1 00:00:00,430 --> 00:00:02,970 Welcome to From the Pulpit and Classic Sermons. 2 00:00:03,410 --> 00:00:04,930 Each week we bring you a different message 3 00:00:04,930 --> 00:00:07,029 from some of history's greatest speakers in the 4 00:00:07,029 --> 00:00:09,690 Christian faith, and powerful sermons for modern preachers 5 00:00:09,690 --> 00:00:09,950 too. 6 00:00:09,950 --> 00:00:11,390 This week we have A. 7 00:00:11,450 --> 00:00:11,630 W. 8 00:00:11,790 --> 00:00:14,630 Tozer with his message on 1 Peter, Part 9 00:00:14,630 --> 00:00:14,930 10. 10 00:00:16,770 --> 00:00:22,190 In the first chapter of 1 Peter, beginning 11 00:00:22,190 --> 00:00:25,470 with verse 9 and leading to verse 12. 12 00:00:28,430 --> 00:00:33,010 Receiving, receiving the end of your faith, even 13 00:00:33,010 --> 00:00:37,790 the salvation of your souls, of which salvation 14 00:00:37,790 --> 00:00:42,730 the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who 15 00:00:42,730 --> 00:00:45,010 prophesied of the grace that should come unto 16 00:00:45,010 --> 00:00:47,810 you, in certain what, or what manner of 17 00:00:47,810 --> 00:00:51,530 time, the Spirit of Christ which was in 18 00:00:51,530 --> 00:00:56,270 them did signify, when it testified beforehand the 19 00:00:56,270 --> 00:00:58,410 sufferings of Christ and the glory that should 20 00:00:58,410 --> 00:01:03,810 follow, unto whom it was revealed, that not 21 00:01:03,810 --> 00:01:06,650 unto themselves, but unto us. 22 00:01:07,890 --> 00:01:11,750 They did minister the things which are now 23 00:01:11,750 --> 00:01:15,450 reported unto you by them that have preached 24 00:01:15,450 --> 00:01:17,850 the gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost 25 00:01:17,850 --> 00:01:22,690 sent down from heaven, which things the angels 26 00:01:22,690 --> 00:01:25,730 desire to look into. 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:33,460 Now, it so happens that there seem to 28 00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:39,720 be three major truths here which will divide 29 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,020 themselves up nicely. 30 00:01:42,900 --> 00:01:45,580 There is a curious truth, or a singular 31 00:01:45,580 --> 00:01:50,660 truth, anyway, singular truth, and a rather rare 32 00:01:50,660 --> 00:01:56,880 truth, and a remarkably reassuring truth. 33 00:01:58,420 --> 00:02:03,620 The singular truth, singular because it is not 34 00:02:03,620 --> 00:02:09,520 much mentioned in the Bible, that salvation is 35 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,310 such a heavenly and mysterious thing, that the 36 00:02:14,310 --> 00:02:21,630 very prophet who foretold it didn't understand and 37 00:02:21,630 --> 00:02:27,470 actually searched and inquired diligently concerning the salvation 38 00:02:27,470 --> 00:02:29,430 about which they were writing. 39 00:02:30,390 --> 00:02:34,990 They knew only that they wrote of some 40 00:02:34,990 --> 00:02:40,270 favored people who were to come, who were 41 00:02:40,270 --> 00:02:46,750 to receive remarkable, fabulous wealth at the hand 42 00:02:46,750 --> 00:02:48,510 of a kind, gracious God. 43 00:02:49,470 --> 00:02:51,650 But they didn't understand it much. 44 00:02:53,070 --> 00:02:57,290 And then there is the rare truth that 45 00:02:57,290 --> 00:02:59,750 the Old Testament prophets had the Spirit of 46 00:02:59,750 --> 00:03:00,190 Christ. 47 00:03:00,270 --> 00:03:01,810 I want to mention that later. 48 00:03:02,690 --> 00:03:06,110 And then this reassuring truth, that our salvation 49 00:03:06,110 --> 00:03:11,190 is known and talked about in heaven, and 50 00:03:11,190 --> 00:03:15,710 is admired by the unfallen angels, that it 51 00:03:15,710 --> 00:03:18,610 is not a recent thing, not even relatively 52 00:03:18,610 --> 00:03:23,990 recent, but very, very old, and that it 53 00:03:23,990 --> 00:03:27,570 is the theme of all the inspired prophets 54 00:03:27,570 --> 00:03:28,570 since the world began. 55 00:03:30,010 --> 00:03:33,030 Now let us look at this singular truth 56 00:03:33,030 --> 00:03:34,090 about the prophets. 57 00:03:35,850 --> 00:03:38,630 And it says here that the prophet who 58 00:03:38,630 --> 00:03:42,090 prophesied unto us of the grace that should 59 00:03:42,090 --> 00:03:46,130 come, they searched what or what manner of 60 00:03:46,130 --> 00:03:50,590 time the Spirit of Christ which was in 61 00:03:50,590 --> 00:03:54,570 them did signify, when it testified beforehand the 62 00:03:54,570 --> 00:03:56,450 sufferings of Christ and the glory that should 63 00:03:56,450 --> 00:04:00,150 follow, and that it was revealed unto them 64 00:04:00,150 --> 00:04:04,250 that not unto themselves, but unto us they 65 00:04:04,250 --> 00:04:06,730 did minister the things which we now here 66 00:04:06,730 --> 00:04:07,170 preach. 67 00:04:09,310 --> 00:04:11,650 Now a lot may be learned about biblical 68 00:04:11,650 --> 00:04:12,850 inspiration here. 69 00:04:13,950 --> 00:04:17,190 There are many theories of inspiration. 70 00:04:19,029 --> 00:04:20,970 And I suppose that I might as well 71 00:04:20,970 --> 00:04:25,410 say that I do not believe that evangelical 72 00:04:25,410 --> 00:04:30,350 truth necessarily must accept any one theory of 73 00:04:30,350 --> 00:04:30,850 inspiration. 74 00:04:32,070 --> 00:04:37,670 So long as we believe that the holy 75 00:04:37,670 --> 00:04:40,150 men of God spake as they were moved 76 00:04:40,150 --> 00:04:44,170 by the Holy Ghost, and that not one 77 00:04:44,170 --> 00:04:46,810 jot or tittle of the scripture shall fail 78 00:04:46,810 --> 00:04:50,970 until all be fulfilled, I believe that that 79 00:04:50,970 --> 00:04:55,810 fulfills the requirements for belief concerning inspiration. 80 00:04:56,650 --> 00:05:00,990 But some persons believe that the inspired writers 81 00:05:00,990 --> 00:05:04,030 wrote only what they knew. 82 00:05:05,150 --> 00:05:10,810 They were simply religious reporters, reporting intelligently and 83 00:05:10,810 --> 00:05:15,550 spiritually on what they knew about them, and 84 00:05:15,550 --> 00:05:19,110 then that they exhorted and consoled and rebuked, 85 00:05:19,930 --> 00:05:24,690 giving application to what they knew to the 86 00:05:24,690 --> 00:05:25,590 hearts of the people. 87 00:05:26,690 --> 00:05:30,330 Now that doesn't go far enough, for the 88 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:34,930 fact is that sometimes the prophets were moved 89 00:05:34,930 --> 00:05:38,230 to speak of things that they themselves did 90 00:05:38,230 --> 00:05:39,670 not understand. 91 00:05:40,930 --> 00:05:44,950 They heard the Spirit's voice witnessing within them 92 00:05:44,950 --> 00:05:51,290 about wondrous things, and they spoke what they 93 00:05:51,290 --> 00:05:55,130 heard, but they did not know of what 94 00:05:55,130 --> 00:05:55,770 they spoke. 95 00:05:56,430 --> 00:05:59,770 It was a relatively easy matter for a 96 00:05:59,770 --> 00:06:04,010 prophet to understand, say, when God revealed that 97 00:06:04,010 --> 00:06:08,330 Babylon should fall, or that Israel should be 98 00:06:08,330 --> 00:06:11,590 taken captive, or that Ahab should die and 99 00:06:11,590 --> 00:06:14,650 the dogs should lick his blood, or any 100 00:06:14,650 --> 00:06:19,510 of the scores of prophecies concerning historic events. 