[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Revelation 19, let's stand to our feet for the reading of God's Word. Revelation chapter number 19, and we'll read the first six verses.
[0:16] And after these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven. And that's encouraging to me that there's much people. Much people that are going to be in heaven. And you say, well, didn't the disciples say, are there few that be saved?
[0:30] And comparatively, there are few because straight is the gate, narrow is the way that leads to life everlasting. Few there be to find it. Comparatively, because broad is the way and wide is the gate.
[0:40] The path that leads to destruction. So comparatively, there's few that are saved. And compassionately, by the fact that he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Compassionately, there's few that be saved.
[0:51] But understand in chapter 5, he's already said there's 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. A hundred million and millions of millions, boy, around the throne praising.
[1:03] There's much people in heaven. Chapter 7, it's increased so much that he said it's a number that no man could number. And so it's just neat that we're not going to be just a few, just only a couple.
[1:15] And God's doing a whole lot more than we realize he's doing. And praise the Lord for that. Look at verse 1. And after these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah.
[1:26] Salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments. For he hath judged the great whore. That's Babylon, religious Babylon of chapter 17.
[1:37] Financial Babylon of chapter 18. Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication. Hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah. And her smoke rose up forever and ever.
[1:47] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen. Hallelujah. And a voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God, all you servants.
[1:58] And ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude. And as the voice of many waters, the voice of a mighty thundering saying again, verse 1, verse 3, verse 4. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
[2:09] For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Lord, I do pray that you'll speak to our hearts. That you'll help us to focus on your word. And pastor us.
[2:20] Teach us. Lead us into all truth. God, we'll give you all praise. Thank you for being our heavenly Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You can be seated. If you go all the way back to chapter 1, verse number 19, that verse kind of outlines the book of Revelations.
[2:36] Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. Write the things which thou hast seen. That's chapter 1. That's the Lord's person. John had seen the Lord.
[2:49] He turned to see the voice that spake with him. And being turned, he saw the Lord high and lifted up. His hair white like wool. His eyes a flame of fire. Out of his mouth, sharp two-edged sword. Girt about the paps golden girl.
[3:00] His feet like fine brass that burned the furnace. His voice was the sound of many waters. His countenance was the sun that shineth in his strength. He had seen the Lord. That's why verse 1 says it's a revelation.
[3:11] Not of John the Apostle. It's a revelation of Jesus Christ. And so, write the things which thou hast seen. Chapter 1, the Lord's person. And the things which are. That's chapter 2 and 3.
[3:22] Boy, that's the Lord's people. He wrote that letter to the churches which are in Asia. That's the church age. The era that we are in today. Those seven churches that were there literally.
[3:34] And on that day. And those churches that represent all churches symbolically of our day. Chapter 2 and 3. That's the Lord's people. Write the things which thou hast seen.
[3:46] Chapter 1. Lord's person. And the things which are. Chapter 2 and 3. The Lord's people. The seven churches. And the things which shall be hereafter.
[3:56] Hereafter. Hereafter. Chapter 4. After this. Same word. After this. I heard a voice. A trumpet. Come up hither. The rapture. Chapter 4.
[4:06] In fact, from chapter 4 all the way to chapter number 22. We don't have the things which he had seen. The Lord's person. Chapter 1. The things which are. Chapter 2 and 3. The Lord's people. From chapter 4 to chapter 22.
[4:19] We have the Lord's program. It's basically a laundry list. A line item list. Of what's going to happen. Eschatologically. Prophetically. And in chapter 4.
[4:29] The rapture. Chapter 4. The rapture. Come up hither. The rapture. The beam of seat judgment of Christ. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Boy. They're taking their crowns. They're casting him. They're bowing. They're worshiping him.
[4:40] Thou art worthy. O Lord. To receive glory. Honor. And power. Now. Chapter 6. We have the tribulation. By the way. The question. Does the rapture happen prior to the tribulation?
