if you would please, to the book of Philemon. The book of Philemon. Find the big book of Hebrews. Go back to the left. You might as well just put your Bible marker ribbon there. We're going to be there for a while, alright? And there's so much in this little book. It's amazing. So glad to be with you. I have some anniversary announcements to make tonight. A few prayer requests I'll share. They're very important. I spoke with Brother Ronnie. Many of you know Judy Andrews. She had her aorta to rupture over this past week. They did emergency surgery on Friday. She's holding her own. I talked to Ronnie in between services, and the doctors are hopeful. So let's just continue to pray for them if we could, all right? The book of Philemon. Well, you know what? You may not be familiar with the name of a man by the name of Edward Teach or Thatch, but you are familiar with the name Blackbeard. Matter of fact, Blackbeard was the most feared and famous pirate to ever sail the waters off the coast of the Carolinas and, of course, down into the Caribbean during what was called the Golden Age of Piracy in early colonial America. He had a notorious vessel called Queen Anne's Revenge. It sported 40 guns. And you would think that he had a long pirating career, but really it was cut short when he was killed in a battle with the British Navy in 1718. Really only about two years was he raiding along the coast and ships. But it was interesting, he was known for his terrifying appearance. I mean, he was tall, he was muscular, had a long black beard, of course you know black beard. And he would tie ribbons and then light fuses in his beard so that his beard would be sparkling in a battle. And I mean, he had almost a demonic look, a fierce demonic look. And a lot of times when the Queen Anne showed up, the flag went up, there's Blackbeard on his vessel, you know, and his face looks like it's on fire and smoking. He's got his sword brandished. A lot of ships, they'd just throw up the white flag of surrender. They wouldn't even put up a fight. Well, Blackbeard, during his short career, amassed an amazing fortune. It was a vast fortune of gold and silver and precious jewels, and most historians believe it's buried somewhere along the shores of North Carolina. Now, don't leave now. Alright, you can wait till after the service to try to find the treasure, Matt. Here's the interesting thing. It may be in the Caribbean. They don't know because nobody's ever found it. When they found the Queen Anne's wreckage off of the coast of Ocracoke Island, They found all kinds of artifacts, but no treasure. And for the last over 200 years, treasure hunters have been seeking Blackbeard's treasure only to come up disappointed and empty-handed. But I can promise you this. If you found it, you would have a moment of joy and a moment of happiness and all of that. But you know what? There's going to come a point when it will leave you empty and disappointed. Because nothing in this world lasts. No matter what size of fortune that you amass, no matter how much possessions and stuff you gain, it'll never fill the emptiness of the human heart. There's always something missing. I might let you in on something. It's not something, it's someone. You see, everything in this life is perishable. It's not going to last. But there is a treasure that is lasting. I mean, moth and rust can't corrupt it. Time can't tarnish it. Thieves can't steal it. I mean, friend, listen, it is a gratifying, satisfying treasure that will last not only in this life, but for all eternity. And it's found in the treasure chest of God's Word. This morning, in the little book of Philemon, we're going to discover two precious jewels. I'm going to look at one this week, and we're going to look at the other next week. Alright? Right here in the little book of Philemon, two precious jewels. Look if you would, verse number one. Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Note from a friend to a friend about a page in our New Testament, this little book, 25 verses, a little postcard from prison, Paul's writing to a man by the name of Philemon and Timothy, our brother unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer. into our beloved Apphia." Now we've learned that that is Philemon's wife. She's a godly woman. She has a heart for God, a heart for the church, because they meet in their home. And Archippus, many scholars, many Bible commentators you read, believe Archippus because he's named after Apphia, what was their son. Now we don't know that for sure. What we do believe is that he is the pastor of the church there in Colossae where they live and that meets in their house. And it's interesting, this is a personal letter, but it wasn't just written to Philemon, it was written to the entire congregation. How do you know that? Because he says, and to the church in thy house. And so he had something not just to say to Philemon, he had something to say to everybody, and he had something to say to you and me this morning. Look at verse 3. Here's our jewels. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Two treasures. You ought to underline them in your Bible. I did in mine. Grace and peace. Now, two treasures that only God has, but all of us need it. I need it. You need it. Everybody in the world needs it. All right? Now, verse 3 is the usual greeting of Paul. As a matter of fact, it was a familiar Christian greeting in that day, grace and peace. In almost all of Paul's letters, all of his epistles, he's going to say grace and peace. Sometimes he's going to add mercy in there. As a matter of fact, when he writes to the two preachers, Timothy and Titus, He adds mercy because he knows us preachers need a little mercy every once in a while, alright? But it's interesting that this is a personal note, and while this is the usual greeting, it's different. Notice again verse number 3, the first three words, grace to you. That little word to changes everything. You see, this little personal note Paul's writing to Philemon, he's talking about something that flows from God and into Philemon's life. He said, grace to you. You know what he's saying? Philemon, you need this. Now, it reminds you, the little book of Philemon is a book that Paul's going to make a request to Philemon about another man we're going to meet more in detail in some future messages. We talked about that runaway slave Onesimus. He's robbed his master Philemon. He flees to Rome. He meets Paul. He comes to know the Lord. Paul's sending him back with the letter in his hand for Philemon to receive him. But now wait a minute. Philemon's been wronged. I don't know what Onesimus stole, but no doubt it was probably precious. It was his. It was part of his earthly possession. He stole that and fled to Rome. He's been wronged. Have you ever been wronged? Somebody ever wronged you in some form, some fashion? What they've did, what they've said, how they've acted, you've been wronged. Paul's writing to Philemon, and he said, Philemon, when Onesimus comes, I want you to forgive him. He's going to need grace to forgive. You know, this matter of forgiveness sometimes is harder than what you and I can do on our own, and we're going to need some grace to do it. And then there's some restoration that needs to take place because Onesimus is now Philemon's brother. He's a saved man. And He's sending him back to Philemon, and there's some upset in life. Philemon is upset with Onesimus. There's a rift. There's a separation. There's a wrong. And not only does he need grace to forgive, but he needs peace to restore. You see, God not only wants us to forgive the wrongs, He wants us to restore the upsets of life. And you need grace and peace to do both of them. You see, grace is what Philemon needed, and grace is what you and I need. I believe Paul is saying to us, you need this. You need this. Let's pray together. Lord, thank You for Your Word this morning. Thank You for the truth that You share with us. To Lord, understand this is not just a book. from Paul to Philemon, but it's a message from God to us. And Lord, You have something for everyone in the room this morning. And I pray, Lord, that You'll guide my thoughts, my lips. Help me to say only that, Lord, that You want me to say. May the Holy Spirit guide and direct in the preaching aspect of the service. I pray, Lord, that He would apply the Word to the hearts of Your people in the way, Lord, that You desire in each individual life, because every one of us is different, and we need a different kind of grace in our lives for different matters and circumstances. And I pray, Lord, that You would help us to respond to grace today. And we'll thank You for what You do for us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, when it comes to this matter of grace and peace, God wants us to experience it in our lives. You and I need grace for the struggles of life. Did you realize that? All of us have struggles. I have struggles. You have struggles. Everybody has some kind of struggle in our lives. and we need God's grace for our struggles. Now the word grace is found about 159 times in the Bible. The first time you're going to find it is all the way back in the book of Genesis. God in Genesis chapter number 6 has pronounced judgment upon a vile and wicked world that has rejected Him. Matter of fact, it is so violent, it's so wicked, it's so perverse that God said, it grieves me that I made man and what he's become. I will send a flood, I'm going to destroy man off of the face of the earth. Do you realize that the end of human history would have took place in Genesis chapter 6 and verse number 7, but Aren't you glad for the butts of the Bible? And when you come to Genesis chapter 6 and verse number 8, the Bible said that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He didn't deserve it, but friend, he found it. Thank God this morning you and I can find grace. Amen? It's going to be found the last time in the Bible in Revelation 22 and verse 21, the very last verse of the Bible. Here's what it says. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Friend, listen. Noah didn't just need grace. Philemon doesn't just need grace. I need grace. You need grace. God says it's for everybody. He said be with you all. Amen. And I want to say all God's people said amen. From start to finish, from beginning to end, the Bible is a story of God's amazing grace. It is. You see, grace is the sweetest word in all of the Bible. It's found two times in our little book. Verse number 3, see it again. Grace to you. Put your name there. Grace to you. And then look at the very last verse, verse number 25. Notice what he says. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Philemon, you need grace. Kevin, you need grace. Friend, listen to me this morning. You need grace. The Bible is a book of grace and God is a God of grace. I Peter 5.10 says, He's the God of all grace. Now that word all is a very interesting word. It means all kinds of grace. God doesn't just have one kind of grace, He's got all kinds of grace. What does that mean? That means the grace of God is as varied as the experiences of life. No matter the situation, no matter the circumstance, no matter the struggle, God's grace is sufficient. You see, it's sufficient. God's grace doesn't just secure our salvation, friend, it also strengthens and sustains us for every mile of the journey from earth to glory. Now, one of the things I've enjoyed doing over the last 40 years of studying the Bible is collecting definitions of grace. I want to give you a few of them. Grace is the free, unmerited, and undeserved love of God in Christ which meets man in his sin and shame and brings salvation. Isn't that a blessing? Grace is the downward stoop and reach of God's love for lost mankind. Another one goes like this. Grace is what everybody needs. What no one deserves and what only God can give. Isn't that good? It is God's love lavished on undeserving sinners. See, I didn't deserve it, you don't deserve it, but God gives it. Notice with me the manifestation of grace. Would you do that? Look at verse number three again. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I tell you, grace is not an earthly matter, it is a heavenly matter. It's not something you find on earth, it's something you find in heaven that came down to earth. Alright? It came from God through Jesus Christ. Listen to me. Jesus is the bringer of grace. In John chapter 1, the Bible says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He that was in the beginning with God and was God, the Bible said, became flesh. The Word was made flesh, verse 14, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Isn't that a blessing? He goes on to say in verse 16, And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. Friend, it's grace piled on top of grace. Isn't that a blessing? For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Jesus is the bringer of grace. Titus chapter 2 verse number 11, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." You say, preacher, when did it appear? Two thousand years ago. When God's darling Son wrapped Himself in the womb of a virgin and took to Himself a human nature and a human body. He was laid in a cradle in Bethlehem. He grew to manhood. Friend, can I tell you, Jesus is the epitome. He's the personification. He is the grace of God. come down to man. It's been shown forth to every one of us. It's appeared to all men, not some, not most, not part, but all. Isn't that a blessing? Isn't that a blessing? God has shown His grace in Christ. Listen to Hebrews 2, verse 9, that He, talking about Jesus, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man. Friend, 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ hung on the cross of Calvary, can I help you understand that He didn't sip? I was talking to the 830 crowd. Can I tell you, some of them are looking at me with one eye open. I'm preaching with one eye open. And you have a sip of coffee. Can I tell you, I wanted more than a sip of hot coffee. You know, you'll sip that coffee, you'll sip that tea. Can I tell you, Jesus didn't sip death. No, when He was handed the cup of death on Calvary, He drank it to its full. He drank it to the dregs. He experienced death and all of its awfulness and its horror and all the things that are attached to it. Friend, He died that you and I might live. Isn't that a blessing? Oh, there was a great transaction. Jesus took my sin and your sin upon Himself that He might give us the cup. He drank the cup of our sin that we might have the cup of His salvation. You see, grace has made it possible for all men tragically lost in sin to be triumphantly lifted out of sin. Thank God it's appeared to all men. Friend, that means it's for you this morning. It's for me. Isn't that a blessing? There was a man by the name of John Newton. It's going to fit because this is a book dealing with slavery and John Newton, he's the author of Amazing Grace. Many of you may not know that in his unconverted days he was a captain on a slave ship. He trafficked slaves from Africa to England. After he got saved, he hated what he did. But before he was saved, he felt that he had sinned so terribly that God couldn't possibly save him. And so, he became an agnostic. He said, I'm not even going to believe in God. There was a mama that had prayed for him before she died. I say, well, there's something to be said for a mama's prayers, isn't there? Thank God my mom prayed for me. Are you glad your mom prayed for you? You say, preacher, I didn't have a praying mom. You can be a praying mom. You knew that was a sideline. That was free. I sort of just added that in. A little hint there to help us. Anyway, he was on his slave ship, and he was coming from the coast of Africa with a galley full of slaves down in the cargo hold, and he had been reading in his cabin, the captain's