Turn with me if you would to
Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. I have something tonight that I
believe will be a help to us and a benefit to us. And a great
benefit to those around us. A great, great benefit to those
around us. I believe I have the instruction
of a Bible study. I started preparing this and
I thought this sounds like a Bible study to me. But I also believe
the Lord has given us the urgency of a Sunday morning message.
And I pray it'll be a blessing. This message is gonna be full
of scripture. warm up your turning finger. I pray the Lord will make it
profitable. I pray it will be profitable. I pray the Lord will
make His Word to be a blessing to us. Alright, now let's look
at a few scriptures on our way to our text. We're going to go
through Acts just a little bit on our way to our text. Right
here in Acts 13, Verse 43 says, Now when the congregation was
broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed
Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them. to continue in the grace of God. Look with me at Acts chapter
18. Acts 18 verse 4, it says, And
he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded
the Jews and the Greeks. He persuaded them. Look at Acts
chapter 19 verse 8. And he went into the synagogue
and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and
persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. Look right
here in Acts 19 at verse 26. Moreover, you see and hear that
not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul
hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they
be no gods which are made with hands. Those other gods, they're no
gods at all. He said, not just at Ephesus, all Asia. He's persuaded
men that these gods made with hands are no gods at all. Turn
with me to Acts 28. Acts 28, verse 23. And when they had appointed him
a day, there came many to him into his lodging, to whom he
expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, Both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets
from morning till evening. Now let's read our text. Go with
me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 11. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are made manifest unto
God and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. I had a conversation this week
with a brother. And we were talking about the
importance of urging men to hear the truth of God's Word. The importance of urging men
to hear the truth of God's Word. The importance of telling people. The absolute importance of telling
people. After I finished that conversation,
I started thinking about my calling. What it is that God has called
me to do. I honestly started thinking about
what it is that God has called me to do. Nobody wants to be hated. Nobody
wants to be disliked. Nobody wants to ruffle feathers. Nobody wants to create waves. Nobody wants to create a division
between relationships. But I got to entering in just
a little bit to what it is that God has called me to do. And not just me, but us. We are preaching this message. One body is preaching this message.
I'm the mouth and you're the ear right now. And without an
ear, the mouth can't speak clearly. That's the way it is on the physical
body and that's the way it is in the spiritual body. We are
declaring this truth together. We are witnessing this together. And I got to entering into the
urgency while there is time. While there's time. While there's
time, there are people we love, there are people we are close
to, and they're with us right now. And we think, well, I don't
want to ruin their whole world, so I'll just keep all this information
to myself. While there's time, the urgency
of urging men and women to hear the truth of God's word. Verse
11 says, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. Knowing. It's our responsibility. That's
capital L, lowercase o, lowercase r, lowercase d. The Lord Jesus
Christ, when He comes back. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. We tell them who God is. We tell
them what sinners we are against Him. We tell them about God's
judgment on sin. And we point them to the only
hope they have, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the title of this
message is, We Persuade Men. And I pray that this might show
us why we persuade men. how we persuade men, and I pray
this might encourage us to persuade men. But when we talk about a
subject like persuading men of the truth and persuading men
of this gospel, we have to start right here. Before we even get
into this subject, we have to start right here. Go with me
to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9 verse 11 says, For the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto
her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth."
Now what does that mean? That means a sinner's eternal
salvation is in God's hands. It's in God's hands. 2 Thessalonians
2 says men and women are chosen to salvation. Every person who
will be saved is chosen to salvation. John 6 says no man can come to
Christ unless the Father draws him. We run out telling everybody. And by God's grace, this ministry
is trying as hard as it can to tell everybody, come to Christ. We're telling everybody, come
to Christ. In every way we can, come to Christ, come to Christ.
Knowing, while we tell it, knowing, no man can come unless the Father
draws him. John 17 says not one person who
was chosen to be drawn will be lost. Not one person. Not one person. It is not possible. No possible way. We have no bearing We have no bearing on whether
or not one of God's elect is going to be saved or lost. We have no bearing, none whatsoever. They are all kept by the power
of God. He shall save His people. He shall save His people. When
it comes to Him drawing men to Himself, He said in Isaiah 43,
I will work, and who shall let it? No one is going to, no one
can. Stop me, hinder me, or reject
me. No one. And when it comes to
the heart of each person He draws, Proverbs 21 says even the king's
heart is in his hands, just like the rivers of water. He turns
it however he wants to turn it. So what all this means is God
is sovereign. God is absolutely sovereign.