[4:52] That's chapter 4. That's chapter 4. Boy. We're caught up. We're saved from the wrath that is to come. Boy. Under. Under. Lapping this. The tribulation. Is. Is. Is. Is.
[5:02] Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. Is. The. The. The. Tribulation. We have the white horse of deception. We have the red horse of war. We have the black horse of. Of devastation. The pale horse of destitution. A. A. A. A. A.
[5:13] A. A. A fourth of the planet. Ends up dying at the end of this chapter. 1. 1.5. Billion people. End of this chapter. A little bit later you have another third of the planet.
[5:25] Boy. Wiped out. And you have seven seals opening. Seven trumpets sounding. You have seven. Seven vials pouring. God's shaking up the planet. In order to wake up his people.
[5:37] It's Jacob's trouble. Boy. God turns his attention after we're carried up. We're carried out. And now we're ensconced. We're enveloped in the presence of the Lord. God turns his attention.
[5:47] Jacob. Israel. God focuses trying to get his people. And again. After the fullness of the Gentiles. After the fullness of the Gentiles. After the church. The last person that's going to be saved gets saved.
[5:59] The church is taken up. Carried out. Then all Israel shall be saved. God dealing with them. At the end. They see him. Boy. They trust him. But understand.
[6:11] It's after these things. Look at verse number 1. Chapter 19. Verse number 1. After these things. Put down point number 1. The horrific plagues.
[6:23] The horrific plagues. After these things. What things? You have seven seals opening. Boy. Antichrist. You have war. Devastation. The plagues. Boy.
[6:34] Seven seals opening. A third of the planet dying. A fourth of the planet. Boy. Dying. Another 1.5 billion people. Half of the planet perishing. After these things. After these things.
[6:44] After what things? After the seven trumpets are sounding. After the seven vials are pouring. What? After stars falling. And mountains collapsing. And seas souring. And wormwood. What?
[6:55] The sun shining even hotter and brighter. And then. In my opinion. The planet will start spinning. A third of the sun is darkened. And in my opinion. What? The planet starts spinning faster.
[7:07] Matthew 24. Except those days be shortened. No flesh. No flesh should be saved. Because it's so hot. Boy. If it was the same rotation. Everyone would perish. It's after these things.
[7:18] After these things. Boy. After the demon locusts are biting. And people are trying to kill themselves. They can't. It's after these things. Boy. After the entire waters turned to blood. The sun.
[7:29] Boy. Heating up. And people. Just longing. And parching. And thirsting. It's after these things. Those horrific plagues. There never has been a day worse than this.
[7:40] There never have been problems more difficult than this. There never has been pain more severe than this. There never has been a financial collapse that's more encompassing than this. There never have been circumstances.
[7:50] The horrific plagues. Stars falling. Mountains burning. Demon locusts biting. And listen. Four times up in heaven we hear hallelujah.
[8:02] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's not Palm Sunday that this is happening on. It's during this painful situation. These horrific plagues that this is happening on.
[8:14] Boils. And seas to blood. And rivers blood red. And temperatures heating up. And ecumenical Babylon collapsing. And economical Babylon collapsing. Religious. Financial.
[8:25] Boy. The devastation is just unbelievable. The horrific plagues. But what amazes me. Number two. Is the heavenly perspective. The heavenly perspective.
[8:38] While plagues are pounding. And smoke is rising. And financial empires are crumbling. Sea souring. Babylon is falling. In heaven. Look at verse two. They're not saying.
[8:48] For true and righteous are his blessings. Boy. That's easy to say. Boy. We can all say that. True and righteous are his blessings. Boy. It's great to be blessed. Boy.
[8:58] It's great to be prospering. And just everything going well. They're not saying. True and righteous are his blessings. They're not. They're not also saying. Boy. Terrible and wrong are his judgments.
[9:09] Look at it. Verse two. True and righteous are his judgments. Now. Turn back to 16. Chapter number 16.
[9:20] It's happening at the same time. 17 and 18 is a parenthetical pause. Explaining all that happened at the end of the tribulation. Boy. Babylon falling. And so. 16 time wise.