quarters, the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Akimpas. He was just reading it out of curiosity. He didn't believe a thing in it. It's amazing, though, once you start believing. He's on the deck of his ship. They get caught in a typhoon. A wave in that sweeps him off the ship. He's staring into a watery grave. The fear of death gripped his soul, and in that moment, under the conviction of sin, he became a believer real quick. He cried out to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. And you know what? He went in that water a lost man. He came out of that water a forgiven man. Because you know what happened next? God miraculously allowed a wave to pick him back up, put him on the deck of His ship. Isn't that amazing? And then God made him a preacher. How about that? And He wrote a song called Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. Isn't that good? You see, where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. God's grace is greater than your sin. God's grace is greater than my sin. I love what one preacher said. God is a greater Savior than we are sinners. It doesn't matter how far gone we think we are, how bad we are, how messed up we are, how dysfunctional we are. It doesn't make any difference. Jesus loved us. The grace of God has appeared to all men. Friend, it doesn't matter who we are. Thank God the same grace that lifted John Newton out of the waters of forgiven man can save you and forgive you today. Isn't that a blessing? Hallelujah. That's the manifestation of grace. Paul needed it. Philemon needed it. John Newton experienced it. And you and I can experience it. Isn't that a blessing? You see, that's the message of grace. It saves us. You see, some people spell salvation D-O. Do something. Well, you've got to do this. I've got to clean up my life. I've got to get better. Well, you know what? Others, they spell it D-O-N-T. Don't. Well, if you stop doing this and stop doing that and stop doing the other, then you'll be saved. You know what? God doesn't spell it that way. God spells it D-O-N-E. Done. Friend, Jesus has already paid the price for your sin. All you have to do in grace is receive it by faith. Isn't that a blessing? But the grace that saves us is the grace that sanctifies us. I'm glad God didn't leave John Newton in his sin. He didn't leave Philemon and Onesimus in their sin. And He didn't leave me in my sin. Isn't that good? Listen to 2 Peter 3.18. But grow in grace. Do you know you'll never exalt... You say, I'll preach. I've heard a message on grace before. Wonderful. I've preached messages on grace before. But you know, I learned some things about grace. This message, I didn't know the last message. I'm always learning something of God's grace in my life. Every day we live, we need grace. And God's grace is continually from the moment you're saved to the moment you go to heaven. And by the way, can I just tell you, in heaven you'll be learning about grace. Did you know that? We're going to be learning from the Lord Himself of the riches of His grace throughout all eternity. We don't really know how good God is. We sit here today and we're shouting the victory. We're saying, God, You're good. You're wonderful. You're awesome. You're great. Friend, listen. Can I tell you, we're just touching the hem of the garment. When we get over there, friend, we're going to really know what grace is, and we'll know how great and good and awesome our God is. Hey, we're just getting a taste of it down here. Up there, we'll drink the cup. Amen? But God said, I want you to grow in my grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What I want you to understand is the grace that redeemed you is the grace that will refine you. It will change you. You see, we think, and I believe this, I've been changed. One of my favorite songs our choir sings, I've been changed. I was going to entitle, and I still may leave the title of my message in a few weeks from now, I've been changed. I may leave it, but I'm going to get ahead of myself. I'm going to preach it right now. You see, God changed us the moment He saves us, but He's continuing to change us as we respond to His grace in our lives. You see, you don't do anything to get saved except believe on Christ. You can't do anything but believe on Christ. But I'm going to respond to grace in obedience so that I can grow in Christ. And some people barely get past where they got in because they quit growing in grace. Onesimus grew in grace. I want you to look over at verse 10. Paul's going to write to Philemon, I beseech thee for my son Onesimus. Well, he wasn't Paul's physical son. He was his spiritual son. Paul had led him to the Lord, whom I had begotten in my bonds. Somehow in prison, Onesimus gets saved there in Rome, a thousand miles away from where he ran away, where Philemon's at in Colossae, verse 11, which in time passed. In his former life, before he was saved, was to thee unprofitable. I don't know what all that meant. He might have been lazy. Might have been hard to deal with. I don't know. But the Bible said he was unprofitable. He was useless. But watch this. But now profitable to thee and to me. He's a different man, Philemon. Let me just tell you something. Grace will make you different. But it continues to make you different as you grow in