In this sermon, the preacher starts by talking about a football game where Georgia won 44-7. He then tells a story about a man who lied about being part of the winning team. The preacher uses this story to illustrate the concept of dying with Christ and sharing in his victory. He emphasizes that believers are already dead to sin and should live in the joyous life that comes from being in Christ. The sermon concludes with a plea for listeners to experience the love and life of Christ.

I told my husband, and I told the elder brethren, and I put in my will, that if anything happens to me, you've got to come back to Pittsburgh and bury me. I said, oh, forget it, buddy, we're not thinking about the undertaker, we're thinking about the upper taker. He said, no, I mean that with all sincerity, that I want you to conduct my funeral service. Then he said, will you please tell me what you're going to say at my service? So, I again was put on the spot, you see. So I said, well, I don't really know, but I'll give you an illustration. A friend was conducting a funeral service, and partially turning towards the casket, while addressing the congregation, he said, Beloved, our dear brother isn't here, this is just a shell, the nut has gone. He said, I knew it, I knew it, that's what he was saying. Right, how am I going to preach tonight? Right, let us go back, shall we, to Psalm number 16, the 16th Psalm. It has been a very wonderful day, all right, from the very early morning, we've been very conscious of the Lord's presence with us, we've had a very deep sense of the movement of the Holy Spirit, and now we're coming to a closing. It's a wonderful day, and we're going to go back again to Psalm number 16, and reading it, verse number 5. Remembering Thee, do I put my trust, Thou art my Lord, I've no good beyond Thee. The saints that are in the earth, the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Then verse number 4, Their sorrows shall be multiplied at haste, and after. Exchange me of our gifts to another God. Thank God for all who have been telling us, there have been Gods in the lives prior to coming here. Spirit of God has placed His finger upon one and another, and to be getting alone with God, and doing business with God, and that's what we appreciate more and more. Just the fact of the individual believer getting alone, battling this thing out, and from their very heart praying, the dearest idol I've known, whatever idol be. Help me, dear Lord, to tear it from Thy throne, and worship only Thee. So the psalmist said, Their sorrows shall be multiplied at haste, and after another God. He said, the great offerings will I not offer. He will not offer offerings to the living God. He will not even mention the names of these particular Gods, and He said, I'll bring their names before Him. What a wonderful pattern. What a wonderful call to practical separation we have here. And now we come down to verse 5. We looked a little at this this morning, didn't we? The Lord is a portion of my inheritance, and of my cup. Thou maintainest my love. The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. We try to link the two together. The last phrase of verse number 6 with the first phrase of verse number 5. I have a goodly heritage. The Lord is a portion of my inheritance. Now you love that, don't you? We thought of that wonderful inheritance, which is ours as the people of God. We went back to various scriptures from the Old Testament, and those in the New Testament. That was at the 7.20 meeting. Do you know you miss a lot by not getting out of that 7.20 devotional service. It's there when our minds are so clear, our spirit life is alert, and in the quiet of that early hour, we have been very conscious of the Lord's presence with us. Now, I'm thinking just now of this fact here. The Lord is a portion of my inheritance. We thought this morning of being a child of God. And what an honor. I trust all of us here tonight are children of God. I trust your place, your trust in the Lord Jesus, and you own Him as your very own Lord and Savior. You may say, but aren't we all children of God? Aren't all mankind children of God? Oh, no, they're not. God is the Creator of all mankind. He's the Father only of those who have believed on His Son. Chapter and verse, Galatians 3, verse number 26, Now are ye the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. John 1, verse number 12, But to as many as received Him, to them gave He power, the legal right, to become the sons of God a time when we were not, to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. We are born of God. We are born into God's family. We don't grow up into God's family. It is not by blood. It is not hereditary. Because my parents were Christians, that did not mean I was automatically going to become a Christian. Oh, no. Nor by the will of the flesh. No matter how exemplary my