[9:32] Is happening almost the same time as 19. Time wise. Look at 16. Look at verse number five. When the seas turn. Blood red. Look at verse five. And I heard the angel of the waters.
[9:44] It seems like. The ecology. That God puts. God puts angels over different parts of the planet. The angel of the waters. And that angel that oversees the water.
[9:56] Has just seen the entire oceans. The entire rivers of water. Boy. Blood red. Look at it. Verse number five. And I heard the angel of the waters say.
[10:07] Thou art righteous. Oh Lord. Look at the last phrase of that verse. Because thou hast judged thus. True and righteous are his judgments.
[10:21] Thou art righteous. Because thou hast judged thus. Basically during all of this. This. This horrific tribulation. They turn to the Lord and say.
[10:34] Lord you're righteous. Lord you're right. Lord you have every right. To do whatever you decide to do. Lord you're right. While plagues are pounding.
[10:44] And now in 19. Two. True and righteous are his judgments. Hey. They realized God could have changed it. They realized God had the ability to alter it. That's why verse one says.
[10:56] Glory and honor and power. Glory and honor and power. Be unto the Lord our God. That's why verse six says. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
[11:09] All powerful reigneth. All powerful reigneth. Hey. He could have altered it if he chose to alter it. He could have changed it if he chose to change it. But he passively at least allowed it. If not even orchestrated it.
[11:20] And when you have a heavenly perspective. Even during horrific plagues. You can say true. And righteous. His judgments.
[11:31] Plagues pounding. His judgments. Sea souring. His judgments. Seals opening. Trumpets sounding. Vials pouring. His judgments. Tribulations. And in heaven. Boy those.
[11:43] That's why the Bible says. Let this mind be in you. Which is also in Christ Jesus. That's what wisdom is. Seeing them. Things through God's eyes. When you have a heavenly perspective. And I understand that.
[11:53] That now we see through a glass darkly. But then face to face. Now we know in part. But then shall we know. Even as we are known. And in heaven. They look not at the things which are seen. The things which are not seen.
[12:04] The things which are seen are temporal. The things that are not seen are eternal. And so from heaven's perspective. And we are all trying to get a better perspective. Boy we can say true and righteous.
[12:16] Boy don't you think the apostle John paused while he penned this. Maybe rubbing. Rubbing and consoling that scarred arm from being boiled in oil.
[12:30] Before he was exiled on Patmos. Boy those scars still burning from that oil that was boiling. And can you see him almost wondering? True and righteous?
[12:43] True and righteous are his judgments? Boy did he halt nauseating? Boy from the poisoning that he received in Rome. Just saying. Boy true and righteous?
[12:54] True and righteous are his judgments? Thinking back about how James was beheaded. And how a little bit. John the Baptist was beheaded. And how the persecution happening.
[13:07] And people being threatened and persecuted. And imprisoned. Boy true and righteous are his judgments. Maybe even hoping that the seven churches that were in the middle of the Roman persecution.
[13:18] That intense persecution. Boy I hope they get this. I hope they see this. I know that down here they are getting beaten to death. But true and righteous are his judgments.
[13:30] God had the power to change it. God had the ability to alter it. He decided to allow it. And when you have a heavenly perspective. Put down point number three. Point number one.
[13:40] The horrific plagues. Number one. Say it with me. The horrific plagues. Boy seals opening. Trumpets sounding. Vials pouring.
[13:51] I mean all kinds of tribulation and pain. And just heartache and woe. But with a heavenly perspective. It's true and righteous.
[14:02] Put down number three. The helpful praise. The helpful praise. Look at verse number four. Verse number four. We've already seen true and righteous.
[14:13] Lord you're righteous. Lord you're right. Lord you have every right to do whatever you choose to do. Lord you're righteous. Look at verse four. Look at what the four and twenty elders are doing. Look at it verse four.
