I was thinking about that song
we just sang, that last line. He that cometh to me. He that continually comes. God's
people come to the Lord afresh every day. People say, I came
to the Lord You know, God's people come today. Today is the day
of salvation. I want to come again, don't you?
Turn with me to Proverbs 20, verse 27. Proverbs 20. Proverbs
20, 27. The spirit of man is the candle,
the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly
or the heart. When God created man in the garden,
this is what the scripture has to say concerning man's creation. In Genesis 2-7, the Lord formed
man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life and man became a living soul. What did God do for man when
he created man? He said he breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, that is that life that is above
or apart from the common life of animals. He breathed into
man the breath of life and man became a living soul. God made man out of clay. a lifeless
form, quickened him and breathed into him that which is more than
just an animal function. Man was able to discern and to
reason as a rational creature. A creature Possessing a soul
that is said to be, in this scripture, the candle of the Lord. That's
what it says. When it says the spirit of a
man, that's that part of man that is able to understand, and
to think through, and to reason. That part of man, the spirit
of man, is the lamp of the Lord. Searching all the inward parts. His heart, heart, soul that could
reflect upon and judge and discern and actions. This way of man's creation is
a way that the Spirit of God reveals for man to be a living
soul. You know an animal is an animal,
he's alive but a living soul. Enable him to discern something
of himself. To discern something of who God
is. To know, to understand these
things. But now, that's the way man was
created. He had a living soul. He knew. He knew God. But something happened in the
garden. Man disobeyed God. And because of that disobedience,
the scripture says that man died spiritually. Adam and Eve did
not die physically then, right at that moment. But they died
spiritually. Now, they are without the ability
to search the inward parts of his heart. as he was first created
to do. What died was that life. There was life, there was a living
soul. But now he does not have that
living soul to reason concerning what he had done. Perceive now
the consequences of rebellion and danger of eternal damnation. Now you think about this. There's
people all over this world that are walking around this morning
that know not the Lord. And I'm telling you there's billions,
I suppose, in this world that do not care one iota about standing
before God. So what? They don't care that they're
just on the precipice of hell. There's no fear of God in them.
There's no respect. What happened? That spirit that
was created in man died. A believer, an amazing creature,
you know what he does? He's continually checking up
on himself. Examine yourself to see if you'd
be in the faith. Every time a believer hears the
gospel preached, this is what he's thinking. Okay, I'm going
to listen. I'm going to listen now. Okay, Lord, speak to my
heart. Lord, teach me this morning.
Lord, tell me. Refresh me. Lord renew the joy
of your salvation in me. An unbeliever is dead. That living soul, that spirit,
it died before the fallen man walked with God. What happened
immediately after Adam sinned against God? They hid themselves. hid themselves, they thought,
from God. But now, before, man loved God. He worshipped, he trusted. Now man loves nothing, worships
nothing but himself. Why? Because he's dead, spiritually. No ability to spiritually hear
or see He's blind spiritually. He's deaf spiritually. Why? Because that spirit of a man,
that is the candle of the Lord, died. Yes, that candle was originally
placed within every man. Let me tell you this, the remnants
of it is there. The remnants of it is there. Man has a conscience. He's got
a conscience. And that conscience that is within
every creature, every man, every man, not every creature, that
conscience still gives a knowledge of right and wrong. But it's
spiritually impotent. It can't do anything to remedy
itself. It can't do anything to help
himself. It was ruined in man's fall. Every man has a conscience, all
right, telling him that he's guilty. He feels guilt, but he
doesn't care. The thought of offending God doesn't matter. Why? Because
he's dead. You know, a cat possesses natural
life. Now let me just think on this.
A cat. And it kills a mouse. And it's
proud of it. It'll bring it to you. It'll
bring it there and show you. It'll have it in its mouth or
whatever it's killed. It'll bring that to you because
it has no sense of guilt. But a man dead in trespasses
and sins, though he's spiritually dead, unable To reconcile himself
back to God, he still knows something of guilt. A man knows if he murders
another man, he knows he's guilty. What does he fear? The law. He's
afraid of getting caught. But fear or respect for God? It's not there. Why? Because
that spirit, that candle of the Lord died. I say the remnants
of it is there. Listen to this, Titus 1, 15-16. Unto the pure, unto those washed
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, regenerated by God's
power and grace, given a new heart, given a new spirit, robed
in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, unto the pure.
