(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good evening and welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Let's go ahead and find our seats this evening. Find a seat, find a hymnal close to you and turn to page number 44. Find the seats and find a songbook close to you and turn to page number 44. We will open the service with Will Work Till Jesus Comes, song number 44. Oh land of rest for thee I sigh, let's sing it out on the first. Song number 44, let's sing it out on the second. We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered here to see it out on the last. Oh God, I want my single side no more. Oh, with him I'll bring that chilling, tight and peace, my heavenly home. We'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered here to see it out on the last. Amen. Great singing. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church here on our Sunday evening service. We're glad to see everyone here this evening. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father and Lord, we thank you again for the opportunity to come to your house, Lord, this evening and pray that you would bless the service. And thank you for the people that are here gathered, Lord, to sing praises to you and hear your words preached. We pray that you would bless the service tonight, bless the singing and the preaching to come. And we love you and Jesus, I pray. Amen. All right, it's now time for our favorites where if you're selected, we will sing a stanza from the song that you pick. Go ahead, Josiah. Song number 41. We'll start with sweet by and by. Song number 41. There's a land that is fairer than this. Sing it out on the first. There's a land that is fairer than this. And by faith we can see it afar. For the Father waits all the way. To prepare us to dwell in peace there. In the sweet by and by. We shall meet on the beautiful shore. In the sweet by and by. We shall meet on the beautiful shore. Listen, drag on. 247. Song number 247. Save, save. I found a friend who is all to me. Let's sing it out on the first. I found a friend who is all to me. His love is ever true. I love to tell how he lives in me. And what his grace can do for you. Save by his fire divine. Save to your life sublime. I'm now the sweet and mighty. Please come free for I'm saved. Save, save by. Brother Graham. 202 on the third. Song number 202 on the third. I will praise my Redeemer. I will praise my dear Redeemer. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. I will praise my Redeemer Israel. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in Luke, chapter number 18, and of course we are continuing to make our way through the Gospel of Luke. And this morning we saw the parable of the unjust judge, and tonight we're going to be looking at another well-known parable, commonly referred to as the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. And if you'll notice, it begins there in verse number 9. The Bible says, and he spake this parable unto certain which, and I want you to just make note of this. We saw it this morning, and we'll see it again here tonight, that Jesus with these two parables does something that he doesn't normally do every time he gives a parable, and it is he gives us the intent or the purpose of the parable up front. And here he tells us that there's really two reasons why he gave this parable. He says there in verse 9 that he spake this parable unto certain which, number 1, trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and number 2, despised others. So the purpose of the parable was for Jesus to correct really two things. One, the problem of those trusting in themselves, and secondly, the problem of despising others. So notice he wants to correct those two problems, so he gives a parable about two men. Verse 10 says two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. And I just want you to make note of this, and I'm going to walk you through this parable, and then I'll give you the points and make some application. But I want you to notice that there's two men, there's two prayers, and there's two outcomes. These two men that Jesus gives in this parable are about as different as possible. One would be what we would call a Pharisee, what Jesus calls a Pharisee. And this would be really a prominent religious leader in the community. This is someone that people would look at and say, this guy is religious. So the Pharisees were the top notch of keeping the law and keeping the commandments supposedly. We know that Jesus taught and exposed a lot of hypocrisy in the lives of the Pharisees, but as far as the community is concerned, they would look at a Pharisee and they would think, this is a religious guy. This is a top notch religious observer, this is a religious leader. It's interesting because Jesus gives us these two different men. He says to one, a Pharisee, and then he says to the other, a publican. And a publican, and I won't take the time to run through all the verses tonight, but a publican would be the exact opposite of a Pharisee. One would be a prominent religious leader, the other would be a notorious sinner. And a publican is pretty much a tax collector, someone who is working for the Roman government. So he's a Jew working for the Roman government, which is being pretty much a traitor. And he's working for the Roman government and he's taking taxes from his own people in order to give to the Roman government. But as a result of his job, he's allowed to take more than what the people actually owe. And that's how the publicans would get paid. That's why the publicans were so hated. Because of the fact that they, number one, just being a tax collector is going to make you not be the most popular person, right? I mean, it's like working for the IRS. It's not something you probably brag about on Facebook. But even on top of that, not only is he a tax collector, but he's a crook. The publicans were known as people that were dishonest. They would go to someone who owed a certain amount of money and they would make them pay more than that because as far as the Roman Empire was concerned, as long as you got what was owed to them, anything you got more above that, you could keep that. And we're actually going to see that in chapter 19 when we get into the story of Zacchaeus, who was one of the chief publicans, and how he stole from people and he used his position. This is why all throughout the Gospels you see this phrase, sinners and publicans, is used interchangeably because a publican would literally be just the worst of the worst sinner, the most downtrodden, worst person possible. So it's interesting that Jesus gives this parable. He tells us he's given the parable to teach about those that trust in themselves and those that despise others. Then he talks about these two men and they're as physically and as social-economically far away from each other as possible. One, a religious leader and someone who's prominent in the community for how religious they are. The other, a notorious sinner, one who's well known for being a crook and a thief. Notice there in verse 11, the Bible says, the Pharisee stood and prayed. I want you to notice this little phrase. I like this phrase. Like I said, I'm losing my voice so I don't know how long I'm going to preach for tonight. I'll go as far as I can. But he says here, the Bible says that he prayed. I want you to notice this little phrase in verse 11. He prayed thus with himself. He prayed thus with himself. It's just interesting that God would highlight that because if you notice the prayer, it's all about himself. Notice there in verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God, notice what he says, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Notice verse 12, he says, I fast twice in the week. He says, I give tithes of all that I possess. Notice that the subject of his prayer is all about himself. He says, I thank thee that I am not as other men. He said, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. I, I, I, I, I. And it's interesting because Luke tells us that he prayed thus with himself or Jesus tells us that he prayed thus with himself. And really, we see him praying with himself, about himself. He's just praying all about himself. And this prayer is not even getting to God or being acknowledged by God because he's really just praying with himself. He's praying about himself, to himself. I want you to notice the contrast between the Pharisee and the publican, verse 13. