He's trying to keep a record over the years of prayer. I've watched the Greek song. I have no record of ever speaking on this text in Dreamsboro. If I have, why it's a case of lapse of memory. Nevertheless, if you have heard this before, you sit and pray for those who haven't. But I'm sure you have. Ephesians chapter two. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved, that hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. not a works lest any man should vote. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. You'll notice in these verses we have the word grace mentioned three times, showing the importance God attaches to that amazing word. My subject tonight is, in the ages to come, what connection has God's amazing grace shown to poor sinners in this life with the ages to come and the glory that shall be his in that glorious day? So we have in this passage this wonderful word, but there are six other wonderful words in this passage, and I want to dwell on each one of them. For first of all, grace. What is great? Can any man coin words? Can any man show praise? This word has to bring out its true value, its true depth, its true height, and its true breadth. Praise the marvelous grace of God. How God so holy, so righteous, so just, could make possible a salvation at his own expense to make poor sinners eternally acceptable in his sight, to enjoying his presence and rejoice in his love forever without the poor sinner doing one thing deserving of recognition. What great, Paul and John soar. My grace are we saved through things. I think you might illustrate it this way. You're working at a certain factory, and the busiest week of the year comes from, in the talk. The boss gets all the workers together, and he says, Now, folks, we're going to be really crowded next week. We're going to be rushed. The pressure's going to be on, and we've got to do so and so within that one week. I want every one of you to give every hour you possibly can let no one lose any time. Well, Honday morning as you awaken, it's a beautiful morning. Ah, you think to yourself that fish ought to be fighting today. And so you turn it over in your mind and you go fishing. You haven't forgotten what the boss said, but you went fishing. Tuesday was another good day because they fit well on Monday. So you went back on Tuesday. In fact, you took a whole week off. Went fishing, the wonderful week. Well, now the big test is coming. Monday morning you get up. Are you going to work? Can you face the boss? Can you face the boys that you let down? Well, I'll just go anyway. Why, as you enter the entrance to the factory, you pass the boss. He said, good morning, with a smile. Boy, I didn't expect that. You go in and some of the other fellas start ripping in and handing them what they think of you because you do more work on them. The whole week passes when the boss comes and goes, he never says a word to you. A day, fellas. And to your added surprise, you got paid for that money. Now that was great. You didn't work for that money. You certainly didn't deserve that money. that you got it. That's grace. Grace is something you receive. You don't deserve it. You cannot work for it. It's absolutely free. Grace. That's it. Another illustration of a missionary telling this story many years ago. He sat there with a certain family, the head of a tribe, They had a lovely daughter, but was a man who had a spite against the chief of that tribe. But I'm going to get back at it. And he caught the little girl out in the field one day, and he brutally chopped off both her hands, and then vanished into the swamp and let the little girl go screaming back home with no head. Of course, there was a great search for the man, but no one was able to apprehend him or know even where he went. But he knew where he was. He was a very unhappy man, feeling any moment to be caught, and he knew the price he'd have to pay. It's been many years, man. One day he was so hungry. He wanted something to eat. He was afraid to admit to the public, but he thought to himself, I've got to, or I'll... I've been doing this for months after months, year after year, trying to keep out of sight, geeking out of living. No one yet has detected me. So he sees this big beautiful home and he goes up to the door. Very uneasily he looks. The young lady appears at the door. She says, what do you want? He said, ma'am, could you give me something to eat? I'm starved. And she recognized it. First of all, her face flushed. She had her handless arms under her apron. He didn't see that. Her face flushed. Would she call her father? Would she call someone? Or would she take them out in her own hands? Oh. She looked at it. She said, yes, come in. Sit down. She went in the kitchen and she told the maid to prepare a meal, and the maid did. After a while she came in with that tray on her handless arms under the apron, and she put it down in front of them and pulled her arms out. She didn't see men, but she didn't have any hands. She sat and watched them eat, and he was very nervous. Just as he was