Romans  85

A Living Sacrifice

October 26, 2002

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

 

This evening I would like to continue in our study of the Book of Romans and specifically chapter 12 and verse 1. Let’s read as we honor God by standing.

 

ROMANS 12:1    I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

Now, there are 10 things which the apostle Paul mentions here in these first 2 verses of chapter 12. 

 

ROMANS 12:1    I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye    #1-present your bodies

#2- a living sacrifice,

#3- holy,

#4- acceptable unto God,

#5- which is your reasonable service.

#7- And be not conformed to this world:

#8- but be ye transformed

#9- by the renewing of your mind,

#10- that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

Now, a couple weeks ago we spoke on the presentation of our Bodies. And more specifically we spoke on the importance of presenting the gift. We examined the importance of how we present anything, and especially a gift.

 

Then last week we examine the Greek word Paul used  when he said, to present your body as a living sacrifice and we found it means to be immovable and firm, ready and prepared, unwavering and of a steadfast mind.

 

 This is the condition of the mind God is expecting when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. And that is what we will speak on this evening. Our Bodies as a Living Sacrifice.

 

Now, it would seem that this is a somewhat kind of a paradox. Because usually the sacrifice is killed before it is offered. But in our case, God does not want a dead sacrifice, but a living one.

 

Now, in the Old Testament, the lamb was brought before the priest and it represented innocence, and yet the priest would hold a bowl under the neck of the lamb, and then take a very sharp knife, and cut the throat of that little lamb, and the blood of the innocent one would fill that bowl and then the blood would be taken and placed into the fire, and the smoke that would raise up represented the sacrifice ascending up to heaven.

This was all very symbolic of the blood of The Innocent Lamb of God which would one day take away the sin of the world.

 

But here the Apostle Paul is speaking not of blood any longer, but of a living sacrifice. one which is not dead, but rather one which has been made alive. HEBREWS 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 

So we see by this that it s not the works but rather our consciousness of God that that counts. Paul is telling us here to purge our conscience fro dead works, in order to serve the Living God.

 

Notice thast is exactly what he is saying in ROMANS 12:1-1  ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. (That means , which is your spiritual act or worship, it is your reasonable service. It’s reasonable. God is not asking you to perform some great feat, or some great monumental thing for him. He is simply telling you that if you are to serve Him, If you are to present your bodies as a LIVING sacrifice to Him, then there is but one thing you must do, and it is not an irrational thing to do. It is not an unreasonable thing, but it is a reasonable thing, and that he tells us in the next verse. )

 

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (How are we to be transformed? ) by the renewing of your mind,(And what will that do for us? He says,) that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (It’s all about the Will of God. Jesus said, It is written in the volume of the Book, I have come to do thy will O God. Jesus, said Father, not my will but thy will be done. And Paul said in Colossians “Let this mind (this attitude) which was in Christ be in You.) Notice here, as he continues 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

 

As brother Branham said, “if you want to know how much God needs you, just put your hand into a bucket of water and the hole you leave is how much he needs you.

 

So we are talking about a transformation taking place by the renewing of your mind. On the day of Pentecost, when they asked Peter how they could be saved, Peter said, REPENT everyone of you in the name of the Jesus Christ, and you and your house will be saved. Notice the key then is repentance.  You’ve got to repent first. And that is the key which brings forth new birth.

 

EPHESIANS 2:1 ¶ And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Now, notice, he tells us that we were dead in sin which is unbelief, and in trespasses which is the falling short of the mark. When we were in that condition we were dead to God. And therefore, no matter what we would do for him, in that condition, it would not be a living sacrifice but a dead one, or just works.  

 

HEBREWS 6:1   Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 

So we see that our works are considered dead before God. Now, this is not all works, but he is speaking here of our dead works. Those are works without Faith. For Works that express Faith which is a Revelation, those works which express the Revelation have been anointed by that Revelation and become life expressed.

 

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 ¶  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9    Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

COLOSSIANS 2:1 ¶  For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and [for] them at Laodicea, and [for] as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4       And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 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. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 ¶ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

 

Therefore, it is important for us to see that unless you have been made alive to this Life Paul is talking about, your sacrifice can not be acceptable to God.