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes even unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. So we have one guy who's praying with himself, about himself, boasting and bragging about all his righteousness. And then we have another guy, no bragging, no boasting. He is standing. And I want you to notice that Jesus, Jesus, of course, is the master storyteller. As Jesus is giving this parable, he's comparing these two men, but really he's contrasting these two men because he gives us two men that are as opposite a society as possible, a Pharisee and a publican. He tells us that one stood while the other one was standing afar off. And the idea is that one stood in a prominent place where people would see him and hear him. The other one was standing afar off. One prayed with himself. The other one would not even lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And then I want you to notice that Jesus highlights a couple of different lessons here in verse 14. He says, I tell you. I want you to notice the two lessons. And I'm going to give these to you up front, and then we're going to develop these in the sermon tonight. He says, I tell you, here's lesson number one. This man, referring to the publican, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. And then Jesus says this, and here's the second lesson. He says, for everyone that exalted themselves shall be abased, and he that humbled himself shall be exalted. So in this little parable, this is a very well-known, very famous parable. We have two men. We have two prayers. We have two outcomes. We have two lessons. We have two reasons for the parable being given, and we have this text before us. So we'll go ahead and take this in the two sections that the Lord Jesus Christ gives it to us. And let me just quickly this evening give you a couple of lessons from the two main themes in this parable. The first one, if you're taking notes, you can write this down. I'd like you to notice the lessons regarding salvation, the lessons about salvation. Because I want you to know that this parable is about salvation. In Luke 18 and verse 14, notice it again. He says, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified. This man went down to his house justified rather than the other. Now keep your place there in Luke 18. That's obviously our text for tonight. But go with me real quickly to the book of Galatians, the New Testament book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 3. You're there in Luke. You go past John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and then you have the book of Galatians. Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, and then Galatians. Galatians chapter number 3. I want you to understand that that phrase, and we've talked about this in other sermons and other series, but that phrase, justified, it's a spiritual term. It's a biblical word, obviously, that we use. But it's a theological word, and it has to do with salvation. The Bible tells us that this man went down to his house justified, and the idea is that he went down and he'd gotten saved. In Galatians 3, 24, the Bible says, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. And we're going to look at that next week when we look at the story of the rich young ruler here in our Gospel of Luke series. But I want you to notice the last part of verse 24, that we might be justified by faith. Justified is this idea that we have been made just, that we have been made righteous. The way that I was taught growing up in church is that justified is a way that you can remember it, is to think that it's just as if I'd never sinned. And the idea is that you've been justified. We were sinners, but our sins have been taken off of us. Someone else has paid the penalty of our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have been given His righteousness. That atonement process is the process of justification. And it's just as if I'd never sinned. But I would even take it a step further and just for those of you that like doctrine and theology, salvation is not just as if I'd never sinned, but it's really the idea of justification is just as if I'd never been a sinner. It's being in Christ. It's the fact that I'm no longer in Adam, but I am in Christ. So I want you to understand that this is a theological term referring to salvation. Keep your place there in Galatians because we're going to come back to it and go back to Luke chapter 18. So there's some lessons in this parable about salvation. The first lesson, and it's obvious, I hope it's obvious on a Sunday night to Verity Baptist Church, but it's in the text so we should look at it. It's always good to be reminded about things that we already know. And it is this, that you don't earn salvation. Salvation is not something that we can earn. Luke 18 and verse 9, notice what he says, Now I realize that on a Sunday night at Verity Baptist Church, this is not a controversial teaching that we are not to trust in ourselves. But let me tell you something, the vast majority of so-called Christians out there, that's exactly the position they find themselves in. They are trusting in themselves. They are trusting in themselves that they were righteous. And Jesus says, let me tell you a parable with the idea of correcting this thought. He said, I want to speak a parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous. I'd like you to notice a comparison in scripture here. You're there in Luke chapter 18. You kept your place in Galatians. I'd like you to continue to keep your place in Galatians. But go to Philippians real quickly. From Galatians you have Ephesians, then the book of Philippians. And just look at these two verses side by side. Philippians chapter 3. Keep your place in Galatians. Go to Philippians chapter 3. It's good to study the Bible together. And the Bible says that we should compare spiritual things with spiritual things. And that's comparing scripture with scripture of course. And here in Luke 18, 9, Jesus says that he spake a parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous. In Philippians 3, 9, and remember that that man that Jesus used as an example of trusting in himself that they were righteous was a Pharisee. In Philippians 3, 9, we have the apostle Paul who's an ex-Pharisee. Who was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Who was the top of the Pharisees. And here's what Paul says, obviously no longer a Pharisee. After his conversion, Philippians 3, 9, he says this, and be found referring to himself. And by the way, I won't take the