With songs of worship Tell the wonders of creation's king Creation gazed upon his face The ageless wild in times of grace Unveiled the Father's plan of reconciling His blameless life would break the curse. His death would set us free to live with Him eternally. Hallelujah. Let all creation stand and sing. Hallelujah. Good morning, Layton Chapel Baptist Church. Go ahead and take our seats. We'll begin our service. Good to see all these smiling faces in the house this morning. Boy, I'm telling you what, if you miss Sunday school, what did the preacher always say? Shame on you. Yep, shame on you. Sunday school was good. Brother Rob Tart preached a wonderful message about how to find the will of God. And I strongly encourage you, if you miss that message, to please go to our Facebook page and watch it with your family. It will change your life. I love the word of God. I live for the word of God and I've never heard it so simply explained how to find the will of God. That's a rare that you get a sermon that applies to the child, the dads, the moms, the adults, the grandparents. It was wonderful. So welcome to Layton Chapel Baptist Church this morning. Isaiah Seymour will be leading our evening service this morning. He is preaching on looking forward to the coming, looking forward to the coming. Be in your place at six o'clock for that. This Wednesday evening at six o'clock, Harnett schools will begin classes on Wednesday. We're going to have a back to school bash. There's going to be a Bible study right here at six o'clock. Brother Dwayne Thurlow is going to be in charge of that. You ready Dwayne? Amen, airborne all the way, that's good. I'd also like to, we have a fellowship list out in the hallway, but in September we have, coming to Layton Chapel, Old Baptist Church exclusively, the Soup Championships of the World. Yes, of the world. Okay, CBS, NBC, Fox News, ESPN, they'll all be here. Okay, so we're going to have a sign-up sheet coming up, and if you think you can actually compete in the soup championship of the world, okay, please come and join us for that. And we're going to put a twist on it this year. We're going to put a twist on it. We're going to have an ice cream championship of The world. Okay, so we're gonna bring homemade ice cream. We're gonna have judges and tasting and prizes. It's gonna be a really, really good time. On Sunday, August 25th, we're gonna have a Sunday school open house at 9.30. That's August 25th at 9.30. We're gonna have a big breakfast here at Layton Chapel Baptist Church. If you don't come to Sunday school, invite somebody that does come to Sunday school. The start of our awana is Wednesday, September 4th. We're always looking for workers in Iwana. Ms. Lisa and Mr. Carl are in charge of Iwana. Of course, this morning they're working. But if you're interested in Iwana, see Brother Carl or Ms. Lisa. They're always looking for help. One of the best ministries that Layton Chapel Baptist Church has is Iwana's We Reach Boys and Girls, Men and Women with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Changes lives. It's wonderful. Next, let's see what's on my list. Today, very important. We are going to have, I should have announced it at Sunday school, I did not. We are going to have a love offering this morning for the Durham Rescue Mission. We appreciate them. We're glad to have them. I left my paper on the back to announce them. Dang, there's some paperwork on the back. Somebody in my chair. Isaiah, will you grab that? That's really embarrassing. I'm fired, Tim. Tim's going to kill me. Sorry, Tim. Don't tell Pastor John, OK? Oh. Pastor John, I am really sorry. I will bump my tithe to 14% if you let me stay, OK? Actually, it's higher than that because Pastor Steve Swagger made me pay more to come to church here. But anyways, ain't we having fun in God's house? We've got a love offering today for the Durham Rescue Mission. So open your hearts, open your pocketbooks, and give what you can. And it's not all about the money and monetarily. Pray for them. Pray for them. And we'll talk more about it when we introduce them later. But so that love offering will be at the end of the service. Brother Frank will take care of that. I'm looking around. Chief Benitez, would you open us up in prayer, please? Amen. Before I dismiss for Children's Church, I actually wrote down some things. I realize there's some of us out here who's never heard of or seen the Durham Rescue Mission. A few hands here, here, here, here. So let me tell you about the Durham Rescue Mission. The Durham Rescue Mission is in Durham, North Carolina. It's the oldest and longest long-term housing shelter providing food, clothing, permanent support housing, vocational training, biblical counseling, job placement, education, accountability, and much more to broken men and women, children in Durham. They do that 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Their motto is offering a helping hand up, not a hand out. It's a biblical-based ministry that takes men and women off the street. They probably encompass, what, four or five city blocks in Durham, okay? They have been going, again, for how many years, Brother Rob? It was created in 70- 50 years this year. 50 years this year. The founders were Ernie and Gail Mills. They opened up a little two-room house on a corner because that It's what they deemed the will of God for their life, and they did the best they knew. And they've changed thousands and thousands and thousands of lives by letting God work through them. The Durham Rescue Mission is a powerful place. I always say, if you want an automatic blessing, if there is such a thing, go serve at the Durham Rescue Mission. Layton Chapel Baptist Church is supportive of the Durham Rescue Mission. for approximately, the best I could figure, 34 years. I think the same time that we founded our missions program, Durham was the first or the second program that we've taken on. We've probably, has it been longer than that? Okay, yeah, Ms. Emily knows, yeah, we don't want to, Jesse will come down and haunt me, I don't want that. Jesse Benson was the one that led me to the Lord in the Old Church. October 29, 1995, Jesse Benson led me to the Lord here. But anyways, I need to pick it up. We've done a lot there. In conclusion, we welcome the Victory Choir. Thank you guys for coming. And the man who took over for Brother Ernie Mills, Reverend Rob Tart. I'm gonna go ahead and dismiss for Children's Church, so if you're in Children's Church, go ahead and find your way out. Brother Rob, make your way to the pulpit. Go ahead and take the rest of the service, and I'll come up and close us out in the end, please, sir. Let's give him a big hand. All right, I'm gonna ask Lynn to come forward. I didn't introduce earlier, Len has been at the Rescue Mission for, well he was at the Rescue Mission when I came to the Rescue Mission in 1995, he was a client then. And I always tell the story, he left us and he went to Winston-Salem to Piedmont Bible College, his name's changed so much now, I don't know what it is. But Piedmont Bible College, and I always joke around, he squeezed four years into six, and then he came back and he's, Been working with us since about 2003. He's been with us all these years. He's married. They've got two children. And he's been fighting cancer, but he's doing a good job, I think. The Lord's blessing him, and he's hanging in there. And then this is Aaron Salu. This is Bill Pano. Aaron Salud, he's been with us now how long, Aaron? Three years. And his father was