 

I CORINTHIANS 15:21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

 

HEBREWS CHAPTER 5 AND 6  57-0908M  184-106    We could take it verse by verse, each one of those things. Baptism, we believe it. "There's one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism." We believe that there's a baptism. We believe in the resurrection of the dead: absolutely. We believe Jesus died and rose again. We believe that. Laying on the hands for the sick, that's what it said: "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." We believe that. But what is that? Paul said, "It's all dead works." It's something that you do. Now let's go on to perfection. Oh, my.

 

Notice brother Branham is telling us here that the things that we can do for God is all dead works. There is nothing we can do that will merit anything, for if we can do anything then Christ died in vain. God does not want a dead sacrifice, he wants a living one. Br. Branham continues by saying, …

 

“We're coming into the Tabernacle, not the foundation, the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle Itself. That's the foundation: the law, and the righteousness, and joining church, and being baptized, and laying on of hands. Them's all orders of the church, but now let's go into perfection. And there's only One that is perfected; that's Jesus. How do we get into Him? Through the Methodists? No. Pentecostal? No. Baptist? No. Through any church? No. Roman Catholic? No.

 

  184-109 How do we get into It? Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ... that walk not after the things of this world (the flesh,), but after the things of the Spirit (that pay no attention to what the world's got to say)." Even if you're sick, and the doctor says you're going to die, you pay no attention to it, don't bother you a bit. If they say, "You have to become a Catholic before you're saved, or a Presbyterian, or have to do this," you pay no attention to it. Therefore, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, the things that they see. Everything you see with your eyes is earthly. But it's the things you see in your spirit through the Word. The Word is God's looking Glass that reflects what He is and what you are. Hallelujah. Oh, my. It tells you... This is the only Book in the world that tells you where you come from, who you are, and where you're going. Show me any page of literature anywhere of all the science or anything else, every good book that's been written; none of it can tell you that. This is God's looking Glass that shows what He is and what you are. Then in between there's a blood line that shows what you can be if you want to make the choice. There you are, "By One Spirit..."

  185-113    Now, I Corinthians 12. How do we get into that Body? "By shaking hands?" No, sir. "By joining the church?" No, sir. "By being baptized backward, forward? In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost? the Name of Jesus Christ? the name of Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, Morning Star? anything that you want? That has nothing to do with it, just a answer of a good conscience towards God. And yet we fuss, and stew, and argue, and split, and make differences. That's right. But all those are dead works. We're going to perfection. That's things that I done. A minister baptized you. Whether he baptized you face forward, backward, or three times, four times, or one time, or how he did it, that has nothing to do with it. You're just baptized into the fellowship of that church anyhow, proving to that church, you believe the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Laying on of hands to heal the sick, that's wonderful. But it's all natural, and that body will die again just as certain as you're living. It'll die again. Now, let's lay aside all those things and go on to perfection.

  185-115    How do we get to perfection? That's what we want to know. Christ is perfected, "God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace upon Him; with His stripes we were healed." That's the Body we want to get to. That's the Body. Why? If you're in that Body, you'll never see judgment; you'll never taste of death. You're free from all of death, judgment, sin, and everything else, when you're in that Body.

"How do you get into it, preacher? By joining this tabernacle?" You're lost yet. Couldn't join it anyhow; we don't have any book. "How do we get into it? By joining some church?" No, sir. "How do you get into It?" You're born in It: I Corinthians 12.

For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body,...

  186-118    By the Holy Spirit baptism, we are baptized into that Body and are free from sin. God don't see you no more; He only sees Christ. And when you're in that Body, God can't judge that Body. He's already judged it. He took our judgment and invited us in. And by faith, through grace, we walk and accept our pardoning. And the Holy Spirit brings us into this fellowship with Him. And we walk no more after the things of the world, but we walk in the Spirit. Quickened, the Word came to us. He died in my stead. I'm made alive. Here I am, who was once dead in sin and trespasses, been made alive. All my desires is to serve Him. All my love is to Him. All my walks wants to be in His Name that wherever I go, whatever I do, I glorify Him. If I'm a-hunting, if I'm a-fishing, if I'm playing ball, if--if I'm... Whatever I'm doing, I must be "Christ in me" in such a life that'll make men long to be that way: not tattling, backbiting, and fussing about your churches. You get it? "By One Spirit we're baptized into that Body, 'and when I see the Blood I'll pass over you.'"