[14:26] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying. Amen. Hallelujah. Say it with me. Amen.
[14:38] Hallelujah. Amen is so be it. I agree with it. When someone says amen in church. What he's saying is. Boy I agree with that. I agree with that. Amen. I agree with that. Amen. Amen. And so while those plagues are pounding.
[14:51] They're saying amen. So be it. I agree with it. Hallelujah. I praise God for it. Amen. And hallelujah. Amen. And hallelujah.
[15:02] And so when ecumenical Babylon is falling. And economic Babylon is falling. They weren't saying isn't that extreme. Isn't that hard. Isn't that terrible. Why isn't that just too much.
[15:13] How could a loving God allow that. No. No. Those with a heavenly perspective. Those that see things through the heart of God. Are saying amen. So be it.
[15:25] Hallelujah. I agree with it. By the way. True and righteous are his judgments. Thou art righteous because thou hast judged thus. If you ever disagree with the verdict.
[15:37] Of the judge. His judgments. His judgments. The judge opt for cross examination. And by that. I mean the cross. The cross.
[15:49] Because if you ever wonder. Boy. Does he love me allowing this. Does he love me letting this. Does he love me. He could have altered this. Hey. The judge's verdict. Boy. Look to the cross. Because scarcely for a righteous man would one die.
[16:01] Yet. For adventure for a good man. Somebody even dare to die. But God committed. He showed his love toward us. And that while yet sinners. Christ died for us. Well. If you ever wonder about his heart.
[16:11] Cross examination. Because hereby perceive we the love of God. Because he laid down his life for us. Boy. We may not always understand it. But we can always understand.
[16:22] He's righteous. He's right. He has every right. Boy. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. That we should be called the sons of God.
[16:34] He's righteous. He's right. Two things under this quickly. And we're done. Number one. Number one. That helpful praise. When you're able to praise God. Even in the storm.
[16:44] When you're able to say. Lord you're righteous. You're right. You have every right. Number one. It's a mark of maturity. It's a mark of maturity. Verse four. And the four and twenty elders.
[16:57] Elders. Now. Now. Now. I understand. That it's probably representing the twelve apostles. And. And the twelve tribes. Or prophets. Because the church is built up on.
[17:08] The prophets and apostles. The Lord Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. And so. Those twenty four elders. In my opinion. Represent all of us. In those twenty four elders. Those elders. Those.
[17:18] Now. Now. Now. I also understand. That God could have chosen any other word he wanted to. He could have called them twenty four guides. Or. Twenty four leaders. Or. Twenty four. Head honchos. Or. Twenty four. The big boss with the hot.
[17:29] I don't even know. But. He called them elders. Listen. Because it's the spiritually mature. It's those that are. Are mature in the Lord. That understand. Hey.
[17:40] I don't know what's best for my life. But I know he knows. What's best for my life. And though I can't see it all. I can see the one. Who does see it all.
[17:51] By true and righteous. Hey. Turn to second Corinthians quickly. Second Corinthians chapter number twelve. It's a mark. Of maturity. A mark. Of maturity. Lord. You're righteous. Lord.
[18:01] You're right. Lord. You have every right. Amen. So be it. Hallelujah. I praise God for it. Look at verse number nine. Paul. That thorn in the flesh. That messenger of Satan. That buffeted his body.
[18:13] Boy. Pricking him. Hurting him. Painting him. That messenger of Satan. Buffeted his body. Boy. He prayed that it would be removed. And God stayed it there. He kept it there. He allowed it to stay there.
[18:25] Now look at the response. Verse number nine. Paul the mature. Verse number nine. Say the first two words. Most gladly. Amen. Hallelujah. Most gladly.
[18:36] Therefore will I rather glory. Amen. Hallelujah. So be it. I agree with it. I praise God for it. In my infirmities. That the power of Christ may rest upon me.
[18:47] Therefore I most gladly. Glory. Therefore I take pleasure. Is everybody there? Second Corinthians chapter number nine. Look at it. Or twelve. I'm sorry. Chapter twelve. Verse number nine.