All things are pure, but unto them that are defiled, stained
or contaminated with sins, guilt, and unbelieving, faithless, is
nothing pure. And Scripture says, but even
their mind, that is, capacity of spiritual truth, even their
mind, that faculty to discern divine things. The only reason
that any of us here can discern anything concerning what God
has said, we've been given a new mind, a new heart, a new creation,
born from above, but to the defiled. is nothing pure, but even their
mind and conscience, the scripture says, is defiled, contaminated. They profess that they know God,
but in works they deny Him. That is, they profess that they
know God, but there's a mixture of works and what they call grace. They deny Him. They deny what
God has to say is what it is. They don't deny that there is
a God. As I said before, demons know that there is a God. But
they deny God. They don't believe Him. They
call Him a liar. They deny Him being abominable
and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate, meaning
void of judgment. They have no ability. But according to God's everlasting
covenant of grace, the Lord determined that not all men, all women born
in Adam would die in that spiritual state. Now this is the way we're
all born. The spirit of man that died in the garden, that is the
candle of the Lord, that light of God that gives knowledge and
gives understanding to man to be able to reason, think, know
God, know himself. That died. That died. And now we're all born that way. But according to God's purpose
and God's will, God's choosing grace, He willed. He chose to show mercy and compassion
to whomsoever He would. He said, I'm going to have mercy. I'm going to have compassion.
And therefore chose a people under salvation and honor in
Christ. And they are the recipients of
His everlasting kindness. Why? That they should be in Christ
holy and without blame before Him in love. He chose them in
His Son that we should be holy. How holy? As God is holy in Christ,
robed in His righteousness, without blame. We read that passage of
Scripture and it says, well done thy good and faithful servant.
God's pleased. He's pleased. Now how is this
going to be? How is this going to happen?
God must arrest the vessels of his mercy. He arrests them, he
stops them. It's like he did Saul of Tarsus
on the road to Damascus. He stops them and they hear the
gospel. I tell you this, there is no
one born in this world beyond the reach of Almighty God. You
think, I just can't believe that God would save him. I can't believe
God saved me. He showed me mercy. That I'm standing right here
is a miracle. He arrests His people and He
will get them under the sound that honors His Son. His Son
is going to be honored. And He's going to take them and
He's going to to recreate in them that life that was lost. I'm going to read you a scripture
in a minute, and I'm going to show you what I'm saying. So, He's
going to recreate in them that life which was lost in Adam's
fall. According to His promise, He
declared to His elect, to His people, to His sheep, to His
church, to the bride of Christ. This is what He said concerning
them, and I will give them a heart to know Me. To know Me. This is life eternal, that they
may know Thee. What do we know about the Father?
What the Son has revealed. This is what the Son revealed.
For thou hast given me, Christ, power over all flesh, that I
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. You
know what I know about the Father? The Father's got a purpose. He
does as He will. That's what I know. They know
Him. I will give them. They shall
be my people. I will be their God, for they
shall return unto me with their whole heart." I looked it up. With that inner part, that soul
created, they're going to return to me with that. That which originally
died in Adam's fall, the candle, the spirit, the spirit of a man
which is the candle of the Lord. That ability to know God truly,
mercy, grace, he brings back, he restores. He said, I restored,
I restored. Do you know what restore means?
To do something that was already there. That's what it means,
restore. Restock. What does that mean?
Well, there was stock there at first. And I restocked it. Restore means to do something
that was already there before. He restores the honor that was due Almighty God. Adam owed God honor. And Christ restored that honor
and did it in the stead of His elect. What I owe unto the Lord,
He performed. He did. And then charges it to
His people. Charges it. Gives it back. Restores
their peace. Peace was lost. They were separated
from God. Alienated. and He restored that
peace. God is satisfied. All that the
Father has given the Son, God is satisfied with them in Him. He restores that joy that was
lost. The joy of the Lord, my strength,
the happiness, before God calls out His people. They're not joyful. They're not thankful, Pat. They're
not thankful. But He restores that, that happiness,
the righteousness He does for His people. that which He did
in the creation. Listen, for God who commanded
the light to shine after darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. What was not there before, that
grace to search or to expose the inward parts of man's belly,
his heart, that lamp of the Lord that reveals to man who He is
and who God is. Christ restores that. Puts it
back. And now this is what he does.
