I want to read from the book of Psalms, chapter 40, if you'll turn with me in your Bible. Psalms chapter 40. One of the great Psalms of the Bible. And I don't know that there are any that are not great, but there are some that seem to resonate even more greatly with us. And this is one that certainly resonates greatly in my own heart. And I have committed large portions of it, at least, to memory. and it is a tremendous psalm. We're thankful for the lessons of it. I want to read in the first five verses in this psalm this morning, if you'll follow with us in your Bibles. If you're able and willing and have found your place, I would invite you to stand with us and we'll reverence the reading of the word of the Lord today. Psalm chapter 40 and in verse number one is where we'll begin our reading. I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor as such turn aside unto lies. Many, O Lord, my God, are thy wonderful works, which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. We'll take our text this morning primarily from verse number three, where the word of the Lord says, and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. I want to preach for a little while on the subject. I sing because. I sing because. You can be seated this morning. Thank you for standing with us while I read the word of the Lord. I want to share something relatively humorous to begin the message this morning, then dig into this psalm. But I read a story this week about a seminary student who was leading the music at church for a small church, and his first Sunday jitters became apparent after the choir completed the beautiful singing of a special number. Relieved, he turned to the congregation and said, let's all stand together and sing when we all get to heaven while the choir goes down below. And sometimes our singing doesn't hit the mark, doesn't always say exactly what we want it to say. But the heart where we sing from rejoices in the Lord. The psalmist David tells about his experience with God, how that he was going down in the pit for the last time, how he was desperate for the help of the Lord. and he cried out, and the Lord heard him. It's remarkable the change that takes place between verse number one and verse number two and verse number three. I mean, we see a man that is crying in verse two. He's crying for the pit in verse, or verse number one, he's crying for the pit in verse number two. He's in trouble, he is in a difficult place, but God delivers him and rescues him. And by verse number three, his cries turn into a song of praise. And he says, I'll sing that new song, even praise, unto our God. When I was just a teenage preacher boy, I preached from this portion of scripture on how God will change your tune, and he will. He'll change what you're singing about and the reason why that you sing. The people of God are a singing people. Always have been, always will be. One preacher said it's as natural for God's people to sing as it is for a chicken to go barefooted. The people of God have always sung. The Bible is filled with instances of singing. If you have the idea that singing in church is for singers, you've missed the boat. The truth is that singing is for believers. Christians are to be a singing people, and we have a new song to sing. One of the marks of being filled with the Holy Ghost is joyful singing. We read about it last week in the message from Ephesians 5. And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be you filled with the Holy Spirit. and speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord. Spirit-filled people overflow with a song. He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it and fear and trust in the Lord. Best I can calculate, the word sing or some form of the word sing is mentioned 218 times in the Bible. The phrase a new song appears nine times on the pages of the word of the Lord. Seven of those occasions are in the Old Testament, and two in the New. I'll not take all the time this morning to read every one of them, but they would inspire you if you'll take the time to look them up. Six of those Old Testament occasions are found in the book of Psalms. and one is in Isaiah, and the two New Testament occasions are found in the book of Revelation. And if you really want to get your tractor cranked up high, read the two of them that are in the book of Revelation. And they sang a new song, Worthy is the Lamb. Oh, we're gonna sing a song one of these days that'll glorify Him perfectly. And I wanna share three of these many occasions in the Bible concerning a new song and share with you these things that we find in the word of the Lord, preaching, I sing because. First of all, I wanna say I sing because of the experiences of God's grace. I sing because of the experiences of God's grace. A man is drunk. He is on drugs. He is led about with a dog collar around his neck. He crawls on his hands and his knees and barks like a dog. And that man is controlled by those who abuse him the same way he has controlled others and abused them. A slaver and a man that has traveled many a miles tossed over the edge of his slave ship with a whip in one hand and a gun in the other. Any who dare to rise up against his power And he has tossed many of those who he has caught who would try to bring about slave uprisings on his ship off the edge of the ship into the ocean to die at the bottom of the sea. Oh, but that man who has come to the flat bottom, who has been strung out on drugs and his mind is deranged, and as I said, is led about with a dog collar on his neck, finds himself at the bottom of his own ship, having been removed, and there it comes to his heart and mind, the things he learned at the feet of his mother, as she taught him about the blessed grace of God. That same man would turn his heart