  186-119    Listen. Let's read just a little further here, please. ... what could never... make the comer unto perfect. For... (2nd verse, the 10th chapter)... For then they would not have ceased to be offered? If that could make the person perfect, and God requires perfection... If keeping the laws and doing all the commandments would make you perfect, then there's no--there--there's no need of having anything else; you're already made perfect. 'Cause when you're perfect, you're eternal; 'cause God's the only One that's eternal, and God's the only One perfect. And the only way you can be eternal, is become part of God. ... once purged should have no more conscience of sin. (What?)... the worshipper once purged... to have no more conscience,... (If you write the translation of that, it's "desire")... the worshipper once purged... has no more desire of sin.

If the worshipper was once purged... You go up now and say, "Oh, hallelujah, I got saved last night, but I... Well, bless God, she made me backslide. Hallelujah, someday I'll get saved again." You poor untrained illiterate. That's not the way it is. "The worshipper once purged has no more conscience of sin." The Bible said...

  186-122    Listen, as we read on in just a minute. But of those sacrifices... there's remembered against sin yearly. Now, we're going to drop down to hit the 8th verse, to save time where I want to get to: Above then when he said, Sacrifice and offerings and burnt-offering... for sin thou wouldest not, neither has Thou pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Ninth verse: Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the... take... He taketh away the first,... (the law)... that he may establish the second.

Wish we had time to stay on that. As long as you're Presbyterian, or a Pentecostal, or Baptist, or Methodist, He can never do nothing with you. He has to take that all away first (See?) so He can establish the second. Long as you say, "Well, I'm a Methodist." I'm nothing against the Methodists, or Baptists, or Pentecostal. But, brother, that don't--that don't spell it. You got to go on to perfection; that's into Christ.

  187-126    Watch this now, just a minute. By the which... we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Huh?) Let's just read just a little further. And hold that, let that soak in while we're reading: "once for all." And every priest standing daily ministering the offering oft time the same sacrifice, which can never take away sin: But this man,... (Are you ready? You got your vest open now so it won't dodge, it'll go right to the heart?)... But this man,... (What man? not the pope of Rome, not the bishop of the Methodist church, or any other church.)... But this man,... (Christ)... after he had offered one sacrifice for sin for ever, set down at the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Watch. Here she comes: For by one offer he has... (p-e-r-f-e-c-t-e-d)... he has perfected... (Until the next revival? What'd I say?)... he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Do you get it? "Let us go on to perfection.")

  188-128    Now, you holiness people say, "Oh, yes, we believe in holiness. Hallelujah, we believe in sanctification." But you're taking your own. You just quit this and quit that; you know you shouldn't do it. Unless Christ has opened the door, and quickened it to your heart, and you become a place where sin is dead, and desire, it's all gone... Then He taketh away your own self-righteous, He may establish Himself in you. And it's Christ, the Son of God in you, the hope of glory. "Let us go on to perfection." How can we be perfect? Through the death of Christ, not through joining church, not through our good works, what we do (That's all all right.), not because we were baptized this a-way or that way, not because that we been healed by laying on of hands, not because of any of these other things, "we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection."

  188-130    Paul said, "I could speak with tongue like men and Angels (That's both the tongues that is understood and the tongues that cannot be understood, has to be interpreted.), I am nothing. Though I have the gift of knowledge and understand all the wisdom of God (to explain the Bible from... tie her together), I am nothing." Don't do much good to go to school then, does it? to learn the Bible? "Though I have faith that I can move mountains..." Healing campaigns don't mean very much then, does it? "I'm nothing, though I give my body to be burned as a sacrifice." "Oh," they say, "that man's religious." "But he's nothing," Paul said, "never become nothing." "For where there's tongues, they shall cease; where's prophecies, it shall fail; where there's all these other things, will fail. But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away with." See, that's perfect. What is perfect? Love. What is love? God. Let us lay aside all these little dead works and ordinance and go on to perfection. You see it? We're perfected through Christ. How do we get into It? By Holy Spirit baptism. "All right, what happened?" You've passed from death unto Life. "Well, do I shake? Jump? Do..." You--you don't have to do nothing. You've already done it. God brought you from death unto Life, and you're alive. Then your fruits of your life show it.

189-136    A lot of you Methodists and Nazarenes shouted just as hard as you could shout, steal corn out of a man's patch (That's right.), and do everything that could be. A lot of you Pentecostals spoke in tongues like pouring peas on a cowhide, sure, went right out and run away with the next man's wife, done all kinds of things. That's not it, brother.

