In this sermon, Paul Washer shares a powerful message about surrendering our lives to God. He tells a story about a man who opens an old trunk and dedicates every part of himself to the Lord, even to the point of death. Washer emphasizes the fleeting nature of life and the importance of living in dependence on God. He warns that our bodies, which may seem strong now, will eventually become our enemies and bring us pain and weakness. The sermon encourages listeners to consider how they would live differently if they knew they only had a limited time left, and to prioritize seeking God's will over their own plans.

For more media content from Grace Community Church in San Antonio, Texas, go to gccsatx.com Media used by permission of HeartCrime Missionary Society. Visit us online at heartcrimemissionary.com Paul Walsher starts preaching about 5 minutes into this service. I would like to read a word from the Old Testament. Some people think that the God from the Old Testament is a different God than the New Testament. The theme for this weekend was Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace to receive and to share, to pass on. And I want to read you two texts from Exodus, where we see and read about how God revealed Himself in the Old Testament to Moses. And what does Exodus 34, 36, 7 say? Exodus 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 82, 83, 83, 84, 84, 85, 84, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 805 Maar goedenavond, Vader, hoor ons zo in de wonderbare naam van Dear yeezes, uitgenaonde. Amen. Well good evening. Good evening. Before I get started, I'll just share with you, uhm Brother Leiter and I, we're having a conversation. Before I start, I would like to share with you, Brother Leider and I were in conversation with each other. And I was sharing with him about my weakness. And we were talking and I told him, I said, You know, when I tell people how weak I am, they think I'm being humble. And they don't realize I'm really telling the truth. I would want the young people here to know something very important. Sometimes you look at men who preach and teach. And you think that God is using them because they have reached some great spiritual level. But that's not really true. You see, I hope that I am not a hypocrite. I hope that I am sincere. I think that I really want to follow Jesus Christ with my heart. But men are weak. They're not courageous. They don't know a lot. God uses weak people. I mean, if you look in the Bible, you will see that. Look at the men and the women that he used. There's no such thing as a great man of God. There are only weak little men of a great and merciful God. Sometimes I say, when I'm in a pastor's conference, there's no such thing as a great man of God. And you see some of the pastors get mad. But the humble hear it and they are glad. The normal Christian hears it and is glad. You see, God can use you. He will use you. And he's probably already used you more than what he will let you know. The only one we should ever look to is Jesus Christ. We should never put confidence in men. We will be disappointed. But to put confidence in Christ. As the Bible says, you will not be ashamed. Let me give you a few questions. Sometimes do you read a chapter and then forget everything you read? Do you ever do that? Raise your hand. So do I. Don't you hate that? Don't you hate that? Do you ever work really hard to memorize a scripture? And then two days later you try to quote it and you say something completely different? Are you quoted and then someone asks you where it's at and you can't tell them? I do that. Except it's worse. I do it in front of 5,000 people. Do you ever go to your bedroom and shut off the lights to pray? And then three hours later your wife comes in and turns on the lights and you're asleep? And you have drooled all over the bed? Is that it? And then when she wakes you up? I don't know if I translated that well. And then when she wakes you up, you act like you weren't asleep? And then you try to get up and both of your legs are paralyzed? Do any of you do anything like that? I never do that. I just wanted you to know that. I preach in a lot of places. I don't know how this ever happened. You know, sometimes people will come to me and say, sometimes people will come to visit me and they'll want to just hang around with me for a few days. And they're usually pretty disappointed. Like I said, hopefully I'm not in rebellion and I'm not a hypocrite. But I'm just normal. And a lot of people don't like that. Men want to lift up men. And that's so wrong. Because men are just men. God can really use you. Now, if you're in rebellion and living in hypocrisy, no. But if you're a person who truly wants to follow Christ, and yet you feel like you have two left feet, God can still use you. He gets glory out of using the weak. Because it proves that He's the one doing the work. Humble Christian, rejoice. You have a Savior who is a kind and wonderful Master who will never leave you nor forsake you. Who will never give up on you. Because He never put any confidence in you to start off. He'll never give up on you because He has made a commitment to you. And by His virtue, His merit and power, He will make it happen. I'm going to preach on maybe two different things tonight, so we're liable to be here for about six hours. Not really. Let's look in Psalms 103, verses 15 through 18. Psalm 103, verses 15 through 18. Psalm 103, verses 15 through 18. In verse 15 it says, As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower the field, so he flourishes. Verse 