God turns on the light, shines in his heart, and teaches him
Christ. Then the man says, oh wretched
man, that I am. Then the man says, all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. Then the man says, the king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord. And he, as the rivers of water,
he turneth it whithersoever he will. And now by that imparting
of a new heart and spirit, new eyes to see the glory of God
in Christ, and new ears to hear the voice of the Savior, that
man, that woman says salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is
of the Lord. And in closing, let's consider
the end result of that living soul that was created. When God
breathed into man a living soul, a living soul that died spiritually
in man's rebellion. But what about those that don't
know the Lord and die in unbelief? What happens? Well, I know that
man is going to die physically, I know that. And when he dies,
that living soul that's not going to die, it goes with him. It goes with him to that place
of separation from God. It goes with him into hell. And that unbeliever, he finds
himself, now I know this for a fact, because I have scripture
to back it up. Here's what happened, I preached
a message here not too long ago, it was an eyewitness from hell. Only scripture that I ever know
of, where there was an actual, there was a recording from a
man in hell. And what happened to him? In
hell, this rich man, rich man Lazarus, lifting up his eyes,
being in torments, and that's going to be his eternal state,
he cried out unto Father Abraham, cried out unto God, called Lazarus,
tipped his finger in water and touched my tongue. In that place
where the Lord said there will be eternal weeping and gnashing
of teeth, there is a place of separation. But what about that
soul, that spirit of the man that God breathed and it became
a living soul? What happens to it? Listen to
this scripture. Mark 9, 43, 44, if I hand offend
thee, cut it off. It's better for thee to enter
into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into
the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched. Now I can understand that fire
that shall never be quenched, the fire of God's eternal wrath.
I know what that's talking about. But concerning the worm that
dieth not, I read in many, many writers, and I believe that they're
right. I think they have good foundation.
First of all, it's setting forth. It's not an actual worm. Who
are going to be in hell? Those that refuse to bow to the
Lord Jesus Christ. They'll be separated. But about
that worm, First of all, concerning that part of worm, who is that? Well, it's that person that's
in hell. Listen to this, Job 25, 5 and
6. The stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man
that is a worm, and the son of man which is a worm. You remember
now, God made man and gave him a living soul. That soul that's
not going to die. That soul, that conscience that
is the candle of the Lord is going to be with a man or a woman
forever and that which is going to eternally gnaw as symbolized by that worm which
is the person himself. will gnaw at them and torment
in the remembrance of his guilt. That rich man that I was talking
about just a few minutes ago, he lifted up his eyes and he
desired Lazarus to dip his finger. Here's what the Lord said. This
is your eternal gnawing. The worm, the worm that will
not die. Here it is. Remember. Remember. What a horrible, horrible curse
to remember. To remember the time that you
heard the gospel and just passed it off. Just remember that thou
in thy lifetime Receivest, good things, and likewise Lazarus,
evil things, but now, remember, he's comforted and you're tormented. Job described as a worm shall
bear the guilt of his rebellion before God in his conscience
forever. That living soul, man became
a living soul. And remember, it died spiritually,
but man in this life still has a conscience. That's the remnant
of what God created. And he knows, he knows, he knows,
he knows guilt. He knows right and wrong. but
has no ability to do anything about it until God creates him
anew. But he dies in separation. And
in hell, he's going to remember forsaking God, calling God's
gospel heresy, after the way they call heresy. Paul said,
that's what I preach, that's what I believe. And for those
that's heard the gospel, Matthew 10, listen to me, listen to me. Matthew 10, verse 14, 15. Whosoever shall not receive you,
nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city,
shake off the dust of your feet, verily, here's what the Lord
said, verily, truly, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for
that city. To go through eternity, listen,
it never ends. All but for those that have been
regenerated by the grace of God. Those that have been given life
in Christ, they now possess Scripture, according to Acts 24, 16, a conscience
void of offense toward God and toward men. Not that the Apostle
Paul claimed to be without sin. He declared as the result of
the Lord's mercy toward him, I have life now in Christ. I know I didn't create it. He
gave it to me. Paul now longed to walk before
God and before men without a fence. He said, to will is present with
me, but how to perform that which I would, I find not. And then
finally in glory. Listen, I know, Freddy, there's
going to be a remembrance. I know there's going to be remembrance.
This really is the last verse. Revelation 5. Revelation 5. Now here's the four and twenty
elders, and they're before the throne. Revelation 5, 9, and
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals that for Thou was slain. Now how are they
going to know this if they don't remember? I don't know all what
to say about this, but I can tell you from this scripture,
there's a remembrance of something. What is it? For thou was slain,
therefore, and thou has redeemed us. Thou has redeemed us. You
brought us back. To God, by Thy blood out of every
kindred and tongue and people and nation has made us what we
were not actually physically, spiritually before, unto God,
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. You know
what? They remember something, Neil. They remember something. That soul, the spirit of a man,
that's the candle of the Lord, the lamp of the Lord that teaches
man something. Yes sir, he died. He died and
lost all ability to know. But God Almighty in mercy comes
and restores that which he took not away, makes him new. And now in regenerating grace,
They know. They know. And they believe the
truth. I pray God bless this to our
hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.