We're very delighted to have with us our good friend and brother in Christ, Dr. Brian Greene, who is the General Secretary of the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. The British Council of Protestant Christian Churches is the fundamentalist antagonist to the British Council of Churches. It was formed to oppose with all the militancy of a Holy Ghost-baptized fundamentalism, the apostasy of the British Council of Churches. President of the British Council of Churches is the Archbishop of Canterbury. You know the little notice that was in the paper or on our envelopes over the stamp, Jesus is Alive. And the Archbishop of Canterbury said it was very insensitive for the post office to allow that to be stamped on our post, on our letters. Think of it. He's the head of the British Council of Churches. The British Council of Churches has decided to vote itself out of existence because its name, British, offended the Roman Catholic Church. And at a meeting a few months ago in Swanwick, they voted unanimously to vote themselves out of existence and in two years' time start a new council to replace it, in which the Roman Catholic Church would be foundation members. And the new leader of that council will be Cardinal Hume. So that is what's happened to the British Council of Churches, of which the Methodist Church of Ireland is a member, the Presbyterian Church of Ireland is a member, and the Church of Ireland is a member, and the Salvation Army are members of it, and the Unitarian Church, and Lycra's all sorts, and Dolly's mixtures, they're all in there. Well, the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches has been carrying on a lonely fight, but a strong fight. a militant fight. When the Pope came to Britain, the only voice that was raised was the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. We had the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches in England, founded by a great man, Poole Connor, a militant fundamentalist. And we had in their official newspaper, they said, you don't expose the Pope's visit, you exploit it. That's like saying, don't expose harlot rights, exploit it. I'm telling you, we're down the river and very few people will make a stand. I was talking to a Presbyterian yesterday and he said, you know, our church does not believe in militant protests. We feel that some of our members feel that that sort of thing doesn't help the cause. Well, I'm glad that the Apostle Paul was a militant protester. He was the first man to start a prison sit-in. Don't you think the civil rights started prison sit-ins? They had nothing to do with a fundamentalist creature called Paul and Silas, and he was put in prison. The way I was put in prison, and Brother McCrae, and the Rev. Foster, and the Rev. Kearns, and the Rev. James Baggs recently, we were put in prison, falsely, under this public order, order. And let me say something to you. When old Paul was sitting there in prison, they said, you've got to come out of prison. He said, I'm not coming out. I'm sitting in here, folded in arms. sat down on the floor. Man, I want to tell you, that would take something to do. A man would say to me, he has no love. He doesn't have any love, that man, Paul. Doesn't have any love. He had the Holy Ghost. That's what he had. And the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of love. That's true love. Yes, Roy, I see you sitting right there. You were guilty. Amen. We're all old boys of this. prison life. Of course, it's nothing like what it was in 66. It's more like a four-star hotel today than it was when I was there. When I was there, you got one egg a week. And when I walked forward with my tray at the dining common, they said, would you like an egg and toast? I thought that was my birthday. I said, I said, I didn't think you would give me that. Would you like porridge? No, it's more like concrete. I'll take cornflakes." We didn't get that when I was in Jesus. So he sat there. And they had to bring the judge that put him in before he would leave. Boy, he was a tough contender. No wonder people didn't like to be around Paul. No wonder John Mark ran home to his mother's skirts and he was around a fella like that. He said, a disturber on a wee island like Cyprus. Man, when he gets to a continent, there'll be an earthquake. I'm going home. Uncle Barnabas, get me a ticket home. Camemba! I must go home." Well, I want to tell you, friends, the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches is here, but it was under their auspices that we protested in in Westminster when old Cardinal Hume came to have a mass. Thank God our voices were raised, firm and strong. You know, there's a council in England known as the United Protestant Council. It's a council of Protestant societies. And when I made my protest in Westminster against Cardinal Hume having mass, in the Parliament precincts. That council, the meeting, and my good friends from Liverpool, my brother Ian Henderson's father, Ron, he moved that the council congratulate me on taking my stand. And the Protestant Truth Society secretary said, no, we mustn't do that because Mr. Paisley disturbed a divine servant. Look at that. And the Protestant Truth Society are taking people's money and they're saying to people, you should support us, we're fighting Romanism. And their secretary said, don't write Paisley, don't thank him for making a protest where he disturbed the divine service. That was the society that threw out our dear friend Dr. Peter Trumper for his stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. So we have compromisers on every hand. Well, thank God the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches knows nothing about compromise. By the way, let me tell you the end of the story. Mr. Henderson, who's an old fighter, he said, we're sending it, and he won the vote by a majority. But the man that was to send it was the second race, and he was a representative of the Protestant Truth Society, so I never got the letter. Although they passed it, they would send it, he was so antagonistic, he wouldn't send it. That's the sort of Protestant you have, jellyfish Protestant. And they're trying to say they're contending, but they don't contend. But Paul was a contender. Go to the Old Testament and have a look at Nehemiah. He did worse than that. He pulled the hairs of their heads out. Boy, he hadn't much love, had he? Or maybe he was trying to get them a fresh hairdo. Or maybe he didn't think their hair was cut short enough, so he thought he'd pull a few out just to keep it to the right size. So thank God for the British Council, and thank God for my friend Brian Greene. Brian and me have been arrested together, we have fought the campaign together, we have stood together, and we continue to stand together. And of course, because of his stand with us, he lost position in his own denomination, the strict Baptist denomination. He would have been their president. And he was one of their outstanding leaders, but they said, you stay with Paisley, and we don't want you. He says, I'm not staying with Paisley, I'm staying with Paisley's God, and Paisley's Christ, and Paisley's Bible. And thank God, God is blessing our brother, and God has blessed his church since it's moved to new business, and the seats are filling up now, and God is blessing him. We're delighted to have him. He's going to tell us something about the work of the British Council now. God bless you. May I say how delighted I am to be at this Easter convention once again. I'm sure that everyone who comes here comes and gets a great blessing and those who take part, the preachers, have already indicated and already said something of the blessing that they receive and year by year as I'm privileged to come to this special convention, how blessed I feel. Indeed, I suppose this must be the greatest convention on earth in these days, a convention that stands firm and fast for the Bible. I've said on other occasions that I always fear the introduction by Dr. Paisley. Now, this year he's been very mild and I'm very thankful he's been very mild. Someone said in the vestry just before we came in that there were indications that people wanted Dr. Paisley to preach at every service. I said, when doesn't he preach? I mean, even in the introduction, he's already given you three sermons, and the preacher's all taken down the outlines, so I mean, this is