getting up to leave, he said, thank you, ma'am, I enjoy that very much. He said, just a minute. Do you know me? He said, no, I don't. Maybe you do. And he showed her her armless hands. The man turned pale as she showed him that she had no hands and immediately he recalled the deeds. He was pale. He was about to run. said, Go, God. Maybe you're wondering why I didn't call one of the men or call someone and have you apprehended. You need to be killed. Yes, I might know I should. But do you know why I showed you grace and gave you that meal? No, why? She says, since you did this to me, I found Christ. I listened to the missionary. I found the Lord Jesus my Savior. And I realized that I did more to Jesus Christ with my sins than you did to me. And he loved me. He gave himself for me. He forgave me my death. When I first saw you, I recognized you. Then I thought, well, God showed grace and love to me. I'm going to show grace to this man. The man slumped back in the chair. The missionary doesn't know the one who told the incident. Whether that man ever found Christ or not, but certainly he had a lesson, an illustration before. Did he deserve that meal? No, he didn't. He deserved punishment swift and severe. But it was grace shown to him by that young man. Then let me tell you tonight, if you want an illustration of grace, I can easily give it to you. Look at the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're not severed from his wrists or his arms, but there are scars in them. There are scars in his feet. There's a scar in his side. There's a circle of pawns around his head. And you did it. Just like that man chopped off the hands of that girl, your sins nailed Jesus Christ to the cross, your sins occasioned that agonizing death. You did it. And tonight, instead of the Son of God waving you from before his throne into everlasting punishment, with that hand that your sins help to strike to the tree, he's holding out those hands to you. And just as that girl begged that man that had chopped off her hands, the Son of God, this secret that he knew, he's seeking to meet your need. Satisfy your hungry heart. Oh, what grace. The amazing grace of God. All you have to do is look at Jesus Christ to see the full display of his amazing grace to sinners like you and me. Donner and Scotland, a doctor died and this Scottish doctor was a lovely old doctor. Everyone loved him. His wife was of a different nature. After her husband died, she went through all his account books. She noticed a lot of bills on page. She thought, I'm going to collect them. She took the matter to court. And the judge was handed the book, the records. He said, Mrs. so-and-so, is this your husband's handwriting on these bills on page? She said, yes. Well, he said, there's not a court in the land that will enable you to collect one penny. For he says it reads on each one of these bills, Forgiven, too poor to pay. That's grace. We were forgiven, too poor to pay. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should vote. The second word is saved. By grace are ye saved. That word really has a meaning. For instance, you hear of a train tragedy, a wreck, and your loved one was traveling on that train. You know what you do, or maybe there's a plane crash, and your loved one was to go on that flight. Maybe a ship is going down the sea, and you know your loved one was to be on that vessel. I know how you would sit and glue your eyes and ears to that TV as the announcers were announcing those who were rescued. And as they were constantly breaking in on programs to give the report of an accident, you're waiting for one name. There you sit, you can't do anything else, you're waiting for one name. Finally, more rescued. And here are the names. And the name of your loved one is announced. Save. My, what a thrill is yours. Save. That word takes on new meaning. My loved one is saved. Oh, how thankful you are. My loved one is saved. Well, if it grills you to be saved, to see it, or have a loved one saved, How do you think it affects the one who got saved? Why, that loved one of yours would be more thrilled than you. Yes, you were happy and glad, but when your loved one was pulled from those icy waters, he or she was far happier than you ever could be. We use the word saved when a Christian or a person becomes a Christian. How wonderful is that world? I never could or never want to forget the night I got saved. How wonderful to be saved. Save from your sins. Save from going down to hell. Save to everlasting life. Everlasting reunion with Jesus Christ. Save to all the glories of heaven. Save how wonderful it is to be saved. I have an unsaved brother. We've prayed for him for many years. I would receive a letter tonight or tomorrow or a telegram, but I'm sure it would be a telegram or a phone call if he got saved. Friend, I know one thing. I would break under it. I would rejoice. I certainly would. I'm not a man given to emotion. But I know I'd rejoice and I'd meet with joy. I'd receive the phone call tonight when my brother George had found the Savior. But if I would rejoice, his joy is greater still. And you know there's something else here. Do you know who has the greatest joy when the soul is saved? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who has the greater joy when the prodigal returns? the father oh yes we talk about this son the prodigal returning there's joy in the presence of the angel of god over one sinner that repentance and the father was the happiest of all for this my son was dead and he's alive again he was lost in his father and he began to be married it's true that if you were to trust christ tonight loved ones would rejoice you would rejoice But friend, heaven will rejoice, because a soul is saved. By grace, without money, without any merit, by grace are you saved? Now you can't be half saved. If that announced there were to say, three hundred people have been saved. Two hundred are lost. Fifty neither saved or lost. I wonder what he was talking about. You're either saved or you're lost. There's no such thing as being in between. You're either saved and going to heaven and you know it or you're lost. That's the book. How wonderful or grand will he save? By grace are he saved? Now the third word, through faith. Grace only responds to faith. Grace will not respond to work. You can work all you like then. You may do the best you can. You may join the church and be active in the church. You may give a tenth of your income. But grace will not respond to works. Grace is unmerited faith, giving to someone who doesn't deserve anything. In fact, he deserves the very opposite to what he gets. Grace only responds to faith faith compliments God. You can't pay God a greater compliment than to believe what he says and accept his son on the basis of grace. Why grace are ye saved through faith? How wonderful it is to exercise this faith that honors God. Then he says, and not of yourselves. It's not of yourselves. In other words, it's not your morality. It's not your honesty. It's not your sincerity. It's not your goodness. It's not what you do. It's not your character. It's not of yourself. And then he goes on to say, not of works. It's not what you do. It's not what you are. And it's not what you do, the Savior. That speaks out from under you every day. standing in that because if you put away from before your thoughts what you are as to your character your more respectable honest and so on and what you do what you tried to do in the way of good works take those two things out of the picture and there you stand a poor lost guilty sinner and this marvelous grace is shown to those who are lost and in themselves They stand sinful and vile and helpless. It's not what you are. You may be the most honest person in dreams of it. The most sincere man in North Carolina. The most liberal person. Then the next motive. It's not what you are and it's not what you do that takes you to heaven. And then he goes on. It's a gift. By grace are you saved through faith, and up not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's a gift. The fact that it's a gift sweeps away all that you are and all that you do, lest any man should boast. If salvation were by your good doings and your good life, then you could boast. Why did you say I am going to heaven because I'm a good man? I live a good life. I do the best I can. I'm going to heaven because of all the money I've given to the good cause. I'm going to heaven because of what I am and what I do, then you'll have a right to glory when you get there. Because you'll say I got here, I worked my way here. But there'll be no one that will have that jarring note in heaven. They'll all be there saved by sovereign grace alone. By grace are ye saved through faith in that love of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not a work, lest any man should do. It's a big difference when you're paid for something and you're given something for nothing. Well, I wasn't an angel when I was a boy. But I never had a birthday pass without my parents giving me a nice gift. Neither did a Christmas pass without me getting some nice gifts from my parents. I wouldn't have gotten one if they'd have given me those gifts on the basis of my being good and behaving. I forfeited every woman. Nevertheless, my parents always gave me a birthday gift. Now, I don't mean by that. I was a gangster. I just mean I was kind of rebellious. If I had to earn those gifts, I never would have had one. They were given freely. I know I earned many a good whipping. I deserved every one. But I didn't deserve or earn one of those gifts. It was freely given. Friend, the night I got saved, it was sovereign grace that saved me. Lord, if I got what I deserved in good faith, instead of that, you're going to save me on the basis of the work of Christ, and I receive as my personal Savior. By grace are you saved in faith, and not in yourself that is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now, why is it that this is the only way God saves sinners? Well, I think it tells you that in the ages to come, in verse seven that in the ages to come ye