Now, in the book of Hebrews, in chapter 6 and in verse 1, Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 1, we find here the Bible says, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance, dead works, and our faith towards God. Doctrine of baptism, the laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment, and this will we do if God permits. Now, look at back there in verse 1, where he said, let us go on. I believe that there was a time here when these people, as he gives us a record of in the book of Galatians, that were running well. I believe it was. Maybe run them well. But then we find that something, maybe unknown to us, maybe unknown to them, hindered them. Have you ever been hindered? And now, we find, beloved, that some people that we would classify as being giants, you know what I mean? have been hindered along the way. This may be a real simple way of looking at it, but out on the road there, I see a number of 18 wheelers. Boy, I mean, they're swift. They're going on. I was way up in Virginia one time, and I was climbing this long hill. That thing must have been four or five miles long. I was making 70 miles an hour. And that great big 18-wheeler zipped past me. I'm talking about powerful, brother. Powerful. But then just the other day, maybe coming down here on this trip, I saw one of them parked on the side of the road, hood side. Something hindered him. Have you ever been hindered? The Bible said, let him that thinketh, he standeth, takes heed, lest he fall. So we find that these people here, they've been hindered along the way. Now, about two or three things, beloved, that sometimes will hinder a person. Let me ask you again, have you ever been hindered? You don't have to answer me. Answer it in the quietness of your own thinking. Have you ever been hindered along the way? I mean, like they were in the book of Galatians, running well, hitting on every cylinder, running well. It's like my little G.O. Five hundred and thirty-two thousand miles? I mean five hundred and thirty-two thousand miles? If you take an ocean to match down on the accelerator, you better be sure the runway's clear. But there is a possibility we can be hindered. The very best, very best, most intelligent can be hindered. Sometimes Satan does hinder. Paul said, I purchased time and time again, come underneath, but Satan, Satan did him to me! Satan did him to me! If he could hinder the apostle Paul, he might be able to hinder you. How would you like to stand on the balance with the apostle Paul? How would you like for the apostle Paul to stand in your face, look you straight in the eye, and say, I stand in doubt of you? Look at that one. Wouldn't be sopping too high, would you? I'll go to Charlie and tell me that it's tall. Now we find that they were hindered. They were hindered. They were hindered. Anybody in the audience this morning are subject, they're subject to be hindered! Be hindered! Be hindered! You're subject, be hindered before the service over the day! Subject to be hindered. First thing I'll call your attention to that is subject to hindering is the scold of the devil. You ever have a scolding? That ain't make you feel a little. The scorn of the devil. Now, I believe the thorn could be a scorn. He can hit you hard with a thorn, can't he? Charlie, has the devil ever hit you with a thorn? Oh, Lord have mercy. I wish he'd leave us alone. Scorn of the devil. What's going on there? Look at that for just a moment. He said, "...lest I be exalted above measure due to the abundance of the revelation that was given unto me, a thorn in the flesh." Hard to appreciate a thorn, isn't it? Did you ever thank God for a thorn? Hard, isn't it? Lest I be exalted above measure, due to the abundance of the revelation that now was given unto me, a thorn in the flesh, the message of Satan, the message of sin, to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." You may have your own line of thought in regards to this. I believe that thorn, that skull from the devil, slowed Paul down. You say, why do you believe it? And then it slowed him down, and I said, well, you don't see him shouting the victory at that particular time. We're hearing, as you said, for this thing, this thing that's hurting me, this thing that's bugging me, this thing that's making me under, I've been shouting the Lord triumphant three times. It made me depart. If you're asking for something to depart, you don't have the victory over it. Do not have the victory over fear, pleading for it to leave. You know, dear beloved, I believe except for the grace of God, Paul himself would be in this number here! I believe he would, except for the grace of God. You try it. I mean, you just try it and see how far you can go without the grace of God. Amen. Here we see the picture of one of the greatest, one of the greatest that's ever lived, and we see him down! We see him down in the quicksand, this sand, and