In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of preaching the gospel to all people, even in small and seemingly insignificant places. He uses the example of a man standing in the middle of a small village, preaching the gospel to pagan residents, with only one woman getting saved. The preacher then delves into the concept of election and being chosen by God, referencing Romans 8:28. He highlights that all believers are called according to God's purpose and that God works all things together for their good. The sermon concludes with a prayer for believers to seek God's truth and become more like Jesus.

And we're turning to our subject this evening, and you can see that our subject, number 16, is sanctification by the Spirit, sanctification by the Spirit. And this is a subject that has been argued over and debated, and there has almost been more about it at times, and I would wonder why, honestly. And we're turning to 2 Thessalonians to begin this evening. 2 Thessalonians, and we're at chapter 2, please. 2 Thessalonians, and we're at the 2nd chapter, and just to get a connection, we'll read from verse 8. And Paul is saying to these Thessalonian converts, I'm them! Let's get the them in. Because there's a whole lot of people talking about who is this Antichrist? And I don't think that we're going to see him revealed while we're here. Because when the Lord Jesus comes and removes the church, then shall that wicked, and the old original manuscripts say, then shall that wicked one be revealed. And not till then. And there's been so many guesses. Somebody said during the Hitler War that Hitler was the Antichrist. Oh well, he's a goner. And then Kissinger, oh they printed books on Kissinger being the Antichrist. He got the sack, you know. Oh you think the Antichrist will get the sack? Not a bit of him. No, when the Lord Jesus comes and the church is removed, then, that's what this book says, then shall that wicked one be revealed. And not till then. And I don't think we should argue for that. Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. How wonderful our Lord is and how powerful. And shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Because when he comes to the air for us one of these days, then we'll rise to meet him and this Antichrist will be revealed. And then after a number of years, because this Antichrist will have at least three and a half years to do all his diabolical work on this earth, then the Lord will come back and destroy him with the brightness of his coming. Even him, because it goes on to describe him a little bit, whose coming is after the working of Satan. With all power and signs and lying oneness. That's a mighty phrase, you know. Wonders will be wrought before people's eyes, but there'll be lies. Lying wonders, that's a mighty phrase. They're practicing this in America just now. On the big healing campaigns. They take a plane from New York down to California, that's three thousand miles. And they get down and out there and they pay them a hundred pounds to go back on the trip. And come into the meeting as blind men and some of them come in in wheelchairs. And if you were in the meeting and a man was led up that aisle with a white stick and they can hardly get him up these steps. And the fellow sings up here and claps his hands and shouts Hallelujah! He says, how long have you been blind? From birth, he says. Then he just touches it and he throws the stick away. You'd be in a fix, you know. He's a tramp from California and it's bluff and it's of the devil. And it's a lying wonder. But the Antichrist will multiply that a bit. So no, yes, even him who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And you have to watch power and you have to watch signs and you have to watch wonders because it can be all of the devil. Be careful now. And with all deceivableness, that word belongs to the devil. He's the great deceiver. And with all deceivableness upon righteousness in them they'll perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. You see, there are some people just won't accept the truth. You can't tell them truth at all. They know better than this book. They won't learn at God's feet. And because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved, the old deceiver will work with them. Because if you don't love the truth, tell me what you do love. It must be the lie. It's the opposite. Man is called a lie sometimes. He's not only the wicked one, he's a lie. And then it says in verse 11, And for this cause, just because of all this, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe and the word should be the lie, capital T, capital L. It's a person we're talking about. He will be the lie. Yes. Now, God is sending them strong delusion that they should believe the lie that they all might be damned. Fancy God who sent his son that men and women might be saved. Sending strong delusion that they all might be damned. Oh, the tables can turn on you, you know. You can sit in God's face for so long. But the door can be closed. And the day the door's closed, you know, a lot of people are going to knock outside and say, Open unto us. And the Christ who yesterday when the door was open was saying, Come unto me, will be behind the door and saying, Depart, ye cursed. I never knew you. The tables will turn. What a terrible thing. And they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. And then comes a but in here, and it's one of those blessed buts of Scripture. It says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. He's turning around to talk to the saints now. He's been just showing these believers