quite remarkable anyway. Certainly, it's good to hear him on form, and my, what a blessing this convention has been this year. I also want to begin, indeed, as our brother David has said, by a sincere word of thanks to Dr. Paisley for the way in which he leads the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. I say humanly speaking because I have to say that, but without him, I don't believe the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches would be in existence and neither would it be doing anything at all. But with his able leadership and his energy and his strength and his power, my, well, the Lord has blessed us. I see Dr. Paisley perhaps more than some of you do because, of course, he stays with me in London in my home. I don't know and I've never known over the over 20 years I've known him, how on earth he can do so many things. He thinks of three things at once. He sometimes writes in two lots of notes. He's always writing some book or pamphlet. He's preparing a message and he's talking to you at the same time. And that to me is quite remarkable. And there's no question about it, those of you who know him at all, and I say this quite sincerely and with thanks to God, here is a man who does at least three jobs. People say they're tired. People say that they have no energy. This man does three people's work easily and still has got more energy than any of us. Sometimes he wakes up after just having a few hours sleep at night after being in Parliament and he's on the first plane in the morning and he sings and he shouts and he's joyful. I don't know how he can wake up like that, but he does. He does. And sometimes it gets on my nerves, but I tell you, But I want to say sincerely, publicly today, we thank God for him. And we thank God for his leadership, and I know that you do here. God has blessed this man. I believe that Dr. Paisley has been the man for this hour. And I believe that not only here in Ulster he's been the man for this hour, but in Great Britain as a whole. And indeed I'm sure our brethren from America would say how much he's been a blessing. I've been in America with him and I've seen how highly he's held in esteem there. And so we thank God today for the Free Presbyterian Church as well as Dr. Paisley for the support they give. I'm sure that we're all conscious of the different aspects of the ministry that we're engaged in. We think of our worship which is all very important to us. We think of our service in the various different aspects of service. We think of the preaching and the teaching and the building up of the saints, the evangelizing, seeking the lost. The British Council of Protestant Christian Churches believes of course in all that. But the Lord has called us into being for such a time as this, for that which we regard as not just merely building but battling. We're in the work of God for defending the faith, and I believe there is a call to us in these days of apostasy to seek to guard that precious jewel which God has put in our hands, to alerting the people of the dangers that confront us in this day in which we live. Now, this morning we heard two very fine messages, and anyone who is privileged to be present, I'm sure we're really blessed in the Lord. We turned, and I want you to turn again with me, to Colossians and chapter 2. This afternoon I'm not the preacher, Dr. Paisley is, but I am just going to go through one or two verses here and really highlight them with you, talking about the work of the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. Colossians and chapter 2. I'm going to read these words again, just for... so that we can take them in. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and the Father and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. This I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order and steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Notice as you look at your Bibles this afternoon, that in verse 1 we have the word conflict. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you." The word conflict there could be translated fear, great fear that he had for the Christians at Laodicea. And really he had that fear for them because of the danger that indeed engulfed them, which he describes a little later on. But the word conflict is a word that the Apostle Paul knew a lot about. Because we know something of the opposition that he had to the preaching of Christ. Wherever he went, the Lord saw that he had great success. But the devil saw that he had great opposition as well. And wherever there is a good work of God, we know this, that we will have conflict. We know that every Christian here is engaged in the warfare. It's not an optional extra. It's something that we are engaged in. We're in the battle which God has called us. We are soldiers for Christ. Writing to the Corinthians, you'll remember that the Apostle spoke of the conflict of the false ministry, those who preached another gospel. He spoke of the angel of light, the devil appearing in disguise. to the Galatians, you remember he spoke about them being bewitched and the another gospel that was being preached and that warning them lest they become entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Philippians he writes a little differently but upon the same sort of line when he speaks of a wicked, perverse nation and he speaks so very plainly when he says, beware of dogs, enemies of the cross. You'll remember that to the Thessalonians he spoke of the apostasy of the last days and all that it would bring and the darkness and the doom that it would bring to the Christian church. To young Timothy he spoke indeed of the conflict in this sort of way. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast received. Some have swerved from the truth. They've turned aside from the truth. You see, the Apostle Paul was in the conflict and he realized the dangers that confronted him in his day. My friend, if the Apostle Paul recognized that in the first century, I'm sure that we must recognize it in these days. I believe that dangers are even greater to the Christian church today than ever before. Even in our lifetime, things have got worse. There's been a tremendous deterioration. The apostasy has got greater and the beguiling and the deceiving has become more and more even as we've met together over the years. Liberalism hasn't stopped. Modernism still attacks the Word of God and all the fundamental doctrines of the faith. The divergence of the charismatic movement has come in the last few years and taken so many good people astray with its deception. Ecumenism, yes, as we've heard this afternoon from our chairman, is now going to be under a new name in Britain, but it's still the same old ecumenism. It's going to be called the inter-church process. Or it may be called, as they said, not strangers, but pilgrims. Someone has said it just has to be named Swanwick after the place where it was first thought of and born. But it's still the old British Council of Churches with no real foundation except that now it has Romanists in it and even lead in its movement. We know that there has been resurgence of Romanism. You only have to look at your newspapers to see what is happening in our nation. on Easter Sunday, on BBC One. Where did the religious service come from? It came from the Vatican. And the Pope gave his address on their television of BBC One. No other service, no other message came before. And yet we're living in a day of apathy amongst evangelicals. What a sad thing it is that when you call yourself a fundamentalist, then you're ostracized because somehow you're different. We aren't different because we stand on the fundamental things of the Word of God. But alas, it seems to me that evangelicals are going to be swept into this new movement. and into the apostasy of the day. You see, what I'm really saying, just like the Apostle Paul, he was in a conflict, he recognized that the Christians at Colossae would be in a conflict, we're in the battle as well. My, you see, the Bishop of Durham continues his ungodly and unholy statements, doesn't he? He still doesn't believe in the resurrection, the bag of bones, he calls it, God's conjuring trick with bones. And he's not been disciplined, he's not been stopped. He speaks out even more boldly nowadays concerning the Word of God. He spoke recently on the television against the cross