life, no matter how sterling my character, no matter how noble my name, no matter how much I may try and will, it's not by the will of the flesh. Nor is it by the will of man. No ordinance any man can confer upon me, whether christening, confirmation, or vaccination, they're all about the same, or baptizing by virtue, or becoming a communicant, or becoming a church member. No, no, beloved. It is not by the will of man. We must be born of God. Oh, I trust all of us know this joy tonight, I'm able to sing from your heart, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine, air of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Oh, are you a child of God? You say, I hope so. My friend, tonight you may know so, that you are a child of God. You may know you have passed from death unto life. You may know you have come from darkness into light. From bondage into liberty, from hate into love. That's what it means to be a child of God. But the Bible says, because we are children of God, we are heirs of God, and we are joint heirs with Christ. We talked a little about being a joint heir with Christ this morning. All that the Father has, He's given to the Son. And because we are in Christ, we share everything that Christ has, the wonder of it all. Oh, what a wealthy people we are. And what a victorious people we are. What a powerful people we are, because we are in Christ Jesus. My good brother, this morning, finish with these words. We are complete in Christ. Complete. We are made full in Christ. We quoted that verse from Colossians 2, verse number 9, did we not? For it pleads the Father that in Christ in all fullness dwell. Then the next verse says, He looks into your heart, He looks into my heart, saved by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, and knowing the joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit, because the Bible says, if we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His. But Galatians 4, 6 says, because we are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father. And because we have the Spirit indwelling us, He says now, ye are my children. And He says, you are complete, you are made full, lost in all the fullness that is treasured up in Him. No wonder we so often sing, Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord. Oh, to be lost in Thee. Oh, that it may be no more I, but Christ who lives in me. Not only am I in Christ, wondrous, wondrous, but now He, by His Spirit, lives in me. And I want to underscore this. There is an indissoluble union. Nothing else, nor in heaven nor in hell, can separate us from the love of God that is treasured up in God's beloved Son. Yet some of you will wonder, we are complete in Him. In Him. Remember the story of Noah and in the ark. For a hundred and twenty years they were in the building of that wonderful ark. The moment came when the Lord said, calling Noah, his wife, and all his family into the ark. Eight precious souls, eight precious people entered into that ark. The doors could open wide for another seven days. Noah stood in that door, and I think I can see him now, calling to the people to come in. God's going to send judgment. God's going to send a flood. Come in. Probably some of those people had helped in the building of that same ark. There may have been Noah's carpenters helping in the building of the ark. And all the time they could prove the whole idea why we've never seen rain. We've never seen rain. And He tells us it's going to rain from heaven. Oh, the poor old fellow has got a flake loose. There's something wrong somewhere. He's suffering from religious mania. Poor man Noah. Now, my friend, God in His long suffering kept that door open for seven days. Then the Lord said to Noah, shut the door. Did He? Not at all. The Lord shut the door. And when the Lord shut the door, no man can open that door. And when the Lord opens the door, no man can shut the door. But now, my friend, now the rain began to fall. The springs are opened up. And what happens? My friend, the rain comes down and down. The people look toward that ark. They see now the rain. And then they come knocking. Noah! Noah, open to us. Open to us, Noah. We'll leave you now, Noah. But it was far too late. Noah couldn't open that door. Did we not hear the zealous people? And you sang beautifully tonight, girls and boys. You really did. I really appreciate that so much. It did my heart good. But they came now, but it's too late. They came knocking. They believed now, but it's too late. They would not believe the testimony Noah gave. They would not believe that testimony. And they came knocking. Noah! Noah, open to us, Noah. And there they saw the ark blown up upon the face of the deep. The ranches of the highest mountain. And they looked out upon the ark. We might have been in. We could have been in that ark. But oh, we would not believe the testimony. We would not