[18:57] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. In reproaches. In necessity. In persecution. In distresses. For Christ's sake. For when I am weak. Then am I strong. And understand.
[19:08] Disclaimer. Thessalonians says. In everything. Give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. He does not say for everything. Give thanks.
[19:20] Chris was a huge blessing to one of our main music guys. Had a baby that was born. Colin with a cleft palate. Is going to have to go in for surgery. It's her first child.
[19:32] And it's not. Lord. Thank you for this. But it's in this. In this. We should still be praising. In this. We should still be thanking. Boy. Rejoice in the Lord.
[19:42] Always. And again I say rejoice. Rejoice evermore. In everything. Give thanks. Men ought. And understand. Boy. No matter what it is. No matter what it is. In. In fact. Look at it. Second Corinthians chapter number 12.
[19:54] Verse number nine. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in. Not for. In for everybody. It's the power of Christ. Verse 10. In. In for everybody. In necessity. In persecution. It's not for. In distresses for Christ's sake.
[20:06] Basically Paul was saying. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. So be it. I agree with it. Hallelujah. I praise God for it.
[20:17] Lord. You could have healed me. Lord. If you chose to heal me. You have the power to heal me. But Lord. For some reason. I don't understand it. But your way is far above my way. Hey. But. But. But Lord. I do know this. You're righteous.
[20:28] You're right. You have every right. Amen. Hallelujah. Number one. It's a mark of maturity. Put down number two. It's a means. For. Maturity.
[20:39] But when you're able to step back and say. God. I don't get it. I don't understand it. Boy. It's not something that I would have. Wanted. Written. Hooked for. Not something that I would have prayed for.
[20:50] Or even. Man. It's hard. But. But. But Lord. Thank you. That you're a good God. Thank you. That. That you are in control. Thank you. That. That you do give the grace.
[21:02] You know. How many in here have ever hung pictures on a wall. Anybody in here ever hung pictures on a wall. You know. One of the big decisions that you have hanging pictures is. Putting pictures.
[21:13] Which picture do you put next to each picture. Which. To me. I would put Cal Ripken's picture right next to Ray Lewis's picture. Okay. Anybody. Okay. Good. So. And. But. But. But.
[21:23] But. But. But. But. Decorating the walls. You know. God hangs three pictures for us in Philippians 4.19. One of the pictures he hangs is pretty big. It's. It's my need.
[21:35] My God shall supply all your need. Your need. Listen. Right up here. Boy. Our need at times can seem just overwhelming. Is anybody out there besides me?
[21:45] Boy. The hurt. The heartache. The pain. The financial problems. Boy. When that picture is on that wall. All by itself. Boy. My need. My need. My need. Boy. That's a huge picture.
[21:56] It's not a beautiful picture. It's a hard picture. But. It seems so large. Except for the fact. God. In decorating that verse. Put another picture right to the left of it.
[22:07] Right to the left of my need. He put. My God. But. My God. Shall supply all your need. My God. Who's omnipotent. Who's eternal.
[22:18] Who's. I'm not existent. But. He. He's over all. He's through it all. And. He is all. Boy. That's a huge picture here. Hey. Next to that picture. My need. All of a sudden. Gets a lot smaller.
[22:29] By the way. He. He hangs another picture on the other side of that. And. Again. Boy. The sequence of those pictures. How you order those pictures. Boy. By itself. Huge. But then. Next to my God.
[22:40] Shall supply all your need. Third picture. According to his. Riches. In glory. By Christ Jesus. It's all about perspective.
[22:52] It's all about perspective. When we. When we see things through a heavenly. Perspective. That's when we realize. Hey. He's righteous.
[23:02] He's right. Are you still in 2nd Corinthians chapter number 12. Look at verse number seven. It's a means for maturity. A means for maturity. Look at verse seven. Last. I should be exalted above measure.
