here's another rule, isn't it? I mean, if you're going to train for boxing or running or whatever contest or football game or basketball or whatever it is, you have to prepare yourself physically. It says, Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. You can't go out and indulge on every kind of a thing, food and drink and everything else and not care for your body and care for your physical needs if you're going to be a contestant in whatever event it is. I used to have Dr. Peter Conley, you've heard me say it before, sometimes I don't, well, usually I don't eat before I preach. You know, I may feel like eating after I preach, but not before. And he used to say a preacher can't be full of pudding and full of power at the same time. And sometimes that works that way. If we're just too indulgent in the flesh, and that's all we're concerned about, Well, we may find ourselves lacking in other areas. He says, Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it, Paul says, they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. Now look, I therefore, Paul speaks of himself, I therefore so run, not as uncertainty. So fight I, not as one that beateth the air." He doesn't just go out and box as if he were hitting into the air. "...but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." And someone says, well, Paul was afraid he was going to be lost. It has no reference to being lost. He means that he would be useless in God's service, that he would be put aside. It's like you would take a broken piece of pottery or pot that you put flowers in. If it's all cracked and broken up, you just set it on the shelf. Why do we keep old broken pieces of pottery? I think I've gotten more broken ones than I have good ones. My wife says, don't throw that away. Please keep that." And I've got them stacked around the house and other places and in a corner somewhere behind the shop, anywhere I can put them. And they're stacked up and the wind blows some of them away and various things happen. But anyway, he didn't want to be put on the shelf. Paul never was afraid of losing his salvation. He said, I know whom I believe. And he said, I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. He knew whom he believed. And you and I ought to be certain about that, but we certainly don't want to be God's children that will be set aside and useless and not fit for God's service, do we? All right? So back to Hebrews now, chapter 12, verse 1. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight." You know, the jockey, when he gets on that horse, he has to meet a certain standard of weight. I've seen them do without food for three or four days. I mean, starve themselves and kind of get down to the required weight. weight in order to ride that horse in a race. And the fellow that's too little, he has to put on a little weight here and there, because they all have to bear about the same amount of weight when that horse goes around the track. But be that as it may, what we're seeing here is that there are some things that are hindrances to us running the race. And then it says, Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. You know there are besetting sins. There are besetting sins. The devil knows exactly how to get to you to bring about problems in your life, temptations. And he will try to do a lot of things that cause you to be loaded down and weighted down. But remember, you can lay down all those weights at the foot of the cross. This morning we're speaking about Spurgeon, talking about Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress. And he's talking about this fellow that went by the slough of Despond and all the temptations and trials and had to beat down and out before he finally turned to God. And so one Christian lady says, you know, he was a good writer, but he wasn't much of a theologian. She says, all he'd have to do instead of going through all of that trouble is just come to the cross. And why carry that burden beyond the cross? That's where you find the rest. And so we can find a quick relief of all those burdens when we come to Jesus. And even as a Christian, the Bible tells us that we unnecessarily sometimes carry a load that we need not carry. And the Bible says, casting all your care upon Him. For what? He cares for you. That's what Peter tells us. And the Bible says, cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. And that's Psalm 55, verse 22. It's the first scripture my son learned when he was a little boy. Psalm 55, verse 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. We're not righteous in ourselves, but we certainly need God's righteousness, and we need to realize that He will carry our burdens. And it says, Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. You know, the Bible says we have need of patience, even here in the book of Hebrews, that after we have done the will of God, we might obtain the promise. And I believe that's in the 13th chapter. But be that as it may, I know it's there. Let us start the race. Let us run the race and let us keep on running the race of life. When I think of the race of life, I think of the author and finisher of our faith. I think of the pattern for running the race. Jesus ran the race of life. in the right way, and you and I are to follow His example. He reached the goal because in our text, look, it says in verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. His goal was the throne of God. And for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He didn't avoid the cross. He didn't dodge the cross. But he endured the cross. And despising the shame, but then the joy is the reward beyond the sufferings. You and I need to run the race. And at the end of the running the race, there will be the crown. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He's the one that starts us out, and then when we make the course, He'll be there to give us the reward. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. When we think of running the race of life, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, there's so many things that we're left to say that we have to have patience. The Bible says you have need of patience. And then when we think of running the race of life, I think of Job of old when he says, all the days, listen carefully, all the days, we have to keep running the race all the days, all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. James speaks of the patience of Job. Job was patient in the middle of all that he went through and in the midst of the book of Job, we find him saying, all the days of my appointed time, I will wait till my change comes. And so that means that all the days that we live, we should run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. I want us to notice the next one of our references. You have it in Hebrews 12. also in Hebrews 12, verse 28. I want you to notice what it says here. Wherefore, by the way, we come across these words, wherefore, and what did we say it means? What's gone before, and therefore, and because of, what you've just read. So it says, Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. And what's that based upon? We receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved. And he tells us in the previous verses, beginning with, well, let's pick up with verse 24. Go back to verse 24. And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel, seeing then that you refuse not Him, For if they escape not who refuse him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." Now look at verse 26 and 27, "...whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." We are told that he will shake the heavens. And this word, yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of the things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." On the basis of the fact that some things can be shaken and disappear and be removed, and on the other hand, some things cannot be shaken. And he says, wherefore, we receive in the kingdom that cannot be moved. So on the basis of that, we are to serve God, have grace to serve God acceptably. with reverence and godly fear. What are some of the things that are shaken? Many of the kingdoms, many things in this earth, many things of this world are shaken. But the things that are not shaken, we might say the throne of God cannot be shaken. The word of God cannot be shaken. Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. The throne of God is established forever. Psalm 9, verse 7. Let me read this for you. Psalm 9, verse 7 says this, But the Lord shall endure forever. He had prepared his throne for judgment, so he's prepared it And it is the throne of judgment. There is reference after reference that shows us that His throne will be established and is established forever. The word of God liveth and abideth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you, says Peter. The Bible says, Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. I believe that is Psalm 119, verse 89. Forever, O Lord, is thy word settled in heaven. And then the church of God shall not be shaken. Jesus said that it will endure Satan's assaults. He said the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Someone said, will there be a local church? Will there be faithful Christians when Jesus comes? There will be. They may be few and far between, but they'll still be here when he comes for his own. And we find that the child of God cannot be shaken. We may endure temptations and trials, but the Bible teaches that we're going to stand. In 1 Peter 1 and verse 7, let me see if I can give you this. It says this, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth. Remember when you were talking about your faith being tested and tried? It says, though that it be tried with fire, might be found, listen, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And in verse six, he says, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. Sometimes it's necessary that we as Brother Lynn and Rita K. sang about climbing the mountain. Sometimes it's necessary for us to go through things so that we'll be strengthened and able to do what God has before us to do. So, we're talking about in Hebrews 12, verse 28. Let's read it again in light of what we've talked about, that the child of God cannot be shaken, the Word of God cannot be shaken, the Church of God cannot be shaken, the Kingdom of God certainly shall endure, And it says in verse 28, wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved. And because we know have a kingdom and know that we have a kingdom that cannot be moved. Look at this. Let us Hebrews 12, 28. Let us have grace, have grace. whereby we may serve God acceptably, the grace of God, with reverence and godly fear." We need the grace of God in our lives. We are saved by grace. We stand in grace. We grow in grace. We live in the atmosphere of grace. Sins shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. And there is verse and verse after scripture that tells us about the grace of God. In fact, Peter tells us that we should be looking for the grace. Let me give you this. See if I can find it. In 1 Peter 1, that we just read, I gave you verse 7. It says that your faith will be rewarded at the appearing of Jesus Christ. But now I want you to look at verse 13. Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind." In other words, be ready to go mentally and spiritually. Be sober. You should be sober physically as well as sober minded and think of the things of God in a serious way. And hope to the end. Now look, hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We're saved by grace, we stand in grace, we live by grace, and what? He says there's a whole truckload of it waiting to come into Christ, and the grace that is to be brought. You know, someone might say, oh, I thought when the time comes that Jesus comes, all this business about grace would be over because we'd be with Him, because He's going to bring a whole lot more grace to us. Things that we don't deserve in heaven will be ours, and we don't deserve them, and it is not grace. given to us who are unworthy and do not deserve what God has brought, and neither will we deserve that when the time comes. The grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And then he says, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, your walk of life, devoted to God, sanctified, separated to God, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy." And knowing that the Lord is going to come, knowing that we're going to be like Him, is an incentive for us to live a holy and godly life. Isn't it an amazing thing that some people have turned that right around? and say, if I were like you Baptist folks and believed that I was saved forever and I was certain I was going to heaven, I'd go out and live like what? No, you wouldn't. You know why? Because the Bible tells us that it's an encouragement to live a holy life. 1 John chapter 3, if you want to turn back there, says, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Beloved, Therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. When? Right here and now. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. We don't know exactly all the details. But we know, this is something we do know, we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. And then it says, and every man that hath this hope in him, in Christ, Purify himself. This hope and knowing that when Christ appears, we'll be like him, every man that has this hope in him, what does he do? Go out and live an ungodly life? No. Purify himself, even as he is pure. The incentive to holy living and godly living is based upon the assurance of the fact that when Jesus comes, we're going to be with him. That's where it comes from. Knowing we're not going to be deserted in the middle of the stream. knowing that he has given us the assurance of salvation. Again, and I have taught this a hundred times, and some of you already know it, and should know it by now at least, Titus chapter 2 verse 11. It says, for the grace of God, we've been talking about the grace of God, haven't we? For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, and is available to any repentant sinner. Listen, teaching us, what does grace do? Not only saves us, but it says, teaching us, and if you want to turn to it, you can follow along, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, what does grace that saves do? Teaches us to what? Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. And then it says, and to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. Then it says, looking for that blessed, open, glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and so on, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. and purifying himself of peculiar people, zealous of good works. But listen carefully to that text that we gave you. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching us to put off some things, to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and how to live, what not to do and what to do. And to live soberly. You have to live with yourself. That's inwardly. And righteously. That's outwardly. And godly. That's upwardly. So the grace that saves and gives us the assurance that when Jesus comes again, we'll be like Him, teaches us what to not do and teaches us what to do and how to live. So this business of Baptists has been accused throughout the years. If I believed like you Baptist folks, I'd go out and I'd live in pleasure and live in sin because I know I'm going to heaven anyway. No, you wouldn't. For more reasons than one. For more reasons than I've given you. Because in the first place, God would chasten you, and he'll not put up with it. And you'll find yourself uncomfortable and miserable. And it says that Lot, in the book of 2 Peter, that Lot living in Sodom and Gomorrah, even though we see the picture of him there backslidden in the book of Genesis, it says that he living among them, it vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Hearing and seeing the things that they did. Do you think you could be happy or content out in the world and living a pleasure-seeking, immoral, ungodly life even though you're a child of God? Do you think you could find happiness in that now? I'll guarantee you, you cannot. There's no way in the world that you would not be vexed and convicted day by day, and you'd be the most miserable person upon the face of the earth. You'd be even more miserable than the sinner out there that's never accepted Christ. Because you know better, and you'd have the Holy Spirit convicting you of your sins, and your conscience convicting you. So don't ever think you can go back. So what are we looking for? The grace that is to be brought. Let me tap this off. Time has gone and passed, but let's look at Hebrews 12. And let's get this in our minds, and then we'll take the others in the thirteenth chapter, the Lord willing, Wednesday night. But look at this, Hebrews 12, verse 28, Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." And that should be the desire of God's children today, to serve God with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire, is the last statement. All right, we'll pick up the Lord willing in the book of Hebrews chapter 13, and we have a couple more there we'd like to give you, 13.13 and 13.15.