But that Thy Blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bids me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
That's all, it's grace that brought me. Grace did it. Grace is like... Another thing that I'd like to say; sometimes grace is...
These big churches, they think that you can go down there, they think, "Well, we built the biggest church in the city. We got a ladies aid society here that makes poor--clothes for the poor, and sends them overseas. We feed the poor. We do all this."Paul said, "I can do the same thing, and nothing."
They say, "Well, we, we're an old organization. We've been here for two thousand years. We're five hundred years old. John Wesley, Alexander Campbell, these great founders back there, they founded our church. Hallelujah."
Well, Jesus Christ founded this Church, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and told them to go up to Pentecost and wait till they received the power from on high.
And still you can belong to the Pentecostal church and be lost. Pentecostal church is no more than any other church. That's right.The thing of it is, there's only one church; that's the church that you're born into by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, "For by one Spirit we're all baptized into one body," I Corinthians 12:13; that's right: I--I Corinthians 12. Now, we are baptized into that church.
But people think that they can merit it. "Why, we... I--I went to school and I learned to do this, and I went to seminaries and I done..." That don't mean one thing. You can't buy God's grace.God's grace is like this. Let me tell you a story in ending. God's grace is like this. One time there was a mighty king, and this mighty king had a son, and it was his only son. And one day a murderer killed that boy. And through that kingdom went the delegates hunting for that murderer. They finally found that murderer. And when they found him, they brought him back and imprisoned him. And when they did, a trial was set and a sentence was made. Oh, it was a terrible thing. He had murdered the king's son, and he knowed what was coming to him.
They put him into the inner cells; they locked the doors; they put pads on it so no one--and guards around it, 'cause we know what kind of a horrible punishment this boy was going to receive, because he killed the king's son, the royal king's son. Guards was placed all around the doors. He was put in inner cells. Stripped, with nothing but a--a loincloth on. And there he was, set there in that condition, starving, wouldn't give him nothing to eat. He was setting in that condition.Then they brought him out to a trial. He was found guilty and proven guilty. A sentence was made, that he was to be executed under horrible capital punishment; he was to be killed by inches until his mortal life was gone. Sentenced by the judge, he was to die. And he begged and he cried, and he said, "Though I am guilty, though I am guilty, I'm sorry that I did that. I wished I had've never done it. I'm sorry that I did it. In a moment, in a rage of temper, I did it. I didn't mean to do it that way."
One day the king went down to the place to visit the boy, to tell him, talk to him and tell him about killing his own son, the only son he had. He'd killed that boy. He said, "I'm going down to talk to him."And when he went down there, he looked back in that cage, like a caged-in animal. He saw his little skinny body laying back there in a corner, crying, his face all sunk in, his jaws sank back, his eyes way back; matter was all in his eyes; and his mouth was all whited over: no water, thirsty, laying back there on his face, crying. The king said, "Stand up." He come up to him; he looked at him. He said, "Why did you kill my son? What did my son do to you? What did he do to merit such a death as you killed him, stabbing him to death with a spear?"
He said, "Nothing, my lord, not one thing. Just my own impudence, just my own ways. I killed him because I was jealous of him, and I got in a temper fit, and I killed him." Said, "I'm to die under your justice, sir. I realize that, and I deserve to do it. Only thing I'm crying for, that I'm just sorry that I killed that royal man like that, without a cause."
The king turned on his heels and walked out, went out to the desk, and said, "Destroy all the records (You know, put them in the sea of forgetfulness.) Destroy all the records. Wash him up, and bring him up. I'll send down a robe for him."After while, a great big limousine drove up to the door. When it did, a carpet was spread out to the prison cell. The king stood at the end of limousine, said, "Come, my son, and ride home with me to the palace," put the king's robe around his shoulder. He said, "From henceforth you are my son." Because he had pity. That's grace.
That was me, that was you. We killed the Son of God with our sins. We were alien, dirty, filthy, laying in the cells of the world. God washed us by the Blood of His Own Son, and cleansed us, put on the robe of the Holy Spirit. And now the great chariot of God will back up to the door someday, and we'll go home to live with Him. All records are destroyed; we can't be judged no more; burn them up, He put them in the sea of forgiveness and remembers about it no more. No wonder we can sing,
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
And was blind, but now I see.
It was grace that taught my heart to fear,
Grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
WMB ~Message of grace
61-0827
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