Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 675 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text

-- Brother Thomas: Let me give you some scripture. In John chapter 10, Jesus said this, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them..." what?

-- Congregation: "...Eternal life..."

-- Brother Thomas: "...And they shall never..." what?

-- Congregation: "...Perish..."

-- Brother Thomas: "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all..." Well, He first says, "...neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Then he says, "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of..." what?

-- Congregation: "...My Father's hand."

-- Brother Thomas: My Father's hand. Does that sound like you can lose it? This is my rest forever. You know when you can really rest? You can really rest when you know everything is settled. And you know whenever we were raising our children, I had a time for 'em to come in. And if they didn't come in at that time, I got me a chair and I put it about eight or ten feet back from the front door and I sit there like this 'til they come in. Didn't I, Sherry?

( laughter ).

You remember seeing that chair, don't you? Because...why? I didn't do it 'cause I hated 'em. I did it because I loved 'em. I wanted to know where they were at and what they were doing. And I did my best to influence 'em in the right direction. Most mothers and fathers do, not just me. All of you are concerned about your children. You know why? They're your children. That's why. And you're concerned. It's the responsibility and the privilege of a mother or a father to be concerned about their children.

That's why you pray for 'em. I'll bet you if you were a praying man and woman, that you don't pray a single prayer but what you don't lift your heart toward the Lord for your children. I do for my grandchildren. I'll tell you, if some of you go to hell, you're gonna wade through my prayers to go there. I hope you don't. I pray for you, because I'd love to see you be saved. I'd like to see you up there in that Thomas side of heaven.

( laughter ).

Somebody said, oh, I don't know whether I'd like to be there or not.

( laughter ).

That's gonna be wonderful up there. Just think about it. Some of you who've got slick heads on top, you'll have hair...a lot of other things. Throw away our glasses, our false teeth. Just think about being in a place where everything is done. I use to could relax whenever my children were in...that's because I knew they were in.

And that's the way it is. When you work on a job, you know, you work five days a week and then you finish that last hour. Well, you know that you've got a check coming. I use to work like that. Then you don't have to back up to the man when he pays you. Now some of you'd have to back up to him, you'd be so ashamed.

( laughter ).

( laughing ).

The Lord's good, isn't he? If he wasn't, I'll tell you I'd be in bad shape. And I'm thankful that God is good. God calls it a rest. Do you think the Lord is worried? He, who knew no sin became sin for us "...that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Not will be...we were. In the mind of God, we were saved before we were born.

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and...I sanctified thee...." He told the guardian angel that was sent to look after my mother and your mother. He said, watch over her because that that's conceived in her is My child. Is that what He did with those women, there? Mary? Well, do you think it'd be any different with you? And though Jesus is the first born among many brethren, remember we're the many brethren. We are the many brethren. I don't want no glory for nothing I've done, 'cause I could've done better. But thank God for the assurance that it's finished.

( congregational amens ).

Hallelujah! And that's why it says here, they that do believe enter into rest. And the reason you enter into rest is because, it's Him. The rest 'is' Him. When Christ comes in, He brings His rest with Him, and it becomes yours. That's why we are called Christians. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."--Christ.

I used to didn't understand this. "And being made perfect..." What could He be lacking to be made perfect? Christ never saved a soul, never preached a sermon, 'til He was thirty years old. Well, what happened just before then? He went down to the river Jordan and said, John, I want you to baptize Me. John says, well, Lord...he recognized Him. The Lord let him. "...I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me." And He said, "...Suffer it to be so..." And so John baptized Him.

And then, when He baptized him the Holy Ghost come upon him. Did you know that's the way it should be with us? You don't have to worry, if your heart's right, if I or some other man put you under the water, when you come up you oughta just breathe in the Spirit of God. That's exactly the way they did it. That was the order. Come up from there and you have the one that says this is my rest forever dwelling in you. Hallelujah!

You were God's child and were from eternity. I know that's kind of mind-boggling, especially to people who say I've got saved back yonder or I did this or I did that. I got saved from the foundation of the world. Let me give you another scripture now. Here's the Apostle Paul speaking to the Thessalonicans. Verse 13 chapter 2. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning...." When did he do it?

-- Congregation: From the beginning.

-- Brother Thomas: "...From the beginning chosen you to salvation..."--God hath from the beginning chosen you, chosen you, chosen you, chosen you to salvation--"...through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." That's the two things. That means you could have the letter of the Word and not have the Spirit. And you'd be intellectually persuaded but not converted, because it takes the two working together.

And you have been chosen from the beginning to salvation through sanctification. That word, sanctification...you know they applied that to inanimate objects like furniture, because what they did was build it for a specific purpose. And it was set apart for that purpose. And you're being built for a specific purpose and God has set you apart. He says, that's mine. That's what the angel watches over...is you. We could say as Paul did, "...I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)..."--talking about the flesh itself--"...dwelleth..." what?

-- Congregation: "...No good thing..."

-- Brother Thomas: That's right. "...dwelleth no good thing..." But, the One that's in us, He's good, because that's God. Hallelujah! That's God. Praise God for that!

Now, getting back here. I'm gonna give you another verse of scripture. This is in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 4. It's talking about the priesthood. You know I used the scripture "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

And then again, Jesus said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you...." That's the ordination we need. Now you ministers here, you students of the Word, how many of these preachers do you think have really been ordained of God? If they're ordained of God, do you think they'd be free to preach what God reveals to 'em? They should be. You'll have to agree with that.