might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus God is going to do something in the ages to come that's going to be wonderful the ages to come what's he going to show us he's going to show us his son He will show who is the only pope to take, the king of kings and lord of lords. Won't that be wonderful when God shows up his son? Then in Revelation, Paul one, he showed John things to come. Now we're going to be shown things to come. Then later on, John is called aside, and God says, I'll show you the great fall that sitteth upon many waters, the scarlet woman. Then John... see something else. The Lord said, I'll show you the bride, the lamb's wife. My wonderful thing, God is going to show us. But I think this is going to be God's greatest display. This is going to be God's greatest exhibit. What is that? As one by one he puts on parade every sinner saved by sovereign grace. We are His workmanship. God's workmanship, not our own workmanship. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Untrue good works. Good works follow salvation not preceding. Created in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you, friend, can you take credit for the universe? You say, no, that would be a foolish thought. Certainly you can't take credit for the universe. God takes credit for that. He created the universe. And it's just as foolish for you to try and take credit for your salvation, because that too is a work of God's creation. It's created in Christ Jesus unto good works. It's God who creates you. It's God who puts a new life in you. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Just as you cannot take credit, For the creation of the universe, you cannot take credit for the salvation of your sins. We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto you. Good works. Oh, to think that God has got to do it all. You can no more save yourself than call a world into existence. that same mighty, magnificent, majestic power that called this planet into existence along with other planets and throws them out into their sockets of blue and has them whirling in the respective spheres, that same power operates when a sinner trusts grace. That God has to do it. We have his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And in the ages to come, God is going to put on display His workmanship. We're going to look at what God has done. We're going to look at the vast universe, His material universe. We'll look at all the angels. My God will have plenty to show us. There'll be a long time and plenty of time to do it for the ages to come. God's grandest, most glorious exhibit, the one He fills in the most is when He can set before an astonished and happy from a sinner saved by grace. God says this glorifies me more than all the planets and the whirling constellations. This honors me. This glorifies me more than anything else. Because this sinner saved by grace tells the story of my love and the gift of my son and his willingness to die on the cost of this fool, Thus God will be glorified throughout eternity. He and His beloved Son, for every soul that will be in heaven. God will get all the glory. In Revelation chapter five, there again you see the glory going to the person to whom it is due. Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals that offer thou was slain and hath redeemed to God by thy blood. out of every tongue and tender and people and nation. Ah, yes, how wonderful the glory is his, and only his. The challenge has been cast out. Who is worthy to take this book? I'm open to see it. Anyone in heaven, any among all the angels, the various sages of angels, the various order of angels, Michael, can you qualify? Javier, can you qualify? No, we can't qualify. The voice of God thunders into hell and the regions of the damned. Is there anyone down there who can step up and say, I am worthy and deserving to take that seal, take that book and break the seals and execute the contents? No. Anyone on earth, any pope, any dictator, any king, worthy and deserving to take the book and open the seals and execute the judgments of God as given in the revelations. John says, I wept because there was no one worthy. He's told the driest tears, the Lamb is worthy. And Jesus Christ steps to the throne and receives from the Father that book the title deeds of earth. What is his claim to that title deed? His womb. Jesus Christ purchased it. And he purchased you and he purchased me. He paid the price for our redemption. And to God, and to Christ will be all the glory throughout all eternity. We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto your death. Look at the thief on the cross. What had he done? The only sin that's all he did. He's at the end of his road. He's soon to die. Well, his life can't save him. And he has no future life to point to to say, well, I'll do better in the future than I've done in the past. He had no money to give. His hands were nailed to the cross. He couldn't get baptized. He couldn't join the church. There he hung a sinner, naked and helpless before God, only a pile of sins