a pastor in Mebane. And he was a preacher's kid. And he was in law enforcement for a number of years, right? And then he got his heart right with the Lord. And I had nothing to do with that. I think they were just burning him out. And we heard about him, and we hired him. We hired him to clean, just clean the buildings to start with. And now he's the, what's your title now, Aaron? Men's program director. Men's program director. It's changed about 14 times. He gets a promotion every two weeks, if you know what I mean. And we're just so thankful for these two gentlemen here being with us. So I'm going to turn the floor over, and they're going to sing three songs today and two testimonies, right? Yeah, all right. So Brother Len, you take over, and I'll come back up after that. Gosh, I guess we've been coming to Layton's Chapel Church, I know, at least since the 90s. First time I met him was at the Durham Rescue Mission. He came in, he did a catering for one of our meals. It was dinnertime. But he comes to the mission, he preaches for it. Well, one Thursday night, Brother Bill was running a little late, and it was April, the first. So I told the guys, we're going to play April Fool's with Brother Bill Penhall. So when he comes in, what we're going to do is we're going to sing the last song, the last stanza of this song, and then I'm going to dismiss you. So Bill walks into the chapel, and we start singing the last verse of that song. I don't remember the name of the song. And when they finish, Bill is still coming down the aisle. They finish and say, gentlemen, thank you, and have a good evening. And they stood up to leave. And Bill went, oh, come on! And that's how I met Brother Bill Penner. I was born August 18, 1954. I was born again August the 3rd, 1994, after doing rescue mission. I've been there since 1994, right there, the rescue mission. Rescue mission made me an encourager. I think I was the mission's very first encourager. I'm the first client that the Door to Rescue Mission put together a scholarship to send me off to Piedmont Bible College and I worked at the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission for a while and now I'm back here. Serving at the Duran Rescue Mission. Duran Rescue Mission also helped me get my certification in biblical counseling. It's called ACBC, formerly known as NAACP, National Association of Euthentic Counselors. Now it's called the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. I worked with the guys behind me in the Victory Program. They're in class five days a week, four hours a day. Biblical studies that every last one of them know Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior. You'll hear testimonies from them this morning. And one solo, well, no, actually two of them, Brother Clayton White will be coming forward at this time. And we're going to sing a song, Precious Lord. Take my hand, Brother Clayton White. When my way Oh, dear precious Lord, you're new in my life. When the dark disappears Oh, and the night draws near And the day is past and gone At the river I'll stand Hold my beak, guide my hand Take my hand Lord, take my hand. Lead me, oh, let me stand. I am tired. I am weak. I am poor. Through the storm, through the night, lead me, oh, to the light. Take my hand. Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, help me stand I am tired, I am weak, I am worn Through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light Take my hand Thank you. This first testimony we want to hear from a brother named Keith. I'm going to ask brother Keith to come forward at this time. And he's in our Victor program, about his third or fourth module. He's in his fourth module. We actually have six modules in our Victor program. Brother Keith, can you tell the church, how did you first come to learn of the Durham Rescue Mission? My wife had brought me up here. And what were the circumstances that led you to check into the Durham Rescue Mission? I was just out there in the world doing a lot of sin, bad stuff. You know, I ain't wanted to change my life and get right with the Lord. Now that you've been in the Victory Program, you all definitely say you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and the title of this next song is In Christ Alone. Chris, can you tell the church how you know for sure you're in Christ alone? I can feel it. I mean, I made all kind of, well, he's made all kind of changes in my life, you know what I mean? My family's proud of me, I'm proud of myself, you know what I'm saying? Do you have a prayer request, something that you would want church to pray for for you? Yeah, I've been having a lot of back pain here lately and I got to go to the doctor and have some stuff done and just pray the Lord to be with me and help me keep striving on and keep doing better and make a better change in my life. Thank you for your testimony. Again, the title of this next song is In Christ Alone. What heights of love, what gifts of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease, My Comforter. to find the power of Christ shall stay. This is brother Tony, Tony Bailey. Tony Bailey, what module are you in right now in the Victory Program? I'm going to my fifth one Monday. He's going to his fifth module coming Monday. Tony, can you tell the church, how did you first learn of the Doom Rescue Mission? I went to Chapel Hill Crisis Unit because my family passed and I went downhill. So that was the reason or that the circumstances that have caused you to check into the Doom Rescue Mission? Yeah. Do you have a prayer request, something that you would want the church to pray for, for you? Whoever don't know about God, I hope they find Him. Amen. Thank you, Tony, for your testimony. Once again, you'll hear from Brother Clayton White, and he's going to come forward at this time with a solo. ♪ God sent His Son. ♪ ♪ They called Him Jesus. ♪ ♪ He came to them. ♪ ♪ He'll then forgive. ♪ ♪ Oh, He lived and died ♪ ♪ to buy my pardon. ♪ My Savior lives, because He lives, I can praise tomorrow, because He lives. It's worth the living just because He lives. How sweet to hold a newborn baby and feel the pride and joy This child can face uncertainties because he lives. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. It's worth the living just because he lives. Oh, and then one day I'll cross that river. I'll fight life's final, life's final war with pain. I'll see victory. I'll see the lights of glory. And I'll know He reigns because He lives. I can face tomorrow because He lives. My life, oh, it's worth the living just because he lives. I'm going to go ahead and dismiss the choir. And the next person here to sing a solo will be Brother Aaron Shalom. here this morning and to get to meet the wonderful people here at Leighton. Leighton Chapel has been a really good service so far. I enjoyed the Sunday School message this morning and I love getting to meet people that support the Durham Rescue Mission. I found out about the Durham Rescue Mission when I was visiting my father. By the way, my wife is a pastor's kid, too, so our house is all messed up. No, I'm just kidding. I was at my father-in-law's church visiting because he said, hey, there's some people going to be at our church tonight. This was, my goodness, 24 years ago. There's going to be people in our church tonight that really think you want to meet. And I got to come to Five Forts Baptist Church in Cedar Grove, North Carolina, and hear the Victory Choir. And I found out that God was doing an amazing work in Durham, North