101 00:06:20,270 --> 00:06:23,630 That was a relatively easy thing, and I 102 00:06:23,630 --> 00:06:26,290 suppose that every prophet understood it. 103 00:06:26,950 --> 00:06:30,150 If I had a prophetic foresight that New 104 00:06:30,150 --> 00:06:32,390 York was to be destroyed by an atom 105 00:06:32,390 --> 00:06:35,350 bomb, and I were to write it down, 106 00:06:35,950 --> 00:06:38,690 I could understand my own writing, it would 107 00:06:38,690 --> 00:06:41,250 be simply a question of visualizing the destruction 108 00:06:41,250 --> 00:06:44,230 of that vast city, so that a great 109 00:06:44,230 --> 00:06:47,330 many of the prophecies of the Old Testament 110 00:06:47,330 --> 00:06:51,350 were, we'll say, on the rational level. 111 00:06:51,870 --> 00:06:54,310 They could be understood easily by the prophets 112 00:06:54,310 --> 00:06:55,750 who prophesied. 113 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:01,870 But when they entered the wondrous golden world 114 00:07:01,870 --> 00:07:07,510 of grace and mercy and salvation and incarnation 115 00:07:07,510 --> 00:07:13,990 and resurrection and atonement and ascension and the 116 00:07:13,990 --> 00:07:16,990 sending of the Holy Ghost and the new 117 00:07:16,990 --> 00:07:20,750 birth and the bringing to being of a 118 00:07:20,750 --> 00:07:23,670 people made again in the image of God, 119 00:07:23,750 --> 00:07:25,550 all this staggered the prophets. 120 00:07:26,270 --> 00:07:27,270 They couldn't get it. 121 00:07:27,350 --> 00:07:29,830 It wasn't simply a question of historic fact, 122 00:07:29,910 --> 00:07:33,910 it was a question of marvelous spiritual understanding, 123 00:07:34,010 --> 00:07:34,850 and they didn't have it. 124 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,380 So they prophesied about others. 125 00:07:40,660 --> 00:07:43,400 They were included, of course, but that wasn't 126 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:44,880 what was in their mind at the moment. 127 00:07:44,980 --> 00:07:46,660 They were prophesying for the future. 128 00:07:46,900 --> 00:07:49,220 Then they died, not having received the promise. 129 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:55,120 But the prophecies were perpetuated by divine inspiration 130 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,480 and by translation as we have them today 131 00:07:58,480 --> 00:07:59,220 in our Bible. 132 00:07:59,220 --> 00:08:04,700 They heard the spirit voice speaking within them, 133 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:07,320 and they uttered forth what they heard. 134 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,640 But as prophets, they were able to prophesy. 135 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:18,860 But as individual men, they had to examine 136 00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:21,280 and search, and I wondered as I read 137 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:22,460 it, what they searched. 138 00:08:22,460 --> 00:08:26,600 Did they search some other prophet's writing, or 139 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,580 did they search their own heart, or did 140 00:08:29,580 --> 00:08:31,860 they seek in the sense that the scripture 141 00:08:31,860 --> 00:08:34,340 says, Seek and ye shall find? 142 00:08:34,580 --> 00:08:36,100 It doesn't say seek what. 143 00:08:36,780 --> 00:08:39,600 And every creature has his own interpretation, and 144 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:44,020 I suppose they're all right, because that's actually 145 00:08:44,020 --> 00:08:46,360 usually the case with the word of God. 146 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,400 It is, what should we say? 147 00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:53,560 It has a multitude of applications, so that 148 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:55,820 if one man says it means this, and 149 00:08:55,820 --> 00:08:58,260 another says it means that, and three others 150 00:08:58,260 --> 00:09:00,360 say it means three other things, they are 151 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,020 not contradicting each other. 152 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,060 They may easily be complementing each other. 153 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:12,520 I have no objection to various interpretations provided 154 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:17,100 the brother doesn't say, Now accept my interpretation, 155 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,080 or I rule you out. 156 00:09:19,580 --> 00:09:22,460 Then I'm sorry for a mind as razor 157 00:09:22,460 --> 00:09:25,920 -narrow as that, narrow as the razor's edge. 158 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,140 But these prophets prophesied of things to come, 159 00:09:30,380 --> 00:09:35,400 and that was a wonderful truth, and a 160 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,400 curious one, that prophets reported on things they 161 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:40,760 did not themselves understand. 162 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,840 And then here is a rare truth, in 163 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,220 that there isn't much about it in either 164 00:09:47,220 --> 00:09:49,640 Old Testament or New directly. 165 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:54,820 But it is here bluntly stated in unmistakable 166 00:09:54,820 --> 00:09:58,680 language, it is that the Old Testament prophets 167 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:00,740 had the Spirit of Christ. 168 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,540 But the word had is not good enough 169 00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:06,660 here, for it says the Spirit of Christ 170 00:10:06,660 --> 00:10:08,580 which was in them. 171 00:10:08,580 --> 00:10:10,940 The preposition is in. 172 00:10:11,740 --> 00:10:15,380 Now this destroys what some people have called 173 00:10:15,380 --> 00:10:18,440 the geographical interpretation of the Holy Ghost. 174 00:10:19,340 --> 00:10:22,320 I would call it the prepositional interpretation of 175 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:23,120 the Holy Ghost. 176 00:10:23,740 --> 00:10:26,900 You know that there are those who bear 177 00:10:26,900 --> 00:10:30,360 down very heavily on the on and the 178 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:31,540 with and the in. 179 00:10:31,540 --> 00:10:35,200 They say about the Holy Spirit that he 180 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,720 was on the Old Testament scene, but not 181 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:39,320 in them. 182 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,760 That he was with the apostles before the 183 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,580 Pentecost, but not in nor on. 184 00:10:47,460 --> 00:10:50,340 That he after Pentecost got in with the 185 00:10:50,340 --> 00:10:50,680 people. 