[23:14] Through the abundance of the revelations. There was given unto me a thorn of the flesh. Messenger of Satan. Buffet me. Thorn of the flesh. Messenger of Satan. Buffet me. Boy. That sounds like a pretty big problem. A pretty painful situation.
[23:25] But it was. Last. I should be exalted above measure. Last. I should be exalted above measure. For this thing. I've sought the Lord thrice. He said. My grace is sufficient. For the. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Knowing this.
[23:36] That the trying of your faith. Worketh. Patience. But let patience have her perfect work. That you may perfect. May be perfect. And entire. Wanting.
[23:47] Nothing. Boy. The worst thing you'll ever do. Is end up. Rebelling. And stiffening. And just. Having. Angst.
[23:58] Because of some problem. That God allowed to come your way. Boy. The best thing you'll ever do. When plagues are pounding. And problems are happening. Tribulations. Troubling. Finances falling. Is to say.
[24:10] Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. In fact. Let's break the auditorium down the middle. This half say. Amen. This half over here say. Hallelujah.
[24:21] You ready? Amen. You ready? Hallelujah. Boy. These guys blew you away. You weren't even trying. I think you're mailing it in. Over here. But anyway. This side is. Amen. Which means.
[24:31] So be it. So be it. I agree with it. And this side is. Hallelujah. I praise God for it. Boy. When the pay is up. It's. Amen. When the pay is down. It's.
[24:42] Hallelujah. When there's perfect health. It's. Amen. Boy. When there's sickness. That's invading. And it's just hard. And it hurts. It's. Hallelujah.
[24:52] When it seems like the lines have fallen on me in pleasant places. It's. Amen. But understand beloved. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial. Which is to try you.
[25:03] As though some strange thing happened unto you. Even during those times. It's. It's. Hallelujah. By the way. We know that we're not going to go through. The great tribulation. But my Bible says.
[25:13] In this world. Ye shall have. Tribulations. In though as Christians. We're not going to go through the great tribulation. As Christians. We're going to go through tribulations.
[25:23] That are great. And what we need to do. Is preset. We need to shift. Into praise. Defer to God. Give God the benefit of the doubt. And no matter what happens.
[25:33] It's. Amen. And it's. Hallelujah. Boy. It's hard at times. It hurts at times. There's a tear in the eye at times. But those that have heaven in their hearts.
[25:46] Lord. You're righteous. Lord. You're right. Lord. You have every right to do whatever you choose to do. Those that have hardness in their heart is. Lord.
[25:56] That's not right. Lord. That's wrong. Lord. You have no right to do that to me. By the way. Back in chapter 16. Remember the same timeline. Chapter 16.
[26:07] Verse number nine says. The men that were scorched with a great heat. Blasphemed. The name of God. They blasphemed. Which had power over the plague.
[26:17] He could have altered it. Could have changed it. But he. He passively allowed it. Even orchestrated. They repented not to give him glory. They blasphemed. The name of God. Hey. Those that have hardness in their hearts.
[26:29] Are blaspheming God. In fact. Lamentations says. During those hard times. We need to lift up our heart. And our hands to the Lord. And basically. What that is. Those that have heaven in their heart.
[26:40] Those that are lifting up their hands to the Lord. It's basically saying. Boy. I'm going to. I'm going to just. Fall on the mercy of the court. Let us therefore. Come boldly to the throne of grace.
[26:50] That we may obtain mercy. And find grace to help at the time of need. Hey. Those with hardness. Boy. They're blaspheming God. They're shaking their fist. Boy. Those that have heaven in their heart. They're.
[27:02] Bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And forget not all his benefits. The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh away. But blessed be the name of the Lord.
[27:15] Boy. When you have heaven in your heart. You're going to be blessing the Lord. Lifting your hands. You have hardness in your heart. You're going to be blaspheming the Lord. You're going to be shaking your fist.
[27:26] By the way. In chapter 16. Before it's all over. These over here. They're gnawing their tongue for pain. Boy. It's self-destructive over here.