15 says, As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower the field, so he flourishes. If it had been written here that man is like a mountain, like a rock, we would still have reason to be afraid. Because even mountains do not last forever. Time will ground them down to nothing. Even the mountains cannot withstand some of the forces of nature. So if God had said that man is like a mountain, we would still have reason to know that one day our life would end. If he had said here that man is like a mighty oak tree, we would still have reason to be afraid. Oak trees eventually die. They can be destroyed by disease. They can be cut down by the axe of a man. So if he had said that man is like a mighty oak tree, we would still have reason to be afraid. But he says man is like grass. Grass has short duration. Even if it is healthy, it will not last more than a year. The winter comes and it withers and it dies. Forces can act upon grass and kill it, and grass does not have control over those forces. The mightiest men on the face of this earth are grass. They may flourish for a while, but in time they will go. It says in verse 16, As the wind passes over it, it is no more, and the place acknowledges it no more. They flourish, and then they are gone. A man is born. A man is educated. A man works and accomplishes great things. A man dies and he is forgotten. Nebuchadnezzar, will you be as great as him? But I imagine that there are months and years that pass by and you do not even think of him. Will anyone know you even existed a hundred years from today? Do you know the name of your father? Do you know the name of your grandfather? Do you know the name of your great-grandfather? Do you know the name of your great-great-grandfather? In four generations no one will remember you either. There are great empires that have arisen on this planet. There is Rome, the empire of Rome. There is Babylon, but they have all passed. One day Holland will be nothing more than ruins. One day the United States will be nothing more than a name written in a history book. So if the very nations we live in will one day disappear, how much more will we disappear? Your life is a vapor. It is like the dew that comes down on the grass in the morning, but the sun comes out and it disappears. Yesterday you were born. Today you are alive. Tomorrow you will die. Go and talk to the aged. Go and talk to them about how fast their life passed before them. They will tell you that they were born yesterday. That life passed so quickly. That they missed so much. That they wish they could go back and do it all over again. But they will not receive the opportunity. They will never go back. Their life is over. We look out on this congregation tonight. Many strong young men. Your bodies are your friend. They do not hurt. They are strong and full of energy. It won't be long before they are not your friend, but your enemy. They will bring you pain. They will bring you weakness. They will limit you. One day someone will have to help you go to the bathroom. That is what is awaiting you. You see, we live in a cult of youth. Youth is the idol. The beauty of youth is the idol. But even the famous people that are put before us today as the beautiful young. In a few years they will disappear and we will forget all about them. We will see our idols tumble down. But as soon as they grow old and tumble down, we put new idols in their place. A lot of dear, beautiful young girls here tonight. But one day you will be so old. Your beauty will fade. You'll turn no one's head. I remember seeing pictures of my mother back in the 30s. She was so beautiful. And I remember seeing her laying on her deathbed when she was 80. So weak and frail. All of her beauty gone. All of her strength gone. Do you know what the last thing my mother said to anybody on this planet? I stayed with her the month that she was in bed before she died. The last two weeks she was unconscious and couldn't say anything. But the last thing I heard her say was when her brother called on the phone. And I said, Mom, your brother Willie is on the phone. Can you talk to him? She took the phone. And I held it with her because she was so weak she couldn't even hold the phone to her face. She hadn't spoken about two days. And this is what she said. Read Bible. Believe Jesus. Read Bible. Believe Jesus. And that's the last thing she ever said on this planet. What a testimony. Everything she ever was, everything she ever possessed was taken from her. But the curse of the curse of the curse of the curse of the curse of the curse of the confession of faith in Jesus Christ that will carry her on to glory. Man's days are like grass. As the flower of the field he flourishes. And all his strength, all his beauty, all his accomplishments. But then God says today your soul is required of you. How then shall we live? To the unbeliever I can't even ask this question. Because he doesn't care. Because he doesn't see. He's being entertained by the devil all the way to hell. The world is in his life. And it leads him. And it entertains him. And it feeds him. So that he never asks the important question, why am I alive? But the believer can ask the question, how shall we then live? Because your mind has been illumined by the spirit of God. Christ has given you understanding. You know that life is short. It's like a vapor. You know your strength is going to leave you. You know that your beauty is going to leave you. You know that your beauty is going to betray you. You know that all your material possessions are going to rot. You know