186 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,620 That makes preaching easy, because all you have 187 00:10:53,620 --> 00:10:55,680 to do is look for prepositions, and that's 188 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,680 a relatively easy way to handle the word 189 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,720 of God, just watch the prepositions and hook 190 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,100 your little comment on the preposition. 191 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,940 But I've never been able to believe that 192 00:11:05,940 --> 00:11:10,960 God was such that he played in the 193 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,000 marketplace and that he built his truth out 194 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,560 of curious little blocks. 195 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,060 No, the Bible doesn't tell us only that 196 00:11:21,060 --> 00:11:24,140 the Holy Ghost was on, but it says 197 00:11:24,140 --> 00:11:25,540 here that he was in. 198 00:11:26,140 --> 00:11:28,040 Now, that ruins some people's theology. 199 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,380 That little preposition here in Peter ruins it, 200 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,800 because they say the Old Testament prophets and 201 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,360 saints never had the Holy Ghost, he was 202 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:40,720 only on them. 203 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,760 He came and rested upon them, the dove 204 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,300 lighted on the roof but never came inside 205 00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:47,360 the dwelling place. 206 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:50,700 And you've got to believe that or else 207 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:52,980 they won't admit you into their little narrow 208 00:11:52,980 --> 00:11:54,040 field of thought. 209 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:57,720 But they say in the New Testament he 210 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,100 came with them. 211 00:12:00,260 --> 00:12:02,340 And they quote Jesus as saying, he is 212 00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:04,400 now with you, but shall be in you, 213 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:06,540 meaning himself as the with. 214 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,500 And then when the Spirit came at Pentecost, 215 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:13,360 he filled them, and so the Spirit was 216 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:14,080 in them. 217 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,520 Now I believe the Holy Ghost was on 218 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:18,700 the Old Testament prophets. 219 00:12:18,700 --> 00:12:22,020 I also believe the Holy Ghost comes on 220 00:12:22,020 --> 00:12:23,100 New Testament Christians. 221 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,620 I believe that the Holy Ghost was in 222 00:12:27,620 --> 00:12:31,440 the Old Testament prophets, for Peter says so, 223 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:33,580 and I must take Peter's word for it, 224 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:35,540 in spite of the commentators. 225 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,420 Now there is all this confusion here, and 226 00:12:38,420 --> 00:12:40,520 I do not want to get ironical about 227 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,420 this, though I fear an ironical quality has 228 00:12:43,420 --> 00:12:44,560 crept into my voice. 229 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:50,060 But here seems to be the fact that 230 00:12:50,060 --> 00:12:52,620 there is all this confusion on this subject 231 00:12:52,620 --> 00:12:54,900 for a number of reasons. 232 00:12:55,740 --> 00:12:59,360 One, it results from letting the element of 233 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,860 curiosity crowd out the element of practicality. 234 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:08,620 If Bible teachers could only remember that the 235 00:13:08,620 --> 00:13:12,520 holy men who spake as they were moved 236 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,300 by the Holy Ghost and gave us divinely 237 00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:23,640 inspired truth, never for one remote moment ever 238 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,380 meant to give us anything to satisfy our 239 00:13:26,380 --> 00:13:28,060 intellectual curiosity. 240 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,720 They meant to give us truth to transform 241 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:37,240 us, spirit and soul, and bring us into 242 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,680 holy living and holy believing. 243 00:13:39,810 --> 00:13:46,580 They never intended that we should have rattles 244 00:13:46,580 --> 00:13:47,840 to play with. 245 00:13:48,460 --> 00:13:51,220 I have been to Bible conferences and I 246 00:13:51,220 --> 00:13:54,660 have heard teachers of not only one, but 247 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:59,320 many schools of religious Christian interpretation that gave 248 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,760 me the impression that they were proud of 249 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,460 their ability to bring things out both old 250 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:09,940 and new, and particularly new. 251 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,880 And when after they had settled a hash 252 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,340 of the ordinary, simple interpretation of a thing, 253 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,500 they gave you some curious interpretation, they had 254 00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:25,800 enjoyed the theology from a curious standpoint. 255 00:14:26,420 --> 00:14:28,060 And I believe that this will lead us 256 00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:30,760 astray just as sure as you live, just 257 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:34,660 as soon as I accept the doctrine or 258 00:14:34,660 --> 00:14:39,060 the idea that the Bible is a book 259 00:14:39,060 --> 00:14:43,640 of theological toys to be played with by 260 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:48,780 tender saintlings, I have missed the purpose of 261 00:14:48,780 --> 00:14:51,140 the scripture and I have no proof that 262 00:14:51,140 --> 00:14:53,300 I won't be in false doctrine before very 263 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:53,600 long. 264 00:14:55,100 --> 00:14:58,140 For the Bible was given us not to 265 00:14:58,140 --> 00:15:04,220 satisfy our curiosity, but to sanctify our personality. 