he's saying, God, let it depart from me! And we find the Lord. Isn't he wonderful? He said, Paul, My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Isn't it wonderful what the grace of God can do for you? The grace of God is unlimited. Or is there a place that the grace of God is not able to reach? For sin doth abound, for sin doth abound, for sin doth abound. Grace, grace, death, much more abound. You say, Fraser, how are you going to explain that in death? Well, what about the resurrection? Amen. He said, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, for me to live is Christ. For me to live is Christ. For me to live is Christ. He said to die will be gain. I ministered straight betwixt two. My greater desire is to depart and meet with the Lord, which is far better. I just say humbly intended. You'd be better off dead. Amen. Amen. Grace. Grace, Christian! Grace! Grace is not all limited in the future! Be more grace there than we're sure! Amen. How can you defeat the Resurrection? They put Him to death. Who could keep Him? Get nothing. Amen. Amen. Well, we find here, beloved, that the thorn, the skull, the devil had power, even had the apostle Paul. Damn! The grace of God, the grace of God is what revived Him. The grace of God is what sent Him on His way. Amen. Amen. of the skull from the enemy, our beloved subject, to bring you under? I mean bring you under. There have been times in my own life I felt like I was going on. Nothing is going to hinder me! Two seconds, I'm there. Did I tell you about the little experience I had coming out of Florida one time, coming through Atlanta? It came to my mind, I've got a friend here, In the hospital, he needed somebody to donate him some blood. I thought, well, I'll take care of that. I went on my tiptoe down the aisle, and somebody said, Mr. Bush. I said, thank you kindly, but I haven't got time right now. I'm on a real important mission. I've got a friend in here who needs some blood. I want to take care of him. Went down there and the little bitty nurse didn't even have a needle in her hand. I said, Colonel, let me see your finger. She took a little piece of cotton, put in a little bit of alcohol, and done this. I mean, the great, the macho can be hindered! Not only the scold of the devil sometimes will hinder a child of God from going on, but then, no progress. Do you really shout to victory when you're not making any progress? Glad I'm not making no progress? The car won't start? I'm glad. The washing machine quit? My bed will hatch the fuses? No progress! No progress in life! No progress in life! Church is going under? Nobody will do that. No progress. Pull you down. Pull you down. Pull you down. Many other things we could mention, but now for a few moments, let's consider some things that will encourage us to go on. Let me say this, you won't go far without some encouragement. You will not, you will not go far, will not go far without somebody encouraging you. You'll have to get some encouragement from a different source if you go very far, very far in the work of the Lord. Now, let's look at Job for a moment. We find that the Bible said that Job was a perfect man. That doesn't really mean sinless perfection. He had a body just like you and I've got. But what it means, He was submitted. He was submitted. He didn't let sin reign. He didn't let sin rule. His life had endless, endless subjection. This is a simple way of looking at it. Simple way of looking at it. You can live peacefully, sleep sound, with a lion in the living room. How many of you ever tried that? You hear me? I say Job had this under subjection. Amen. Amen. That'll solve your problems. And I say again, this is a simple way of looking at it. But you can live, you can live. You can live. And if you can do it, anybody else can do it. If he can do it, I can do it. If he can do it, you can do it. If he can do it, you can do it. Without an excuse. Without an excuse. I wouldn't blame myself. Amen. I say you can live peaceably with a roaring lion in the living room and sleep and dream of heavenly things. If he's in a good cage. If he's under subjection. Amen. If this, a damning nature, is unleft subjection unto God, unto God, unto God, not yielding unto sin, but yielding unto God, unto God, unto God, you can live with Him. Shout the victory in His presence. But you'd better not herd Him out of the cage. You'd better keep Him in the cage. You'd better keep this mortal body in the cage. He'll give you trouble. The devil will give you trouble. He says the roaring lion at Peter said, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, has a roaring lion walking about two and four in the air. She can't. Whomsoever he may devour, he may devour you. He guts your mind. Now, don't say this to discourage you, but there's a possibility he's got something greater than you. Because the possibility of something greater than you has already been subdued. Your