that all the worldly achievements you have accomplished are going to fail. You know that all the worldly achievements you have accomplished are going to fail. And even though you have done so much, you will not be remembered. How then shall we live? It's written in verse 17. The loving kindness of the Lord is everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him. And his righteousness to children's children. We must recognize what is truly eternal. And it is that relationship that we have been granted with God. This is eternal life, that you may know the one true God. This is eternal. And this is what you should pursue. Knowing that the world is coming to an end. Knowing that your life is coming to an end. You should pursue God. Pursue a relationship with him. And to pursue to know his will and accomplish it on this earth. One of the most amazing statements that can ever be made about a man was made about King David. He served the purposes of God in his generation. And then he slept. What an amazing thing to be said about a man. What an amazing thing to be said about a man. That is what I would like to have said at my funeral. He served the purposes of God in his generation. And then he slept. What more is there? He says the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. And in verse 18 he says to those who keep his covenant and remember his precepts to do them. And in verse 18 he says to those who keep his covenant and remember his precepts to do them. The covenant should always be before you. What God has done for you in Jesus Christ should be constantly before you. It should be the thing that drives you or motivates you. It should be your reason for living. And your encouragement. I always tell believers this. We live between two days. The day when Jesus Christ hung before all men. And the day when all men will stand before Christ. These are the two things that ought to drive you. That you have entered into an everlasting covenant with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. That you are his sons and daughters. That you do not belong to this world. That you are citizens of Zion. And that you are headed towards one purpose and one direction and that is the will of God. You should give yourself to knowing your God. You should give yourself to understanding his will. And you should give yourself to the doing of his will. Not as a burden. Not as something through which you can earn a right standing with him. The believer does not serve God so that God will love him. The believer serves God because God does love him. And we simply willingly and joyfully respond to the love that God has guaranteed us. Our lives are passing. How should we live? Seeking our God. And doing his will. Let's go to the book of Ecclesiastes. Let's go to the book of 1 Ecclesiastes. 1 Ecclesiastes 2-4 Verses 2-4 Solomon was a wise man. And we always picture wise men as seated calmly at their desk. They do not become excited. They do not raise their voice. They are wise and quiet and calm. But in the Hebrew language, when you want to emphasize something, you repeat it. A perfect example is Isaiah chapter 6. Where the scripture says that God is holy, holy, holy. It means above all things, God is holy. The repetition of a thing screams out, listen to me, I'm going to tell you something very true. Like in the Aramaic of Jesus, when he was on this earth. He would sometimes say, truly, truly, I say unto you. It means listen to me. Now notice here in verse 2, it says, vanity of vanities says the preacher. Now preachers, we expect them to be standing. And they raise their voice in the middle of the city. And they cry out in the streets. Here in this text, we see the wise man becoming a preacher. Because of the emphasis that he wants to give. Imagine that the wise Solomon is seated at his desk. You walk in his office. And you sit down in front of him. He's very calm, very tranquil. And you say, I want to know the meaning of life. And all of a sudden, he jumps out of his chair. And with fire in his eyes, he looks right at you. And he says, vanity of vanities. Listen to me, the one thing you must know. All life apart from God is vanity. And then he sits down. And he says, the lesson's over. Do you see what he's trying to do? It's like me coming down off of this platform. And grabbing you by the shoulders. And saying, the message for tonight is this. Vanity of vanity. All is vanity. Wake up. Don't you hear me? It's all vanity. You're smiling. I'm serious. We don't really understand that. It is all vanity. The world is nothing more than a circus of vanity. I love to go to art exhibitions. Because they're usually furry. But all the artists exhibit what they have done. Painting after painting of what the artist has accomplished. The world is like an art exhibition. But all they are displaying is vanity. They hang out their banners, they hang out their works, and all of it is vanity. And the worst thing about it is they all flatter each other. And they don't realize that all they have done is worthless. And then look what he says here. In verse 3 he says, What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? What does it matter? Solomon will go on to tell us that the wise man will die and rot with the fool. I heard years ago the story of an archaeologist who had accomplished great things. He was very unique in that he could work in many of the different disciplines of architecture. He had buildings and bridges. And one night as he was seated at his desk he was reading through the scriptures and came to the conclusion that