266 00:15:06,220 --> 00:15:10,640 Another thing that has resulted in this confusion 267 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:12,840 about the Holy Spirit being on and in 268 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,340 and with and so on, is the carnal 269 00:15:15,340 --> 00:15:17,820 urge to rightly divide. 270 00:15:18,820 --> 00:15:21,800 Rightly dividing the word of truth turns out 271 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,040 to be vivisecting it usually, and it bleeds 272 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:25,640 to death in the hands of the man 273 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:27,280 who holds it, and then he carries a 274 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,900 dead, pale text around with him and rams 275 00:15:29,900 --> 00:15:31,280 it down everybody's throat. 276 00:15:31,780 --> 00:15:35,800 The carnal urge to rightly divide, I think 277 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,140 it arises from intellectual pride. 278 00:15:39,180 --> 00:15:41,240 And then there is what we call trying 279 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:41,920 too hard. 280 00:15:42,020 --> 00:15:43,960 I think I might lay this Bible down 281 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,680 a minute and make an inane comment or 282 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,060 two on that subject, that in trying to 283 00:15:50,060 --> 00:15:53,640 understand the scripture, we are in grave danger 284 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,700 of trying too hard. 285 00:15:56,780 --> 00:16:01,720 It is very rarely that we can screw 286 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,860 up our belt tight to the last notch, 287 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:10,180 grit our teeth and say, I'm going to 288 00:16:10,180 --> 00:16:11,100 get this. 289 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,740 God never has very much place for old 290 00:16:14,740 --> 00:16:15,120 Adam. 291 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,360 He bade old Adam good-bye and said 292 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,400 that the end of all flesh should come 293 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,500 before him, and God has never put any 294 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:24,840 confidence in the flesh from that hour down 295 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,520 to this hour. 296 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,280 Now remember that when the Old Testament priests 297 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,880 went in to offer their sacrifices, they did 298 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:38,080 not dare wear wool clothing, because wool made 299 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:39,080 them perspire. 300 00:16:39,670 --> 00:16:42,400 And I suppose that God was saying to 301 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:47,040 the Jewish priesthood, now don't mistake perspiration for 302 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:53,080 inspiration, and your human perspiration will not glorify 303 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,200 me, therefore wear linen clothing so you can 304 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:57,000 keep cool. 305 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,940 And serve me scripturally and spiritually, but calmly 306 00:17:01,940 --> 00:17:02,600 and coolly. 307 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:07,760 And don't imagine that by trying hard you'll 308 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:12,180 get anywhere, climbing Jacob's ladder with white knuckles 309 00:17:12,180 --> 00:17:14,520 and tired muscles. 310 00:17:15,180 --> 00:17:19,280 There's a lot of paganism in that, and 311 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,720 the Lord wants to kill all that and 312 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,560 let the Holy Ghost take over. 313 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,060 When Jesus sweat blood in the garden, that 314 00:17:27,060 --> 00:17:28,360 was quite another matter. 315 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:32,200 That was not old Adam trying too hard, 316 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,100 that was the Holy Ghost coming upon a 317 00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:36,780 man till he nearly burnt him up. 318 00:17:37,620 --> 00:17:40,520 That was the prayer spirit laboring on the 319 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:42,560 man till he nearly killed the man. 320 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,340 And I believe in that, but I also 321 00:17:47,340 --> 00:17:51,120 believe that theologians who push too hard usually 322 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,700 fail to see the point because they're not 323 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:55,420 relaxed. 324 00:17:56,300 --> 00:18:00,180 Now, Paul used the illustration taken from the 325 00:18:00,180 --> 00:18:02,660 arena and boxing and wrestling, and I suppose 326 00:18:02,660 --> 00:18:04,180 I can without being unspiritual. 327 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,300 And we might take baseball, which I never 328 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,820 see, I've seen one game in 17 or 329 00:18:09,820 --> 00:18:12,100 18 years and probably won't see another one 330 00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:12,840 for another 18. 331 00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:16,320 Maybe never till the Cubs win the pennant 332 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:16,580 again. 333 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,620 But we like to say this about baseball. 334 00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:24,160 They say that a young man who is 335 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,580 a 300, 325 hitter suddenly goes into a 336 00:18:27,580 --> 00:18:30,160 slump and he couldn't hit a pumpkin when 337 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:31,320 it comes up to the plate. 