[27:37] They're not using their tongue for praise. They're gnawing their tongue for pain. Anybody following the sermon? When I was 12 years old.
[27:51] I sat across the doctor's desk. And the doctor said that you're going to have a condition. You're going to have to take shots the rest of your life. And that was 12 years old.
[28:01] That was 34, 35 years ago. Thousands and thousands of shots later. And now 24-7. I have two thorns in the flesh.
[28:12] An insulin pump. And I have a sensor. Two thorns in the flesh. Constantly. Somewhere along the line. I had to make a mental choice on. Lord you're righteous. Lord you're right.
[28:23] Lord you have every right. I'm not my own. I'm bought with a price. I want to glorify God in my body and my spirit. Which are God. Lord you have every right. Or. I could be over here saying. Lord that's wrong.
[28:35] That's not right. Lord you have no right. I can either be over here. Blessing the Lord. Lifting my hands. Using my tongue for praise. Or. I'll be over here. Blaspheming the Lord.
[28:45] Shaking my fist. And gnawing my tongue for pain. It's a self-destructive side to be on. Boy all of us. We have to make decisions all throughout our life.
[28:56] Periodically in our life. Those tribulations are going to come. When I was 14 years old. I remember the couch that I sat. 1436 Avenue D is where we lived at the time. When my mom called my brother and I.
[29:07] Into the living room. And my mom said she was leaving my dad. From that day. We were shuttled from one house. And typically it wasn't together. It was switching back and forth.
[29:17] And back and forth. I had to make a decision in my life. I had to decide. Lord you're righteous. You're right. You have every right to do whatever you choose to do. And I know the Lord didn't cause it.
[29:28] But it's so easy to be on this side. Saying Lord that's wrong. Lord that's not right. Lord you have no right. Instead of over here blessing the Lord. And lifting our hands.
[29:38] And just using our tongue to praise. Boy it's very easy to be over here. Blaspheming the Lord. And shaking our fist. And gnawing our tongue for pain.
[29:51] Listen. If you're going to a mission field. Eventually there's going to be. If you're in the ministry. Yea and all they that will live godly. Shall suffer persecution. Those plagues will pound you.
[30:02] And you're going to have to make a choice. When I left California. My wife and I. And we went to Baltimore. The first year we were there. Char's sister Joy.
[30:14] 19 years old. Who was fighting ovarian cancer. She got it when she was 15 years old. Now listen. A lot of times. It's the best of us. That are taken from among us.
[30:26] Joy. When she was in the doctor's office. The doctor said. I hate to tell you this. But but. Mrs. Chapel. I think your daughter's pregnant. And Joy is just funny. Because. She said. Well I'm pretty sure I'm not pregnant.
[30:38] I've never held a boy's hand. And so. The doctor said. Well we better take some more looks. And they found out. That it was a. Nine pound tumor. That they removed. 15 years old. She struggled.
[30:48] Her. Her. Her goal. Was to graduate. And for a while. She was in remission. She lost her hair. Long hair. Full hair. Lost her hair. And then.
[31:00] When it went into remission. Just. Wanted to graduate. Wanted to be able to march. High school. Wanted to be able to walk across. And. And the first year. That we were at. Rosedale Baptist Church. In Baltimore. Joy.
[31:10] Ended up. Dying. From that ovarian cancer. Listen. Boy. My wife. I. My wife and I. We had to make that. That call.
[31:21] That judgment call. Of. Lord. We don't understand it. This doesn't make sense. There's teenagers out there. That. That are living immorally. They're. They're living just.
[31:32] Just terribly. And here Joy is. She's a witness. She's a soul. I want. I did. I did. I did. The funeral of joy. There was a nurse at the funeral service that came forward at the end. Others that got saved.
[31:42] This one came forward and said. I promised joy that I would get saved. And I didn't have a chance to do it. While she was still in the hospital. And she walked the aisle.
[31:52] And she got saved. Joy. Just solid gold. Solid gold. And why would God take that? Why would God do that? We had a choice to make. Lord.