everything he had built would burn. How much of what you have done will burn? Now I'm not saying that every Christian must be involved in some type of full-time ministry. I'm not saying that an architect can't have a meaningful Christian life. But if you are an architect you had better make sure you are an architect according to God's will. And that you design and build for His glory. And that your primary reason for being an architect is to witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone with which you come into contact. As I said last night when you become a Christian you are not adding Jesus to your life as a missing part of your life. When you become a Christian Jesus is your life. Everything is from Him through Him and to Him. You breathe in order to worship Him. Your strength is given to serve Him. Your mind has been granted to you in order to think great thoughts of Him. Everything you are is for Him. I had a very godly professor in the seminary. He had a great influence on my life. And he shared with us one time how he went up into the attic of his house. And he said there was an old trunk there. And he opened it up. And he got down on his knees. And this may seem superficial to you but it definitely was not to him. And he said, Lord, here tonight I die. I give you my mind. I give you my eyes. I give you my ears. I give you my tongue. I give you my hands. I give you my feet. I give you my heart. I give everything to you tonight. And I die that I might rise up again and belong completely and wholly to you. I no longer want my plans. I want your will. What does it matter? All the work a man does. Verse 4, a generation goes and a generation comes but the earth does not move. The earth remains the same. There are over 6 billion people on this planet. How many billions have already died, we do not know. Countless generation after generation have passed through this earth. But they are no longer remembered. And whatever great impact they had when they were on this earth, they no longer have such power. In verse 11 it says, there is no remembrance of earlier things and also the later things which will occur. There will be for them no remembrance for those who will come later still. Think of the greatest man you know in history, the history of Holland. One of the great fathers, one of the great beginners of this country. Do you even know his name? Do you celebrate the day of his birth? Only because maybe it's a state holiday? Do you weep every year on the day of his death and visit the cemetery where he was buried to give flowers? He is remembered no more. I remember when my father died years ago. He was a strong man. Extremely intelligent man. A powerful man. And yet I remember there as a young boy at the funeral that even his friends were talking about the weather. Or what was going to happen to some business. Or whether or not they were going to go on holiday this year. And I became so angry. My father just died. There are people gathered here to honor him. And they're talking about the weather. The Bible is true. A generation comes and a generation goes. And no one remembers. How then shall we live? Let's go to the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, chapter 12. Verse 13 and 14. Everything that is heard is the end of the matter. Fear God and observe His commandments, for this will please all people. For God will direct every work, with all that is hidden, whether good or evil. How then shall we live? We shall live in the fear of God. Now for the unbeliever that means something quite different. To live in terror of God. Not because God is bad, but because God is good. And the unbeliever is not. And he will be judged, as it says in verse 14, according to everything he has done, everything he has thought, everything he has said. But for the believer, for the Christian, how shall we live knowing that everything will pass away? Live in joyful reverence to God. With great gratitude. With thanksgiving. With worship and praise. Seeking Him to know more of Him. And giving ourselves to the doing of His will. Separating ourselves from the things on this earth that contaminate us. Having no part with the deeds of darkness. And giving ourselves in devotion to God. Serving Him. And serving others in His name. With a great hope that though the world pass away, that though they lay your body in the grave, one day a trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise and we will be with Him forever. How then shall we live? Fear God. And keep His commandments. Obey Him. You see, it was disobedience that brought the world into this horrible predicament to start off with. It is because of disobedience to the commands of God that men die. It is because of disobedience that men ruin their own lives. Listen to me. Men only have one problem. It is sin. Avoid it. Run from it. Hate it. And run to Christ. And His commands. Let's go on to 2 Peter 3. Verse 10 and 11. Let's go on to 14. Verse 10-14. 2 Peter 3. 