over to the Lord, and John Newton would write the words, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, and now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. Oh, surely he could testify. Later in many years, through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace that will lead me home. Oh, with all of the age and time and difficulty of a rough life and his experience, and my friend, and then dementia sat in as well on him late in life. and that they asked him about his memories and his things that he knew about his life, and his experiences with God, and as his mind would slither, he came to the place where his answer repeatedly would be, I don't recall or remember a lot, but this one thing I know, whereas I, I'm a great sinner. Christ is also a great Savior. Oh, I'm so thankful today. If you will simply supply the sinner, Jesus will supply the Savior. How my experience of grace causes me to sing. Psalms chapter 96 is one of those occasions of a new psalm, which says in verse number one, oh sing unto the Lord a new psalm. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord and bless his name. Show forth his salvation from day to day. Psalm 13 and six says I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me. In our text, David sings because of his deliverance from the pit. Oh, you ask me why I'm happy. So I'll just tell you why. Because my sins are gone. I'm saved by his marvelous grace. He took my sins away, made me clean and right. In the sight of God, and he gives me a song to sing. David begins to sing a new song in verse number three. And he said, he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praising our God. He sang a new song because of his experience of grace. And this experience of grace was when God leaned his way, when God leaned his way, the Bible said in verse number one, I waited patiently for the Lord, And He inclined unto me. The Lord leaned His way. Inclined literally means He leaned toward me. And that's what grace is. Grace is when God leans our way. Grace is when God leans our way. Oh, praise the Lord. That word grace literally means to bend or stoop to one who is inferior. When you meet someone who is above you, someone who is higher than you, Whenever you want to show respect for someone who is an authority, you don't hold your head proudly. My friend, you bow your head. Whenever you greet them, it is with sir or ma'am. It is with mister or missus. It is a matter of respect. And yet we had no cause for God to respect us. He is definitely our superior. And grace is when God leans toward us. Grace is when a mother takes a little baby in her arms and though that baby is so far inferior to her, she leans over and she wraps the baby in her arms and she cuddles that child in her bosom. and that she consoles him when he cries and feeds him when the child is hungry. That's grace, oh my. Grace is when bread seeks after the hungry. Grace is when water seeks after the one who is thirsty. Grace is when refuge finds the fugitive. Grace is when forgiveness locates the sinner. Oh, praise His dear name. Worse would be the sinner seeking for forgiveness, but grace is when forgiveness seeks out to the sinner. Grace is when life pursues darkness. Grace is when life pursues death. A grace, my friend, leaning towards us, is when God inclines His way unto us. I am so thankful. Our friend Squire Parsons wrote that song that said, the gulf that separated me from Christ my Lord. It was so great I could never afford. Oh, when I could not go to where he was, he came to me. He came to me. When I could not go to where he was, He came to me. I'm so thankful that Christ came to where I was, saved me and changed my life. I sing because of an experience of grace. I sing because He inclined His way into me. Made Himself known unto me. Let me know who He was. God would be God ten million years from now if I never knew Him. Oh, but I would be eternally lost. But praise God, when He didn't need me, He came to me. When I needed Him, He came to me. He inclined His way unto me. I sing because of an experience of grace. Oh, I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. Oh, bless his name, he was leading my way. I sing because of an experience of grace. Him that he was leading my way, That's how the psalmist opens the chapter. And then when he closes the chapter, there is an experience of grace where he is looking my way. And then David says in Psalms chapter 40, and the last verse of our text chapter in verse 17, but I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Make no tarrying, oh my God. When I felt so small and feel so small, I realize His eye is ever on me. He cannot get us off of His mind. This is a terrible reality. I'm poor and needy. That's a terrible reality, friend. Oh, but this does not build my self-esteem. But it does remind me of the reality of my sin. Oh, thank God. It's a terrible reality, but it's also a tender revelation. The Lord thinketh upon me. He's thinking about me. He's thinking about you. He has us on his mind. What's he thinking about? He's thinking about forgiving thoughts. Hallelujah. How he'll forgive us of our sins. He's seeking frequent thoughts. We're always on his mind. He's seeking favorable thoughts. Jeremiah 29 and 11 says, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil. I give you an expected end. First Peter 3 and 12, for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, that the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. I'm so thankful He is looking upon me. I'm my soul to rejoice in the Lord today that God's eyes are upon my life. I'm not looking towards and depending on other forces of this world, the leaders of this whole world, other politicians of any party or sort. My life and my future is not set according to my own