to his credit. God saved him. Jesus Christ saved him at the last minute. Wasn't that grace? That's why a poor backslider can go to heaven. Here's one who's really born again and he gets tripped up. And he gets into sin. Then finally deathbed comes. What's he going to do now? Many one has come back to the Lord on a dead bed, but possibly some have gone into eternity so quick they didn't have time to get restored. But do you know that backslider will go to heaven? Does he desire to? No. But he's there by grace. Grace saves him. Grace takes him to heaven, but his life is wasted, burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. Oh, the marvelous grace of God, in the ages to come, God will put on display on exhibit all those whom he has saved by his sovereign grace. He will show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. You know, we as Christians would be a lot happier if we had our sights set on the ages to come. Whenever you get a little moody and depressed, Don't tell me that you don't. You can't live in this world without it. Well, the nice thing to do is just get down, get your Bible, turn over to some of the chapters in the Revelation, especially the latter chapters, or John fourteen and read about the ages to come. What's going to go on there? The things God's going to do, the things he's going to show you, the things we're going to enjoy in the ages to come. My, that'll make you forget the present. That'll lift you above your present circumstances. I'm here but a little while, as the Apostle said, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Oh, the eternal glory. I don't know as I read many books when I was a young man. In fact, I think I only read three right through, and that was Jesse James' books, and the time I left school at the age of thirteen, and the time I was saved at ninety. But I think I did, as I reflect now, read a book, a little novel. I didn't want to read the Bible, although there was plenty around the house. But I used to listen to my mother and dad. It did speak to me about her soul. I'd go to meetings, but I wasn't ready to be saved. I was ready when I was nineteen. I remember reading a book when it was about the, you know, the old story, the hero and the heroine and the villain. Well, you start to read it, and here it is, this young man sits in this young woman, and there's a third party, and he's going to try and dispose of this young woman, and he apprehends her, and he takes her out with her, straight railroad track and an expression to come down there in about twenty minutes. And he ties that young woman across the road. I, longer in the distance, you can hear the whisk from the train truck. Oh, I just bowed on my fingers. If you're going to get killed, I couldn't wait. I turned over at the end of the check, and they lived happily ever after this. Oh, well, that's it. Why, that just lifted all my fears and worries when I found out she didn't get killed after all. Then it's happily ever after. You know, we as Christians, we're constantly living right in our fingernails about something we think is going to happen and never does. If only we could get into the book and read the end of the story, revelation, the age is to come. Why, it was certainly... relieve us of a lot of worries and a lot of worries. In the ages that come, God will show us the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. What I ask you who are not saved tonight, what about you? Would you like to say more about the Christian eternity? That takes too much time. We were taught on it for weeks and still on a lot of time. What about you who are not Christians? The dark story. Just as that one is bright for the Christian Lord is dark. The same blessed book that speaks of the ages to come when God will have his church on parade. Sinners saved by grace. Exhibiting his marvelous loving kindness to us. just so sure will the loss be in hell, weeping and veiling and gnashing their teeth, an eternal exhibit of Satan's cunning and your cowardice. You would like to have gotten saved, but you would have prayed to what your friends would say. Pray to the more. You're cowardice. The Bible says that fearful and the unbelieving shall have their part in the late return of the fire and thin stones of a second death? Ah, yes. That's why you're not saved tonight. Satan is setting the snares, and you're stepping right into them. And you'll be an eternal exhibit of your own folly and foolishness, and Satan's coming in power, and didn't receive Jesus' strength. Where you'll be in the ages that comes entirely up to you. Maybe you've heard about the Greek legend. The man was called the oracle. This man lived in a cave. And he said that no one had ever stumped him. He answered every question that was put to him. Supposed to be a great oracle. Knowing everything. Many had gone to the mouth of the cave and asked Christians and got an answer back and it came true. So the legend says, two boys were playing one day. One boy says, you know, I'm going to fool the old man. I'm going to catch him. No one has yet, but