believe Noah. They climbed the highest tree. The water came up, covering the mountain up. The tree up, up. And they saw all the animals there floating around upon the top of the water. And they looked up, and they saw that ark, the only place of safety, the only place of salvation. And they might have been in that ark, but they would not believe. They would not believe, and they perished. That only one state to take from without within. And they perished. My friend, tonight, may I ask you very lovingly, are you tonight in the ark, Christ Jesus? Or are you tonight exposed to the judgment of a holy God? Friend, tonight the cry is, just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. Oh, Lamb of God, I come. Oh, will you come tonight? Will you take that step tonight? From judgment, to justification. From bondage, into liberty. From death, into life. I know the joy, just as Noah and his family were safe and secure in that ark. Please, oh please, it was not, it was not the gulf of wood that kept up the floods of judgment. Not at all. The ark was fixed within, and was up with pitch. And it was not the perfect, exemplary life of my adorable Lord, Jesus, that saved your soul and mine. It was that precious, precious blood that was shed upon the cross. And without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness. I thank God tonight for all who are in Christ Jesus. Tonight, beloved, they're accepted in Him, and they're covered by the efficacious blood of our adorable Lord. And they're free from judgment. How do I know? Corinthians 8, verse number 1 says, There's therefore now no judgment for them that are in Christ Jesus. Oh, how safe, oh, how secure we are in Christ. Noah may have looked up through that one window, and seen, my friend, all the waters of deluge, all the floods of judgment, and there he was so safe and so secure in the ark. Just like the Comeys, they were safe and secure in the crest of the rock. Just like you place the letter in the envelope, and it is sealed. So tonight, all who receive Christ by faith into their hearts, they're accepted in, and they're complete in Christ. Where are you tonight, my friend? Where are you? Oh, you say, I hope I'm saved. I hope I'm a child of God. I hope I'm really in Christ. Oh, friend, please leave the band of hope, and savor your heart tonight with all sincerity, by God's grace, and by the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by trusting that precious blood. Oh, how safe, oh, how secure you are in Him. Because we are in Christ Jesus, and as He is before the Father, so are we tonight down here on the mountaintop. Not a spot, not a blemish, not a wrinkle, not any such thing. God has accepted His beloved Son in all His inflexible holiness, in all His intrinsic righteousness, in all the glory, in the wonder of His own glorious person. And my friend, as your brother Christian said last night, as he placed that, those glasses in the glass case, he said, now God sees no longer Jim Boswell. He sees Christ. And God sees you no longer as a Christian. He sees you in Christ. But please, oh, please, would Peter Pell say, because you are, then be. Because you're holy in Christ, then live a holy life. Because you're righteous, then live a righteous life. Thank God we are accepted in the beloved. Perfect as He is perfect. Holy as He is holy. Righteous as He is righteous. And no one dare raise their accusing finger. We sometimes sing, I hear the accuser roar of ills that I have done. I know them well and thousands more. Jehovah findeth none. Aren't you glad that under the blood tonight, oh, the joy, oh, they're completely bloodied out. And we heard, the Bible says, that those that are in Christ, Jesus, are new creation. All things have passed away. All things have become new. Friend, where are you tonight? Where are you? Are you in Christ? Are you in Christ? Now, because I'm in Christ, now, I think of that wonderful Scripture in Romans chapter 6. I'd love to delve into that one day. When I don't know, this is going very, very fast. But I'd love to get to Romans 6 because you can't come to Romans 12 until you've been to Romans 6. Do you know that? How many people try to come to Romans 12 and the young people and all of this are pleading to heal their bodies, heal their bodies, and they try, and they try with all sorts of, and they have the purity, and it doesn't fit. It doesn't work. Do you know why? Because they're trying to consecrate their own flesh. You must come to Romans 6. And my friend, you know, as an old man, all you are is a child of Adam, and was crucified with Christ. And you do take side with God against your old self-life. And now you hear Romans 12, Romans 6, 11 coming in here, they likewise reckon ye, yourselves be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The negative side, you're dead indeed unto sin, but now you're alive unto God. And then what