at Thessalonica how this man of sin will be revealed, and the horrible things that he will do, and the things that will take place. And then he says, but, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. You can say it to the saints he's talking to. Because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit. Now there's our phrase now. That's our phrase. That's what we are going to think about. Sanctification of the Spirit. That's where you'll find it. But it's a few more times in the book. Yes. Now I want to look for a moment at this word chosen with you. He says, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you for salvation. Now some people get worried about this word chosen. A lady said to me the other day, it seems that God just took a cloud out of this world, and then left the other clouds to go to hell. I think that's what some people really believe, you know. What an indictment that would be on God. That would make God unfair and unjust. Now you want to be careful when you see this word, this word chosen. And then of course there's this word election, which is the same thing. They're elect. And then there's this word predestined or predestination, and this word chosen, and this word elect and elected, and this word predestined or predestination. It confuses people. And I don't think it should confuse you at all. Let's go way over to 1 Peter for a moment, and at the first chapter. First Peter, first chapter. And it always fills me how Peter commenced these letters, you know. He just calls himself Peter. Signing his name here. Peter! That's what he called himself. Not the Reverend Holy Father Peter. It's not on your life it's not. They try to tell me he was the first pope. He doesn't seem to know a thing about it. He just calls himself Peter. And I think when we see these saints that God hath used, and these men of God, and we can see their humility, I think we want to take a leaf out of their book and stop our nonsense and just remember that we're only sinners saved by grace. Just Peter will do, you know. It is true that he had a gift, an apostle of Jesus Christ. But the gift's behind his name, not before it. To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia. And when you say strangers scattered, you're thinking about Jews. Because these Jews were scattered. And they were strangers in these parts. And he's writing to these strangers who were scattered throughout these different provinces, and he says this about them, Elect! These boys were elect. But what's this bit? Elect according to the foreknowledge of God! I want you to get that bit in. As you see, if you would keep that bit in, you'd have less trouble with election. When we talk about people being chosen, and when we talk about people being elected, or even people being predestined, let's go back to Romans 8, and I'll do it all together. On a look at Romans chapter 8, I think every believer here knows Romans 8 and 28, and you should know it, and you should quote it to yourself every day. Romans 8 and 28, and we know, we believers know, that all things work together for good for them that love God. No matter what's happening in your home, or in your frame, or in your business, or in your family, no matter what's happening, just remember that God is working all things together for good to them that love Him. That's true, you know. To them who are called according to His purpose. You see, real believers are sometimes called the called, them who are the called. They're called out of darkness, of course. Now, when God called me out, He had a purpose for me, according to His purpose. And then He says, for whom He did foreknow, and we're back at the foreknowledge, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. That's the purpose. You see, when He called a thing like me out, you should have seen me the night I was saved, with my toes sticking through my shoes, and an old torn shirt on, and my family wouldn't look at me, and I was drunk every day for years before that, and everybody was fed up with me, and I was quite a mess. And everybody was right to be fed up with me, for I was a nuisance. There's a boy who runs about the town here, he's a nuisance. And he clung on to me the other day, and I was just thinking to belong to him through a shop window, and then I remembered who I was. Because you get fed up with drunk men. Not very hard, but you must have grace. Grace will come from God, if you seek it, and patience. But the day that God called me out, I want you to get this, He predestined me long before that, to be conformed to the image of His Son. You know, I'm juggling on to glory. And one day, one glorious day, I shall be like God's Son. If I believe now, it's hard to believe, but I believe. Yes, I want you to get this, that this predestination was like this. For whom He did foreknowledge. Oh yes, it was according to God's foreknowledge. And it's the same with elect. We are elect according to the foreknowledge. You see, friend, it's not God picking a crow out and leaving a crow to go to hell at all. It's God standing a way back yonder in eternity. Before the world began. And if God stands there, you can't argue against me, He must see the end from the beginning if He's God, that's all. Before the hills and all the stood, the earth and the sea, the plains, He's a way back there in eternity, and He looks down and He sees a character called Willie Mullins. And he'll be born in a back street, and you can nod, and he'll grow up and he'll be a terrible wee lad, and he'll become a drunkard, and everybody will be fed up of him. But he can see more than that. He can see