only hope is to keep it under subjection that Christ may live in you. Paul puts it like this, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. The life which I now live of the flesh, I live it by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Amen. Amen. With that attitude, With that attitude, beloved, you can go on. You can go on. So we find the reason that God said, the reason that God said that Job is a perfect man, feared God, he shows evil, this, sir, is because he had his body under subjection, under God! Amen. Job went on because he had his body under subjection, under God! Amen. And I want to say this, He kept it under subjection a long time. He kept it under subjection a long time. Now, I could have it under subjection today, but that don't mean it won't rise up tomorrow. It'll rise up. A lot of times when you're unexpected, some of the harder Licks, blows, the devil has ever touched on me when I knew he wasn't around nowhere. That's where he gets you. One reason that Paul said, I die, I die, I die, I die daily. Don't give him a chance. Stay dead, stay dead, stay dead. When you're staying dead, Christ is living in you. So we find, beloved, that Job, for a long period of time, stayed dead to the flesh. And that God blessed him. You know, Job, a little unusual. By the average, he could cope with prosperity. Joe, you ever have a problem with prosperity? Some preachers, they don't have much of a problem with prosperity. Let me ask you a question, preacher. Has your offering ever been low enough that you can count it? Brother Tab, have you ever had an offering that was low enough that you could count it? I mean, if we've got an offering that's low enough that we could count it, we may not have much of a problem with prosperity. Old Brother Roger Henson, all of you know Roger. I asked him that question one time. I said, Have you ever had an offering that was low enough so you could count it? He said, with all sincerity, he said, Earl, the paper boy cashes my check. But Job, let's shout it, Job, he knew how to deal with prosperity. I mean, when he's on a high elevation, high elevation financially, God gives him a good report. Then he could, not only could he deal with prosperity, but he could deal with poverty. Let your conversation be without commonsense, and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I'll never leave thee, and I'll never forsake thee. They boldly said, The Lord is my helper. I shall not fear what man shall do unto me. I mean, it's a happy time in your life when you can deal with prosperity, when you can deal with poverty. You can go on when you do that. But then we'll have to confess there was a breaking point in Job's life, which just kind of slipped us in. Over there in chapter 2, the latter part of chapter 2 and chapter 3, we find he began to break. Job began to even curse the day he was born. Would you not admit that is bad? That is bad. He pressed on for long ways. Let me say this, there is a breaking point in everybody's life. Job reached that point where he broke. He reached that point where he broke. Amen. But then we find that although he broke, that didn't mean the Lord broke. That didn't destroy the Lord's grace! Which is one of those things right here. We'll go on. You know, I couldn't tell you how much I appreciate the scripture about the book of Hebrews, where it says, See, and therefore we have a great high priest passed into the heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, letting us, therefore come holy, throwing grace, may obtain mercy, find grace at every time of need. But I'm going to make an honest confession. But sometimes, beloved, I get so weak, get so pushed down, get so bogged down in the quicksand of this life, I can't reach it. I can't go to that photograph. But now, here's the beauty of it. When I'm weak and can't make it, He can always come to me. When we find even when Job, when Job broke, when Job was going under, God could still and did reach him. Give Him more in the last than He did in the beginning. That's a wonderful Lord. Go on. Go on. Go on. He went on by the grace of God. And I say this humbly and tenderly, but yet truly, if you go on, if I go on, it will be by the grace of God. You might as well mark it down. You desperately, you desperately need the good grace of God. You desperately need the good grace of God. Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father, from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Someone asked Brother May Jackson one time, said, Brother May, do you believe that once in grace, always in grace? Brother May said, I believe grace all the way. You won't get started without the grace of God. You won't continue without the grace of God. You won't finish without the grace of God. No, no. Our time is getting slipped away here. Let me say this. I've got just a few more minutes. Let's look back at Paul, just a little thought here. I believe that every one of us would agree that Paul was one of the greater ones. One of the greater ones. But there again, the question would be, how far would Paul have made it in this life, even as a child of God, without the grace of God? He wouldn't have gone far. I guarantee you he wouldn't have gone far. Paul had to have the grace of God. Thank God for His grace. Thank God for His saving grace. How many in here that's saved this morning, I believe, would be saved on your way to heaven if it had not been for the good, saving grace of God! But you know, isn't it amazing? You know I believe, sometimes I believe that when we get over in glory, we might see some people that we're not really expecting. You reckon? I might get over there and see you. I might get over there and even see Charlie. Well, preacher, all because of the saving grace of God! Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. There is saving grace, and then there is living grace. Amen. Amen. Living grace. I'll be honest with you, speaking for myself, there have been times, and still there's times, I've known, I've known I'd done trump to wit's end. You ever been there? You knew you done ought to arrive at wit's end? Talking about being arrived, I've been there a number of times. when I knew I had arrived at the point of no return. I knew I was so far over the Niagara Falls until there was no hope of me ever getting back. Isn't that a lovely Lord, isn't that wonderful? Let me run this by you one more time. I was out on that back porch one night in the wintertime, Lord, it was cold. Not only in the natural, but it was cold in the spiritual as well. It's the cold. You ever been there? You have to get in a deep freeze to get it all out? Cold, people, cold, cold, cold. I said it's cold. You ever been there, son? Cold, cold, cold. It seemed like all hopes were gone. My lovely Lord, mercy and grace, in a spiritual sense, just stepped down on my elevation. When I can't get to Him, He can get to me. and stepped down a few steps below me, looked up at me, gave me a little salute. Give me a little salute. If he salutes me, I know he'll salute you. Instead of just deciding what I've done for others, I'll just do it for you. That's grace. That'll encourage you to get up and go on for the glory of God. Get up and go on for the glory. Amen. And then listen, beloved, that joy of a finished course. When you graduated from high school, was that joy there? I'll tell you something here in regards to how I learned it. You won't believe, in regards to myself. I got expelled, hear me, real close? I got expelled in kindergarten. What were you charged with? Chewing tobacco, cussing the teacher, spitting in the wastebasket. I mean, they put me out. But isn't it wonderful? Isn't it wonderful when all society, all society kicks you out. The Lord will come along. The Lord will come along and pick you up. Amen. Love you. Breathe on it. Amen. And sometimes it even puts you in the spotlight. That's His grace. That's His grace. That's His grace. The joy of a finished course. You know what I mean? One of the greater rewards on the other side will be, won't have to be in the presence of nobody! In the presence of nobody! Maybe standing down by the river somewhere, the Lord just come walking by, just sort of pass by and whisper and say, Paul, let's shine the love, the joy of finishing the course, encouraging to get up and go on for the glory of God. Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk along with the Apostle Paul when he said there in II Timothy, in Chapter 4, I charge you, Therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, and his superior and his king, preach the word, preach the word, be hesitant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. After their own loss shall they hate themselves. Teachers, have an itch in you, be thou watchful in all things, endure affliction, do the work of abandonment, make full proof of your ministry. For he said, I am now ready, ready, ready, ready to be off. Time of my departure is at hand. Fought a good fight. Finished the course. Kept the faith. Henceforth, thou hast laid up for me a crown of righteousness. The Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day not to be only, but unto them also that love me. Won't that be sweet on the other side? Amen. Pressure in the Lord is at the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You think about it. I mean, if we could find I'm sure he's not here, but if we could find the ugliest man in the world, if we could find the ugliest man in the world standing on the other side over there, congregated with all the saints of God, and the ugliest man in the world standing next to Jesus, the angels with perfect vision looking on, that ugliest man would look like Christ. I did it for you. He, He makes the difference between His Son and our wife with His life. God will encourage you to get up and know Him.