[32:03] You're righteous. Lord. You're right. Lord. You have every right. To do whatever you choose to do. Boy. Blessing the Lord. Lifting our hands. Using our tongue for praise. Amen.
[32:14] Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Or. We're over here on this side. Saying. Lord. You're not right. That's wrong. You have no right. Not blessing. But blaspheming.
[32:24] Not lifting our hands. But shaking our fists. And I don't. We all have it. I'm not. We're not playing top of it. All of us. All of us have it. All I'm trying to do is help.
[32:35] Boy. To. Personalize it for you. My. Mom. And my stepdad. Fred. Who. Was married to my mom.
[32:47] They loved each other. The first. Marriage split. The second marriage was blessed. I mean. They just. Were soulmates. They. They really. They were at the glider port.
[32:58] My. My. My. My stepdad. Was an instructor. In gliders. And my stepdad. Would take different people up. And. He was. In the glider.
[33:09] With his. Daughter-in-law. And his grandson. My. My mom's husband. My dad. Stepdad. And his. Daughter-in-law. And her son.
[33:20] Her son. Her son. Three generations. Fred. His daughter-in-law. The son. My mom. Watched him. As they were being. Toed up like normal. But when they were. Just out.
[33:31] Past the runway. The. The. The nose of the plane. Went straight up. The rope snapped. And the plane. Went straight down. My mom. Saw.
[33:42] Saw. Her husband. Saw. His daughter-in-law. And saw. His grandson. All die. In that. That accident. This summer. My.
[33:54] Wife. And I. Went down. To see her. Last week. And. She's still. She's still struggling. With this thing. I'm glad. That. That though. She may not be able. To verbalize. Lord. You're righteous. You're right.
[34:05] There's times. When you just can't. Get the words out. But when you can't. Get the words out. At least. Lean this direction. Of. We were called.
[34:18] On a. Page. From a church member. Who. Lost his. 22 year old son. Had to. Leave. Where my mom. Was. Early. To try to.
[34:29] Convey this. To. In fact. This was the next. Passage of scripture. This last Sunday morning. After Carl. And. And. And. And. Stillwell. Lost their son. That Wednesday night. They were in their place.
[34:39] Sunday morning. Boy. They're still struggling. They're still hurting. They're having a hard time. Verbalizing. But. By faith. They're just. Wanting to make sure. That they're on this side.
[34:50] Lord. You're righteous. Lord. You're right. Lord. You have every right. Blessing the Lord. Lifting their hands. Using their tongues to praise. Rather than. Lord. That's not right.
[35:01] That's wrong. Lord. You have no right. Shaking their feet. Blasting. Flaming. Gnawing their tongue. Listen. The hard times are going to come. The pain. It's going to be there.
[35:12] It's going to be there. Someone said. You're either going through a storm. Or you've just gone through a storm. Or. You're about to go into a storm. But God has promised. That he's going to send the rain.
[35:23] On the just. And on the unjust. One. Event. Happeneth to them all. There hath no temptation. Taken you. But such is the common demand. Hey. We will go through that. But understand. It's up to us.
[35:34] Not to. To explain it all. To get it all. To wrap our minds around it all. It's ours to make sure we're on this side. This side. Hey. Mentally.
[35:45] Choose this side. The emotions will come. And then. Volitionally. Volitionally. The actions will follow suit. Lord. You're righteous. Lord.
[35:56] You are right. Lord. You have every right. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. God.
[36:06] I pray for. For those tonight. That hurt. That have a loss. That things didn't go as planned. That their dreams are in a thousand pieces at their feet.
[36:19] That had a child go wayward. That had a job loss. That had a health test come out. Come back cancer. Or. God.
[36:32] Help all of us to be challenged by. These elders. These mature. To. To say. Amen. Hallelujah. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church.
[36:45] In Alfred, Georgia. For more information. Log on to. www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find our service times. Location. Contact information.
[36:56] And more audio and video recordings. Thank you.