grace. I hear this all the time. Well, you Baptists. You Baptists. You Baptists. I hear that all the time. You Baptists believe. Well, you know what? I just believe the Bible, okay? It's not you Baptists, it's the Bible. You Baptists believe once you're saved, you're always saved. That means you can go out here and live any way you want to. I just can't believe a Christian gets saved and they can live any way they please. Well, I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I believe once you're saved, you're eternally saved. But I don't believe a Christian can live any way as they please. I believe we're supposed to live the way God pleases. You all agree with that? Grace doesn't give you or me the license to do what we want. It gives us the liberty and the power to do what we ought. Listen to Titus 2.12. It's what grace does. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Now there's both a negative and a positive in that verse. There's a denying. That means I'm to discard anything in my life that is ungodly. that's full of worldly passion. I'm to discard that from my life. Anything not pleasing to God. There were some things in Philemon's life not pleasing to the Lord. He probably at this point is a bitter man. He's an angry man. He's been wronged by Onesimus. He's got an upset in his life. He's wondering, if I ever get my hands on him and ask him this, what am I going to do with him? You say, well, he shouldn't have felt that way. Let me ask you a question. How do you feel when somebody does you wrong? Or says something about you? Or mistreats you? Or mistreats your kid? And heaven help them if they miscreate the grandkid. And we're mad. We're upset. We've got every right to be. If I'll even get said, I have every right to feel like I feel. Let me just tell you something. That's ungodly. You say, ungodly? Absolutely. You see, we want to count something being ungodly of the sins that we can see that we think are awful. Let me just tell you, it's awful what God can see in our hearts that nobody else can see. And just like they need grace, you need grace, and I need grace. Listen to Hebrews 12, 15. Do you know there's Christians all over the world that are failing the grace of God because they're harboring a hard heart or an unforgiving heart or an angry spirit or a hateful spirit? Are you following where I'm coming from? And Paul was writing this letter and telling Philemon, you need grace. Don't fail the grace of God. I'm sending him back to you, and I'm going to request and I'm going to plead with you to forgive him. Don't fail the grace of God, because if you do, Philemon, it will defile you. It'll trouble you. Do you know there's Christians sitting in churches that are troubled and they're defiled because of what's in their heart? And it's not just pornography or perversity. Because that's what we immediately go to. No. It's all these sins. We call them respectable sins. And you'll never grow in grace till you deal with the respectable sins in your life. And we're to live soberly. That doesn't just mean I'm not to be drunk. It means I'm to be serious minded about life. Doesn't mean I can't have a good time. Doesn't mean I can't laugh. Doesn't mean I can't cut up. But I'm to be serious about life. This matter of living for God is serious business. Reflecting grace is a serious business. Receiving grace in my life as a Christian is serious. Live soberly, righteously, godly. See Christian, don't ever lose sight of this. You're saved by grace and you live by grace. Paul says, by the grace of God I am what I am. I'm going to tell you, if there's anything good, if there's anything godly, if there's anything righteous about my life, it's the grace of God that did it. But not only does it save you, not only does it sanctify you, it sustains you. You see, saving grace pardons us, sanctifying grace changes us, but strengthening grace sustains us. It's divine enablement for the struggles of life. Emotional struggles, spiritual struggles, temptation struggles, trials, difficulties, hardships. That's why Paul told Timothy to be strong. He's in prison again. It's later down the road he's going to write 2 Timothy. He said, Be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Verse 25 of Philemon, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit Amen. You need this. You see, Paul had a thorn. I believe he had the thorn right while he's writing to Philemon. We talk about that thorn a lot in our preaching, in our discussions in life. You know, a lot of times, gardening season, thankfully, you know, the weeds will eventually, in my wife's flowerbeds, end. You know, I love frost. It kills it. No more killing weeds, pulling weeds. Have you ever noticed how you can have some weeds out in your garden, and you even have some gloves on, and they've got stickers on them, and my wife leaves those for me? She said, there's one out there I left. I think it's got stickers on it. You can get it. Such love. Such grace. I said, wear gloves. She said, I did. You can get it. And so anyway, you reach down and it'll even stick you through the gloves, you know? And it'll get you. I was talking to him this morning. When I go hunting, okay, I get tangled up in these sawbriars. Anybody know what I'm talking about, sawbriars? I tell people, if you hunt