338 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:32,600 Why? 339 00:18:32,940 --> 00:18:35,380 They say often it's because he's got tense 340 00:18:35,380 --> 00:18:38,940 and pushing too hard, that he goes all 341 00:18:38,940 --> 00:18:42,360 tense into the batter's box, but when he 342 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:43,900 gives up and says, what's the use, I 343 00:18:43,900 --> 00:18:46,840 couldn't hit the basketball, then he starts to 344 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,940 hit again, because he gets off the tension, 345 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:50,600 he isn't trying too hard. 346 00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:53,220 And I've met many Saints who are trying 347 00:18:53,220 --> 00:18:53,600 too hard. 348 00:18:53,700 --> 00:18:56,280 I remember one time, I think I told 349 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,400 you this before, but it'll bear repeating, and 350 00:18:58,400 --> 00:18:59,660 man has been here as long as I 351 00:18:59,660 --> 00:19:01,920 have had to do some repeating, but I 352 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,600 remember at a watch-night meeting 20, 30 353 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,160 some years ago, that we were all around 354 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,300 there praying, they were testifying, and one very 355 00:19:12,300 --> 00:19:15,820 godly man, now he was all that, he 356 00:19:15,820 --> 00:19:17,220 was a very godly man. 357 00:19:17,220 --> 00:19:21,300 And I was sitting beside another godly man, 358 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,660 a missionary under the African mission, Reverend Mr. 359 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:29,720 Sawulka, who had just lately gone to heaven, 360 00:19:29,820 --> 00:19:33,800 they found him beside his motorcycle out in 361 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,760 the bush where he had given his life 362 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:36,560 to the Lord Jesus. 363 00:19:36,700 --> 00:19:39,780 But anyway, this Sawulka was sitting beside me, 364 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:46,480 and this friend of mine, Everett, he jumped 365 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,500 to his feet and he gripped his knuckles 366 00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:59,580 together, hands together, and in a spasm of 367 00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:05,920 Adamic determination, he told us his plans for 368 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,360 the New Year, how he was going to 369 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:09,060 serve God. 370 00:20:09,900 --> 00:20:13,720 And my quiet, saintly friend beside me touched 371 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:18,040 my arm, and he whispered, Brother Everett, it's 372 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,340 screwing his violin strings. 373 00:20:22,180 --> 00:20:23,960 He said he won't be able to keep 374 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:25,840 it up there for the year. 375 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:28,320 And I was a young fellow then, and 376 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,680 I remember it, and I think he did. 377 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:32,920 He screwed it too tight. 378 00:20:33,660 --> 00:20:38,180 You can throw your flesh in and with 379 00:20:38,180 --> 00:20:44,900 strong religious determination break your teeth and batter 380 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,160 your own head black and blue and never 381 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:48,760 get anywhere. 382 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,640 You can do that in theology, too. 383 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,900 The simplest explanation of any text is just 384 00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:54,700 what it says there. 385 00:20:54,780 --> 00:20:57,440 Just read it, get on your knees, and 386 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,640 as Mark Twain said, the passages he couldn't 387 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,140 understand never bothered him, but the ones he 388 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:03,580 could understand made him sweat. 389 00:21:04,300 --> 00:21:08,360 And you'll have time enough following the text 390 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:12,820 that you understand without seeking to pry curiously 391 00:21:12,820 --> 00:21:17,380 underneath the surface and bring up some esoteric 392 00:21:17,380 --> 00:21:19,920 meaning that God never found there. 393 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,480 I spent from Wednesday to Sunday night last 394 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,120 week in Dr. Simpson's old church in New 395 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:27,700 York City down off Times Square. 396 00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:32,160 And I preached one night, and I said 397 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,440 merely as a matter of passing, you don't 398 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,780 have to believe it, nor does it mean 399 00:21:37,780 --> 00:21:39,920 much, it was just a passing thought. 400 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,840 I said, you know the angels are pure 401 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,520 spirit and the animals are flesh, but man, 402 00:21:46,660 --> 00:21:50,080 this wondrous being, is both spirit and flesh. 403 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:51,980 And I went on to something else. 404 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,020 It was just a little bracketed saying I 405 00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:55,960 gave, and it's true. 406 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,660 Afterwards, a man with a face like a 407 00:21:58,660 --> 00:22:04,420 mask, thin lips, and cold, thin eyes, and 408 00:22:04,420 --> 00:22:10,240 a completely expressionless face said, what did you 409 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,840 say about the beast not having a spirit? 410 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:16,320 And he looked down, he'd been, I could 411 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:17,000 just see him. 412 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,200 He had taken that argument to all the 413 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,020 preachers that had visited New York since May 414 00:22:22,020 --> 00:22:22,540 of 97. 415 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,180 And he said, did God not make this 416 00:22:27,180 --> 00:22:28,440 covenant with all flesh? 417 00:22:29,420 --> 00:22:30,980 And he looked down, much as to say, 418 00:22:31,060 --> 00:22:31,960 I won't hit him again. 419 00:22:32,980 --> 00:22:33,700 He's wounded. 