and said, of course, he didn't really believe that the cross really meant very much. It's a symbol, and we think of it as a symbol of sacrifice. And we've heard what the Archbishop of Canterbury said about the slogan, Jesus is alive. What's wrong with that? Surely even liberal alchemists of a country believe Jesus is alive. Surely in his position he wouldn't mind this being put on envelopes, Jesus is alive. No, he doesn't want it there because it's insensitive. He doesn't believe in the resurrection. And anyway, what about the Muslims? What about the Hindus? What about the Jews? They'll be offended by it. And so he doesn't stand up for God, he doesn't stand up for Christ, he doesn't stand up for the Bible. And then when this terrible bill was before their synod concerning homosexuality, where is he? Sitting on the fence. And as someone said, he makes a good job of that, of course, on every issue. You see, what really is happening is that there's a conflict which is a battle against authority. Where do we have authority today? Is it the Bible or is it in the traditions of the church? Is it in the Word of God or is it in the counsels of men? And of course ecumenicity will always come down upon what man says and not what God says. And there's a great movement towards syncretism in our land. Think today that the Muslims are opening more churches than the Christian church. Think today that there's more money being put into the evangelical work of the Muslims than there is in us seeking soul winning. You see, that's what's happening in Britain in these days. Now notice this verse says great conflict. We're in a great conflict. It's a strong conflict, it's a subtle conflict and of course it is a satanic conflict that we're in. But look very quickly at verse 2, which we heard of this morning so excellently enabling. There you have the apostles' concern, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ. I believe here we have the apostles' concern for the believers. That's, I believe, also the concern of the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. First of all, you'll see in that verse, it's the concern that they may be encouraged. The word comforted in the original can bear the meaning of encouraged. I look here today and I'm thankful to God for so many people who have gathered in this assembling. But I know little pockets of Christians up and down England especially, where they're only meeting ones and twos. and they're not very near other believing Christians, and they need to be comforted, they need to be encouraged. We send out letters, we send out our magazines, we send out our literature, they receive tapes, and they're encouraged because they're fundamentally standing alone, standing for the authorized version, standing for the Word of God. Then you'll see the expression that's used here. Not only are they to be encouraged, but express their unity, being knit together. And we heard this morning about that woven together, knit together with one purpose, with one pursuit, and with one power. It's all there. And that's what we need today, to stand together against this evil that we face as we seek to work for God. Then you'll see here that they're to be edified as well, unto all riches of the fuller assurance of understanding. My, how we need missionaries, how we need people in our own land to spread this news of the fundamental truths. People don't know what it means when we speak of the inspiration of the Scriptures, the inerrancy of the Scriptures. They don't know the fundamentals of the faith anymore because they've been dismissed over the years by the weatherheads and the soapers. and the Ramses of a year gone by, and now the others who have taken their places, who deny the doctrines of the faith. What they need to know is this wonderful riches, the riches of the full assurance which you and I enjoy today. That's the work that we seek to do and continue to do. And of course you'll see also they need to be enlightened to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God. and of the Father and of Christ. Oh yes, we know today the secret, the secret of His presence. We know the secret of His provision in Christ, that secret of salvation. We know this secret, this mystery which has been revealed to us. It's our job and it's our task to spread this mystery of the Gospel so that others might know it. That's what we seek to do. Then you'll see in verse 3, the Apostles Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge. Yes, the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ is being greatly attacked today. And in our British Council of Protestant Christian Churches, by our work, by our meetings that we hold, Dr Paisley preaches at so many of them for us, and we're so grateful for that. We have a good following and they come to hear. And what do they come to hear? They come to hear Christ. Because this is not being preached in the churches. Here we have a treasure box. What is the treasure box? In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. He's our treasure box. And we seek to preach a saving Christ. One who is sovereign. One who supplies. His grace and one who is a satisfying Christ. Yes, that's the Apostle's Christ. Finally, in these verses that I just want to point out to you, you'll see the Apostle's challenge in verse 6, as we heard again this morning. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. As ye have, so walk ye. In Him, that's our challenge and that's our responsibility. As we've received the Lord, let's walk in Him, let's show Him form, let's indeed live that gospel. Today we seek to protest at all the various happenings and all the various affairs of the church, when we see any apostasy, when we see compromise, we try to protest against it, and we stand against it, and I'm sure that we'll have to do this even more in the years to come. I hope that most of you, if not all of you, have seen our magazine. Our magazine is called Valiant for the Truth. I've got copies of that today and I'm going to put them down there afterwards and if you haven't seen it, you haven't had it, you please take it quite freely and I trust that you'll read it. Dr Paisley writes our first article usually and it's there, The State of the National Church and you'll see there a very informative article concerning the idolatrous that are found in the church today. We need to know these things and all through that there are various items which are all dealing with the apostasy of today. We've already began to print some pamphlets and Dr. Paisley has already introduced this one to you. We're going to have these pamphlets on about 20 different subjects. We're having one, this is on the King James Version, on the authorised version. Being positive in the sense that we're saying, why? Why do we use the King James Version as opposed to other versions? Why do we reject all this tremendous number of versions? I can't even count how many there are. But you think that, why do we use the King James Version? This is a tremendous pamphlet. And what we intend for these pamphlets, they may be spread around. People read just a short pamphlet. And your friends need to read that and they go to other churches and they use the NIV and all the other conglomeration of versions. And we want you to take these and use them carefully and properly. We're bringing one out on the Trinity. We're bringing one out on the doctrine of Scripture. We're bringing one out on creation. We're bringing one out on the charismatic movement. And various other doctrines, 20 of them, will be out before the summer so that we can use them. When someone asks you a question, you know, what do you believe on that? A pamphlet that you can read and understand and take it in yourself, written very simply so that every person can understand it. This year we have indeed doing something which we think is very special indeed. We're holding our first, our first Holiday Bible Conference. I don't know if you've heard about this, I trust that you have. But our first Holiday Bible Conference is to be held on the 23rd of May to the 27th. It's going to be held in High Leigh, which is in Hoddesdon. High Leigh is about an hour's journey from the centre of London, but it's right in the very country of the Hertfordshire countryside. It's a very lovely place. An excellent house that was left by some Christians many years ago for Christian