does the Bible say? As those that are alive unto God, now come and heal yourselves. Present your bodies, a living sacrifice, the old man being put away. And the reckoning of God. God, the old man, crucified with Him. Our dear brother this morning read a Scripture, the Matthew Gospel, a very striking Scripture too. The Lord met the men in the market square, and He said to them, Why stand ye all day idle? Why stand ye all day idle? The members answered, Because no man hath hired us. No man hath hired us. The same Greek word is used in Romans 6, 6. But it says, as the body of sin might be destroyed, your old man... By the way, young people, that doesn't refer to your father. And don't you call your father the old man. And don't you call your mother the old lady. Remember, they're still mum and dad. And respect them. And appreciate them too. Remember, our old man, all I am is a child of Adam. All I am by nature. The brothers, No, you don't. You know, says Paul. Don't you realize? How many Christians here may not know this? You may not know it. You may know it theoretically. You may know it scripturally. You may know it doctrinally. I did for years without entering into it experientially. I knew all of the doctrines. I knew all of the faith and taught it all over the place. When this truth dawned upon me by divine revelation, it revolutionized my life and my ministry. And I never ceased to preach wherever I go. But Paul said, No, you don't. You know, the old man was criticized with Christ that the body of sin might be destroyed, rendered idle, unemployed, discharged, made inoperative, put out of action. That's all the same Greek word. And now get this. The old man, my friend, was rendered idle. He's still there. Still there. And will be there till the Lord comes and repairs him with the arsle of death. When the old man stopped taking a root away and threw it out and thrown away, what they call eradication. Oh, no. Same thing about this. Those people who teach eradication to the old man also teach the falling away doctrine. I can't reconcile that at all, can you? Oh, my friend, not at all. Now, may I help you right here? The old adamant nature is still there and will be there. But now, listen. You've got a new life, as we said this afternoon in the preparation period. We've got a new life. We've got a divine nature. A life where you're light from above. We've got the very life of God indwelling us. But my friend, now, and the reckoning of God, the old life has been crucified with the flesh and put out of the way. But we only know from experience only too well. The old nature is still there. But please get this, Christian. Get this. What God has reckoned by faith, by grace, He wants us now to reckon by faith. He said, Know ye not, your old man was, has been crucified with Christ. He wants you to know the meaning of your whole crucifixion. That when Christ died, you died. When He was buried, you were buried. When He arose, you arose. When He ascended, you ascended. But in His place is God's right hand and you took your place in Him. In victory. To share now the fullness of that fulness. To share now the joy of reigning with Christ in life. Not just in the communion, but here and now. Not because you have been saved from hell. I am near fire, you see. I want to be put in heaven by and by. Oh, that is a very poor, negative way of preaching the gospel. Oh, friend, think of the positive aspect where you have been brought into the child of God. Oh, this victory is your victory. Oh, this purity is your purity. Oh, this power is your power. Oh, this love is your love. This life and life in abundance is yours because you are in Christ. Because you are in Christ. Is it real to you, my friend? Are you in the good of this tonight? Or do you just know theoretically? Oh, beloved, by grace, by faith, and you are into your possessions in Christ. I am quoting Obadiah, verse 17. Possess your possessions. Don't stand out and admire your possessions. Enter in and possess. I know the joy of all that is yours in our adorable Lord Jesus. May I pause here? The old man renders idle. And I want to suggest to you very lovingly, yet very sincerely, do you know your old Adamic nature can't move, can't work unless you employ it. Do you know that? You can't lose your temper unless you employ it. You can't be impatient or irritable or moody unless you employ it. And all that comes from the old Adamic nature. God, I reckon it! How moody we get, how sulky we get, how irritable, how impatient, how unlovable, how unloving we are, all springs from the old nature. And friend, that can't take place unless you employ it. It's a death after your will. Do you know that? Because no man has hired me. No man has hired us. That's what they say. And the old man can't work. The old man can't operate unless you employ it. To render your will to him tonight. Now, what God has reckoned