10-14. Verse 10-14. Verse 10-14. Verse 10 says, Now look what will happen when He comes. The heavens will pass away with a roar. The heavens will pass away with a roar. And the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. And the earth and its works will be burned up. The greatest mountains of this earth will be disintegrated into nothing. On the day the Lord returns. And He will come like a thief. He will come when no one expects Him to come. In other places we are told He will come when men are saying, Peace, peace. He will come when the scoffings of men against Him are at its height. And when He comes, everything will change. The value of everything will change. Several years ago, some thieves broke in to a very expensive, exclusive store. But they did it in order to play a practical joke. It was night time. They broke in. And they changed the price tags on everything. On everything. So the next morning the store opened up. No one knew what happened. And a person came to the checkout lady with a beautiful vase. That the night before was worth $10,000. But now it was $1.25. And then another person came with a little cheap watch that the night before was worth about $15. But now it was $1,250. You can imagine what kind of chaos was in that store. Jesus is coming back like a thief in the night. And the moment He does, the value of everything will change. All the things that men consider to be extreme valuable, the next morning will be worth nothing. Your wealth will be worth nothing. Your beautiful clothes will be worth nothing. Your expensive house will be worth nothing. Your worldly fame will be worth nothing. And all your great works will be worth nothing. At this very moment, in the West, the gospel of Jesus Christ is worth nothing. We have a street preacher here tonight from England. He's a pastor in the city of London. He stands up in the middle of the city and cries out, Jesus saves. And all the people can think of is, why doesn't that man get a job that would really help society? Why is he screaming out this worthless message? Godliness in our culture is worth nothing. Purity is worth nothing. Dedication, devotion to the things of God is worth nothing. Service in the name of Jesus Christ is worth nothing. If one of you goes to his parents and says, God has called me to be a missionary to Indonesia. Many of your parents would say, how could you throw your life away for that? But the morning after the return of Jesus Christ, the fact that you gave a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of Christ, it will be worth a thousand worlds. And all the riches contained therein. How then shall we live? Verse 11, he tells us, Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? It tells us that you should live in holy conduct and godliness. Most people have a very wrong understanding of holiness. Holiness to them is nothing more than obedience to certain laws. Or it's a list of things you cannot do. That is not holiness. What does it mean that God is holy? Does it mean that he is sinless? That he has no moral flaw? In some ways, yes, it does. But that's not the meaning of the term. Holy means separate. God is holy because he is separate. He is not like anyone else. He is not in the same category with anything else. He is not like us, just bigger and better. He is completely different than us. He is separated unto himself. There is no one else in his group. When Jesus says, Hallowed be your name, he is basically saying this, it's my desire that your name be treated as holy. It is my desire that everyone esteem your name above all other things. And treat it as completely distinct. Completely different. What does it mean for a believer to be holy? It means being separated. Unto God. Many people think that holiness is just reading all the rules and obeying them. Or finding out everything that is bad and avoiding it. But that's only a small part of holiness. Holiness is separating yourself from all the things that are wrong. That are sinful. That are impure. So that you might give yourself totally and completely to God. In the end, true holiness is a heart that burns with passion for God. And therefore it's not just rule keeping. Or staying away from bad things. But it is a joyful, passionate pursuit of God. Delighting in God. Rejoicing in God. Being filled with all the fullness of God. When my little daughter first was starting to learn to walk. Did I tell you my little daughter was the most beautiful girl in the world? I think I told you that last year. I just wanted you to remember. When she was learning to walk. She pulled herself up on the table. And she would balance like this. Now she loves her daddy more than anybody in the world. So I would come by her. And I would say, Rowan. That's her name. Isn't it a beautiful name? And I would say, I wouldn't do like this like an American. I'd go like this. Like a Peruvian. And I'd say, Ben Roy. It means come. And so Rowan would go like this. And then I would step out a little bit farther. And she'd keep trying to reach. Like this. She'd take her leg and go like this. What I was trying to teach her is this. Holiness. Really. I was teaching her. That her desire for me. Has to overcome her desire for that table. And that if she really wanted me. She was going to have to let go of this. Do you see what holiness is? Do you really want God? Then let go of those things. Because He is greater. He is more wonderful. He is worth giving up everything. That's what it means to live in a holy way. A person who is sitting there with a little book. And checking off all the things. They want to do but can't. They've got all these bad things that they want to do. But they say, well. I've got to put them away if I'm going to have God. Forget it. That's not what it is. It's seeing God as He is. So glorious. So beautiful. So loving and kind. That you throw this other away. Because like the Apostle Paul you see it as garbage. He says, in holy conduct and godliness. Look at verse 12. Look at verse 12. Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord. Now there's a theological problem here. God has determined the day in which He's going to come back. How can we make Him come sooner? Well there is a theological explanation. But I'm not going to give it to you. Because that's not the point of what he's saying. I believe what Peter is saying here is something very close to the Lord's prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. He's not trying to teach us something here about divine sovereignty and human freedom. But he is encouraging the believer to be constantly looking for Christ. And to constantly be doing his will. To advance his kingdom. Crying out, our Father who art in heaven. Your kingdom come. Let it come faster. Let it come fuller. Than anyone ever dreamed. And your will be done. Let your will spread throughout this earth like fire. Let the entire world be covered with the knowledge of God like the water that covers the seas. That should be our heart. I'm 47. I love life. I love my family. But I've seen enough of this fallen world to know I don't want to stay here that long. I want his kingdom to advance. Quickly. I want him to come. I want this old dispensation to be swallowed up in a new creation. And we should work for that. Cry out for that. And if necessary we should die for that. He says in verse 13, but according to his promise we are looking for a new heaven and a new earth. In which righteousness dwells. This world is so full of evil. Evil makes you tired. And it makes you afraid. And it makes you feel dirty. And it makes you feel enslaved. It is suffocating. It is like weights tied to your legs. Why would we not want him to come? To finally set us free. And to enter into life. In its fullest possibility. Verse 14. Therefore beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless. Since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless. If we look at the first part of verse 14. Therefore beloved. Do you hear what he is saying? And do you hear what he calls you? Therefore those of you who love God. Because if he said that we would all be thinking, do I really love God? Do I love God enough? We would have no peace, no security, no strength. We would have no peace, no security, no strength. But he says, therefore those of you who are loved by God. One of the greatest truths in all the Bible. Look at John, the apostle John for a moment. He does not call himself by his name. He also does not say the apostle who loved Jesus. But he says the apostle whom Jesus loved. He was not looking inside to see if he loved God enough. He was looking at Christ and realizing that he was perfectly loved. And eternally loved. His strength and confidence did not come from his love for Christ. But his strength and confidence came from Christ's eternal unchanging love for him. Some of you live in a way that you're always worried, you're always miserable, you're always afraid. Because you're constantly looking inside. Do I love him perfectly? Did I repent perfectly? Do I believe perfectly? If you did all those things, you would have never needed to be saved. But if all that would be the case, you would never have to be saved. Stop looking inside. And stop looking at yourself. Because you will not find confidence there. And look at Him. And look at Christ. And there you will find all the confidence you'll ever need. It is not your power to be saved that gives you confidence. But it is the power of Christ to save you. Do you know the song, Oh How I Love Jesus? Oh, how I love Jesus. You know that song? I don't like to sing that song very much. I change the words. I sing, Oh, how Jesus loves me. Because when I... Very good. I wasn't singing. We should start a... They only clapped for me. Pride cometh before the fall. Maybe we should start a song and dance team. I'll sing, you dance. Well, I guess God left because you're happy. You see, we'll never be anything other than children. We'll never be anything other than children. At this moment, I'm just rejoicing in the Lord. It's just wonderful. But when I look inside, and I look at my love for Jesus, then I don't find much to sing about. My love is so small, and it's not very constant. But when I stop looking at my love for Jesus, and I look at His love for me, there's something to sing about. You see, you're always going to carry this title. Loved of God. When you're doing great in your Christian walk, you will bear this title, Beloved of God. And when you're struggling in your Christian life, you will still bear this title, Beloved of God. As I said before, basically Israel one time asked God, why do you love me? And God says, I loved you because I loved you. Yeah, but why did you love me? Because I loved you. What is He trying to say? He's saying to you this, Believer, I love you, not because of you, but because of me. My love was never dependent upon you. My love flows from who I am. I am love. And I have made a covenant to love you. And I will never stop. And when you're fasting and praying and reading your Bible, I'm going to be right there beside you. And when you stray and you fall down and you make yourself dirty, I'm going to be right there beside you, loving you just as much as I loved you when you were praying. And though your father and your mother forsake you, I will never forsake you. You are carved into the palms of my hands. Your name is written on my heart. So He says, therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, now look at what He's assuming. He knows that true believers are going to be looking for the coming of Christ. They are going to be looking for the end of the world. Because that's where their treasure is. There is a sense in which every... There is a sense in which every one of us