abilities or according to my riches or talent, gifts or abilities. And my friend, the answer is not even in other people who do love me and care for me. But thank God his eye is upon the sparrow and he watches over me. And I sing because I'm happy. And I sing because I'm free. Praise God. He's looking my way. He's watching for my needs. He's meeting my needs. Oh, I bless his name. I need to preach this morning, but I feel I call it recess. I'm running aloud. Hallelujah. He's watching for me. When I don't know how to take care of myself, Jesus knows just what I need. Whoo! When I don't even know what I need, Jesus knows what I need. When my family is in trouble, I don't have to go to God and say, Lord, don't you know? Oh, yes, he knows. Whoo! Hallelujah. I don't ever have to go to him and say, Lord, Don't you understand? Yes, he understands. I don't ever have to go to him and say, Lord, don't you care? Oh, yes, he cares. I know he cares. Hallelujah. I don't know how you're supposed to preach. How whatever God's helping you like this and a touch of my heart, I bless his name. I know he cares. I know he sees. I know he's aware. I know he understands. I know he's looking my way. Oh yes, he will not forsake his own. He'll never leave us. I sing because of an experience of grace. Jesus is mine and he is. I say hallelujah to the lamb. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. He is always ever present with us. Woo! Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. I sing because of experience of grace. I'm glad I know what it is to be saved. I'm glad I know what it is to be, my friend, indwell with the spirit of God. I'm thankful I know what it is to fellowship with his power and to experience his presence. I'm thankful I know what it is to pray and to know he heard my prayer. I'm thankful I know what it is to have a resource, a place, a pillar that I can lean on. Hallelujah! I may feel like old Samson, that I'm surrounded by heathens and idolaters. I may feel like I'm in a whirlwind or thing. is upside down. Thank God I've got a pillar to lean on. Even in the temple of a heathen God, I've got a pillar to lean on. Even in a world of my friend that's turned against Jesus, I've got a pillar to lean on. I'm telling you, Jesus is ever present with us. Woo! God bless his name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I don't know if that's helping anybody else. but I'm getting some good gas mileage on it, amen. Hallelujah. Oh, praise the Lord. I sing because of the experiences of grace. I sing because of the expressions of gratitude. Since the Lord has saved my soul, I rejoice and magnify him. Psalms 98 and 1. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song. For he hath done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. Oh, Psalm 28 and seven. The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart entrusted in him and I am helped. And therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth. And with my song will I praise him. Count your blessings, name them one by one. I see what God has done in your life. Thankfulness, gratitude is a commanded grace. Gratitude is a crowning grace. Gratitude is a conquering grace. Psalm 107 tells us in verse eight and in verse 15 and in verse 21 and in verse 31, oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works toward the children of men. The psalmist repeatedly in that chapter tells us of the things the Lord does. That's the same chapter where he says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Those who he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. And it seems like that David, while he testifies and writes a psalm, just can't get participation from the congregation. He stops four times in the psalm to say, I wish somebody had helped me this morning. I mean all that me and me. and praise and bless the name of the Lord. In other words, I'll not have to preach a sermon like that by myself. Somebody ought to help me preach, amen. Somebody ought to say amen. Somebody ought to raise a hand. Somebody ought to worship the Lord. Somebody ought to rejoice in Jesus. Oh, that man would rejoice. Oh, that man would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works toward the children of men. I tell you, I got a reason to sing today. I've got a reason to sing. Hallelujah. Because of those experiences of gratitude. Have you ever, and if you ain't never, you need to. I mean it would change your life if you would. Have you ever, just dwelt on what good things God has done for you. And it becomes so real to you that you lose sight of who you are, where you are, what you're doing, why you were there, don't care who else is around, get floated off, and if you had wings, you could fly to the moon and back. I mean, have you ever? And if you ain't never, you need to. I mean, just dwell on how good God has been to you. I mean, I've had times it didn't matter if I was in the woods by myself or if a crowd was around sitting at the red light and folks wondered what in the world was wrong with me over there beside of me. Didn't make any difference at all. I mean, just did not matter. I'm telling you, just be floated out rejoicing, praising the Lord. A glorifying God. I've ridden along more and absolutely not know what I was even cutting. Just knowing God was a dealer with my heart and the Lord was helping me and I was praising the Lord. I mean, I can't tell you the times. I have laid down and dug in the garden and while I was praying God help me and just lay down between the rows of squash and baners and tell the Lord how much I love Him in God's glory and His love flood my soul until I wept tears like a river. and rejoiced in Jesus. Lose sight of where I was in myself. Oh, praise God, I've had Him hijack my sermons a lot of times. And my friend, though