conferences. And this place has lots of bedrooms, in fact we're going to, we've booked a hundred bedrooms for this place. The cost is £60 for the whole week, where you have three meals a day, which I know are good, I've been there on conferences in the past myself. Dr. Paisley is going to lead this conference every morning. He will be taking Bible studies from the book of Judges, and also we'll be having workshops about the various issues of the day, taken by some of your own ministers and also by some ministers in Scotland and from England as well. And Dr. Bob Jones is going to be there as well. Dr. Paisley is our leader in our evening rallies where we'll have two preachers here. We'll be preaching every evening with another preacher as well. Perhaps some of you would like to come to that. You can bring your children. There's plenty of places for children and lots of things for them to do as well. It can be a holiday conference for the family. This is our first by the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches. No doubt we'll do this again next year and then the following year after that We will be holding in London the Great Conference of the Fundamentalists, the World Congress of Fundamentalists. And we'll be holding in London this year and obviously we'd like to see you at that as well. If you can come to that conference, you'd like to hear a little bit more about it. I only have a few of these pamphlets today. But if you leave your name and address, I will send you one of these so that you can fill it up and send it back to us. We only have a hundred places, quite a lot of those places are taken already, but we'd like to see you. This is going to be something which will be a great time of blessing and benefit to the whole of our land. And certainly I'm sure that you'll agree with me that we need this. And so you see, what we're seeking to do in these days is to work together against the apostasy that we see before us. We're in this warfare together. The word together was used this morning so very powerfully. The last thing we'll say about being together, we're going to win together by the grace of God. My brethren, Though I'm not saying finally, I'm only saying commencing, my brethren. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Where is he? He's in jail! He's in prison! He's in a Roman cell! Would you be rejoicing? You might rejoice in Crumlin Road, but the cell that I saw in Rome which was a traditional Roman cell, wouldn't be a place that would encourage rejoicing. But Paul has learned the secret. And he says, Rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed does not grieve us, but for you it is seen. Beware of dogs. Now those are not four-legged domestic pets that he's talking about. Those are diabolical pests. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about camouflaged infidels that stand behind pulpit desks and preach another gospel. And he called them dogs. The price of a dog. was not to come in to the Lord's worship in the Old Testament. And outside heaven there are dogs. There's no dogs in heaven. It's a dog-less city. And there's no dog catchers around trying to catch dogs and put them out. There's a dog catcher up in Ballyhackamore, and he's employed trying to catch my dog. I have a dog, I call him Bishop. The press said to me, why did you call him Bishop? I said, there are no decent two-legged bishops, so I had to get a decent four-legged one. And I said to show I have the ecumenical spirit, I keep a bishop in my home. He's a very alert dog too. He has good hearing, and he has good sharp teeth. And he uses them on intruders. Yes. And that's what teeth are for, to use on intruders. But he's talking about the enemies of the gospel, their dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of their concision. But we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit. He had nothing to do with potpourri. If he had been a Roman priest, he would have said, we worship God in the mass. But you'll not get any mass in this book. This book's a Protestant book because Christianity is Protestantism. Protestantism is Christianity. Nothing talking about political Protestantism. I'm talking about primitive Christianity, the true faith of the gospel. Worship God in the Spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. I used to meet Mr. Nicholson occasionally, and if there was anybody with me, he would put his arm round one of us, and he would put his arm round the other, and he would say, now we'll pass a vote of no confidence in the flesh. It was a good thing to do. The flesh should not have any confidence. Our brother was preaching on that great psalm this morning. He missed a very important point. Of course, he had so many points. I don't blame him. Wesley's preachers were, it was said of them, they have so many heads in their sermons that they split the heads of their hearers. Well, we're not here to split heads. We're here to split hearts. That's what we should be doing. But the oil never was on the flesh. It was on the head, the hair, the beard, on the garment, and down to the skirts. But it never touched the flesh. The Holy Ghost doesn't anoint flesh. Never! There's a lot of counterfeit things called the anointing of the Holy Spirit, like baker and swagger. And Oral Roberts, that's a counterfeit spirit, and it's flesh. And the flesh always surfaces in that sort of ministry. But the Holy Spirit is a Holy Spirit, and He does not anoint the flesh. Let's remember that. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Now notice this. circumcised the eighth day. Paul was no convert or proselyte to Judaism. He was born into Judaism. Of the stock of Israel, he was no half-breed like Timothy, who had a Greek for his father and a Jewess for his mother. He was fully of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews. He was no Sismatic. You see, ten tribes seceded. There were Sismatics, but Benjamin and Judah kept fearful to give its throne. So he said, I'm not a Sismatic. I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. I'm a Hebrew of the Hebrews. I was touching the law of Pharisee. I'm not a heretic like they said, you see. I am a Pharisee. I am no heretic, as says the apostle, or I was no heretic. And then he goes on, concerning zeal, persecuting the church. He was no lukewarm trigger. He was fully zealous for his religion. And then, he was no antinomian. He wasn't lawless. He was morally exact, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Some pedigree, isn't it? But listen to it. what things were given to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do kind to them, but done, that I might win Christ." I want to talk to you about the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Let's stand to our feet and have a word of prayer. I simply take the promised Holy Ghost, the blessed power of Pentecost, to fill me to the uttermost. I take. Thank you, blessed Holy Ghost. You're going to undertake for me. And the people of God said, Amen. Philippians 3 and verse 8, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. The apostle Paul has done his reckoning. The Apostle Paul has done his accounting. The Apostle Paul has done his arithmetic. Look with me carefully. He says in verse 7, those I counted those I reckoned, those I have summed up and taken the grand total. And they were given to me, but I counted them, I reckoned them, I came to a conclusion that their loss There of no profit, there of no gain, as far as I am concerned. But I want you to notice that this is a verified conclusion. Come to verse 8, and he repeats it. He's done his accounting, his reckoning, his arithmetic a second time, and he says, I do count them, but done that I might win Christ." The Apostle Paul brings in here a verified conclusion. The so-called gains, as reckoned by worldly standards, are actually losses. The Apostle is not expected in it. The apostle is making a mighty affirmation. He's saying, I've done my sum. I have made my calculations. I have done my reckoning. And I'm putting it on record that my verified conclusion is that all things are nothing. That all things are loss. that all things have but a pinhead of being in them. There is only one thing that matters, and that is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Notice secondly, this is a vehement confession. He finds it hard to get a word obnoxious enough. He finds