Carolina. I had no clue. And I never dreamed that some 20-odd years later that the Lord would give me the privilege of serving with Reverend Tartt and serving in the ministry there. But it's been amazing. I actually had hair. No, I did not have hair when I started there. But I felt like if I'd had, that I would have pulled it out by now. But it's also been a tremendous blessing to be able to serve. But we talk to these men and women and children that come in all the time, and they have so many of just a vast array of things that have gone wrong. And they're looking for answers. And my dad used to say, you know, everybody that you come in, that you meet in life is looking for answers. And then we get the opportunity to show them that we have the answer. And no matter what you're going through in life, no matter where you've been, no matter where you're headed, I can tell you, I know the answer because Jesus is still the answer. Some men try so hard to prove that God's not really real. While others say they know for sure His love is real. And Jesus is still the answer for that longing deep in your soul. Jesus is still the answer though time and ages roll. I know Jesus is still the answer He's always been and always will be Some men say the things of this world Have bought them peace of mind But with the dawn of each new day Oh Jesus is still the answer, even though time and ages roll. Jesus is still the answer, He's the answer for your soul. Jesus is still the answer. Jesus is still the answer. I know Jesus is still the answer. He's always been and always will be. your brother, Aaron. I can echo one of the things he said. I really, I did have hair when I started at the Durham Rescue Mission. If you've got your Bibles turn to Colossians chapter 2 with me if you would. While you are turning there I want to make an announcement that the Durham Rescue Mission will be having our banquet celebrating our 50th anniversary, our 50th birthday September 26th. And if you would like to go, I need your name. I don't remember how many names you're coming with. And we would love to have you come. And Layton's Chapel's been such a strong partner with the Durham Rescue Mission now for really many, many, many years. And I honestly don't know. I just said to Miss Benson, I was speaking here back in the old church. I don't remember what year it was, plus 25 years. I've been at the mission 29 years. It wasn't long after I came to the mission, and I happened to look up our record for when we had first donation from Latham Chapel Baptist Church. And I mentioned it in the pulpit over there in that little white building. And Jesse Benson piped up and said, no, it's been longer than that. We started way back. And he said when they started. I said, bro, that's far back as a computer went. There's probably some records on paper somewhere that had it back further. I didn't go back and look, if you know what I mean. All right, so can we just take a moment and pray for brother and sister Chancey, pastor? I mean, I don't know all the details what's going on there, but I know it ain't good and I know they need our prayers. Let's just take a moment and pray for them. Dear father, we thank you for pastor. Chancy and his dear wife, we thank you for the faithfulness they've been to this church for all these years, even longer than they've been the pastor. Lord, I don't always understand what your hand is doing in the life of us, Lord, but I know your heart is good towards us. And I pray that they're able to feel your heart in spite of the circumstances they're going through. I ask your mercy and your blessings on them and bless this church. Help them to be an encouragement and to bear their weight, Lord. And this we pray in Jesus' name, amen. So let's look at Colossians chapter 2, I'm going to read verses 4-10. It says, And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in flesh, yet am I with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and build up in Him, established in the faith. As you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him, that's in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. I've already prayed, but I'm gonna pray again. Lord, ask your blessings on your word. Help us to be faithful to it. In Jesus' name, amen. I want to talk to you about a subject today that, unfortunately, some Christians find offensive, somewhat offensive. Let me say this from the beginning. It is not my objective to offend anyone in this room. It is not my objective. However, this subject that I'm talking about today is something that's been a passion of mine for over 30 years. Matter of fact, it's probably the main reason I came to the Durham Rescue Mission 29 years ago. Because when I talked to Ernie Gale Mills and I understood that they believed the same thing I do about this subject, I sensed that this was the Lord saying, hey, this may be an open door for you. Because we are in agreement on the subject. Some people call it the sufficiency of Christ. The title of my sermon this morning is In Christ Alone. You heard the song, In Christ Alone. Very famous song, popular song. Perhaps you've sung it. But let me ask you this, what does it mean when we speak of Christ alone? If you're speaking to someone who is thinking about becoming a Christian, and I'm assuming this person is thinking about becoming a Christian, and they wanted to know, why should I become a Christian? What's the benefit of becoming a Christian? What would you say? I've had that question asked of me a few times. My fear is that in today's world, you ask three different Christians, what is the benefit of coming to Christianity, coming to Christ, you'll probably get four or five different answers from three different people. because it's not really clear. There seems to be a widespread confusion by those who present themselves as purveyors of Christianity and the benefits of it. Just exactly what it is does Christianity offer us? What are we buying, if you will, that's a bad way to put it, but what are we buying when we come to Christ? Some people say he offers health and wealth, success, peace, peace of mind, certain level of tranquility, promise of a better life, a better job, fulfillment of all your dreams, desires, a better career. I think that's fairly often presented in the modern church world, particularly upon television preachers and those that are very famous in this area. I think the overall general sense of Christianity in America today is that it offers you pretty much anything you want. Whatever makes you happy, whatever satisfies you, whatever fulfills your ambitions, your desires, your dreams. This is how Christianity is often sold. I would suggest that this is a confusing message and an unbiblical message. It is not only in biblical, but it lays out a complex answer to what should be a simple answer to a question. What does Christianity offer us? I can answer this question in two words, and this will sum it all up. What Christianity offers us, what the gospel offers us is Jesus Christ. And it amazes me at how many people find this shocking. Again, I do not mean to offend anyone with what I'm trying to say here. I think the surpassing theme of scripture, the surpassing theme of the New Testament, is that we receive Christ when we come to faith. And for those who don't have Christ, I mean no harm with what I'm about to say, but you have nothing. But for those of you who do have Christ, you have everything. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear. In chapter 10, verse 14 through 18, I'm not gonna read that right now. But there he says to us that Christ makes us perfect before the Father. The apostle Paul, in writing the letter of the first Corinthians, sums it up with this in chapter one, verse 30. I'll just read it to you. He says, but of him are ye in Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. When we have Christ in us, he is wisdom, he is righteousness, he is sanctification, and he is redemption. Can you imagine having all wisdom at your fingertips? All the benefits of wisdom, divine wisdom, not street wisdom or street knowledge or anything like that. All righteousness, the reality of righteousness. What does this mean? Do you know why you get angry at things sometimes? Because you're mad that something's not righteous. He did me wrong. You don't like that political party because they're not right. They're not righteous. In Christ, there is righteousness for us. And all sanctification. What is sanctification? Sanctification is being separated from sin unto holiness. Holiness is what we need. 95% of your problems can be solved in the doctrine of sanctification. Wish I had time to go into that this morning. I don't, but that's what the Victory Program is all about. And redemption. we have redemption in Christ and all that it means. In Ephesians 1, verse three, again, this is not my text, but in Ephesians 1, verse three, we are told, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. There's little wonder why Paul would go on to say later in 1 Corinthians 2, for I am determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ. He has given us all these blessings in heavenly places. And Paul says, I don't want to know anything but Jesus Christ and what that means. We have only one message. and that is Christ. We tell sinners that they can have a relationship with Christ, and in that relationship with Christ, they will receive what it is that they need, spiritual blessings, heavenly blessings. However, in the name of Christianity, in the name of the gospel, in the name of the church, and in the name of evangelism, people are told all kinds of things and promised all kinds of things that have nothing to do with the gospel. And this significantly diminishes Christ. To understand the centrality of Christ, you can go almost anywhere in the New Testament. But for today, we're looking at Colossians chapter two. This entire letter that we read here in Colossians, there assumes to be a beleaguered people. In Paul's mind, it's like he's dealing with this beleaguered people who are being convinced by somebody else that Christ alone is not enough for their reconciliation to God. Christ wasn't sufficient, that they needed more. I say this because this entire letter is arguing for the sufficiency of Christ. We see the insufficiencies of Christ. We don't hear what they're saying in terms of diminishing Christ, but we hear how Paul is building up Christ. And what do we see in these deficiencies? We see human philosophy or human wisdom. We see legalism as expressed in ceremony and ritualism and externalism. We see mysticism, that is the denial of empirical evidence of God and somehow some perceived unseen reality that only the few, the proud can see. And then we see asceticism, the idea that God is pleased by your suffering. Let me make something very clear. God is not pleased when you suffer. And when you sin, God doesn't just beat you up because you've sinned and punish you here on this life. He sometimes corrects his children as we all correct our children. The book of Romans makes it very clear, there hath now no condemnation taken. He doesn't condemn us twice. And if we're saved, he doesn't condemn us at all. They're all arguing that Christ alone is not enough. They need the legalism. They need the asceticism. They need the human philosophy. They need the mysticism. And although these things happened a long time ago, I want to suggest that not a lot has changed in the past 2,000 years. We still hear these same voices. And I'll tell you a little story a little later what I mean. But people are arguing we need Christ plus philosophy or human wisdom. We need a special moving of the spirit or we don't have everything that is in Christ. and we can go on and on, nothing has really changed. And at the rescue mission, we see people coming to faith quite regularly, but unfortunately, they bring in this extra baggage of beliefs that they've been taught from their grandmother, whoever, and I would suggest it spoils their Christian walk, at least hinders it for a time, until they can get it straight, or if they never get it straight, they don't. My hope for you today is that when we leave today, you have a greater appreciation for Christ. We have a great appreciation for what you've been given. So for our first point today, I want you to notice verse eight of Colossians chapter two. This point is don't be taken captive. My first point is don't be taken captive. In verse eight, Paul says, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. This word spoiled we need to pay attention to. It's here it speaks of robbing you of your freedom or taking you captive. This is when human opinion becomes equal to or superior to that of the word of God. Thus limiting your trust in Christ and leaving you to trust in your own self and your own wisdom. But one thing we must know is that there is no human solution to spiritual problems. There are no human insights that take the place of the Bible, at least not satisfactorily. That is to say that there is nothing necessary for your life, your eternal life, and your godliness that the Bible doesn't give you that you've got to go somewhere else to get. You can take all the philosophers of the world that's ever known, the ancient ones, the modern ones, the authors, the writers, the playwrights, the movie producers, the talk show hosts, the psychologists, the sociologists, the religious leaders, and you can put them all together and it doesn't come close to what you already have in Christ and in his word. What we need is the explanation of God's word, not just someone's ideas about God's word. Unfortunately, these things replace Christ in Christianity. Most things sold as philosophy really aren't even philosophy at all. They're just ways to ratify sin. You could call it a new age philosophy today that doesn't appeal to your reason. There's nothing wrong with appealing to reason. The Bible in Isaiah tells us, come now, let us reason together. There's nothing wrong with using human reason to comprehend the reality in front of us. But when we ratify sin, Through human reason, we are no longer reasoning, we are just trying to condone something we want to do. Philosophy, and even much of psychology, is used to rationalize sin. Unfortunately, and I say this, I don't mean this as a slam or anything, they can't even figure out what a girl and a boy is, but they want to tell us how we ought to live our lives. And that we need something more. and then they'll call us weird when we don't listen to them. I want you to listen to 1 Corinthians 1. You're welcome to turn, I'm gonna read it to you though. 1 Corinthians 1, I'm gonna read verses 19 through 25. Here's what the Lord says about human wisdom. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God. It pleased God, listen to this, by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I want to stop there, I'm not finished, but I wanted you to notice what God just said. This world is coming at us from every direction. They're coming at us from academia. They're coming at us politically. They're coming at us through entertainment. They're coming at us through every institution we got. But they cannot stand to hear a man of God preach Jesus Christ alone. It bothers them to no end. They had tried to infiltrate the church, and I think in some ways they have, but praise God, there is still a light of God's word in some churches today, and I thank God for Layton's Chapel Baptist Church. Verse 22, for the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks, or everybody else that's not a Jew, foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. God has given us the wisdom and the insight that we need to live a life he wants us to live, and to live godly. There always seems to be this element in Christianity that says we need to be up to date. We need to know the best practices. We need something more than just boring Christianity and boring preaching. I think I see this more than the average preacher. Not that I'm doing more than the average preacher. I think it's just the nature of my work. I see a lot of churches. I see a lot of ministries. I meet a lot of people, ministry leaders and whatever. I'm still shocked at what some people want to say. For example, in today's world, drunkenness and addiction is considered a medical condition. Therefore, I'm constantly being confronted by some who want to ask me questions like this. What are you doing for your clients medically and their addictions? How are you addressing their psychological needs? How are you doing all this? Issues like medical assisted treatment. Anybody ever heard of MAT, medical assisted treatment? That's when you give an addict a little bit of drugs and your objective is just to keep them off the side of the road. And you maintain them. What are you doing for psychological assessments? What are you doing in your latest version of the recovery programs? And it goes on and on. And when I look at them and I tell them all we have to offer them is Christ and Christ alone, I am a fool. I am a fool. I kid you not. There's a conference room behind my office. And I thought I was very fortunate. I was, this was not long after Ernie Mills retired. And I was able to get up with a group of this preaching, you know, they had these fellowship of preachers. 12 preachers agreed to come over to the rescue mission. I'd never seen the rescue mission before. We're sitting there, it was actually a few others. It was 12 preachers and a few other people. And we met after I walked around, showed them all around the mission, oh, they're all excited, blah, blah, blah, blah. And one guy looked at me and he said, tell me about your recovery programs. Well, I didn't really understand exactly what he was asking for at first. I started telling him about our victory program. We don't call it a recovery program. We call it a victory program, because recovery and victory is not the same thing. And so I started telling him about the victory. And he said, no, no, I'm not asking about that. I want to know about your recovery program. You mean the idea that a guy is once a drunk, always a drunk, and he'll never be over being a drunk? Yeah, that's what we mean. No, we don't have that kind of program. Every one of those 12 preachers, about six of them got up and walked out after I said that. Not one of them even considered supporting Durham. Some of them were polite. It shocked me. I'm like, I was dumbfounded when I told him that in Christ alone, this is what we preach, this is what we offer these men, that it's a one-step program. that we get saved and Christ comes in us and he changes us by his spirit and by his word. This is news to many people today. I am shocked at how newsworthy this is. And I realize there are things that are kind of shady that, you know, do we go to the doctor for this or do we go to Christ for this? Listen, where the scripture says this is sin and the world says it's not sin, it's something else, we've got to make a choice. Do we believe Christ, or do we believe this world? 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9-10 says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? And then he goes on and lists, I don't remember, 10-12 different sins, one of which is drunkenness. Some is homosexuality, some is actually transgender, and these different things. He lists them all, and then you get to verse 11, and it says, And such were some of you. Meaning they are no longer a drunk. They are no longer a transgender. They are no longer homosexual. They are no longer these things. They've been saved. They've been washed. They've been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. And this is found in Christ. Only in Christ do we find the promise that you can not only be redeemed, but reformed in this world too. This is news. I'm telling you, it's news to people. It's shocking. And I've had people get mad at me when I say these things. All we have to offer people is Christ. Just to give you another illustration, this past June I went to a rescue mission conference. It's the oldest and largest rescue mission conference in the country. It's over 100 years old, probably about 110 years old now, I'm not sure. exactly how old it is right now. Today, they call it CityGate. When I first started the rescue mission, it was called the International Union of Gospel Rescue Missions. Somewhere along the way, they changed the name to Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. And then about, I don't know, four or five years ago, they changed it to CityGate because they wanted to expand to agencies outside of just rescue missions. And unfortunately, dropping the gospel from their name, I'm afraid they dropped it from their programs. This past June, They are coming out with a feature film. It's going to be in theaters. It's in just a few months. It'll be coming out. It's called Americans With No Address. It's all about homelessness. It's all about the causes of homelessness and solutions for homelessness. And they were very excited. And having this feature film, the guy that's the main actor in it, I can't remember his name. They called him Ty. Do you remember that show? It was on Sunday nights. I remember this. That they would build a house every week or remodel the house every week. Remember that show? The guy on there named Ty? He's a drunk, by the way. He's the main guy in there. He's a homeless guy in the film. And what they showed us was a documentary about how they made the film, not the film itself. I was sitting there, I watched it. I never heard anybody say anything about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I never heard anything. And when I walked out of it, I started walking down the hall. I met a colleague. He actually wasn't a rescue mission guy. He's a vendor there. There's a lot of vendors there trying to sell their wares to rescue mission people. And his name is Pat. Great friend of, I count him as a great friend. Ironically, my wife babysat his children 40 years ago, whatever it was. And so, I mean, we've got some connection from long back. He come up to me and he didn't attend the meeting that showed the documentary. He says, so what'd you think of that new film? And I looked at him and said, Pat, you know what I think this organization has come to? I said, what? I said, to these people, recovery is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And their doctrine of sanctification is psychological treatment. The only purpose of the gospel in their mind is it inspires you to make good decisions and to go get help. But I don't think they have a clue what it means to be redeemed by the blood of the lamb. It's amazing. For many people today, the gospel is not about deliverance from sin, not about holiness, but it's about living a better life now. When I hear this, I think about the next chapter, don't turn it, well you're welcome to turn it, Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4, listen to what it says here. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. We're not about this life, this is not our home. This is just, we're just pilgrims passing through. where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above and not things on the earth, for ye were dead and your life was hid in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. The point is that the gospel isn't just about now. It's about eternity. This is the main thing. If we help our clients, because really, this is just a fraction of the clients. We're averaging 500 a day now, or more. This past January, we had 593, wasn't it, a couple of nights there? I remember when we built the Center for Hope back in 2013, I actually said to the mills, this thing's too big. We'll never fill this thing up. Boy, I was wrong. I mean, it just doesn't matter what we build. There's more coming. But if we help our clients get sobriety from their addictions, if we help them to get a great job, we help them to get a great home. But if they never come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and they die and go to hell, then the Durham Rescue Mission has failed. Matthew 16, 26, our Lord said, for what is man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I'm all for people getting better jobs. I'm all for people getting over their addictions. And we see a lot of people doing that. But that's not what we're all about. That's not our goal. So what is our goal? Our goal is to warn people of the wrath to come, as John the Baptist did. And then to tell them of the solution to that wrath, which is Jesus Christ. We also want to help them get their feet under them and get a life on this earth, but that's secondary. We also want to warn them of the pitfalls that are in this world that we're reading about today. See, Paul is actually giving us a warning in this text. We are being warned about neglecting Christ for the things of this world. Look at verse eight again with me. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudimentary things of the world, and not after Christ. This idea of beware here is a continually being aware. It's not just a one-time event. It's constantly, the rest of your life, you have to beware of the wiles of the devil. Beware of what? Beware of being spoiled, as we mentioned. It describes being captured. It's used in some cases outside of the biblical language in other writings. It's used to describe kidnappings, plundering a house, or seducing a maid, or taking captives in war. Paul uses this same word in Galatians chapter 5. Stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled," that's the word, again with the yoke of bondage. We are to live in the liberty of Christ and not get caught up in the foolishness of this world and the entrapments of this world. So how do we keep guard about this? By trusting in the complete salvation of Christ. Look at verses 9 and 10 of Colossians 2. For in him, that's in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. I want you to contemplate, what does it mean, for in him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily? I don't know that I can wrap my brain around this idea. Completely, anyway. But Paul gives us a little help in verse three. It says that in him, that's in Christ, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Do you want to be a person that is knowledgeable and wise? This is not promising that you will be all wisdom and knowledge, but it's promising you are at the fingertips of the guy who is. It's promising that he who is everything is in you. That's why it says in verse 10 that you are complete in Him. Have you ever felt incomplete? I think we all have. We've all felt incomplete, particularly when you were young and in school, and you looked at other people, and they're always perfect. I think it's worse now than it was because of social media, because people look on social media, and all they present is how perfect everything is, and you don't see that they stink too, they have pimples, they have everything, but that's all covered up when they put it on the screen, right? And you're measuring yourself against that, and you're feeling incomplete. Biblical word, incomplete. Secular word, low self-esteem. How does the world deal with the low self-esteem? We sit there and we try to tell them they're great, they're wonderful, everything's beautiful, and they're not buying it, they don't believe you. You can tell them that all you want till you're blue in the face, they're not going to buy it. Because they recognize that we all have failed, we all have lied, we all have cheated, we've all done dishonorable things. However, in Christ, When he comes into us, this is a game changer. Without Christ, we are nobody. But in Christ, we have spiritual gifts. In Christ, we have a calling, as we discussed this morning. We have a calling from God. In Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding, teaching, confronting us, comforting us, and calling us, and gifting us to whatever God has called us to do. And we have the best instructions there ever were on marriage and raising children, by far. There was once this very young and rich guy. I'm going to tell you a story. And when I say rich, he's Bill Gates rich. He's Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk type rich. And he was on one of his beach homes one day, and walking across the beach, and he happened to hit something in the sand, and he pulled it up. It was a genie bottle. He picked up the bottle, looked at it, and out popped a genie. The genie was all excited. He said, you have three wishes. And the rich guy said, oh, thanks, but I'm good. He's rich. He doesn't need anything this genie's got. He says, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. You got three. Every time a genie popped out, they were all excited. They got three witches. This guy, he's Bill Gates type rich. This genie has nothing to offer him. So he said, just go help somebody else or get back in the bottle. Leave me alone. And the genie says, no, you don't understand. There's rules to this thing. You're the one who got the bottle. You've got to give me three wishes, or I can't get back in the bottle. The guy's like, no. He tries to argue with him, and he finally figures out, the best thing I can do is give this guy three wishes to make him go away. And he says, OK, all right, so I'll give you three wishes. All right, so wish number one, give me a billion dollars. OK, it's in your bank account now. And he's out there thinking, oh, boy, how am I going to explain to the IRS where this billion dollars come from? So then he said, second wish. Give me a 10,000 square foot house. Okay, 10,000 square foot house, paperwork's in the mail. He said, okay, I've given you wishes, go away. He says, no, you gotta get three. He says, I don't want them. You gave me a billion dollars, give me a big house, what else is there? He says, I don't care, just make any wish that I can help, and I'll go away, I'll never bother you again. So the rich guy said, okay, build me a bridge between California and Hawaii. And the genie said, oh man, That's kind of hard. He said, look, it's