I thought I was off track, realized I was right on track. Had the Lord doing something great in my midst and in the midst of His people. I don't know how many times that we've sung a song and the song turned into something a lot more than notes on a page and words in my mouth and my friend much more than rhythm and the pitch and the sound and four over four time. Oh, but somehow or another, it began to play rhythms in my soul. And my friend, I felt and it made me laugh and it made me cry and set my sinful soul on fire. And Brother Mace Jackson would say, God, it squeezed my heart and made juice right out of my eyes. If you have never been there, you need to get there. And I don't know a more surefire way to get there than to count your blessings and name them one by one. I'm talking about gratitude, gratitude. Oh, when I start thinking about that, that I have a person who shepherds me, I sure am thankful. Hallelujah. The Lord did not compare us as Christians, my friend, to the brightest animal in the ocean. out in the wild. He did not compare us to the wisest creatures on the earth, but instead he took the dumbest mammal of my friend in its kind, a sheep, and he compared us to the sheep. We are his people, said Psalm 100, and the sheep of his pasture. Oh, but listen, somebody said, that kind of hurts my feelings. We don't preach the gospel of self-esteem. Not if we preach the Bible. We preach the Bible, amen. And the Bible compared us to sheep. But praise God, what I rejoice in is not that I am a sheep, but I rejoice in that he is the shepherd. Hallelujah. If I was a sheep without a shepherd, it would be cause to mourn, but since I have the all-wild shepherd, I'm looking out for me, I can rejoice. When I quote Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I can rejoice when I'm hungry because he leads me in pastures, green pastures. I can rejoice when I don't know where to go because he leads me and passive righteousness for his name's sake. I can rejoice when I'm thirsty because he leads me beside the still waters. I can rejoice when I need fellowship because he sets a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. I can rejoice when I'm under attack because I'm at his table. While the enemy roars, I can rejoice even in the valley of the shadow of death, for thou art with me. Thou rod and thy staff, they comfort me. I can rejoice when this life is over. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I have a person who shepherds me. I am a seed, but he is my shepherd. Hallelujah, that's a whole sermon or two or a family of them. My friend, a condominium full of sermons. All by itself, praise the Lord, the person that shepherds me. I sing because of an expression of gratitude about a peace that settles me. A peace in a troubled world. Philippians 4 and 7, the peace of God. which passeth all understandings shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. This whole world is in an uproar because people don't have peace. And my friend, they are attacking everything that is this, everything that is and anyway has stability to it because they themselves are unstable. That crowd ripping down statues, I don't really care what kind of statue it is. The reason they're ripping down a statue is because they themselves are in turmoil. That statue ain't causing them a lick of trouble. As a matter of fact, the statue hadn't moved in years. It has no life. It has no power to afflict them. A statue does not oppress anybody. It just stays there in the rain, and in the storms, and the birds lie on it and poop on it. I mean, a statue's not oppressing anybody, but the people who want to tear it down are troubled in their hearts. Again, I don't care who the statue is of. Makes no never mind whatsoever to me. I'm just making an observation. It's a chunk of metal, wood, or stone. The people tearing it down are the one in turmoil. And they don't have peace down in their hearts. And when they rip the statue down, or when they burn the church house down, or when they throw their least favorite political person out of office, it will not fill the void down on the inside. Have that emptiness that's down in here. Praise for God to do something in you that needs the Lord to fill that place. But I'm so thankful that he filled a longing in my heart. He settles me, he gives me peace. I'm satisfied in, of, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a satisfied customer of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I leave out of this old world before Sunday night service, and y'all gather back tonight, you can say, Brother Toby told us this morning, he left this old world a satisfied customer. Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord has never done me anything but good. Hallelujah. All the days of my life, he's never done me anything but good. Praise his dear name. A peace that settles me and Oh, I sing because of an expression of gratitude for a power that sustains me. Again, that fourth chapter of Philippians said, in verse number 13, I can do all things through Christ that strengthen me. When I'm weak, he strengthens me. When I'm needy, he sustains me, in verse 19. My God shall supply all of your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Oh, thank God and the Lamb forevermore for a power that sustains me. I sing because of an expression of gratitude for the power that sustains me, for also the people that surround me. I sing out of an expression of gratitude for the people that surround me. I learned to sing as a little boy surrounded by some of the finest people on planet earth. I learned to sing and I learned that in a song were some of the greatest joys of life. I learned to sing around some of God's choicest servants at the house of the Lord. I learned to sing around some that did not