the day and the hour and the place when the light of the glorious gospel will come to my heart, and I accept Christ, and according to His foreknowledge of what I will do with His son, He will predestine me and elect me. And He knows the boys that will not take a son. Won't you put the blame on God now, please. Just keep the word foreknowledge in there and you'll have no bother with election. I'm elected according to the foreknowledge of God, whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine. And there isn't any bother with it as far as I can see. So, let's go back to where we were. We were in 2 Thessalonians. Because I was only fiddling about with that word chosen, but just for the help of some young believers here. Now, we're at verse 13, we came to that blessed but. But, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning, all right from the very beginning, chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Now, let's try to tidy up this word sanctification now just for a moment. You see, a whole lot of people have different meanings for this word. Now, you can't have that in the English language. You see, white means white. And you can't have it two or three colors, you know. And black means black. And sanctification must mean something. And whatever its root and basic meaning is, you'll have to keep it. You see, I've heard so many tales of people about sanctification. You know, an old schoolmaster, master of a royal school, when I preached on sanctification once, he was really rattled. He sort of lost a bit of his sanctification. And he said to me, look, this is all nonsense you're talking. Because sanctification is the second blessing. It's people getting saved and then coming into different blessings and that's sanctification. Well, I said, Master, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to sit down on the chair and put your Bible on the table and you're not getting out for a minute or two. We're going to have this out. And you've got the intelligence to follow me, all right. And we'll see. Now, this word sanctification, what do you think it means? Now, you just keep your own thoughts there. Sort of write them down in your mind. And I'm not a mind reader. I can't see. It's not Crestfallen McCall me. You know, I just don't know what you're thinking. But I want you to follow this. Now, I took this dear old schoolmaster way back to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. 1 Corinthians and chapter 7. And Paul in this chapter, chapter 7, is talking about husbands and wives. And I don't want to get mixed up in that too much just now. But he said this. Verse 13. 1 Corinthians 7, verse 13. And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not. That is, a woman in a home that got saved and her husband not saved. And that happens, you know. And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. See, sometimes ladies that get saved and their husbands not saved, just at that moment he's not saved. You know, she would like him saved. And sometimes she barges into him far too much. She's not going to let God do the job. She's going to do it herself. And what a mess she makes of it. She bullies him aloud and she's nearly going to save him. And then sometimes she takes another turn. Sometimes she says, I'm saved and he's not saved. Am I supposed to love him? Of course you are. Happens to be your husband. Now I could go into a lot of details like that because I have learned them by people coming along and saying things to me. Get it into your mind that he's prepared to go on with you. And don't you leave him. You just love him and be good to him and pray for him. But don't try to just save him. Just wait on the Lord doing that. Verse 13, And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife. Now there's a tight one for you. Because if you were thinking that sanctification is the second blessing, now I'm going to put you in a fix. Because I'm going to tell you that the unbelieving husband is sanctified. I want to put you in a fix, mustn't I? Are you trying to tell me, I said to the old schoolmaster, that the unbelieving husband has got the second blessing before he got the first one? Well that's a trap. And we might as well call it a trap and get on with the job. That just won't do. Whatever sanctification is, this old thing might have it. You get that into your head and we'll get on with the job. And don't go around talking faith. Just bow to God's Word and whatever it teaches, you get it into you. Let's go back to John's Gospel, and we're at John's Gospel chapter 10. The Lord Jesus is speaking here. And he's talking about the Good Shepherd. John 10. And our Lord Jesus is talking to these Pharisees. And he's saying this in verse 36. We'll see it in time now. Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son of God. When he said he was the Son of God, they said he was blaspheming. And the Lord Jesus is saying to them, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world. Now, whatever sanctification is, the Lord Jesus has it. You're not trying to tell me he needed a second blessing, are you? Because I'm going to take issue with you. You see, it's tripe again. It's the same tripe too. It's just somebody's got a wee idea in their heads, and they're just going to hammer it into everybody else, but they're not bound to this book. Remember, there's a non-saved husband sanctified. Remember the Lord Jesus was sanctified. So you be careful what you're going to make of it. You must be very careful. And I'll tell you this, let's go back to the book of Exodus, just for a moment, when we're doing this now. The book of Exodus, chapter 40, I think it is. Exodus 40. Yes. And this is talking about the furniture in the tabernacle. You remember when I did the tabernacle with you here, we did the altar, and the laver, and all those things. Just the same time again. Exodus 40, verse 10. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar. You get that bit? Because I want you to get the altar. It was made of brass, copper. It was wood. Shit and wood covered with brass. You're not trying to tell me that an inanimate object had an experience, are you? Because I'll think you're getting more daft every minute. This thing has got no life! It's an inanimate object like that pulpit. You're not trying to tell me it had an experience, are you? Well I'll tell you it was sanctified, that's what the book says. But I've thrilled that enough. We must come to the meaning of sanctification. Now I'll put this out for you. It's this word sanctification, and this word sanctify, they're just the same as the word holy and holiness. See when you talk about holy, you know in our English you can't say holy-fy. That's not good English. If I said that you'd say it's not good English. And when you say holiness, you can't say sanctify-ness. That's not good English. But you can say holy, and you can say sanctify, and they're both the same. And you can say holiness, and you can say sanctification. They're all the same. Now I want you to get this word holy and holiness, and sanctify and sanctification. Because you see, it just means that you're set apart. I want you to get this, you're set apart. You're separated, this word separation and sanctification, and set apart and sanctify and holy. They're all the same. Now let's try to work them out, because they must mean the same on every occasion. Take the unbelieving husband. Here's the easiest way to do it. You see, Paul is writing to the Corinthians, and he went down to Corinth. It's only 20 miles down the road from Athens. I preached at Athens once, and I knew that just 20 miles down the road there, Corinth is, and I was just wanting to go to see it, but I wasn't just allowed. Things didn't work out like that. But when he was preaching at Corinth, you see, like all the preachers, he would go up to the little villages on the edge of the city. Just like Waringstown is here, or Dorlingstown and Waringstown. Now, we'll suppose, so that we'll get the picture clear, that he comes into a little village with 20 houses. We'll say, like Gibson's Hill. There might be more, and perhaps I'll have to watch myself here. Somewhere, Gibson, I don't want to hear. If you make it too small, you'll get into a row. Yes. Well, supposing it's a little thing just almost like Gibson's Hill, and there are just 20 houses, and he stands out in the middle on the green, and he preaches the gospel. I can almost see this man of God standing there preaching. Now, there are all sorts of pagans in these houses. They've never heard this gospel before. And there's only one woman gets saved. We'll say the woman in the end house, just to keep us right in the picture. The woman in the end house. All the rest of them turn the Lord down. Now, her man is different now from all the rest. He's set apart in a certain sense. Because while all the rest of them have no life in their house, he has. And the unbelieving husband is set apart now, and separated by the believing wife. And the word separation is all right and set apart, and he's different and nothing. And when God selected his son, he was the man chosen, elected, set apart for the job. Is there anything wrong with it? Yes. And that's what the old altar was about. It wasn't to be used for a football stand or anything. It was set apart for sacrifices. It's going all right, isn't it? And some clowns go around reading ideas into it. These ideas won't do. I've heard more tripe about this than I've heard about anything else. Look, we're getting it out of the book now, and if your past years is being upset at this moment, please know that it's God's word that's upsetting. Nobody's going to take your holiness from you. I believe in holiness, you know. Let me show you how much I believe now. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Now, here's a verse that all you young people will have to take great care with. I'm always saying to the boys at the school, for any sakes learn to read to the commas and the semicolons, and then the phone stops. Don't just put these marks in this book for fun. No, we should learn to read. I had to learn to read. Now, here's Hebrews 12, and we're at verse 14. And it says, follow peace with all men. No, that's just following peace. I assure you I follow peace with all men. And I assure you I'm still following. And I assure you I'm never catching up on it either. Because the more I preach the truth, the more other folks fall out on me. But I'm following peace, I assure you. Now, I'm not only to follow peace with all men, but it says follow peace with all men and holiness. Because I'm also following holiness. I'd like to really be the Lord as much as it's possible for me to be, if I'm following peace and holiness. And then it says, without which no man shall see the Lord. Now, I don't know how many occasions I've seen this banner across a conference, and it says, without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Now, that's fake too. That's not what it says here. I've heard voice preaching from this text. I went to a conference once with this big banner across the barn. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. And I preached against this text above me. That's asking for having their head taken off. I said, I don't know who painted this, but they can't read this book. Because that's fake up there. And I shall have to make you read it properly. And I said, you see what somebody has done with God's word. It says, follow peace with all men. And there is a comma there. And holiness. And there is a comma there. And they take the word without, and they put it on the front of holiness. And they make a new text, and they say, without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. And you're not allowed to do that with God's word. I've never asked you to write this book. You just take it the way it is. You see, I do follow holiness. Oh, how much fright we get at times when we don't even know we're getting it. Please keep to the book. I want you to get the hold of that. You see, there is a whole lot of different kinds of sanctification. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 10, just for the moment. Just back a page or two there, Hebrews chapter 10. When the Lord Jesus was coming into this world on that first Christmas day or Christmas night, or on his birthday, if you like it more clearly. Verse 9. Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And that's what he came for. I know he came for a lot of other things, but let's get this bit. He came to do God's will. God had a great purpose for him to come. Of course, he came to save sinners, and he came to put away sin, and he came to destroy the works of the devil. I know all about that. But let's get this bit in. Lo, I come to do thy will. And God's will was that he should be the Lamb. That he should offer the sacrifice. And that his blood should be shed to make atonement. And this is what it says here. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And then it says in verse 10. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ. Are we or are we not now? Because that's what I call fundamental sanctification. You see, that one sacrifice sets me apart. Forevermore, I belong to the Lord. Or belong to the Baptist, remember. I belong to the Lord through the sacrifice of Calvary. That's what you call fundamental sanctification. And everybody here that's saved. It doesn't make a matter whether you're a Presbyterian, or Methodist, or Free Presbyterian, or anything else. So long as you're saved. I'll tell you this. You're sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus. What a wonderful thing. And if I was one to make an issue of this, I'd go down to verse 14. For by one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified in this sense. You see, the day that I was fundamentally sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus, that day I was perfected forever. Oh, I would tighten you up if you were trying to tell me I could be lost again. Because by that one sacrifice I was set apart. And by that one sacrifice that set me apart, I am perfected forever. Not that I'm anything. Not that I've ever done anything as wonderful. Just because he's everything, just because he did it all. That's what you call fundamental sanctification. And then you know John 17, and I don't think we need waste much time there. Let's have a look at that. Our Lord Jesus is praying. John 17. And you will always remember this. It's John 17 and 17. The Lord Jesus is lifting his face up and saying to his Father, Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. That's what you call practical sanctification. You see, if you just let this book have its way in your life, you know, it will tend you. This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. You know, I learned this on the very first day I was saved. I was saved about half five, about 44 years ago. And you know, I went out the next morning and got a job in Dixon's nursery. Going to wash flower pots in a big tub. Seven o'clock in the morning. And I can remember this, getting up at five, you know. Going to go out to work. Thought I need to read before I would go on. I'll tell you where I was reading. I didn't know a thing about it. I must have opened up the place. I wouldn't know. But it was Ephesians. Have a look at it, do you see. It was Ephesians chapter six. And this is the word my eye fell on. Ephesians six, verse five. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling. You know, I took a good look at that. I'll tell you there's not much of that around these days. I'll tell you it's still in God's book. And I'll tell you it would put the shop stewards in a sort of a fix. I'll tell you this. You believers, this is what God says to you. That you're to serve your masters with fear and trembling. That's what it says. Whether you like it or not doesn't worry me. I'm just telling you what it says. And I believed it. I looked at it. It says I'm going out to work for old Dixon. I'd always had things about him. He was an old crook of some kind. I said, Lord, if I've got to work for him, just be fear and trembling. And then it went on to say, in singleness of your heart is on to Christ. So I'm going out to wash these flower pots in this town. It's on to you, Lord. So that made a difference. I was really in love with the Lord. Went out, stamped my clock at ten minutes to seven, and as soon as seven struck, got the coat off, rolled the sleeves up, all the boys look at you. You don't start here, it says. I said, but I do. I'm working for the Lord. And you know a lot of these boys knew me. They wouldn't need to bother me too much when I had a flower pot in my hand. I could just stand so much in those days. So I was washing these for the Lord. And you know, I remember this. Not with eye service, it says. I didn't just