And we should be responsible to try to find the Truth. There's one scripture that says, "Buy the truth, and sell it not...." Don't get rid of it. It's not for sale. The Truth that God gives me is not for sale. Hallelujah! And no man takes this honor unto himself. It's not something you decide to do. You're not some boy that's been a good boy in some denomination and you decide when you begin to grow up, Mama, I want to be a preacher. You're not that. Or Papa, your daddy, or whoever.

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth..." That's where the ordination oughta be. Now I believe, through circumstances beyond our control, that God brings those, some of 'em at least--brings some of 'em into the place He wants 'em. And they break the shackles, the man-made shackles that's in religion and there's a lot of 'em. I believe this.

Let's notice this verse of scripture in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5 again. I bet you there's something you missed. "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee..."--That word sanctified just means set apart. I set you apart. I put my stamp upon you--"...And I ordained thee a prophet..."--to who?

-- Congregation: The nations.

-- Brother Thomas: "...To the nations." I hate to say this next thing here. I'm reluctant to, but I'm gonna say it. The Word that's going out here this morning, it don't stop here.

( congregational amens ).

Think about it. It's going around the globe. That's what Jimmy told us. He said we're global now. And it's going into, I'd say, practically every country in the world. So you're privileged and I'm privileged to be a part of something that don't just stop here. It's going around the world. And you out there are privileged to hear it. Praise God!

So, somebody here...Jeremiah was. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we don't have a lot more people in the earth today than they did in Jeremiah's day. I imagine there are. "...And I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Now I believe that when my mother conceived, God didn't just recognize me then. God saw me now, and he saw you now, and he saw you now, and he saw you now.

And I believe he steered me in the right direction. I was just thinking back yonder years ago, how I went to North Carolina. That was God. It's proven to be the Lord. He knowed all about us. That's the kind of God we've got. Aren't you thankful? Hallelujah!

( congregational praise ).

And this work, your singing, that's one of the things that people...they get these videos and they see the service. They see you praising God and they're amazed. They say, it's wonderful, your worship service. They see you lifting your hands, praising God. They like our songs and they put up with our preaching.

( laughter ).

Some of 'em like it. That's true. Praise God for that. So, here's where religion as a whole, I believe, is at. This is found in the 2nd chapter of Jeremiah and verse 13. "For my people have committed two evils..."--two evils--"...they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters..."--Now what is that living waters? Would you say that's the Lord? Fountain of living waters? Sure it is--"...And hewed them out cisterns..." Do you know what cisterns is? C-i-s-t-e-r-n-s? That's the thing that catches water when it runs off of a house.

They have 'em in some places and it's a retainer to hold water. I think Brother Don and them up there in North Carolina had to make them some places to hold water, because they had a hard time getting water. But this is one for the purpose. "...My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."

Now I have heard, in fact, I know this has been true of some churches and some denominations that at one time, they had life. I mean it was a reality. I remember somebody came to the church that I started there in Macclenny and they walked out. And they had been use to coming prior to that time, when I was there. And the man that told me this...he's dead now...but he said there just ain't nothing there. And the anointing don't follow buildings. The anointing follows men. God anoints men. Hallelujah!

( congregational amens ).

Not just any man, but those whom he will. He does the choosing. He does the anointing. We have to accept it in the package He sends it to us in.

( congregational amens ).

Hallelujah! And what's happened here with religion, as a whole, is they've forsaken the Lord. They got in a denomination. That broken cistern is the denomination. They've hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns. They've got a system. Now if I was converted in one of those religious movements, whatever you want to call it, you think I could preach what I wanted to preach and what I felt was right?

-- Congregation: No.

-- Brother Thomas: I'd either preach what they say, or I wouldn't preach. They'd show me the back door right quick. That's why. They're in bondage. Praise God! We're not in bondage. I preach you the truth. I have confidence in you. You have confidence in me and God bears witness to that truth...that we are walking with Him. That's the main thing. Hallelujah!

Now I, once again emphasize this fact. Why is that called a rest? Well, now the Lord, He's not worried about a thing, is He? Why? That's because He's the Lord. And the more knowledge you have of God and the things of God, the more rest you can have...the greater rest. And the greater knowledge you have of this Word and the God of this Word, the greater rest you'll have. That's because that's your receipt. That's God's way of letting you know you're in the path. God's blessing you, giving you the truth. Does the truth set you free?

( congregational amens ).

"...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." And you'll do what?

-- Congregation: "...Know the truth..."

-- Brother Thomas: "...And the truth shall..." do what?

-- Congregation: "...Make you free."

-- Brother Thomas: Make you free. We should be a free people. Hallelujah! And we are.

( congregational praise ).

Praise God for that. Let's bow our heads. I wonder if there's anybody in here that's real concerned about their salvation. It won't hurt you just to slip your hand up and then put it right back down. Anybody? You sure need to be, if you're not saved.

All right, Shannon. You should come to a place where you don't have to worry about your salvation. And these are things that I've been teaching you to help you realize that you don't have to. The works is finished and were from the foundation of the world. There's nothing you can do about it. And you can never get good enough to be saved. You are not good enough and you never will be good enough. That's why Jesus died on that cross. That's why He shed His blood, because another had to pay your sin debt and He did. And you get that righteousness by receiving Him and confessing Him before men.

Now, is there any in here that don't feel real good, but you're willing, you're not ashamed, you're willing to confess Him before men, just put your hand up. All right. All right. I see 'em. I see 'em. Don't be ashamed of the Lord. That's the one thing you gonna have to do, accept him and confess him. Lord, we just pray now that you'd bless the people and give them good assurance. My God give 'em assurance in their heart that they've passed from death unto life. Now we thank you Lord for this service this morning and we just pray you'd bless us as we part from this place, God, and from each other for this time. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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