Don't try to have any sensation, anything to take the place of the Holy Spirit. When the new birth is come, you are changed. You don't have to do anything to prove it; your life proves it. As you walk, your love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, patience, that's what you are. And the whole world sees the reflection of Jesus Christ in you.

  189-139    Now, speaking in tongues, shouting there, that's just attributes that follow this kind of a life. And you can take and impersonate those attributes and never have that Life. We see it. How many knows that that's true? Sure you do; certainly you do. Why you can see it all around you. So there's nothing you say that's the evidence of the Holy Ghost, unless it's your life that you live. Now, if you want to speak with tongues, that's perfectly all right if you live the life to back it up. That's right. And if you want to shout, fine, that's good. I shout too, get so happy sometimes I can't hardly wear a pair of shoes; I like to jump out of them. And that's wonderful. I believe it. And I've seen visions, and the sick healed, the dead raised. When they laying out there and the doctors walk away and say they're finished and gone, lay there a couple hours; and the Holy Spirit come right down and show a vision, go down there and raise that person up. I've seen those who are deaf, dumb, and blind, and crippled, walk. That doesn't... That was just attributes.

  189-142    Brother, long time ago before the world was ever--had a foundation to it, God through His eternal grace, He looked down, and by foreknowledge He seen you and I. He knew what age we'd live in; He knew what we would be. Therefore, by election He chose us before the foundation of the world to be with Him without spot. Now, if He chose us before the foundation of the world to be in Him without spot, and we're borned all spotted and nothing else can--nothing can cleanse us, how we going to be without--how we going to be without spot? He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not have an end of life, but have Eternal Life, should never perish, but have Eternal Life. Then when we come into Him, by faith, through grace are we saved, by the Holy Spirit calling to us.

  190-144    Before there was a body on this earth, your bodies were laying here. It's made out of calcium, potash, moisture, cosmo--cosmic light, and petroleums, and so forth, sixteen elements. And the Holy Spirit begin to brood over the earth, wooing. And as It did, first thing you know, up come a little Easter flower. Then He brood out some grass, and some birds, and after while a man come forth. Now, He never made a woman out of the dust of the earth. She's alway a man to begin with, the man and woman are one. So He took from the side of Adam, a rib, and made a woman a helpmate to him, and then sin come in.

  190-146    Then after sin came in... God will not be defeated no matter what takes place. He'll never be defeated. Then women begin to bring men on the earth. And God through eternal grace seen who would be saved, and He called you, "No man can come to Me, except My Father calls him first. Not him that willeth, or him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy." You say, "Well, I sought God. I sought God." No, you never. God sought you. That's the way it was in the beginning. It wasn't Adam saying, "O Father, Father, I've sinned. Where are You?" It was Father saying, "O Adam, Adam, where are you?" That's the nature of man. That's the strain of men. That's what he's made of. "And no man can come to Me, except the Father draws him. And all that the Father gives Me... (Hallelujah.) All that come, I'll give them Eternal Life, and I'll raise him up at the last day." What a blessed... What a blessed promise of a God of heaven. Where we get to tonight, where He swore by Himself, there's none greater. You take an oath by someone greater than you. There's no one greater, so God took an oath to Himself. We're getting into it: how He did it and when He did it, and took an oath to Himself that He would raise us up and make us His own heritage.

  191-151    Oh, how perfect and solid we can stand this morning. How you can look at death staring you right in the face, you could say like Paul, "Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." There you are. Why? "Oh, you did so-and-so." "I know it, but I'm covered by His Blood." Hallelujah. "By One Spirit we were all baptized into one Body." You Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, whatever you are, we were baptized into one Body. And we have fellowship, and we're citizens of the Kingdom of God, professing that we are not of this world. My little girl come the other day and said, "Daddy, this little girl did so-and-so, and they did so-and-so, and we went over to the house and did so-and-so." I said... Said, "Why don't we do that?" I said, "Honey, we are not of that world. They live in a world to theirself." Said, "But don't we all walk on the same ground?" I said, "Of the world, honey. We're not of them people."

