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God’s no unjust judge. And you can afford to just keep going to Him in prayer and, if you really mean business, you’re going to move the arm of God one way or another. And He may make it clear to you that He’s not going to do the thing exactly as you want it done, but He’s going to hear and answer your prayer. And that’s the reason I think we ought to just lay hold of God in a very definite way today about these things that concern us, that we feel deeply. And as you look about you today, friend, don’t be discouraged. Don’t faint. Please don’t faint. Pray.

Paul uses a very wonderful expression. We need this kind of help today. It’s over in Romans, the 15th chapter, and Verse 30. Listen to Paul; he says, “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” And you know what that word “strive” really means? Well, it’s the word that we get our word “agonize” from. You see, to “agonize in prayer”—that doesn’t mean the length of your prayer; it’s the depth of your prayer. It’s not the words, but the feeling that’s back of it. My, this is the way that Moses prayed; it’s the way Paul prayed, and it’s the way we should pray today.

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus”—and that’s your vow. That’s your statement of faith. “And shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The point of it is, it’s not just what the mouth says; it’s what the heart believes, friends. And he says they must be brought into agreement. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Now, you don’t believe with your mouth—you say it with your mouth, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So don’t say it with your mouth until your heart is singing a duet with you.

He took my place down here and He’s given me His place up there. And I say this reverently, but I want to say it. That if you are saved today, friends, you have as much right in heaven as Christ has. Did you know that? You have His right to be there. And if you don’t have His right, you got no business there. I have some bad news for you—you won’t be there. Because you can only stand in Him, accepted in the Beloved. That’s the way God receives us. And if you’re in Him, you just don’t improve on that at all. How wonderful this is.

The only thing God asks you to do is to look—look to Christ. He is taking your place there. You’re a sinner. You deserve to die. He does not deserve to die. And it’s just that simple. Either you’re looking to Christ as your Savior because you’re a sinner or you’re not doing it, friends. And if you’re not doing it, I don’t care how many times you’ve been baptized, I don’t care how many ceremonies you’ve been through, and I don’t care how many churches you’ve joined, and I don’t care who your father and mother happen to be. You’re a lost, hell-doomed sinner until you look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it’s just as simple as that.

May I say to you today, we have a priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. He’s a priest after the order of Melchizedek, had no beginning or ending of days. He’ll not die. He died for us down here; He lives for us up there. And He’ll always be there for you. Always depend on Him. He knows you, and you can know Him. And to know Him is life everlasting. And to know Him will be the occupation for eternity. He’ll never be changed. Now that’s something to be thankful for today—that you have a Savior that you can go to, any time, and it will be a glorious opportunity.

How many Christians today the minute that Monday comes they lapse right back into the program of the world, and the Lord Jesus is forgotten. Does He go with you for Monday, friends? Are you today living a secular life during the week and a sort of a sacred, religious life on Sunday? No good, friend. I tell you, the Lord Jesus, He wants to go into the marketplace with you. He wants to go into the marks of trade and on the streets of this world today. And He’s as real there as He is in your church on Sunday, I can assure you that. How we need to see this.

“And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.” Now if God had called Moses to do it, God would provide the strength for him to do it. God always does that. He never asks you to do more than you can do. And if you feel like that you’re overworked or that you’re doing too much, then maybe you really are. Maybe that you’re doing more than God wants you to do. Because God will not overburden those that are His own.

“We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.” Now, our invitation is the invitation Moses gave: Come and go with us. And if you’re listening to me today and you’re not a child of God, by faith in Jesus Christ, you can join the party. And we’re marching. We’re on the way; we’re going to the presence of Christ. We’re not a group that are marching because we’re better than anyone else, because we’re not. We’re sinners, saved by the grace of God. If you see yourself as a sinner and you need a Savior, turn to Him—by simple faith trust Him; join the march.

The Lord, when He redeemed us, He redeemed us by the blood of Christ; He paid a price. And now He’s given us as a gift back to the Lord Jesus Christ. We belong to Him. Now service to Him, friends, does not rest upon rules and regulations and laws. That’s not the way you serve the Lord Jesus. You serve Him now because you love Him. You’re in a new relationship to Him. You’ve been joined to Him; you’re part of Him. And what a thrill it is now to know you’re serving Him. And you’re not following little rules and regulations. You’ve been brought to a high place, and you want to please Him. How wonderful this is.

“At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.” So that Moses is not the one who decided whether they would march today or tomorrow or whether they’d stay in camp on the third day. God decided that. And we need to recognize that today. That the Lord Jesus Christ is head of the church. He should be the One to lead. He can’t even keep up with His church today; it’s going its own way. Men are having their own way, making their own decisions. But Christ is still head of His church, and those that are His will follow Him.

Friends, let’s understand this very clearly. Oh, you can sing a solo. You can preach a sermon. You can teach a Sunday school class. You can be an officer in the church, but you’re not effective. I’ll tell you right now—I don’t know who you are. But you’re not effective until you walk in the light of the Word of God, until you’re cleansed, until you have been to Him for cleansing. You see yourself in the light of the Word of God. You know you come short. And you go and make confession of your sin, and you know He forgives you.

Now I’m of the opinion that many of us today are missing a great blessing. Suppose you’re going through a particular time of trial, trouble, why not set yourself aside to God? You’re a Christian, and you don’t want to get hurt in all of this. You want to live for God, don’t you? And so you set yourself aside for God in a very definite way, to walk closer with Him. And it will make the trial—now it won’t remove the trial, but it will make it more bearable, let me say. And He says, “Take my yoke upon you; learn of me, I am meek and lowly,” and it’s nice to be yoked up with Him.

You want to come into a closer walk with Him? An act of dedication? Now, you can’t consecrate yourself. Only God can. Actually, what it means is to come to God with empty hands. We offer Him nothing. We haven’t anything really that He has to have or He takes particular delight in. We’re sinners, saved by grace. And when we come to Him, we just offer ourselves to Him—our devotion, our worship, our love, our service, our time, and we’re to find our joy in Him and the things of God.