420 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:37,080 And I saw what I was into. 421 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,020 At first I treated him as a brother 422 00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:41,720 and tried to reason, and then suddenly I 423 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:42,660 saw there was no use. 424 00:22:42,780 --> 00:22:44,680 And I said, I perceive, sir, that you 425 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,480 are a theological mechanic, more concerned with the 426 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:49,640 letter than with the spirit. 427 00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:52,500 And I left him. 428 00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:54,220 He came back to all meetings, but he 429 00:22:54,220 --> 00:22:55,420 never bothered me any more. 430 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:58,380 Now, this fellow had gotten from somewhere, I 431 00:22:58,380 --> 00:23:00,420 don't know where, the idea that a dog 432 00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:02,620 has a spirit, and that when God made 433 00:23:02,620 --> 00:23:04,580 a covenant with Adam, he included the dog, 434 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:06,520 and the dog knew it, I guess, and 435 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:07,740 probably signed the covenant. 436 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,860 But it's all very silly, and it truly 437 00:23:10,860 --> 00:23:12,360 doesn't mean anything. 438 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,000 Why do I care about horses and sheep 439 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,520 and dogs and mountain lions? 440 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,740 God never said, go into all the world 441 00:23:20,740 --> 00:23:22,640 and preach the gospel to my horses. 442 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:24,580 He died for people. 443 00:23:24,740 --> 00:23:27,020 He came to seek that which was lost, 444 00:23:27,180 --> 00:23:28,960 and we're the lost ones. 445 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,900 Lo and behold, when he came and considered 446 00:23:32,900 --> 00:23:36,020 being with God not to be hung on 447 00:23:36,020 --> 00:23:40,320 to, but lowered himself and took flesh, it 448 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,320 was not the flesh of the beast, but 449 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:43,560 the flesh of the man. 450 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,420 And it was a man that went out 451 00:23:46,420 --> 00:23:48,740 to Calvary, not a dog or a bear. 452 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,060 So if there's some hope for the beast, 453 00:23:52,260 --> 00:23:53,020 let there be hope. 454 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:55,020 I think John Wesley thought there was. 455 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,040 But if there is, that's not within my 456 00:23:58,040 --> 00:23:59,620 field of interest at all. 457 00:23:59,980 --> 00:24:01,560 I can't know everything. 458 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:04,380 I can only know a fraction of anything. 459 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,120 So why not stay by the truth as 460 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:09,060 it affects me? 461 00:24:11,140 --> 00:24:14,560 I could spend my life attacking preachers on 462 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,100 whether an animal has a spirit or not, 463 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,020 and never read the Sermon on the Mount 464 00:24:19,020 --> 00:24:19,520 once. 465 00:24:21,690 --> 00:24:24,610 But it's infinitely more important that I read 466 00:24:24,610 --> 00:24:26,850 the Sermon on the Mount and yield my 467 00:24:26,850 --> 00:24:29,590 heart to obey it, than it is that 468 00:24:29,590 --> 00:24:34,710 I settle curious things concerning prophecy or concerning 469 00:24:34,710 --> 00:24:36,930 any other phase of Christian truth. 470 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:45,940 Now, the simple truth is that the Old 471 00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:48,960 Testament prophets had the spirit of Jesus. 472 00:24:50,540 --> 00:24:53,920 And that's here as a very rare truth. 473 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,660 The spirit of Christ which was in them 474 00:24:57,660 --> 00:24:59,200 is here in the Bible. 475 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,980 And they prepared the world for the advent 476 00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:07,200 of the Savior, because it was the Savior 477 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,420 himself in them, the spirit of the Savior 478 00:25:10,420 --> 00:25:11,840 in them prophesying. 479 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,340 And they witnessed the Christ in type and 480 00:25:15,340 --> 00:25:19,920 symbol and historic situation and in the writings 481 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:20,760 of the prophets. 482 00:25:21,380 --> 00:25:24,260 And this explains why Christians love the Old 483 00:25:24,260 --> 00:25:24,640 Testament. 484 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,340 That's why you may have wondered why you 485 00:25:28,340 --> 00:25:30,260 like the Old Testament so, and you can 486 00:25:30,260 --> 00:25:31,840 read it and mark it and love it, 487 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:33,360 and yet you know it belonged to an 488 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,260 ancient dispensation, and the New Testament is your 489 00:25:37,260 --> 00:25:37,620 book. 490 00:25:37,820 --> 00:25:40,120 No, the New Testament isn't your book any 491 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:41,700 more than the Old was. 492 00:25:42,340 --> 00:25:44,880 You cannot separate the one from the other, 493 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,120 they are an organic whole, and the spirit 494 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:51,480 of Christ was in the Old Testament and 495 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,640 Christ is in the New Testament, and you 496 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,720 have one and the same thing. 497 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:00,220 There are passages that don't refer to you, 498 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,980 and yet you feel an affinity for them. 499 00:26:02,980 --> 00:26:05,880 You read the book of Deuteronomy, which has 500 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,620 to do almost wholly with Israel, and yet 501 00:26:08,620 --> 00:26:11,400 your heart warms and leaps and rejoices and 502 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,500 you mark passages and you say, I wonder 503 00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:14,040 why. 504 00:26:14,580 --> 00:26:16,140 Why do I love the Old Testament? 505 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:20,160 Ah, it's because the spirit of Christ which 506 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:21,980 is in them did testify. 