sing very well, but somehow or another their song blessed me real good. I learned to sing around some that couldn't always keep the rhythm. Charlie Shirley would play his guitar 100 miles an hour and sing about 30 miles an hour. And somehow or another, it blessed all of us because we knew what God had done in His life. Oh, I learned to sing around some of God's choicest servants that really could sing. They really could read music. They really could sing songs and play those instruments. I mean, I learned to sing, learned how to direct music, but in Virginia Pace and Buddy Pace, I knew how to do all of it, but He couldn't direct music and sing at the same time. He could sing or He could direct, but He couldn't do both of them at the same time. But He taught me how to do both at the same time. And I praise the Lord for that. Oh, and I can still hear that loudest bass voice that I have ever heard. more so than Earl Golden. I mean, if Brother Buddy could sing, I could still hear his bass voice echoing out. We'll soon be done with troubles and trials, and I'm gonna sit down beside him in Jesus. I'm gonna sit down and rest a little while and still hear him singing of those precious songs. I praise the Lord for it. I learned to sing around some of God's choicest singers. I mean it's just a little boy walking up the hill on the 4th of July in Bryson City, North Carolina carrying the American flag in between Troy Burns and Mike Holcomb and Archie Watkins behind us singing right in the middle of the Inspiration Quartet. I was carrying the American flag up through the front of the parade in Bryson City, North Carolina while they sang praise God and country I'm beside me walking up the hillside. You don't think that would inspire you to sing. You don't know enough. I'm telling you, friend, it'll make your heart overflow. It'll make you rejoice in Jesus. Oh, but I want to tell you where I really got inspired to sing. Yes, at the house. While I'd watch my mama sing and tears come down her face. Had to watch my daddy sing out in the barn and rejoice in Jesus. Had to watch my great-grandma sing at the old pump organ on the dirt floor while I sat on cinder blocks in the old worn-out house that wasn't fit for animals to live in. And the joy of the Lord had come through. Oh, praise God. I sing out of an expression of gratitude for the people that surround me. In a song, I have found solace when everything it seemed like was coming apart. In a song, I found healing when my heart was so wounded. When my body was broken, when I was sick, both in body and soul, I found healing in a song. In a song, I found love when I thought nobody loved me. Oh, and I begin to sing, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell. Goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. God, we would leave the ocean field and all the skies with parchment made. Where every stalk on earth a quill and every man is clad by trade. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry And scrolls could ne'er contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky When the devil come along and told me You're not really saved and God's not even real And everything you're doing's wrong and it doesn't make any difference in time nor eternity. A song like blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine would bring help and peace to my heart. I have found that in a song. In a song I've found gratitude. And I look around and say, when the world looks upon me as I struggle along, and they say I have nothing, Well, they are so wrong. In my heart, I'm rejoicing how I wish they could see. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me. I found gratitude in a song. Oh, I sing those songs that remind me to be grateful for my Christian family, to be grateful for my Christian friends, to be grateful for my Christian fellowship. Oh, I sing the song that says, I meet him in the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, no other has ever known. Oh, how I bless his name for Christian fellowship this morning. an expression of gratitude for the people that surround me. I don't know how you think about it this morning, or where you are, but I love you. And I love the Christian family. And I love the church. And I'm not real interested in listening to anybody criticize her. And talk ugly about her, amen. If you got ugly stuff to say about the church, you might as well just tell somebody else, because I'm not real interested. Amen, that's exactly right. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Matter of fact, if you really want to criticize and you think it needs drastic improvement, why don't you begin with the mirror and to end on telling what a difference it would make. If the first step you took was to go to the mirror and say, Lord, how can I make the church better? How can I make the church more effective? How can I be a better witness for you? And if you'll begin there, matter of fact, I'm bold enough this morning to even say it this way, If you'll be in there, when you get that fella in the mirror completely straightened out and there's no flaws in him and there's no shortcomings in him, then go ahead and see what you can do with the rest of us. And I got a feeling you won't ever get to the rest of us. You'll spend the rest of your life working on that fella in that mirror. I'm telling you, friend, I thank God and for the church and the Christian people. I say hallelujah for the men of God. For me to have the opportunity, Brother Matthew, to be in those ranks makes me feel about a half inch tall. Oh my, the great preachers that I have known personally. I mean, to sit at your table when Sonja and I had just been married a short time. And we spent a weekend and we went from one great preacher's home to the next. We spent the night with