He is sovereignly in control of all things, especially His
people. especially every single one of
his people. And he said, not one of them
is going to be lost. Not one of them. All right. Then
why go around persuading men and women? Why is it so urgent to urge men
and women to hear the gospel? Because it is the means that
He has chosen to draw His people to Himself. If He did not say,
this is my means, then I would tell you right now, it does not
matter what you say, it does not matter what we do, it doesn't
even matter if I preach. God's people are going to be
saved. But He declared in His Word, this is the means I've
chosen. And what he does is he burdens
the heart for another. I feel a burden to preach the
gospel to this city. I'm burdened for every city,
but I feel a deep burden for these people to tell them the
truth. What if they hate me? It's okay.
And the Lord will burden your heart for somebody in a rare
way. There's somebody you just won't
be able to get them off your mind. He'll burden your heart
for them. And He will urge you to urge
them to come hear this message. This is the means He chose. Look
with me at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 21, For after
that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. It has pleased God to use the
means of declaring the gospel of Christ to others. This is
what it pleased Him to do. It pleased Him to use that witness. It pleased Him to just have His
people go tell how great things the Lord has done for them. That's
all we're doing. That's all we're doing. We're
just telling how great things the Lord has done for us. It
has pleased the Lord to use that witness to convert His people. Look with me at Romans chapter
1. Romans 1 verse 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. to everyone
that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I've told
you this before and I'm going to tell it to you again because
every time I think about this, I'm so glad. I was personally
very concerned when I first started preaching about giving people
false hope. That's just something that was
very concerning to me. I was afraid I would tell the
good news to somebody who was not one of God's elect and they
would believe it. And end up with a false hope
and then the Lord revealed to me that's not a possibility If
they believe it they are God's elect God has chosen to give
them faith to cause them to love it and they just believe it Just
like a baby. They just you tell them and they
just believe it And it says that this witness of the gospel, the
gospel of Jesus Christ, this wonderful news of what he has
done for sinners. is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believes it. Oh, everyone. Everyone. Come believe it. Come believe
it. Paul said, I am so not ashamed
to tell people that I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful
shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. That
means I was dead and dying. But the master of the sea heard
my despairing cry. And the songwriter would have
written it better had he said, put that cry in me. He heard
my despairing cry from the waters lifted me now safe and. God, the father cried, deliver
him from going down into the pit, I found a ransom. I found
a payment, I found a redeemer. Who was the Redeemer? The Lord
Jesus Christ. What was the payment? What was
the price of deliverance? His own blood. His own life. His life for mine. Here's the
ransom. His life for mine. A man said
years ago, and I love this, he said, a preacher is a nobody
who is telling everybody about somebody who can save anybody. That's what a preacher is. Paul
said, I'm not ashamed to tell anybody. I'm not ashamed to tell
everybody about what Christ has done for me. And the reason is
because I'm just so thankful for it. I'm so thankful. And
I want others to have it. And because it's the means that
God has chosen to call out His people. And He commanded us,
He has given us His commandment to go unto all the world and
preach this gospel. Our Lord told the disciples in
a parable, He said, you go out into the highways and hedges. Where are the highways and hedges?
In our own homes. our own families, our next door
neighbors, our friends, our loved ones. He said, you go out into
the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house
may be filled. He said, you go compel them.
You need to hear this. That's why it's so urgent. This
is the means. If a man or a woman has any hope,
this is the means. This is it. Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord. We persuade men. Now, what do
we persuade men with? How are they persuaded? Turn
with me over to Luke 16. Luke 16 verse 19, there was a
certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and
fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it
came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus
in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented. And beside all this, between
us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass
to us that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. I pray
that you would send this man, Lazarus, back to the earth. Send him to my father's house.