by grace, He wants you to reckon by faith. Right by reckoning you're going to be damned for a lie. I love this. And dear old Doc Codette used to say, this is the bridge. The bridge out of Romans 7 into Romans 8. And to live there. And the captive of Romans 7 becomes a conqueror in Romans 8. Oh friend, listen. The captive who said 32 times the great big capital I, I, I, I, I, I, I. He was an eye specialist, you know. He was, it is capital I, I, I, I. And when you come to Romans 8, it's no longer the great big capital I. It's never mentioned. But I tell you what, 19 times the Holy Spirit refers to. He's not referred to once in verses not in chapter 7, not once, it's all the great big I. No wonder Paul said in the chapter, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Who shall? I thank God who Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore now no condemnation then, there in Christ Jesus. No condemnation, no defeat, no separation, no accusation. Oh the wonder of this glorious joy. Do you believe that tonight, amen? Do you believe it is real in your life? And now here's the point, I'm alive unto God. Now get this, as one is alive unto God, then says Paul, now this is a death deliberate act. The moment you're born again is that moment as a Christian, you'll yield your whole life, spirit and soul and body, unreservedly and unconditionally to Him. You may not theoretically, you may reckon by faith and not know the power and you never will. It's a death deliberate act of you. That means you are yielding, why? Yield yourself. Immediately, entirely, unlovingly. Dear though came to me this afternoon about this glorious verse, Rule Galatians 2.20, and what does it say? The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. Oh here's practical Christianity. Here's something really full of love. The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. And you take the last three words and you read them backwards. And what do you read? He shall be me for Himself. That's love responding to love. Love be reciprocated. The Son of God, and from our hearts we cry, take my love, O Lord, I pour at Thy feet a treasure store. Take myself and I will be ever only all for Thee. I'm afraid I love to develop this, but time will not allow us. I don't say this. You say, look, what are you getting at? Oh, I want you to see that in John Romans 6, we've been planted together in the likeness of His death. He died. I died. His death is my death. Not my trying to die. Not my trying to crucify myself. That happened two thousand years ago. An illustration. I was in Atlanta, Georgia. I go there from time to time, they put up with me. But I got a lot of spiritual children in Atlanta, Georgia, and I saw them right here in this conference and now. One of those fellows is a prophet at the, at that particular time, at Georgia Tech. That is a high school teacher, see? Both the same Lord's Day. I spoke to the business and professional women's club that flew me in from Washington to do that. Between three and four hundred women gathered there at that particular club. Three women sat before me and they asked to sit there at the head table. I, I only knew one of them. One girl said, will you please pray for my husband? I said, I'd be happy to do that. When were you, say, three months ago? I said, who led you to Christ? She said, Evelyn did. Another girl sat beside her and said, will you please pray for my husband? She said, I'd be happy to do that. Who, how long have you been? She said, a month. Who led you to Christ? She said, Carol did. She said, interesting. I said, I lead Evelyn to Christ, Carol, Evelyn leads Carol to Christ, and Carol leads you to Christ, Mary. So Evelyn's my daughter, you're my granddaughter, you're my great-granddaughter. So I said to her, pray for your husband. And before that group dispersed, I said, there's a request for prayer and we're going to pray. Does that mention any names? We prayed for those two men on Wednesday luncheon. God saved them both. That's the God we've come to know. And some people have been prayed for here, and I believe God's going to save them tonight, do you know that? I believe God's going to save them tonight, right here, He's going to save them, without the shadow of a doubt. At that time, there's Dirk, along with some others who are here tonight, and that particular baptismal service. I'll never forget this. The answer, if I go and see George O.K. playing Auburn University in a cast tie. Now, I've never seen any of your football in my life. I play football with my feet. You call it soccer. And I can hardly pass a tin can now without kicking that in my blood. It gets in you and I just can't make it pass it, to tell you the truth. Anyway, by the way, that was a God in my life as a teenager. It came between the Lord and I to do something about it. I'd let it go. I'd let it go. I was on my way to international