time to develop it, but in the previous verses here in Philippians 3, 9 he's talking about his prior accolades, his religion of the past, his education of the past, all the things he did in the past. And he says all those things, all my accomplishments, all the things that I would put on a resume. He says I count all those things as dung. He says they are lost to me in Christ. And then he says in verse 9, he says here's what I want. I want to be found in him. That's referring to being found in Jesus. Remember, justification is not justified, never sinned, but it's justified, never been a sinner. It's that when God looks down at you and God looks down at me, he doesn't see you as a sinner that has had his sins removed. He sees the Lord Jesus Christ because salvation is to be found in him. That's what Paul says. He says and be found in him, notice the words, not having mine own righteousness. If you're going to get to heaven, if you're going to be saved, it's going to be by being found in him not having mine own righteousness. The problem with most religion is that most people are trusting in themselves that they were righteous. And he says not having mine own righteousness, notice what he says, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And if you remember we saw in Galatians 3, 24 that we might be justified by faith. The law does not justify us. The law is a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. The law simply shows us our need of a savior. The idea is that God gave us the law, that we might look at the law, compare our lives to the law, and realize that we come short and that we are in need of a savior. What our crazy world has done is said, well, let's take that law that is supposed to take you to Christ and as your schoolmaster is supposed to guide you to Christ, and let's just try to keep that law. Let's just try to do all the things in that law. Let's just trust in ourselves that we are righteous. And we see this lesson on salvation and it is this, that you don't earn your salvation. Salvation is not by trusting in your own righteousness. We want to be found in him not having mine own righteousness. Now go back to Luke chapter 18 and let me show you a couple things. And if you're taking notes, you can write this down under the heading or whatever, you know, if you're outlining it, point one, lessons about salvation, subpoint A, you don't earn salvation. Some of you aren't very good at outlining, so I've got to help you a little bit. Here's a couple of points under that. When it comes to salvation and this idea of not earning our salvation, it doesn't matter, and this is what you need to understand and this is what we as soul winners need to explain to religious people that are lost. And it is this, that it does not matter what you have not done because what you have done is enough to send you to hell. It's interesting because when you look at this Pharisee, look at Luke 18 and verse 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Remember, he's praying with himself, about himself. Notice what he says. He says, God, I thank thee, notice these words, that I am not. He begins to tell us about all the things that he hasn't done, all the things that he's not. He says that I am not as other men are, that I am not an extortioner, that I am not, and by the way, the publican was an extortioner. He says that I am not an extortioner or unjust or an adulterer or even as this publican. He begins by telling us all the things that he is not. And if you're a soul winner, you know this is true. We'll often knock on people's doors and ask them the questions. Do you know for sure if you died today that you're on your way to heaven? And sometimes religious people will say, well, I hope so. I think I might make it. And you ask them, well, what are you trusting in to get you to heaven? Well, it gives you that confidence that you're on your way to heaven. And they'll say, well, I'm not a bad person. Well, I'm not on drugs. Well, I've never committed adultery or I've never robbed a bank. I've never killed somebody. And people often want to tell you what they're not, what they haven't done. And by the way, if you're in charge of making the list, it's easy to make the list of all the things that you've not done. But the truth of the matter is this, that it does not matter what you have not done, because what you have done is enough to send you to hell. You don't have to turn there. I'll just read this for you. James 2, 10 says this, The idea is this, that the same God that said don't do A, B, and C is the same God that said don't do X, Y, and Z. So you might be able to say, I've never done A, B, and C. And I might be able to say, I've never done X, Y, and Z. But it doesn't really matter because what we haven't done is not what gets us into heaven. What we haven't done is not the ticket to salvation because whatever we have done is enough to send us to hell. So you can't sit there and say, oh, I'm so glad and I'm trusting in and my trust is that I am not. It doesn't matter what you're not. The problem is what you are and what you are is a sinner. For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. So don't tell me what you haven't done. The problem is not with what you haven't done. I hope there's lots of things you haven't done, but the problem is what you have done. You say, well, I haven't done much, but if you've done anything, even a lie will send you to hell. So we see that Jesus is highlighting, because remember Jesus is talking to people who are trusting in themselves. And he says, let me tell you a little story about a Pharisee. And he gets up and he says, God, I think that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Go back to Luke chapter 18. He begins by telling us what he hasn't done. Then in verse 12 he starts telling us what he has done. Notice verse 12. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And here's what I want you to sin. In the same way that it does not matter what you have not done, because what you have done is enough to send you to hell, it also doesn't matter what you have done, because what you have not done regarding the law of God is enough to keep you from heaven. See, people start playing this game and they start playing this game. The way I'm going to get myself to heaven is by what I have not done or by what I have done. But here's what people don't understand. What you have not done regarding sin doesn't matter, because what we know about everyone is that we've all sinned, everyone has sinned, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, so any sin, no matter what sin, is enough to send you to hell. But the flip side is also that it does not matter. Go back to Galatians, if you would. Galatians chapter 5. When it comes to the good things, the religious things, it doesn't matter what you've done, because what you've left undone is enough to not get you into heaven. Here's what the Bible says, Galatians 5.2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, this is Paul speaking to the church in Galatia, to people who were trusting in the fact that they had been circumcised and that they had done this religious act of circumcision under the Jews' religion, and they were trusting in that to get them to heaven. And here's what Paul says, Galatians 5.2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now I want you to understand that that example that Paul gives of circumcision is an example he gave to the church in Galatia because there literally were people who