wash them when old Dixon was coming round. That's the way the other boys did. Scrubbed into it when he was passing by, you know. As men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ. You know what that is? That's sanctification by the Scriptures. I sure was different. I was only saved and I was different. A lot of old Baptists and Brethren walking up and down in the mornings, reading the Bible and arguing about wee points, and they weren't any more different than the boys that were playing cards. Oh, if you let the Word teach you, you'll see. You'll see you're different. You'll set apart. Well, of course they think you're mad. Old Dixon came out and caught them all one morning playing football. I was the only boy washing them. Whenever he came along he said, You're the only honest man I have. I said, I don't work for you, I work for the Lord. He thought I was mad. Yes, that's how it goes, you know. But what about it? I enjoyed working for the Lord. That's what you call practical sanctification. Have a look at this now. This is 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. And it's 1 Thessalonians. This is a lovely bit, you know. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. It's a mighty word, you know, sanctify you wholly. And then he goes on to say, And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus, faithful as he that calleth you who also will do it. You see, this is what I call total sanctification. Because when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, you know, and I rise to meet him, my body and soul and spirit will be set apart, yea, I'll be like him, and be set apart with him forever. That's what you call total. That's total, that's different. What we came to do was, was sanctification by the Spirit. I want to get that over to you. Because that's what I call initial. Now let's go back to where we started. Watch this now, so you see how it works out now. We're at 2 Thessalonians. And we're at that second chapter. I want you to get this. So watch it now. But we are bound to give thanks all the way to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. Because that God hath chosen you to salvation. Now something had to happen before they were saved. It's true that God in his foreknowledge had chosen them out. But the moment had to come when they had to respond. Now here's how it worked out. Hath chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth. Now tell me which one is first. Happens to be that sanctification of the Spirit just came before belief of the truth. Did you get the hold of that? That's not the second blessing. That's the first one. That's the very first one. You see friends, this is a great thing for preachers to learn. That if men and women are going to be saved at all, the Holy Ghost will have to work through us. Simple creatures that we are. We may be, yea, ignorant and on land. That doesn't keep the Spirit from moving if we're honest with God. Sometimes I preach here on a Sunday night, you know, and I can see the whole congregation rising. All but one. Somebody left sitting there. And I know what's happening, you know. I know the Spirit has taken hold of him. The Spirit has separated him out from the crowd. You see the word working, do you? That's the thing that delights me. Now I know what he needs. He needs belief of the truth. Yea, how often I've seen it. Big man in the corner there. With a bald head. He won't mind me saying that. Long ago I think he was here. August 59th. And I preached one evening and everybody moved but the big man. All of them. I saw him from up here. And I sat on, you know. Just prayed a little bit. Bend under down. Said, Harold, what's wrong? He said, I'm not leaving until I get the Savior. August 59th that was. I knew what he needed now. He needed belief of the truth. I had to let him see that he was a sinner. I had to let him see that Christ came into the world to save sinners. I had to let him see that Christ died for sinners. I had to let him see there was a Savior. And all he had to do was put the arms of his face around him. And take him as his very own. And there he is. Happy as can be. One of the best men we have in the assembly. I'm just going to say that now. Yes. I'll tell you that's how it works. That's what you call sanctification. Don't go talking blabbers to me now. It comes before belief of the truth. And when a man is convicted by the Spirit of God, for any sakes, don't push him into saying yes. He needs to see the truth. And he needs to believe the truth. Belief of the truth. And you see I can tell him tonight that God knew all about that night when he and I would meet and sit together. And that God from the beginning, just because of his foreknowledge, had chosen him for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Got the hold of it now. I don't think there are any problems. Next week I'll see you and we'll do this great work that's to be done. Let's bow together and we'll sing no more. Lord we bow at thy feet. We thank thee for thy holy word. We thank thee Lord that this book is set apart from all other books. This is the holy Bible. Yea Lord this is thy word. And thou hast magnified it. Above all thy name thou hast surely set it apart. Oh God teach us thy truth. Help us to bow to it. Oh God we pray that all the believers may get round to getting down and looking into thy word. And becoming practically what thou desirest we should be. Oh God make us to be more and more like the Lord Jesus even while we're here. May the beauty of Jesus be seen in thee. Oh Lord part us in thy fear. And with thy blessing for thy name's sake. Amen.