fame as a soccer player. So when they began playing on Sunday, that was a terrible day. But I got down there and there they were, and because they had been there on their faculty that particular time, I was very happy to have such a vantage point. You could see the whole field there. There were 22 full-blooded men down there in that field, over 50 pounds worth of padding on, a crash helmet, and a gay face gown. And I got one thing. I couldn't understand those 22 full-blooded men fighting for a little pumpkin. I couldn't understand it at all. And when they got into this huddle, I thought they were having a prayer meeting for the next move. I'll tell you honestly, I didn't know one thing they were doing. When they stood up, when they yelled, I yelled. I didn't know what I was standing up for. By the third quarter, by the second quarter, I began to get into it. And by the fourth quarter, I was well into it. And by the fourth quarter, when I stood up, while you were standing up, when I yelled, and you were yelling about, I knew what happened. Georgia won 44 to 7. It was a glorious day for Georgia. Georgia won 44 to 7. We came to stop there, you see. Wise thing to do. But then down the side said, I see Butch, he was also a champion wrestler. His wrestling name was Butch. His right name was Hosea. He says, hey, see Butch, who won? He says, we won 44 to 7. So I pulled his coat here, and you told that man. He said, we won 44 to 7. I said, listen, you didn't play in that game. And you had no right telling that man we won and you didn't play. But he said, but Jim, we, that team was chosen to represent the school. And because that team won the whole school share, it was only representing the school, Jim. And as the team chose to represent, and because they won the whole school share of the victory. I said, that's true. But I said, you and you had no right telling that man we won. You told him a lie about telling him you won, we won 44 to 7, and you didn't play. I said, not that much, but I got that much. He could go back all over again. He said, Butch, don't worry. I understand that for the last three weeks, I've been trying to get into your skull that when Christ died upon the cross, you died. And just as you did not literally play in that game that you share the victory, you did not literally die upon that cross. The nails did not literally go through your hands and feet. You died in the person you represented. His death is your death, man. Don't you see it? Oh, it's a shame, hush. But now, I want you to get this. Friend, you see that tonight. Young people, do you see it? So many people are trying to die, and you're already dead. Just as a reminder of that. His poor head was severed from his body. A car ran over him, severed his head from his body. Mike goes along. He sees the poor thing. He says, the poor thing's dead. His pants says the thing's alive because it's moving. I shouldn't be dead. You're both alive. You know, there are a lot of Christians just like that. They're dead. You came to me 1,000 years too late. You're already crucified. You were crucified in the person you represented. You feel dead. That's what you dead people feel? Are you trying to feel dead? Take God as your word. How do you know you're saved? You take God as your word, don't you? How do you know you've died? You take it not I. I live by the faith of the Son of God. Are you in Christ? Are you a child of God? This peace can be your peace. This purity can be your purity. This power can be your power. How many people come up to me and say, oh, please, will you please pray the Lord to give me patience? When my wife prayed for patience, the Lord used to send me home. Tribulation works with patience. It's not quite as bad as all that. Not really. But the government says, Lord, please. And they've got the brainy idea that God's going to bundle up a bundle of patience and put the name upon it and drop it, don't He? There you are, my dear. There is your patience. He is your patience. And when you just feel like blowing your top, He says, Lord, please take over the situation. A woman came in, a very dear woman, also said, Mr. Basil, this Bible victory you're preaching, is it for a mother with seven children in a two-roomed house? And I looked straight at her and said, with all my love, I said, my dear, if it were not for you with seven children in a two-roomed house, I saw that woman only a few months ago. And she came and put her arm around me. He was, not eight, he was, and said, when I got in that corner and I just felt like bubbling and crying, I thought, please take over the situation. And oh, the peace. Oh, the inner serenity. Oh, I said, Jim, I got rid of my answers. They play on the secret. Cry to the life of the Lord. Lord, please, oh Lord, send me love. Lord, I'm longing for love. I'm yearning for love. Please send me love. And he got the brainy idea. They go