it hard to get a word bad enough. He finds it hard to get a word repugnant enough. He finds it hard to get a word disgraceful enough to describe his attitude to these things that the world can't give. And so this word doesn't occur anywhere else in the New Testament Scriptures. Twice in the New Testament, our authorized version translates a Greek word by the word dung. Over in the parable of the tree that didn't bring forth fruit, the keeper of the garden said, let me dig about it and dung it. Don't cut it down until I do that, and we'll see if it bears fruit." That word is a translation of the word manure in the Greek original. But this word is not the word manure. This word is the innards of an animal, the offal of an animal that is thrown to the dog And when the dogs eat it, they vomit it up. The dog has returned to its vomit. And that's the word that the apostle used to describe the things that the world counts as being. He says, I count these things like the awful throne to a dog that turns even the stomach of the animal. You get a stronger word than that. When we start hitting, and I use the word purposely, when we start hitting the legitimate things. Now he's not talking about simple things. He's not talking here about things that should be condemned. He's talking about the legitimate things of the world. But we come to the place where the legitimate things of the world have been so eclipsed with our excellent knowledge of Christ that we can say before God and men, I count them but done. Not only a verified conclusion but a vehement confession. But he goes on, and his verified conclusion and vehement confession turns into a vigorous conviction. And he says, I'm not just saying it, I'm practicing it because I have suffered the loss of all things. I have suffered The loss of all things. I not only have said I don't want them, but I have had them all taken from me so that I cannot have them. I have burned the boats. I cannot go back across the river. I have dynamited the bridges. I cannot go back to the other side. I have surrendered totally, unconditionally, absolutely to Jesus Christ. And my vigorous conviction is this. I have suffered the loss of all things. Legitimate things. Natural things. things of life, and things that give life its pleasantness. They're all finished as far as I'm concerned. I'm down here in a prison. I'm in darkness. I cannot see my hand in front of me. But I'm not baptized with self-pity. I'm not crying. Like some unfortunate beast caught in a hole, I'm singing, I'm rejoicing, I'm praising the Lord, I'm in heaven. Because I've come this road, the road of verified conclusion and vehement confession and vigorous conviction, all attainments, all advantages, are totally worthless, Paul says, in comparison with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Let me ask a simple question. What is Paul saying here? Paul is saying here three things. He's saying Christ's knowledge as an object of pursuit is so excellent that all other persons are totally valueless, yea, they are of a repugnant and obnoxious character. Look at verse 12. What does he say there? Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ." And then he draws his psalms again, and he says, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do. He's in pursuit. What is he in pursuit of? He is in pursuit of this excellent knowledge, and he calls it the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The one pursuit for the people of God is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Secondly, Paul is saying Christ's knowledge as a meritorious ground of eternal hope is so excellent that all other grounds of hope are obnoxious refuges of lies. I'm a man of Judah. I have all the qualification of a good Jew. There's nothing heretical about me, nothing schismatic about me. I'm no trimmer. I'm no antinomian. I keep the law. I am of the stock of Israel. I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews. The mark of the night was upon me, and eight years of age, eight days old, in circumcision. But those things are a refuge of lies as far as a meritorious ground for acceptance with God. The only acceptance with God is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. Old John Knox, fiery reformer of Scotland, dying, said to his wife, Leave me where I first cast anchor. And she brought the book, and he said, Turn it over to the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel. And women, read me where I first cast anchor. And where did he first cast anchor? In verse 3 of John 17. John Knox's text. Listen to it. This is life eternal. that they might know," there's the knowledge, "...that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom all have sent." It's the only ground for pardon, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. Thirdly, Christ's knowledge as a cause to glory in. And let's get this into our hearts. Paul is glorying here in a great cause, in a glorious knowledge, in a wonderful experience. That is so excellent that all other causes for glorying are absolutely deceptive in nature, despicable in character. The rags of their unworthiness, show them up for what they are. Oh, here is something to glory in. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid that I should glory, save in the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. God forbid the free Presbyterian church should ever glory in anything else. You can take your pine buildings. You can take your congregations. You can take everything that would attract the natural man to the movement. Forget about it. There's only one thing that counts, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord. The world can take the building from you. The world can take the congregation from you. The world can take your standing. And if you're looking for accreditation, thank God some of us never had any, so we don't need to lose it. But let me say this to you. The world can't take from you the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. I may be in a prison cell. I may not be able to read because of the darkness. There may be a campaign, a vilification against me outside that I cannot even answer. It doesn't matter. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord outlasts the world, outlasts all created things. See those stars you'll see at night? They'll all go out someday. See this blazing sun that warms us. God will snuff it out someday. See the moon that shines its glimmering light, and the night sees it and shows us the way to go. One day it will bleat to death in the heavens. See all created things. They are stamped with temporality. The things that are seen are temporal. Let me show you this afternoon something that's eternal. the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. This knowledge has five characteristics. Note them carefully. First, the excellency of the knowledge is based upon this great foundation, that in Christ's person are all the divine excellencies of the Godhead. Get it into your mind that in the person of Jesus Christ, all the divine excellencies of the Godhead have their meeting place. Well, if I get knowledge of Jesus Christ, I'm getting the knowledge of all the divine excellencies of the Godhead. Every attribute of God, every revelation of this mystic being, each superb character of God is seen in its divine excellence in Jesus Christ alone. That's why you don't need Papa on his red skirt. That's why you don't need the scholarship of the modernists. That's why you don't need the paraphernalia of ceremony. The brilliant things, the beautiful things, the superb things, the superlative things, all by God's hand, they're all in Christ Jesus, my Lord. If you get Jesus, You get everything. If you get Jesus, you get the fullness of the Godhead. Take your Testament. I was greatly struck with this the other day as I was looking at this text. And I discovered this. The fullness of God is in the body of Christ. Turn over to Colossians 2 and verse 19. And mark these scriptures. I'm going to be very brief with them. But I want to leave them with you so that you will have them in your mind and in your heart. And we discover there in that great Scripture, Colossians 2 and verse 9, For in him dwelleth all the fullness in the Godhead bodily. The fullness of God. It's in the body. of Christ. No wonder that body had to be virgin-born. No wonder that body had to be produced differently from anybody else's body. And let me take another step that needs to be taken. No wonder the blood of that body is different from anybody else's blood. I'm sick, sore, and tired of so-called medical men. postulating on how the blood of Jesus was produced. Shut up, you ignoramus! You'll never know that. Your knowledge is limited. You can't explain the virgin birth, and you'll never explain the virgin blood. But I've wasted it, and it's made me whiter than the snow. It's given me a virgin pardon that'll take me to heaven." Thomas Boston was right. The old preachers were right. He says Scotland is filled with learned ignorance. Ignorance. That's a good name for apostates. Learned ignorance. It's all there. They don't know. The fullness of God. in a body. You can't explain that, but it's true. You want to look at the glory of God. Where will I find the glory of God? In some great cathedral? Will I go to Canterbury and see that old apostate that Brother Green has been talking about? You'll not see the glory of God in him. You'll see the shame of apostasy in him. That's what you'll see in him. But you turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6, and I'll show you where you can see the glory of Christ. 