no problem coming up with materials. I can build the top. But under the water, there's all these mountains and valleys. I've got to engineer all that stuff. It's going to take some time. Can't you come up with something easier than that? And the rich guy said, OK, give me the capacity to understand women. Genie reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and said, how many lanes you want on that bridge? Now we chuckle at that, because the world tells us we can never understand women. Doesn't it tell us that? I want you to look, and I want you to turn there, to 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3. In 1 Peter 3, the first six verses give instructions to the wives who have disobedient husbands, who are not living right. But in verse 7, 1 Peter 3, verse 7, the Bible instructs husbands, likewise ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge. You know what that means? Husbands know your wives. Giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker, or the weaker is probably not a good word for us today, unto the more delicate vessel. She's more delicate than you are. As being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. The world tells us, you can never understand women. God not only tells us we can, he commands us to. And what he commands us to, he enables us to. How many people sit here and say, you can never understand women? They have been spoiled. They have been taken away. They have been captured. We need to reject the wisdom of the world. And that's a ridiculous example. I get it. But that's the kind of thing that goes on. In Christ, he's given us everything we need for life and godliness, and we can be content with what it is he's given us, if we understand that he's in control of all things. Many people think that religion is just a system of rules to manipulate its followers, and there is no doubt that happens in some cults and false religions. But in Christ, we're not just manipulating, we are changed. We are not what we once were. when Christ is in us. It's not just some religious manipulation. This is why Paul, back to Colossians chapter two, verse 16, he says this, let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of new moon or of Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. What's he saying there? He's saying, listen, I get it. There are people trying to manipulate you with religion. They're talking about new moons and Sabbath days and you got to keep these rules and you got to do this, you got to do all that in order to be pleasing to God. Let me make something very clear. You can never be religious enough to be pleasing to God. It will never happen. Verse 18, let no man beguile you, trick you. of your reward in involuntary humility in the worshiping of angels, entreating into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind." Apparently there are people walking around, they're worshiping angels, or probably demons is probably a better way to describe it, and they're all puffed up because mystically they say they know something that you don't know, but if you've listened to them and follow them. You can be super Christian or something more. You'll have more of what Christ offers you. You know, this is exactly what Satan offered Eve. Do you remember the story of Satan? He, you shall be as God. He was arguing that you don't have everything that God has for you. There's something more, which is the lie Satan's been using all along. No, no, it is Christ and Christ alone that we need. Paul is warning us against these manipulations. He is warning us against this false mysticism that God told me. I can't tell you how many times over these years I've been at the rescue mission. Someone calls, comes knocking on the door. They come up and they say, the Lord told me that I'm supposed to come to the men at the rescue mission and tell them this, tell them that, tell them the other. On more than one occasion, I've looked at them and I've said, listen, I talk to God every day. all. I don't believe God told you something that, you know, is outside of the Word of God. Something that only you got. If you did, then you need to have some miracles confirming that you are some kind of prophet. Because every time God was writing Bible, this is We can establish this. Every time God added another book to the Bible, another section to the Bible, there was a prophet there with confirmation of miracles. And I don't mean just some guy with a bad back getting, standing up straight again. You know, I mean the Red Seas parting open and, and, and, you know, something beyond just, just some other thing like that. We are to avoid all this mysticism. And if you look down at verses 20 through 23, he's dealing with asceticism. Look at verse 20. It says, Wherefore, if ye be dead in Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, ye are subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, that which is to perish with things using, after the commandments and the doctrines of men, which things have indeed a show of wisdom, and will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor in the satisfying of the flesh. What he's saying there, why are you sitting there I don't mean any harm what I'm about to say, okay? Forgive me, I'm trying not to offend anybody. I've had people sit there and say, well, if you were fasting more, you would get, you know. Listen, I've fasted, I've done that. But I heard a preacher one time say, I want you to notice something about Jesus. It says, after 40 days and 40 nights, remember when he fasted 40 days and 40 nights? It said, after 40 days and 40 nights, he got hungry. It wasn't that he was starving himself for 40 days and 40 nights. He was so consumed with the will of his father. He wasn't even hungry. People fast when someone dies because they're not hungry. They're mourning for that loss. And yes, they fast, but it's not some religious ritual where we can poke God around and make him do what we want to do. That's not how it works. He is the sovereign. He is the king. He is the Lord of lords and master of all. We are the subjects. We are the followers and we follow him in what he tells us to do. He comes in us and the father blesses the son. We just happen to be in the way. If there's any blessings upon you, it's not because you've done something good, you've done something better, you're better looking, you're taller, you're smarter. It's not because of something you've done. It's only because of his son and what he did on the cross that we have any blessings at all. And anything other than that is human and fleshly and will end sadly. How do I get this relationship with Jesus Christ? me for being so long. But I've got to close with this. Turn, if you would, to Genesis chapter 2 and verse 17. Genesis 2 and verse 17. Very familiar passage. It says, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this is God speaking to Adam and Eve. Or Adam. Eve is not created at this point. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that you eat it thereof, thou shalt surely die. God told Adam, you can eat anything here you want, but don't eat off that one tree. He couldn't even obey that. But he said, you'll die. In the day, you'll die. Did he fall over dead and stop breathing? The answer is no. He lived to be some 900 years old. But he died that day in the most literal sense of death in that he was separated from God. You see, prior to that moment, he and God could talk face to face. But after that moment, there was a separation between man and God. We have been separated from him ever since. We cannot see God. We cannot smell, taste. We can't talk to God. We are separated from God. Eternal separation from God is a place called hell, a literal place called hell. But to be saved is to be reconciled to God, for God is life. How do we get back to that point of reconciliation to God? I want you to imagine with me, if you will, there's a piece of paper in heaven with your name at the top. And somewhere on that piece of paper, I'll hold up one of these. Pretend you can't see any ink, it's just a white piece of paper. Every time you sin, someone's writing down a little check mark for your sin. When you stand before your maker one day, you're gonna have to hold up this piece of paper, and anything less than perfection, There can't be one dot on your paper. Anything less for perfection will send you to hell. One sin will send you to hell. One sin separated God and Adam. Let's pretend you can go back and fix a few of you. You can unsay some words that you said. You can't unsay words, can you? You might ask forgiveness from this guy. You might pay that guy back. But there are children conceived in sin that cannot be unconceived. Those acts cannot be undone. They cannot be redeemed in and of yourself. What God did on the cross some 2,000 years ago was he took whosoever will's piece of paper, and he got your paper with your name on it with all your sins, even the sins you're yet to commit. When he died for your sins, how many sins had you actually committed? You weren't even around. He died for your sins from birth to death, all of your sins. And he stands before the judge and he says, I am guilty of these things. Oh, I take the guilt for these things. And now he offers to you or whosoever will, his piece of paper that has nothing on it. Hebrews chapter four, verse 15. He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. He did not sin. He should not have died. Why did he die? Because you killed him with your sins, and I did too. But he offers to us this perfect righteousness where we can stand before the Father in judgment, no condemnation, zero condemnation. How do we appropriate that piece of paper? How does it come into our life? I'll tell you what I told my father. Just two days before he died. He died about four miles that way. Straight down 210, just before you get to the Cumberland County line. Turn left on San Clay Road, first house on the right. He was sitting there. It was clear he was in hospice care. He was under a lot of pain. He sat in a rocking chair. I should say a recliner. He sat in his recliner. He was sitting there for hours, just like that. Every time he moved, he hurt. So he tried not to move. And we knew the end was near. He knew the end was near. And he asked a question. I remember how we got started. We started talking. I looked at him. I said, Daddy, do you know how it is God saves a man? He's sitting there like this. He lifted up his eyes and he said, I know how to be saved. I said, that ain't what I asked you, Daddy. I said, do you know how it is that God actually saves a man? He said, I don't know what you're talking about. took him to Genesis 15. You're welcome to go to Genesis 15 now. So, I want to show you how God saves a man. Here we see an episode with a guy named Abram. Later he would be called Abraham. I'm going to read the first five verses. My point will be in verse 6. It says, after these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. I want to stop there just a moment. God just made Abram a promise. Keep that in mind. Verse two, and Abram said, Lo, God, Lord God, what would thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eleazar of Damascus, neighbor and said, behold, to me thou has given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is my heir. Stop there. This is a strange conversation. God comes up to him and says, I'm your shield and great reward. And he says, hold on, God. I don't have any children. Seems like a strange request, strange answer. I don't really know what's going on in their head, but I do know this, back in chapter 12, God promised Abraham a whole lot of children. A whole lot of children. I think what's going on here is Abraham is saying, hold on God, you just promised me to be my shield and reward, but back in chapter 12, you promised a bunch of children. You haven't come through on chapter 12's promise yet, how am I supposed to believe this one in chapter 15? Keep reading. Verse four, and behold, the word of the Lord came into Abram, saying, this shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And God brought Abram forth abroad and said, look now towards heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, so shall thy seed be. Stop there. Have you ever tried to count the stars? You can't do it. Every telescope we make better than the last telescope sees more stars than we saw before. We've never gotten to the point where we've exhausted all the stars. There's still stars out there that we haven't seen yet. You can't count them all. He's making a picture here. So shall thy seed be. And here's the point, verse six. And Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord God counted to him for righteousness. You are saved or lost based upon the promises that you believe. Abram believed the promises of God and it was counted to him for righteousness. He got that white, that clear piece of paper that righteousness imputed him by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ. By believing the promises of God. I looked at my father and I said, God saves a man by the promises that he believes. My dad looked at me and said, son, I've been believing the promises of God. most of my whole life. I said, I know you have, Dad. That's why I know I'll see you in heaven. Not because you've been a good man, but because you built your life on the promises of God. If we're going to build our life, you're all building a house. Jesus called it a wise man built his house upon a rock and a foolish man built his house upon the sand. Those are the promises you're building your life on. What are you building them on? Are you building them on Christ or some wisdom from this foolish world? This is exactly what Eve did. Satan came down to her and said, you don't understand. God's holding something back from you. You will be as God. He made a promise to her. You will be as God. And she believed his promise and led us into a lot of misery. The reverse of that is the same thing. Stop believing the promises of Satan and start believing the promises of God. This righteousness will be imputed to you. Christ can come into you. All wisdom and all righteousness and all mercy and everything good, everything you need is by building and believing in the promises of God. I've heard people say, I don't have to go to church to be a Christian. Well, if you don't know the promises of God, how are you going to believe them? I'd like every head bowed and every eye closed. Aaron, can you go to the piano? I got one question for you. How many of you in this room right now, by raise of hand, can say, I am, right now, tonight, today, building, I believe the promises of God. I'm building my life on the promises of God. By raise of hand, can you give testimony? I'm building my life on the promises of God. Amen, you can put them down. There's a significant number of people in this room that did not raise their hand for whatever reason. Maybe you didn't understand the question. Maybe you are missing. I don't know. But I don't doubt there may be somebody in this room