up on the bum, up upon the bum, and drop it, don't He? But they say, there you are, my darling. There is your love. He doesn't do that. He is your love. He is your patience. He is your love. You're walking down the street, somebody comes along, over-rubs you up the wrong way, and you just feel like popping into some store to avoid it, but now you've learned the secret. Why, you're my Lord, please love them through me. And he says, oh, come on, purity. What is it? That's what it means to be in Christ. That's your inheritance. Enter in a possession of possessions, and I, it's not up upon the sky, by and by. This is down-to-earth, practical Christianity in the office, in the hospital, in the lab, in the operating theater, right there in the school, on the campus, in the store, in the factory, wherever we are. Christ is the life of my life. Is this real, my friend? This is an inheritance you've been brought into as a child of God. Why stand off, my friend, and admire? Enter in and possess. I know this joy, this life. Now you look up and say, I have a golden inheritance. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. Oh, let us pray. May thy beauty rest upon me. And may they forget the channel. If only. Come and abiding, rule in my heart. Break every fetter. Thy faith let me see. Then I shall ever be. His name was John Waltz. He was a married man with three children. He was called up to 1914-18 war. He had a bachelor's plan, who had no family responsibilities, nor earthly ties, and his job exempted him from all military service, but he volunteered to go in his friend's place. He said, no, you're not going. I'm going, he said his friend. He said, no, let John, I've got no responsibilities, I want to go, I'm physically A1, I want to go and fight in your place. He went, and cutting my long story short, everything went wonderfully well, the last clash, and he was killed in the last battle. Now the last war broke out, and John Waltz had worked from the home office, from the war office, to report. He ignored it. Three times he got a letter, and he ignored it. But then they said to the recruiting sergeant, are you John Waltz? Yes, I'm John Waltz. Well, why haven't you reported? Why, you've got no claim upon me. He said, why, you're John Waltz, aren't you? Come on. He said, not at all. You've got no claim upon me. He said, you go back and look up your records, and you'll find I died in the last war. They went and looked up the records, and true enough, John Waltz, by a certain number of dollars, died in a certain battle on a certain day. Now, he did not literally die. He died in a personal substitute. Got that? But my friend, he acted upon that, and when the word came, he ignored them with no claim upon him. When the recruiting sergeant said, no claim, friend, the world will come in awe of some lurement, and all of his attractions, and all of his temptations, with no claim upon him. He died. I'm going to teach you a chorus. In fact, to be suggested, I'm not doing it tonight, so don't worry. But these are the words, and I'll close with them. Reckon ye yourself to be dead indeed to sin. Crucified with Christ, that he now may reign within. Raised together with the Lord, filled with life in you. Thus the spirit doth afford victory. Hie me ho, me I, nor victory so many cry. Commit thyself to Calvary, confess the death. God, we have gained his sinning, lark, we die to live, and his life cometh. And only in the measure, I have reckoned my own life crucified with Christ. Are you in Christ? If not, will you come here? Not knowing the Lord Jesus, but he's been presented to you as the only Lord and Savior, we want you to trust him and to receive him. And as you receive him by faith in your heart, he receives you. And you're in Christ. And you're in Christ forever. Thus the eternal covenant stands. Maybe some defeated Christian here, you've been living a defeated life. And God's been placing his finger upon this in one area after another area in your life. And quite frankly, you're not the man you used to be. And you know that. You're not the woman you used to be in the time when you were ablaze for Jesus Christ. His Word was your delight. Your prayer was delightful. He saw answer your prayer. And in your ministry it was fruitful. But it's not so tonight. Will you openly make that clear to him now? Father, have thy way. Work by thy Spirit. Bring glory to thy wonderful name in the salvation of precious souls, in the restoration of the backslider, bringing from defeat into glorious victory. Oh, encourage and inspire thy beloved people for thy glory. There's no in-due pressing. There's no button-holding. But if you're concerned about spiritual matters, please don't go away. We're here to help you. There are many here who pointed through to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have trusted him, do tell us, and we may rejoice with you.