should have a faraway look in our eyes. There was a man of God who was devoted to his God. And every once in a while, his wife would look at him and see that he had this faraway look in his eyes. Sometimes he would walk out of the house and just stand there out in the field and look at the clouds. And he'd squint his eyes real tight. And he'd look with all his might. And he would try to see, is He coming? Is He coming? I wish that passion for you. I wish you had that passion and I had that passion. Always looking for His coming. And then he says, be diligent to be found by Him. When He comes back, He will find every one of His sheep. Though their bodies be buried in the bottom of the deepest sea, He will find them there. Though they fell in the deepest, darkest jungle, He will find them there. You never have to worry about being lost. He will find you. Because His reputation is riding upon Him finding you. By finding you, He proves that He is the Great Shepherd. And of all that the Father has given Him, He has not lost one. And finally it says this. When He finds you, you must be diligent to be found in peace, spotless and blameless. When He finds you, you must be diligent to be found in peace, spotless and blameless. This is what the Lord desires for you. Two things. In peace. We could also say innocence. First of all, the Lord desires to find you in peace with Him. There are so many true believers whose hearts know nothing of peace. Because they're always looking at themselves instead of looking at Him. They're always considering their failures rather than looking at His perfect work. Young Christian, listen to me. If you think that one day you are going to be so godly that then you'll be able to have peace, you are wrong. Godly. Your peace does not come from your performance. It comes from the performance of Christ. To truly believe Him. Do you know the most difficult thing a Christian has to do? Do you know the most difficult thing a Christian has to do? I think I said that last night as well. The most difficult thing you'll ever have to do is to believe that God loves you as much as He says He does. As a Christian, as a matter of fact, you're supposed to spend the rest of your life trying to search that out. To figure out how much God loves you. You're going to need a big calculator. Isn't that a wonderful task? What are you doing, Brother Paul? Oh, I'm just trying to figure out how much God loves me. I keep thinking and thinking, but I still can't figure out how much He loves me. And then peace with each other. After you've been in the ministry for a long time, you start understanding that the ministry is not as important as you thought it was. At least it's not as important as Christ-like character. And after many, many years of walking with Christ, you look back and you see all the successes and the victories. But you know what really just keeps bothering you? I just don't love people like I ought to love people. I may be an elder in the church, but with regard to loving people, I'm still just a baby. When Christ comes back, He wants to find us at peace with one another. Loving one another. You want to work on something? Work on that. Brother Charles told me one time, he probably won't even remember, but he told me this one time. In the New Covenant. Love is not one of the things. It's everything. It's the fulfillment of the law. It's the fulfillment of everything you were commanded to do. To love one another as Christ loved you. And then finally, He wants to find us pure. Without spot. Not dirty. God wants you to be pure because He loves you. You know, the devil continues to do today what he did at the very beginning with our first parents. He lies. And he tries to make you think that God is bad. God said you couldn't eat from any of the trees in the garden. That's not what God said. He said you couldn't eat from one tree in the garden. All the other trees you can eat from. This devil who roams this earth, he will tell you, God doesn't want you to have anything. God wants you to have nothing. That's not true. He just doesn't want you to have the filth of this world that contaminates and destroys. Just think for a moment of my little daughter. Did I tell you she's the most beautiful girl in the world? Well, she's two years old. She's got big brown eyes. Looks just like her mom. And she wears those little pajamas. With the feet in them. And the rubber on the bottom. And they run around. And at night I put her in the crib. In her little bed. And I give her her milk. It's got handles on both sides. She just drinks it. And everything is so wonderful. She's got her pajamas on. She's all clean. You know how babies smell. That's why I just want to keep having more babies. I love that smell. And she's so cute. And I can just look at her. And it's really hard for me to leave the room. Imagine the next morning I walk in the room. And I go over to the crib. And she hasn't jumped up to see me like she always does. Because every day in the morning when I walk into her room. She jumps up. She does this little dance. You need to do the dance. He hates me. Well you can do it at home when you're alone. When she wakes me up. Well I walk in there and she doesn't jump up. And so I walk over there. And I become so furious I can kill with my bare hands. Because sometime in the night. A huge filthy serpent crawled out of the sewer. And it got past my bedroom door. And it climbed into bed with my little daughter. And it wrapped its filthy body around her. And it dirtied her. And it strangled the life out of her. I will grab that