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 6. Look at it with me. 2 Corinthians, that should be. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. That's a good thing I know this book, isn't it? Or I'd be in trouble. The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them. Verse 6, the glory of God in, where will I find it? Show me thy glory. Show me the glory of God, said Moses. I'll show you it in the feast. of Jesus Christ, in the face of Jesus Christ. That's where you'll find the glory of God. Do you want to find the express image of God? You'll find it in the person of Christ. You need to look at these scriptures. I'll give them Hebrews 2, 3. Do you want to find the mind of God? You'll find it in the wisdom of God. You'll find it in the mind of Christ, Philippians 2, 11. If you want to find the Word of God, you'll find it in the mouth of Christ. Revelation 1.16. Do you want to find the fire of God? You'll find it in the eyes of Christ. Revelation 1.14. Do you want to find the purity of God? You'll find it in the head of Christ. Revelation 1.14. Do you want to find the judgment of Christ? You'll find it on the judgment of God. You'll find it under the feet of Christ. Revelation 1.15. You want to find where the ministers of God are. They're in the hands of Christ. I'm glad I'm not in the hands of the Presbytery. I'm glad I'm not in the hands of the Fundamentalists. Either Baptists, Presbyterians, or Methodists. I'm glad I'm in the hands of Christ. That's where you are, my brother. You'll be all right. God has got his hand on you. He'll keep you. It doesn't matter what the elders say about you, or the committee men, or all the wee tattling tongues of the woman folk. God bless them. It doesn't matter. I want to tell you you're in the hands of God. All is well. That's where the ministers are. Do you want to see the majestic brightness of God? Look at the countenance of Christ. Revelation 1, 16. Do you want to see the grace of God? Look at the advent of Christ. Do you want to see the love of God? Look at the heart of Christ. John 59 and John 1 and 17 for the advent of Christ. See all the excellencies of the Godhead are in the Lord Jesus. Listen to it. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. All His excellencies of His Godhead are there. But I want to tell you something, and this is the mystery. There's not only the supreme excellencies. of perfect God, but there's a supreme excellences of perfect man in the Lord Jesus. Do you want to see all the human excellences? Do you want to see the brightness of a perfect man? A sinless man? An unfeeling man? An impeccable man! Now have a look at Jesus. And this is an extensive study. But just take one incident in our Lord's ministry. Turn over to John's Gospel, chapter 11. It's a very touching portion of Scripture. Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, has died. And as you read this story, you will find the perfection of the God-man here. You'll find the excellence of human patience in verse 6. You know where the Lord Jesus is? He's away in Galilee. His friend Lazarus is sick unto death. They send for the Master. Miriam Martha says, Lazarus, whom thou lovest, is sick." The Lord Jesus didn't need to go. He could have spoken the word and Lazarus could be healed. But he didn't, because the Lord had to prove his own human patience. And for two days he lingered. Oh, he wanted to be a Bethany. He wanted to console the sisters. He wanted to do the miracle on the body of the man that he loved. But he didn't. He shows to us here the excellency of human patience. I'm glad that I have learned something of the excellency of the knowledge of perfect human patience. and the blessed Son of God. I'm glad, Lord Jesus, you have been patient with me." Do you ever say that? Do you ever say, Lord Jesus, I'm glad you're not hasty? I'm glad you don't jump to decisions. I'm glad you don't make hasty judgments. For if God was strict to mark iniquity, who would stand? Not one of us. But praise God, I've got the excellency and the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Perfectation. What a thought to contemplate. You'll notice secondly, the excellence of human sympathy. Martha came to meet him, and he told Martha, send for Mary. He wanted to get Mary and Martha alongside Himself. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ wants to do. He wants to get alongside you in your trouble. He wants to show you that there's not a pain that rends the human heart, but the man of sorrows half apart. He wants you to learn His sympathy, yes, His deep, unbounded, immeasurable sympathy. Listen, we are not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. But He was on all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. O sympathetic Christ, come to me today, O patient Savior, come to me today. Thirdly, you see the excellency of human pity. Verse 35, Jesus wept. The tears of Jesus. Here we have pity at its zenith. Human pity at its apex. Human pity at its climax. And when they saw it, even as enemies said, Behold how he loved him." I'll tell you something. There's the excellency of human love. And even the enemies acknowledged it. The love of God is a dazzling thing. I can't understand it. But I can understand it in human terms when I sing the little chorus. Standing somewhere in the shadows, you'll find Jesus. He's the only one who cares and understands. Standing somewhere in the shadows, you'll find Him. And you'll know Him by the nail print in His hands. Touch the nail print And you'll know the love, the human love of Christ and the divine love of the God-man. Then you'll notice the excellency of humility. He didn't need to roll away the stone. He could have called Lazarus, and Lazarus could have come through that rock's surface just as easily as he came out of the grip of death. It would be far easier to put a man through the rock than take him from the grave. He could do it, but he didn't. He said, roll away the stone. The humble Jesus. He didn't need to ask people to roll away the stone for him, but he did it. You know why? The Lord has need of you and me. He condescends to make us his partners. We're partners with the Lord in this blessed work of gospel truth. And if all I'm doing is rolling away stones to let Jesus in at sinners, that's a good job. Rolling away stones. And boy, I tell you, there's a lot of stones in the church to roll away. It's a full-time job. You needn't join the union and work five days a week, for you'll never get the job done. There's always stones of prejudiced misunderstanding. Seth George, the great revival preacher, had a notice up in his church, in the front door as he went in, and it said this, to take, to give, Offense is a sin, but to take offense is also a sin. You need to think about that one. But Jesus Christ, thank God He has humility. God give me the humility of the Son of God. We need it. This is the excellency of the knowledge. And you'll notice then the excellency of human prayer. He didn't need to pray. But he prayed. And what a wonderful prayer it was. You read it and ponder it. It brings out the fullness of his humanity. And I'll tell you something