Frank and Martha Humphrey. We sat down and we ate biscuit and gravy all night long. I mean all night. And drank black coffee and ate tomatoes all night long. Biscuit and coffee and gravy and tomatoes all night long. And we'd eat a little while and drink coffee a little while and listen to Brother Frank and Sister Martha testify a little while and then we'd pray a little while. All the way to morning time, stayed there at your house all night long. Eating biscuit and gravy, drinking coffee and eating tomatoes. Happened the next morning we got up and left and went to see Brother Charles and Sister Nell Dixon. And we stayed there all day long. Then we sat down at their table and we ate and drank. ate biscuits and drank coffee. Sister Nell looked at my wife and said, what size dress do you wear? And Sonia told her, and she said, no, that won't fit. And she said, but I think I'd like to make you a dress. And she began sort of looking this way and that way and sizing around. And she said, you and Brother Charles, just talk a little while. I said, Son, you come with me. She took her back to the sewing room. In just a couple of minutes, Son, you come down the hallway and sit down at the table with us. In about 15 minutes, a nail come walking down the hallway with a dress completely made, all the way down, and said, now try it on. And she went and tried it on, and I mean fit like a glove, just exactly right. And for probably 10 years she wore that dress that that sweet precious Christian preacher's wife made for her. That little lady today is in a nursing home in a chair and can't even speak and doesn't know her name. Does not recognize anyone Alzheimer's. Has stripped away everything in her mind. But the last time I had the privilege to be in church with her, she stood right about here in the choir while we sang. And while the ages roll, I'll keep on praising Him. And my voice will never tire of gold. And she floated off and shouted and shouted and shouted and shouted. I guess it's 15 or 20 minutes till this place blew up with a Holy Ghost explosion. And all of you that were here know I'm telling you why. And God moved in our midst. And I'm telling you there's coming a day when we're gonna sing and we're gonna shout together again. I say I sing because of an expression of gratitude for the people, for the children of God that I've gotten to know. Hallelujah. I sing because of an expression of gratitude for the precepts that steer me. Psalm 119 and 105, thy word is a lamp at my feet and a light unto my path. Oh, where would I be? Oh, had God not given me a copy of the word of God. When I did not know what to do, where to do or how. When I couldn't make sense of anything. Couldn't even make sense of myself, I've come to that Word. And found in that Word answers for life and eternity. I bless His sweet name for my Bible. Just as a teenage boy, mom would come. I'd come to my room in the middle of the night at 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning. I'd sit down on the floor and begin to read and have the big light on in the bedroom. I'd think I'd just read a few moments before I'd go to bed, but I was so hungry for God's precious Word. and mama come to the room and mill the knife and say, son, are you still up? I'd be sitting there with that Bible still open, didn't realize the night had just about gone and somehow there was something in here had me absolutely engrossed and spellbound. Praise God for my precious old Bible. Oh, bless his dear name for the precious word of the Lord and for how it has helped me and encouraged me. Hallelujah. This one chapter that I'm reading from this morning, verse number one through three I have in my notes, he realized his condition. I was about 14 when I wrote it down. He relied on his creator and he rested in absolute confidence. Oh, and it's still so true. I'm glad he brought me up by the Maori clay. And he put a new song in my mouth. I must, I must finish preaching this morning. Number three and I'll stop. I sing because of an experience of grace. I sing because of an expression of gratitude. I sing because of an expectation of glory. Is anybody listening this morning? I sing because of an expectation of glory. Oh, praise His name. Psalm 149, I must not read it all. but I will whet your appetite for it with one verse. Praise you the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song and sing His praise in the congregation of His saints. The whole psalm is about the majestic return of our Lord Jesus Christ. How He will come again unto this earth in His second coming. And surely Jesus is coming soon. He is coming back just like you said. He will fulfill every promise of the precious word of God. He will leave no prophecy unfulfilled, no stone unturned, and no jot or tittle will pass away. Let it all be fulfilled. His coming is twofold. Y'all don't get too scared now. I'm just gonna tell you something what the Bible teaches. His coming is twofold. There is, first of all, the rapture of the church. The Bible does not use the word rapture. The teaching of the word rapture is there. The word rapture means the catching away. The Bible does say we will be caught up. That is the rapture. We will be caught up together with Him. The first part of the Christ's return is when He comes in the clouds to catch us away. That is the rapture. The second portion that we learn about is where it comes first of all in the rapture to take out the church, and then he's coming in the revelation when he puts down all the works of men, the beast, the false prophet, the devil, and every evil imagination. And my friend, whether it is the rapture we're talking about or if it is the ultimate revelation, We are talking about, I'm telling you either way, what glory lies ahead for us. Amen. Now, I need to blow my