thing and rip it apart with my bare hands. That's how much God loves you. That's why God does not want you in this world. He wants you loving Him. Laughing with Him. Chasing Him. Playing with Him. Rejoicing before Him. He does not want that serpent of old to wrap around you. Soil you and take away your life. If there are pastors and missionaries. And fathers here tonight. One of your responsibilities. If you're a pastor it's to watch over the sheep. And you see that serpent get near them. And you stomp his head in the ground in the name of Jesus Christ. If you're a father. It is your job to guard your home. And you see that serpent crawling around your neighborhood. You stomp his head into the ground in the name of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul said. To be strong. And to act like men. Because there is one like a roaring lion. Seeking whom he may devour. That is why the true shepherd. The true pastor. The true missionary. The true father. Lays down his life for the sheep. How then shall we live? There are four possibilities. The Bible says that if the seed is sown. Then there is a possibility that the birds of heaven will come. That evil spirits, that Satan comes. And that we go home and that the Word is stolen from our hearts. That is the first possibility. The hardened heart. There is a beating on your heart. And we just go on. The second possibility is that the Word is sown and sown. Like that young American lion. We laugh and we clap and we say. Paul Walsher has brought a good message again. But it doesn't change our lives either. We are ended up in the preacher. We are ended up in the preachers who have been here. And we say, he said it beautifully again. That is the emotional, the enthusiastic heart. That is like those roots that come up. But there is oppression and persecution. And in the end we are angered. And we don't need it anymore. The third possibility is that we have heard the Word. But that the carefulness of life. And the problem of the wealth of the world. And the desire to buy other things. Just everyday things. We go home. Tomorrow we go on vacation. Next week we go on vacation. We go back to the order of the day. The Word of grace has been sown these last days. But we just go on. And in the end it is the everyday things. The temptation of the wealth, the carefulness of life. But in the end they stifle the Word of God. And we remain indefatigable. That is the third possibility. The hedonistic heart. The heart that in the end still goes on in the things of this world. The carefulness of life. It doesn't change. In the end it doesn't separate this world. But it still clings to the carefulness of this world and the wealth. But now the fourth possibility. And God knows if this will become a reality in our lives. And these are those who are possessed in the good earth. Who hear the Word and accept it. And bear fruit. And God knows that this will bring about a change in our hearts. That the Gospel was brought. With the desire that it will bring about change in our hearts. That's why we are here. Let's make an evaluation tonight. We didn't come here for entertainment. We didn't come here to listen to 7 or 8 preachings. But we have come here in a desire that actually changes our lives, that it will bear fruit. Now, what is necessary? Well, it says here that we not only hear with our ears, but also accept. That means that it is brought to our heart, that there is a connection from our head to our heart. And if there are among us who have remained unmoved under the Word, then it is my prayer that you will not just get up from your chair and go to the drinking table again and drink the message away again. But stay here for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, sit still and ask yourself, What have all those preachers done this weekend? What have they worked out in my life? What am I going to do differently tomorrow? What am I going to do differently tomorrow? Because God is in favor of change in our lives. We have to get away from the world. And that means that choices are actually being made, that we are going to do things differently tomorrow. And of course we need God's Holy Spirit for that. And I found it very impressive what Paul said, and that is the statement I want to conclude with before we start singing. Many would get one more chance on their deathbed to make a living. They really won't get that one more chance. Imagine that tonight it becomes your deathbed. What things would you do differently? Heskia, he was only fifteen years old. He was given the message that he would prepare your house and you would die. Imagine that we get such a message, prepare your house, because you too must die. And then he was only fifteen years old. What would you do differently in those fifteen years? Not in activism, but in dependence on the Lord. The Heartcrack Conference is not there to keep you busy, but our desire is that your life, that your life, that my life, that it really changes. That we become Christ-like, Christ-like, Christ-like. And that's why that song, Moed ik gaan met lege handen zo mijn heiland tegemoet, Zonder een verloste zon naar mee te brengen aan zijn voet. This song is very much focused on evangelization, Moed ik gaan met lege handen. But it is also mainly about the words from the third verse. Hoeveel jaren die ik verspeelde, kwamen zij nog eenmaal weer. Ik zou ze wijden aan mijn heiland, dankbaar leven tot zijn eer. Well, the rest of the context is about winning the soul of the Lord. But it also has everything to do with holiness and purity, with purity.