were trusting in their circumcision. If you would have asked them the question, do you know if a church is that today, are you on your way to heaven, they would have said something in the affirmative of, I think so, I hope so, that's my plan. And if you would have asked them, well, what is it that you're trusting into the heaven, they would have said, well, I've been circumcised, just like Moses said and all these things. And Paul is saying, if you're trusting in your circumcision, Christ shall profit you nothing. Here's what I want you to understand for a 2022 application, and it is this, that circumcision is simply an example there, and you can swap that with any other religious act, and the statement is still true. Today people might not say that they're trusting in their circumcision, but the truth is this, if you'd be baptized and that's what you're trusting in to get you to heaven, Christ shall profit you nothing. If you've been catechized and that's what you're trusting to get you to heaven, Christ shall profit you nothing. If you've repented of your sins and that's what you're trusting to get you to heaven, Christ shall profit you nothing. Because if you think that doing something or keeping some aspect of the law is enough to get you to heaven, you are completely misunderstanding the point. Because in Galatians 5 and verse 3, Paul says this, For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Now we're going to see this on Sunday morning with the rich young ruler, and I'm bringing that up because I want you to understand, these stories that Luke is giving us are not in vacuums. I am preaching them as independent sermons, but they're connected for a reason. The reason he tells us the story about the unjust judge, the reason he tells us the story about the Pharisee and the publican, the reason he tells us the story about the rich young ruler, the reason he tells the story about the rich man and Lazarus, all these things are connected. They all have a similar theme. And what Paul is telling us is this, that if you think that you're going to get to heaven by keeping the law, then you better keep the entire law flawlessly. Look at verse 3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised. Anybody who says, my ticket into heaven is keeping this part of the law, Paul says that you are a debtor to do the whole law. You don't get to say, I've done this part of the law. If you're going to use the law as your entrance into salvation, you've got to keep the whole law. Look at verse 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law. You're fallen from grace. And that term fallen from grace today, the religious people today will use that term fallen from grace to try to use it as though someone lost their salvation. That is not the biblical way that that phrase is used. Fallen from grace, biblically, the term is referring to someone who is rejecting the grace of God and trusting in their keeping of the law for salvation. When someone is trying to work or earn their way to heaven, they've fallen from grace. There's no grace for trying to keep the law. Because if you want to keep the law, you better keep the whole law. And only one person did that, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's why Paul says, you're there in Galatians, go to Galatians 2, look at verse 16. Paul says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. I love this little verse, Galatians 2, 16. Because I tend, as a pastor, I think this is because I'm a pastor, I'm sure, because my job is to stand up and speak three times a week for an hour, an hour and ten minutes, whatever. I tend to over-communicate, and I realize that sometimes that irritates some people. But I also understand that half of you are only listening about at 50% capacity. And when I say that, I don't mean that you're listening 50% of the time, although that is true. What I mean by that is that what I've learned is that people are listening about 50% of the time, and when they are listening that 50% of the time, they're only listening at 50% capacity, which is why some of you right now are confused as to what I'm even talking about because you've only heard about half of what I'm saying. So because of that, I tend to over-communicate, and I tend to repeat myself and say it again and again and again. Harvest party is at 6 p.m. 6 p.m. is the harvest party. Did you know the harvest party was at 6 p.m.? But here's what will happen. Someone will send me a text tomorrow asking, when's the harvest party? And I'll say, 6 p.m. Because we tend to only listen to about half. And Paul, it just makes me feel better because I look at Paul here and I'm like, okay, Paul, we get it, Mr. Over-communicator. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. I mean, that could be a verse right there, period, verse. He says, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. And then Paul's like, and did I mention? And not by the works of the law. Don't miss this, Paul says, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be done. I mean, he's just like over and over, we're not justified by the works of the law. We're justified by the faith of Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by faith, not by the law. He's just saying it over and over and over again. Why? Because he wants us to get it. He wants us to understand that it doesn't matter what sins you've not done, because what sins you have done are enough to send you to hell. And it doesn't matter what part of the law you have kept, because the parts of the law that you've not kept is still enough to keep you from heaven. So the point is this, we're not justified by works. We're not justified by our own righteousness. Go back to Luke chapter 18. So we see the lessons about salvation. There's two lessons, one about salvation. Excuse me, there's two subjects, one about salvation, one about pride, and there's two lessons for each one of the subjects. The first one is this, you don't earn salvation. I know you know that, but I'm not guaranteed that your kids know that. And it's good for us to be reminded of these things and learn these things and understand these things from time to time. The second lesson regarding salvation is this, that you must ask for salvation. It's interesting to me that whenever you see somebody getting saved in the Bible, I'm not saying when the Bible refers to somebody getting saved, because there's lots of times the Bible refers to somebody getting saved and we don't get all the details. But when you see somebody getting saved in the Bible, you always see them speak or confess or call some version of what we would call a sinner's prayer. I mean, look at Luke 18, 13 again. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes, even unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. It's interesting to me that God always identifies and God always highlights what the guy was saying. What was he saying? He said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And then, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, look at verse 14, I tell you this man went down to his house justified. He opens his mouth and he says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus says, that guy got saved. It's just interesting, I think, that whenever you see somebody getting saved in the Bible, I'm not talking about you are being told about somebody that God saved. I'm saying when we have a story in the Bible where somebody's getting saved, where we would point to it and say, that person got saved at that moment, they always call upon Christ for salvation. Or, in the Old Testament, call upon the Lord for salvation under the Old Covenant. Here this man said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Let me just show you a few other examples. Go to Luke 23. Luke 23. Look at verse 42. You're there on Luke 18. Just flip over a few pages. Luke 23, verse 42. And he said unto Jesus, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, on the cross, crucified between two thieves. One of the thieves, they've mocked Jesus and made fun of Jesus, but one is now ready to acknowledge him as Savior. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. You say, when did this guy get saved? Well, he said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He looked at Jesus and said, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus says, hey, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus says, that man went home justified. Go to Acts 8. Let's look at another example. Acts chapter 8. You're there in Luke, go past John, into the book of Acts. Acts chapter 8. Acts 8, 36. Acts 8, 36. Acts 8, 36, and as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, say ye, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? The eunuch is asking Philip, what's stopping me, what's hindering me from being baptized? And Philip being, of course, a Baptist, being a good preacher, a soul winner. And Philip said, if thou believeth with all thine heart, thou mayest. Because you have to believe before you can be baptized. Notice what the Bible says, and he answered and said, notice what he said. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And in the next verse, they go down and they get baptized. So, the question is, what's hindering me from being baptized? The answer is, if you believe with all thine heart, thou mayest. He says, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And then Philip says, great, let's baptize you. Why? Because you got saved. It's just interesting to me that whenever you see somebody getting saved in the Bible, they always ask for it. They always make some sort of a verbal confessing with their mouth. It's almost like the Bible says that. Go to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. Acts, Romans, Romans 10. You know these verses, but let's look at them. Romans 10, look at verse 9. Today there are those who say, you don't have to confess with your mouth to be saved. You don't have to have the sinner's prayer to be saved. Years ago, we had a guy run around here teaching these things. He was saying, Pastor Mendez is teaching work salvation. Because he's telling people they have to pray to be saved. Let me tell you something. We are fundamentalists. We are biblicalists. We should stick to the Word of God and what the Bible says. But when your fundamentalism is more extreme than Jesus, you're too fundamental. When you're more right with God than Jesus is, you've gone too far. Because the Bible says, Romans 10-9, that if thou shalt, confess with thy mouth. You say, what does that mean? I don't know, something like this. God be merciful to me, a sinner. I don't know, something like this. Remember me when thou enters into thy kingdom. I don't know, something like this. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, notice this, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. According to the Bible, how do you get saved? You confess with your mouth and you believe your heart. And there are people that make the argument, no! You don't have to confess. You just have to believe. Look, you are literally fighting against the Bible. When you have to sit there and say, well, I know that's what it says, but that's not what it means because I'm actually the authority here, not the Word of God. You're in trouble. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Look at it. Again, notice Paul, our over communicator. He already said it in verse 9, but he's like, let me say it again. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Okay, Paul, thank you. We got it. No. He said, I'm not done. Verse 11. For the Scripture says, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. And there you got our guys who are like, oh, well, there you go. All you have to do is believe. Now notice that whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Verse 12, Paul says, I'm not done. You're only listening halfway. So I've got to say it again and again, verse 12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Now I want you to notice something. Verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now hold on. Look at verse 11. For the Scripture sayeth, notice these words, whosoever believeth. Look at verse 13, for whosoever shall call. Verse 11, whosoever believeth. Verse 13, whosoever shall call. Verse 11, I know I'm over-communicating. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Verse 13, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You say, well, which one is it? Is it believing or is it calling? It's both. You confess with your mouth. You believe in the heart. And then people like to ask these hypothetical questions. Well, what if somebody believes and they never confess? Don't ask me stupid questions. Because let me tell you something. Everyone that believes would confess. Romans 10, 8. Look at it. I skipped it on purpose. I want you to see it now. Romans 10, 8. Look at the context of this whole little thing that Paul's saying. But what saith it? Notice, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. No, no, you just got to believe in your heart and you don't have to say anything with your mouth. Well, he says that when the word is in your mouth, it's because it's in your heart. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. Because let me tell you something, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. That's why the Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. That's why when somebody argued with me and said, well, I believe that I never confess. I never confess. I looked at them and said, then you're not saved. Because there's something wrong with an individual who says, I refuse to confess. If you refuse to confess, then it's because it's not in your heart. Because if it was in your heart, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. No true believer is ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and say, yeah, I believe in Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about taking some strong stand against the Lord. I'm saying just your testimony. When you ask somebody, hey, are you saved? What are you trusting in to get to heaven? If somebody says, that's personal. I don't want to talk about it. They're not saved. A saved person says, yeah, it's all Jesus. But what sayeth it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is. And people say, oh, no, no, no. If you tell people they got to pray, then that's not faith anymore. Hold on. Notice what the Bible calls it. The word of faith. Oh, no, if you add words, that's words. Well, you didn't get that from the Bible. Because God calls it the word of faith, which we preach. And by the way, that's the context in which he says, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in that heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And then people ask these questions. Everybody always asks their questions. Well, what if they can't speak? Well, then God's going to send them to hell. God's going to send somebody to hell because they can't speak. Is that what you really think? Look at verse 8. But what sayeth it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth. Notice. And in thy heart. What's in your heart? The belief, but also the word. You know, you could confess in your mind. You can confess in your heart. I mean, just yesterday, Brother George and I were out soul winning. Knocked on our door, and an elderly lady opened the door and asked us to come in. She wanted us to talk with her and with her daughter. This lady, I don't know how old she was. If I had to guess, I would say she was probably in her 80s. And her daughter was probably in her 30s. She was laying on a medical bed in the middle of the living room, and she could not speak. She was paralyzed. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but all she said to us was that she was in a freak accident. And this lady was paralyzed. And she said she wanted us to explain the gospel to her daughter. I asked her, can she speak? She said, no. I said, can she understand us? She said, she understands everything you're saying. Everything you say, she understands that she just can't speak. And Brother George was there. He can testify to this. Her eyes were very, you know, she would use her eyes to communicate. And I'd say something to her, and I'd ask her, do you understand what I'm saying? And her eyes, she would use to communicate and say, yeah, you know, without saying the words. And we went through in the gospel and tried to explain it as clearly as possible and give all those things. And, you know, at the end, Mom prayed with her mouth. And I told the daughter, I said, look, I understand that you can't speak, but do you understand what I've shared with you from the Bible? Do you believe what I'm telling you in her eyes? She was excited. And I said, look, you can just say this in your mind, say this in your heart. Just, would you like to pray this prayer? And her head kind of shook a little bit. And she pressed the button and pulled her bed up, and we went through the prayer. And look, I promise you, I'm not making this up, and Brother George was there. When the prayer was done, her face had physically changed. And she didn't speak, she didn't make a noise, but it almost seemed to me like she was trying to talk. And here we have this woman who can't speak, but we're going through this prayer, and she's like trying to talk. You say, why? Because the Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth. And in thy heart, the Word of faith. Because I'm here to tell you, anybody who gets saved, I have no problem confessing Jesus. So do you think that lady got saved? Absolutely. If she prayed it in her heart and her mind, it doesn't matter that I didn't hear her, God heard her. But this idea that I've never asked for salvation, I've never called upon anyone, I've never confessed that I'm a sinner, I just believe you're a liar, or you're not saved. Because everybody that has ever gone saved got to the point where they realized, I'm a sinner, I can't save myself, and they asked to be saved. And did that necessarily go like the prayer in the back of our track? I don't think so. You know, I formatted our prayer to be just another review of the gospel. Lord, I'm a sinner, I deserve to go to hell, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, please forgive me of my sins, please forgive me of eternal life, I'm not trusting myself, I'm only trusting in you. But that's not the prayers you see in the Bible, the prayers you just see, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Remember me when thou enters into thy kingdom. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Look, whatever, it doesn't matter how you form it or how you say it or what you say, but you better ask for it. And if you have this attitude of, I've never asked, then you're going to die and go to hell. And you're going to die and go to hell because of your pride, which is what we're about to talk about. Let me just show you another verse real quickly. Go to John chapter 4. Romans, if you go backwards from Romans, Acts, John, John chapter 4. Here's the other thing that people often say, well, if you have to ask for it, that's a work. Okay, well, this is what I mean. When you're more right with God than Jesus, you've taken it too far. Because the way that we come to what we believe should always go like this. What does the Bible say? We're biblicists. What does the Bible say? John 4.10, Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me drink, thou wouldest have never said anything, not one time, because that's works. Is that what it says? He said, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me drink, thou wouldest have asked of him. Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. If you knew that salvation was that close, if you knew that you could be saved, if you knew that it wasn't based on how much of the law you've kept or how much of the law you haven't kept, that it's all through Jesus Christ and the atonement that he did for us on the cross, then you would cry out and you would ask for salvation. Jesus taught that asking for a gift is not working for it. If that's the case and we owe all these welfare people an apology because we say they're all lazy and they're not working, but they show up every week and ask, they show up every week and ask for their welfare check, does that mean they earned it? Does that mean they worked for it? Because your children get up early on Christmas morning and ask for their Christmas gift, does that mean they earned it? Just because you asked for a gift doesn't mean you earned it. It's ridiculous. When the person who earned it died on the cross to pay for your sins, but you asked him for it. Salvation is confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. And let me just say it this way. When you believe in your heart, there'll be no problem with confessing in your mouth. And if you need me to just say it out loud, if you can't confess with your mouth physically, you can do it in your heart, but you better ask for it. So we learn these lessons about salvation and it's this, that you don't earn salvation, number one. You must ask for salvation, number two. But then let's shift real quickly to these lessons about pride. Because remember there's two points or two reasons for this parable. One is Jesus correcting this idea of those who trusted in themselves. And then the other is this idea of those who despised others. Now what Jesus gives us in this parable is a portrayal of pride. Why don't you notice, he gives us a picture. He portrays for us what pride looks like. And here's what I've learned about pride, is that it's hard to see it in the mirror. It's very easy for us to see it in other people. You talk to someone who's arrogant, someone who's prideful, and it's so easy to be like, man, that guy's so arrogant, man, she is so prideful. But when we're being arrogant and we're being prideful, it's hard for us to see it. So Jesus says, let me give you an example of what pride looks like. Luke 18, 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Remember, he was praying to himself about himself. And he says this, God, I want you to count the eyes. I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterous, or even as this publican. Notice verse 12, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Five different times in this prayer, this guy says, I, I, I, I, I. I thank thee that I am not as other men are. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. What is it that Jesus is showing us? Here's what he's showing us. Pride focuses on self. And if you're not sure what pride looks like, you're not sure, am I a person who's filled with pride? I've been told that I'm filled with pride, but I don't see it. Well, ask yourself, just notice how much you talk about yourself. Because this guy was praying, he prayed thus with himself about himself. He's just talking about himself. I, I, I, I. Five different I's in these couple of verses. Here's what's interesting. Go to Isaiah chapter 14. Isaiah chapter 14. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms you have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon, Solomon, Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 14. In Isaiah 14, we have the one example that we are given of Satan, of his fall and why he fell into sin. He's given, he's even given his Christian name, Lucifer, the name that God gave him. Isaiah 14, 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut to the ground, which this weakens the nations? Notice verse 13. For thou hast set in thine heart, notice this, I. I want you to count the I's. I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation and the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Isn't it interesting that Satan also has five I's? Just like the Pharisee had five I's. I think God is trying to show us something about pride. What's pride all about? Pride focuses on self. It's all about me. It's all about I. It's all about what I'm doing and what I want. It's all about magnifying yourself. You don't have to turn here. Let me just read this for you. Zephaniah 2, 10 says this, This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves. Pride is all about focusing on yourself. It's all about magnifying yourself. Now here's the thing. Here's the issue. Go back to Luke 18. We'll be done here in a little bit. God hates pride. I mean, I won't run the verses for you, but I mean, they're easy to find. All over the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, especially in the Book of Proverbs, God is constantly telling us that he hates pride. He hates a proud look. He puts it in the list of things. These things doth the Lord hate, and pride is always mentioned. He hates pride. We talked about it this morning with the unjust judge. Remember that he feared not God, nor he regarded man. Because God is very interested in how we treat others. He connects these two thoughts. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our might, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Our relationships are not just a relationship between us and God. It's a relationship between us and God, and that connection between us and God will determine how we treat our fellow man. The two are connected. The problem with pride, if all pride did was made you extremely arrogant and annoying to be around, I mean, that would be enough, but that wouldn't be, in my opinion, that's not why God hates it. The reason that God hates it is because pride never ends there. Pride never ends with simply magnifying yourself. Pride always has this effect that it causes you to despise others. Look at Luke 18, verse 11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I think thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterous, or even as this publican. The problem with this man was not just the I, I, I, I, I, was not just the focus on self, but it was that his focus on self caused him to despise others. Look at verse 9, Luke 18, 9. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. The problem with pride, it's not just that it lifts us up, it's that it causes us to despise others, because here's the truth. Oftentimes, in order to lift ourselves up, we have to pull others down. In order to make ourselves look good or feel good, we have to make other people look bad or feel bad. The problem with pride is not that you magnify yourself, it's that you magnify yourself at the expense of others. So Jesus speaks this parable to those who trusted in themselves and despised others. You don't have to turn here, I'll just read this for you. 3 John 1.9 says this, I wrote unto the church, but diatrophes, this is John the beloved, John the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, the closest of the disciples to the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, I wrote unto the church, but diatrophes who love it to have the preeminence, that's pride. That's magnifying of yourself. He says, who love it to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not. Notice he focuses on himself and he despises others. The problem with pride is that it doesn't end with simply magnifying ourselves, it's that we start comparing ourselves to others and we start despising others. We start making statements like, that I'm not as this other man, I'm better than this person, I'm not like this publican, or even as this publican. That's a problem. It's an issue of pride. It's an issue that causes us to look down on others. And I've got to ask this question, and I obviously don't want you to answer this, but I've got to ask you the question, who are you despising? Who are you looking down on? Who are you judging in your mind and saying, well, if I had that situation, if I was that pastor, well, you're not that pastor. Well, if I was married to him, here's what I'd do. If I was married to her, here's what I'd do. If those were my children, they're not your children. Who is it that you're despising in your heart? Because here's what I can tell you, only by pride comes contention. And if you're despising someone in your heart, it's probably because you're filled with pride. The problem with pride is that it causes us to despise others, look down on others. Say, well, I'm not like this publican. And by the way, let me just say this. The comparison game is a funny game. You know the Bible says that we should not compare ourselves among ourselves. For they that compare themselves among themselves are not wise. You say, why is it not wise? It's a foolish game to play. Here's why. Because you can always find someone who's worse than you. If you're just trying to make yourself feel better, it's always, well, at least I'm not so-and-so. You know, your wife's like, you do this and you do that. Well, at least I'm not this. Or your little husband, whatever. It's always, you know, you say, who should I be comparing myself to? How about yourself? How am I doing today in comparison to last month, to last year? Or if you really want to get spiritual, how about the Lord Jesus Christ? Who's the person we're trying to be like? We're trying to be conformed unto the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see this picture of pride. This man focused on himself, I, I, I, I, I. And that's not the problem. That's a problem. But the problem is that when we magnify ourselves, we despise others. We look down on others. We think that we can do better or are better than others. The truth of the matter is this. You've got a race to run. Just mind your race. Get on your track and you run your race. And don't worry about, how am I doing in comparison? It doesn't matter. You just run the race that is set before you. I want you to notice that there's also a principle of pride. Not only is there a picture of pride, but there's a principle of pride that Jesus gives us when he ends this parable. And here it is, verse 14. Let me tell you. This man went down to his house justified rather than to the other. We've already talked about that. And then here's the principle. For everyone that exalted themselves shall be abased, and he that humbled themselves shall be exalted. There's a principle in the Bible about pride, and it goes like this. The way up is down, and the way down is up. You say, I'm going to lift myself up. Here's the problem with that. When you lift yourself up, God will put you down. Go back to Philippians. Have you kept your place in Galatians? Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Philippians chapter 2. While you turn there, let me just read a few verses to you to show you this. James 4, 6. But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 1 Peter 5, 5. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. It's interesting to me that the Bible says God resisted the proud. You want to get on God's bad side? You want to get God against you? Start getting filled with pride. Start getting full of yourself. The Bible says God resisted the proud, and here's what I'm telling you. The Bible teaches that the way up. You say, I'd like to be promoted by God. Then you humble yourself. You make a beeline to the bottom. You make a beeline to the back. You make a beeline to the end. You esteem others better than yourself, and God will exalt you in due time. But if you say, I'm going to exalt myself. I'm going to fight for what belongs to me, and I'm going to get everything that's coming my way. God resisted the proud. God is going to humble you. He's going to lower you, because the way up is down, and the way down is up. So just go ahead and make your way up. Climb up that corporate ladder in this dog-eat-dog world, and watch what God does to you. You say, well, God didn't do it to them. I often say this to you. If you are saved, you get to play the game of life by a different set of rules than the world. God is not their Heavenly Father. God does not chastise them. God lets them do whatever they want. You say, why does He do that? Because they're going to die and go to hell. That's why. Because they just better enjoy this life while they have it, because this is all they have. But to you that are saved, you've got a Heavenly Father that will chastise you. Let me give you the two ultimate examples of this principle. The way up is down. The way down is up. You're in Philippians 2. I'm going to read that in a second. Let me just read to you from Isaiah. I just read it, so you should remember this. Remember this? Isaiah 14, 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground, which this week in the nations? Withal is said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the side of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the cloud. I will be like the most high. Now, I want you to notice this. He tells us about how He's going to ascend into heaven, exalt His throne, sit upon the mount of the congregation, ascend above the heights of the cloud. He's going to be like the most high. And here's what the next verse says, verse 15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pen. You say, why? Because the way down is up. Now, here's what's interesting. For the Lord Jesus Christ is exactly the opposite. Philippians 2, look at it. Look at verse 6. Who being in the form of God, He started at the highest position. He's in the form of God. Why? Because Jesus was God. Jesus is God. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. And in that context of being in the form of God and not having it robbery to be equal with God, the Bible says, verse 7, but made Himself of no reputation. He lowered Himself. Took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man. Notice the words. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even unto the death of the cross. He started here and He humbled Himself and He became a man and He became obedient unto death, even unto the death of the cross. And in that context, the Bible says, verse 9, wherefore. Is that wherefore? The word wherefore means for this reason. For what reason? The fact that He humbled Himself, the fact that He lowered Himself, the fact that He made Himself of no reputation. He took the form of a servant. Verse 9, wherefore, God hath also highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It's interesting to me because Jesus went down and God lifted Him up. Satan went up and God brought him down. You say, what is that? Because the way up is down and the way down is up. So Jesus says, Luke 18 and 14, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for every one that exalted himself shall be abased, and he that humbled himself shall be exalted. And that's just true about life, but in the context of salvation, it is this, that salvation is required, excuse me, humility is required from us for us to be saved. If you're going to be saved, if I'm going to be saved, it requires enough humility to say, I can't do this on my own. I can't save myself. I need you. I'm calling upon you for salvation. That's by our hand tonight, a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for this parable. And Lord, I know some of this stuff is review and we already know it, but it's good to be reminded again. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to understand these things, especially when it comes to pride. Every single one of us here, starting with me, is susceptible to pride, to get lifted up and puffed up. Lord, I just pray you'd help us to remember. We are to humble ourselves, lower ourselves. And like the Lord Jesus Christ, in due time you will exalt us when you see fit. But help us never to be filled with pride and arrogance, because all that will do is lead us to despise others. We love you. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song. I just want to remind you that the Harvest Party is tomorrow at 6 p.m. And hopefully you remember that. And don't forget that we have the sign-up sheets in the foyer for the cornbread and the desserts. If you've not yet gone by there, you can do that tonight. And we're going to have a great time tomorrow for the Harvest Party, especially the kids. So make sure you're here for that and we'll have a good time together. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. If you could help us out, look around in your area where you sat, and just kind of pick things up and put the songbooks back. It would help tomorrow morning as the cleaners come in to clean. And if there's anything we can do for you, if you have any questions for us, please let us know. My brother RJ come up and lead us in the last song. Man, let's grab our songbooks and turn to page number 244. Song number 244. After that sermon, we have to sing this, right? Sing it out with some passion on the first. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to be, and raised my kings free. How precious did all things appear. We are a first within. Too many dangers, turns, and scares, I have already come. Tis grace that brought me sinless form, and grace will lead me home. Sing it out in the last. When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, We'll know less things, to see what's best. And then, because we won. Hey man, great team, brother Matt, would you dismiss us with a word of prayer? Dear heavenly Father, I apologize to you for the loss of so many lives that I've owned. I want to call on you to watch our pride in the world that I've played in, and a huge thank you for the wonderful gift of salvation that you let us go out to teach to others. Lord, may it all back to church on one day. We love you, Lord, and give you grace. Amen. We love you, Lord, and give you grace. Amen.