507 00:26:22,940 --> 00:26:26,080 And you who are born again recognize the 508 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,280 same spirit that dwells in your breast, in 509 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,700 some measure at least, and there is an 510 00:26:31,700 --> 00:26:32,640 affinity there. 511 00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:37,160 That's why the Old Testament should be read, 512 00:26:37,260 --> 00:26:39,120 and that's why we should preach from the 513 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:39,760 Old Testament. 514 00:26:40,940 --> 00:26:45,080 Now the reassuring truth, that redemption is famous 515 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,900 in heaven and was famous in ancient times, 516 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,160 and that the plan of God to redeem 517 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,880 the fallen race excited wonder and admiration among 518 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,540 the very angel, which things angels desire to 519 00:27:00,540 --> 00:27:01,360 look into. 520 00:27:02,220 --> 00:27:04,180 I don't know how much they ever found 521 00:27:04,180 --> 00:27:07,900 out, but the angels were stirred to desire 522 00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:10,860 to know this wondrous redemption. 523 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:20,020 Why were the angels admiring so greatly this 524 00:27:20,020 --> 00:27:20,360 truth? 525 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:22,160 I believe it's for three reasons. 526 00:27:23,100 --> 00:27:25,160 Because of the being that is to be 527 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:25,720 redeemed. 528 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:30,840 If we could ever make people see two 529 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,660 things about themselves, or three things about themselves. 530 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:40,440 One is what wonderful creatures they are, and 531 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,940 the second is what hopelessly sinful creatures they 532 00:27:44,940 --> 00:27:48,940 are, and the third is what great hope 533 00:27:48,940 --> 00:27:51,420 there is in Christ, I think we could 534 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:52,720 settle a lot of our problems. 535 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:56,460 But we either take the attitude that we're 536 00:27:56,460 --> 00:27:58,980 sinful and then begin to tramp ourselves down 537 00:27:58,980 --> 00:28:01,060 to the level of the gopher and the 538 00:28:01,060 --> 00:28:05,060 rat, or else we take the idea that 539 00:28:05,060 --> 00:28:07,580 we're not sinful and deny that we've sinned 540 00:28:07,580 --> 00:28:08,680 and push ourselves up. 541 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:10,380 Both are true brethren. 542 00:28:11,220 --> 00:28:13,320 We were made in the image of God, 543 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,440 and were made only a little lower than 544 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:21,670 the angel, and are to be higher than 545 00:28:21,670 --> 00:28:22,150 the angel. 546 00:28:23,010 --> 00:28:26,790 That's what we were, and that's what we 547 00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:27,990 potentially are. 548 00:28:30,180 --> 00:28:32,520 But without the new birth and redemption and 549 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,540 forgiveness and cleansing, we'll find our place to 550 00:28:35,540 --> 00:28:38,220 that hell that's reserved for the devil and 551 00:28:38,220 --> 00:28:39,120 his fallen angels. 552 00:28:40,460 --> 00:28:43,540 Those two truths are not self-contradictory. 553 00:28:44,060 --> 00:28:45,920 They are two sides of the same truth. 554 00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:51,990 Man was made in God's image, and God 555 00:28:51,990 --> 00:28:54,670 for that reason sent his Son to die 556 00:28:54,670 --> 00:28:55,350 for them. 557 00:28:56,370 --> 00:28:59,410 Therefore nobody ever ought to think low of 558 00:28:59,410 --> 00:29:02,230 himself, though he ought to remember how humble 559 00:29:02,230 --> 00:29:05,310 and little and sinful and hopeless and broken 560 00:29:05,310 --> 00:29:06,810 he's been before his God. 561 00:29:08,090 --> 00:29:10,750 So we keep these two thoughts in suspension, 562 00:29:11,870 --> 00:29:13,770 that though we were originally in the image 563 00:29:13,770 --> 00:29:16,230 of God, we stained our souls and ruined 564 00:29:16,230 --> 00:29:18,230 us and brought judgment and hell and death 565 00:29:18,230 --> 00:29:21,970 upon us, but then that God, for Christ's 566 00:29:21,970 --> 00:29:26,820 sake, saves us, redeems us for another's worth 567 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:29,720 and merit, and restores us again to the 568 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,700 image of God, and we shall someday stand 569 00:29:33,700 --> 00:29:36,320 a little higher than we anciently stood in 570 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,240 the loins of our forefather Adam. 571 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,040 Those are wonderful truths, and they're reassuring truths. 572 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:48,880 This wonderful being man whom angels are interested 573 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:49,380 in. 574 00:29:51,100 --> 00:29:54,520 And then the second reason is the astonishing 575 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:55,640 mercy of God. 576 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,920 If God gave us our deserts, brethren, there 577 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:00,380 wouldn't be one of us here this morning. 578 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:01,940 Not one, not one! 579 00:30:03,100 --> 00:30:05,240 You kind-faced old lady that has spent 580 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,820 your lifetime looking after children and then looking 581 00:30:07,820 --> 00:30:12,860 after grandchildren and living the best you knew 582 00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:14,740 how, you wouldn't be here, you would be 583 00:30:14,740 --> 00:30:15,480 in hell, too. 584 00:30:16,700 --> 00:30:20,160 And you honest businessmen that never cheated in 585 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,560 your life and that were upright and good 586 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:27,120 and honest and a worthy, exemplary citizen, you'd 587 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:27,940 be in hell, too. 588 00:30:29,140 --> 00:30:31,360 And everybody that is above the age of 589 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:32,860 responsibility belongs there. 