Verse 28, for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment. I want Lazarus
to go back to my father's house and persuade my five brothers. They don't want to come here.
Verse 29, Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said,
Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent. And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead. We persuade with the Word of
God. With the Word of God. Ezekiel
cried, hear the Word of the Lord. Hear the Word of the Lord. What
do we urge men to do? Listen to God. Don't hear that
man. Don't listen to that man. Everybody
has a man. Everybody has a man. A man they
love, a man they listen to. He wrote a book or something.
Don't listen to that man. Listen to God. Listen to God. Hear the Word of the Lord. God
has promised to bless His Word. Not, you know, this is what I
think about it. Well, you know, everybody has
an opinion. God has promised to bless His Word. He's promised
to bless His Word. He said, My Word shall not fail. Paul told Timothy, preach the
Word. Declare the Word to them as much
as possible. When people come at you with
questions, answer them with the Word. Well, the Scripture says. And if you don't have one, tell
them, well, I'll get right back to you. And look it up or call
somebody who knows the Scripture and tell them what the Scripture
says. God has promised to bless His Word. How do we preach the Word? How
do we preach the Word? In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. To preach the Word is to
preach Christ. If a man is not preaching Christ,
he is not preaching the Word. What does the Word say about
Christ? Turn with me over to Romans 4. This is what the Word of God
will persuade a man or a woman to believe. Romans 4, this is
speaking of Abraham, verse 21 it says, and being fully persuaded, Abraham
being fully persuaded that what he had promised He was able also to perform. What God promised, God was able
to perform. Everything God has promised in
Christ, God is able to perform. This word says, He is able. He is able. Daniel 4 says, He
is able to abase. Philippians 3 says, He is able
to subdue all things unto Himself. In 2 Timothy 1, Paul said, He
is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him. I've committed
all my sin to Him. I've committed all my righteousness,
any righteousness I have, it must come from Him. All my hope
is in Him. Hebrews 2 says He is able to
succor. He is able to comfort. He's able
to help them that are tempted. And Hebrews 7 says He's able
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. That word has come
to us. Somebody told us. Somebody persuaded
us and I'm so thankful for the fact that this is our response. I am persuaded. As believers,
that's what we're saying. I am persuaded. I'm persuaded
that he's able. I'm persuaded to come to him. I'm persuaded to cast my all
on him. I'm persuaded that his blood is the only thing that
will forgive all of my debt and satisfy God concerning my sin. It's the only thing that will
make me acceptable to stand in his presence. And I'm persuaded
to go tell everybody I can that. I'm persuaded to go tell everybody
I can. The blood of Christ is the only
hope we have. It's the only hope we have. Everybody
believes that they're a good enough person to go to heaven.
Everybody believes that. When I was called here, right when I was coming here,
a man told me, He said, be careful what you
say. Somebody's going to believe it. That's what He told me, be careful
what you say. Somebody is going to believe it. Oh, may God give
us a resolve and may God give us a fervency to go tell men
and women the truth about the blood of Christ as though somebody's
going to believe it. May He give us the fervency to
go tell men about Christ. I'm telling you, men and women
need Christ. They don't need a good job. They need Christ. And they don't need health. They
need Christ. They don't need a big, huge retirement.
They need Christ. They don't need peace in this
world. A lot of people have peace, peace
when there is no peace. They need Christ. They need to
bow the knee to the king. They need to bow the knee to
his salvation. Hebrews 11.13 says, These all
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. All
of God's people die that way. persuaded, embracing, confessing
these promises, persuaded of them. I want to close this message
with one of those promises. This is a promise from God's
word that we can be persuaded of, we can embrace this, and
we can confess it to everybody. Go with me to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 38. It says, for I am persuaded. Aren't you so glad you're persuaded
of this? This will make you glad. I am persuaded that neither death. Nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation is in Christ. The love
of God is in Christ. Eternal life is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. May God cause us, honestly, may
God cause us to go urge men and women to that. Urge men and women,
come hear this message. Come hear this message. And may
God cause them to be persuaded of it. If they are going to be
persuaded of it, he's the persuader. We persuade men by declaring
his word. And all the glory goes to him.
All right, let's all stand together.