more. You'll find the excellency of human understanding. For when Lazarus came out, and everybody started to shout, and say, he's out of the grave! Good old Lazarus! He's coming home with us! Nobody thought about his grave clothes. They forgot all about that. But the Lord said, listen, take the grave clothes off him. He's tied up there. It's all right. You fellas dancing around with joy. He can't dance. Martha and Mary would need a promulgator to lead them home if you don't listen. Listen. You know, that's what he said to the little girl, Jarius's daughter. They were all rejoicing. And he says, don't forget to feed her. He commanded that they should make her a meal, give her something to eat, human understanding, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. I want to tell you this is the knowledge that we need, isn't it? This is what we need. This is higher than all the puny philosophies of man. No wonder Paul could say they're only dumb compared to this. This is the superb. This is the superlative. This is more than excellent. This is the excellency of God's mystery. Great is the mystery of godliness. God manifested the flesh. Thirdly, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, is demonstrated on the dead soul of every sinner that Jesus sees. You have that over in John 17, I've already read to you. This is, look at it, eternal life! This knowledge brings eternal life. This knowledge is a shaft of the eternal vitality of God Himself. It is a spark from the very divine nature of God, and it enters into a sinner's heart. And you know what it does? It reverses in a split second all the terrible results of man's fall in the gardens of Eden. It reverses them. It puts the whole machinery of sin into total and absolute reverse. I don't understand that. I am a fallen man. I have all the characteristics, the base, obnoxious characteristics of a totally depraved sinner. And then there comes into my life the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And that divine shaft, that spark of God's nature, that wonderful illumination of God reverses in a split second the centuries of sin piled up in Adam's transgression of the first, and all the vileness of the transgressions of all my ancestors and ancestress, all of them. And it's all reversed. And I, a child of hell, in a split second of time, become a child of God. You can't explain that one. This is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. I want to tell you, just as Christ's voice came down into that tomb, do you see Lazarus lying there, and he's stinking? His body is corrupted. The putridness of four days of the intense heat of the East has played its havoc upon the body of Lazarus. Lazarus, come forth! If you had been in that tomb, you would have seen the reversing of the putrefaction, you would have seen the reversing of the power of death. It must have been a wonderful sight. And the flesh suddenly becomes like a child. And the bones, rotten and rotting, suddenly are as perfect as when they were produced in the womb of Lazarus's mother. And the eye socket that looked so horrible became in a split second of time the bright, shining, tender eyes of Lazarus, the beloved brother of the home of Bethany. And when he walked out, the Lord didn't say, take him down to the local physician and let him have an examination, and perhaps he might need a little bottle of medicine, and he might need some ointment. And he might need some bandages. The Lord said, take the grave clothes off him. He's a perfect man. He was perfect when he came forth. And when God saved you, friend, you got the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. And that tomb of sin became a place of liberation. And that sepulcher of death became the cradle of everlasting life. And God said, Let him go. The mountain boy sitting over to my right-hand side, God said, Loose that mountain boy and let him go. And God loosed Rod Bale and made him a preacher of the gospel. One day, Hill Street Baptist Church, on the 29th day of May 1926, God said, Loose Ian Paisley and let him go. And the boy was saved, and he was saved forever, and he'll be in heaven. And no matter all the old apostates stand up and say, you'll never make it, I'm making it all right. I shall be there. And when I get there, Martin Luther and me are going to write up on the walls, no Pope here, for there will be no Popes in heaven. Thank God for that. I'm going to become a sign writer when I get to him. Fourthly, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord is seen in the justifying operation on the sinner's standing in the sight of God. I don't have any righteousness. My righteousnesses are as filthy rags. I don't have any righteousness. The knowledge that Christ is my substitute My surety and my satisfaction for my sin is excellent knowledge indeed, because Christ has taken my sin and paid to the uttermost farthing my guilty debt. And I want to tell you today, the law that called for my condemnation That same law now is calling for my justification. It screamed, send them to hell, and now it shouts, send them to heaven. What happened? The excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. The very laws of God that condemn those gods Those very laws now justify me. " I remember being in a prayer meeting with Mr. Nicholson once, night of prayer. If you were ever in a prayer meeting like that, well, you would laugh and you would cry, and you'd go out and say, that's an experience. And there was a fellow who got up to pray, and he started to tell God all his past sins that he had committed before God saved him. And I opened my eyes, and Mr. Nicholson's face was getting like a beetroot. And he was getting more and more angry. And as a man went on reliving his dirty old life as a child of the devil, Nicholson shouted at him as only Nicholson could shout. He said, Shut up, you fool! God has forgotten him, and he doesn't know what you're blabbering about. Boy, that brought him to a standstill. I'll tell you, he was right. Immediately you confess a sin that God has forgiven, you make God a liar. That's the first thing you do. You give ground to the devil. And before you know, the songs have stopped in your heart. I don't confess past sins that I've already confessed, for I believe God has forgiven And God says, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. God says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, is seen in this justifying operation on the sinner's standing. My state can change, but my standing can never change. I have a standing with God that cannot be changed. I am an heir of heaven. My name is engraved in the palms of Jesus. Nobody else take those engravings out. They are engraved forever. My name from the palms of His hands. Eternity will not erase. Impressed in His heart it remains, in marks of infallible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is given. More happy, but not more secure, but glorified with Him in heaven. That's the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. And lastly, will you be saying amen to this? You know, I made a moving sermon today. A lot of fellas have moved out. Well, I understand. I wouldn't go across the road to hear myself preach, but I'm glad some people come to hear me preach. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, is manifested in its transforming effects on the lives of those who are partakers of its truth. One final verse. Mark it in your Bible and go home and look at it and pray it into your soul. It's the third chapter of II Corinthians. It's the verse 18. But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Oh, this knowledge changes me. from glory to glory. This knowledge makes the impure pure, the unclean clean, the ungodly godly, the carnal spiritual, the worldly otherworldly, the vile virtuous. Monday the 22nd of February this year, I had an unforgettable experience. I was asked to visit Sergeant Eddie Senior, the sergeant that was blown up on Coal Island. And what a terrible blowing up it was. And what a terrible time that dear man had. His wife comes occasionally to this house. She's a child of God. And they had no time for the gospel. And though he had heard it many times among brethren, he repudiated it and he rejected it. I was to go and preach, down and kindly down, at one of our churches there. But I decided I'd go first to Dungannon Hospital and see him. I was greatly burdened. I prayed all the way there. And when I got there, Eddie was just ready to come to Christ. He had a terrible back injury. He still has. And I led him to the Savior. They thought he wasn't going to live. Some of the brethren said it's maybe only a deathbed conversion. I want to tell you, when God saves a man, He saves him when God does it. When he gets a glimpse of Christ and the excellent knowledge of the Lord Jesus, he's changed from glory to glory. And at that bedside, that man who had lived for the devil and for booze, thank God he trusted Christ. I heard held his hand, He whispered the sinner's prayer, and he came like a child to the Son of God. God didn't cast him out. I'm glad to tell you he's getting healed in body. And what a testimony he has. I took Rod Bale to see him yesterday. I said, Rod, I want you to meet this man. And we sat there, and we were amazed at what that tender child of God, a few weeks in the kingdom, was saying. He says, you know, preacher, I got a double salvation when the Lord saved me. For He has healed my body and He has given me life in my soul. It took the IRA to try and take my life away that Jesus might give me life everlasting. He said, I live for booze and sin and the world. And the wonder of it is, now I'm a child of God. And he says, you know, I've become a halfway house. You say, what do you mean? He says, well, bring me tracks, my friend, bring me tracks. And I do the handing out. This is the post office. And I do the handing. And he says, there's a fellow next door. I said, I know that. Last year, that fellow that's lying next door to him was here at the convention. He was one of my drivers. The other night, a young man was told by his girlfriend that he was ugly. And he went home and took a shotgun, a double-barreled shotgun, and seventy-two cartridges, and went down to Ballew House, and he said, I'm going to kill everybody there. And the first person he attempted to kill was two police officers whose principal was in the hotel having a meal. And he shot one of them, and he has lost his eye. And only the other police officer was able to grab the gun. There might have been hundreds slaughtered in that attempt. And that fellow's lost his eye. But he said to me, I'm working on him. Oh, fella, just see it. He's working on him. And he says he's going to be seeing it. Of course, he's going to be seeing it. That's why the Lord put you beside him. He says, you know, this is wonderful. And I told him some things were in the Bible. He says, Are those things really in the Bible, Mr. Paisley? He says, Aye, they are. He says, You know, I don't know the Bible, but I'm going to know it. As I sat there, I said, The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. And I must tell you this, Jack Herman came to see him. And he said to him, he says, Eddie, we're looking after you well. And Eddie looked up at the chief, and he says, you're not looking after me at all. The Lord Jesus is looking after me. Do you know Him, sir? Oh, Jack went out like a light. Boy, I tell you, when the Lord saves a man, He doesn't... He's not a pavely convert. If he'd been a Paisley convert, he wouldn't last ten minutes. He's a child of God. He's got the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. You know, two things you should do if you've got the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, the Lord, in your heart. Number one, you should ask God for more knowledge. And the only way to get it is in three ways. The Scriptures, supplication, and the Spirit of God. That's the three ways to graduate in the school of Christ's knowledge. The Word of God, let it be your daily bread and daily meat. The place of prayer that Christ in place with your beloved. And the blessed Holy Ghost who fills the heart of seeking souls and gives them spiritual knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. And the second thing you ought to do, you should be getting this knowledge out. Your neighbors should know about this. Your friends should know about it. The world should know about it. We have got the greatest thing! We have got the greatest commodity! We have got a living Savior! And we're dumb! We ought to be ashamed. This church should be telling everybody about the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. You were a sinner. It's in the book. So start giving out the scriptures and don't say, I need notes and comments on them. Luther said, give me the Bible without note or comment and let me send it to the German people and this Bible will blast Romanism out of them and put Jesus into them. Well, we need to get the Scripture circulated, the good old authorized version of the Word of God, the Old Bible. And then we should pay and pray for people like these to get into training so that they might spread the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. If that's what this Free Presbyterian Church is about, God will bless it. But once we deteriorate into squabbles about church buildings, looking for nice, easy, comfortable livings, once we deteriorate into the place when we're more interested in the party than in the person, then God will raise up of the stones voices to magnify the Lord. Listen, you as a free Presbyterian, You have no monopoly of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is given to those that obey Him. God has used this church. It would never have been only God has used it. And God will use it if every one of us do the calculation of Saul today and say, I count everything else but John that I might win Christ. Isn't he worth winning? Isn't he worth loving? Isn't he worth serving? Isn't he worth leaving your life down for? Your blessed Savior. Oh, men and women, if this is the last time I'll ever preach at an Easter convention, if this is the last sermon you ever heard from my lips, then let it be said it was a word about Jesus. Ma'am Spurgeon, when he was stood at the ordination of a son, he looked down over the pulpit at a son, Charles, and he said, Son, preach Jesus up. Preach Jesus up. Let's lift Jesus up as free Presbyterians. Let's preach him up, preachers of the gospel. Let the world see that we have the blessed Son of God. And this knowledge will wrack apostasy. It'll split potpourri. It'll be, you know, the Roman church recently had a meeting to see how it could stop fundamentalists in the world. And they said, fundamentalists are the greatest menace to potpourri. I said, hallelujah. That's exactly what we intend to be. The greatest menace to potpourri. This is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Nothing can stop this message. It'll pull down temples. It'll destroy synagogues of Satan. This message will make redundant preachers that don't preach the gospel. May God help us all to dedicate our lives this day to the excellent knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. We're all going to stand to our feet, we're going to bow our heads, and we're going to sing that verse, My Jesus, I love Thee. And then we're going to have a prayer and then the evening meal will be served. My Savior, Lord God, in heav'n above I will love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, And praise Thee as long as I live. I know from my heart, I know from my heart, If ever I love Thee, my Jesus is Thine. Lord Jesus, we just whisper from a broken, contrite heart, Lord Jesus, I love Thee. I love thee for wearing the thorns of my brow. If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, tis now. May this word be indelibly imprinted in our hearts, and may we live our future days rejoicing that we have got the knowledge and intent in increasing that knowledge in our own hearts and among the sinful sons of men. By thy knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. It is by that that men are seen. Thank you for your presence and your help today, Lord. And I pray now that you will take our thanks for these good things provided for us. Help us to eat and drink to thy glory. Give us a tremendous climax tonight. Bless thy servants. Fill them both with the Holy Ghost. Thank you for them. Thank you for their friendship. And thank you for their steadfastness in Christ. And we pray tonight they may be the Lord's messengers in the Lord's message. And this may be a time of real fellowship and power. To God be the glory. Great things. he hath done, and the people of God sinned." you. you you you. you. you The End