590 00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:36,220 And whoever denies that he does will go 591 00:30:36,220 --> 00:30:36,560 there. 592 00:30:41,060 --> 00:30:45,580 And oh, the astonishing mercy of God, that 593 00:30:45,580 --> 00:30:49,060 he should come to us, too, because of 594 00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:53,240 what we were in Adam, made in the 595 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:54,080 image of God. 596 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,080 We went down lower and further than we 597 00:30:58,080 --> 00:30:58,840 would have gone. 598 00:31:00,140 --> 00:31:05,400 In the Henry plays by Shakespeare, there was 599 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:06,620 a prince called Prince Hal. 600 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,160 I think it was Prince Henry IV, if 601 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:08,780 I remember correctly. 602 00:31:10,260 --> 00:31:15,720 But Prince Hal, Harry they called him, was 603 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,180 of course a noble prince, son of a 604 00:31:18,180 --> 00:31:20,460 king and heir apparent to the throne. 605 00:31:21,780 --> 00:31:27,300 And he was therefore under the law of 606 00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:28,260 nobis oblige. 607 00:31:29,180 --> 00:31:32,740 He must live like the noble man that 608 00:31:32,740 --> 00:31:33,160 he was. 609 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,360 But instead of that, he forgot his noble 610 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:42,740 standing and went and frequented the pubs and 611 00:31:42,740 --> 00:31:45,000 drank sack, whatever that is, I suppose English 612 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,740 beer, along with Falstaff and the other bloated, 613 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:53,520 big-bellied, beer-drinking, liquor-consuming crowds. 614 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,740 Nobody minded to see fat old Falstaff there. 615 00:31:57,900 --> 00:31:59,860 He had not come down to go to 616 00:31:59,860 --> 00:32:00,540 the saloon. 617 00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:04,460 But the royal prince had come down, and 618 00:32:04,460 --> 00:32:07,200 so therefore he was infinitely more to blame 619 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,280 because he had come down so far. 620 00:32:13,990 --> 00:32:16,190 And so if we had never been anything, 621 00:32:17,090 --> 00:32:20,110 our sin might be forgiven or overlooked or 622 00:32:20,110 --> 00:32:21,190 excused. 623 00:32:21,710 --> 00:32:23,730 But as men made in the image of 624 00:32:23,730 --> 00:32:27,270 God with moral perception and conscience and ability 625 00:32:27,270 --> 00:32:30,290 to grasp spiritual truth for us to go 626 00:32:30,290 --> 00:32:31,570 down where we've gone. 627 00:32:31,570 --> 00:32:35,530 Oh, the grace and mercy of God that 628 00:32:35,530 --> 00:32:36,270 we should be saved. 629 00:32:37,290 --> 00:32:39,950 And that's why the angel stood with open 630 00:32:39,950 --> 00:32:43,950 eyes and said, How can it be that 631 00:32:45,450 --> 00:32:48,310 such creatures as they should be treated as 632 00:32:48,310 --> 00:32:51,350 they are by the great God who loves 633 00:32:51,350 --> 00:32:51,650 us? 634 00:32:52,910 --> 00:32:54,810 And the third is, and this is most 635 00:32:54,810 --> 00:32:57,590 important, because of the one who would rescue 636 00:32:57,590 --> 00:33:00,810 us, the one Christ Jesus our Lord. 637 00:33:02,090 --> 00:33:06,950 Now, as we see these angels looking with 638 00:33:06,950 --> 00:33:11,810 reverent wonder, and these prophets who prophesied since 639 00:33:11,810 --> 00:33:15,450 the world began, wondering what it was all 640 00:33:15,450 --> 00:33:17,930 about and dreaming and hoping they might know, 641 00:33:19,590 --> 00:33:24,610 we can only say that our foundations stand 642 00:33:24,610 --> 00:33:25,030 sure. 643 00:33:26,490 --> 00:33:27,910 Not a new religion. 644 00:33:28,730 --> 00:33:30,630 Not Mrs. Eddy in the pit. 645 00:33:31,750 --> 00:33:35,690 Not Father Divine with his old bald head 646 00:33:35,690 --> 00:33:39,250 and his angels, concubines. 647 00:33:41,550 --> 00:33:45,630 Not, not Joseph A. 648 00:33:45,650 --> 00:33:51,390 Smith and his curing plates dug up under 649 00:33:51,390 --> 00:33:56,530 an apple tree, but before the world began, 650 00:33:57,130 --> 00:33:58,470 which was in the mind of God. 651 00:33:59,430 --> 00:34:02,370 Ancient is the sun, and before the sun 652 00:34:02,370 --> 00:34:06,090 burned in the heavens, to redeem you and 653 00:34:06,090 --> 00:34:07,469 me was in the mind of God. 654 00:34:08,830 --> 00:34:10,790 Angels desired to look into it. 655 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,620 You know, I heard about an old gentleman, 656 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,159 dear old Saint of God, who was realistic, 657 00:34:21,420 --> 00:34:23,300 and he didn't say it like the Christians 658 00:34:23,300 --> 00:34:24,380 do, they never have a doubt. 659 00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:25,520 No, I never have a doubt. 660 00:34:25,739 --> 00:34:27,420 The Catholics, they do have a doubt when 661 00:34:27,420 --> 00:34:28,199 they won't admit it. 662 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,940 But this old fellow was realistic, and he 663 00:34:31,940 --> 00:34:34,639 testified, he said, I admit I have doubts 664 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:35,199 sometimes. 665 00:34:35,820 --> 00:34:37,880 He said, I'll hear an argument or somebody 666 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,179 will advance an idea and it'll stun me 667 00:34:40,179 --> 00:34:40,600 for a little. 668 00:34:41,179 --> 00:34:43,380 And he said, when I have such doubts, 669 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,840 I always dive down to the bottom and 670 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:50,179 examine the foundations of my faith. 671 00:34:50,179 --> 00:34:52,940 And he said, every time I've done it 672 00:34:52,940 --> 00:34:56,320 yet, I've always come to the surface singing 673 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,420 how firm a foundation these saints of the 674 00:34:59,420 --> 00:35:02,040 Lord have laid for your faith in this 675 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:03,000 excellent work. 676 00:35:03,580 --> 00:35:05,360 That's all I meant to do this morning. 677 00:35:07,490 --> 00:35:09,290 You've been listening to the From the Pulpit 678 00:35:09,290 --> 00:35:10,410 in Classic Sermons series. 679 00:35:11,110 --> 00:35:13,130 This week you heard A.W. Tozer with 680 00:35:13,130 --> 00:35:14,830 his message on 1 Peter, Part 10. 681 00:35:15,630 --> 00:35:17,370 Tune in next week to hear George Verwerf 682 00:35:17,370 --> 00:35:20,410 speak about discipline on From the Pulpit in 683 00:35:20,410 --> 00:35:21,170 Classic Sermons. 684 00:35:21,690 --> 00:35:23,090 We'll be right back.