with me, you're going to bleed. It's just a fact. If you ain't bleeding, you ain't hunting in my world, alright? But anyway, that's not Paul's thorn. Paul's thorn was like a stake driven through his heart. It was deep loss. It was deep pain. It was deep hurt. I don't know what it was. You say, how come you don't know what it was? Because he didn't tell us. I read all kinds of people who have put forward their thoughts on it, and I appreciate that. One of them could have been, by this time, he's pretty much lost his eyesight. I don't know if it's cataracts. They didn't have a way to remove cataracts then. I don't know. I don't know if he had glaucoma or some type of macular degeneration, detached retinas. I don't know what it was. You're going to find that he says to Philemon, I've written this with my own hand. By the time Paul is writing Scripture, he's using a secretary because he can't see to write. Now, that bothers you. Just remember, God controls the pen and God controls the penman. Timothy is actually the secretary writing Philemon, but there's a section he said, I've written this with my own hand. You'll see that in the book. Could it have been the loss of his eyesight? Absolutely. Could it have been the arthritis, or maybe, you remember, he's been shipwrecked, he's been beaten, he's been in prison, he's been stoned to death? Can you imagine? the struggles, health struggles that he had. Everywhere he went, he was attacked by false teachers and people that would criticize his credentials and who he was as an apostle. He faced all of it. And all of that's been set forth, but Paul never tells us. You say, Preacher, why? Because if he did, you'd say, well, that's not my thorn, so God's grace is sufficient for Paul. But mine's different. It may not be sufficient for me. But I can promise you as I look over this congregation, there are people that are saying, Preacher, I've got a thorn. There's times I feel like the stake's been driven through my heart. And you have struggles and crises and trials and things that hang over your life. Paul no doubt was saying, Lord, if you would take this away, he prays three times, Lord, if you'll take this away, I'll be a better preacher, I'll be a better pastor, I'll plant more churches, I'll be able to travel further and wider, I'll be able to write more scripture, I'll be able to do more, God, if you'll just remove this from me. And God said, Paul, no. He comes back a second time, Lord, no doubt the same plea, no. Third time. And God says this, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. When you're at your weakest point, Paul, I'm at my strongest point. And here's where we're going to get where I learned something. I was studying this passage afresh, and I came across this word sufficient. And I began to do a deeper dive on this word sufficient. And I began to look at it and did a little word study on it. Let me tell you what it means. It means to have enough. What God's saying that whatever you face in life, you have enough. His grace is sufficient. It's enough to sustain you and see you through. Isn't that powerful? There is a Hebrew derivative of the Greek word of our English word, sufficient. I'm going to tell you where it's found. Psalm 23 verse 1. Do you know the phrase, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, is one Hebrew word, and it's this word right here, sufficient. The Lord is my shepherd, I have enough. The Lord is my shepherd. I won't lack. The Lord is my shepherd. He is sufficient. My grace is sufficient. For thee. It's enough, Paul. You'll make it. In those moments, Christians, that you don't think you have enough strength to go on, that you're so weak emotionally or mentally or spiritually or physically that you can't take another step, that is then that we experience the sufficiency of grace at work in our life where God infuses us with His strength and enables us to go when we don't think we can go. It's enough. One of my favorite verses in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 33 verse 25. You ought to write it down. You ought to memorize it. It was written to an entire tribe, the tribe of Asher. Not just a person, but an entire tribe. They were getting ready to go into the area that God had given them. They're getting ready to go into the land of Canaan. They're getting ready to possess their possessions. And they're going to need something because they're going into a very difficult area. And here's what Moses prophetically said to them and promised them. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass. You know what he's saying? You're going to go into this place and God's going to give you victory. And as thy days, so shall thy strength be. You know what he's saying? When you get ready to do God's will, and you go in to take the land, and you go in to possess your possession, when you go there, your strength will be equal to your day. Whatever the enemy throws at you, whatever comes your way, whatever battle you face, I am enough. As thy day, so shall thy strength be. And I'm glad he didn't just say it to Asher. I'm glad he said that to me, and he said that to you this morning. We need grace. Paul put it this way. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure. Listen to this. Pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. Grace. Thank God for grace. How long will it last, preacher? Will it ever run out? Oh, that's the measure of His grace. I love James 4.6. He giveth more grace. Listen to me. Just as you will never drain the oceans of God's mercy, you'll never empty the storehouse of grace. Missionary Darlene Dibler-Rose found that out. She and her husband Russell were missionaries in the western highlands of Papua New Guinea. It was during the days of World War II and the Japanese invaded the islands and took Papua New Guinea and arrested them and claimed they were spies. They were placed in separate concentration camps. She wrote a book about her experiences called Evidence Not Seen, and it's the memoirs of a woman missionary taken by the Japanese during World War II. As she wrote in her journal, she talked about how her and her husband were unjustly prisoned in Japanese POW camps, not together, but forever separated. You say, preacher, why forever separated? Because Russell will die in 1944 and she'll never see her husband again. Here's what she wrote. She said, I never shed a tear before or during the hearings when the Japanese would bring her in and they would abuse her. And they would interrogate her because they treated her like a spy. No doubt it was satanically inspired. She said, I never shed a tear. But when the guard had returned me to my cell, and the sound of his footsteps had vanished, when I was certain that no one could hear me, I wept buckets of tears. In desperation, I poured out my heart to the Lord. When there were no more tears to cry, I would hear him whisper, But my child, my grace is sufficient for thee. Not was, but will be. Now, excuse me, not was or will be, but is sufficient. She wrote, Oh, the eternal, ever-present, undiminished supply of God's glorious grace. She said in her memoirs, just two weeks before I was brought to this prison, the Lord had laid it on my heart to memorize a poem by Annie Johnson Flint. She said, now I knew why. After drying the tears from my face and mopping the tears from the floor with my skirt, she said on those difficult days I would sit up and sing, He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater. He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To added affliction He addeth His mercy. To multiplied trials His multiplied peace. when we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed, ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving is only begun. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men, for out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth and giveth and giveth again. Christian, there's never going to come a time this side of heaven you don't need grace. And there's never going to be a time this side of heaven that God doesn't have what you need. Maybe you're struggling this morning. Maybe you're battling inside. Maybe you've experienced deep loss and hurt. Maybe you've been wronged and you're battling with the temptation of being angry and bitter and hardened toward that person. Maybe it was done to you when you were a child, and this bitterness is deep-seated in your life. It's affecting you. It's vexing you. That's what it means, trouble you. It brings depression, difficulty, discouragement, heartache, pain. The same grace that delivered your sin can deliver you in trials and help you to overcome these areas of your life. Don't fail the grace of God. This morning, why don't you come to the altar and say, God, by your grace, I forgive. I forgive. I forgive. They don't deserve it, preachers. I know. I know. We don't forgive because they deserve it. We forgive because we've been forgiven. Jesus enables us to forgive because He wants more for you than you want for yourself. And He knows that this is draining you, and He wants to refresh you with grace. You say, well, what if it comes back? You just forgive Him again. What if it comes back? You just forgive Him again. Remember, you have enough. You say, Preacher, you don't know my hurt. You're right, I don't. I don't. And I know His grace. His grace is there. Why don't you in a moment slip out, find the altar, kneel, stand, sit, whatever you need to do, and ask God for grace to enable you to take the next step because His grace will be sufficient every mile of the journey. Don't in pride hold back. Don't in pride think, I can make it on my own. Don't live another moment without His grace infusing you with His strength and with His power as you go forward in your journey with Him. Now you may be here and you say, Preacher, I'm like John Newton. I don't know if I died, I'd go to heaven. He has grace for you. And He loves you more than you know. You say, you don't know me. I understand, but He does. And He's given you His grace. And His Son, Jesus. And the devil's going to give you all kinds of reasons why not to be saved. Well, somebody might look at me. Somebody might laugh at me. Somebody might do... Listen. In eternity, none of those things are going to matter. And by the way, in this place, nobody's going to mistreat you, look down on you, laugh at you. We've all needed grace. And every person in this room that is now forgiven was at one time unforgiven. And they needed to be saved. And we're going to invite you this morning to be saved. Could we bow our heads in prayer?