nose, catch a second wind, and preach just a minute some real important doctrine. In our day, the doctrine of the pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, Return of Christ as taught in the scriptures is under attack. And all sorts of weird doctrines have taken their place. Most of them are rooted in replacement theology. Y'all don't fall apart. Y'all don't fall apart on me yet. Pay attention. Pick your head up. Pay just a little bit of attention. It'll help you. You're gonna run into some weirdos out there. And sometimes, you know, weirdos are just people that get off, stumble off in one piece of doctrine and throws everything else off. Most of it is rooted in some type of replacement theology. And when I say that, what I mean is, is they replace in the New Testament, they replace Israel with the church. And so everything that says Israel, they say, there it is, it's the church. The Lord rejected Israel. He's accepted the church. When He says Israel, He means us. No. God didn't say one thing and mean another. When He says Israel, He just means Israel. Amen. And the promises of God to Israel are still intact and of faith. The Lord is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. All of his promises in him are yea and amen. And there is coming a rapture of the church. and the church will be taken out first. There will fall the revelation of the man of sin. Seven years of tribulation on this whole earth. Y'all don't expect me this morning to get too deep and to quote you verses. We hardly got time for me to tell you about it, let alone substantiate it, check your Bibles, and to verify what I'm preaching. My friend, there's coming seven years of a tribulation. Listen to me, seven years of tribulation. It's talked through Daniel's 70 weeks. Somebody said, well, the church is going to be here for that. And the first 69 weeks of Daniel's dream, the church was not here. And in the 70th week, the church is not here. It is Jacob's trouble. It is a time for Israel to be in this whole world. We are like that, my friend. We are like that of Enod. We're taken out. The Jews are like that of Noah. They are saved with the ark through the flood, through the tribulation. And thousands upon thousands of the Jews who rejected Him and who spat upon Him and whose forefathers crucified Him will come to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. And during those seven years, and they'll fall under tremendous persecution for it. And even the very elect will pray that God would shorten the days. Oh, but seven years when they are finished, God will put a stop to the foolishness of the beast and the false prophet and the dragon, amen. Oh, praise God. And the Lord will put down every evil work It will culminate in that valley of my friend of Megiddo, that is of Armageddon. And there our God will put all down the forces of evil. The stone that was here by the mountain will tumble down into the course of my friend of humankind. It will smite the statue of Gentile nations. It'll fill the whole earth. I'm talking about Daniel chapter two. And Christ Jesus will fill the whole earth and paradise will be restored. He'll rule and reign for a thousand years. Hallelujah. And you know why the Bible says a thousand years? Because it means a thousand years. God, forgive me now if this bothers anybody. Lord, help me. I'll have to take a baby aspirin to be able to sleep tonight. At the close of all of this, somebody said, well, your details may not be properly divided. They might not be. And I acknowledge that. And if you'll acknowledge it, if you've got a different idea than mine, then it won't make no difference. Amen. I mean, if you'll acknowledge that you might misread a detail and misinterpret a detail just as surely as what I will, then you won't be upset at me for misreading and misinterpreting a detail. Amen. Since we're all fallible and we all got feet of clay, then we might all miss a detail somewhere. Oh, but listen, at the end of this is the overarching message. At the end of that time frame, that Satan that has been loosed will be unloosed. He will round up every minion of hell. He will come against the Lamb himself. He will raise up one last rebellion against the darling Son of God. Oh, but thank God. and the lamb forevermore, there will be a final judgment day, and Satan and the beast and the false prophet will be bound and cast in the lake of fire, and forever and forever, and the smoke thereof ascendeth up into the nostrils of God almighty, and his son Jesus Christ seated by his side, oh, with a crown on his head, a horse underneath him, a white horse, a power, a vesture on his side dipped in blood, reading King of kings and Lord of lords, a sword coming out of his mouth, wherewith he'll destroy all of those that come against him, and he will rule and reign forevermore. And we who suffer with him will also reign with him. Hallelujah. If you didn't follow all of that, listen. Listen to me. If you didn't follow all of that, Brother Junior, it's all right. On account if you know Jesus, that's what you're gonna do whether you understood it and followed it all or not. Hallelujah. Amen. You don't have to believe in the rapture of the church to go in it, you just gotta believe in the God of the church to go in it. The Savior of the church. But we're leaving soon. Oh my soul, I gotta finish with you. We are leaving soon. Hallelujah, hallelujah. You know why I'm more excited about the underworld than I am this world? Because I'm leaving soon. I've had leaving on my mind. I've sung it yesterday a hundred times. Lately, all I've got is leaving on my mind. Woo! We're leaving soon. We're leaving soon. Praise God. I'd have lost sight of where I am, let alone, hallelujah, what I'm preaching, but I hadn't lost sight of where I'm going. We're