  191-159    The Bible said: "Come out of them; be ye separated," saith God. See, you're not of that. And when that new nature comes into you, you don't have to be pulled out; you don't want to go back like Lot's wife. You're just borned out of it. And you're in another dimension. And that looks trashy to you. And this, the great, fabulous America that we live in, has become one big chaos of it. Everything is lust and women. And women the way they're dressing, the men the way they're acting, and--and the things they're doing, and then call themselves Christians... For instance, this Elvis Presley, going join the Pentecostal church now, 'course that's where... Judas got thirty pieces of silver; Elvis got a fleet of Cadillacs and a--and a few million dollars for selling his birthright. Arthur Godfrey... Look at that.

  192-161    Look over here at Jimmy Osborne in Louisville, out there with that old boogie-woogie, rock-and-roll, old tommyrot, and filth, and on Sunday morning, take the Bible and stand on the platform and preach. What a disgrace. No wonder the Bible said, "Every table's full of vomit." Why, we're living in a terrible day. And people say, "Oh, they're very religious." Oh, don't you know that the devil is religious? Don't you know that Cain was just as religious as Abel was? But he didn't have the revelation. That's it; he didn't have the revelation. Yeah, we all go to church, but there's some's got Life; that's the ones that got the revelation of Jesus Christ in their heart: not by shaking, jumping, not by joining church, but the revelation. God has revealed Him. Look what said, "Who does man say I, the Son of man, am?" "Some said, 'You're a prophet.' And some say, 'You're Elias.' And some..." Said, "But who do you say?" Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." That wasn't from his lips. He said, "Blessed art thou, Simon, the son of Jonas, for flesh and blood never revealed this. You never learned this in some--some ethics of the Bible, or some theological seminary. Blessed are ye, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father which is in heaven has revealed it. And upon this rock I'll build My Church, and the gates of hell can't prevail against it."

  192-167    If you're a Christian this morning 'cause you belong to church, you're lost. If you're a Christian because you've passed from death unto Life, you're free from judgment; into Christ, you're becoming into perfection all the time. God cannot see one thing... You say, "Well, will I ever make a mistake?" Sure, but you don't do it willfully. Now we're getting into that just in a few minutes, "For he that sins willfully after he received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." We get into that tonight, because it's a little too late now.

  193-169    Let's read just a couple more verses of this, so we can feel better about getting down a little more. All right. Well, we start right in on that tonight, the 4th verse, listen at this. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and made... and have been... and have tasted of the power... the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And... tasted the good word of God, and the power of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew themselves... unto repentance;... See, and we take that into Hebrews 10, and back and forth, to show what this is.

  193-170    Friends, let us go on to perfection. We have... We're not... We're without excuse today. We have no excuse at all. The God of heaven has appeared in these last days and is doing the very same things that He did then when He was here before, when He was on earth. He's proved. As we're coming through this Bible, and you've... You, class, know this; that we have taken miracle by miracle, and sign by sign, and wonder by wonder, that He did with the children in the wilderness, the things and signs that He did. The things that He done when He was here on earth, manifest in the flesh, and the very same things are taking place today right here among us. Here's the Word to vindicate it. Here's the thing to say it's right, to make it right. Here's the Spirit of God to do the same thing, so we're without an excuse. Let us pray.

193-171    Heavenly Father, seeing that we are compassed about by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every word, every thing, every wrong, every evil word, every bad-spoken word, every thought, and let us run with patience the race that's set before us, looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. O blessed be His most matchless and holy Name. How that He came to earth to redeem fallen man, and to bring them back into the fellowship of the Lord God. And we thank Thee for this. And now by His grace... We never chose Him, but He chose us. He said, "You have not chosen Me, but I chose you." When? "Before the foundation of the world."

194-172    And, dear God, if there be some setting here this morning, maybe, who's put this off for years and years, but constantly, there's a little knocking at the heart... Maybe they joined church, thinking, "Well, it'll be all right." Father, surely the Scriptures has explained it this morning, that you cannot hide behind a church and be righteous; neither can you be good, not lie and steal and do anything bad, and still be righteous. There's only one righteousness we have, not of our own, but His righteousness. He has perfected our salvation. Therefore, being in Him, God does not see our mistakes. When we do anything wrong, there's a spirit in us screams out, "O Father, forgive me." Then God does not see it. And it's... We are brought into fellowship and grace with Him. Grant it, Lord, while we close this service, in Christ's Name. Amen.