I'm going to get the old oracle. Boy, how are you going to do it, everybody says. I'm going to do it. How are you going to do it? Others have tried. He said, I'm going to do it. He said, I'm going to catch a bird. He said, I'm going to go at the mouth of that cave. I'm going to call him there. If he answers me and asks me what I want, I'm going to say, I got a bird in my head. Well, what about it? Well, I want to ask you that question. Is that bird dead or alive? And if he says the bird is dead, he said, I'll show him the life there. If he says the bird's alive, I'll show him the death. He said, I'll fool him. Well, he caught his bird in the way he went. And he stood at the mouth of the cave. And he called in, and he got his answer back. What do you want? Boy, he says, I've got a bird in my head. If that bird dead or alive, then the suspense. Finally the voice came back. Whether that bird is dead or alive is entirely up to you. Then whether you'll be in heaven or in hell, but eternity is entirely up to you. Absolutely up to you. Whether you'll be in heaven in the ages to come, a monument of the grace of God, to sing his praises forever and ever. Whether you'll be in the place of the dams entirely up to you. Twice as yours, God out of love to you has given his son, the Lord Jesus. And in sovereign grace, he'll blot out your every sin. He'll make you a new creature in his son, in Christ he. Not only will he save you, he'll keep you, till traveling days or so, or till he comes to the air and catches up his own to be whatever of himself. Friend, I want to ask tonight, will you trust this one who died to save you, who lives to keep you, who will come to glorify you, and he's coming soon. Things in the world, national and internationally, indicate he's coming soon. Oh, I'll tell you, the child of God longs is returned. Longs is coming, for that glad day when he'll take us up. Then, in the age to come, he and I in that bright glory one deep joy shall share my joy to be forever with him. his joy that I am there, a monument of his grace. He'll display us throughout eternity as those upon whom he showed kindness, love and grace from the moment of their conversion to make it so bold with him that there will not be one soul in heaven who will talk like this. I'm here because I was an honest man. I'm here because I was a mortal woman. I'm here Because I gave so much money to the church. I'm here because I was a deacon or I was a steward. Friend, there'll be no such jarring note as that in heaven. Everyone in heaven will be singing one song, all in happy unison. Unte him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. To him, honor and glory forever and forever and forever. Yes. The age has become. He will show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us. Through Christ Jesus. Let me ask you tonight. Are you saved? Say no, I am not saved. Why aren't you saved? Well, as you say, I want to be. Of course you do. Everybody wants to be saved. I haven't met an intelligent person yet who didn't want to be saved. But the question is, friend, and this will stop you in your tracks. Do you want to be saved? Let me ask you this. Do you want to be saved now? There's another question. Do you want to be saved now? Well, God wants to save you now. Do you want to be saved now? It's entirely up to you. The responsibility is resting squarely on your shoulder whether you want to be saved now and saved to be careful. God help you say, I want to be saved. I want to be saved right now. Friend, I'll tell you one thing. God will save you. There's no mistake about that. you trust the Lord Jesus Christ and he doesn't save you you'll be the first one they didn't save the devil will make good propaganda that the devil will never be able to accuse the Lord Jesus not saving someone who came to him he says him that comes unto me I'll in no wise counsel will you come then to Jesus Christ will you come and come right now young person older person will you come to Christ do you want to be happy You want to rejoice in eternal life and be on display to manifest God's glory throughout eternity. Then receive Jesus Christ. Then receive him right now. You can't work for it. You can't pay for it. You can't pray for it. It's yours for the taking. It's a gift. You accept a gift of God as eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. God grant that you may this night become a sinner saved by sovereign grace. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to thee. We ask thy blessing upon thy word. We thank thee for thy marvelous grace. How wonderful that thou should have given thy son, thy only son to die. How wonderful that we should have heard the story and received it. know now we're saved saved by grace alone we thank thee for everyone who rejoices in this fact we pray for those who haven't as yet made this decision may they make it tonight we commend thy word to thee further glorify thy name further glorify thy son by saving someone here tonight who is willing ready and waiting asking to be saved we ask it for christ's Amen.