leaving soon. I'm looking for something big, and I'm looking for it soon. Oh, he that shall come will come, and he will not tarry. Oh, and just wait till you see my brand new home. Nothing down here can compare. Hallelujah to what's waiting up yonder. Oh bless his name. Just wait till you see, wait till you see my brand new home. My heavenly father's building me and I'm gonna stay for eternity. Just wait till you see my brand new home. Jesus is coming again. There will be a glorious resurrection. I've already covered it. There'll be a glorious, the dead in Christ gonna rise first, hallelujah. There'll be a glorious rapture. We're gonna be caught up. There's a glorious reunion. Not a one of God's children will be missing. There's a glorious rest, rest from my sorrow, from my sufferings, from my struggling, from my stress. There is a glorious retribution. Jesus is not coming to make reconciliation, to reach a compromise with His adversaries, to conduct counseling with troubled men, or to come to an agreement on a mutually acceptable framework of negotiation. He's coming again with a sword in His mouth, and a horse beneath Him, and a host of heaven surrounding Him. and a name on his vesture and thigh, King of kings and Lord of lords. He will slay the dragon, cast the Satan in the lake of fire, say, sorry, I never knew you. Every unbeliever, all who refuse his grace, and he will be honored forever. Every atheist will bend the knee. Every potentate will relinquish all power to him. Every man of wisdom will yield to his eternal wisdom. Oh, my friend, even the lights of heaven will fade away. And Christ the Lamb, he will outshine them all. In Revelation 5 and 8, and when he had taken the book and the four beasts and the four elders, All fell down before Him, before the Lamb, having every one of them harps of gold and vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof, for Thou hast slain, was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood. Their kindred tongue and people and nation has made us into our God-kings and priests, and we shall reign, and we shall reign. I'm finished preaching this morning. Please come with a song. I have covered a third of the ground I had hoped to cover. But I got to walk on some ground I only, I only aspire to walk on. Hallelujah. Brother Matthew, I'd throw all of my notes and all of my studies in the garbage can forever to get to walk onto the spot where the glory comes out. Hallelujah. And experience the anointing of God. C.H. Spurgeon once asked, do we sing as much as the birds do? Yet what have birds to sing about compared to us? Do we sing as much as the angels do? Yet they were never redeemed by the blood of Christ. The birds of the air, shall you excel me? Angels, shall you exceed me? You have done so, but I intend to emulate you and day by day and night by night pour forth my sacred song to the glory of God. The work of God, the work of God causes me to sing. The word of God commands me to sing. The worthiness of God constrains me to sing. I sing because This morning, I wonder, have you hung your harp on a willow tree? Have you stopped singing the Lord's song in this strange land? When is the last time you've gotten the glory before God and sung to Him a song of glory? I remember Brother Millby telling about being in a motel room in Tennessee and praying in the middle of the night. And the Lord told him, says, why don't you sing to me a little bit? And he said, I laid in that motel room and said, Lord, there's people here with their families and they've gone to bed. They'll think I'm caterwalling and hear a libel and call the law on me. The Lord said, what difference does it make what they think? Would you stand up and just sing to me? And he said, I felt a coldness come over my heart. I said, Lord, I'm not going to do it now. And I tried to talk to the Lord and tried to pray and could not. The Holy Ghost spoke to my heart again and said, would you just sing me a verse of amazing grace? He said that went on between me and the Lord for about an hour until finally This was when he was in his 60s. He said there was a 60-something-year-old man in his Batman pajamas, standing in the middle of a bed, singing loud as I could, amazing grace. Had he said, I got in the glory and it felt so good, I sung every verse of How Firm a Foundation while I was there. He said, the Lord didn't tell me to do that. I just wanted to. Hallelujah. I wonder how long has it been since you got in the glory and sang. I praise the Lord. Everybody stand this morning. If you're not saved, I'd invite you to come. If you know the Lord this morning, I'd invite you to come. Rekindle that fellowship with Christ. I sing because, sing for us, please, dear sister. I sing. I sing. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings. ♪ I know something about God's grace ♪ ♪ And how good it feels when he hears me pray ♪ ♪ Just this morning he whispered my name ♪ ♪ Oh I know something about God's grace ♪ I know something Too many times it has fallen on me. It's all a part of God's grace divine. A grace I can claim each day as mine. ♪ I know something about God's grace ♪ ♪ And how good it feels when he hears me pray ♪ ♪ Just this morning he whispered my name ♪ ♪ Oh, I know something about God's grace ♪ When he spoke this morning, how my heart rejoiced. My burden was lifted by the sound of his voice. He called me into his throne room to pray. I bowed down, defeated. So I know something about God's grace And how good it feels when He hears me pray Just this morning He whispered my name So I know something about God's grace ♪ I know something about God's grace ♪ ♪ And how good it feels when he hears me pray ♪ ♪ Just this morning he whispered my name ♪ ♪ So I know something about God's grace ♪ So I know something about God's grace.